In Ministry

It’s commonplace in the church to speak of "ministry" as something that encompasses the whole of life. In other words, as Christians we are all in ministry, and in all walks of life we are called to minister.

It’s commonplace to say that, and to claim we believe it, but in practice it is still true in my opinion that most of us think of ministry in a more narrow and formal sense. There are ministries associated with the local church, for example, and if one is gifted for those ministries, one may have the opportunity to practice them in the church. These may include preaching and teaching ministries, or mercy ministries, or prayer ministries, etc. They are organized and overseen by the church, they have leaders, sometimes they raise money with fund drives or put on "events," and they are even often given catchy names, logos, and slogans. Sometimes you will hear people engaged in these activities speak of their ministry ("my ministry"), so closely is it associated with that person and that person's particular gifts. And as useful as all this might be, one would have to admit that it seems to have narrowed and functionalized the broad meaning of ministry as the word is used in the New Testament.

Then of course there are the "para-church ministries." Our involvement here is usually on the level of giving money. These ministries are almost always closely associated with a person and that person’s special gifts. You have Billy Graham’s ministry, or Charles Stanley’s ministry. Sometimes the ministry is even named after its leader (for example, "John Hagee Ministries"). They do massive amounts of fund raising, sell products, and mail out flyers with pictures of their dynamic leaders. These ministries are formally registered with the proper authorities as non-profit organizations. They are, in fact, institutions.

Now, I think that we modern Christians have been trained by our constant exposure to the use of the term "ministry" as referring to just these organized forms associated with the church or with para-church bodies, so much so that we are predisposed to think of ministry along these lines. It’s our mental "default setting." Sometimes we yearn for a ministry of our own. That is, we are unsatisfied with the ministry that we have in Christ (one that emcompasses the whole of life), and we yearn to be recognized as one who is "in ministry" in the narrow and formal sense described above. Maybe we think we'd like to hand out tracts on a street corner. Next, we think up a catchy yet Biblical name for this "ministry," also a purpose statement and an inspiring slogan. We might even develop a brochure and place a stack of them on a table in the church lobby (or the neighborhood laundrymat). Heck, if the Apostle Paul were alive today he might be doing the same thing!

There’s nothing inherently wrong about any of this, except perhaps that it contributes to this malformed and constricted mental concept of "ministry." If it is really true that the New Testament use of that word "encompasses the whole of life," then we may be said to be in ministry when we sit at the table for breakfast with our family, when we’re pushing a shopping cart in the grocery store or filling the tank at the gas station; even when we’re sitting alone in our cubicle at work. In all places, at all times, we are ministers.

And if this is so, then it really means that we need to change the way we speak of and think about ministry. Our default setting for understanding that word ought to be, "that which I do as an ambassador of the Kingdom, day in, day out, 24/7." Instead of yearning for a ministry, we will be doing ministry now, where we’re at, "in season and out."

Speaking for myself, I am trying to confront the full import of this understanding for my own life. I am trying to live it. I have not attained to this goal yet, but perhaps I have begun to "press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own."