Woman’s Call to
Ministry
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| Don't fall into the common trap of trying to accomplish God's work with worldly schemes. |
DENNIS
HENDERSON
In
Mark 3, we get a glimpse into the happenings of Jesus and the growing crowds
that were seeking to be with Him.
They were attracted to the
miracles and healings.
There is a clear pattern,
however, that when Jesus saw this, He would pull away from the crowds and seek
a quiet place.
As the scene in Mark 3
develops, we see Jesus doing this again. He moves away and goes to a
mountainside.
On a secluded mountain, Jesus
calls a handful of men to Him. Men that he chose to be His key leaders. Men
that He selected to be called "apostles."
As He withdraws from the
masses, Mark records the choosing of these men and their purpose.
And
he went up on the mountain and called to him those whom he desired, and
they came to him.
And he appointed twelve (whom
he also named apostles) so that they might be with him and he might send them
out to preach and have authority to cast out demons (Mark
3:13-15, ESV).
It is
important that we look closely at this scene to see the purpose of His
selecting these men.
I will celebrate 51 years of
ministry this September. I must confess that my ongoing battle is to be in the
middle of action and wanting to see success.
My flaw is that I measure
ministry by numbers, results, crowds, buildings and offerings.
Consequently, I must return
to this passage in Mark often to remind myself what Jesus desired in calling
the 12.
If we
read the passage quickly, we can easily be drawn to words that say "that he might send them out to preach
and have authority to cast out demons."
That appeals to me. I love
the idea of being sent out and drawing the crowds. I love the action part of
ministry.
Unfortunately, I am not alone
in focusing on the action part of this verse. Many want to preach, go out, see
things happen, see God move.
We get busy on the doing part
of this verse. Many of us focus on how we can do this or the impact we might
have.
We spend time thinking of
ways to get things done. We search the internet to see the latest and greatest
methods.
We spend hours of planning action
steps, programs and methods to accomplish how we can gather the crowds.
Ministry can easily turn into
pragmatism. It can become addictive. I have found myself too many times in
planning meetings on the next method to reaching the multitudes.
This can quickly turn into
calculating the things that will attract the masses.
Being "sent out"
can turn into marketing plans and figuring out how to be relevant and
attractive.
Over
the years, I have found myself thinking we have succeeded in the calling to
ministry because our crowds have swelled and our graphs are pointing upwards.
I
have reasoned, "We must be doing
things rightly because the charts verify it."
However, if the needles did
not point north then frustration, weariness and doubt filled my soul. I would
search for a new method.
A new
scheme must be developed. I would find myself asking, "What did I miss in this calling from Jesus?"
As
the years passed, I went back to this passage and read it over again and again.
Finally, the light came on.
Finally, I realized I had missed the most important part of the passage. I
missed the very reason he called the 12.
The reason he called me to
ministry. It is right at the beginning. How did I miss it?
Verse
14: "And
he appointed twelve (whom he also named apostles) so that they might be with
him and he might send them out to preach."
There
it was. He called them that they might be
with him.
This
is the first order of our calling. He calls me and every believer to
be with him.
This is the paramount of the
calling. He wanted the twelve to be with him first. The sending out and the
performing of miracles were secondary.
The
call to ministry is for all believers. And it is first and foremost a call to
be with Jesus.
Everyone
is called to some form of ministry. The foundational truth is that it all
begins in being with Him.
Jesus wanted his disciples to
be with Him.
To have authority to do
ministry, one cannot simply rush into action. The authority comes from being
with Him.
This
is seen over and over in Scripture. It was seen in Mary and Martha in Luke 10.
Mary chose to be with Him.
Martha, with good intentions, missed the first step of ministry.
She was busy, but Mary chose
the primary thing. Mary was at Jesus' feet.
It was Saul who rushed into
battle without the presence of the Lord.
It would later be the
disciples who could not cast out demons.
In reporting back to Jesus, He
would reply that only by prayer and fasting would challenging ministry be done.
Ministry begins at the feet
of Jesus.
Whether
we pastor a church, teach a Sunday school class or serve in music ministry, the
most important practice before we "go out" is to be with Him.
As we go out, we focus on
Him. We sustain the work of God not by our schemes but by our worship.
The
seeking of His face, the being in His presence initiates ministry. Far too many
times in our fast-paced lives we miss this.
We rush to serve, to do, to
go out and miss the ingredient that gives us authority and alignment.
Our greatest need is not the
next planning session, but it is the next prayer session. It is the quiet
periods of waiting, listening, being with Him.
With
a world that is spinning out of control, I realize that being with Jesus is the
ministry.
Being with Jesus with a
worship-filled life is the greatest lesson I have learned in my many years of
ministry. Being with Jesus trumps all my efforts.
May God remind us often that
the calling of the 12 started with being with Jesus. His plan never changes.
May the brief but critical
words that Mark records be our standard for serving Him.
Dennis Henderson has served in pastoral
ministry for over 50 years, and is currently serving as the lead pastor at
Fusion Bible Church in Durant, Oklahoma. In addition to his local church
ministry, Dennis also helps facilitate nationwide efforts in prayer and renewal
as a member of Strategic Renewal's
Transformational Ministry Team and as a Regional Resource
Leader for The 6:4 Fellowship.
The
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