Blogotional

Yesterday I considered this excellent post by Jollyblogger wherein David concluded that as Christians we are called not so much to success, but to suffering. I took that a step further concluding that suffering may indeed be a measure of success as God sees things.

Today I want to look at that in regards to what each of may consider as our personal ministry. We all should have one, maybe even two. I say two because we should have some role we play in our local congregation - that's one for of personal ministry. The other forms is; however, a little less direct. Our whole lives are, in a sense, a personal ministry. Who you are, how you behave, is evidence of Christ in your life nd this evidence is presented to everyone you meet. This, whether we like to acknowledge it or not, is also a form of personal ministry, Let's consider each form briefly.

When it comes to our role in the local congregation, suffering comes in when we consider what we want to do versus what needs to be done. A personal example. I am truly unhappy when serving on Session. The best meetings are merely tedious, the paperwork enormous, the volunteers unreliable, the demands heavy. Then there are times when things get contentious, tempers flair, ugliness ensues, and sometimes, frankly, sheer stupidity raises its head. Nope serving on Session is no joy, it is pure chore, pure unhappy suffering chore. Because of this, I probably do not do it as much as I should, because I am fairly good at it. I am asked pretty routinely - I think there is a reason for that.

I am part of a denomination in crisis. That crisis will affect my congregation - that is probably a time for the good people to be on Session not the people climbing the learning curve, and I think I am one of those good people (So, I think does the nominating committee). But the mere thought casues me to shudder a bit. If I go on Session, I can promise you I will suffer. But it matters a lot.

When selecting our personal ministry in our local congregation, we need to be willing to suffer a bit - it's just that simple. we need to consider what needs to be done more than what we want to do.

When it comes to that other form of personal ministry, suffering is likely to be a big part of the equation.

2 Tim 3:12 - And indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.

That reads like a promise! If your life is indeed testimony to Jesus Christ, you will be persecuted for it - Paul says it that plainly and that simply. It is so easy to be nice around others, but stop just short of letting that nice be a genuine testimony to the power of Christ in your life. And we all invariable stop just that short becasue we know if the genuine witness shines through, the persecution and suffering will come. The snide remarks behind our backs. In my field the automatic derision of the seemingly "unsophisticated." The list goes on.

But yet, it seems we are to seek such persecution, such suffering, as a sign that succeeding in living "godly in Christ Jesus." After all, is that not our ultimate goal?

When it comes to how we are to succeed at being a Christian and having a personal ministry, it seems suffering will be part and parcel. Don't ask God to remove it, rather, ask Him for the strength to endure. Then seek ministry where you can exercise that strength.

Part III of this series is here.
Part IV of the series is here.
Part V of the series is here.
Part VI of the series is here.

Related Tags: success, suffering, personal ministry, metrics, Jesus