Purposes of the Church, PT4: Ministry

Ministry is loving people.

Love is a willed commitment to someone's well being despite how we feel about them.

My well being might depend on donations, physical affection or a kind word... but not all such gestures are an act of love.

YOU'VE HEARD THIS BEFORE
As I said in my previous posts on other purposes, true ministry comes from the heart.
Well intended deeds can be the lead in for less mature Christians to become active in ministry.

Love is personal, Jesus didn't pay others to love others or plan an event or program as a strategy for loving people.

disclaimer, I fully support macro level ministry. Yes, it's expensive and labor intensive, but if done right it can really help people and help the helpers grow. 

The principle of macro level ministry is that 'we can do more together than all of us individually'.

My only reservation is that I don't see people coming to Christ through macro level ministry and too many Christians can get away with doing macro level as a deed rather than an act of love. 

And just like the other purposes, ministry is proactive.
If I didn't look for opportunities to ministry to people I wouldn't be doing it. 

My suburban home can too easily be a gated fortress to keep me isolated from the people God loves. 

THE HOWS AND WHYS
A couple of months ago we had a blizzard.
I was laying in bed and thinking about how much it was going to suck to shovel out the van.
Then I thought about my wife.
She's always in a rush in the morning.
She'll do her routine then have to shovel out her car (in her work clothes) and get all sweaty and tired before she even starts her day.
So I shoved out her car.
No big deal, a husband ought to do that anyway.
I looked at my neighbors driveway.
My neighbor is an old dude that had a heart attack last winter.
He was out there shoveling.
I started helping him.
He was obviously tired and wanted to quit, but was probably too embarrassed to quit while I was still going strong (exaggeration).
After a while he said, 'that's good enough. Thank you.'
Then he went inside.

I thought to myself, 'If this was my daughter's house, would this really be good enough?'
'No'
So I kept shoveling.  And then it looked pretty good.
Except for the huge snow bank that the street plow made where the driveway met the street.
So I kept shoveling.
Then I looked at his other car... why does he have two cars?

I thought to myself, 'If this was my daughter's house, would this really be good enough?'

'No'

So I kept shoveling.

This is how God loves us, like his own child. 

WHERE DO WE DRAW THE LINE?

Ministry fatigue or 'burn-out' is always a concern, but our capacity to serve is based on our level of compassion.  When you have the Holy Spirit within you and you are face-to-face with human suffering there is no level of fatigue that will stop you from trying to help.

Rick Warren once tweeted: 

Sympathy is 'I feel bad for you'

Empathy is 'I share your feeling'
Compassion is 'I'll do anything to help you'

I know there is tremendous pressure in a church to be efficient and realistic.
Something to do with stewardship or talents I think.
Do we serve others to our own destruction?
I think it's a faith thing.
The patriarchs gave us many examples of when following God's will started out looking like self destruction.
I think the question is what would Jesus do?

Something that will make this easier is S.H.A.P.E.

Operating with in your 'S.H.A.P.E.' will reduce burn-out (using your spiritual gifts, passions, skills, personality and life experiences). 

See the SHAPE book for more info. 

Some parents may think, I'd love to give others my 'tunic' when they take my 'cloak', but I have kids, I can't deny my children for the sake of my personal ministry.
This way of thinking underestimates the power of love.  Otherwise it would be child abuse to have more than one child. And what is it we are really 'denying' our own children, love or material?
Do we love our children less if we give others the same love.
The big question is, do you love your children enough to teach them that they don't need material comfort.
Do you love your children enough to show them the fulfillment of loving others the way God loves us?

LOVE LANGUAGES
Serving others and gift giving is only a small part of loving others.
Ministry can also be a kind word, a hug, sitting quietly with someone after a loss.

CONCLUSIONS

Loving people isn't always fun or comfortable,  it's messy and personal... but fulfilling.
Loving people like our own children isn't realistic, it's an act of faith.

In my 11 years of ministry the most challenging book I ever read on ministry was this.
Never mind the politics, just try to hear the personal challenge. 

Currently the only ministry our youth group does is two spiritual habits:
love your enemy & sacrificial giving/serving
Every summer we drive up to Philadelphia (from Fairfax VA) to do M-FUGE. 
It's gives our students a few different ministry opportunities. 
VBS in an inner-city park, visitation, Habitat type work, and working at a food bank. 
The bummer is that it is only once week, in another state, and only a few opportunities are direct ministry. 
I'm working on a local partnership to do this year-round and maybe get the adults in our church involved. 
How do you do ministry in with your students?