I don’t want to settle or make excuses…. but we do sometimes. Ever drive over the speed limit? You know you should exercise but… Case closed. Sadly, we settle and make excuses in church ministry too.
Why does ministry often seem to lack the energy and power described in the gospels and the book of Acts? At times there seems to be this huge disparity between the two. The gospels and the book of Acts offer condensed versions of what God was doing at that time. The very condensing of the “story” to highlight the key things God wanted to convey to us today means a great deal of ordinary, routine, everyday life was left out. I can accept this as reality. Ministry today includes the ordinary, routine, everyday life events – but it must also include the gospels and Acts as well.
Looking at this from another vista could reveal the difference is the presence of Christ. In the Gospels, Jesus was visibly present. This is different from today. But He was not always present. The same things took place when Jesus sent out the 72 and the twelve. Lives changed without Jesus being there physically! The book of Acts takes place without the visible presence of Jesus but the Spirit is powerfully at work. Jesus is present in His people and working through them. I suppose we might infer that many ministries today would continue to operate if the presence of Jesus left the church. No one would notice. Tragedy! I wonder if there are degrees of this truth for the local church. Degrees of marginalizing the Jesus of the gospels and Acts in the church of today, which in turn marginalizes the ministry of the church.
Earl Creps writes: “The American church relies so much on leadership skills and ministry methodologies that I wonder if dependence on God’s power doesn’t constitute the last option most of the time, producing an experience so shallow that confidence (or do I need to say faith?) in God’s abilities never reaches critical mass” (Off-Road Disciplines: Spiritual Adventures Of Missional Leaders).
Church ministry may be anemic because of a heavy dependence on the business and educational models of leadership. Don’t misunderstand me. There are things to glean from leadership principles, business, and education – but these can never replace the leading of the Spirit of God. As far as I’m concerned I want to be a part of a church “reaching critical mass”. I want people to get excited about coming to Christ as Savior because they have been a part of a group of believers living at critical mass. Perhaps we have reached so few because we are not much different from a business or educational institution. It is time to be the church of the living God – alive with His presence – alive with His power, and not just in word. It is time to be a church with a deep channel of confidence in God’s abilities.
The Question is “How”? A number of “steps” could be outlined, but this would rob each of us of the need to hear from God for ourselves what we need to do. Therefore, let me offer the first step. The rest will be up to you. Ready? Step 1 – Build your life, and the ministry of which you are a part, on things only God can do. This will force you to rely on His power rather than leadership or methodologies. You take it from here.
Oh, and let me know what God builds…
In over my head,
JT
