“Still another question needs to be asked. If the laity, the People of God, are the basic ministers, is there no such thing in the New Testament as the clergy? Yes, there is. What, then, is their task? This is a fundamental question both for the clergy and for the laity. Many times the clergy, not understanding their role, have let their ministry be determined by the places where the pressures were the greatest. As a result, they have been very unhappy and have found no fulfillment in the ministry. On the other hand, the laity, through lack of understanding, have placed responsibilities upon the clergy which tended to exploit them and did not permit the fulfillment of their call.
It would be a tremendously releasing experience both for the clergy and the laity if both came to understand the nature of the specific “calling” of the clergy. We find the answer to this question in Ephesians 4:11-12 . . . .” [Findley B. Edge, The Greening of the Church (Waco, TX: Word, 1971), 42.]
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