trinitarian administration
“26 Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals,[a] and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”
27 So God created mankind in his own image,
in the image of God he created them;
male and female he created them.”
On the inside of my left bicep I have a tattoo of the ‘Penrose’ triangle, a.k.a. the ‘impossible’ triangle. It is an optical illusion most recognizably used by artist M.C. Escher where each point of the triangle appears to be in front of the others. It is a paradox, a seemingly contradictory statement opposed to common sense that is perhaps true. I got this tattoo to symbolize the Trinity; God is three in one and one in three. The Trinity is a paradox, something that does not appear to make any sense. Yet it is true. I know it is true because I have experienced the Trinity, though I often struggle to explain it.
The Trinity is not merely a theological doctrine but describes the very nature of God. According to Gilles Emery, O.P., in The Trinity: An Introduction to Catholic Doctrine on the Trine God, the Trinity is the cornerstone of the Christian faith because it describes the God Christians worship. Worshipping the Trinity is precisely what distinguishes Christianity from all other religions. In C.S. Lewis and the Christian Worldview, Michael Peterson argues that for C.S. Lewis, the Incarnation, “the Grand Miracle,” and the Trinity, “the Great Dance”, were the central Christian doctrines on which all others are built (95). In Practicing Christian Doctrine: An Introduction to Thinking and Living Theologically, Beth Felkner Jones says, “the heart of the [trinitarian] doctrine is about who we worship, and there is nothing more wonderful, live giving, or joyous than to worship the true and living God, recognizing that God is wonderfully different from and superior to any false god we might imagine” (75).
For Christians, God is Trinity. Orthodoxy indicates God is one unified being comprised of three distinct interconnected persons (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) who mutually share the same substance. In fact, according to Emery, “the name God…can designate the person of the Father, the person of the Son, or the person of the Holy Spirit; it can likewise be applied to the three together” (48). Further, “the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are [truly] distinct: they are three hypostases or persons; each person exists or subsists in a proper manner” (83). There are not three gods. Jones writes, “the mystery of God’s being is God’s [eternal] triunity… God did not become Trinity at some point in time, rather, God is eternally Father, Son, and Holy Spirit” (57). And there is no hierarchy (real or perceived) in the Trinity. During the Council of Florence it was determined that, “these three persons are one God, not three Gods, because there is one substance of the three, one essence, one nature, one Godhead, one immensity, one eternity, and everything is one where the opposition of a relation does not prevent this” (89).
Scripturally, there is no one passage or verse of Scripture that explicitly describes God as being three in one. But broadly speaking, “the doctrine of the Trinity is not based upon a particular ordering of only a few biblical texts. It is instead the antecedent theological logic of the Christian canon as a whole” (Emery O.P. and Levering 42). When viewed holistically across Old Testament, New Testament, literally, and metaphysically, all Scripture attests to God’s triune nature. Said differently, “Trinitarian doctrine is the lens through which we can rightly perceive the particular form of Scripture’s speaking about the identity of the God who has revealed himself there” (Emery O.P. and Levering 44).
More importantly, our understanding of the Trinity should inform our understanding of church administration in two core ways: our understanding of relationships and our understanding of the Holy Spirit.
It is well-established (both inside and outside the church) that human beings are fundamentally relational; we need relationships and community. For Christians, this is rooted in our understanding of the Trinity; God created humanity in His relational image for relationships. The church understands the spiritual need for relationships and invests a lot of time and money to build strong community through small groups, community groups, social events, discipleship, etc. Nearly every aspect of church life is relational. However, for church leaders, it is easy to treat church administration as transactional rather than relational. There is a tendency to get through administrative work quickly, without regard for relationships, to get back to ‘ministry.’ But there is a person, who has been created in the image of God, behind every administrative task. In A Spirituality of Fundraising, Henri Nouwen says makes the case for a new approach to fundraising that emphasizes relationships and spirituality over transactional. Nouwen says, “in fundraising as ministry, we are inviting people into a new way of relating to their resources” (19). Nouwen continues, “[in traditional fundraising], we may have completed a successful transaction, but we have not initiated a successful relationship” (20). Just as the triune God is inherently relational, church administration, like all ministry, is relational.
Also, it is also easy to forget the role of the Holy Spirit in church administration. As I have shared previously on the blog, there is a tendency to manage the church like managing a business. Administrative decisions are based on logic, strategies, and advice from business leaders and entrepreneurs, rather than wisdom from the Holy Spirit. However, there is a difference between managing a business and managing a church. There are times when the practical decision is not the right decision. When leading a church, it is critical to consider how the Spirit of God is present and working in church administration to lead the church closer to Christ. The Holy Spirit is as involved in the budgeting process, strategic planning, managing facilities, and any administrative task as the weekly Bible study.
As Christians, we believe in a God who is inherently relational because He is three interconnected persons of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. As church leaders, when we view administration as transactional, or when we neglect the role of the Holy Spirit in church administration, we forget the triune God who created us in His image. Our understanding of the Trinity should inform our understanding of church administration.
References:
The Trinity: An Introduction to Catholic Doctrine on the Trine God by Gilles Emery, O.P.
C.S. Lewis and the Christian Worldview by Michael Peterson
The Oxford Handbook of the Trinity by Gilles Emery, O.P., and Matthew Levering
