Proclaimer Blog
Convictions about ministry
We’ve just finished our small Cornhill+ conference for Cornhillers who are in ministry and want to do some extra training, but for whom college is not appropriate or practicable. We had a great time in Ezekiel 1-2, 2 Cor 4-5 and 1 Thess. It was also good to have Trevor Archer with us, and we had a ‘fireside chat’ session where he shared some convictions about ministry that he said he wished he had learnt earlier in life. Here they are. Not rocket science. Nor Bible exposition, per se. But foundational and challenging nonetheless.
- Need for personal holiness. Character comes before gifting. 1 Tim 4.16.
- Personal relationships of care and accountability, including those within the church. Isolationalism is the seedbed of failure and scandal. Even Christ did not work alone. The NT is replete with ‘one anothers’.
- Personal attitude of servanthood, Mark 9.35. Leadership is not about me.
- Expectation and experience of weakness, 2 Cor 4.12. This is in the inescapable equation of Christian ministry.
- Resolve to invest in people. If we are to be faithful under-shepherds, following the Great Shepherd, we have to love the flock. But this also means investing in the next generation, 2 Tim 2.
- A personal responsibility to lead. Leaders are called to lead. That is the biblical pattern.
- A personal commitment to the teaching of the word of God. This is the lifeblood of ministry. It is not the only thing, but it is the main thing and the agenda setting thing.
Food for thought.