Ministry by the Spirit Rather Than by Organizational Assignment

If you are called to preach, they think, surely you must do so full-time. The Bible clearly teaches that some should devote all their available time to their ministry 1 Corinthians 9; 1 Timothy 5: This may especially be true of certain ministries, such as preaching and teaching cf. The life of the apostle Paul makes this position hard to justify.

Paul spent much of his time working with his own hands, supporting himself and others. While the teacher may have the right to be supported as he ministers 1 Corinthians 9: Paul refrained from being supported full-time when it would hinder his effectiveness as a minister. By supporting himself, Paul gave his ministry great credibility. In other instances Christians were lazy and idle. Paul worked with his own hands among them, showing them that the Christian is to contribute to the needs of others, rather than expecting others to meet their needs 2 Thessalonians 3: Full-time service is not a life-long decision, made once and for all.

It is a matter of conscience, of conviction and of calling. I must go on to say that Paul had the right as an apostle to be supported full-time. Being an apostle was a full-time job. It is the obligation of those who are the recipients of ministry to reciprocate in return Galatians 6: While this is true, I am of the conviction that no one should insist upon being paid for his ministry, as though it were a right. Instead, I would encourage a man to minister as to the Lord, and let God convict men of their obligation to reciprocate financially. This would seem to me to be an ideal way of discerning whether or not the Lord wanted me in full-time ministry.

If God does not provide, I would find some other employment that is sufficient to meet my needs and those of my family. I have the impression that some go into full-time ministry expecting to be supported. When their needs are not met, they often blame those to whom they have ministered as being irresponsible or insensitive as they sometimes are.

Sometimes, however, they are simply reflecting their evaluation of the ministry they have received. In 1 Corinthians 9, Paul wrote that he refrained from serving full-time because it would hamper his ministry. This is often the case. When my family and I moved into our present house, the people of the church planned a surprise housewarming party for us one Sunday evening after the meeting. Eventually cars were parked along both sides of our street for nearly a block in each direction. One of the couples, arriving a bit late, had to park some distance from our house.

They did not know our street number and had expected to determine the house number by the house with the most cars in front of it. Unable to determine this, they decided to go up to one of the houses some distance away to ask where we lived. Well, he lives right up there in that house.

That, my friends, is a barrier to my ministry.

Many of our neighborhood friendships have begun over the fender of a car in my driveway. Let me give another illustration. A couple of years ago I met a lovely Christian family in the Northwest. After several years, he was sent to a Muslim country. In both places where he had worked, Christian missionaries were either refused entrance to the country or were greatly hindered and harassed.

This Christian was free to have Christian gatherings in his home and to share his faith without interference. You see, he was too valuable, too much of an asset to that foreign nation, to be hindered in any way.

Christian, Your Job Is a Ministry Job

I have been saving this for the last. I could hardly wait to get to this because so many myths begin here. Countless Christians believe that if they could only become full-time servants of Christ their frustrations with their secular occupations, their failures in their work, would be eliminated. This is wishful thinking, and shallow thinking at that. I get to do what I enjoy best, and I get paid for it as well. Observe how Paul refers to Christian ministry:. I urge you also to submit to people like this, and to everyone who cooperates in the work and labors hard 1 Corinthians 15b Paul describes his work in the ministry by using the Greek term kopiano , a word used to denote exertion and exhaustion through labor.

As such, it comes under the curse:. Are you frustrated by your work? But if you think that entering the full-time ministry will exchange your frustration for fulfillment, you are greatly deceived, my friend. I want you to know that I face frustration every week in my preaching. I am frustrated because I cannot find a handle on the passage on which I am attempting to preach. I am often frustrated and discouraged with the results of my preaching. Having already delivered this message, I can honestly say I was frustrated with the way I handled it. You see, I can never blame a bad message on a poor text.

Are you bored with your job? That is a part of the consequences of the fall, and I face the same problem. I must disillusion you by telling you that I sometimes fall asleep reading the commentaries. Worse yet, I have to read my own material. Every job has its routines, which few find enjoyable.

I know that my wife does not find housekeeping a highly stimulating and exhilarating task. There is no great pleasure in dirty dishes and dirty diapers. Are you under pressure in your work? Sometimes Christians feel that while Christian ministry may not be without its drawbacks, at least you would be doing a work that will keep you in the Word, that you will be stronger and more able to resist temptation. Many Christians have had to leave the full-time ministry because it overtaxed and dried up their spiritual lives.

For them the Bible ceased to be a guidebook and a love letter and became a textbook and a sermon manual. This brings me to my last principle. The main factor essential to satisfaction in your vocation is that you are doing what God has called you to do and therefore, that God is in it. Solomon tells us that work which is for selfish gain, that which attempts to gain pleasure and build a monument to oneself, is vain Ecclesiastes 2: Work that leaves God out will not bring about enduring results.

That for which you labored a lifetime may become the property of a fool Ecclesiastes 2: To find pleasure and fulfillment in our work, we must recognize work as a good gift from the hand of God Ecclesiastes 3: Work is in one sense a curse, but it is also a blessing Ecclesiastes 5: If God is at work in us, in our work, then our work will endure Ecclesiastes 3: I am not certain that Scripture can substantiate everything I say here, so beware!

I would ask that you at least consider these suggestions:. On the one hand, be careful not to equate your work and your ministry. For those in full-time ministry, this can lead to a devastating kind of professionalism. I suppose this is one reason why I like to minister to others as a mechanic, as well as by preaching. On the other hand, be sure to regard any honorable occupation as a ministry that is an opportunity to serve men and to glorify God.

The full-time worker should regard his ministry as his job. That is, work hard at it, and be diligent. But also be willing and able to leave your study and go home and be a husband and a father. Be able to leave your job behind. You can surely manifest godliness on the job. You can undoubtedly find times to share your faith and minister to the needs you encounter on the job.

You can view your job as a means of enabling you to minister to others financially Acts Look at your job as an opportunity to relate to others in the real world, where their problems and sins are evident. There is no stained glass in a factory. If possible, seek to develop and improve the use of your spiritual gift s on the job.

Some will find that the nature of their task may facilitate Bible study, Scripture memorization, or meditation. Finally, while you are working, plan and prepare for a new and different or expanded ministry during your retirement years. Perhaps your occupational skills will be useful in ministry after you retire. In these years you will normally have greater maturity and biblical knowledge, as well as greater financial freedom and mobility. This can be the greatest time of your life.

Do you find your work frustrating and less than fulfilling? We know that within a few centuries of its founding the church was entrenched by this kind of fabricated bifurcation. A sacred Christian priesthood emerged that eventually took on again a type of mediator role between God and men. The leaders of the Reformation brought a needed correction to this erroneous understanding and ecclesiastical structure. And being made holy by our great High Priest, Jesus, all Christians are peers, fellow workers in the Great Commission. Of course Jesus does call some of his saints a relative few to serve the church vocationally in a variety of ways.

But these folks are not the spiritual elite or some kind of Christianized Levitical caste who does the holy work while everyone else must soil their hands in the profane. So if you go all the way back, before the origin of sin, there are no negative connotations about secular work. According to Genesis 2: Therefore, at the heart of the meaning of work is creativity.

Performing busy work that could be readily delegated including word processing and computer chores. Mixing personal pursuits with professional duties e. Handling the same paperwork memos, reports, minutes multiple times. Fumbling around to locate misfiled documents or misplaced information. Explaining routine information to coworkers personally rather than via memo or meeting. Overanalyzing or over-deliberating about relatively inconsequential decisions. Waiting on others for appointments, to provide information, to complete assignments. The higher your overall score total range , the greater your potential for time-wasting.

It is not unusual for me to feel overloaded with work at various times during the week. It is difficult for people to get to see me without an appointment. I sometimes miss work completion deadlines because I have too much to do. I sometimes desire to isolate myself from others in order to completely devote myself to work. I am sometimes hard to get along with because of work-related stress and strains. The higher your overall score total range , the greater your potential for over-commitment. Getting more out of your time. Keep a time log during a typical work week.

Itemize the major and minor activities you engaged in daily and the approximate amount of time spent on each. Determine about what percentage of your time that week was spent on each activity category. Use the following generic table as a guide to developing a more tailor-made time utilization chart for yourself. Indicate actual percentage of time spent versus a desired target percentage. Are you satisfied with the relationship between the two columns most time spent with most important ministry constituents?

What actions can you take to achieve a better match between importance of constituents and time invested in them? Stress is the price managers pay for working too hard, too long, or under too much pressure. It is inevitable that ministry managers will occasionally succumb to stress.

Its consequences are chronic fatigue, psychosomatic disorders, and the straining of relationships. Excess is the root of most job-related stress. Excessive work, worry, dependency, or expectations can equal stress. While work, achievement, and excellence are all worthy pursuit, when carried too far they become traps for the unwary ministry manager. Herein lies the insidious trap of stress.

What Do Cessationists Believe About Prophecy?

It results from too much of a good thing—too much work, interaction, and self-sacrifice. Managing excess is the key to managing stress. Why do so many ministry managers overdo things and bring unnecessary stress upon themselves? Two root causes are common, and both are preventable. Many times stress is simply the by-product of poor work habits: Another core cause of stress is psychological in nature. Far too many managers, particularly those in serving professions, subconsciously define their self-worth in terms of job accomplishments.

The harder they work, the more they validate their own self-worth. Unfortunately, such a spiritually myopic perspective naturally generates a "success-through-excess" syndrome. The workaholic lifestyle that results becomes extremely addictive, and stress is the inevitable hangover. I gain immense satisfaction from work.

I spend little time with escapist hobbies. I stay busy, even rushed, much of the time at work. I have to depend on others to quite an extent in order to achieve job goals. I have a fairly strong dislike of conflict and disagreement. I often find it draining to work with others rather than by myself. My need for professional security and certainty is fairly high. I often take my job home with me and dwell on my work when away from the workplace. The odd-numbered items deal with stress-aggravators, while the even-numbered are potential stress-relievers.

Compare your odd-even totals to assess your overall stress tendency. Identify two or three simple ways to relax that could help you relieve tension during busy work days. Consider such practices as taking short walks, varying your lunch routine, and mini-Bible devotionals at your desk. In what areas of your ministry work do you feel most dependent on others and thus most vulnerable. What actions can you take to increase the amount of trust and team spirit you share with those you most depend upon in day-to-day situations?

In what ways can you define success more by the accomplishments of your team rather than by your own personal achievements? Are they tied to the type of work you do? Are they related to the way you do your work? Do the people you work with cause these feelings?

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