According to James L. Garlow, lay ministry will be successful to the extent that support groups are built around each lay minister. The object of the 'sending group' is not only to 'send', but .. to encourage.[16] In this statement we begin to see the weakness of the individual. The Enlightenment paradigm has brought us to a view of being emancipated but we are not as capable as we have been led to believe. The Ecumenical paradigm is not about emancipation, nor is it about dependence. Instead, it is about interdependence.
It is almost too easy to talk about being in the world and not of the world. But for the lay person what does this mean? Often the lay person feels inadequate to the task,[17] insufficiently trained.[18] Richard J. Mouw claims that there is a significant gap between the world we occupy in worship and when we work, which is a gap of kind rather than place. He argues that an educational process is needed to bridge this gap which has three features: 1) it raises the consciousness of the laity by bringing forward issues of social, political, and economic concern. "Much Christian consciousness-raising should consist in becoming aware of that to which we have already committed ourselves"[19], 2) the laity needs theological education that identifies in what ways Jesus is the answer to the world's needs, and 3) principles and doctrines must be brought to bear on concrete applications. Truly with such a mandate lay people will be enabled to serve Christ as the laos or people of God.
Thomas W. Gillespie, using Exodus 19: 4-7 as his source, notes that "the laos as a whole is God's 'possession,' chosen not for privilege alone but for the privilege of service." This service, he says "is spelled out in direct connection with God's claim upon 'all the earth.' .. This people, the laos of God, is called, constituted, and commissioned to fulfill a mediating ministry." In addition, "so far as this ministry to the peoples of the earth is concerned, there is not the slightest justification in the terms of the covenant for that 'split-level' distinction between the 'ordinary believer' and 'clergy,' between 'novice' and 'professional,' which characterizes our contemporary use off the term 'laity.'"[20]
According to Guido A. Merkens "the unique priestliness of every believer is clearly seen in the names our Lord has given to His people."[21] We have been called Stewards (1 Pe. 4: 10), Labourers (Mt. 20: 1-16), Salt of the earth (Mt. 5: 13), Lights of the world (Mt. 5: 14), Witnesses (Ac. 1: 8), Soldiers of Jesus Christ (2 Ti. 2: 3), Disciples (Jn. 8: 31), the Body of Christ (1 Co. 12: 27), Ambassadors (2 Co. 5: 20), and Christians (Ac. 11: 26). "In the very naming itself (God) has charged us with responsibilities and equipped us for service."
