William Law (1686-1761) published A Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life in 1728. Although ordained, he was a non-juror (did not pledge allegiance to George I) and worked as a tutor and author for most of his life. Law's work, while emphasizing the need for grace, is still very semi-Pelagian. Intention and relationship play a huge role for Law.
In A Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life, William Law reopened the concept of giving one's life totally to God. At a time when being a citizen meant being a church member and being ordained only meant that one was a state official; Law's call hit the English world with a bang. A quiet gentleman who practiced what he preached, Law influenced the Great Awakening, the beginning of Methodism, the English Evangelical Movement, and many other movements both in England and the Colonies/United States.
To Law, it did not matter what your station in life was. Your job as a Christian was to live a holy life of prayer and work centered on God. While Law concentrates mostly on the individual life outside of the Church, his call speaks to us in our time of a post-Christian world. He gives practical advice on how to do this, with prayer every three hours and work of whatever sort you do done to the glory of God. Spirituality undergirds a ministering life.
Grace is very important to Law, but intention and trying to do the right thing are also important. You can be forgiven for sins you are actually too weak to stand up to; but things that are so small that you don't bother to work on getting better, e.g. taking the Lord's name in vain, those are less easily forgiven. You've got to try.
It is interesting that Law talks about prayer, personal and corporate, in one chapter and then in the next chapter talks about amendment of life and a holy understanding of daily life. In a world where everyone was, by definition, a Christian if you were a citizen, it did not matter whether you lived a Christian life or not. Complacency was the way of life in the Church, both for clergy and laity. So it was amazing for Law to suggest that people should be doing what the Gospels spelled out.
Do we live our lives so that when we are at death's door we are happy, contented, and ready? Or are we scared that we haven't done right and haven't tried? Law calls us to a life that is ready to meet God at any time.
The implication of Law's work for a Total Ministry congregation is manifold: we are all to be ministers, our spiritual lives must inform our daily lives, and work and prayer go hand in hand. While Law did not have the Baptismal Covenant as we now know it, I think he would have heartily approved.
Total Ministry is based on the Episcopal Book of Common Prayer (BCP). Specifically, the catechism and the baptismal covenant give insight into and support for Total Ministry.
In the Catechism (BCP, page 855) we find a section titled "The Ministry". The first question is "Who are the Ministers of the Church?" The answer is "lay persons, bishops, priests, and deacons". Notice that lay persons are listed first. Consider whether being a lay person is simply a default, or is there an actual call to be a lay person. In the default case, if you aren't an ordained person then you are a lay person. In the latter case, being a lay person is a considered decision.
The next question is "What is the ministry of the laity?" The response is "The ministry of lay persons is to represent Christ and his Church; to bear witness to him wherever they may be; and, according to the gifts given them, to carry on Christ's work of reconciliation in the world; and to take their place in the life, worship, and governance of the Church." Total Ministry offers a concrete and expanded context within which the laity can live out their ministry.
In baptism we are baptized into the ministry of all believers. In the Baptismal Covenant (BCP, page 304) we start with our belief in the Holy Trinity (the first Ministry Team). We agree to study and come together for Eucharist and fellowship. We agree to try to resist evil and when we fall short not to wallow in it but to get up, dust ourselves off, and start again. We agree to be evangelists, to be hospitable, to do outreach. Total Ministry encourages and supports everyone in a congregation, lay and ordained, to live out their baptismal ministry.
There are places in the Book of Common Prayer that are contradictory to the theology discussed above. Some of the Prayers of the People treat lay people as if they were not ministers. The ordination service suggest that priests are to do the ministry for everyone instead of enabling everyone to do ministry.
The Catechism is found in the Episcopal Book of Common Prayer. The subsection on the Ministry starts on page 855. See also http://www.bcponline.org/ (click on The Catechism, Click on An Outline of the Faith, and scroll to page 855).
The Baptismal Covenant is found in the Episcopal Book of Common Prayer on page 304. See also http://www.bcponline.org/ (click on Holy Baptism, click again on Holy Baptism, and scroll to page 304).
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