Why Church: To Minister and Be Ministered To


The New Testament teaches that every Christ follower should be a minister (see 1 Cor. 12:1ff).  It also teaches that God empowers us by the Holy Spirit to minister in his name.

In addition to all this, the New Testament shows that God designed the local church to be the context in which ministry takes place.  All the ministry of the early church took place through local congregations.

In 2 Cor. 1:3-7, the apostle Paul describes the help and strength for ministry we share in the local church.  He praised the God of all comfort who comforts us in our trials.  His help flows into our hearts and then overflows to the people around us.  We comfort others with the comfort God has given us.  

In the church, we experience vital connections to each other.  We're a community of shared suffering and joy.  We minister to others in Christ's name, while at the same time receiving their ministry.  

The point of the church's internal ministry is to empower us to minister in the community around us!  

Some think they can't minister because they're not ordained.  But you don't have to go through a church's formal ordination process to be a minister.  God has empowered you to be a minister wherever you go.

The people you come into contact each day have many needs.  They need a pastor.  

You can be a pastor to them.  You can love them in Christ's name, pray for them, listen to them, share the good news of Christ with them, and serve them.

See yourself as a pastor and let God use you to be a pastor to those who come in contact with each day!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

God's Dynamite: The Battle Within

Image
"It was on fire when I lay down on it."  Robert Fulghum wrote about reading this statement in a small town newspaper.   Smoke was billowing from a second story window.  The Fire Department arrived, broke down the front door, ran up a set of stairs, and pulled a man off a burning bed.  Later, when they asked him how he got in that predicament, he said, "It was on fire when I lay down on it." Why on earth did he do that?  We don't know, but his story reveals a human truth.  We often do self-destructive things.  We testify, "People told me not to do it, but I did it anyway."  "I knew it was wrong, but I did it." The apostle Paul wrote about our human propensity to sin and self-destructive behavior in Romans 7:14-25.  Verse 15 sums up his point, "I do not understand what I do.  For what I want to do I do not do and what I hate I do."   He describes an intense inner battle.  On one side is the "flesh," his
Read more

God's Dynamite: More than Conquerors

Image
One person goes through a terrible experience and emerges from it stronger, more mature, and more loving.  Another goes through a similar experience and emerges from it weaker, less mature, and bitter.   What's the difference? I think it has to do with what's in the person's heart.  It has to do with his or her faith and perspective of life.   In Romans 8:35-39, the apostle Paul asked, "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?''  Is there any person or place or experience that can remove us from Christ's loving presence?  Trouble? Hardship? Danger?  Sword? Paul could answer this question because he experienced all the above and more.  He said, "No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us."  We conquer all these things through Christ's love for us. To be sure, we can have times when Christ's love seems far away from us. In the depths of suffering in times like these, we can won
Read more

God's Dynamite: Resurrection Transformation

Image
Easter is about more than you going to heaven.  That's part of it, but not near all!  It's about your death and resurrection. In Romans 6, Paul was answering opponents.  Those opponents said that if salvation is by God's grace through faith, then you have no motivation for righteous living and good works.  Why not sin more to get more grace? Paul answered by using the image of baptism.  He said when the pastor plunged you under water, he symbolized your death in Christ.  Through faith you died on the cross with Jesus.  Your old self was a slave to sin and rebellion against God.   Paul said when the pastor raised you up from the water, he symbolized your resurrection in Christ.  Not just in the future but in the present.  In faith, you identify with Jesus' death and his resurrection.  You're raised to a new life, free from slavery to sin. So Easter is about more than personal salvation.  It's about transformation: dying to an old life and ris
Read more