Every Christian Is a Minister
--Ephesians 4:7-12
In his 1786 “Thoughts Upon Methodism” John Wesley made a statement that continually sticks with me:
I am not afraid that the people called Methodist should ever
cease to exist either in Europe or America. But I am afraid
least they should only exist as a dead sect, having the form
of religion without the power. And this undoubtedly will
be the case unless they hold fast both the doctrine, spirit,
and discipline with which they first set out.”
[--John Wesley, “Thoughts Upon Methodism,”
Works of John Wesley, Volume 13, page 258.]
Has John Wesley’s prophecy concerning the fire of our Revival Movement been fulfilled? Elsewhere the Methodist Movement remains alive and well. In the last four years the United Methodist Church in Africa has seen a growth rate of 30 percent, and from 1995 to 2004 our Church in Africa, Asia, and Europe has increased over 68 percent to a total of 1, 880,000 with churches in the former Soviet Republics and Eastern Bloc countries growing at the rate of 3.5 percent [--http://www.umc.org/site/c.gjJTJbMUIuE/b.1568201/k.63D/Membership_dips_in_US_but_increases_in_other_countries.htm].
Basically in the United States it is a different story. In 1968 when the former Methodist and Evangelical United Brethren Churches became the United Methodist Church, we were over ten million strong. Today our membership is slightly more than eight million, and we have shown an annual decline over these past 38 years.
In the territory covered by our Illinois Great Rivers Conference from Cairo to Kankakee the picture is even more disturbing. In 1973 when I began my ministry our membership totaled 209,538. At the end of 2004 our total was only 155,264 for a net loss of 127,272 or 45.05 percent in the past 31 years. In 2004 only 16 Annual Conferences of the 63 in the United States reported any membership increase, and out of the 47 that declined our neighbor to the north The Northern Illinois Conference showed the second highest decrease in the denomination, a loss of 3.5 percent in one year [--http://www.umc.org/site/c.gjJTJbMUIuE/b.1568201/k.63D/Membership_dips_in_US_but_increases_in_other_countries.htm].
What is the picture for our local congregation at Kankakee Trinity United Methodist Church? A better indicator of spiritual vitality than total membership is the average attendance at the primary worship service each week. In 1973 Trinity averaged 217 in Morning Worship. The total number for 2004 was 83, a loss of 134 for a decrease of 61.75 percent. Do we “exist as a dead sect, having the form of religion without the power?” Can we honestly testify that we have been faithful to “hold fast both the doctrine, spirit, and discipline with which we first set out?”
In all fairness, we are not alone. All mainline American denominations are on the decline—Episcopalian, Presbyterian Church USA, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, United Church of Christ, American Baptists, and Disciples of Christ. However, let us “set in order our house” while they do the same for their own.
Today is Pentecost, the day the New Testament Church was baptized with the Holy Spirit and with fire, and as such today we celebrate “The birthday of the Church.” Peter and the other 119 that obediently had waited for the baptism of the Holy Spirit in the Upper Room had much more cause for rejoicing that day, a far more positive picture. Acts 2 joyfully proclaims: “So those who welcomed his message were baptized, and that day about three thousand persons were added. . . . Day by day, as they spent much time together in the temple, they broke bread at home and ate their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having the goodwill of all the people. And day by day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved.” God’s mathematical process for His Church is addition, or even multiplication, not subtraction. We are guilty of reversing the process because we have not faithfully “held fast to the doctrine, spirit, and discipline which we first set out.”
My prayer for our Church—at Trinity, in the Illinois Great Rivers Conference, as a denomination, and as the Church Universal—is that God will bless us with Pentecostal fire and zeal once more so that again we experience “day by day the Lord adding to our number those who are being saved.” I hope that is your prayer as well. Important as prayer is, however, we must put feet to our prayers. I have often heard it said that as Christians we must “pray as if everything depended upon God and work as if everything depended upon us.”
I believe God wants to renew and revive the United Methodist Church—across our denomination, across our Illinois Great Rivers Annual Conference, and here in Kankakee, at Trinity United Methodist Church on South Third Avenue. Methodism at heart was a lay renewal movement rooted in the Anglican Church. Most of the early Methodist preachers were lay pastors, not educated, ordained clergymen in the Established Church. The leaders of the early Methodist Classmeetings were committed laymen and laywomen, and all Methodists were actively involved in ministry. For revival and renewal to happen in our Churches today, we must regain and reclaim our lost vision that “every Christian is a minister.”
God calls every Christian to be in ministry. Not every Christian is called to be a pastor or a preacher, but if you are a Christian, you are called to be in ministry. Our text today asserts among other things “He, i. e. Jesus Christ, gave some pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ.” The message is clear. My spiritual gifts include that of pastor-teacher, and that is my calling as well. As a pastor-teacher, my divine job description is to “equip the saints for the work of ministry, for the building up the body of Christ.”
Saints in Scripture refer to all born again Christians, the entire Church, the whole body of Christ. Paul often calls the Church “saints” in his letters as in Romans 1:7: “To all God’s beloved in Rome, who are called to be saints.” It is the saints, the entire Church, the Body of Christ who are called to “do the work of ministry for building up the body of Christ.” Pastor-teachers are called to equip the saints for the work of ministry. In other words our holy commission as pastor-teachers is to fully prepare our laity for the work of ministry and turn you loose to do it under the power and direction of the same Holy Spirit who enabled the 120 in the Upper Room on Pentecost to “turn the Roman world upside down for Jesus.”
The Biblical principal of ministry has always been that laity and clergy are partners together as God’s instruments in fulfilling His Great Commission: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age” [--Matthew 28:19-20].
God’s plan for saving the world never intended that it be done only by those who are seminary graduates. Anyone who is content with filling and warming a pew on Sunday morning, soaking up spiritual blessings like a sponge, and being totally satisfied they have done their Christian duty for one more week is disobedient to the Holy Spirit’s call, and may not be a Christian at all. Such folks are only “playing Church.”
If you know Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Saviour, you are called to be a minister, including giving pastoral care to others. Bruce Larson in his Christianity Today article “Risking Lay Ministry” outlines only three prerequisites for lay ministry. They are three questions you should openly and honestly ask yourself before God:
1. Do you have a personal relationship with Jesus? The
Church is full of people who believe in Jesus but have
never met Him. The relevant question isn’t, “Do you
believe Jesus died on the cross?” The Devil believes that
much. The question Jesus asks His disciples is, “Do you
love me?”
2. Will you love one another as I have loved you?
3. Will you go into the world in My Name? If we’re
willing to go as God’s representative to any place
and anyone, He will place us in ministry. I think
one of the big myths about ministry is that Jesus
sends us only to hard places. A poet once was asked
how he wrote poetry. “It’s either easy or impossible,”
he confided. “You can’t do it by hard work.” That’s
true of Christian ministry: if it’s hard work and nothing
else, it’s probably not God’s place for you.
Larson summaries it: “So I tell people, ‘Don’t assume God will
Send you to the hardest place. Start with those places where you would like to make a difference for Christ’” [--“Risking Lay Ministry-Leadership Books-ChristianityTodayLibrary.com (http://www.ctlibrary.com/5980)].
Jesus does not “call the powerful; He empowers the called.” He is calling each of you to be in ministry for His kingdom, to make a difference in your family, your Church, your neighborhood, and your world. Bruce Larson again expresses it so powerfully:
It’s scary to step out in ministry when we feel
inadequate. Most of us would rather wait around
for the Holy Spirit to fill us with power before
we risk anything. But Jesus indicates we need to
go in obedience and believe that when we get to
that needy place, His Spirit will be there. We won’t
get the power before we go. . . .See if God hasn’t
already gone before you to prepare the way.
[ibid.]
Jesus calls every Christian to be in ministry. Are you a Christian? If so you are a minister. Are you obeying His call?
John Wimber was the founder of the Vineyard Christian Fellowship and composer of “The Spirit Song” we sang a few minutes ago. Nicky Gumbel in his Alpha Talk “What About the Church” shares this actual encounter Pastor Wimber had with one of his members at the Anaheim Vineyard:
“John Wimber was once approached by a member of his congregation who had met somebody in great need. After the Sunday service this man told John Wimber of his frustration in trying to get help.
“This man needed a place to stay, food, and support while he gets on his feet and looks for a job,” he said. “I am really frustrated. I tried telephoning the church office, but no one could see me, and they couldn’t help me. I finally ended up having to let him stay with me for the week! Don’t you think the church should take care of people like this?”
“John Wimber thought for a moment and then said, ‘It looks like the church did’” [--Nicky Gumbel, “What About the Church?” in Questions of Life: A Practical Introduction to the Christian Faith (Colorado Springs: Cook Communications Ministries, 2003), 226.].
This is lay ministry in action. The Churches that are making an impact on our society today and are continuing to see the Lord add to His Church “Those who are being saved” are Churches whose laity are in ministry 24-7. If you are a Christian, God has and is calling you into ministry. Are you obeying His call?
