Ministry that challenges me

It is so easy to "play" church and it is so easy to "play" ministry. There are a number of things that I can be involved in that would be fun to do and require no real effort other than showing up on time and doing my best when I am there. I would simply go, do my thing, then leave it all behind. I would then engage it again when the time came and the cycle would repeat itself. Some days that seems so attractive to me, but that would be a waste of time. I doubt God would be interested in the time I spent, for example, re-shelving books in the library or even generating checks for the bills we incur.

It seems to me that He would be more pleased with my efforts if I truly struggled to find a balance between small group and large group interactions; or if I deal with difficult personalities and perceived roadblocks towards more effective ministry. I have to deal with some of these things presently and I am not at all thrilled about it. What I am happy (or at least joyful) about is the prospect of doing real ministry that stretches and grows me. I know I am on the right track when I see what is being done and actually have a vision for how it could be done better - and a desire to see that vision in action.

Ministry is never convenient, but real ministry is always good. I want that to be the hallmark of who I am in my family and in my church.

Powered by ScribeFire.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

tightvnc keyboard mapping problem in Ubuntu 9.04

Image
I have been, off and on, having an issue with the keys on my keyboard mapping to the correct values when using the tightvnc client when paired with the vncserver vino in Ubuntu 9.04. I am not exactly sure what keyboard layout the client and server was expecting, but it seemed like every time I restarted the OS the keyboard mapping problem would come back and I would be at square one again. Well, I think I have found the workaround I was looking for . Hopefully this will help anyone else that is having this issue.
Read more

The manifestation of the "I" and the gift of self - Part 1

I am continuing my journey through Pope John Paul II's Theology of the Body and I had never realized how body-focused the 2nd and 3rd chapters of Genesis truly are.  But then it all makes so much more sense when it was brought to my attention that the body we have been given in a manifestation of me, or to put it another way, the "I". And it goes beyond that still. Not only does it reveal me, but my body also reveals, in no small measure, the image of God. That is not to say that God is made of flesh like me as is depicted in so many Renaissance paintings. The old man in the sky is nothing like the God as revealed in the Bible. However, the love that God is, the holiness that he is, the justice he is, the righteousness that he is...all of it is shown to the world through my body. In a very real way, my body allows for others, and for me, to participate in the mystery (the hiddenness) of the image of God. That is by design; from the beginning.  If God is revealed in nature...
Read more

Let me learn what I need to learn

In the “I don’t know what God is trying to produce in me…” portion of the blog: I work across (not with) an incredibly loud person. We are in cubes and he refuses to use a handset when he is in a conference call…or headphones. Everything is done via speaker phone. Maybe his handset is broken? I don’t know and am too timid (read “interested in keeping the peace”) to ask him. Of course he shouts into his speaker phone as well when he talks. Now he even refuses to use a keyboard. He has a speech recognition program that allows him to speak to the computer rather than type. Good for him! Now we can all hear “Comma…open parenthesis…close parenthesis…tab…tab...tab…” Was it my sin or my parents sin that relegated me to this placement in the office. We all know the answer to that but man…it sure feels like I am getting punished for something.
Read more