Theology Of Ministry Final Paper

This paper expresses my mature theology of ministry. It will make use of my previous papers on ministry, leadership, and integrity. I will explain how I view my ministry in light of the challenges of the contemporary Church and Culture. I will answer the following questions: What is the task of ministry in today’s world? What are its challenges? What is the relationship between Church and World?

MINISTRY PAPER SUMMARY

This “Theology of Ministry” section will address the following issues: norms: Biblical and theological understanding of ministry models; contexts of ministry (Clinical Pastoral Education, my endorser, my denomination, and culture), and skills sets. This will include which functions come easily to me, which are challenges, and how I balance them.

Regarding norms, Biblical and theological understanding of ministry models, Avery Dulles wrote in Chapter I about “The Use of Models in Ecclesiology”. The models are elaborated on the next page. In Chapter III, “The Church as a Mystical Communion”, Dulles wrote, “The abiding presence of the Holy Spirit is capable of being integrated with the concept of the People of God, especially if this is developed along the lines of the “new covenant” written on men’s hearts (Jer.31:33).” The Holy Spirit is promised to us by Christ. The verse he mentioned follows. “But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days,” declares the LORD, “I will put My law within them and on their heart I will write it; and I will be Their God, and they shall be My people.” A covenant is a promise.

This promise is that we have The Lord in us, and we are His people. I try to have the Holy Spirit’s gifts working in my life, which are in 1 Corinthians 12, Romans 12, and Ephesians 4. The latter is verse 11 “And he gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers”). I try to have the fruit of the Spirit to balance the gifts. Galatians 5:22,23 states “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control”.

Chapter V is “The Church as Herald”. I was in a Youth With A Mission band in the summer of 1990 named “The Herald” in Glasgow, Scotland. We learned the motto of the city was “Let Glasgow flourish by the preaching of Thy Word and praising Thy Name.” Later, it was shortened to “Let Glasgow flourish,” and call it coincidence, the shipbuilding industry crashed. Just as Glasgow originally flourished, I am thankful I can lead worship and preach every other week at the Federal Correctional Complex in Florence, Colorado. I end my services with the Great

Commission of Matthew 28: 18-20, which Dulles mentions.

Chapter VI is “Servant model of leadership”. Luke 22:26 states, “But it is not this way with you, but the one who is the greatest among you must become like the youngest, and the leader like the servant.” I recently helped at a large church get extra chairs for the overflow crowd even though I did not have to as I was a servant leader.

In Chapter XII Dulles wrote about “The Evaluations of Models” based on their

1. Basis in Scripture

2. Basis in Christian tradition

3. Capacity to give Church members a sense of their corporate identity and mission.

4. Tendency to foster the virtues and values generally admired by Christians.

5. Correspondence with the religious experience of men (and women, my edit) today.

6. Theological fruitfulness.

7. Fruitfulness in enabling Church members to relate successfully to those outside their own group. The actual models (followed by my comments) are

The institutional model. We need to focus on relationships for it to last.

The community model. The church needs to reach beyond its walls.

The sacramental model. These are baptism and the Lord’s Supper for Protestants.

The kerygmatic model. The initial proclamation of the Gospel.

The diaconal model. This is using deacons. Since I was with the Presbyterian Church

(USA) until 1997, I am familiar with them helping the elders.

Regarding contexts of ministry, I have five units of Clinical Pastoral Education, and I worked for Fort Carson’s Evans Army Community Hospital for one and a half years as their Deputy Chief Chaplain and Senior Clinician. After this, I earned my Hospital Chaplain Additional Skill Identifier as well as my Combat Ministry identifier.

Regarding the Evangelical Chaplains Commission (ECC) of the National Association of Evangelicals, I learned last year they would not support my belief that only our assistants should pass out non-Judeo/Christian literature at the Federal prison, where I am a full-time chaplain, since they are not ordained and endorsed. I was suspended for a day because of this. This is in tension with “We believe the Bible to be the inspired, the only infallible, authoritative Word of God” because the Koran is not the Word of God. Out of curiosity, I checked with the Chaplaincy of Full Gospel Churches and they agree with the ECC.