Thoughts on Ministry

I've been thinking about Christians who are troubled by the demands of ministry. These are some of my thoughts on this issue. They're not meant to be comprehensive nor claim to be an exhaustive exposition.

First of all what is ministry? It basically about serving God. Some may understand ministry in a narrow sense as serving in a certain capacity within the church. While it is that, I think it is much broader than that. Our primary ministry is worship. We are first called to minister to God. Another important ministry we are called to is our family. Many do not see this as ministry and tend to neglect it at the altar of 'ministry in church'. I do not believe it honours God when we neglect our duties and responsiblities to care for our family. In fact, the Bible says a leader in church must first be able to govern his household well. Next, for most people would be our jobs. We should first work unto the Lord and be able offer our work before God as part of our worship. Or else what business does a Christian has employing himself to the task of working for most of his waking hours if it cannot be consecrated unto the Lord? Is it just for the sake of pursuing our dreams and ambitions or worse still, merely for survival, so that it can support us to do the 'real' ministry? This is our primary vocation and thus we would do well by being applying ourself diligently in this area.

However having said that, I don't think work should be the only ministry that we are involved in. I believe there's a place for work but not in a way that it eats up every other area of life. I believe there's value in offering service which we are not renumerated financially for. It is about giving without receiving anything in return. Not on this side of heaven anyways.

Must ministry be restricted within the four walls of the church? I don't think so. Just like the body having parts which serve internally like organs, and those which serve externally, I believe there will be parts of the body which will serve primarily in a non-Christian context. Thus some would be led to serve and volunteer with non-Christian organisations or Christian organisations, although we don't usually have a probem relating the latter with Christian ministry. We should not judge a fellow Christian who is called to serving God outside the four walls of the church to be in a lesser ministry but should offer them the support they need in facing the challenges of their ministry. We are accountable first to God to be faithful to serve where He calls us to. This I believe will be confirmed with our spiritual gifts and burden or passion for certain needs. However this is not to say that those who do not have a ministry that is primarily outside the church, are excused from our responsiblity to go into the world and bring the good news to all men, by our testimony and our life.

With regards to those who are called to serve within the church, I believe we play an important role in maintaining the health of the body of Christ. Everyone who serves, again whether in a more visible capacity or less, has an important role. Whether you usher and greet people at the door, preach the Word, play the guitar in Children Church or handle the audio/video recording ... all must be committed to play their part. What happens when a white blood cell is too busy to fight and maintain our immune system or if the kidney is too tired and wants to take a break? It's chaos and the whole body suffers. Here, I will say that those who are serving outside of the church should maintain closely connected with the life of the church.

The truth is, just like the internal system in our body, which works very hard, it is often the most neglected and unappreciated (until something malfunctions) parts of our body. We don't always stop to think if we are keeping our uterus in good condtion or thank our digestive for doing such a great job. Likewise, we often fail to notice those who are serving in our midst and assume that they are healthy as long as they are serving. Meanwhile, serving in church sometimes feel like a very unappreciated affair. Instead of thanks, what we may get instead are complaints when we fail to meet people's expectations, betrayal by those we love and serve faithfully, stubbornness, conflicts, disappointments, etc. As long as we are dealing with other human beings, albeit forgiven sinners, there is always a risk that we will experience some of these.

I believe it's important to all who are serving to continue to be refreshed if we are to avoid a breakdown that requires major overhaul. We are first worshippers, then workers. Our ministry should flow out of our worship and offer our service to God as our worship. There's no surer formula for a crash-boom-bang in ministry than neglect of our spiritual life and walk with the Lord. It is so easy to assume that just because we're serving God faithfully, our walk with the Lord is in good condition. Our physical body needs nourishing food, regular exercise and sufficient rest to keep fit and healthy. In the same manner, we need to be constantly fed, nourished and refreshed spiritually if we intend to stay fit and functioning at optimum capacity for the long haul. Like a car requiring regular service and check, we would be wise to regularly evaluate how we're doing spiritually. How we actually do this will vary from one person to another. Find out what works for us. However our hearts are so deceptive. It will be helpful, no, it is extremely vital, to have someone hold us accountable on this and to do it with a spiritual friend.

One thing is sure, we do not serve alone but within the context of community. Just as body parts do not function on their own but serve together and each other to keep the body fit and healthy, likewise we must be careful not to 'isolate' ourselves. While ministry can sometimes be a very lonely place, it doesn't have to be nor is that the only way. It is the enemy's tactic to divide and conquer. He knows he has a better chance to deceive and defeat us if he can isolate us. This is especially true for shepherds.

All these seem pretty basic. Writing them down helps me crystallise my thoughts as I remind myself. Things that come to my mind at this time of the day ... sigh.