What I wish the Church Understood About Ministry, Part 2.

Note: I unwittingly discovered Blogspot has limits to the blog length. You can read part one of this article here.

Moving on to the fourth point in the article:

4. A church is a place where I can use my gifts, passion, skills, personality and life experiences to serve, but it’s up to me to become a servant. (Matthew 20:28)

This is my single biggest pet peeve about the article. First let me say that the writer is absolutely spot on, but he is ignoring something I have seen consistently in many churches. And for me it has been the primary reason for moving on.

There are people in the congregation who desperately long to serve, but are never given the chance. I know because I have often been one of them. When I became a Christian, I hit the ground running, eager to serve. One of the requirements of the Bible College I attended was to be involved in service to your local congregation. As a new Christian with a LOT of baggage, I knew I was not spiritually ready to lead, so I discussed it with my pastor, and agreed to be the janitor/groundskeeper for the church.

When I returned to my advisor, he stated simply, "we are looking for something more spiritual in nature".

That's one of those conversations I wish I had back, because today I would have no difficulty explaining how serving by maintaining the premises can be just as spiritual as leading worship, but I can't go back to that point. But I have experienced many such instances in multiple churches, and have seen people who wish to serve pushed aside for various reasons, either because those in charge felt their abilities weren't good enough, or because they felt the person wasn't spiritual enough. I suspect that it's often been the latter in my case, but I can never be sure; at any rate, I've never felt the need to PROVE my spirituality.

I will note in this that in one case the failure to click into an area of ministry was my fault, but that's one case out of several.

Eventually, my quest to serve became less and less ministry centric, and I tried to concentrate on things like hanging around and helping cleanup after church meals, or assisting when numbers are needed; but the majority of my focus has been outside the church walls. My heart is geared to the homeless, and that is where I focus my ministry, because it's one of the few places where my offering is accepted.

On to point 5, the final point:

5. A church is a place where I have the chance to change the world by fulfilling the Great Commission, but it’s up to me to actually become a person of impact. (Romans 10:14)

This statement is absolutely correct, and I have nothing to add to it. But there is a sub point that in my opinion is potentially the most dangerous point of the article:

Churches exist for the purpose of their non-members.
They do not exist to serve the whims of their members.
Now it's true that churches do not exist to serve the whims of their members, the concept that they exist solely for members is wrong, wrong, wrong. It is entirely misguided, it is bad theology, and it is antithetical to EVERYTHING Jesus taught.

Given the fact that the author put together a generally well written article, I am willing to concede context and accept that he may not have meant that exactly as it is read, but the church is as much a place to nurture and grow its members as it is to encourage nonmembers. It is, in many ways, a nest, where we are to feel its comfort and protection, but we must leave as we learn to fly and soar.

And it is, most importantly, still there for us, still beckoning, when we fall.

And again, carefully noting that I do not believe the author intended it this way based on everything else they wrote, I will continue on the point about the church existing exclusively for its nonmembers, as it is a misconception I have seen churches hold.

If the church exists only for its nonmembers, then why do you solicit my attendance, my tithes? I know why, of course, and the above points spell it out, but we must not allow ourselves to fall into the thinking that we can neglect the needs of the faithful at the expense of the unsaved. That can only lead away from Christ, not towards him.

In writing this, I am hoping the reader understands it was written not to argue the quite valid points presented, but to offer another side, another perspective. And hope that can lead us to deepen our ministries.