Steve Seamands—one of my professors during my doctoral program at Asbury—shared a statement in class that is also in his book Ministry in the Image of God … a statement that has impacted me profoundly since I first heard it a little over a decade ago. In talking about the calling God has placed upon our lives, he said, “The ministry into which we have entered is the ministry of Jesus Christ, the Son, to the Father, through the Holy Spirit, for the sake of the church and the world.”
We can move past that statement far too quickly and miss much of the penetrating insight it has to offer.
First—it says the ministry to which we are called is the ministry of Jesus Christ. Our job as pastors is not to get Jesus to join us as we offer him to others. Our job is align ourselves with His ongoing work in the world. Jesus’ earthly ministry didn’t end when He resurrected and ascended to the Heavenly Father—it merely assumed a different form. Through His body, the church, it has taken on a different shape. It is no longer limited a singular circumstance or a specific location but can now be carried out in various locations on multiple fronts by an assortment of empowered followers.
“Our” ministry, if you will, is to be an extension and expansion of Jesus’ ministry. We are to be guided by his priorities, governed by his values, and influenced by his objectives. Ministry is ultimately about us joining Christ in his ongoing ministry … not convincing him to join ours.
So much of the stress and burnout we feel, I believe, is directly attributable to our failure to grasp this. Many of us find ourselves carrying burdens we were never designed, or meant, to carry. Understanding whose ministry it is can be tremendously freeing. Ministry effectiveness is not so much about what we are doing as it is about what Jesus is doing in and through us.
Second—it says the ministry to which we are called is to be offered to the Father. This, too, is a very liberating and freeing thing. Even though I live in particular community and am called to serve a specific congregation, my ministry is not to that community or that congregation. It is to the Heavenly Father. The community and congregation establishes the context for my efforts, but they are not to be the recipient of my efforts. My ministry is to be a gift of love and devotion offered to my Heavenly Father. It really is, at the end of the day, an Audience of One.
That doesn’t mean I’m not accountable or answerable to some form of human authority. But if the ministry I have entered into is the ministry of Jesus Christ, then my efforts, like his, should be directed to the Father—not the needs or demands of the people around me. I think of the story of Lazarus and how the desperate plea of the two sisters did not set the agenda for what Jesus did in that setting. He was cueing off a different source, for his primary commitment was to serve the interests of the Father.
In too many circles, our ministry is directed to the church and the world for the sake of the Father rather than to the Father for the sake of the church and the world. It’s a rather subtle difference, but it’s also a powerful distinction … one that can keep us on track and can help us more effectively deal with the rejection we encounter from time to time. If our ministry is fundamentally an expression of love and devotion to the Father, then how people do or don’t respond really has no bearing on how effective or valued it was.
And finally—our ministry is to be carried out through the Holy Spirit. While ministry demands our best, it also frequently demands more than we believe we have in us to give. That’s where the Holy Spirit comes in, as it’s only through being surrendered and abandoned to the Holy Spirit that we find the will and determination to carry on. The Holy Spirit enables us to stay put when everything within us says “life’s too short to put up with this nonsense.” The Holy Spirit helps us summon the strength to make that decision we know is right but will likely cause tremendous fallout. The Holy Spirit encourages us to not allow the difficulties and opposition that come with the territory to crush or overwhelm us.
It is only through the Holy Spirit’s resourcing and empowering presence that we can fulfill the call God places upon us. If our ministry is going to be fruitful, it must be through the Holy Spirit and not merely the product of our skill, knowledge, personality, and best efforts.
The thing I love about this definition of ministry is its Trinitarian nature—of the Son … to the Father … through the Holy Spirit. All three expressions of God’s self-revelation are involved—i.e., the ministry to which we are called is distinctly Trinitarian in nature. The life and activity to which we are called reflects the very nature and character of God. When we say “yes” to the call of God, there’s a sense in which we enter into His very life. And when we do, we can’t help but be transformed and changed for the better.