ministry

This weekend I came to a realization and I need to rant about it for awhile. Are you ready to hear it?

Ministry is not all about showing everyone around you how hard you work. Ministry is not about doing the dishes, cleaning the dining hall, running activities or cleaning the bathrooms.

Ministry is pouring into people.

That's what ministry is about. That's why I am a missionary.

Of course, washing dishes and cleaning cabins and answering phones are all important parts of making sure ministry can happen. It is no excuse to slack off, but I think we need to adjust our attitudes about that. There is NOTHING wrong with taking some extra time to talk with people and letting the dishes sit there for 1/2 hour. There is NOTHING wrong with letting the floor be a little bit dirty if it means the difference between a person's needs being met or not.

The reason I was thinking about this is because this weekend was the Ladies' Retreat, which means us staff ladies are not put on the schedule for dishes, for the kitchen or to really run activities (except for horses, just because its only ladies on staff that know how to do that job :-) ).

I went into the weekend with a terrible attitude. I am a bit of an agoraphobic and I don't really like being forced into group activities. I wanted to be where I am comfortable - in the kitchen or something else behind the scene. Or at least, able to choose the level that I interacted. I was whining to my boss and just being a pill and he told me to get out there and do ministry!

I did and I'm glad. I was blessed by my interactions this weekend and really did have a good time. But, at the same I was blown away by my perspective change. I was so busy being a Martha and proving my worth to be in the ministry by my works that I was missing my chance to be Mary and sit at Jesus' feet, listening.

There are a couple of reasons for this, one being what my job is. I am the secretary. I answer phones, print things, deal with the bookkeeping, etc, etc. Yes, I know my job is essential to the ministry. Yes, I know what I do frees others up to do ministry. But, at least let me be honest. This is a job that could be done at any corporation. There are times I have a hard time remembering what I do is for eternity's sake, because it feels very much like its for temporal sake.

So, then, because I am in full time ministry and my full time ministry position is working a "regular" job, then doesn't it make sense that work has become my version of ministry?

This weekend, as I sat at Jesus' feet and met Him through His people and His Word, I was reminded of how much of ministry is people. Without people, there is NO point to ministry.