"The LORD said to Moses, See, I have called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with ability and intelligence, with knowledge and all craftsmanship..."
Genesis 31:2-3
Today's devotional thought comes from an unexpected source: NCAA Basketball. Specifically, it comes from the story of Jeremy Lin, the Asian-American basketball player with two possible future careers: basketball and/or ordained ministry.
I bring him up today because I was pleasantly surprised to see a young man with all of the abilities that the world craves (Harvard education AND Division I basketball talent?!) seriously considering what kind of ministry God was calling him to. Now, to be clear, we're not all called to be pastors or preachers. But those of us who follow Christ are all called to some form of ministry, whether it's in the church or out of it, and it was cool to see a guy like Jeremy take a deep breath and consider prayerfully what purpose God had for him.
How about you? How often do you think about why God put you in the place you're at, among the people you're with, with the personality and gifts you've got? The truth is God made you special for a reason: each day he gives you, you have the opportunity to live out his love and his justice in a way that only you can. People can see God through you in a unique and special way, and being aware of and on board with this can ignite your life.
But I'd like you to consider one more thing: when was the last time you reflected on your role as a minister? Not in the sense of ordained pastor, but in the sense of someone who serves as God's hands, feet, and voice in this world. One thing I hear every now and then when I say something silly is, "But you're a pastor!" I always want to say back, "But you're a follower of Christ!" Of course leaders of the church have additional responsibilities that come with leading a larger group of people, but every follower of Christ is a leader in his or her own right. Maybe it's in their home. Maybe it's with their group of friends. Maybe it's during specific times and situations. But followers of Christ are always leaders in one shape or another.
I'm thrilled to see a guy like Jeremy seriously consider ordained ministry. But my hope for all followers of Christ is that you see that ministry is right now, whether you're ordained or not. God has called you to a 24/7 walk with him, and that includes pointing others to him 24/7 through what you say, what you do, and how you live. May we all, through the Holy Spirit, say yes to God with our lives.
4 comments:
i agree that everyone is called to serve in a manner that is fit for them.
good post, but is the 'calling' more geared toward a certain aspect of service? or service in general? or does that vary by person?
i guess it depends on the person.
Hey PB,
Can you minister without evangelizing?
What if you want to, but you're afraid that you'll come off too much like you're trying to give a Jesus sales-pitch?
What if you actually do only care about using other people's moment of hurt/vulnerability to try and convert someone? I mean, obviously there's something wrong with that. But how would you fix that?
@oliver jen
If you dont mind, I would like to attempt to address that dilemma as well.
I think that intentions are the core of the problem of using someone's moment of hurt to evangelize. Within the few weeks that I was in the 'word deep' covenant group, Sam Park brought up the idea that evangelism [more specifically toward hardcore atheists] is not about winning the argument, but rather starting a relationship. I agree, because it takes a culmination of events and experiences for any person to truly trust another. With this relationship established, I would like to propose that the most Christ-like approach to the person's moment of hurt is not to convert them, but rather to show them a Christ-like love via actions which involves time.
I understand that my philosophy of evangelism is passive, however, I have found that it is the most effective in the long run. Therefore, I think that evangelism at its core should deal with the intentions that Christians adhere to. These intentions should be geared more towards building a friendship rather than converting.
This sort of goes hand in hand with my previous comment [which was really more of a rambling than anything else] and should be taken with a grain/handful of salt. Just as everyone prefers to write with a different pen [mine is the pilot G-2 0.38] their method of evangelism is different.
Hey gentlemen,
Sorry for not responding earlier. It was a pretty hectic week for me.
I'll respond from last to first since this discussion has already begun:
- intentions are indeed important when sharing the gospel. In fact, they may be one of if not the most important factor. If someone's motives are to win an argument or force a person to think a certain way, then you are by definition no longer sharing the gospel.
On the other hand, you need to ask why engage in relationship building, if that is your alternative to making a "sales-pitch", as oliver put it. Relationship building solely for the sake of trying to convince someone to think a certain way is almost worse than just trying to make the pitch in the first place. Conversely, even a "business-proposal" like conversation can be exactly what a friend wants/needs, as long as it comes with simple and pure intentions.
- My definition of evangelism is sharing the good news of Jesus Christ (regardless of whether it's through word, action, or both), so ministry is actually a form of evangelism. If you mean evangelism in the sense of trying to convert someone, then I would say that to do so at a moment when someone needs a listening ear or a shoulder to cry on is almost the opposite of true evangelism. Look at the example of Jesus: he never shied away from telling the truth about God or himself, but at the same time he wasn't on a broadcasting mission either. He lived out his message through both word and action.
- it certainly does depend on the person. Some of us are more geared towards speaking in front of large groups of people, others are more geared towards working with smaller groups, and still others would rather sit at a computer terminal. Wherever followers of Christ end up, however, we must find out how we can love God and love people in that situation.
love your comments brothers. Looking forward to more of them!
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