Category: “Meaningful Ministry” series

Ministry Means Care & Compassion

adbLeave a comment

(Mark 6:30-34)

“I don’t care.” The meaning attached to those words can vary, depending on the circumstances under which they’re spoken. They are spoken when it comes to avoiding having to make a decision. “There are plenty of options, just choose one, and I’m good with any of them. I don’t care which one.” Those words can also be spoken to convey that a certain issue doesn’t matter to one person as much as it does to another.

Whatever the context, the one place we want to avoid those words is when it comes to ministry, because meaningful ministry means caring; it means having compassion. We see that care and compassion expressed in different ways in the short verses from Mark 6. 

We’ll start with the most obvious way Jesus demonstrated compassion, highlighted by the Gospel writer Mark in how he sets the scene and builds tension that needs to be resolved. Jesus and his disciples had been putting the pedal to the metal, ministry-wise, and they needed some down time. As they stepped out of the limelight briefly to recalibrate, Mark sets up some potential conflict. “But many who saw them leaving recognized them and ran on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them” (v.33). Jesus and the disciples needed rest, and the crowds that had tracked them down threatened that. How would Jesus and the disciples respond?

Jesus and the his apostles were in need of food and rest, and they made a deliberate attempt to step away for a bit to find it. But no sooner had they found it then the crowds once again found them! So much for a little R&R! Knowing how irritable we can become when we get hangry, it would have come as no surprise to see the apostles flare up and shoo the crowds away for a bit. Or, even a polite request for some alone time would have been completely understandable.

It should be no surprise to us at that Jesus showed how much he cared. “When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things” (v.34). This is ministry. This is what gospel-geared, Savior-like service looks like in action. Meaningful ministry is not driven by convenience, but by compassion.

That means ministry is not limited to normal business hours. Since ministry is serving people and addressing their spiritual needs, those situations may arise at any time. When they do, we don’t shut the door and ask someone to come back during normal business hours. No, we serve as we’re able to, when we’re able to. 

Jesus’ compassionate heart got the better of him. He couldn’t turn them away, for when he looked, he didn’t see a bunch of time-sucking vampires always in need and draining him physically, mentally, and emotionally. Instead, he saw sheep without a shepherd. So, as the Good Shepherd, he sought to give these shepherdless sheep, these aimless wanderers who didn’t know what they didn’t know, the priceless gift of the Scriptures. He taught them timeless truths that would open their eyes to see Jesus as both their Good Shepherd and the perfect Lamb of God, who came to take away the sins of the world. 

How desperately we all need such a compassionate Savior! And not only because we need someone to care so deeply about us, but also because we need someone to care so deeply about others in our place. Even the most tender-hearted and compassionate among us fails to reach the level of perfect concern that Jesus has in his heart for all people. So to see him not only patiently put up with the crowds hunting him down like paparazzi, but to genuinely long to meet their needs – Jesus is out of our league! Jesus is what we are not. His righteousness is demonstrated through his untainted, selfless concern for his neighbor. How essential for our salvation that in Jesus we don’t just have the Savior we need from sin, but also the Substitute who characterized compassion so beautifully for us. 

Oh to view people in need the same way! Instead, we so easily see people as a hindrance to the task at hand. When my plans are put on hold or scrapped altogether because of someone else’s time of need, I don’t look at myself and see the compassion Jesus demonstrates here. Instead, the audible huffing and puffing of reluctance and resentment or the snarky jab that accompanies my begrudging service are much more common. Jesus saw people in need and his heart ached; we see people in need and are annoyed. 

Imagine if Jesus harbored similar sentiments in his heart toward people in need – no way would he ever have made it to the cross! By that point he would have been sick and tired of serving all the needy souls that chased him down! Then, to take it to another level and be tortured and crucified for the same lot of destitute crowds? Not a chance… if it was you or me in that position.

Thankfully, it wasn’t. It was Jesus. Caring Jesus. Compassionate Jesus. Always, at all times. For us, no matter how much in need we may ever find ourselves to be.

And you know exactly what he longs to do with that compassion which he extends to us; he desires to express it through us to others in need. Ministry that is meaningful takes into account what is meaningful to my neighbor in his time of need. It sacrifices my own wants and plans and preferences when care and compassion for others overrides everything else. When compassion calls us to meet physical needs, we do what we can. When those needs are emotional, we support as we’re able. When those needs are spiritual, we jump at the opportunity to point the lost and the hurting to their healing, caring, compassionate Savior.

Jesus didn’t just show care and compassion to the crowds in this account, but also to his coworkers. Remember, it was the needs of his coworkers in ministry that prompted Jesus and the disciples to get away in the first place. Jesus cared about their physical well-being, too. “Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, ‘Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.’ So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place” (v.31-32). While it is absolutely the most rewarding thing we ever get to be a part of, that doesn’t mean ministry is easy. It isn’t, always. It can be exhausting. It can be draining. It can include long days. So we need to be aware of that for each other, as most of us here aren’t full or even part-time paid coworkers, but volunteers. 

There is of course the personal ministry that we carry out in our daily lives, but there is also the congregational ministry that goes on. We want to be sensitive to that for each other, so that we don’t discourage taking care of one’s self or including margin in our schedules. And when you do serve in some capacity, you must always know that it’s good and wise to say no, too, when necessary. Even when it comes to ministry, God has created our bodies and souls to need breaks, to need rest, to need restoration. Let’s make sure we’re giving that to each other, especially because sometimes, as we see this in this account from Mark, that rest can be rather short-lived!

We actually see the final example of care and compassion first in Mark’s introductory description of this account. Those sent by Jesus to carry out meaningful ministry were now reporting on that ministry, and Jesus cared enough to listen. “The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to him all they had done and taught” (v.30).

There are really two takeaways here: first, when we carry out meaningful ministry, a trust has been given to us. Since God calls us to carry out this work faithfully, we are responsible for holding ourselves accountable to others. Most often that takes the form of some sort of reporting, either formally or informally. If you belong to a church that has called a pastor to serve you with the gospel, you have every right to hold him accountable in carrying out that ministry. Just as the apostles did to Jesus, so also pastors report all that they are doing and have done in ministry.

You, too, are accountable for participating in this ministry as well. That is, after all, one of the most significant reasons we join a church – to use our gifts to participate in ministry.

Church membership isn’t like a trip to Costco, where I am solely a consumer filling my cart with more things than I need. You aren’t responsible for stocking the shelves at Costco. You don’t check out customers or scan their receipts. At Costco you are simply a customer.

But church is not Costco! At church you are a customer and a coworker. So when you take up a task, when you are involved in ministry, a part of that means caring enough to be held accountable to do what you said you were going to do.

That’s the first takeaway – reporting and accountability.

The second is simply that Jesus listened. They were reporting to Jesus what they had done. Now when you picture this taking place, do you imagine Jesus being the hardline boss, waiting to jump down the throat of us his employees? Probably not. More likely, he listened and offered encouraging feedback and direction to use the opportunity as a teachable moment to equip them for future ministry. 

We can do the same! When we are willing to serve in some official capacity as we carry out our ministry together, this is no small thing to which we have agreed! We are agreeing to give our best for the best, and rather than holding to the “they should be grateful I’m serving” attitude, we want to be eager to provide updates and progress. And on the other side, we want to eagerly hear such reports, so that we might encourage and uplift each other in service, and offer assistance or guidance whenever it’s needed.

Those serving care enough to hold themselves accountable, and those to whom they report care enough to listen and provide support. While it’s not the big picture idea from these verses, it is one more way that meaningful ministry involves caring for each other.

Meeting the needs of others is not the occasional good deed that we’re willing to do when we put “real” ministry on pause; meeting the needs of others is the ministry, the gospel-geared, Savior-like service to which we’re called. It isn’t an inconvenience; it’s our calling. It isn’t a hindrance to getting ministry done; it is how ministry is done as we serve to open doors through compassion that ultimately permit us to point others to their compassionate Christ. 

Is now a good time to consider how your congregation might extend the reach of care and compassion to more in the community? Could care and compassion be a calling card of your congregation? Could you offer grief support or a resiliency ministry for those struggling with addictions? Could you partner with other community organizations already involved in such things to enhance what is already being done?

We don’t have to look very far to see outlets for care and compassion. Could we put Jesus’ care and compassion into practice by meeting more of those needs? Meaningful Ministry is service that is willing to ask those questions and to provide answers as the Lord enables us to. May the Lord grant us such willing spirits.

Hold Firmly

adbLeave a comment

(Titus 1:5-9)

Last week, at the start of this Meaningful Ministry (aka, gospel-geared, Savior-like service) series, we began with the reminder that our efforts will not always be appreciated by everyone. In fact, we can expect our efforts to be opposed, sometimes with even great effort. Nevertheless, we carry on with ministry because it’s what God calls us to do. 

Now we find the confidence we need in remembering whose authority backs our ministry, and where we find that authority. As one pastor writing to another, Paul reminded Titus that “He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it” (v.9). Therefore, as we continue to consider what meaningful ministry looks like, we must cling to the truth that meaningful ministry is that which holds firmly to the trustworthy message. Meaningful ministry holds firmly to the Word.

If I may say so, although the title of this post is “Hold Firmly,” some of you are, quite frankly, holding rather loosely to the Word of God. That might hurt a little bit to hear, but if so, thank God that his Word – specifically the law – is doing what it is supposed to do. We might be inclined to push back against such a statement (because after all, what about all the others who are not reading this or who don’t regularly attend church?!?), and to do so wouldn’t necessarily be wrong. But those Christians not reading or listening to sermons aren’t alone in their loose grasp on the Word of God – there are plenty more right there with them who have a rather soft grip on the Word. 

That can happen if Sunday morning worship or reading the occasional sermon online is about as engaged as one ever gets in ministry. If there is one thing that believer and unbeliever alike know about Christianity and Sunday mornings, it’s that Sunday mornings are for worship. While the unbeliever obviously doesn’t see any need to be there, the danger for the believer is to see worship as the bare minimum in his affiliation with the church. Yes, one of the greatest blessings God has given to his church as it carries out meaningful ministry is the blessing of worship; but even that blessing can become a bottleneck to anyone who severely shortchanges ministry by defining it as nothing more than going to church. Such a view is a soft grip on the Word. 

Imagine an actor just showing up for the performance. No study of the storyline or character. No rehearsing lines or any thought on how they might be delivered. Or an athlete just showing up for the games. No practice. No drills. No preparation or game-tape on the other team. Very few could pull either off, and to do so with such little effort beforehand not only reflects poorly on the craft, but also fails to set a high standard or raise the bar in that field.

Why would Christians settle for mediocrity in our ministry, settling for less than our best in carrying out Christ’s calling? Why would some idea of minimal means of grace involvement ever be satisfactory? No, we want to practice like we play. Prepare. Be in the Word. Deeply.

There is great reason to hold firmly to this Word of God. We do so because through it God sends us and serves us. Meaningful ministry is our lot, not because we wisely figured out on our own that Jesus might be good for people to know about, but because Jesus sends us, just as he sent his disciples. They went out with his backing, with his authority. And they went out not because they were qualified in and of themselves, but because they were called. He was the one sending them.

He is the one sending you. Not because you are qualified in and of yourself, but because you were called. You carry out ministry with his backing, with his authority. That started when he made you what you are today, when he gave you your most precious status and title: his. You belong to him. You are his. He made you his when he paid with his life and then gifted you with the faith to believe it. 

I most commonly close my emails with that very signature, “His.” It reminds me of the title that carries more weight than any other ever could. My worth and my value and my significance and my purpose are all wrapped up in the One to whom I belong. In a very real way, one of the simplest little hymns many of us ever learned to sing as children still holds dear in our hearts: “I am Jesus’ little lamb, ever glad at heart I am.” I have different titles. I have various responsibilities and roles. Like an umbrella over them all at all times is the precious truth that I am his – and I always will be. 

And he, dear friends, is the One who sends us. When we forget that bond, that relationship, and all that God did to establish it, ministry is less meaningful. That is when it becomes a job, nothing more than a series of tasks, as if the boss just gave you a list of things he needs you to get done. To lose that bond, that connection with our Savior, and allow it to fray, easily turns ministry into misery. I think you’d agree that Miserable Ministry would be a significantly different sermon series. So remember why we hold firmly to this Word: it is a constant reminder of the One who sends us.

It is also the way he has chosen to serve us. This might be the most significant hurdle that keeps many Christians away from more meaningful service: a willingness to continue to be served by God through holding firmly to the Word. Remember, ministry is gospel-geared, Savior-like service. Another reminder: you are incapable of carrying that out on your own. It must be worked into you through the Word. So there is no, “Jesus did this for me, and now I’d like to graduate beyond that and get busy with all of the work of his kingdom.” No, there is only, “Jesus did this for me, and now he will do this through me.”

So we do not busy ourselves with church work while avoiding church Word & worship. They are inseparable. Service is prompted by being served, and if I don’t have the humility to continue being served a steady diet of Word and Sacrament, then my service will be short-lived and running on fumes in no time. It will become about me. It will become a burden. It will burn me out. It will turn me against other Christians as I begin to resent them for not doing what I’m doing. When I am at that point, I fail to notice how much I have come to resemble Martha, begrudging the others who are too preoccupied with the Word in worship and Bible study to actually do the work to which we’ve been sent.

At that moment we are reminded of why it’s so essential to hold firmly to the Word: my jaded heart daily needs its forgiveness and renewal. In the Word alone do I find what my heart longs for: grace for my misguided ministry that somehow turned what is God’s around and made it all about me. That joy of salvation renews me, taking my me-minded ministry and making it captive to Christ. His sacrifice and salvation for me prompts my sacrificial service to others for the sake of that same salvation. It makes ministry meaningful again.

When I hold firmly to the Word of God at work in all of this, I see that same Word of God at work in me. 

In these verses, Paul laid out quite the list of qualifications for ministry to Titus. While this standard of expectations certainly applies to all Christians, there is an especially important reason Paul emphasizes it for a pastor: because the pastor is understandably associated most directly with God and his authority. As one called by Christians to serve them with the gospel in Word and Sacrament, he is God’s representative. But just as surely as all of these qualifications apply to all Christians, so does the call to hold firmly to the Word of God apply to all Christians. 

In fact, without this final point in this section of Paul’s words to Titus, what precedes is purposeless. Why? Because apart from the Word at work in us, there’s no innate desire to embody the qualifications Paul lists, nor is there any ability to carry them out.

Take note of how Paul refers to the usage of teaching and doctrine, which as often as not seems to get a pretty bad rap – even within the church these days. Many view doctrine as divisive (despite the reality that it is actually what unites). Many view doctrine as a hindrance to Christian living (despite the reality that Christian living flows from it).

But see how Paul touches on it! He uses the word “encourage.” To remain faithful to the Bible’s teachings, to hold the view that doctrine is so very important and matters greatly – this is encouraging. What is discouraging is to see it downplayed, to hear the point of view that only the Jesus and salvation stuff really matters, and we can politely agree to disagree on all the other stuff. The problem with that view is that all of the “other stuff” flows from the Jesus and salvation stuff; it isn’t some add-on or take-it-or-leave-it a la carte menu. It all ties to Jesus, and for that reason, it is encouraging, as Paul maintained. 

So hold firmly to that Word of God – all of it. Our Meaningful Ministry will be blessed as we do so. For it is through the Word of God that he sends us and serves us. And as he does, he will serve us and equip us with everything that we need to carry out faithful, meaningful ministry.

Surviving Snubbed Service

adbLeave a comment

(Ezekiel 2:1-7)

Would say that you love your job? Do you have the kind of job that makes you dread weekends because you have to wait until Monday to get back to work? Does your job make you pop out of bed in the morning with energy and excitement because you get to go to work? I’m guessing that even if you really enjoy your work, you’d still agree that the scenarios I just described are pretty exaggerated. Some are blessed to really enjoy their work and thrive in it, while others dutifully carry on out of necessity, because it pays the bills.

Regardless of how you feel about your job, as people belonging to God, you have another calling, and I am not exaggerating when I say that it is absolutely the most important thing that anyone could be a part of during their lifetime here on earth. For that reason, it is also more meaningful than anything else we could do on earth. Why? Because heaven and hell hang in the balance, and would you believe it – God uses us to factor into that outcome. How?

It’s called ministry. If we hear that word and all that comes to mind are things like pastors, teachers, church work, and schools, we have far too narrow a view of ministry. Ministry is not limited by a location or a timeframe – it’s possible anywhere and everywhere and at any time. The simplest definition of ministry is “service.” But it’s more than that. After all, the person waiting on your table at the restaurant is involved in service. The librarian assisting you with checking out a book is providing you a service. 

Ministry, however, has a special purpose: it’s gospel-geared, Savior-like service. The ministry to which we are called – all of us as Christians – is in service to the good news of Jesus as Savior of the world. Sometimes our service may include directly communicating that beautiful gospel; many times it is simply service prompted by that gospel or building a bridge to that gospel down the road. Since it is gospel-geared, Savior-like service, that is what makes it meaningful ministry. 

So our focus in this first post of the series may be a bit unsettling. It’s not the kind of inspirational pep-talk that you might expect to get everyone geared up to go out and thrive in their ministry. But it is a hugely important truth that needs to be included anytime we talk about ministry. It’s essentially the sad reality that as meaningful as ministry is to God – it’s his favorite thing, by the way – there will be many for whom ministry is not meaningful at all. In fact, there are and there will be many who not only want nothing to do with it, but who also despise you for carrying it out. 

If anyone could relate, it was the prophet Ezekiel. After having just witnessed quite the strange vision, he had now dropped faced down to the ground and was being given his marching orders. He was being send as God’s spokesman. Awesome! What a privilege! What an honor! To get to be the one to personally relay God’s message? Amazing!

There was just one catch: he wasn’t being sent to people who would be tickled pink to hear it. Oh, they should have been, for sure. God’s chosen people ought to have delighted each and every time God valued them enough to personally send a spokesperson to them. What other nation could make such a claim, that God cared enough about them to repeatedly, determinedly, persistently, send prophet after prophet to them? They should have been honored to have been thought so highly of by God to take such measures. 

But that wasn’t how God described them to Ezekiel. Not even close. In fact, by my count, some form of the word “rebellious” was used five times in just this short section! Sprinkle in an “obstinate” and “stubborn,” here, and “revolt” there, along with the flattering description of “briars and thorns” and “scorpions,” and it sounds more like Ezekiel is being sent to war against the enemy rather than to proclaim God’s Word to God’s own people!

Even that would have had some appeal if God had revealed that this would be the ultimate turnaround story and that the Israelites would return back to God as a result of Ezekiel’s ministry. But God gave him no such promise. In fact, he prepared him for the more likely outcome that that they would fail to listen, based on their rebellious tendencies. 

Wouldn’t our ministry together be easier if we had the kind of promise from God that assured us that whenever we have the chance to be his spokesperson to someone else, it will always be received with a warm welcome? It will always result in repentance? It will always lead others to turn to Jesus in faith? God didn’t give Ezekiel that kind of assurance, so we probably shouldn’t expect it either.

That, however, does not nullify our need to carry it out, just as it didn’t for Ezekiel. God warned him, “You must speak my words to them, whether they listen or fail to listen, for they are rebellious” (v.7). Ezekiel was sent to carry out his ministry regardless of the outcome – “whether they listen or fail to listen.” So are we. That is both frustrating and freeing.

It’s frustrating because we always want the Word to work the best possible outcome, resulting in eternal life for everyone who hears it. But it doesn’t, and that means at times our ministry is going to feel like a waste of time. Sometimes we’ll get snubbed. Sometimes painfully so. And this may happen rather quickly, right out of the gates at times, or it could be a much longer, drawn out process. 

It may come from something as simple as an offer to pray for someone in a difficult situation, only to have that offer immediately rejected because the person doesn’t want any prayers to some “imaginary” God. It may come from a tersely rejected offer to share with someone else what your faith has meant to you. If you’ve shared your faith enough times, you have stories of rejection. A door slammed in your face. A conversation cut short the minute it became about Jesus. A relationship that suddenly more or less dissolved the moment your religion became a part of it. The butt of jokes from others – possibly even family members. No, we know full well that our service, our ministry, will be flat out rejected at times rather quickly.

Other times that rejection, that snubbed service, may be longer and more drawn out. This could be a relationship that you’ve patiently tried to reconcile over time, only to have those efforts rebuffed by the other person. It might be a family member you’ve prayed for over the years and have been very persistent with in your conversations about Jesus who hasn’t seemed to have budged at all. It’s the unchurched person you have gone out of your way to know and serve as every opportunity has come up who has never once expressed appreciation or thanks. It’s the straying member you have reached out to for months to let them know you care and to check in on them, only to have them fall away and reject their faith altogether. All of these things can happen in ministry, and it’s frustrating when they do.

But it’s also freeing that God involves us in meaningful ministry because he didn’t task Ezekiel and he doesn’t task us with being responsible for the outcome. While it can be extremely difficult to do, we have to keep our faithful ministry efforts separate from their results. The results aren’t your responsibility. They aren’t my responsibility. The results are the responsibility of God alone – and for good reason! That helps us from getting puffed up with pride when God uses us to bring about amazing results in his kingdom, and it keeps us from despairing and feeling worthless when our efforts seem to amount to nothing.

In either case, regardless of the outcome – even if it’s rejection – the reason our ministry will always be the most important thing? Because there is no plan B. There is no alternative method or approach that serves as a backup plan by which people might be saved. It’s only through the gospel. Apart from the gospel, no one can ever know their guilt and shame has been released by the Savior who was pierced and crucified for them. No one can ever know the blessings of sins forgiven unless they hear about and believe in the only One who can forgive sins: Jesus. No one can ever have peace in the face of death unless they hear and believe in the One who died for them. No one can ever have the hope of eternal life unless they hear and believe the gospel. 

That’s why your ministry matters. God can use the gifts he’s given you in ways to serve the gospel, even when you yourself haven’t directly communicated the gospel. Your hospitality to your neighbor or your kindness to a coworker might make such an impression that they want to know more about what drives that. Your offerings support mission work in new churches and in foreign lands so that others can proclaim the gospel (and those same offerings just sent ten of our teenagers to the WELS Youth Rally where they were enriched with the gospel). Your labor or service around the church property reflect positively when guests are present. Your efforts at connecting with new families a school ministry let them know they are welcome and that yours is a place for them to hear more good news. Your invitations to others to come to your church will also bear fruit. There are no little, trivial, unimportant efforts regarding ministry, as God is able to use all of our collective efforts to advance his gospel and build up his kingdom. 

Yes, at times our service will be snubbed. But we’ll survive. We’ll survive because other times our service won’t be snubbed; instead, it will bear spectacular fruit. Other times God will use you in ways you could never have predicted to radically change someone else’s life with the gospel, and to forever change their eternal life as well. What could be more meaningful than that?