Just looking at the first few paragraphs of this chapter makes me think of all that I want to do within my ministry. Love people, be interesting to listen to, and meet the needs of the people...the three things Jesus did is what I want to do ultimately. In a different post not related to the class, I will share my vision in which I hope to accomplish within the years to come as long as the Lord tarries.
Christ loved people (that's why he died for us, didn't he?). He showed his love by being with people who needed the Gospel, the unbelievers, not those who knew (even though those who knew the law didn't realize who was in front of them and were trying to find him guilty of something). We need to show that love as well as creating that atmosphere of acceptance from the other congregants and the pastor. A loving pastor is a caring pastor. Many pastors anymore hide out in their offices before the service. I can assure you that I would never be such a pastor. I will probably be he first one to greet them at the door as they enter and the first to say "God bless and see you next time" as they leave because I believe in communicating with people beforehand on a personal level. People love that about those in pastoral leadership. I have seen both ends of the spectrum. One pastor goes out of his way for you if you need it and the other just sits in his office and works on stuff. I interned at one church and it was alright for me. The best part was helping the pastor out with his sermon notes. The associate media director was not thrilled about it because I was not in the media office working on stuff but took care of stuff for the pastor but to be completely honest, that time working on a Spiritual Warfare series with the pastor was the happiest moment of my internship experience.
Meeting peoples' needs is the most important thing nowadays because of the times we are living in, which is very hard. I have discussed this topic of meeting peoples' needs in ministry a lot with my mom over a few programs rejected by a certain church, which is community outreach, and not intended to bring people into the church but for people to be helped, but for the "numbers" issue they were dismissed. I was very perturbed because these two programs were growing or getting by until things slowed up within the church, thanks to people going behind backs about stuff, which was wrong.
We also need to communicate the message of the Gospel in a way that will captivate the audience like Jesus was able to with the parables he used to teach. Ministry can be controversial at times, it's expected; however, ministry has its great, rejoicing points as well.
Prayer: Let us attract crowds in ministry just as You have, Lord. We pray this in Your holy name, AMEN!
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