Ministry Defined

I have a theory. I believe there are basically two kinds of people, those who like to play cards and those who like to put puzzles together. I am definitely in the puzzle person category. There isn't really a reason why we puzzle people are what we are, it seems to be a natural occurrence, as my theory goes.

I think it explains why I like serving in the Church. It is like one BIG jig-saw puzzle. There are all sorts of pieces, people pieces, and details to be attended to pieces, personality pieces, talents and gifts pieces. There are young pieces and not so young pieces. And somehow we are all supposed to fit together. Each one of us has a unique place in the big picture in the fellowship of believer in our local church and beyond.

How is it possible for us to all fit together? First, we have a Master Planner who lays out our puzzle ahead of time. He already knows where we are going. He had something in mind when He brought us all together. He's the one who stands over our shoulder and says, "Do you see that piece over there?" Sure enough, it's the one we've been looking for, for at least a half an hour.

Second, I don't know about you, but at my house it takes the whole family to put a puzzle together. We lay it out on the dining room table for days and we take turns forming the edges and filling in the center. Sometimes we work together, sometimes alone or in pairs. Often at our house we find ourselves staying up very late to do, "just one more piece." That's how the church and its ministries fit together. Over time as we continue to come together, things fall into place, friendships are formed, and we become a community. But you know, something I've observed is that as a puzzle begins to take form, we tend to tackle the most obvious pieces first. I guess it is because they are easily recognizable. We are sure where they belong. There is comfort in finding our place. But with the complete picture in mind we cannot stop and be satisfied to find only our place in the community. We should continue to work, sometimes late in the night, to fill out the remaining holes in the puzzle, the areas that aren't so recognizable. It may take effort on our part, a willingness to venture out into the unknown. It means reaching out to new people, being willing try out our gifts, to give freely of our time and talents. It means to not be satisfied being on the sidelines, but to join in. It takes a commitment to the body of Christ.

Where is your place? Maybe you already know. If so, let me encourage you to begin to help others find their place. Maybe you are aware of an area of ministry that isn't complete and needs to be filled in.

I think you get the picture.

"So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God's household, having been built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together is growing into a holy temple in the Lord; in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit." Ephesians 2:19

The Who in Ministry

When we think of ministry, do we look over our shoulder to someone behind us? Are we looking for the "other" whom we imagine is the one spoken to when someone mentions ministry? "Who me?" We think of ministers, now days, paid professionals with higher degrees, titles and privilege. We may think of an office filled by someone deserving of respect. But do we think of servant, relief, support, preparation? When we think of ministry Biblically these words should fill our minds. We should also see ourselves in the picture.

Why? Shouldn't we leave ministry to the professionals? No, at the risk of the church crumbling at its very foundation. No, we are the body of Christ and if there is anything true, it is that we have been called to servanthood. We are:

"... a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God. "

2 Corinthians 5:17-20

This verse very clearly includes us as believers in the concept and practical living out of the word ministry. We are called to ministry. We are called to be reconcilers. We are given a charge to bring others to the knowledge of Jesus Christ.

So ministry is always about us. How we respond I believe depends on how we are called, how we are gifted and where we are placed. God has always done these things; called us, gifted us and place just where he wants us. Are we listening, using our gifts, aware of those around us and open to the still small voice and what God may want to do I our lives? We don't need seminary. We don't have to be a deacon. We certainly don't have to be perfect, just available and willing. We shouldn't let anyone disqualify us from service. We should not let anyone or anything keep us from responding to God.

The Where in Ministry

There is a cross stitch in my dining room I created that reads Bloom where you are planted. It is framed with dogwood blossoms and was created when I live in North Carolina. Where I lived if you looked out my back family room windows in the spring you would be treated to a woods filled with dogwood blossoms among the oaks trees that towered above them. At the time I had a son in kindergarten and one not ready for preschool. I was a stay home mom and my kids and my home were my ministry. The wisdom of the little saying I had seen cross stitched and hung on my older sister's family room wall helped remind me to be content where I was. There is something inside me since I became a believer that just makes me want to serve. I had been active in the youth ministry at my church in Florida and wanted that again. It just wasn't the right time. I was in a new church and still getting to know people. They were still getting to know me. I felt like my ministry was hampered when what I really was needed was a broader view of ministry.

Ministry happens and is meant to happen first where we are. If giving glory to God is giving others a correct estimation of the character of God, then how we serve at home, how we care for our family matters. It is the requirement for deacons and elders to have their household in order. If they have not mastered this first, then they are not qualified to serve in the church in leadership. We cannot ignore our family and say we serve others. It is wrong.

Clearly in the Bible Jesus speaks about going into the world and preaching the gospel and making disciples of the nations. In the book of Acts it is given more clarity, "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." Acts 1:8

That is easy to translate that into, "you will be my witnesses first in your city, state, region, and nation and to the rest of the world." We are to be involved some way in this strategy of outreach. We cannot do it all ourselves. Not everyone is called to foreign missions. The best way to cover the where of ministry is to be involved in a local church where ministry goes on at all these levels. Then when as you live out your faith, and as you are able to participate, you will have the opportunity to serve in your city, state region, nation and world. I think short term mission trips are the best means to serve in these various spheres of influence. I think your ministry should start locally. Why travel to Africa to do VBS, if you won't help at VBS in your church, or in your city. I think if you want to go on a foreign mission trip that your training should begin at home. Why go to Seattle to help plant a church when you won't invite your neighbor to church. We need to broaden our view of ministry on the local level. We need to broaden our view of missions and ministry on the personal level too. Are we looking for opportunities around us to serve? Do we say to the people we know, the people whom we encounter during the day, "how can I help you?" and really mean it.

The How in Ministry

Art is it, the how of ministry that is.

OK, I am prejudiced because I am an artist. I see the visual arts as the way to connect to other people. Art for me is a portal for service, a means of communication, a way to attract and unite people. I discovered art ministry by doing art ministry. I found it was a window to understanding people's needs. For me it meant seeing the needs of teens from broken homes and difficult situations. And as a new friend reminded me this week the arts are just the how, the means to an end in ministry. The goal of ministry is relationship. The goal of ministry is connecting to other people. Ministry is not programming. It is not a well executed sermon, worship service or a slick bulletin. Those are just the how. What happens among the people involved between the conception of a message and the service is the real ministry.

Ministry happens when people are plugged into the church in their area of giftedness.

So if I talk about art ministry I can communicate the how of ministry to you. I confess that visual art is what comes to my mind when I talk about art ministry. The arts are really much broader than the visual arts. Even in my narrow focus I can admit that the arts are music, drama, poetry, writing, media, dance and graphics. The arts communicate. Communication connects, invites and expands the message. Our message is the message of relationship first between God and man, then man to man.

My plan was simple. Meet with the kids who had an interest in art and give them the opportunity to create. Have the supplies they needed and just be there giving a helping hand and a few suggestions. I was able to begin to steer them and help them begin to express their faith through art. We had a few shows. We made some mission goals and planned projects. But what really happened was an instant connection, artist to artist. What was shared was their struggles in life, their hopes, their fears, their vision. So much more happened on the personal level than I expected that when my new friend Chris shared his vision of art ministry from a musician's viewpoint I knew what he was saying was true. It wasn't just about the music on Sunday morning it was about the team and the way they communicated with each other and the congregation. Chris' challenge when he had accepted his position on staff at my new church was to grow an across the board arts ministry involving as many disciplines as he could find leadership for and get us involved with the inner workings of the church. His vision looks suspiciously like Paul's description of the body of Christ in the book of Ephesians.

In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit. Ephesians 2:21-22

The principles of the how of ministry, of course goes beyond the arts. We can engage and connect through sports ministry, helps ministry, disaster relief... the possibilities are as vast as the gifts and talents in your local church.