I was talking to a friend a few weeks ago about ministry. We talked about what it means, takes, and looks like to be in ministry. Since that talk, I haven't been able to get the words of his personal testimony in ministry out of my mind.
Here's the set-up....
When I moved to Tacoma, I already had a strong discernment of God's calling on my life - ministry. However, how, where, and what that looked like were not clear. As time progressed, I continued to call on the Lord for more answers to these questions; and faithful as always he has provided direction and clarity. As things usually are with God, not to the full extent I would prefer, but enough to decide I would wait at least a year before beginning to raise support as a local missionary here in Tacoma. Now, over the past few weeks, he has reveled to me that I need to begin sooner.
This is what spared the conversation with my friend and I. I needed confirmation and advice, and he is the perfect one to ask. He has been in ministry for a number of years and is the most Godly man I know - full of wisdom, revelation, and humility. He is also the type of person who never tells you what you want to hear, but tells you what you need to hear. He speaks the truth. Perfect.
The story...
Sparing the details of his past, it went something like this: suffering, testing, persecution, refinement, all ending in humility, wisdom, and glory. Albeit the personal hardship, there was success; large youth ministries, massive breakthrough in individuals and churches, lives being transformed and souls saved. However, none of this came without him being broken in the process. While he was speaking I saw the deliverance in his eyes. Yet, more profoundly, I heard the genuine thankfulness in his voice. Pure thankfulness. Not because it was biblical or that it was the right response, but simply because he had encountered God and was transformed into a more Christ-like person than he could have ever imagined. Truly allowing God to mold us requires us to have an eternal state-of-mind. You see, in the midst of his trials he was able to find God in the process, and than find solace in the fact God was conforming him. He was able to see the man he was becoming, which in turn enabled him to look past the negativity and focus on the positive outcome. More over, he embraced it. Furthermore, he spoke of his journey to me in a manner in which all leaders should speak to those wanting to pursue ministry; a manner not deprived of encouragement but filled with Godly caution. A caution that requires a response. Being in ministry is definitely not the easy route. The Bible speaks about those in ministry being held to a higher standard. It also speaks about being faceless and nameless; often times two things that are hard to accomplish from the pulpit.
The thing he said that penetrated the deepest, was this line "I have not once asked or sought a position in ministry." This is so counter-cultural to a secular view of advancement, or even within the ranks of current pastors and leaders within the church. These words could only come from a man who is deeply aware of the sovereignty of God. A man who is completely humble. So many times I have found myself trying to prove myself to find the next niche to perform. I find myself trying to place my self in positions rather than allowing God to do the placing. I realize now that only the fashion in which he pursues ministry can God's will fully be aligned with my own. Not only that, but when we allow God to seek us and place us where he wants us, we are in tune with God's timing- which is usually so much different than our own.
This friend of mine is the one who sits in the back at church events. He is the one who doesn't exalt himself, but only exalts the Lord. He performs the work of God in a faceless manner. He is the one who never feels the need to be the face of a certain ministry, but operates so God becomes the only one to receive glory. He completely understands Luke 12:48 which says "To whom much has been given, much is expected." In a world that is certainly experiencing shaking, where the Church is now more than ever before being held to a higher standard, in a country where western culture has over ridden biblical standard, and in a time when we need Jesus more than ever before.... we need more leaders like my friend.
So, here's to the perfect sovereignty of our Lord Jesus Christ. Here is to the peace we discover when we trust in His sovereignty. And here is to pursuing ministry with a faceless and humble approach.
