5.  How Do I See My Ministry?

        I like working with the people and watching them as they realize they are able to do God's work in their community.  I have helped people through some of the most difficult times in their lives, e.g.: serious illnesses, loss of a loved one, marital difficulties, problems with alcoholism, jail visitation.  Watching people grow in faith and learning new things give me great satisfaction.  I particularly like leading our people in the worship experience.  The great celebrations of Easter and Easter Sunrise Service, and Christmas, with the Candlelight Service, are highlights of each church year.  But each worship service is a joy as we meet God in our daily, sometimes mundane, sometimes wildly, insanely hectic lives.

         What is it that we do?  We do have a mission.  Our two churches have formulated a mission statement.  It is as follows:

                    Our mission is to be a spiritual, caring, loving church serving our
                    community and meeting the needs of its people.  We will share the love
                    of God and the Gospel of Jesus Christ with others as we put our faith
                    into action.

        This is a pretty good statement of our purpose.  As a church we are the body of Christ.  Christ has called upon us to reach out in love to others.  One of the great additions of the Protestant Reformation to the Christian faith was the concept of "The priesthood of all believers."  (I owe a debt of thanks to David Reynolds of Canon City for the following outline concerning the priesthood which he presented at The Walk to Emmaus.  Thanks David.)

        This idea of Priesthood is an important concept.  It means, among other things, that ministering is not only for the clergy.  To begin with, we must understand what a priest is.

            A priest is:
                    God's representative to the people.
                             The people's representative to God.
                                      One who helps others to experience God's "Grace."

            The Christian mission therefore is:
                    To make Christ real for people,
                            To be channels of God's grace,
                                       To declare the wonderful deeds of God!

         A valid question at this point is:  "How does one do priestly acts?"  The answer I give you is not meant to be glib.  But the way we do a priestly act is to  -
                                                                                                    Just do it!

             1.  Be personal.
                       2.  Be spiritual.
                                3.  Be a servant.
                                        4.  Share the load.
                                                5.  Give it your best!

          Yes, Just do it.  And the rest will fall into line nicely.  However, we must be real.  We must be who we are.  Don't try to be someone else.  Don't try to do it like Joe, or Ed, or Betty or Joan.  No, do it like  -   yourself.

        People can spot a phony very quickly.  Be true to all that you are.  And be true to all that Christ is.  With the Lord's help, you will succeed in doing all Jesus asks you to do.

        Please remember  -   everyone needs a priest.  That is, everyone needs someone to whom he/she can relate in a real way to the things of God, and who will relate to him/her in a real way the things of God.  Being a priest, is your job and my job  -   in fact, it is the duty of every Christian to reach out to others.  But it is important to know and to remember that you cannot be a priest to everyone, you can only be a priest to some.

        Somewhere someone needs your love.  And I must tell you that often you'll never even know the results of your priesthood.  But you must reach out in God's love to those who need God's love.  This world is hurting.  This world needs all the love you and I have to give to it.

        The bottom line is that what we are called to do is to make disciples for Jesus Christ.  We must be about the business to which Jesus calls us.

6.  What It Means To Me To Minister

        What does it mean to minister?  Even if I thought I knew before I became the pastor of a church, my whole outlook has changed since becoming that pastor.  First of all ministering means Proclaming the Word of God.

        Ministry is a reaching out and touching.  I knew that.  But I have learned that ministry is sometimes reaching out and touching without words.  They are not always necessary.  When hearts touch it is a special moment.  And it cannot always be explained orally.  But it doesn't need to be explained.

        Being a minister is many things.  Often never the same things.  There's always a twist that makes things different.  But that is part of the joy.  The main part of the joy is being able to be a part of someone else's life in a meaningful way.  And he/she wants you to be.  People
will let you reach out to them, if they know you love them.

        Of course in the case of those who don't know Christ as Savior, we need to be evangelists for the Lord.  We need to tell out the Good News in such a way that people can hear, and can relate, and will be willing to change their lives.  Evangelism, the winning of people to Christ, is
important.  We need to invite people to a relationship with the living Lord.

        Funerals were another surprise.  Funerals are special.  Preparation is a wonderful experience.  Sitting with the family, reviewing a life, looking through shoe boxes at old photographs, looking through the family Bible, one learns volumes in just a few short hours.  Lives are laid bare and they trust you not to hurt them.  At these times they are the most human.  Facades are down.  People reach out and are open and vulnerable and trusting.  Embraces and hugs are important.  Tears come freely and unashamedly.

        At the funeral itself, I have found that people actually listen quite intently to what I have to say.  They seem to hang upon every word.  They have come face-to-face with their own mortality.  They are acutely aware of what I am telling them.  I had better make sure that what I am telling them, is the truth  -   God's truth.

        I have found that to minister is to love.  The reason love is so important is that if people feel they are loved, they will listen to what you have to say.  They have to know that you love them before they will be able to hear the hard things you may have to say.  Love is a verb.  It is an action word.  One is able to show compassion.  You must be attentive to all that's going on around you.  You must learn to be present for your parishioners.  Being there is important.  And it is enough.  Often times you do not have to say anything.  In fact sometimes to say anything is to lose the moment.  You must learn to be quiet and listen.

        Listening is important.  Learn to do it well.

        Ministry is serving.  A minister must be available.  A minister must be ready for anything, always.  Let the Holy Spirit work through you.  Hospital visits are important.  Home visits are important.  Work visits are important.  Make time to visit.  God to where the people are.  Meet
them on their own turf.  Bring God's Word in human words and actions.

         What does it mean to me to minister?  It means everything!

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