Geoff and I were recently told by a local Filipino pastor:
The life of a missionary is a life of duty, not adventure; a life of sacrifice, not choice; a life of service, not profit. That is why we call our job "ministry."
Umm...wow. Okay.
I would love to hear what those of you out there think about this statement. Is this what ministry means to you?
6 comments:
Well, I know that Steven Curtis Chapman would disagree. If I remember right he said, "This is a life like no other, whoa-oh this is the great adventure"!
Here is the thing, I don't think it is either/or any of those things. There is adventure, sacrifice, choice, service and "profit". Of course, I understand the point that he is trying to make. Here is my question . . . based on the lines he is drawing isn't it a bit strange that he still calls ministry a job?
What one person might think of as duty, another might find adventurous. And we all make choices. God doesn't force our hand. You both made the choice to follow him, but you also made the choice to deal with the sacrifices that were a part of it. And you are, and will continue to gain great profit from all the adventure and the sacrifice!! So I guess I would disagree with the statement. God created us as individuals, and we all look at our ministry in our own individual way. One person definition probably won't fit for everyone. Also, I think it is easy to put missionaries on a pedestal, and a definition like this sort of encourages that. Just my opinion.
I think for me, it takes the power out of it. The fullness of God's character is lost. It IS both duty AND adventure, choice AND sacrifice, service AND profit. Geoff and I are really feeling ALL of these things right now. But to delineate it down to something we must grit our teeth and accomplish (and gain some sort of pride or merit in the process), puts us at the center and loses the joy of following God's will. God blesses us with an amazing combination of service, profit, choice, sacrifice, duty AND adventure that all points back to him making our lives rich and full. I am sad that this pastor sees his relationship with God that way. I think it is only one dimension of a much greater and inexpicable God.
Note of interest: You'll see a picture on the wall in a church and someone will proudly say, "This is our missionary, Mr. So and So." But what they mean is that he is assigned to them. Not the other way around. Often, churches in the Philippines do not support missionaries. They believe missionaries are there to support them.
My first thought when reading that is.....Where is the Joy? His comment hit me very negatively. No matter what, where, when or who I'm with I can rejoice in the blessings of God, keep my eyes on him OR I can dwell on the pressures, sorrows and difficulties of life. You could substitute the word 'missionary' for any path God has you on and say the same thing. And we all live a life of ministry...whether it is with other workers in a bottle factory or renown global speakers traveling the world. Yep, his statement did not bode well with me.
I'm curious about the age of the person who said this. I think this is a pretty common notion about "ministry" (and even life in general) amongst the older generations...kind of a "self-imposed martyrdom as virtue" attitude. I don't really buy it.
God blesses us with an amazing combination of service, profit, choice, sacrifice, duty AND adventure that all points back to him making our lives rich and full. I am sad that this pastor sees his relationship with God that way. I think it is only one dimension of a much greater and inexpicable God.
Wow, some pretty insightful stuff from a quiet girl (us quiet folks are like that, huh?) but I agree 100%. Well said.
That definition of 'ministry' is awfully dry to me. I prefer something like "helping people become all God wants them to be." And I think important parts of ministry include making people laugh and making balloon hats and making music and making love and making people think and making fresh goodies to eat and drink. "Do everything as unto the Lord" - this is the heart of ministry.
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