Ephesians 4: 11 – 12
And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the purpose of equipping of the saints and the building up of the Body of Christ.
The Body of Christ is changing rapidly and thus the dynamics and means of ministry are changing too. However, the role of the minister remains unchanged, in my opinion. During these tumultuous times, it is important to ask ourselves what the role of the minister is and the second question would be what is it that you need from your ministers.
The key purpose of all ministry gifts and ministry offices is to equip the saints and to build up the Body of Christ. The inquiry comes in how that is accomplished in a changing environment. Once upon a time the priests made the sacrificial offerings for the body. Obviously, that is a task which is no longer required. Yet in a way, there is still a component of that. We are to receive your offerings to God and to pray over them. When you give to a ministry, the ministers receive them on behalf of God, for the work of God.
Until recently, an important part of many ministers’ job was to stand in a pulpit and either teach or inspire. Now, we are increasingly using online services to share the word. There are still apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers. Each office has been given, by God, to equip the saints. As we go forward, we and you are going to have to learn how God’s work is done in the new era. There will be experimentation as we learn, but the one thing I would say is to make sure you are using the ministry gifts in others that God has put into the body of Christ and in ministry offices. Also, make sure you are willing to sow into the work of the ministry. God isn’t silenced just because we don’t congregate in the same numbers we once did. His Word is alive and always going forth. As I said once before recently, pull on your ministers. It is your right, but be willing to help them do their job too.
Leave a Reply