As a minister I’m fed up of ministry. I’m fed up of hearing about people’s ministries. I’m fed up with ministry prayer/fundraising letters. I’m fed up of thinking about my own ministry.   What’s the problem? Of course in one sense it’s wonderful to have a ministry. Wonderful to have an identity as a great preacher, praise leader, missionary, Sunday school teacher, youth worker, or even an ‘apostolic ministry leading the people of God into an awesome powerful new kingdom experience’. But there is something deeply worrying about this. And I believe that the Church in the West, needs to beware of the dangers of ministry being made a god. On reflection I think this is a world wide problem – given the number of messages I receive from African, Asian and American brothers and sisters who want to tell me about their wonderful ministries and how I need to support them in order to advance the kingdom of Christ.   We need to watch out for the idolatry of ministry.

Did Paul have a ‘Ministry’?
It is true that the apostle Paul made much of his ministry as the apostle to the Gentiles (Romans 11:13) and that God has called people within his church into specific ministries.   But I wonder whether we reflect the biblical pattern, or whether we have adopted a more individualistic, market driven, self focused approach that runs counter to the New Testament?     Continue reading “The god of ministry and the ministry of God”