Service? Ministry? There's a dif?

I recently had to remind myself of the difference between service and ministry and why it matters to distinguish between the two actions.

To put it simply service is what one does, sometimes with other people, for others in the church. Ministry is what one does (hopefully) for others out there in the world of lost souls.

I started thinking about this because I hear so many examples of simple service being referred to as ministry. For example: at the church I used to attend there was a need for the church to run oversize golf carts between buildings to shuttle congregants around. This was referred to as the "golf cart ministry". Ministry? I think not. This is a simple act of service, which carries with it a great commitment, but it is not ministering to the souls of those who need to hear the gospel message.

Of course, the distinction is more traditional than actual because the word minister and all its associated forms is derived from the Latin for service, which would seem to contradict the definitions in our current discussion. The best explanation that I can offer is that we associate ministry with the work of clergy and that work is almost always involved in ministering to lost souls as well as ministering to the spiritual needs of the congregation. Service, on the other hand is seen as acts of humility, things that we do for and within the church family, usually with little or no recognition or compensation, monetary or otherwise. To put it another, slightly more crass but understandable way, ministry is usually deemed to be works performed by professionals, service is rendered by amateurs.

Either way, they are both important works.

I just think that we would do well to keep these distinctions in mind and try to exercise wisdom when we label our various efforts for the church as well as the world at large.

A Free Gift....Free Because it's a Gift....got it?

I was thinking about God's grace and how everyone always describes it as a "free gift". Well, that stopped me right there and made me smile a little. I smiled because this phrase is redundant, that is, both words are saying the same thing: anything that is a gift is automatically free, and vice-versa, if it's free it's a gift!

When it comes to God's grace, it is something He gives us freely and there's not a blasted thing that we can do to earn it, it simply is a gift. It doesn't depend on our obedience, on how long or 'hard' we pray, on whether or not we do 'good deeds', go to church every single Sunday; none of that matters.

No....His grace depends on one thing and one thing alone....His good pleasure to give it to us. We can't earn our way into heaven. If we are righteous at all, it is because we accepted God's free gift (there's that redundant phrase again!) of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ and immediately became His children, and immediately came under His grace for now and throughout eternity. You think about that.

E Pluribus....None

November 7 was the 11th anniversary of my emigration to Sarasota. When I moved here there were three Christian "book" stores in town (that I knew of), now we have none.

First to go was the very nice little store, Hearth and Home. They succumbed not long after the the big, glitzy, mega-Christian store, Living Word, opened. With even more Christian-oriented trinkets and tchotchkes to offer as well as a good location that the typical lazy American would find more convenient, Living Word was destined to be the clear, ultimate winner.

The other contender, Family Christian, was a friendly, small but well-stocked store in a fairly convenient location. They held out for quite a few years after the mega-store opened, probably serving more the folks of the South-county, but they too fell from grace and closed a few years ago.

This left the Living Word victorious. Did I mention that his "bookstore" had, in addition to full,-blown bust-out retail prices a coffee shop and lounge a la Starbuck's? These days it seems that a bookstore is defined more by the "ambiance" of its coffee bar than by the quantity and quality of its merchandise. But as fate would have it, about 2 months or so ago, this mega-store ceased operation too, a victim of the ongoing economic depression currently playing in this country and most of the world....except the OPEC countries.

This got me to thinking about a few things:

1) The big, glitzy store did what most most super-stores usually do, drive out the little guys, even if the little guys are basically better businesses and have been there longer offering good service in their community. Sad but true. One almost wants to snicker and say "Well, those Mega types finally got theirs!" Really bummer kharma, man.

2) Christians are just as guilty of being too lazy to get in the car and drive a few extra miles as their secular counterparts, choosing instead to take the path of least resistance and go to the most convenient place, even if it's not of the same caliber of enterprise as another store. I mean "caliber of enterprise" to refer to less tangible qualities such as: customer service, "ambiance", friendliness of personnel, etc. The mega-store certainly had, in my experience, none of those qualities.

3) We Christians also are often guilty of idolizing the big, the important and the glamorous just as our secular brethren are. Face it, how many superstars of the Christian world are not white haired men with the title of "Doctor"? Answer: virtually none except for folks in the performing arts where youth is obligatory and the young and the beautiful are highly exalted just as in the secular world. We accord the same celebrity to our "Super-Christians" as the secular world does to their CEOs, stockbrokers, music and movie stars. Of course it's wrong, but human nature is a creature of habit.

We probably never will stop exalting the large, the glamorous or the conventionally important, whether it be in our secular or Christian arenas. We should look for occasions when we could and should exalt the mundane, the unsung heroes, preferably while they're still alive, not centuries later when it suddenly is acknowledged that that their contributions were truly significant.

The "ordinary" Christians, the real workers, deserve our recognition and praise just as the fallen "mom and pop" Christian bookstores would have appreciated our continuing patronage.

Come, let us reason together....

I'm happy to announce that, awhile back, I actually got a comment from a theologian who was kind enough to say that he agreed with me by 99%, on my views about tithing. I would like to recommend you to his site where he lists many, many reasons and makes highly cogent arguments why tithing is not only unscriptural but is just plain wrong, and why it should never  be preached or taught in Christian circles. You can get to his site by clicking on "Russell Earl Kelly, PhD's blog " on the 'interesting Links' section of this blog page. It will prove to be highly edifying. I hope that between the two of us, we can put a severe dent in this highly unscriptural practice and return even further to the first-century roots of our faith the way it was meant to be.

Official

Well, it finally happened....I made my musical debut at Grace Covenant Church yesterday, 10/25. It went well....only a few sour notes and no major goofs on my part....that's progress!

The main thing is that it was a good worship time and I am gratified that I finally found a place to be of service to the Lord. The way things are I don't really have a whole lot to give in the collection box, so this is another way to give to God by using one of the talents He gave me.

One down and ??? to go....thank you Father.

Member!

I am now officially a member of "Grace Covenant Church" of Sarasota FL.

On October 12, 2009, I must have answered all the questions okay, 'cause when we were done the Pastor/elder said, "welcome to Grace Covenant". I was a little disappointed, I mean, after all didn't I have to kneel and kiss his ring I inquired? 'No' was the answer. Well, how about walking down the aisle in between a long row of guys in spooky black robes with hoods, holding candles? Again, he said 'no'. "Wow" I thought "that was too easy" (I told him that). No rituals, no necessity to have witnesss vouch for me, just me and the elders and God.

See? That's the difference between real Christianity and Religion (Yes, I use a capital "R"). It is said that Religion is about ritual, while Christianity is about relationship. I joined this church group on the basis of my relationship to Jesus Christ, nothing more or less. No rituals or special rites required, just an expression of my acceptance of this church group and its practices and beliefs, and an affirmation of my relationship with Jesus.

Flashback to 1967 and trying to get married in "the church" (which shall remain nameless). Among other ridiculous requirements, we had to answer a questionnaire that must have had 150 questions on it. Then when we got done, I had to produce two witnesses to verify the answers and apply for "special dispensation" from the head honcho in Newark (this happened in NJ) because we didn't agree with one of their major policies. You see, my bride to be and I had sworn to God to answer these questions truthfully before the interrogation began. So now this denomination had the gall to ask me for witnesses? It was obvious that our word in front of God was not good enough.

We left and never went back as members of that denomination. We later learned that the priest who interviewed us had been transferred to a desk job, away from duties dealing with people because it wasn't just us he managed to alienate.

So, yeah....give me Jesus and His simplicity any day "for my yoke is easy and my burden is light". (Mt. 11:30 ESV) No legalities involved.

Is this a Hint?

I truly wonder if the Good Lord is trying to tell me something. I mean, starting in early 2004 I got involved in a band with the "The two Mikes", namely Sinn and P____, playing guitar and drums, respectively. It was fun to joke about "playing with Sinn".

But now, it's 2009, that band is history, and I just signed-on to play electric bass (no, it's not a 'bass guitar') for the praise band at my church. Now I find out that one of my band-mates has the last name of "Pagan". Hmmm........ maybe there's a trend here?

All Christians please note: the foregoing is a gag, do not take it seriously, thank you, over and out, 10-4.

"You Wanna Biggie-size That?"

For some years, a major trend that has overtaken many Christians churches is the drive for "church growth". There are and have been numerous materials on the subject which present an array of "how-to" methods to 'grow' your church. The thought seems to be that a growing church is a church God is blessing. This could be true... or not.

First, the church is the body of Christ made of all believers, not a building or any other institution of any form. Common usage has caused the word 'church' to mean the place of assembly more than the church body itself. That's okay, the word serves that purpose well and really does no harm. But-- we still need to remember what the church actually is.....the body and ultimately the bride of Christ.

Therefore to press for church growth one might think that church leadership would have as its main focus that of bringing in scores of newly saved people. That is the main goal of Christianity: to bring lost souls back to God by faith in Christ. What also appears to be happening is churches are pushing to expand their physical facilities more and more. This has lead to a creature called the "Mega-Church".

The new breed of church is an impressive thing indeed. These "campuses" may have seating for thousands, entertainment centers, gymnasiums, restaurants, coffee bars and many more features one might associate with a corporate headquarters of a major firm. Is there anything wrong with this? Well, yes and no.

(At this point you may want to see my previous posting about "Welcome to the [Christian] Ghetto).

If a church has as its main focus that of saving of souls and ministry to the community, then they are 'on mission' as a church. If the focus shifts, however subtly, to growing the church as an end in itself, then something has gone very much awry. I say subtly because the church may think it is still doing as it should but ends up becoming a salt-cellar rather than the salt-shaker. With a salt-cellar one usually stores salt, in a shaker one distributes the contents to where it will produce the best effect. Salt in a cellar will keep well for a long time but even if it's still good, it isn't of any use until it's released to go out and do what it was intended to. So with the Christian. You can't do what Christ commanded if you never leave the 'womb' of the church grounds and your immediate church family.

I personally admire and respect the storefront church group of a few-score devoted souls that lives and works in the community it serves and ministers to people and their needs, both the physical and spiritual, usually with very few resources and even fewer funds, and relies on God to provide everything. Contrast this with the mega-church on "the right side of the tracks" which basically takes care of its own and does most of its evangelizing (if any) and "service" by supporting foreign missions missionaries.

I was informed recently that several individuals at my former church had started up ministries that actually do something for people outside the church. The one that blew me away was the group of men who load their cars with food and gas grilles on Thursday nights. They drive to a downtown park and proceed to cook dinner for the homeless folks. This helps open the door for evangelizing opportunities. Wow!

What's sad is that this has nothing to do with their church. They took the initiative, are doing it on their own and financing it themselves. These are the people God wants-- The ones that will do what Jesus did and walk the dirty streets to go where lost and hurting people are and minister to their needs, all their needs.

If a handful of motivated, Godly men can do it, why not the church itself? I used to be a member at their church and one of the main reasons I left was the $15,000,000 building program to expand the present facility into a mini-megalopolis over 43 acres. I don't think I need to tell you that there are people and worthy Christian ministries that could really use that kind of money for any number of necessities, far more than mini-van suburbanites need a bigger church playground. That kind of waste is not only un-Christian, it is downright obscene.

Let's get back to the main mission that we were called to....while there's still time.