Pastoral work is the enterprise of “nurturing folk into a new metaphor”

– Walter Brueggemann

“…the character of the church [is to be a] covenant community that has a story powerful enough to bond people in the corporate and personal effort to find purposes for their lives which are part of the purposes of God.” – James Fowler, Faith Development and Pastoral Care

Umm…what they said!  The idea is that the work of the pastor and local church is to be an activator of people’s vocation, both personally and spiritually, so as to partner with God’s in-breaking Kingdom in the world and local context.  That means decentralizing programs in/for the church and creating a space for people to be in the world through their vocation, not of the world (by nature).