Ministry: It's Not What I Thought
/“And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ…”
Too many frustrated conversations to count.
Conversations with people who felt called to ministry but were disillusioned when it wasn’t happening the way they had imagined.
Photo Credit: Ales Krivec
They believed what I believed - that for people who were passionate about Jesus, ministry would be the acceptable way to achieve success, maybe even their own version of fame.
I’m ashamed to admit that for the majority of my life I thought ministry was about the person who was standing on the platform with a microphone in their hand.
It was about being known by your own little world and being admired.
I want this to be clear; there is never a moment where I feel more like I’m doing exactly what I’m meant to do than when I’m communicating the Truth that the world needs to hear so badly. But in the last five years or so, by the grace of God, I’ve also come to wholeheartedly believe this: no one needs to know my name.
If you’ve followed WeAreTheVigilant for any period of time, you’ve seen me hash out this internal struggle over and over. You probably didn’t notice it, but the battle that went on inside me is woven into everything I’ve ever written.
Ministry is not about being known.
I am ALREADY known.
You are ALREADY known.
We are known by the only One who matters.
“For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known. ”
This begs the question: What is ministry?
- Ministry is admitting your brokenness, your need for a Savior to a broken world that also needs a Savior.
- Ministry is acknowledging God’s incredible mercy and receiving His grace.
- Ministry is asking for forgiveness, not pretending like it didn't happen.
- Ministry is yielding to the deep work of the Holy Spirit.
- Ministry is the willingness to be uncomfortable.
- It is the divine cooperation between you and a Holy God that happens for the good of everyone that comes into contact with someone who has experienced redemption.
God has given us gifts and He has called us for one reason: to bring glory to Himself so that people would turn to Him. The idea that we would have any part of that makes me want to get on my face and weep out of gratitude.
Have you ever wanted to say, “If I can’t do this the right way then I won’t do it at all”?
Me too.
And if God rolls His eyes, I’m the most worthy recipient of said eye roll.
We take a pre-emptive strike on the call because deep down we really think that somehow this is still all about us.
A divine commission either is or it isn’t. Within the context of Jesus’ command to make disciples is there ever a moment that you shouldn't endeavor to make that command a reality? Even if it’s not in the way that you imagined?
If there is a glimmer of a chance that your participation in the great commission would draw even one person closer to the heart of God is that not a risk worth taking? Whether the context is behind a pulpit, faithfully serving your community, leading a small group, adopting a child, or late night conversations on the phone with a struggling friend, it’s all ministry.
If He gave you a specific talent or ability He has every intention of using those gifts to draw people to Himself. Where we so often get tied up is the desire to be recognized for the gifts we have merely received.
“For who sees anything different in you? What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it?”
Sometimes we find ourselves at a standstill because we know that in order to move forward we have to lose all semblance of control. I don’t care who you are, that’s scary. But ultimately, I think the biggest lesson we need to learn is how to get out of our own way because “when Christ calls a man he bids him come and die"*.
As disciples, the call is dying to self.
As ministers, we must lead the way in this death. Only on the other side does a truly abundant life exist and we cannot show others the way when we have not yet been there ourselves.
*Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship
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