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Archive for the ‘Mentoring’ Category

Uprooting Roots of Bitterness

Posted in Christian Life, Church, Gospel, Mentoring, pastoral ministry, Servant Leadership, tagged , , , , , , , on 11/28/2023| 5 Comments »

Parenting a toddler has taught us that people don’t always throw tantrums because they are essentially bad people. Yes, theologically, they are totally depraved for sure. Children included. But sometimes they are just hungry. Other times they are sleepy or maybe not getting the attention they deserve. Most times they are hurting and acting out. The crazy thing is we accept this with toddlers and teenagers but somehow ignore it with adults. But you try to argue with some people before they get their morning coffee and you’ll know they are a toddler in a suit. Or try to handle something with your spouse past 10pm and you might end the marriage altogether. All I’m saying is we are too quick to give a prognosis for what we have only superficial observed. There’s always something behind the symptoms. A root behind bitterness and a bigger issue below the surface. If we are to disciple people in a godly and more biblical way we must wear the doctor’s stethoscope and be ready to listen more keenly.  

Take the example of the brother who never sees eye to eye with you especially if you are their department leader or pastor. A quick prognosis would conclude that he doesn’t like you. He wishes he was the leader and not you. Perhaps, he thinks he can do a better job. Well, that might be the case though it’s also possible that you are insecure and assuming everyone is out to get you. What if he genuinely sees the alternative that you don’t see. And what if he doesn’t like you? Should everybody like you? But here’s something else, what if he’s hurting and asking for your attention? Just think about that. If you are a Christian leader, especially in Gospel ministry then your duty is not only to the whole group but to each person. Perhaps before we label our people as disloyal and unsubmissive we should ask why they are dissatisfied with us. Is it something we are doing wrong? Are we doing justice to the sheep the Lord entrusted to us especially the one who is “unruly” like we are often with our Saviour? And if it’s not about us then what are we ignoring about them? 

Pursue Peace and Holiness

The Hebrew author is very careful to tell his church to not let roots of bitterness grow among them, see Hebrews 12:15b. Now some of us reading this might think more politically. That is, squash them before they lead to a riot. As the 48 laws of power would say, crush your enemy totally. Others might think how sad that someone wants to ruin such a good fellowship. They may recommend we discipline and kick out such a member. But I don’t think that’s what the author has in mind. In this very communal and pivotal section of the letter, he sees this as another way the church with its leadership can pursue peace and holiness, see Hebrews 12:14. In other words, get to the bottom of this as you pursue communal holiness and peace with everyone in the fellowship. We should be very concerned when one of us is voicing objections and getting bitter with the fellowship. Not so that we might kick them out but that we might extend the love and grace of God to them, see Hebrews 12:15a. We should be very interested in the root cause not so we can shame or destroy them but that together we might pursue peace and holiness.

Turn the Trouble to Gospel Opportunity

You know what is crazy? As we seek the root behind bitterness we’ll actually do great ministry together. We might find a lot more people are hurting in this area. And by the way, it could have nothing to do with the church or the ministry and its leadership. Maybe it’s trouble at home, trouble at the workplace or one of those seasons in the Christian life when you are doubting everything. Whatever it is, we’ll be better brothers and sisters giving people, even those who oppose us, the benefit of the doubt and extending Christian love and grace. Think about the ministry we neglect when we quickly label people as the black sheep of the fellowship. Think about the Gospel testimony we can make as we pursue them. Think about the good works we can scatter on their path. Think about the message it sends to the rest of the ministry within and beyond. Sadly this is a lesson we only seem to realise later in life. Actually, even the great apostle Paul seems to have realised it later with John Mark, see 2 Timothy 4:11. Let’s stand on the shoulders of the word of God and see opportunity where others see trouble.

Look Beyond the Bitterness

But what if the person is really out to get us? What if after careful consideration what we find are deep roots of malice and evil intent? Well, to begin with, I’d say we’ll act in a more godly way after careful investigation not after a quick conclusion. Secondly, experience shows that not everything said in opposition is always untrue. When I find myself in a conflict and someone says something in anger I can easily dismiss them. But you know what? Though it’s delivered in the wrong way it doesn’t mean it’s untrue. Most often I find there was a lot of truth only I didn’t want to hear it. Speaking in anger is like speaking while drunk. People will say things they wish they hadn’t said but at least you’ll know how they see you. And even if it is malicious the Gospel tells me I’m a lot worse than I imagine and yet loved and forgiven so much than I’ll ever comprehend. In other words, if it were God speaking he would say a lot more and worse things about me which are true and yet my status before him would remain secure because of Jesus. So I shouldn’t kick out the brother who opposes me just yet because nothing he says is ultimately untrue. But finally, I should be happy to have people who keep me on my toes instead of an army of yes-men around me. So often they’ll tell me the truth no one wants to say. All I’m saying is don’t throw out the baby with the bath water yet. Take time to deal with their bitterness in a godly way and don’t be quick to uproot them.

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The Father of Men

Posted in Christian Life, God, Mentoring, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on 11/07/2023| 1 Comment »

There is a lot of talk about fatherhood and masculinity going around these days. Everyone is trying to define what makes or breaks a man. Sometimes it is unfortunate to see women having to define who a man should be. Not that they don’t have a say, especially in a country where most fathers are absent. But I doubt many men respect that. Other times it is men with very questionable backgrounds that take center stage on the issue. Some come across so strongly but you cannot follow them beyond their words. They hide behind keyboards because if you spent a day in their life you’d not really admire them. Unfortunately, some of the men we respect especially within the church never talk about this issue. Our churches also seem to make services and meetings that appeal more to women than they do men. So how do we talk the Gospel to men? How do we excite them to serve and be involved in kingdom work?

Now, if there’s a language that men understand it is that of respect.

One, I think we need to make a difference between men and women in our approach. We also need to accept that for the most part, our churches seem to appeal to women than they do men. We need to ask why? Now, if there’s a language that men understand it is that of respect. If you gave a man a choice between love and respect I believe many would choose respect. Men will walk together because there is respect among them. Not that men don’t need and appreciate love but love is best expressed in respect. We need to remember that as we reach and influence men for the work of the kingdom. There’s also no denying that our fathers influence us as men for good or worse. But the combination of a present father and one worthy of respect makes all the difference. That’s the kind of father that you want to point men to. He’s the kind of saviour that both those who had good fathers need and one for those who never had a present and respectable father. And you know what, the Bible being so balanced presents a Father that appeals to both men and women. Look at these words from Hebrews 12:

9 Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of spirits and live! 10 They disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness. Hebrews 12 NIV.

The language of discipline and respect is very manly. But before you brand it toxic masculinity look at the one who requires it and its ultimate intention. Like a good father, he’s one worthy of respect and the end goal of his discipline is to make us better. The verses before speak of him treating us as his legitimate and beloved children. The image is, therefore, not one of a father beating his children out of rage. Nor is it of the man who makes ridiculous demands from his little son. He’s also not an absent or indifferent father. Instead like a good father he is involved and seeking to make us better so that we may share in his holiness. If you like he wants us to be respectable men like he is. And because he’s worthy of our respect then we can endure his discipline.

If you like he wants us to be respectable men like he is.

This is the kind of father we need as we wrestle with sin. One we want to listen to because he cares about us and one we respect. He is a man we want to be close to and one we don’t want to disrespect with our sins. Being near him challenges us for the better but not in a way that makes us feel we can never please him. He welcomes the man who never had a father with open arms. He is a friend of the man whose father was present but not involved. He is a helpful resource to the man raised by a single mother who wants to be a better father. He also draws the man who grew up with a good father who knows the value of fatherhood. But this kind of father challenges the men around our churches. He tells them to be better men not only for their sake but also for the young boys growing up around them. He calls the older men to walk with younger men and show them the path of true Christian manhood. But he doesn’t neglect the women either.

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The Ministry of Encouragement

Posted in Acts, Culture, Discipleship, Mentoring, Partnership, tagged , , , , , on 07/12/2023| 5 Comments »

We live in a two-faced world that tells you, on the one hand, to be the best you can be. To go out there and conquer the world. Start that business. Take on that ministry job. Ask that girl out. Go to that frontier mission field. We will be together, they say. But on the other hand, a world that believes we cannot amount to much. A world that waits for you to fail. People who quickly say we told you so. Those who talk behind your back. The Sanballats and Tobiahs say our wall cannot withstand a fox. Unfortunately, it is so easy for Christians even “mature” believers to behave the same way. To look down on young people who have a zeal for the Lord. To sit back with the world and wait for that ministry to collapse. To be critical of new ideas instead of being supportive.

Part of the disconnect in our more mainstream churches is because sometimes young people want to do things differently but the older saints believe this to mere youthful zeal. Churches lose young people when they wait for them to grow up and conform. When we think what they advocate for cannot be done. We lose our future ministers when we tell them the old path is the only way here. We kill our Gospel workforce when we critic more than we encourage and mentor. It’s a sort of “godly” scorn that uses words like discipleship and maturity to cool down youthful zeal. This is crazy because, on the other hand, we complain that young people nowadays don’t want to serve the Lord. So how do we correct this trend? I think in this two-faced world we need more Barnabas, more sons of encouragement and fewer critics.  

We need More Sons of Encouragement

The ministry of Barnabas is one we can easily overlook but one I think was very important to the early church. Barnabas was one of the first disciples to sell off his property and lay it on the apostles’ feet, Acts 4:36-37. Most people today would wait and see what would become of these apostles’ ministry before spending their money on them. It was Barnabas who brought Paul to the church in Jerusalem, Acts 9:27. With Paul’s history many would be afraid to back him. Many would wait to see him become somebody trustworthy. But Barnabas was ready to support him. Barnabas would later bring Paul to Antioch where the disciples were first called Christians, Acts 11:25-26. Barnabas a mature believer could easily have gone for one of the other apostles or older believers but he worked with Paul. Barnabas would later even work with the deserter John Mark, Acts 15:37-39. If Barnabas ever thought of his status as an older and possibly wealthy saint he would have little to do with the likes of Paul and Mark. If he thought he knew best he would have expected those who came after to conform to his way and style. But not so with Barnabas. He was ready to work with anyone and ready to support those starting out in ministry. We need more men like these today.

We need to realize that anyone available for the work of the Lord is welcome however young and differently oriented they are to us. Those children in Sunday school, those naughty but energetic teenagers, those students, those new believers with new ideas are a needed workforce for the kingdom. We need them more than we think. Sadly, older saints think it’s their mandate to rain on their parade, to kill their youthful ideas instead of holding their hands. But imagine having a friend like Barnabas, one who is gifted and mature but ready to hold your hand. A friend who listens to your uncooked thoughts and tells you it can be done. One who doesn’t just say go for it but is ready to walk with you in the journey? One who is ready to support the work with their own resources? One who is available to hear your disappointments without saying I knew that would happen?

We are All called to be Encouragers

Whenever we think about God calling people to ministry we think of those going to plant churches. Those going to be missionaries. Those called to be Bible teachers, pastors and evangelists. But we forget a ministry that we have all been called to. That of encouragement. In truth, only a few people in a congregation can become pastors and frontier missionaries. The major role of the rest of the church is to support and encourage anyone wanting to take initiative for the Lord. To disciple and encourage those who will be future ministers. To encourage those serving the Lord in the corporate world. To encourage those who believe they have a calling among students. To encourage those raising children for Jesus. To encourage those who want to serve him through music. Those who want to start Christian institutions. Those seeking causes of justice. Those Christians going into politics. Those leading churches.

The Lord has called all believers to do his work. The whole church is needed for the whole world to hear the whole Gospel. But while some will take leadership roles and others go out from among us we have all been called to the ministry of encouragement. The world has enough critics as it is. And yes there are times we need to warn people of the dangers involved in each initiative. Sometimes we might need to tell people they need to take more time to prepare. Other times we need to help people see the bigger picture. As a church, we need to disciple more before we deploy. But we do this with a spirit of encouragement. We get excited when someone shares their vision. We walk with those young in faith ready to see them do more for the Lord. We disciple young students with a vision of them outgrowing and outdoing us. We need a posture that says I’m ready to work with you. More than that, I’m ready to hold you on my shoulders. I don’t just want you to sell my brand. I want you to do what the Lord is calling you to do. Where many look down on the new generation we need to see them as a great workforce for the kingdom. We need to listen to them and help them do exploits for the kingdom of God. We need more sons of encouragement.

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Motives Matter in Gospel Ministry

Posted in Bible interpretation, Christian Life, Discipleship, James, Mentoring, tagged , , , , , , , on 04/12/2023| Leave a Comment »

You’ve heard the saying, the end justify the means. You sit in a planning meeting and hear all we need is to get those numbers up. We need to lift that profit margin. Get more people involved in our ministry. Raise the tithing bar. You are a bit nervous about how to go about this. But someone asks, what does it matter how we get things done if we get them done? If the end goal is to fulfil the great commission does it matter how we get there? If the aim is to send out workers does it matter how we recruit people? If we want to resource mission work do the means we use matter if missionaries have something in their pockets?

Sometimes the questions are a bit more subtle than that? If the end goal is to disciple people do my own personal interests matter? Say I earn a living and grow my status while building the kingdom. Can I use my competitiveness to get more people involved in Gospel ministry? Use my jealousy to fuel more initiatives for the Gospel? These are difficult questions to deal with. Questions that confront our motives at a deeper level. Questions we might need to ask more frequently.

But however we answer those questions James in his letter tells us motives actually matter. We cannot do God’s work with evil motives. To our surprise, he says we could be doing the devil’s work in the name of fulfilling the great commission. More than that he says motives will shape the end goal more than we imagine. Listen to this;

14 But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. 15 Such “wisdom” does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. 16 For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.

Just think about the implication of these verses. James is saying if our motives are wrong then our work is fueled by earthly, unspiritual and demonic interests. The power is from Satan, not God. In addition, he says we won’t get the results we hoped for. The end goal will be disorder and evil practice. This means if I train people because of my desire to make a name for myself that will affect how I train them. God might still work despite my actions but my means and attitude will still shape the end result. If we send missionaries to build our profile as a church then we might do a good job on the one hand but the results won’t be as pure as we might imagine. If we train people to outdo another entity or redirect resources our way then our results will be tainted. For those involved in one on one discipleship, the effects are even worse. We will raise disciple-makers who are jealous, competitive and selfish. We will use the word of God and talk about Jesus but under the surface, we will have created a monstrously demonic “Gospel” army.

We need to evaluate not only where we want to go but also what gets us there. James says Gospel faith is not something we leave in our minds, it ought to flow into our hearts and shape our actions. Our faith in Jesus needs to inform what we do with our lives. But that’s not the end, we need to lay down our selfish intentions to be shaped by Gospel motivations. If we truly seek to do God’s work then we have to use God’s means and attitude. Our motivations cannot be earthly and expect the fruit to be spiritual. What we sow in our motivation is what we reap among those we disciple. If we want to build God’s kingdom, reach more with the Gospel and disciple our young people we need to use God’s means. We need God’s grace and godly attitude to fulfil God’s mission. In conclusion James says:

17 But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. 18 Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness.

This might slow our speed and call us to do more soul-searching but it will guarantee faithfulness in our discipleship. In the end, we will not only do more but we will build better godly foundations. We won’t just have Gospel workers who can teach others but those who are considerate in their conduct. Men and women full of mercy and bearing good fruit in their lives. Sincere pastors. Peace-loving husbands. Submissive wives. Impartial teachers. Motives matter because we need God’s means to do God’s work. And the way to do this is to ensure we are sitting to be discipled even as we disciple others. We need to submit ourselves to rebuke and correction from the word and the church fellowship. We must constantly evaluate what is in our hearts and lay it down at the cross. We need to kill sin in us before we infect others with our idols.

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The Ministry of Little Daily Habits

Posted in Christian Life, Discipleship, Mentoring, Revival, Writing, tagged , , , , , , , , on 03/18/2023| 2 Comments »

Our society has become very good at knowing exactly what course, program and service to use to instill change. You struggle with something and they tell you attend that meeting, do that training, join that group. You struggle with anger, well there’s this group that can help. You are not good with money, well I know exactly the program you need. You are having problems with your relationships? What about attend this service. You can’t read or pray? Try this course. Don’t get me wrong, there are times when that’s exactly what it’ll take.

But while there are times this is true, I think most of the times change happens slowly and gradually.

But I think all this has made us believe that change will take a miracle and something out there to make it happen. That it’ll involve a special attention and a whole other group of people. Sometimes it almost sounds impossible to change unless a revolution happens. But while there are times this is true, I think most of the times change happens slowly and gradually. You might need a course or program to become aware of what you need to work on. A conversation with a friend might go a long way. And a program might expose an area where you need to pay close attention. But it’ll take deliberate daily initiative to make it happen. In the end a program or social group won’t change you. It’ll probably not involve a miracle or a revival but start with little daily habits.

Discipleship is Slow and Messy

I’m always amazed by the life of Jesus’ disciples in the Gospel accounts. Though these guys walk with God literally speaking, for three years still they struggle with the same things we do today. There’s unbelief, love of money, desire to be great, fear, impatience, lack of self control, struggle with prayer and the list continues. It takes them three years to get who Jesus is and start getting why he came. Even then only after persecution do they go out of their comfort zone to proclaim his kingdom. It takes them the addition of Paul to get how big the scope of Jesus kingdom is. And I believe the journey of sanctification needed to continue happening. Change didn’t just happen or take a miracle although they saw and did many. It was slow and sometimes even tiring to Jesus.

Other times it’ll look like we are going three steps ahead and four backwards. Sometimes we won’t realize how much we have changed until we look back.

The ministry of the Holy Spirit came in for this very purpose. That he would remind these forgetful and fearful bunch of disciples about Jesus and what he had accomplished for them. The ministry of the Spirit would then be a lifetime work in the hearts and lives of believers. If that’s what it took for the first disciples then you know you need more than a miracle, more than a revival. Actually with God’s spirit you need to start with the little daily habits before sanctification is complete. Change will be slow, sometimes even hard to put a finger on it. Other times it’ll look like we are going three steps ahead and four backwards. Sometimes we won’t realize how much we have changed until we look back. It’ll be easy to assume something out there will fix our situation. But to our suprise it’ll take the word of God applied deliberately to our daily lives especially those daily habits. It’ll start small before it gets big but in the end we’ll be surprised what has become of us.

Our obsession with revivals and conferences make us believe change will be instant.

Think Small to See Big Changes

I think we set ourselves up as believers when we imagine we’ll wake up one day being the person we admire. Our obsession with revivals and conferences make us believe change will be instant. That I will attend a meeting and be a totally different person tomorrow. That’s how we sell out events, come and your life will never be the same again. And again I want to be careful here, sometimes that’s the trigger we need. Sometimes we need to get away from all the distractions and our comfort zone. But in the end it won’t be an event that changes us, it will be what follows. It’ll be the direction our lives takes that sees us grow or soon shrink back.

Think about how you became a Christian. For those with an impressive story of having been an absolutely terrible person before we met Jesus it’s amazing to see what he was able to accomplish in us and through us. The day our lives took a turn from rebellion to obedience is one we can recall vividly. We know the day, the preacher and perhaps the clothes we were wearing. But the truth is, it was the first of the many that has brought us transformation. The Spirit opened our eyes then but the process of change and transformation took time and sometimes we faced real temptations to return to that former way of life. It was the first day of the many days needed for sanctification.

What seems small and almost inconsequential has brought about unimaginable change in us.

Actually if we looked carefully we’d see God has been fixing us one problem at a time. It’s been the small sins that the world thinks less about that he’s been killing with his word by his Spirit. One by one and sometimes returning back to those that had only fainted he’s made us different. With a service here, a fellowship there and a conversation with a brother he’s made us aware of what is ailing us. Then by the power of his word he has convicted us of our sin and when we yield to the Spirit he’s worked on that area. What seems small and almost inconsequential has brought about unimaginable change in us. You want to see real change in your life? Take small steps and you’ll see big changes in time.

Start with the Little Daily Habits

Our lives can be summarised by our daily choices. There will be days that are very significant. Days when our walk with the Lord feels so close and so intimate. When we are reading the word and praying for hours. Days we can’t believe people still struggle with sin. Days when our fellowship is on fire. Days when we are truly obeying Jesus and his great commission. But there are others that we wish we slept through and woke up the following day or weekend. Days when we feel everything is going wrong in and around us. Days when we find ourselves falling on the same sins we repented of. Days when we regret words we’ve used. Days when fellowship goes out of hand. When friends betray and our hearts are broken. Days when we miss the words to pray.

If we want to see real change in our lives it’ll have to start with our small daily habits.

The good thing is all these things happen for a season. The good and the bad don’t last. The difference is the daily habits we keep. If we insist on fellowship not matter what happens then we’ll be amazed what it can do. Sometimes I have gone for a fellowship meeting when every fibre in me wanted to just stay at home. To my suprise it was exactly what I needed. Sometimes you lack the words to pray at the beginning but as you start you find yourself getting them and enjoying that time. After COVID there’s always a temptation to say today I’m feeling tired or unwell maybe I should stay indooru and watch something online. But the day you pull yourself out of that sofa you find you not only needed to go out but you had one of the best conversations after church. Someone said something that uplifted your spirit.

If we want to see real change in our lives it’ll have to start with our small daily habits. Perhaps we don’t need to start with reading 5 chapters and praying for 3 hours in the morning. We might find reading and meditating on small portions of the word every day brings such a change in us. A commitment to start every day with 5 minutes of prayer might do us more good than an overnight kesha once in a while. A commitment to work on an area of need every day is what we need. You struggle with anger, what about not responding immediately when someone says something that offends you today. If you start with taking the time to think things over then you might find there was no cause to be angry. You struggle with Bible reading, what about starting with those small portions with a title in most Bibles. Sometimes it’s like 2 or 3 verses. You struggle with talking to people after church. Coming Sunday just talk to one of them who looks more like you. Chances are they want someone to talk to them. Start with the little spiritual habits and you’ll be amazed where you land in the long run.

And don’t let anyone tell you God only works through instant miracles. Most of the times he works through our little daily mundane choices.

Even Writing this Took Time

Let me let you in on a secret. It’s taken me a whole week to write this article. I got the idea last weekend and wrote the title down. Later I thought of a way to start that I kept changing. I paused a day to think if it would make sense or cause more trouble. Then I went ahead with the first two paragraphs, then the body and later the last part. Finally I needed some editing time before sleeping on it once more. Now there are times I write in one sitting then leave it to simmer to post later. Other times I do everything but then I delete the whole thing. What am I saying? Things don’t happen in an instant. It’s only Hollywood that communicates that though we know how long it takes them behind the scenes. If we took time to work on ourselves and what we believe one step at a time we would be amazed what God accomplishes in us and through us. And don’t let anyone tell you God only works through instant miracles. Most of the times he works through our little daily mundane choices. He works through that unimpressive fellowship and through our daily spiritual habits.

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Being Available is Better than being Gifted

Posted in Apprenticeship, Christian Life, Discipleship, Mentoring, Ministry, Servant Leadership, tagged , , , , on 05/23/2022| 2 Comments »

Many Christians spend a good part of their early years wrestling with the question of their unique gifting. This is especially the case where the church has overemphasized the place of gifts more than the place of character and service. I remember sharing with a friend that I was thinking about Christian ministry back in college and the first thing they asked was what’s my gifting. According to them, Gospel ministry was for those who knew their specific ministry gifts.

But I think this question isn’t just important to those considering full-time Christian ministry but one that explains service in our local churches. You see if people wait to discover their specific gifts so they can serve then you are going to have a lot of people on the waiting list. Someone will argue I cannot teach so I can’t join children or youth ministry. Another will say I’m not good with people so I can’t do welcoming and hospitality. Or I’m not as good as the song leader so the music team isn’t for me.

This inward-looking question will in the end keep you away from service and you’ll not actually discover what you can do for the body of Christ. But here I want to suggest you avail yourself first and let your specific gift if you only have one be discovered later. Because the gift is from the Spirit and for his church then begin by rolling your sleeves to do anything that your hands find to do for the church family. I’ll give 3 reasons as we reflect on this.

Jesus is calling Disciples not Gifted Professionals
When Jesus called his first disciples he didn’t sit them through an interview process to know how good they would serve him. He called anyone who would come to him. Coming to follow him, being with him, and obeying his calling was more important than what they could do for him later, see Mark 3:14. It wasn’t until later that he would send them out in the great commission yet they did serve him by being there with him. They were with him from the beginning, they walked with him and served alongside him without titles. You can say they were his errand boys but who wouldn’t want to be Christ’s errand boy.

What I’m saying here is that the body of Christ needs people who are willing and ready to roll their sleeves and do the work. It needs those available to serve in any and every way not just those with specific gifting and experience. The church needs people to be available in what is called the ministry of presence and to fill in the gaps as they notice them. And it’s only when you are available and ready to serve that the church can then discover your specific gifts not when you sit and wait.

When I did my first apprenticeship I didn’t know what was my specific gift but that meant I was available for anything. I was given an admin job which I wouldn’t have availed myself for before but it was the best ministry I have ever done. That’s where I actually learned how to write as I prepared weekly briefs. Then I tried youth ministry which was at first scary and then it became something I cherish today. I went on to welcoming which I always thought wasn’t for me only to realize how strategic it is. In the end, I wasn’t concerned about my specific ministry gift but was looking for where there was a need. I realized if you are willing to serve then you can have all the gifts to choose from.

Service is the end of Gifting
We can all agree that if the most gifted pastor doesn’t use their gift to serve the body of Christ then it’s a useless gift. They may talk about how good they are with the microphone but that benefits no one. Jesus didn’t call his disciples to display their abilities but to roll their sleeves and work for his church. It’s not our unique abilities that matter but our preparedness to serve and to do it wholeheartedly. It’s actually as we give ourselves fully to whichever area of ministry that is available that we discover what we can do best for King Jesus.

I find people who label themselves with a particular gift early on close the door for service too early. They are content with being evangelists when they haven’t tried hospitality. They pride themselves on their preaching skills without ever discovering the beauty of children’s ministry. They walk around with empty titles when their local church needs them to be available and do whatever is needed. It’s good to clarify that I’m not against discovering our unique gifts early on but I think service is bigger than us and our specific gifts. Because the gift belongs to the church then our availability to serve God’s people is what matters not what we do specifically. In time we may realize a unique need and our ability and decide to concentrate on one or two areas of service but we should always be ready for whatever the master calls us to do.

The Kingdom is bigger than my Gifting
It’s not a surprise that there are countless ministries built around a specific person and their unique gifting. It’s actually very human to rally people behind what we believe and are good at. And it’s not always wrong or premeditated that it happens like that. But we need to be careful if our churches and ministries draw and produce people who are just like us. We may be the most charismatic preacher or the most organized administrator and the most welcoming guy but we must be ready to have and grow many who are unlike us and yet fit for the kingdom of God. Let them come and discover the endless opportunities there are to serve the Lord.

God’s church needs all kinds of servants for all kinds of ministry for the benefit of the whole body. I think it’s a tragedy if everyone in a team thinks and serves like everyone else. Worse if we only think there are only 5 ways or so one can serve the church family. In time this would bring competition and complacency if there are only a few areas that all can do. But the way God has constituted his church is that we find all kinds of people with all kinds of abilities and opportunities to serve in the kingdom of God. The better way to view the church isn’t checking everyone’s gift in order of priority but seeing everyone as a unique gift to the local church. I think if we all set aside titles and abilities we would realize just how much we are needed in the kingdom. We would see beyond us and the vast harvest all around us. We wouldn’t shy from service on account of specific gifting instead we would discover just how gifted we are as a church.

Conclusion
In this article, I have argued that being available is better than being gifted. Yes, I would rather you try to service and fail if anyone ever can fail at service instead of waiting to be good to serve. More than that I think we need to realize that Christian gifts are not qualifications for a CV but opportunities to serve. They are actually not your gift but they belong to the church. In the end, service is what matters not how well we score in a certain area of ministry.

Many people live and die without knowing their unique gifts yet toil so hard for Jesus. And when we come to him the words welcome good and faithful servants is what will matter, see Matthew 25:23. I believe that in heaven we’ll find people who were totally unknown and unappreciated in their diligent service yet are regarded highly by the one who knew their good works without a title. Friends, it’s better to be an errand boy for King Jesus than wait to be recognized by your gifting here on earth.

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MTC Aug 2013 – Days 3-5

Posted in Animism, Church, Ephesians, Eschatology, Gospel, Jinsi ya, Matthew, Mentoring, Mission, OT Narrative, Preaching, Romans, Theology, Youth ministry on 09/05/2013| 2 Comments »

return christ

What really struck me from the last few days of the ministry training course last week was the emphasis that came out on the future, eternity, our great Hope.

I’d never noticed what Fidel brought home so powerfully from 2 Tim. 4:1-2 that the number one reason to preach the word is the return of Christ. We are preaching in the last days a gospel of eternal life in view of the coming Day (cf. 2 Tim. 1:1, 10, 18; 2:10; 3:1; 4:8).

We found that the reason to put to death our ungodly desires (Col. 3:5) is because Christ, who is our life, is about to appear and we will be glorified with him (Col. 3:4).

Sammy reminded us from Job that the end comes at the end, and in the same session one of the apprentices very movingly shared how she had been through times when she desired to depart and be with Christ more than cling to this life. This in turn resonated very strongly with the account we read from John Paton’s autobiography:

At last the child literally longed to be away, not for rest, or freedom from pain — for of that he had very little — but, as he himself always put it, “to see Jesus.”

How badly do we need this powerful injection of eternity into our Christian lives and churches?

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Notes and resources:

Intro to Expository Preaching – Context

Christ-centred youth ministry

Being pro-active in mentoring

Preaching Christ from the Gospels (esp Matt)

How to manage email with filters and folders

2nd year programme:

The church as mission agency

Lessons from the life of John Paton

Doctrine of Salvation (2) – Predestination, Justification and the glory of God

Preaching from OT narratives

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