|
“Who, me Lord? A ‘minister’?
I don't lead a church!” -
But the New Testament words that are normally
translated ‘ministry’ imply service,
to God, to sisters and brothers in Christ, and to the
wider world, its members and its institutions. They
suggest the inclusion of all God’s people in the task of
ministering his grace and love to his world.
Ministry involves all Christians –
disciples of Christ who seek to follow him in all
details of their lives.
In his book An
introduction to Christian Ministry14,
Gordon Kuhrt, the Church of England's Director of
Ministry writes “What the Bible says is that all
Christian people, the whole Church of God, are called to
ministry. When we are baptised, when we put our
faith in Jesus Christ, we are called to be ministers or
servants of God. ...
|
 For more on ministry, drill down
|
|
... all God's people are called to the ministry
to serve God. That is what the word ‘ministry’
means - not just in church, on Sundays, or in home
groups during the week but, in actual fact, called to
serve God every day of the week, in factories and
offices, and schools and universities, and at home, and
out in the community. So what is the role of the
clergy? ... It is to equip the people
to serve God, day by day. To equip the whole
people of God in their ministry. That is what the
New Testament teaches.”
As he points out elsewhere in the book, one of the
church's prayers has it neatly: Hear our prayer for
your faithful people that each in their vocation and ministry
may be an instrument of your love.
As Mark Greene of the London Institute of Contemporary
Christianity observes, “Ministry is simply love in
action - serving someone.” The Christian
difference is that we do this with the help of the Holy
Spirit. Gordon Kuhrt again: “Ministry is the
calling of all God's people. They are the royal
priesthood [see 1 Peter 2:9 if you're not sure why],
gifted by the Spirit for service to God and to their
fellow human beings.”
|
up level