Amen! I've gone through many stages of ministry understanding. I'll share them and see if we have even more common ground...
...Once upon a time, in a land, far, far away, I was studying for the ministry. I had lofty opinions on what exactly this meant. We had at the school I was attending, a seminary president come and ask us all, "What is the ministry?" Many answers were given. He said nay to them all! Then he took us to Ephesians 4:11-16...
And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.
From this, I learned that leaders are there to equip fellow believers, not to be good Christians, but to do the very thing they are doing - serve one another in Christ. At the time, I saw this as giving them a better understanding of God's Word and how to apply it in their lives, so that someday, they'd be able to teach others also. I still believe there's great validity in this approach. I now understand that ministry goes far deeper. To me, ministry is working on the behalf of others, for their spiritual, physical and emotional betterment. That can begin to sound a bit selfish, so let me 'splain.
Each of us has been given spiritual gifts. I'm not here to talk about what those gifts are, but rather how those gifts are used. I used to see ministry as teaching Sunday School, singing in the choir, passing the offering plate, serving as a deacon, managing the finances, or any other of the things that local churches offer as service opportunities. And in many of these areas, I found corresponding spiritual gifts. Oddly enough, I found more...that didn't apply in the areas I mentioned. Those gifts that fit in those areas (which, mind you, I'm not negating as ministries in the least), also fit into far more personal areas of ministry. Simply put, ministry is serving each other, with the gifts God has gifted us with, in love, for their betterment and His glory.
This was astounding to me. Maybe not to y'all, but I got caught up in the traditional mold of "ministry" only to find that most were simply "programs." Programs are great. People are greater. I can teach many from a pulpit and never really know what affect I've had, or, I can teach an individual, one on one, and see a difference; hear a difference, and begin to know that God is working there. I can give to a need ambiguously at church, and know that it's going to help someone in need, or, I can give of my finances, time, muscle or simply myself to meet a specific need expressed by a specific brother and truly help bear that brother's burden. Better yet, I see direct results.
I basically see ministry as far more personal than programmable as I ever did before. NOTE: This is a hodge-podge of thought as I'm typing from work and doing work in between. If I lack in clarity, please advise and I'll 'splain some more!
