It seems to me that our perceptions of ministry are shaped more by tradition than by either God or the Bible. Just recently I found myself confronted with my own faulty premises about ministry. In January I took an Area Manager position with an agricultural company specializing in livestock nutrition. I struggled internally for several weeks, wondering if I left my calling. I finally realized that God desires to bring His kingdom (His realm or rule) to the farmers with whom I work. My life is ministry and my work is spiritual. God desires for my clients to prosper as they put God's business principles into practice.
As I thought about my struggle, I realized that my paradigm of ministry was shaped more by the traditions of church than by God's definition. In the church world, the pinnacle of ministry is "full time ministry" especially pastoring. Our verbiage indicates our paradigm. "Full time ministry" means to us that we are getting paid to do ministry. The questions that arises in my mind is this - are those of us who do not get paid for ministry engaged in a lesser form of ministry? I have heard leaders lament the amount of pastors who leave the ministry. Huh? Does that mean that those of us who have been pastors and are now in the business world are somehow less involved in the expansion of the realm of God? Does that mean that we have betrayed God and settled for something less significant.
In the past I have been paid the equivalent of a full time salary for the work of ministry. I currently receive no income for ministry except the voluntary gifts of people who have been touched by God through me. I am not less spiritual today than when I led Grace Covenant Church. In fact, in many ways, I feel more deeply involved with the expansion of the realm of God today than I ever was.
Perhaps part of the reason we misinterpret ministry is our categorizing of things into sacred or secular. We assume our work is secular and in contrast anything to do with church is sacred. In reality, every part of my life is sacred because of God in me. He extends His kingdom through me wherever I am. I have come to the realization that whether I am engaged in church activities or in the business world, I am in full time ministry because of God in me!
Friday, February 22, 2008
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Are you irrelevant?
The life of Jesus provides us a great deal of insight into spiritual reality. Jesus' greatest resistance came from the religious leaders of the day. They were deeply invested in protecting their ideas of God and the proper expression of religion.
Tragically these experts in religious matters were drastically out of touch with God, with His ongoing plans and purposes in that day. Instead of allowing God to be God, they created an image of God according to their desires. Their stubborn insistance that God could only operate according to their parameters set them at odds with Jesus.
Jesus on the other hand, allowed the Father free reign. He spoke only what He heard from the Father; He did only what He saw the Father doing. Instead of demanding that God conform to a set of parameters, He willingly submitted to the will of the Father.
Here is the interesting point for me. The religious leaders, in spite of their rank and position, were largely irrelevant to the work of God in that day. In all their efforts to protect a religious system and their own perceptions of God, they missed the point completely. While they appeared devout, while they put forth an image of goodness, they were irrelevant to the Kingdom of God.
Over the years, I have observed people who stubbornly cling to their perceptions of God. They resist anything that does not align with their ideas. Like the religious leaders of Jesus day, they are irrelavant to the ongoing redemptive work of God. They may position themselves as being on the cutting edge of Christianity but in reality, their life is at best not in harmony with the work of God and at worst resists the very God they claim to serve. They are irrelevant.
Tragically these experts in religious matters were drastically out of touch with God, with His ongoing plans and purposes in that day. Instead of allowing God to be God, they created an image of God according to their desires. Their stubborn insistance that God could only operate according to their parameters set them at odds with Jesus.
Jesus on the other hand, allowed the Father free reign. He spoke only what He heard from the Father; He did only what He saw the Father doing. Instead of demanding that God conform to a set of parameters, He willingly submitted to the will of the Father.
Here is the interesting point for me. The religious leaders, in spite of their rank and position, were largely irrelevant to the work of God in that day. In all their efforts to protect a religious system and their own perceptions of God, they missed the point completely. While they appeared devout, while they put forth an image of goodness, they were irrelevant to the Kingdom of God.
Over the years, I have observed people who stubbornly cling to their perceptions of God. They resist anything that does not align with their ideas. Like the religious leaders of Jesus day, they are irrelavant to the ongoing redemptive work of God. They may position themselves as being on the cutting edge of Christianity but in reality, their life is at best not in harmony with the work of God and at worst resists the very God they claim to serve. They are irrelevant.
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