Last Sunday our pastor was out of town so another man from our church shared with us during our Kaleo (Sunday night) service. He and his family have been missionaries to the Kurds here in Nashville for 15+ years (if I'm not mistaken). He shared from his heart about ministry and even some of his personal struggles with being in ministry. What he shared really hit home for me. **You can check it out at http://www.donelson.org/** One of the "AHA!" moments for me was when he stated that "sometimes [he] gets so busy giving and giving and doing and doing that [he is] living FOR Jesus and not WITH Him." WOW! That's powerful stuff. I think if we are all honest with ourselves, we are all guilty of that - and I'm the world's worst. Those words just kept resounding in my head and, obviously, they still are.
We are in student ministry. Students are our passion. We currently serve 13-24-year-olds in our church. Think back to when you were in that age group. For some of you, it was not too long ago and for others...well, its been a couple of years. Think about all of the decisions there are to make in that timeframe. What life-changing things you had to face that would effect the person you would become. The ministry opportunity that we have been given is an amazing responsibility. I DO NOT TAKE IT LIGHTLY. When students come to us asking for advise, help, or guidance, it is not something that we "give a whirl." It is too important of a position to do that!
I've stated before and I will again that MINISTRY IS NOT AN OCCUPATION, BUT A LIFESTYLE. I wholeheartedly believe that. If you are a follower of Christ, you are a "minister" of the gospel, or you should be. That too should not be taken lightly...the responsibility to share the incredible gift of salvation and eternal life with everyone you come in contact with.
I also believe that ministry is an overflow of your relationship with Christ. It all goes back to the vertical relationship (with Christ) being where it needs to be before the horizontal relationships (others) can be right. Daily spending time in the Word and in communication with the God of the universe is vital to you and to your ministry. As ministers of the gospel, we should be sharing our faith. We should be helping those in need. We should be "going to Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria and to the uttermost parts of the earth." That starts where you are with what you've been given. Your neighbors need salvation, so do your coworkers. Your FAMILY needs Christ as the center of all that is spoken and done.
Don't get me wrong, I'm preaching to the choir. I need to do a better job of living life with Christ and not just for Him. I am counting on all of you to hold me accountable for that. At the same time, I want to challenge you too to do the same. I pray you find yourself having an overflow that you can't help but share with everyone around you. That's ministry, my friends.
**Pictures courtesy (and with permission) of the amazing Tammy Gentuso**
1 comment:
Great thoughts. So true!
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