Multiplying Ministry

We have seen in the last two posts a summary of a talk from a conference I went to with Mark Dever last year. So far we have looked 14 blessings of every member ministry and 7 dangers and challenges and today we see 3 ways to go about multiplying ministry.

1. Understanding

We misunderstand leadership, before we require people to do something we need to teach them. We need to help them understand. And teach with clarity.

2. Motive

Avoid involvement through guilt as it saps joy in service. Tell them about God and his glory and the wonderful hope of the resurrection. Love from the one who loved first. Love for others in God's image. Teach the right motivation clearly.

3. Culture

Create a culture of discipling others, don't make it an optional extra because it's not! Helping others follow Jesus is the most basic way way we show love for each other (Jn 13). Teach that the basic package is to inconvenience yourself out of love.

The challenges of 'every member ministry'

The other day I outlined the 14 blessings that Mark Dever talked about at a conference last year. Today we outline the 7 challenges, dangers or cautions of every member ministry' that Mark Dever put before us.

1. It is difficult to manage: there is a unorganised nature to it.

2. Divisiveness

3. Reductionist: can simply reduce Christian life to ministry. New members need to attend first and then do ministry later

4. Busyness: lose all our time in church

5. Narcissism: wrong type of individualism in it

6. Be a steward of your gift/talent/desires but remember you are also called to minister in a way in which the local church needs it.

7. Rebelliousness: authority needs not to be oppressive

I think No 5 & 6 are interesting.

No 5 because there is a sentiment and feeling out there that 'everything is important'. Every announcement or piece of information is THE one to listen to and we then have lost perspective on the big picture. And everything is important then it communicates the nothing is important, everything just flat lines as being REALLY important and nothing stands out. The other consequence is that we are busy doing the wrong things that actually don't produce any Christian fruit (by which I mean Christian growth or new conversions). Churches are already busy and complex beasts to manage at times which can sap people from spending time in relationships with other people with the result being, 'I'm too busy to spend time with non-Christians (or in other valuable relationships) because I have too much church stuff to do'. When we have achieved this attitude then I think we have failed.

No 6 was particularly challenging for me. I am a big believer in people using their specific gifts in service of the saints. The question that remains is, for example;

'What if there is no one who desires/gifted/talented to read the Bible at church, should we not do it?'

Or should someone 'have a go' because the church needs it to happen? This relates across all our ministries that we do - how far do we keep stretching people who are not gifted to fulfill particular ministry roles but do it because it is an area of need? Dever's thoughts were definitely challenging for me.

The Blessings of 'every member ministry' thinking

One of the things I have been trying to create a buzz about this year is 'every member ministry'. The unashamed goal is for everyone to know and think that they are as much a minister as someone with a Rev in front of their name. In our context of middle-class suburbia I want our people to think 'we are ministers in the urban jungle; we are missionaries to the Parish of Norwest'. I want people to get to the point were they feel equipped and ready for the task of being a missionary and I see my job as one of helping them for this task. As Eph 4 says

And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and
teachers, 12to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building
up the body of Christ, 13 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,

As I was shifting through some notes from a conference I was at with Mark Dever last year I came across his 14 blessings of every member ministry. I haven't got explanations for them all unfortunately.

1. Blessing of perspective: especially to the Pastor to know it is not all up to him
2. Blessing of fellowship: encourage others in ministry
3. Blessing of growth: there is a new completeness in the believer
4. Blessing of relationship: a depth
5. Blessing of seriousness
6. Blessing of obedience
7. Blessing of service: from consumers to 'where is that person?' How can I follow them up? A move to contributors to the gathering
8. Blessing of maturity
9. Blessing of resources:
10. Blessing of priesthood: it takes seriously the 'priesthood of all believers'.
11. Blessing of efficiency
12. Blessing of corporate responsibility
13. Blessing of witness: the more people are involved the greater the witness. Don't underestimate the power of corporate witness. I remember the story he told of a Professor in Sociology who became a Christian at his church because of the way the people related to each other.
14. Blessing of perseverance

Looking back on them now, I wish that I had taken better notes!