Perhaps our American Constitutional concept of
"Separation of Church and State" permeates our consciousness more
than we realize. According to most definitions work is work and ministry is
what certain officially ordained clergy do for work. But are we ordinary
people not Christians every part of every day, and representatives of
Christ, or does that only happen when we're in Church? How does our idea of
ministry change if we are being Christ's ministers whenever and wherever we
are? Maybe that seems easier if you're a teacher, a doctor, or a social worker.
Is it possible to be a minister if you're a motorcycle mechanic, house painter,
file clerk, in a grocery store line, or corporate CEO? If we truly are one body
in Christ, with many members each with our own gifts, what, in even shaky
Faith, is there to Fear from accepting our roles as ministers of the Gospel
whatever, whenever, wherever it is that we are doing?
Dear Chief Minister:
I really don't want to stand on the street corner
and handout leaflets, or knock on doors to proclaim You to the world. Even so,
I would like to believe that I can be one of Your ministers without having to
be so formal about it. Maybe I'm just being presumptuous to think so if I have
no special training or credentials. So, how do I get to have a ministry?
Maybe if for today I give up the notion that only
specially educated, formally trained, ordained people can be ministers, I can take
on looking at the most mundane, or more important task as a
ministry. If it is something that needs to be done, wherever it is, I can
complete it or at least contribute time and energy to it without grumbling and
resentment. I can smile at someone I pass on the street. I can listen to
someone without interrupting. I can just be a comfortable presence and accept
people for who and where in life they are. I can serve soup, or read at the
Sunday service, serve on a church vestry or council; I can learn how to do
other kinds of ministry in and out of “Church.” I can
seek some training in an area of Church life that interests me. I will pray to
know You are with me always and allow that to guide my thoughts, my actions,
and my sense of being an integral part Your One Body.
If everything I do is in the spirit of and as a minister of Christ's
Gospel, then perhaps I will more easily be conscious of what I will NOT do,
and, act accordingly. amen.
What is your definition of ministry? Here are a few that still only recognize the ordained:
-From Webster: the body of ministers of religion: clergy
-From Dictionary.com:
1. the service, functions, or profession of a minister of religion;
2.the body or class of ministers of religion; clergy.
From the 1979 Episcopal Book of Common Prayer Catechism, pg 855:
Q. Who are the ministers of the Church?
A. The ministers of the Church are lay persons, bishops, priests, and deacons.
A. The ministry of lay persons is to represent Christ and his
Church, to bear witness to him wherever they may be; and, according to the gifts given them, to carry on
Christ's work of reconciliation in the world; and to take their place in the life, worship, and governance of
the Church.
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