Three to Pray For 9.16.2021

Ministry produces great joy and plunges us into deep sorrow. One of the strengths of the Church is that not every individual will process the same experiences at the same time. In congregational life, there are instances where our sharing is deeper and more complex. There are times when we are bearing the same burdens and focusing on the same issues. 

This happens when a local Church is called to minister during times of crisis such as extreme illness or death. These contexts can be both exhilarating and exhausting. We can experience both the depth of sadness and the height of solidarity. I am blessed to serve a wonderful congregation. We have seasoned, capable leaders. We have many committed servants. No one jockeys for the limelight. There is no pecking order, outsized egos, or inflated sense of importance. Jesus demonstrates that servant's attitude in washing His disciple's feet. For us it may be washing dishes, wiping down tables, or wiping away tears. Sometimes, given the complexities of the real world, all of those things are done in the same room, simultaneously, by whoever is next in line. As a pastor, I would like to think that this is the result of long years of patient teaching by Godly men. That may have contributed, but clearly, this is more about following the Master’s example than my teaching.

In processing a busy day yesterday and a busy first half of the week I reflected upon this intersection of the needs of ministry and the heart of ministry. This is not what I had intended to write about this week but it did seem appropriate. Those who minister and who benefit from it are people. We are Fallible creatures with great promise. Made in the image of God yet flawed by the fall. We try our best to be our best and often fail. In response to Jesus, we learn to live by faith in such a way that we decreasingly rely upon our own strength and increasingly rely on His. Even this process is not easy. He or she who ministers today will tomorrow be the object of ministry. The one who serves today with humility will tomorrow benefit from service with tears of joy. 

At its best, the Church is an interconnected structure through which the life of Christ flows. What analogy should we use? Perhaps an arboreal comparison? 

“I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5 ESV)

On the other hand perhaps an anatomical analogy better fits

“If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together. Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.” (1 Corinthians 12:26–27 ESV)

As we abide in Jesus we partake in His life. As we abide in and with one another we empower one another to grow as fully as possible into His image. That is discipleship. That is body-life. It is organic, organizational, obligatory. It is not always easy but it is worth it. 

Throughout this week of ministry while laboring in both the Word and in the kitchen, while making difficult pastoral calls and officiating a funeral I made the following observations about the people we encounter during the process of serving. We encounter individuals who are Christian but who do not attend our own congregation. With them, we share the bond of Christ but not always the same structure of accountability. Others are individuals whose faith we cannot vouch for. We meet them in passing in a time of great duress when faith is a comfort even for those who do not regularly worship nor participate in the ongoing life of a local congregation. The true pleasure comes when we serve in trying times with those we know we will meet around the Lord's Table this Sunday. With those who will join us in gathering around the Word of God for the sake of worship. Every time you or I engage in ministry we will share the burden with all of the following categories of people. Sometimes individuals will display characteristics of each.

Hurting

You will meet people whose lives are shattered, whose will is tested, and whose hearts are broken. Death, disease, discomfort, and displeasure are cultural epidemics. It has always been that way and always will in a fallen world. Because I have spent this week with those encountering grief this has been driven home in the most abrupt manner. 

Some of those doing the ministering are hurting as well. When preachers preach the funerals of members of their own flock they are not only reaching out to the hurting they do so with an injured heart of their own. During this second season of the pandemic, this is continuing to unfold not only for those we lead to the grave of a loved one but it is impressed upon us every day as we consider those who are sick and those who are in solitude. 

Pain is a result of the fall. Each of us bears injuries which will only find full healing in the presence of the resurrected Christ. Until that day we cling to Him as both teacher and example of how to walk the way of the cross. 

Helping

The second category of people is those who are helping. When some limp others will need to lend a steady arm and clear vision. The help we give as believers springs from the love which Christ has made real to us in His own suffering. Though we relish the promise of eternal life it has begun with our lives embedded in mortality. Until the day of our own passing, we are called upon to salt the wounds of the hurting and bring the light into darkened hearts. 

There are many ways to help. A kind word or nearly forgotten memory lovingly recalled can bring refreshment to those who are beaten down by the spiritual, mental, and physical toll of pain. 

A nice meal after the graveside service might seem inconsequential but to those who have survived on adrenaline and aspirin it can bring refreshment that is unthreatening and “normal.” After the meal? Dishes must be done, the hall set in order, and life must begin to return to normal. 

Weeks and months after the formal gatherings of funeral, visitation, and dinner there will be opportunities in worship and in passing for us to continue to extend kindness. This work of ministry fulfills our obligation for each and every part of the body to nurture the whole body in its sundry parts. 

Hardened

It gives me no pleasure to mention that the presence of the hurting and the process of helping has an entirely different impact on others. There are some who, despite their faithfulness to Jesus, become hardened to the needs of others. Not hardened in the sense of being jaded or apathetic but hardened in the sense that the pain does not seem to penetrate their hearts and the process of helping does not seem to lead to healing. Some have concluded that the nourishment of the Body of Christ should always only flow to them and never from them. They do not see ministry as a broad tapestry to which they contribute only a part but see all ministry through the limited perspective of their own concerns.  

For the hardened, excellence in ministry is narrowed to the field of their own vision. Their own hurts are magnified and the pain of those who surround them is always usurped as an explanation for their own. When ministry becomes transactional and selfish it undermines the message of hope that we have in Jesus. When I am not myself hurt but insist on acting like it my behavior signifies that I have blinded my eyes and hardened my heart to the actual needs of others. 

I pray and recommend that we all pray for the softness of our own hearts. Sometimes this means that we say difficult words to those who are avoiding the consequences of their own decisions. Other times that means we remain a silent witness to the love of Jesus and hug the hurting who cannot hear words of comfort. Softness in ministry means that every individual deserves the appropriate touch of Christ. When it is my turn to give it I need to step aside and let the Master use my faculties (body and mind) as the Spirit softens my heart.

Loving the Church

I will never tire of speaking or writing of the glorious nature of the local Church. Though Christ’s kingdom is universal the presence of that Kingdom is always particularized. Always local. Always present. Always incarnational. When your congregation ministers in its local community you are the Church, the whole Church, and nothing but the Church for those touched by Jesus through your efforts.

Join me in praying for the three faces of service I have seen in my life and ministry and which I have beheld this week. Each of us has or may find ourselves acting in one of these capacities sooner than we imagine. In a fallen world it would seem that the next disaster is right around the corner. 

    Love the God who called you in Christ. Serve those who are wounded. Do not let the overwhelming flood of misery fill your lungs with the debilitating fluid of apathy or harden your heart to those who are drowning in their sorrow, pain, or suffering.  We take our life from Jesus, not to hoard it but to hasten the comfort that only His life can bring.