About the Ministry

Old Mystic, August 2, 2009
Ephesians 4:1-13

Summary

The church is a community of face-to-face relationships, with unity and diversity, and a body that thrives in God’s call to serve one another in love with Jesus Christ at its center.

Sermon

Sometimes I feel a little awkward when I keep on pointing to the basics regarding what the church is all about. It is that familiar feeling that raises the question: am I preaching to the choir? After all, most of us who week after week continue to faithfully gather for worship, we have been around for quite a while. Those who serve, however, the so called “professional,” known also as the clergy, upon careful observation and study, have learned that for many reasons some folks may be a little confused about what the church essentially is. Some people see the church as a place to go where they are going to be taught a spiritual lesson, or entertained by a good preacher accompanied by fairly good contemporary music—in some cases, or simply a social club where the main stakeholders are good in putting up a good fight in the very usual human struggle for power. The local church has been institutionalized, structured, and turned into a corporation to the point that many believe that it could not exist without capital campaigns, endowments, professional staff, huge buildings and, of course, good consumers of the religious goods offered.

Do I sound negative? I do not mean to. The highly organized church, after all, is in many ways faithful to God’s call and to its mission and purpose, and accomplishes a great deal for God’s kingdom. But I must also say that unfortunately when membership dwindles, when funds diminish, and when buildings become a money pit, good church folks turn to a survival mode and mostly concentrate on keeping the machine running. They are more concerned in saving the institution that in doing mission or, in the words of the writer to the Ephesians, “the work of ministry.”

The letter to the Ephesians powerfully portrays through familiar and simple metaphors the beauty of that community that the church is. What we call the local congregation is depicted as a household where relationships are compared to the face-to-face bonds of a family, with the diversity of a community where ethnic and cultural barriers have been overcome by Christ, and with the essential ties of peace and love. This union of God and human beings, this God intended relationship through Jesus Christ is what church is all about. The church is the people! Furthermore, the church is people that have joined God to do what God wants to do in the world. In today’s passage, ministry is at the center—or at least that is my choice of emphasis; the work of ministry.

“When he ascended on high he made captivity itself a captive; he gave gifts to his people… The gifts he gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ.” Jesus’ redeeming work was not to save us from work but to put us to work! We were freed and given gifts for ministry; the church is about the ministry and, even when the list of jobs mentioned in verse 11 seems to be focused on specialized clergy, the call is for everyone to do the work of ministry; it is all about the ministry. And when we uncover the meaning of the word ministry in this context the opportunities become wide open: the work of ministry means service; serving one another in any way we can, with creativity, and in love.

Saints are no saints; just regular folks, forgiven, in a process of growth, and being equipped to do the work. So we are called! First of all, we are called to serve in unity. “You have been called, [to lead a life] with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” We all know how difficult is to have unity among Christians in this day and age and how elusive it has been throughout history. We have even failed in agreeing on how we disagree. We have learned that when it comes to theological, ethical, and ideological differences we can build huge walls of separation. What we think, what we believe, our ideas and our dogmas become stumbling blocks rather than the expression of our faith. We are called to action; to do, not just to think or believe. And the premise is clear: the bond of unity is peace and living life loving, with patience, humility, and gentleness.

When we meet real people, with needs, weaknesses, and going through our same sufferings, we begin to find much in common. And then we can do the work of ministry—serve one another to meet our mutual needs. Ministry could be as simple as shaking a hand, or giving a hug, or saying just a few words of encouragement. And this takes place when God is at the center and we have that unity in the Spirit.

Second, the writer to the Ephesians outlines ministries that have been recognized and achieved great esteem in the church as a possession of specially called men and women yet they are primarily granted to “equip the saints for the work of ministry.” We are here to be nurtured, ministered, encouraged, inspired, moved, and pastored, but we are being trained to do the same. And the list of things we can do cannot be limited to those posted in the letter; those are just trainers. When we talk about being trained to serve the possibilities are without limit. Every human gift is also divine; as God’s creation we can attribute all of our abilities as a gift from God. Therefore, we can also use them creatively to serve others.

Third, the call is also a call to thrive; to flourish as a congregation and as individuals by serving and building a loving community in the bond of peace. “Until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ.” A mature congregation, with mature members is a missional church; not necessarily a large church or a megachurch—the mission of the church continues to be advanced by a myriad of small congregations that go beyond their walls, having overcome a survival mode, and into the world to serve with imagination—meeting the needs of those around them. To know Christ is to serve and by serving we grow in him!

We thrive when we serve. And we are called to thrive. Those who are struggling to barely maintain the structures run the risk of missing the point. A small church can thrive through the work of ministry—serving on another and the community where it is inserted. It just takes folks who rooted in Jesus Christ, united in the bond of peace, in love, and with gentleness and patience bearing one another’s burdens, receive and accept the call to serve; to serve in their own way, with simplicity, and with humility.