Thrust
statement: The church is a
society within a society.
Scripture
reading: John 14:26; 2 Corinthians
5:18-21
Now the church is the embodiment of the Remnant ideal. It is a society within a society. But it is not an isolationist group, carefully fostering a private life of its own secluded from the contaminations of the world. It has to discharge a task in the world as well as to maintain its own inner life. It has to present the Gospel to those outside; and it can only do that effectively as its members live according to Christ in their relations to one another. In other words the Church has a dual role—apostolic in relation to those outside and pastoral in relation to those within.[1]
The Christian ecclesia is a society within a society. The body of Christ is composed of priests who serve the living God through Christ and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. The church is to engage in the proclamation of the Gospel (apostolate) as well as to minister to those within the congregation (pastoral). Not only is the community of Christ to be involved in the proclamation of God’s way of salvation to the world, but also it is to be concerned about other activities outside the church, that is to say, about justice. The church is to be the light of the world. In one’s fulfillment of ministry, there is a sense in which one acts as an instrument of God to accomplish His desired goals in this life. Yet, on the other hand, one must also view ministry as participatory; in other words, God allows His children to participate in His ministry.
As one contemplates ministry, ministry is not limited to a particular group of saints, often called “clergy.” Ministry is a function of every individual Christian; it is the body of Christ at work. If one has a proper perspective of ministry, his/her theology of the church should assist in one’s ministry. Also, if one understands the various models of ministry, one’s ministry should be more effective toward the advancement of God’s kingdom on earth. When one speaks of models of ministry, one might ask the question: What are models of ministry? Another important question is: What is a working theology of the church? In one’s ministry, one also needs to become acquainted with the realities of the world?
WORKING
THEOLOGY OF THE CHURCH
Models
for Ministry
Before one can develop adequate models for ministry,[2] one must have a sound working theology of the church.[3] One’s paradigm[4] of the church will shape his/her models of ministry. One’s perception of the church determines one’s attitude toward one’s view of ministry as participatory or instrumentalist. In order for one to develop a working theology of the church, one must first determine what the word church means. What is the church? Is it a denomination? Is it an institution? Is it simply a religious social institution? Is it an organism? Is it the company of the redeemed? Is it the body of Christ? Is it the community of God on earth? Just how does one define or translate the word church? How is the true church identified? Did Christ establish an organization? Or did Christ bring a body of believers into existence? Just how should one characterize the church? One model of ministry is one’s perception of the church.
Answers to the above questions determine, to a great extent, one’s working theology of the church. For instance, some Christians are conditioned to identify the type of corporate organized religious body, of which they are a part, as the church of Jesus Christ, thereby excluding all others from belonging to the kingdom of God. In other words, any person who is not identified with his/her particular group, or denomination, is not a member of Christ’s church. That which God intends as a rallying point for the lover of God and His truth has become a battle ground on which ecclesiastical wars are fought. Again, the questions are: What is your model of the church? Is it an ecclesiastical organization? Or Is it a community of believers? Anders Nygren objects, and rightly so, to the current model of the church as an organizational structure. He uses the following pregnant words against accepting the organizational structure of the church as a part of one’s theology of the church:
Did Christ establish the church, or not? That question has generally been answered about as follows. During his lifetime Jesus gathered a group of disciples around himself, but there was as yet no kind of organization. Then if one moves on a bit into history one meets an organization which girdles the globe. It bears the name of Christ and announces itself as his church. Within that organization one finds a rich diversity of offices, as well as sacraments, a Christian cultus, and so on. The question presents itself, did Jesus actually found that organization? Did he actually envision anything of the kind? Is it not rather the product of a development whose result was not at all what Jesus would have approved? Is it not, in any case, an anachronism to speak of the church as instituted by Christ?[5]
Emil Brunner’s assessment of the contemporary situation is also full of insight as he expresses the predicament of the modern church: “The church of Christ ruled by Christ is no longer Christianity, but the Church only as a corporate institution.[6] Jurgen Moltmann is also helpful in this area when he writes:
If the church does not see itself as ‘the church of society’, or as the ‘German’, or ‘white’, or ‘male’, church (even though it can often enough really be described as these things in terms of its actual situation), but calls itself instead ‘the church of Christ’, then it will also have to make Christ its starting point in its own understanding.[7]
An adequate conception of ministry
demands an adequate conception of the church. Since the church is God’s
community, it will reflect upon its life in Christ. The church worships the One
who calls it into being, the One who liberates it, and the One who gathers it
to Himself. The church presents itself before man and before God. Moltmann is
correct when he writes: “For it stands for God to the world, and it stands for
the world before God.”[8]
It is this perspective of relationship to the world before God that Paul speaks
of his debt to men in his letter to Rome (Romans 1:14). Not only does every Christian
participate in the Great Commission, but he/she also participates in teaching
His disciples to adhere to His teachings (Matthew 28:18-20). Again, Moltmann correctly states, “the church of Christ is an ‘open’ church.
It is open for God, open for men and open for the future of both God and men.”[9]
The church of Christ concerns itself with “messianic liberation and
eschatological renewal of the world.”[10]
This concept of liberation is the ministry of every believer, not just clergy,
that is to say, a select few with certain academic credentials.
An understanding of the Trinitarian history of God can assist everyone
in his/her participation in the ministry of God. According to the great
commission, the Christian community does everything in the name of the triune God.
The church sees itself in the Trinitarian history of God’s dealings with the
world. When one talks about the Trinitarian history of God, one is conscious of
the “livingness of God which has moved out of itself . . . which can only be
understood through participating and engaged knowledge,” writes Moltmann.[11]
To state more clearly, the Trinitarian history of God includes a knowledge of
God’s dealings with mankind. The church can understand much more clearly its
own position or part in the movement of God’s ministry with the world if it
attempts to understand the Trinitarian history of God.
One’s perception of his/her joining in the movement of the world
through the history of God begins with a comprehension of the history of Christ
and the role of the Holy Spirit in the light of His coming. God sends both
Christ and the Holy Spirit. The history of Christ is seen in the light of His
origin. (John 1:1-15). The gospels record the history of Jesus as the history
of the Messiah. Jesus is introduced by the synoptic gospels in the light of His
sending and His mission by God and the workings of the Holy Spirit. John says,
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son” (John 3:16).[12]
For Mark, the ministry of Jesus begins when the Holy Spirit is conferred
on Him in baptism (Mark 1:9-12). Even though Matthew mentions the
coming of the Holy Spirit upon Jesus at His baptism, nevertheless, he begins
his history of Christ with the conception by the Holy Spirit (Matthew 1:18-23). Luke also begins the ministry of Jesus
with the conception by the Holy Spirit (Luke 1:26-35). Again, Moltmann points out the role of
the Spirit in the history of Christ: “The experience of the Spirit is to be
found in the experiences of the history of Christ which men have in their own
history.”[13] Luke
also records the promise of the Holy Spirit as a gift following baptism (Acts 2:38).
Paul also speaks of God sending forth His Son and His Holy Spirit in
his letter to the Galatians (Galatians 4:4-6). Thus, as one reflects upon the origin
of Jesus and the Holy Spirit, one is immediately thrown back into eternity.
Moltmann points out, with justice: “The Trinity in the origin is the foundation
of the Trinity in the sending, and hence the Trinity in the sending reveals the
Trinity in the origin as being from eternity an open trinity.”[14]
In other words, Moltmann is saying that one cannot grasp the life of God in a
finished circle. For Moltmann, one’s concept of God must include the Trinity.
It is in the sending of the Son and the Holy Spirit that humanity encounters
God.
The history of the Trinity opens fellowship for humanity through the
coming of the Son and the coming of the Holy Spirit. The Trinity works together
for the salvation of mankind. One discovers in the history of the Trinity that
the Son glorifies the Father and the Father glorifies the Son and the Holy
Spirit glorifies the Father and the Son by freeing individuals for fellowship
with the Trinity (1 Corinthians 12:13). This comprehension of Trinitarian
history helps Christians to fathom the ministry of the Trinity, and the
Trinity’s grace in allowing man’s participation in His ministry through the
church of Jesus Christ.
The name the church assumes requires that one sees the church as subject to Christ. Since the church is the church of Jesus, then the Christian community must align herself with Him. The Scriptures employ a number of christological titles to describe who Jesus is—“Messiah,” Son of Man,” “Lord,” and “Logos.” These titles help the church to understand the relationship of Jesus to His people. In the same manner, the relationship of the church to Christ is depicted with descriptive terms, such as, “the body of Christ,” “the house of God,” “God’s people,” and the communion of the saints.”
Since the church is the church of Christ, the
church makes Christ its starting point in its own self-understanding.[15]
When one makes Christ his initial point of meditating upon the church of Jesus,
then one must also contemplate the presence and activity of Christ in the
church to fully appreciate God’s call to participate in His ministry. When a
child of God is conscious of the residence and movement of Christ in the
church, then he/she leaps for joy in knowing that God allows His people to
experience His ministry.
The existence of the church is described through the activities of Christ. It is Christ who chooses, gathers, protects, and upholds His church. The final goal of Christ’s activity is eternal life. Moltmann captures the true essence of the church when he writes:
The activity of God’s Son is universal. It
extends in space to ‘the whole human race’ and in time to all generations ‘from
the beginning of the world to the end.’ . . . He is the Christ of the one God
for the whole human race. His choosing, gathering and protective activity
creates the church, not as an institution for salvation or as a cultic group,
but as a brotherhood to which the individual can profess loyalty as a ‘living
member’. Ultimately, the election, gathering and preservation of the church are
not an end in themselves but serve ‘eternal life’, as the final goal of
Christ’s activity, and of the church created out of that activity, is called.[16]
The activity of Christ is centered in the Word. Yet, Jesus is the Word. He is the Word of proclamation. John identifies Jesus as the lovgo" th`" zwh~" [logos ths zwhs, “Word of life”] (1 John 1:1). Consider how Bultmann deals with the activity of Jesus as the Word.
All the activity of Jesus is centered in the Word. . . . That is why John always represents Jesus as saying almost nothing except that he is speaking the Word of God. For John, from beginning to end, Jesus is not meant to be the ‘historical Jesus’; he is the ‘Word’, the Word of the Christian proclamation.[17]
One looks to
Jesus for the origin, the beginning, or the establishment of the proclamation
of the Word. In the pronouncement of the Word, there is also the declaration of
the gospel. The gospel is the dawn of the eschatological age. It is “good news”
to a lost and dying world that Christ provides redemption for all those who
believe in Him. It is not a statement about some remote future, but a statement
about liberation. Isaiah speaks of this messianic age in glowing terms: “The
Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to
preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to
proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners,”
(Isaiah 61:1).
The beginning activity of Christ’s
ministry involves three specific aspects: (1) teaching, (2) preaching, and (3)
healing. Matthew says, “Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their
synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease
and sickness among the people” (Matthew 4:23). Mark sums up the mission as:
‘“The time has come,’ he said. ‘The
kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!”’ (Mark 1:15). If the church is not preaching the
good news, if the church is not fulfilling the great commission, and if the
church is not the people of teaching, of preaching, of healing, and of the
beatitudes, God’s community loses its fellowship with the messianic mission of
Jesus to the world and to “the least of these” (See Matthew 5:3-10; 25:31-46). The world and “the least of these” is
still the concern of the Messiah.
Moltmann captures
in concise language this new life and hope when he writes: “The church is the
fellowship of those who owe their new life and hope to the activity of the
risen Christ.”[18] The
church receives its liberation from the self-giving of Christ. Thus, the church
of Christ exists in its fullness if it is obedient to the rule of the Servant
of God in its adherence to the Great Commission and participates in the sharing
of liberation through Christ as a new way of life. Every Christian participates
in his/her ministry as a servant of Jesus Christ. Again, Moltmann seems to be
right when he pens:
The church is not a ‘holy autocracy’; it is the fellowship of believers who follow the one Lord and have been laid hold of by the one Spirit. It is in principle the community of equals, equipped with equal rights and equal dignity. All have the gift of the Spirit. If, in thinking of Christ’s self-surrender, we talk about ‘the priesthood of all believers’, then in thinking of Christ’s lordship we must speak of ‘the sovereignty of all believers.’[19]
In reflecting
upon one’s participation in the ministry of Christ, a proper understanding of
the place of the church in the presence of Christ will enhance one’s philosophy
of ministry. For example, “The question what
the church is, is not the same as the question where
it is,” says Moltmann.[20]
It is not “Where the church is, there is Christ”; rather, “Where Christ is,
there is the church.” To state more plainly, “Where Christ is, the church had
better be.” It is in this vein that Jesus says, “Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant
also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me” (John 14:26).
Again, Moltmann captures the essence of Jesus statement:
“If the church is, according to its own claim, ‘the church of Jesus Christ’,
then it is Christ who leads the church into its truth. In this case the true
church is to be found where Christ is present.”[21]
Every believer participates in the ministry of Christ through becoming a
servant of the Servant. Jesus instructs His disciples about true servanthood: “Just as the Son of
Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom
for many” (Matthew 20:28). Where is
Christ? Is He not present in “the least of these”? Is He not present in His
community of believers? There is a sense in which Jesus is present in the
proclamation, in the Lord’s Supper, in water baptism, and in the fellowship of
His believers.
CHRIST’S PRESENCE
IN THE PROCLAMATION
Christ is present not only in the “least
of the brethren,” but He is also present in the apostolate, that is to say, the
proclamation through Word and sacraments, and the community of the proclaimers
in the fellowship of the brethren. The proclamation includes the missionary
charge of Jesus to His disciples (Matthew 28:18-20). In this missionary instruction, Jesus
promises His presence to the church in the proclamation (apostolate): “I am with you
always, to the very end of the age” (28:20). Today, the
church still takes up the missionary charge and participates in proclamation of
the Gospel as Christ’s representative. Jesus’ promise runs thus: “He who listens to
you listens to me; he who rejects you rejects me; but he who rejects me rejects
him who sent me” (Luke 10:16). God has
given “us the ministry of
reconciliation” (2
Corinthians 5:18) and “has committed to us the message of
reconciliation” (5:19).
Once more, Moltmann’s view is to the point:
In
the movement of the apostolate the person of the apostle takes on the form of
Christ’s destiny. He does not merely bear Christ on his lips in the word of the
gospel. He also ‘carries in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of
Jesus may also be manifested in his body’ (11 Cor. 4.10). . . . The promised
presence of Christ is the presence of the one who was crucified.[22]
In the sacraments, it is not only beneficial to see the presence of
Christ, but it is also helpful to understand the purpose of the sacraments in
relationship to the church. Just as Christ is present in the proclamation of
the Word, so also is the promise of Christ’s presence found in the Lord’s
Supper (1 Corinthians 11:23-29). It is in the Lord’s Supper that one participates in the
body and blood of Christ. Jesus describes the bread: “This is my body,
which is for you; do this in remembrance of me” (11:24), and the cup: “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for
many” (Mark 14:24).
This presence of
Christ in the Lord’s Supper is a feast of remembrance. Moltmann says, “It
recalls to our memory the history of redemption, which took place on the cross
of Christ for us.”[23]
Again, “This remembrance bridges the difference between the history there and
the events here.”[24]
Once more, Moltmann reflects upon the presence of God and Christ in this feast:
“The Lord’s supper can further be understood as the earthly sign of the
presence of the God who has become man and of the man who has been exalted to
God.”[25]
Moltmann, in addition to the presence of Christ in the Lord’s Supper, also
develops the view that “The Lord’s supper is the sacrament of confirmation and
the path of grace.”[26]
Again, he writes:
Baptism precedes the Lord’s supper. It is the sacrament of initiation
and the door of grace. The Lord’s supper is the sacrament of confirmation and
the path of grace. Through baptism men and women are born again to eternal
life. Through the Lord’s supper they are sustained in that life. Accepted into
the covenant of grace through baptism, believers are sustained in it through
the Lord’s supper.[27]
Again, Moltmann captures the participant’s reflection of the Lord’s supper when he writes: “In the eucharist the congregation thanks the triune God for all his acts of goodness and sets itself in his Trinitarian history with the world.”[28] The significance of the presence of Christ in the bread and wine is that this supper joins the past and the future, but it also represents God’s grace of liberation from sin, from wrath, from law, and from condemnation. In God’s ministry of liberation, He allows His creatures to participate in this ministry of reconciliation.
Baptism also contains a corresponding promise of Christ’s presence (Romans 6:3-5). One is baptized into His death in
order that one might also walk in a new life. Paul expresses it this way: “We were therefore buried with him through
baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead
through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life” (6:4).
The following extract from Moltmann explains graphically the role of baptism in
the life of the believer: “Just as the Christian church is called into being
through the proclamation of the gospel, so through baptism it is called to the
freedom of the messianic era.”[29]
Through baptism in Christ’s name,
one enters Christ’s fellowship; through baptism in the name of the triune God,
one is “simultaneously set in the Trinitarian history of God.”[30]
In other words, through baptism one enters into covenant relationship with the
Trinity. Baptism is the sacrament of initiation and the door of grace. It is in
baptism, says Moltmann, that one is given the certainty of God’s grace “through
the medium of visible signs.”[31]
In baptism one can look back and say, “that is the day that my sins were washed
away.” As a result of one’s new life through faith in Christ and submission to
baptism, one then participates in service of Christ for the advancement of
God’s kingdom.
Christ’s Presence Is Found
in the Fellowship of Believers
One sees the presence and activity of
Christ in the body of believers: “For where two or three come
together in my name, there am I with them” (Matthew
18:20). When Christians assemble, they relate the story of Christ and
their own story with His history, because their fellowship and activity in
God’s kingdom springs from the story of liberation brought about through the
vicarious sufferings of Christ. Moltmann is perfectly right when he insists
that:
The messianic community belongs to the Messiah and the
messianic word; and this community, with the powers that it has, already
realizes the possibilities of the messianic era, which brings the gospel of the
kingdom to the poor, which proclaims the lifting up of the downtrodden to the
lowly, and begins the glorification of the coming God through actions of hope
in the fellowship of the poor, the sad and those condemned to silence, so that
it may lay hold on all men. . . . Where the gospel corresponds to Christ, and the
messianic fellowship of the people corresponds to the gospel the truth of the
proclamation is recognizable from the freedom it creates. The ‘true world’ is
promised in the gospel of Christ and is made accessible in the power of the
Holy Spirit.[32]
The Christian fellowship “must stop being a church of ministers functioning on behalf of laymen, and become a charismatic fellowship in which everyone recognizes his ministry and lays hold on his charisma.[33] In other words, the fellowship of believers must recapture the priesthood of all believers, not a special class of priest. Every Christian is to participate in the ministry of Christ. Within the church there are no laymen versus clergy—in God’s kingdom all are ministers. Ben Campbell Johnson explains the concept of a participatory ministry this way: “To be a minister of Jesus Christ means to participate in his body, the incarnate presence of God in the world.”[34]
THE CHURCH IN THE
PRESENCE OF THE HOLY
SPIRIT
The church in the presence of the Holy Spirit focuses on the power of
the Spirit as the Spirit empowers the presence and activity of Jesus Christ in
the world and the church. In other words, it is the Spirit that manifests
Christ and unites us with Him and glorifies Him in men (1 Corinthians 12:13; Titus 3:5). Moltmann maintains that “It is the
doctrine of the Holy Spirit in particular that depicts the processes and
experiences in which and through which the church becomes comprehensible to
itself as the messianic fellowship.”[35]
It is these “processes and experiences” that Moltmann defines as the “means of
salvation.”[36] That
is to say, “proclamation, baptism, the Lord’s Supper, worship, prayer, acts of
blessing, and the way in which individual (sic) and fellowship live.”[37]
According to Moltmann, “the presence of the
kingdom of God and the revelation of the divine mystery of the last days are to
be found in the eschatological gift of the Holy Spirit.”[38]
Peter in his Pentecostal sermon speaks of this eschatological gift of the
Spirit to believers (Acts 2:38). Paul, too, in his Corinthian
correspondence, speaks of the activity of the Spirit in the church (1 Corinthians 12:1-13). One must not discount the activity of
the Holy Spirit in Christian experiences. The Holy Spirit is associated with
the new birth. Jesus in His conversation with Nicodemus says, “I tell you the
truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the
Spirit” (John 3:5). Also, Paul
relates the Holy Spirit’s activity with regeneration: “He saved us, not because of righteous things
we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of
rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously
through Jesus Christ our Savior” (Titus 3:5-6). Again, Paul informs the
Corinthians that no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit” (1 Corinthians 12:3).
In this same correspondence, Paul recognizes the Holy Spirit’s role of
induction into the body of Christ (12:13).
THE CHURCH IN THE
POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
When Christians celebrate baptism and the Lord’s Supper, “the church sees itself in the presence of the Holy Spirit as the messianic people destined for the coming kingdom.”[39] That is not to say that one sees the Spirit in the sacraments, but rather, one sees the sacraments in the movement and the presence of the Holy Spirit.[40] This is also true of the various ministries of the Spirit; the ministries are conceived of in the presence of the Holy Spirit. Again, Moltmann aptly remarks: “There is no ‘Spirit of the sacraments’ and no ‘Spirit of the Ministry’, there are sacraments and ministries of the Spirit.”[41]
For Paul, the church is where the Spirit manifests its power in an abundance of spiritual gifts (1 Corinthians 14). According to Joel, the Spirit is the gift promised in the last days (Joel 2:28-29; see also Acts 2:12-21). Fifty days after the resurrection of Jesus, the disciples witnessed the outpouring of the Spirit (Acts 2). Hans Kung also draws attention to the church as the creation of the Spirit.[42] The Spirit calls them into being (Titus 3:5), and the Spirit creates unity (Ephesians 4:3). Paul writes about the charismata (carivsmata, carismata), which means the energies of new life, or the powers of the Holy Spirit. The gifts in the Corinthian church existed as a result of the creative grace of God. The various ministries that exist in the church today exist as a result of the powers of the Spirit. In the Roman letter, Paul speaks of eternal life as the “gift of God” [cavrisma tou' qeou', carisma tou qeou](Romans 6:23).
In the ministry of the Spirit, Paul does not write about “ecclesiastical orders.” In other words, he speaks not of hierarchy, but of service in Christ’s ministry. Every individual is a servant in the Spirit’s ministry. This ministry is both instrumentalist and participatory. If one has an exaggerated concept of the instrumentalist aspect of ministry instead of the participatory philosophy, this instrumentalist model may lead to a super ego. It is in this regard that Campbell writes: “When the ego becomes inflated, it tends to operate disconnected from its data. Recall Salieri’s confession: ‘I wanted Fame. . . . I wanted to blaze like a comet across the firmament of Europe!’ Here is an ego gone mad. The desire stems from a hunger for recognition beyond the capacities of the person.”[43]
An inflated ego is indicative of the instrumentalist philosophy of
ministry that exceeds the boundaries for a healthy attitude toward one’s
ministry. One must never forget that God in His mercy allows man a
participatory ministry. Moltmann goes right to the point about participatory
ministry when he writes: “Through the powers of the Spirit, the one Spirit
gives every individual his specific share and calling, which is exactly cut out
for him, in the process of the new creation.”[44]
The Spirit is the Spirit of power. Paul speaks of the Spirit’s power in the
resurrection: “And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead
is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to
your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you” (Romans 8:11).
Through
the power of the Spirit, every individual exercises the gift or gifts that the
Spirit has given to him/her. Again, Moltmann expresses that even the most
menial task is exercising one’s gift: “The widow who exercises mercy is acting
just as charismatically as a bishop.”[45]
One must never forget that within the Kingdom of Christ there is no essential
difference between the so-called clergy and individual member of the church, or
God’s community. In other words, every person exercises his/her own function of
ministry in the power of the Spirit (1 Corinthians 12). The
questions that confront everyone are: What is ministry? What are models, or
functions of ministry? Is one an instrument in ministry? Or is one a
participant in ministry?
When
one speaks of himself/herself as an instrument of God in His ministry, one
should always bear in mind that this simply means that one is a bearer of
Christ. One must not look upon his/her ministry as one of more privilege than
another believer, but rather, one should see his/her role in God’s ministry as
a bearer of Christ, that is to say, one’s ministry is a symbolic presence of
God.”[46]
How should one view the various functions in ministry? Are individuals the
voice of God? Are individuals the hands of God? Are individuals the feet of
God? Some respond by saying yes, which is the instrumentalist view of a
ministry.[47] On
the other hand, some Christians view themselves as participants in God’s
ministry. A healthy view of ministry is to view one’s ministry as consisting of
both—instrumentalist and participatory.
In most instances where “minister” or “ministering” is
found in English versions, the Greek has some form of diakonia (“service” or “ministry”), which
occurs thirty-four times. A related noun, diakonos
(“servant,” “minister,” or “deacon”), occurs thirty times. The verb diakoneo (“to serve” or “to serve as a
deacon”) is used thirty-seven times.[48]
What are models of ministry? What is a model? What is ministry? These are questions that everyone must seek an answer to in order to effectively minister to people. Once an individual’s working theology of the church is developed, then, one is able to set forth a coherent paradigm of ministry as it relates to the various functions exercised in the fulfillment of one’s ministry. Under the rubric of models of ministry, one’s ministry includes the prioritizing of the various functions in the order of their relative importance: (a) proclamation of the gospel, (b) teaching, (c) evangelism, (d) pastoral care, and (e) ecumenical and interfaith activities.
How does one define ministry? Is there a wide sense and a narrow sense in which ministry is defined? What examples do New Testament writings contain that incarnate ministry? Is ministry healing the brokenhearted, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, teaching ethical instructions to the saved, seeking justice for the wronged, ministering to “to the least of these,” and so on? Is ministry reserved for a special class known as “clergy” (narrow sense)? Or, is ministry for every Christian (wider sense)? Just what does it mean to minister?
These are questions that one must answer to
adequately form a proper conception of one’s own ministry with its various models
as it is set forth in the Bible. Moltmann cautions Christians about a proper
understanding of ministry: “As the messianic congregation the people of God
cannot recognize the sovereignty of a priestly caste or special ministerial
class.”[49]
No Christian should surrender his/her freedom, which Christ has brought about,
to a select group of men to do his/her ministry or thinking. James A. Wharton
has rightly picked up on the meaning of ministry:
The familiar word “minus” is beneath
“minis-try” in whatever sense the term is used. A “lesser” person or persons
understood to be somehow “greater.” Ministry may describe the service by a
courtier to a king, a slave to a master, or a wage earner to an employer out of
motives as diverse as loyalty, duty, compulsion, or personal gain.[50]
Proclamation of the Gospel
The word proclamation, in
and of itself, does not disclose the object of what is proclaimed. One may
proclaim the Word of God in its totality, or one may proclaim the good news.
The church’s proclamation of Jesus as the Messiah is in essence the gospel of
the kingdom. Moltmann says, “The messianic church grew out of the apostolic
proclamation of the gospel and is alive in the act of proclamation.”[51]
Moltmann includes the following in the proclamation of the gospel: “preaching,
teaching, conversations with groups and individuals, storytelling, comforting,
encouraging and liberating, through the publicity of the media in the
proclamation of the gospel.”[52]
It is through the proclamation (khvrugma, khrugma, “message”) of the “good news” (eujaggevlion, euaggelion, “gospel”) of God that individuals are
made disciples (maqhteuvsate, maqhteusate, “make disciples”). Once an individual
is called through the message of redemption, then, he/she must be taught to be
submissive to the teachings of God (Matthew 28:18-20). Mark begins the ministry of Jesus by
informing his readers that Jesus went about “proclaiming (khruvsswn, khrusswn) the good news (eujaggevlion, euaggelion) of God. ‘The time has come,’ he said. ‘The
kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news (ejn tw'/ eujaggelivw,
en tw euaggeliw,
“in the gospel”)!’” (Mark 1:14-15). It is in the same vein that Matthew
paints a concise picture of Jesus’ ministry as “teaching,” “preaching,” and
“healing.” Matthew writes: “Jesus went throughout Galilee,
teaching (didavskwn, didaskwn) in their synagogues, preaching (khruvsswn, khrusswn) the good news of the kingdom, and healing (qerapeuvwn, qrapeuwn) every disease and sickness among the
people” (Matthew
4:23).
The followers of Jesus participate
in preaching and teaching as a part of their ministry. Even though Christians
cannot perform “healing” in the sense that Jesus executed, nevertheless,
Christians can assist individuals in their sickness as a part of their diakonia (Luke 10:25-37; Matthew 25:31-46).
As mentioned above, Paul speaks of the “preaching of the gospel” as the
“ministry of reconciliation” (diakonivan
th'" katallagh'",
diakonian ths katallaghs), that is to say, declaring (proclaiming) Jesus as the Word of
reconciliation (2
Corinthians 5:18-21). In other words, Jesus is God’s way of
salvation for a lost and dying world. This “ministry of reconciliation” rests
upon the shoulders of every believer.
Matthew and Mark begin their
ministry of Jesus with the proclamation of the gospel of the kingdom, and both
men conclude with instruction to continue this ministry of preaching. Mark, for
example, gives the final words of Jesus as: “Go (poreuqevnte", poreuqentes) into all the world and preach the
good news (khruvxate toV eujaggevlion, khruxate to euaggelion) to all creation.
Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe
will be condemned” (Mark 16:15-16). On the other
hand, Matthew phrases the Great Commission with these words:
Therefore go (poreuqevnte", poreuqentes) and make disciples
(maqhteuvsate, maqhteusate) of all nations,
baptizing (baptivzonte", baptizontes) them in the name
of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching (didavskonte", didaskontes) them to obey everything I have
commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age (Matthew
28:19-20).
Proclamation of
the gospel and proclamation of the teachings of Christ are two distinct
activities in the Great Commission. This is the reason that preaching is
prioritized first and teaching second in one’s ministry. Once an individual is
called through the message of redemption and placed in a right relationship
with God through faith in Christ Jesus, then he/she must be taught to be submissive
to the teachings of God. There is, so it appears, a distinction between
preaching and teaching. Alan Richardson gives this pertinent comment on
preaching: “In the NT preaching has nothing to do with the delivery of sermons
to the converted, which is what it usually means today, but always concerns the
proclamation of the ‘good tidings of God’ to the non-Christian world.”[53]
It is critical
that one understands the distinction between preaching the gospel and teaching
the Word in order to restore the biblical ideal of preaching. One has to do
with birth, the other with spiritual digestion. The Gospel is that which brings
us into being while the doctrine is that which is essential to our growth and
well being. There is as much difference between Gospel and doctrine as there is
between the sperm from which life comes and the daily bread upon which the
child feeds. This understanding is crucial to the fellowship of the saints.
This lack of distinction is critical in Church of Christ theology. It is not
uncommon for Christians within this religious movement to associate the
twenty-seven books that comprise the so-called New Testament as the Gospel.
Thus, gospel and doctrine are wedded together. As a result of this merger,
then, for one to disagree with the religious leaders is to preach another
gospel.
The verb “to
preach” frequently has for its object “the gospel.” C. H. Dodd, one of the more
able scholars, believes that there is a distinction. It is in this regard that
he seeks to set forth a correct understanding of what the Gospel is all about.
He writes:
Indeed, the connection of ideas is so close that keryseein by itself can be used as a
virtual equivalent for evangelizesthai,
“to evangelize,” or “to preach the Gospel.” It would not be too much to say
that wherever “preaching” is spoken of, it always carries with it the
implication of “good tidings” proclaimed.[54]
Also, Alexander Campbell, one of the founders of the American Restoration Movement—Disciples of Christ, Christian Churches, and Churches of Christ—differentiated between “preach” and “teach.” For instance, Campbell quotes from Dr. Campbell concerning this difference:
Dr. Campbell observes—“No moral instructions,
or doctrinal explanations, given either by our Lord or his Apostles, are ever,
either in the Gospels or the Acts, denominated preaching.” Again, he says that
the Greek word kerrusso, which
means to preach, “always implied public notice of some event, either
accomplished or about to be accomplished, often accompanied by a warning to do,
or forbear something, but it never denoted either a comment on, or explanation
of any subject, or a chain of reasoning in proof of a particular sentiment.”
Thus we find that the preacher’s mission is altogether to the world, and that
he takes upon himself another office entirely, when he presumes to teach the
church.[55]
One more, Alexander Campbell, in an address delivered before the
Kentucky Convention, held at Harrodsburg, Kentucky, September 28, 1853,
pungently states his thoughts:
Preaching the gospel and teaching the
converts, are as distinct and distinguishable employments as enlisting an army
and training it, or as creating a school and teaching it. Unhappily for the
church and for the world, this distinction, if at all conceded as legitimate,
is obliterated or annulled in almost all Protestant Christendom.[56]
This is no mere speculative distinction. It
was appreciated and understood and acted upon in apostolic ministry. For
example, Luke records the early ministry this way: “They never stopped teaching (didavskonte", didaskontes) and proclaiming (eujaggelizovmenoi, euaggelizomenoi) the good news that Jesus is the Christ” (Acts 5:42).
When believers confuse “biblical preaching” and “biblical teaching,” division
is created among Christians rather than unity. With a proper understanding of
the two different functions, this apprehension will contribute toward a more
effective ministry. Victor Furnish captures the essence of preaching when he
writes:
Only
when we recognize that Paul’s preaching was a ministerium
Dei, and not just personal religious testimony, are we able to
understand how he could rejoice even when Christ was proclaimed for the wrong
reasons, but those who acted from unworthy motives and out of pretense
(Phil.1:15-18). The word Paul preached was not about what God had done for him;
it was a word from God that spoke of what God had done in Christ for all those
who believe.[57]
Victor
appears to be correct when he says: “In the Pauline understanding of ministry,
preaching is an occasion, not just an ‘occurrence.’”[58]
Again, Victor is right when he says: “In Rom. 10:5-21, Paul describes the
gospel as ‘the word of faith’ which comes ‘near’ in preaching.”[59]
Christians exist to communicate God’s Word; Christians are ambassadors
for Christ. It is the mission of believers to evangelize the world. As long as
there is one person who does not know Christ, the church has a mandate to keep
growing. Growth is not optional. It is commanded by Jesus in His great
commission (Matthew 18:20). Paul, too, expresses this same truth in the Corinthian
correspondence when he says: “God. . . gave us the ministry of reconciliation” (2 Corinthians 5:18) and
“has committed to us the message of reconciliation” (5:19) and, again, “We are
therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through
us” (5:20).
Moltmann points out that:
The
messianic mission of Jesus is only fulfilled in his death and is put into full
force through his resurrection. . . . Through his death and resurrection the
church participates in his mission, becoming the messianic church of the coming
kingdom and man’s liberation.[60]
Again, Moltmann is very insightful
in his statements concerning the missionary nature of the church in his
description of the true nature of the church: “The church understands itself as
‘the church of the world’”[61]
For instance, according to Moltmann, “It is the vehicle of the gospel of
freedom, not a schoolmaster for the nations.”[62]
In other words, when the church proclaims the gospel of Christ, it is calling
men to repentance and to a new start into freedom. Jesus fulfills His mission
through the proclamation of the good news of redemption made available through
faith in Jesus. Moltmann demonstrates this most impressively with his
description of the church:
It
is the community of the liberated, the community of those who are making a new
beginning, the community of those who hope. Their fellowship serves to spread
the call of freedom in the world and, as new fellowship, should itself be the
social form of hope. Fundamentally, all Christians share in the prophetic
ministry of Christ and are witnesses of the gospel.[63]
Moltmann calls attention to the
importance of teaching versus speaking in tongues in the assembly when he
writes: “The apostles recognized teaching as one of the gifts of the Spirit
(Rom. 12:7; 1 Cor. 12:28-29; cf. 1 Cor. 2:13), and he clearly valued it above
speaking in tongues when it came to public worship (1 Cor. 14:6).”[64]
Teaching involves a “building up” of the body of Christ (2 Corinthians 10:8). The Sermon on the Mount is an
excellent example of teaching (Matthew 5—7). Whether one participates in the
preaching of the gospel or the teaching of the Word, it is essential that one
understand ministry in its essential aspect—ministry of God. In other words, if
one perceives ministry as the service of God and not so much as the service of
the world, or of the church, or of individuals, or of society, then one allows
God to use him/her in accomplishing His objectives—the salvation of the world.
It is ultimately God’s ministry, not simply man’s ministry. Man is a
participant in God’s ministry.
The Christian community is to be involved in the spiritual
development of each individual. Not only is man an instrument of God, but man
is also a participant in God's ministry. One must never forget that God allows
each person to participate in His ministry. One aspect of teaching is to
develop the spiritual maturity of individuals to a commitment to Jesus as God’s
Son. The spiritual development of Christians is a part of the growth process
that the New Testament writers focus
on. One classic example is the judgment scene in Matthew 25 concerning God’s judgment upon the
nation of Israel for its rejection of Jesus as the Messiah. In this parable
against the religious leaders, Jesus speaks of the “least of these.” In one’s
spiritual development, he/she must realize that the “least of these” involve
care on the part of all believers. There is some sense in which all Christians
are to become involved in pastoral care. James,
our Lord’s brother, expresses true spirituality this way:
If
anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his
tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless. Religion that God
our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and
widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world (James 1:26-27).
The Hebrews writer also captures the concept
of the “least of these” in the following words: “Through Jesus, therefore, let
us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that
confess his name. And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for
with such sacrifices God is pleased” (Hebrews 13:15-16). Christians today need encouragement just as
much as they did in the first century. It is in this vein that the author of
Hebrews exhorts believers not to fail
to assemble: “And let us consider how
we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting
together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one
another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching” (10:24-25). The “Day approaching” refers to the
destruction of Jerusalem in 70 CE as described by Jesus in Matthew
24, Mark
13, and Luke
21.
Ecumenical and
Interfaith Activities
Another activity of ministry, as
stated earlier, is the ecumenical aspect of ministry within the body of Christ.
For example, Paul in writing to the Ephesians encourages them to work toward
“the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace” (Ephesians
4:3). Also, Paul in
the beginning of this short epistle expresses God’s plan for the unity of His
people:
And he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good
pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times
will have reached their fulfillment—to bring all things in heaven and on earth
together under one head, even Christ (1:9-10).
God’s
people must learn to be peacemakers not
piecemakers. It is in this regard
that Professor Leroy Garrett, a reformer in church unity, says,
The point of the gospel is that now in Christ Jesus “you who once were
far off have been brought near in the blood of Christ” (Eph. 2:13). This makes
all men in Christ blood brothers,
irrespective of what garb they wear or what infirmity they bear. It is a
blessed reality that Jesus came to make men brothers. This is something far
different than merely sharing a space on a church roll. Men become brothers
only through an inward experience that transcends them both.[65]
As a part on one’s ministry,
Christians should work toward breaking down the barriers that separate them
from other believers. In this vein, Moltmann states: “The ecumenical movement
seeks the visible unity of Christ’s church.”[66]
Again, he rightly insists on looking beyond one’s own denomination in defining
the true “Church of Christ”: “But the question of the ‘true church’ moves into
the foreground. Just as we seek for the true church in the shape of our own
denomination, so we will seek it in the forms of other churches as well; for
the true church is one and indivisible.”[67]
Again, he says, “In the ecumenical context Christianity loses its provincial
character.”[68]
Moltmann speaks of the church as one and indivisible. Garrett, too, uses the
following pregnant words in his “Catholicity of the Church” article:
And we should use the term catholic
much more than we do in our references to the church. Why I Belong to the Catholic Church would
be a better title for a talk than Why I
Belong to the Church of Christ, for with that topic one is at once
on universal ground, whereas the term “church of Christ,” since it has been
adopted by several groups as a distinctive name, has one treading the waters of
sectarianism.[69]
Thomas Campbell, father of Alexander
Campbell, while a Presbyterian wrote the following words about the universal
nature of the church: “That the Church of Christ upon earth is essentially,
intentionally, and constitutionally one; consisting of all those in every place
that profess their faith in Christ and obedience to him in all things according
to the Scriptures.”[70]
Campbell is conscious of the causes of divisions within the true church of
Christ. He himself seeks to call attention to the “uncharitable divisions among
them.” Again, he writes:
That although the Church of Christ upon earth must necessarily exist in
particular and distinct societies . . . yet there ought to be no schisms, no
uncharitable divisions among them. They ought to receive each other as Christ
Jesus hath also received them, to the glory of God.[71]
Richard Niebuhr, former Director for
The Study of Theological Education in the United States and Canada, is also to
the point when he writes:
The confusion between part and whole is not to be avoided by denying
the reality of the parts but only by the acceptance of diversity and limitation
and the corollary recognition that all the parts are equally related in the
whole to the ultimate object of the church.[72]
A
part of one’s ministry is to work toward the unity for which Jesus prayed (John
17). One’s philosophy
of ministry—participatory or instrumentalist—determines one’s attitude of
unity. In the participatory philosophy of ministry, one participates, but, on
the other hand, the extreme instrumentalist philosophy of ministry says, “I am
the voice of God.”
REALITIES OF THE
MODERN WORLD
The Urban Christian
An excellent modern day example of ministry
in the “realities of the modern world” is Ray Bakke’s book on The Urban
Christian. In his autobiography of ministry, he states that his
purpose in writing The Urban Christian
is “to indicate something of the big corporate picture within which your
personal ministry is situated.[73]
In the beginning of his ministry, he established a discipleship group, which
took a total of five years for the formation of the first Christians in Action
(CIA).[74]
This group formed a committee and other neighborhood action committees. As a
result of this action, at one time over forty gays and lesbians attended
support groups. Their ministry also included hosting an Alcoholics Anonymous
Group.[75]
They, according to Bakke, “wanted to
be known as people who cared—for the community, for schools, for senior
citizens, and so on.[76]
Bakke’s group adopted training programs to strengthen people under stress, to
encourage people experiencing divorce, or to assist those involved in drugs or
alcohol.[77] This
kind of ministry introduces one into the “realities of the real world.” Bakke
questioned pastors from all over the world as to the greatest ten basic
barriers to effective evangelism. This questionnaire revealed that all barriers
could be summed up in the statement: “We never did it that way before!—the
Seven Last Words of the Church.[78]
He discovered that hindrances to
effective evangelism did not exist in the so-called “big bad city itself,” but
rather in barriers created by “church politics, policies, priorities or
personalities.”[79] In
other words, failure to evangelize is not in the cities, but in the failure of
an individual to interact within his/her own setting. Christian ministry
involves participation in the “realities of the real world.” One should
participate with the congregation of which he/she is a member for an effective
ministry. Bakke suggest that one begin with the question: “How did you come to
know Jesus Christ?”[80]
This question unlocks the pilgrimage of the individual.
One should share one’s personal
pilgrimage of faith with others in order to strengthen their faith. A second
question put forth by Bakke is: “What were the circumstances of your life when
you became a Christian?”[81]
This question causes one to reflect upon the faith that has sustained him/her
over the years. Then, Bakke ask a third question: “What have you enjoyed in
church life over the years?”[82]
As a result of this question, individuals recalled things long forgotten. He
discovered many prior social activities no longer in practice. Finally, he
concluded his interview with this question: “If you could wave a wand and bring
about a future for this church, what would it look like?”[83]
This final question awoke people to commitment and to future possibilities in
their ministry. Bakke’s concept of ministry is a functional ministry.
Bakke’s ministry included
“networking social agencies,”[84]
such as: (1) police, (2) schools, (3) welfare agencies, (4) prisons, (5)
courts, (6) hospitals, (6) political groups, and (8) offices of city hall.[85]
This kind of ministry introduces one to the “realities of the real world.”
Surely he is correct when he writes: “I part company with those who say, ‘Only
do a social ministry,’ and with those who say, ‘We only announce the good
news.’”[86]
Another individual, Lester R. Brown,
also calls attention to a “social ministry” in his book, Who Will Feed China?[87]
Even though he did not address this concern with quotations from the bible,
nevertheless, food production is one aspect of the Christian community. What
can Christians do in this area of food shortages? Brown issues a wake-up call
to alert people to the problems in China that could affect the entire globe.[88]
As Brown explains, “All the leaders of China today are survivors of the massive
famine that occurred in 1959—in the aftermath of the Great Leap Forward—a
famine that claimed a staggering 30 million lives.”[89]
Brown seeks to avoid another famine that could affect, not only China, but also
the whole world.
Racism in the World
One’s attitude toward the race
question can have extreme consequences in the development of another’s attitude
toward Christianity. How should a Christian respond to racism? Should
Christians become involved in seeking answers to the problems of racism?
Professor James H. Cone says, “Unlike white churches, which separated religion
and politics when the racial question was involved, black churches have always
viewed them as belonging together, especially in regard to race.”[90]
Martin Luther King reminded the clergy: “a minister cannot preach the glories
of heaven while ignoring social conditions in his own community that cause men
an earthly hell.”[91]
Again, Cone remarks: “There was no way anyone could be the kind of Christian
that King’s theology called for without being willing to suffer on behalf of
the “least of these,” a biblical reference he often used to describe the poor.”[92]
King correctly understood that God is concerned about every area of one’s life, not just the so-called spiritual aspects confined within the church building, which is usually one, or, at the most, three hours weekly. This ministry of God involves not just proclamation of the Gospel, but also requires involvement in social actions. When Christians sit on the sideline and hope that things will get better, God is not pleased with this insensitivity. Jesus confronts this issue head-on in his “least of these” in Matthew 25. God, through Isaiah, complains: “No one calls for justice” (Isaiah 59:4).
The religious leaders of Israel did not speak
out against injustice. The people as a whole did not speak out against
injustice. The Lord looked and was displeased that no one called for justice.
Again, Isaiah says, “The LORD looked and was displeased that there was
no justice. He saw that there was no one, he was appalled that there was no one
to intervene” (59:15,16). God questions Israel by saying that the
kind of “fasting” that He is concerned with is: (1) “to loose the chains of
injustice,” (2) “to set the oppressed free,” (3) “to share your food with the
hungry,” (4) “to provide the poor wanderer with shelter,” and (5) “when you see
the naked, to clothe him” (58:6-7).