A Congregation of Pastors

My wife and I have decided to move to a small town in the South called Atlanta. Of course, if you know anything about Atlanta, you know it hosted the 1996 Olympic games. With over 8 million people living in and around the metropolitan Atalanta area, and a new adventure beginning for us in an MDiv program at a school of theology nestled on the campus of a highly ranked university, we've got our work cut out for us. We're not going to Atlanta just to learn about ministry, but we're taking 6 years of ministry experience with us to a place where we can actually practice our gifts and ideas to help people.

I've been working in men's ministry over the last two years, and while I'm planning to start a "garage band" (men's small group) or two in Atlanta, what I'm taking away from the experience isn't the point of this story. See, I'm also leaving some important gaps which must be filled. Am I leaving big shoes to fill? Well, I like to think of it as a bunch of little shoes. What's guided me through this process of exiting is identifying the specific jobs which must be done and the little things that make up a big ministry.

And that leads me to my final point. What I've theorized about for quite some time I was actually able to practice: today, I commissioned an average guy (by all accounts, the stereotype we target in the men's ministry), to become the kind of minister every person should be. He's got a big heart and strong character, but often works behind the scenes. What we discussed today was that he is every bit as important in his role of encouraging and supporting the guy on the stage as the guy on the stage himself. None of our events or spectacle would mean anything without real guys continuing to lead their garage bands and holding together so man is left behind during times of transition or difficulty.

May you also realize that ministry is your commission, to lead yourself and others into the heart of Christ. Whether you are a paid church staff member who needs to quit thinking of ministry as your job and start adopting it as a refreshing lifestyle, or an average 9-to-5er without a lick of biblical or theological education; may you find the love of Christ refreshing yourself and others as you imbibe truth from the pages of the Bible and obey the teachings of Christ. And whether or not you have a special robe, a mantle, a paper, or a card that says so; may you sense the power of the Holy Spirit empowering and ordaining what you do in the name of Christ no matter how large and no matter how small.