I was having a conversation the other night with one of my most amazing friends about ministry.  We love to talk about ministry together.  We love to DO ministry together.  We were talking about the difference between intentional ministry and ministry that is driven by manipulation.  There is a fine line that can be drawn between doing ministry out of a place that feeds our ego or brings glory and honor to a beautiful Savior who has called us to love, to shepherd his people.  I believe this shows up in various manipulative tactics.  One might include fog machines, musical build ups to heighten emotion, guitar solos, preaching to illicit a response from guilt, making someone raise their hand or walk forward when they have made a commitment to Christ, etc., in that list.  That list is unending and I am sure you could add so many more than I have mentioned. Even greater power can come with manipulation in terms of relationship in ministry.  We have a great opportunity to use the intensity of our influence, the force of our giftedness to gain for ourselves in those one on one, very personal relationships.  How do we draw the line?  How do we discern what is intentional and God honoring as opposed to manipulative and damaging?  The things we do in Christ’s name can draw others to the truth of who he is or suck them into a false world created by man that may have an eternal impact on their souls in desperate need of truth.  It is a heavy responsibility.

I think we first have to consider who called us and why we do what we do.  If God has truly marked our lives for ministry, then we have a connection to that calling that is supernatural, it is heaven sent.  We are subject to God as his servants, he is not subject to how we think ministry should go or plotting our own agenda.  We are led by his Spirit, not by our own desires.  Daily, we submit ourselves to Christ and seek to bring honor to him through our actions in ministry.  It is the only way we can maintain that calling.  It cannot, and will not result in healthy growth if we try to do it on our own.  I believe this is where manipulation comes into play.  It is very heady, incredibly euphoric to experience ministry sometimes.  We can fall into a trap of chasing after that feeling or experience in serving.  Preaching becomes an ego stroke, an opportunity to prove how amazing our skills are rather than draw someone into the heart of the Savior.  Music becomes the drug to pull the masses into a responsive attitude to once again create an atmosphere focused on results, perhaps even numeric results, rather than to focus on the Creator God we are supposed to be singing to.  The worship service, the relationships, the giving and the serving become tainted by our own desire to perform for the world around us, to DO great ministry, to gain approval from others.  

It’s easy to justify doing ministry this way.  I have heard lots of excuses for it.  I have made them myself.  The truth is that when we actually submit to Jesus, we don’t just DO ministry, we ARE ministry!  We live it!  We sleep it!  It emanates from our pores, our souls are permeated by a desire to serve the lover of our hearts, the Rescue of this crooked and depraved world as described in Phil. 2.  When we are ministry, our preaching may be emotional, but it is in response to our own experience, our own humble need for a Savior.  We are moved by our need and our constant dependence on Jesus.  He speaks through us.  He causes us to be intentional and humbled by what we say rather than puffed up and arrogant about how great we are at it.  In worship through song, we intentionally seek an ebb and flow that allows for reflection and actual praise to a God who is enormous and powerful beyond our understanding.  We intentionally place songs in an order that will remind us as we worship that we cling to an amazing hope given by a loving God who sent his only son for us.  We focus on a cross that sometimes causes us to weep because we are blown away by the intentionality of Jesus who went there willingly for us.  We remind others of the blood that was shed because of the life it frees us to have and we weep together out of gratitude, joy and humility.  When we sit in conversation, in counsel with someone God has granted us the privilege of hearing, we respond out of a heart led by the Savior who brought them to us.  We pray intentionally to hear with his ears, to see with his eyes, to feel with his heart and to embrace with his arms.  Sometimes tears flow down our face as we see the emotion across from us because we are in the shared experience of being human on this earth, of struggling with the balancing act of dependence on Christ and our sinful desires or circumstantial plight. We are intentional in our pursuit of that soul.  We seek to be Christ with skin on for those we are present with.  Often, because of that intentional service, we are ministered to by God in the midst of our reaching out.  We are touched by his Spirit as we humbly experience the presence of God in those holy moments, one on one, heart to heart, sinner to sinner.

So our prayer in ministry should always be that of humility, seeking to serve the way Christ did, to bring honor to his name.  We should pray that we are intentional to avoid the mistake of arrogance and manipulation that so damages the reputation of Christianity everyday, but especially on sunday in the United States.  We need to pray humbly for an awakening to what the truth of ministry is in our churches.  We need to call down the power of a saving God, a just God into the midst of generations seeking to serve in truth.  We should pray that we are reminded daily that we need Jesus in order to bring him to a world that needs him.  We need him.  We avoid being manipulative by following him sincerely, by submitting to him daily.  I need him.  I need to remember this all day, each and every day!