The pastor: searching for authentic ministry

Before we can understand what authentic ministry is, we need to deal with three major hurdles on the way to ministry.

First, a sense of calling. A student may decide to enroll in a college and major in theology. Years of experience reveal that almost anyone can decide to do that. Some of us, going off to college, had the impression that we were supposed to have some great light break across our consciousness, or bells go off in our heads, to convince us that we had indeed been called to ministry. Many of us became nervous because we hadn't experienced anything like that. The only call that some of us could point to was that we had seriously tried to consider a number of other vocations, and each of them had fallen through.

What, then, is a call to ministry? When the late H. M. S. Richards Sr., of the Voice of Prophecy radiobroadcast, was asked by students if they should become ministers, he said, "Not if you can get out of it." That was his way of saying that if you're called to minis try you won't be able to escape it.

One preacher of yesteryear said, "I became a minister of the gospel simply because I had to or be forever lost. I do not mean that I am saved by preaching the gospel. I am saved simply on the ground of the atoning blood of Jesus Christ and that alone. But my becoming a Christian and accepting Him as my Savior turned upon my preaching the gospel. For several years I refused to come out as a Christian because I was unwilling to preach, and I felt that if I became a Christian I must preach. The night that I surrendered to God I did not say, 'I will accept Christ' or 'I will give up my sins.' I said, 'I will preach.'"¹

If you floundered around, considering and probing and trying everything, and there was still that persistent, quiet conviction that you must be a minister, it just may be that you were driven to that point of decision by Someone bigger than you or me.

The second hurdle to becoming a minister is to receive a call into the ministry from the organized church. Here again, time and experience have shown that all kinds of people have received calls into the ministry from the church. Perhaps almost anyone could negotiate this hurdle also.

The third hurdle is God Himself, standing by us in a unique way, as our call becomes a recognized reality. This hurdle presents itself when a person is ordained to the gospel ministry, set apart by the laying on of hands. This is a solemn moment.

I will never forget some of the words of the preacher at my ordination. One of the things he said was "It will be a great day for Seventh-day Adventists when people, upon hearing that name, instead of saying 'Oh, you're the people who keep Saturday for Sunday and don't eat pork,' rather say 'Oh, you're the people who lift up Jesus and have a close acquaintance with God.'" It will be a great day when that happens.

Having outlined the main hurdles on the way to ministry, we are now ready to look at five significant definers of authentic ministry.

Authentic ministry: It's indispensable

Crucial to genuine gospel ministry is the realization that ministers are not simply salespersons for the organization. We are ministers of Jesus Christ. Norval Pease has said it well: "It is easy for religion to become big business, with church leaders acting the part of administrators rather than spiritual guides; with the clergy degraded to the level of salesmen for the organization; and with the member ship and the public serving as its customers. . . . The only remedy is constant emphasis on Christ and the great inspired truths of His gospel." ²

Some of us have been disturbed by those who have the wrong idea of which way is up. The way up is not being behind a desk somewhere. The way up is where the people are. As H. M. S. Richards, Sr., prayed, "God save us from petering out into great executives." Today the church is preoccupied with organization. There are medical institutions, educational institutions, world expansion, church buildings, filling the pews, and evangelism. All these ventures are good, but we are always haunted with the possibility that Christ may be standing outside the doors of the buildings we have built and in the indistinct backgrounds of our organizational structures.

There are some of us who were converted after we became ministers. I'll always remember a godly older woman in my first church who regularly came through the church door after each service to thank me for my sermon. Then she would say, "It will be a wonderful day when you get to know Jesus." It is a painful and awe some experience to be on the receiving end of something like that! But it was the experience that I needed to help me understand the difference between being simply a supersalesperson for the organization and a genuine minister for Jesus Christ.

Knowing Jesus is something that can never be overemphasized. If there is in us a wistful desire, if we are looking longingly toward heaven, and have a response of love in our hearts toward the One who first loved us, be it large or small, we must continue to follow that response and continue to let the Holy Spirit do His work (perhaps through our own church members) until we find our selves kneeling at the foot of the cross. That is the highest place that we can reach---kneeling low at the foot of the cross.

Knowing the essentials

The first thing to know, if I want to be sure I am a real minister of the gospel, is that I have found salvation. This means that I have experienced the regenerating power of the Holy Spirit and that I am converted. I must know by my own experience that Jesus always accepts anyone who comes to Him, regardless of who they are or what they have done or where they have been (John 6:37).

It is true that we may not be able to trace exactly the circumstances leading to our salvation in Christ, but we can know whether or not we have been converted. We can know if Jesus is the absolute focus and center of our life (1 John 5:11, 12). We can know if we have a deep interest in the Bible (1 Peter 2:2). We can know if we have a meaningful prayer life (John 17:3). We can know if a daily private life with God is top priority in our life (Luke 9:23). We can know if we have peace with God (Rom. 5:1). We can know if we have a burning desire to share the good news (Mark 5:19). We can know if we love one another (1 John 4:7; John 13:35).

A second thing to know if we want to be sure we are real ministers of the gospel is that we are being saved. There is more to Christian life and ministry than coming to Christ. There is the matter of actually staying with Christ. "He who has the Son has life" (1 John 5:11, 12) and he that does not have a continuing relationship with the Son does not have life. Paul uses some strong language in Philippians 3 to tell us that knowing Christ on a continuing basis is everything. All the other things we think are of so much value are nothing but "rubbish" (Phil. 3:8, NIV).

The third thing to know if we want to be sure we are real ministers of the gospel is that we will go with Jesus when He comes. When we know this we will be anxious to communicate it to the world. 1 John 2:28 has lately become one of my favorite texts. Read it! Share it! Shout it from the housetops! The assurance of something more than a few short years on planet earth is fantastic news, and people need to hear it!

Keeping priorities in tact

What about the daily life and work of a minister? Some of us have found it helpful to divide the day into four parts. From 6:00 to 10:00 in the morning, time for study and prayer and meditation. From 10:00 to 2:00, in the middle of the day, time for administrivia, writing letters, keeping the copy machine supplied, taking care of the paper clips, and sharpening pencils. From 2:00 to 6:00 in the afternoon, visitation and Bible studies, and from 6:00 to 10:00 in the evening, meetings and/or visitation and more Bible studies with people.

To all this, a minister may well be saying, "What kind of life is that? Sixteen hours a day?" Of course a minister takes time out of those four sections for eating, for family, and for exercise. Organizing the day keeps us from sharpening pencils all day instead of making that important hospital visit. I have also found that my church appreciates knowing that I spend the first part of my day let ting my soul catch up with my body.

One other important thing is to be deeply grateful that we are in the work of ministry. If we are involved in this work of God, we are involved in the very thing that will drive us to our knees. And this is a great blessing. If anyone would really like to find out what the weekly Bible lesson is all about, they only need to commit them selves to teach it, and they will find out. If we really want to find out what our Bibles are about, we will commit ourselves to being gospel ministers, and then we will find out what is in there. If we would like to find out how to have a deep experience with God, we get involved full-time in His work, and because of this experience, we will be driven to God. There is no more desperate, hopeless situation than being in the gospel ministry when we don't know God. Sooner or later we either quit or come into close fellowship with Him and with others.

Knowing people in depth

Authentic ministry is knowing others on something more than just a chitchat basis. Our world is full of people who know nothing more than chitchat. There are three kinds of communication: Mouth-to-mouth, head- to-head, and heart-to-heart. Mouth-to-mouth is chitchat. "Hi, how are you?" "Fine." "See you later." It isn't worth much.

The second level of communication involves a little more. It's head-trip ping, waxing philosophical. "What do you think about things in the Middle East?" "What do you think about the election?" "Oh, you think so? Well, here's what I think..." And so we philosophize and go on head trips.

The deepest level of communication, where life really is, is heart-to-heart. Here people can talk to people about how they feel, and about spiritual things. This is where reality is. If you are involved in the work of the minis try, that's where you will be at the deepest level. And it's exciting, and it's meaningful!

Recognizing the reward

The minister's pay is far more than money. The pay comes when some one says, "Thank you for introducing me to Jesus." Pay is when someone comes up to you and cusses you out because you represent God, and they can't stand God. But they keep coming back, time after time, just to cuss you out! Little by little you see them begin to crumble. You see the Spirit doing His work. Then one day they come up to you and say, "I quit dope." And you say, "Praise God!" They say, "No, don't praise the Lord! I did it myself!" You say, "Excuse me." You keep praying, and you watch. Then one day they come in and they say, "OK, I give up, I can't do it. I need God." And you say, "Can we pray this time?" They say, "Yes." You both go to your knees and you pray, and when you are done they say, "Wow!" This continues until one day you walk into the baptismal pool with them. That's the real payday! All the money in the world could not take the place of that!

That's the real thing. That's authentic ministry.