Week in Review

Theology of Ministry – part 2

November 30, 2007

Understanding ministry begins with God is crucial for one to realize that everything must be done with the leading of God’s Spirit and through the word. God should be allowed to shape the ministerial roles of biblical interpreter, expositor and caregiver within the lives of his ministers. How I allow God to lead me, will determine my effectiveness in these important roles.

The author of the book, Pastor: The Theology and Practice of Ordained Ministry, William H. Willmon writes, “But there will be a day, according to Joel 2:28-32, when God’s Spirit shall be poured out on all. All. Even among the typically voiceless – old women and old men (pensioners, usually institutionalized, nonproductive, therefore nonvalued), young people out of work, underpaid maids, janitors – God’s Spirit shall descend in the later days, bringing things to speech” (250). The author gives one encouragement to understand that God picks those that others overlook to be great carriers of his word, to interpret it. I understand this wonderment. Why would God choose me to pour his Spirit upon and to give his words that bring truth to many? As I continue to search God’s word, he continues to strengthen me for this task of prophet/interpreter.

“The courage to be a prophet arises from a wide array of sources – a conviction that there is truth worth telling, the security that the truth is more important than popularity, and the faith that Jesus has made possible the means whereby even ordinary people can be prophetic” (251). These words help me to have a deeper understanding of this calling into ministry. The Lord is growing my faith from a “baby faith” that trusts in the seen, to a deeper, “maturing faith” that trust because God has said so. He is continuingly growing me in courage that what he gives me to tell is worth telling and I can find security in his truth to give the word his way. Many were offended by Jeremiah, yet he continued to be the prophet God called him to be. Many may think he was not a success because the messages were not heeded, but that is not how God counts our success. He looks at our obedience to his calling and determines if we are successful or not.

In the book, Shepherding the Church: Effective Spiritual Leadership in a Changing Culture by Joseph M. Stowell he gives a quote by Bruce Thieleman, which states, “the pulpit calls those anointed to it as the sea calls its sailors; and like the sea, it batters and bruises, and does not rest…To preach, to really preach, is to die naked a little at a time and to know each time you do it that you must do it again” (251). From the first sermon I gave, he has used them to bring significant growth in me. I had to go through the growing pains if I was going to become (and still becoming) an expositor the way God wants. I have had to die to myself in ways that I never thought I would have to before. He is bringing the spiritual understanding to my messages so that they are not simply an understanding in my head, but one that is truth from my inner being. Yet each time this happens, I realize there is still more that He will take me through and I must do as the writer says “do it again”.

What this has shown me is that God wants the preaching of the word to be a transformational process that changes lives and helps his people grow. It is not just flowery words that tickle the ear, but words that change. “The platform of purpose focuses on power, and instead of urging the shepherd to become a celebrity reminds him that he is but a conduit of the power of God to His people… The ultimate purpose of our preaching is not to develop a relationship between the parishioner and the preacher, but to facilitate a deepening relationship between the parishioner and his Lord” (258-259). This is how God continues to grow his ministry within my heart as one that proclaims the word of God.

In the book, The Unnecessary Pastor: Rediscovering the Call by Marva Dawn and Eugene Peterson, it states, “How amazing it is, then, that out of all the possible persons in the world, God chose you for the ministry to which he has called you, whatever that ministry might be. But he chose you out for much more that that – namely, to come out from this environment of sin into the relationship he creates in order for you to be holy and blameless in his presence in love” (47). Therefore, I see my responsibility as a caregiver as one that is willing to care for the people that God cares for. He calls us not only to a place of ministry but also to a place of spiritual wholeness and holiness. As a caregiver I must be willing to help others understand God’s calling and to walk in it. God’s ministry of care for me continues to show me the need for patience as he has shown me how patient he is with my shortcomings. He also shows me how to love when individuals are unlovable, because he reminds me of when I was not loveable yet he extended love to me. This process is continual in that as long as I allow God to do so, he will continue to grow me in my walk, so that I can be effective in his mission.

Cited Work

Dawn, Marva and Peterson, Eugene. The Unnecessary Pastor: Rediscovering the Call, Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2000.

Stowell, Joseph M. Shepherding the Church: Effective Spiritual Leadership in a Changing Culture, Chicago, IL: Moody Press, 1994.

Willimon, Williams H. Pastor: The Theology and Practice of Ordained Ministry, Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 2002.