Program vs. Personal Ministry

Tonight I have been thinking about all the things that people do in most church organizations to foster various kinds of ministry, unity, fellowship and other things that we as Christians are called to do. On the whole I really do think most programs are started with a sincere love or calling that God places on certain people, but I am afraid most programs go from there and become something they were not intended to be.

I started thinking about this issue because of a discussion at our Sunday gathering this past week. Someone in our group was concerned about another brother who had not been around at our Sunday gatherings or in contact with anyone for a few weeks. The concerned person was thinking that the answer might be to have people call and encourage this missing brother (and others) by starting some kind of rule, agreement or procedure where we will call others who have not been around for a while. He suggested that maybe we could have a policy whereby if a ‘missing person’ had not told anyone that they will be missing for a few weeks, and we don’t see them around, someone should call them. While it might not be harmful to set some kind of general agreement among the members of the Body and maybe even have some people who feel gifted to do such a thing set this up, I think maybe this is how ‘church programs’ get started. Their purpose is noble, and their effect can be truly loving and Christian, but over time these wonderful things take on a life (or lack of life as the case may be) of their own.

Our group discussed this issue and agreed that it was not good that someone was missing contact with the group for so long and that few had called him. It is not the loving thing to left someone drift away, alone.

Some said that since we are all different, have differing personalities and different gifts, it should be those who are closer to the missing person who contact him, not to give an excuse, but just because God has gifted us all differently and not everyone is called to minister to everyone. In some ways that might be true, but really we are to feel each-others pain and rejoice in each other’s triumphs! (Rom 12:15) We are also called to grow in God’s Grace & knowledge – and learn t live a godly life submitted to God (2 pet 3: 11-18). So we are called to do things that might not feel comfortable, but we are to love one another and do what we would have done to ourselves. Therefore we must learn to take our own responsibility to do things that edify and encourage others even if we are not comfortable doing it because “we don’t know them very well” or “it might seem strange to call them” or “they might think I am just calling to get them to come back and put a guilt trip on them”. All these excuses should be tossed aside. We are called to GROW… to be loving like Christ and not be concerned with how others will perceive what we do that is loving. For this kind of love Jesus was called a drunkard and a friend of sinners.

The problem with this whole personal-responsibility thing is that we assume it will be un productive because it is not a program and it is not structured and we all forget … etc. but maybe the problem is our modern-day mentality about such things. We think a production line is better than a hand crafted thing because it is cheaper to make, more can be made and there is a level of quality control procedures that can be built into it. Yet, it is often the handcrafted things, the one of a kind things made by the personal touch of an artist or skilled craftsman that are much more valuable and long lasting.

I think that what God really wants from us is to be personal craftsmen of His Love, not assembly line workers in His factory!

It occurs to me that maybe a lot of the things we have made into church programs, ministries and procedures as an organized church group really do have a corresponding personal responsibility. In other words, it is true that some of the things that are walked out as programs at most churches are truly an attempt to simply walk out a calling that God might well have placed on someone’s heart. They started that way. And many ‘programs’, ‘pastors’, and ‘parishioners’ operate in these programs out of a sincere heart for people and a love for God. I do not doubt the sincerity of most. However, have you ever considered that instead of teaching an assembly of believers to sign up to work the assembly line to call others and encourage them from the attendance list, we should be teaching and challenging people to do something uncomfortable this week, do something God has put on your heart that you have been hesitating to do. Something you think you are not equipped to do.

I’m thinking that instead of creating programs for the church as a group to follow we should be making challenges to ourselves (maybe even in the tangible form of a list) and to each other. If we can’t rely on a programmed, scheduled ‘fellowship’ time, challenge yourself to make time and call someone to have some real fellowship. If you know that you don’t have a program to teach your kids about God, and you know it is your responsibility, make time and challenge yourself to talk to your kids about God and pray with them. Not is a ritual form, but in a day-to-day form. And if you are not felling equipped to do it, train yourself! Read and pray for yourself, or with a few other believers you know.

If we all did this, if we all refused to rely on a program or someone else to do our ‘spiritual life’ and ‘ministry’ for us, we would find we have a lot of brothers and sisters to rely on and minister with. Not in a programmable fashion, but in a real-life, never easy - but always challenging, maturing and satisfying way!