MINISTRY for God or are you just doing a JOB?

A couple of incidents have concerned me yesterday. Firstly I was asked where I saw my career going... secondly I read an interview with someone in ministry looking at their career to date. Hang on....career....somethings not right!

I dragged this up - it must be floating around somewhere on the internet, someone emailed it to me 6 years ago.

Some people have a JOB in the church; others involve themselves in a MINISTRY. What's the difference?

If you are doing it just because no one else will, it's a JOB. If you are doing it to serve the Lord, it's a MINISTRY.

If you quit because somebody criticised you, it was a JOB. If you keep on serving, it's a MINISTRY.

If you'll do it only as long as it does not interfere with your other activities, it's a JOB. If you are committed to staying with it even when it means letting go of other things, it's a MINISTRY.

If you quit because no one praised you or thanked you, it was a JOB. If you stay with it even though nobody recognises your efforts, it is a MINISTRY.

It's hard to get excited about a JOB. It's almost impossible not to be excited about a MINISTRY.

If our concern is success, it's a JOB. If our concern is faithfulness, it's a MINISTRY.

An average church is filled with people doing JOBs. A healthy church is filled with people involved in MINISTRY.

Where do we fit in?
What about us?

If God calls you to a MINISTRY, don't treat it like a JOB. If you have a JOB, give it up and find a MINISTRY. God does not want us feeling stuck with a JOB, but excited and faithful to Him in a MINISTRY.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A bit of sally bashing....

Came across a good bit of Sally bashing over at salvationsoldiers I have to say we try and make sure that everything we raise goes into projects that build local community in Poplar but hopefully if you read this blog you get that sense anyway.
Read more

Lost Voices of Mission...Fred Brown

Image
Along the world famous Oxford street in London's Westend; nestled in among the classy frontage of designer shops there is almost an unnoticeable, unimpressive wooden door. It is more or less alongside The Regent Hall's main entrance onto the busyness of Oxford Street. People pass the wooden door oblivious to the equally unimpressive wooden steps that go up three storey's to what was Regent Hall's youth club. When I was 10 I played on these bare wooden steps totally unaware of the significance behind and upon which I played. Many years later I discovered a university youth work course - as an induction to Youth Work - stopped outside this insignificant wooden door to point out that Youth Work as we know it in the UK started behind this door. ...whether that be the surbanite flower people that flooded the Westend to express their free love; or the hard core drug community this unimpressive wooden door became the 'portal' that blurred encounter between church an...
Read more

Types of Christian Spirituality...

Image
It is easy to think and to limit ourselves to a single approach to Christian spirituality. A 'if it works for me it should work for you approach' tends to narrow our appreciation of other ways which actually impoverishes our experience of spirituality. Urban T. Holmes has developed a means of exploring spirituality and helps develop an appreciation through discovering links between spirituality, temperament and predisposition. The diagram illustrates his ideas together with potential inherent dangers. The vertical continuum speaks and helps us understand our relational orientation to God. This ranges from engaging with God through understanding and theological process to a more emotive response. Horizontally speaks of a persons preferred means of pursuing the spiritual life. Kataphtic speaks of affirmation and the need of something tangible in an individuals spirituality- this may take the form of worship, art, even imagination with the use of metaphors, symbols and images play...
Read more