THE LAST STANZA in a seminal poem by Robert Frost entitled, The Road Not Taken, serves as a continuous reminder to me that sometimes God directs disciples to take the road less traveled. At a time when people have lost confidence in groups and institutions, and when communities question the purpose for the Church’s existence, practical and pragmatic ministry might be the road less traveled.

When John the Baptist queried about the validity of Jesus’ claim to messiahship (Luke 7:22), he was directed to the remarkable transformations that were taking place in the community. Certainly then, even now, God works through those who are called by His name. “He who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do” (John 14:12, NASB). God has called us to change the world we live in, to challenge the status quo and not to be afraid to step out of the conveyor belt of society. Later, in the encounter with Paul and Silas in Thessalonica, it was recorded that the people were outraged, crying out against them, indignant that these two men had disrupted their well-balanced lives (Acts 17:5-9).

Ministry on the road less traveled will undoubtedly attract the unchurched to what God is capable of doing in communities racked with societal pain and cynicism. Ministry that employs advocacy as a means to bring attention to the wanton neglect that has plagued urban communities would be the road less traveled, but it would bring authenticity to our alignment with the Master of Disciples who wept with others who were in the throes of human suffering.

BREAK WITH THE PAST

Conversations continue about the apparent stagnation in the U.S. and Canada church. Parenthetically, any critique of the U.S. and Canada church in terms of its low growth indices must be qualified by the recognition of the many places where significant growth and community impact are taking place. As many world regions experience breathtaking growth, particularly in the starting of new congregations, so likewise fruitfulness is taking place on many districts here.

That being said, if the trends are to be changed, ministry cannot continue on the path to which we have grown accustomed. In his book, Direct Hit, a sequel to the acclaimed tome, Hit the Bullseye, Paul Borden states there are four barriers to church growth or transformation:

1. Most pastors don’t see themselves as leaders, except when referred to as spiritual leaders.

2. Too many pastors see themselves as being called to be “faithful” rather than “fruitful.”

3. Leaders in significant positions in most congregations are there by default. The most talented persons are usually under-utilized.

4. The structures and polity within congregations restrict the permission-giving atmosphere that is conducive to growth.¹

As I have traveled around the country, mainly within the confines of ethnic-specific congregations, I have concluded that the most blatantly missing ingredient in the recipe for growth within churches is “risk-taking.” We have grown faithfully mediocre without realizing it. This insularity blinds us to the reality that the past sojourn should not define the future, especially when the past has not yielded an outcome of which we can boast.

Vibrant, growing, fruitful congregations usually push beyond the ordinary service and everyday routine of ministry and mission. They take risks! The path less traveled is a path that leads to facing the risk of failure while at the same time being optimistic about the possibilities for life-changing engagement with new people from the community beyond the church. This path less traveled is pregnant with unimaginable connections with those outside the four walls of the church.

Maybe we fear moving beyond the circle of relationships and practices that routinely define what we have come to call church. Jesus addressed this fear when he stated, “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same” (Luke 6:32-33, Young’s Literal Translation).

The road less traveled is the path that stretches us to love and minister to those for whom it is not automatic, easy, common or accepted. As our example, Jesus demonstrated in His life what it meant to embrace the risky path of the road less traveled. He stepped across oppressive social boundaries and intermingled with the socially stigmatized, to whom He extended grace and mercy. He said, “But love your enemies, do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return. Your reward will be great, and you will be the children of the Most High; for he is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful” (Luke 6:35-36, NRSV).

Ministry on the road less traveled would be a radical departure from the past. Ministry now becomes uncertain and unpredictable as we venture into a community that offers no security of familiarity. Ministry of this sort is analogous to the parable of the sower and his seeds. We plant with reckless abandon, knowing quite well that the terrain might not be as friendly. However, we plant and invest with the assurance that as we risk failure, we also are planting seeds of hope for a transformed community, one in which the yardstick with which we measure success might be drastically different.

Ministry on the road less traveled acknowledges that change is difficult, not because people don’t want to do the new thing but rather because they find it hard to give up the old ways. This new form of ministry does not leave things tidy, nailed down, and predictable. Rather, it is a ministry that disturbs the status quo, breaks open the settled worlds, reverses the world’s preferred order, and raises the dead approaches to ministry.

What are some of the roads that are less traveled? Here are some remote roads that could be explored:

The road that is cluttered with the victims of the recent mortgage scandals who face double indemnity: a credit report that is in disrepair, as well as an uncertain future.

The road that leads to children in our communities who lack the health insurance coverage that is critical in times of crisis.

The road that offers ministry to the hungry and homeless who face the next twenty-four hours with abject uncertainty and a sense of hopelessness because of a failed social system.

The road that initiates ministry to AIDS victims, without regard to the social stigma that is attached to this pandemic.

The road that embraces the alcoholic and the drug addict and offers a ministry of recovery, not outside but within the community of God’s kingdom.

The road that does not discriminate against undocumented persons, but rather encourages a response that is grounded in the mandates of the sacred texts.

The road that recognizes God’s “preferential option for the poor,” 2 with a full-throated voice of advocacy on behalf of those less privileged.

The road that admits to the irrelevancy of old forms of ministry and releases members of congregations to minister outside the box.

My argument for the pursuit of the road less traveled would be incomplete without providing a profile of the minister or layperson who would take this venture. What would such a person look like? Here are my suggestions for the traveler on the road less traveled:

Focus on what can be, not what used to be.

Assess opportunities in light of realistic and available resources.

Know when to move forward, having considered the risks.

Know what God wants done and be willing to be obedient.

Passionately invite others to partner in God’s new community of change.

The charge to be the church is most aptly captured in Entrepreneurial Faith, a recent book by Kirbyjohn Caldwell and Walt Kallestad:

The world is changing too rapidly for us to continue doing things just as we have done them in the past. If you think your city is immune to the radical changes and monumental shifts in our culture, think again. The United States is no longer a Christian nation, if it ever was one. Past assumptions about spiritual needs and beliefs, religious attitudes and allegiances, no longer hold sway. All this means that the past ways of doing ministry no longer speak to the needs of most people. If we’re doing what we’ve always done, we might be missing the opportunity to minister to those who need it the most.³

The sad reality remains that too much ministry is presently shaped by the status quo mentality of “open the doors and they will come.” Ministry on the road less traveled takes ministry away from the four walls of the church into the community where God is really working.

It is hoped that this prophetic challenge would stimulate a renewed interest in restoring vitality and relevance to ministry. At a time when many persons question the authenticity of the church’s message and ministry, change is no longer an option.

by Oliver R. Phillips
Director
Mission Strategy USA/Canada

1. Paul D. Borden, Direct Hit (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2006), 20-21.
2. The “preferential option for the poor” is a principle that stems from Catholic Social Teaching, but has been more broadly adopted by those within the Protestant tradition. It was accorded theological significance by Gustavo Gutierrez in his seminal tome, A Theology of Liberation. According to Wikipedia, “the principle is rooted in both the Old and New Testaments and claims that a preferential concern for the physical and spiritual welfare of the poor is an essential element of the Gospel.” See online: .
3. Kirbyjohn Caldwell & Walt Kallestad, Entrepreneurial Faith (Colorado: Waterbrook Press, 2004), 3.