More churches have began to put more emphasis on ministry
beyond their walls. Many pastors have found that getting a church to be more
focused on “ministry for others than ministry for us,” is difficult. Why
is it so difficult? One reason is that ministry to people groups in the
community is awkward for most churches because they have little experience with
most of the people groups in the community.
At the same time it has been encouraging to see more and
more churches begin equipping classes.
There are reasons that churches struggle to run effective
equipping classes:
(1) Churches
tend to equip lay people the same way that the clergy were equipped, by putting
them into class rooms.
(2) They focus
student’s attention inward. People
are more likely to find their ministry passion by looking outward at a people group than they are inward at their spiritual
gift or personality profile.
(3) Once the
class is finished most people are still not aware of their ministry passion.
(4) When people
do not have a ministry passion of their own churches tend to provide a list of
existing ministries for them to choose from. When that happens people tend to
respond as volunteers, (willing), more than they do servants, (compelled).
(5) With an
inward focus there can be too much emphasis put on discovering one’s spiritual
gift. That is a problem because:
A. There
is no consistent list of spiritual gifts being taught. The number of gifts
being taught in different classes ranges from seven to thirty seven or more.
B. Once
someone has identified their spiritual gift they often need help translating
the gift into practical ministry.
C. The
difference between gifts and talents is often blurred and confusing.
D. Spiritual
gifts, like other difficult and unclear subjects in scripture, can degenerate
into turf for “Witch Doctors and Medicine Men.”
Whatever a particular church’s position on the gifts is, when
someone leaves that church and goes to another they are likely to find that the
gifts are treated differently. Passion, on the other hand does not have the
same problems. One does not need to go to a class to discover their passion.
God has programmed all of us to be passionate about one or many issues or types of people. To discover that passion we need to be encouraged
to look outside of ourselves. The cool thing is that when
we pursue our passion we will exercise our gift or gifts. Gifts do not need to
be understood or analyzed, they need to exercised.
1 comment:
This is so true and insightful!
Two things I'd add:
1. Many of the problems that ministries in churches experience are because of the false dichotomy of the "sacred" and the "secular". There's no such distinction in a believer's life. None.
2. Other problems are caused by a blind spot that many pastors have: they don't believe in the Protestant Work Ethic. That is, they don't believe that all work, done for God, is equal. Deep down, they believe that their calling, "The Ministry" is a higher calling, and it comes across to the congregation.
A Parable: A father, an ex-Marine, has two sons. The first son comes to him one day and announces that he is enlisting... in the Air Force. His father shakes his hand and congratulates him. "It's good to serve your country, son. You've made an honorable choice."
As this son is leaving, the father's second son comes into the room and announces that he, too, is enlisting... in the Marines. "SEMPER FI! THE FEW THE PROUD! You make me proud son!", at which point the father starts singing the Marine Anthem.
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