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DEVOTIONAL

It's All Good

Posted on July 21, 2006

“Discharge all the duties of your ministry…” 2 Timothy 4:5b

I don’t know about you, but whenever I used to hear the word ‘ministry’, I immediately thought of something I did within the building we call the church. I remember being an usher and being so proud of that badge I had on. I mean my name was actually inscribed on the badge and so I had arrived at God’s calling for my life. I was an usher and my destiny had been realized. I was faithful, always on time, and greeted everyone with a warm smile (even the ones who looked like they had just entered a prisoner of war camp).

Of course, as I began to grow in the Lord and as He began to show me the utter lostness of people without Christ, I quickly resigned my post on isle 16 and eagerly enrolled in the 6 month evangelism ministry course being offered. Wow, all this knowledge about how sin entered the world and how people can come to Jesus if they only obeyed those four simple laws (or were they steps?) was very exciting.

Then something else began to happen. I began to long for the reality of the streets and the street people I was so accustomed to interacting with. The conversations and experiences I was having at work with people were so profound. The evangelism ministry course ended but my passion for people without Jesus was out of control. Being a young Christian I thought, “If only I can get these heathens to church, I know the music, the people, the excitement, will all have an impact.” Wait a minute, “the people”? Most of these people are dressed up and speak church language that I still didn’t get after a whole year of hearing it. What was I supposed to do?

The point I’m trying to make here is that my concept of ministry was limited to what went on within the four walls of the church. True ministry, I thought, can only be spiritual in the setting I was used to having ‘church’ in. As I began to mature in the Lord, seek out people who were like-minded, and search the scriptures to find out how Jesus did ministry, my eyes were opened to be able to enlarge the concept of what ministry means.

All that I was doing before this was great. Ushering, teaching classes and other activities are very valid and are actually a vital part of the gathering aspect of church. I don’t believe it’s an either/or situation but rather a both/and situation that can really work. However, the emphasis of ministry within the church has been greater than the emphasis on the church beyond the congregation or “beyond the box”.

In the light and shadow of the symbol of the cross, our vision of ministry outside the box becomes clearer. The cross was planted in the ground, in a real world of dire need and as we behold this image our concept of ministry expands. It’s inevitable. With the comfortable borders of the church exploded, the limits for the work of the church and the church at work are practically endless. What matters now is simple: good deeds done with God’s heart that display the love of Christ and glorify Father.

The truth is finally revealed: Anything done in the name of Christ, in the name of love, is ministry. Indeed, not only anything but anywhere. Of course, the more it touches real needs and vital areas, the more influential it will be. But nowhere does the bible “qualify” good works and neither should we. Instead, we should celebrate the infinite ways people can “go in Christ’s name.” We must broaden and enrich the concept of personal ministry to include our workplaces, our neighbourhoods, schools, and anywhere else where people are influenced by us. We must bless, affirm, and be willing to release people into areas that may not directly benefit the church itself. Did you get that? In the words of one of my teenagers, “It’s all good.”

I realize this journey is a new one for many of us. But, like any journey the Lord leads us on, He will give us the details when we need them. He simply asks us to keep it simple and to keep it real. Who is the church?

Press In. Press On.

Rick D’Orazio
Conference Pastor

 

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