The Developing Of A Ministering Congregation

By Wallace Carr

Reformed Theological Seminary, Jackson, Mississippi

When God spoke to the church through the Ephesian letter one of the concepts he emphasized was the “equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ” (Eph. 4:12, NASB). This directive is a realistic solution to at least two serious problems facing most pastors and congregations. One, when rank-and-file church members are in real distress, experiencing a crisis in their lives, they need and have a right to expect more from their church than the traditional “once over lightly plus a prayer.” But, many an exhausted pastor will testify that one man simply can’t provide an intensive ministry to very many people at the same time. Two, a large number of Christian people in our congregations are looking for a way to give themselves sacrificially to Christ’s service. But, not many people are willing to expend themselves on trivia, even if it has been “baptized.” Ephesians 4 speaks of saints engaged in ministry. That is, a shepherd-teacher guiding members of a congregation as they develop and use their God-given gifts in ministering to one another.

When people experience crisis situations, they need a genuine Christian ministry right away that will reach them at the “bed-rock” issues of their lives. For example, a young couple’s first child is born paralyzed with an exposed spinal cord; a family who had already experienced the death of two children in a highway accident is suddenly faced with their youngest child being struck by an automobile; or a widow in a strange community finds her sons rejecting their Christian training and entering the drug culture; and on and on. A crisis can be a means of growth to greater hope (Rom. 5:3, 4), or it can lead to a hardened heart. If a person adopts a bitter attitude it might even lead to a major disorganization of one’s personality. The outcome may well be influenced by the presence of a solid, total, Biblical ministry at the moment of need. Romans 12:3–21 describes just such a “down to earth” (or “up to heaven”) ministry that Christians can provide each other in Jesus Christ.

In his Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans F. Godet[1] suggests that the “charismata” mentioned in Romans 12:6–8 are natural talents that the Spirit appropriates and sanctifies for the development of the spiritual life of the church. Robert Haldane, in his Epistle to the Romans,[2] adds that he understands these to be gifts, not offices of the congregation. In this vein, these seven gifts provide an outline for a full-orbed, total ministry to members of the body of Christ, appropriate all the time, but particularly so for people in crisis experiences. For example:

(a) “prophecy” emphasizes bringing the truth of God to bear upon the specific experience of the person in crisis; 

(b) “service” speaks of doing those hard, servant chores that are not always easy; 

(c) “teaching” emphasizes the importance of understanding how a particular experience fits into the overall pattern of God’s truth; 

(d) “exhorting” says that it is important to “walk” alongside another in a relationship that is sometimes urging, sometimes comforting, sometimes interacting, sometimes exhorting; 

(e) “sharing” points to a very practical ministry to physical needs; 

(f) “leading” says someone has the gift of God to coordinate and superintend a joint effort; 

(g) “kindness” places a value on mercy and beneficence.

No single pastor can realistically expect to provide such a total ministry to a person in need. On the other hand, people need it. The Scriptures remind us of that. But a ministering congregation can provide it and make the Biblical concept of the body of Christ ministering to each other an experiential reality.

It is sometimes hard for people to accept the fact that they have a particular gift from God that can be identified and developed. Generalities are so comfortable. Once a gift is recognized, it does not appear to be nearly so difficult to dedicate it to the service of Christ. It does appear to be very hard to understand and accept what is involved in using one’s gift in a Biblical way. A pastor may be shocked when he sees the mixture of “folk” and revealed religion in people he assumed to be grounded in the faith.

I have used the mid-week Bible study to present this concept to a congregation. Any informal meeting is appropriate. The key seems to be the opportunity for free congregational participation. We began by presenting a hypothetical situation. “Mrs. Jones,” an active member of the congregation, has just been informed that her 23 year old son is in jail on a proven narcotics charge. We have a responsibility to the son, but how do we fulfill our divine admonition of ministry to “Mrs. Jones”? We reviewed Romans 12:6–8 as an outline of what a total Biblical ministry would entail. With a little “pastoral persuasion” different members of the congregation agreed to participate on a ministering team. Each of the seven members was to explain how he thought a ministry could be carried out from the point of view of the particular gift he represented. After the group was assembled another person was asked to “become” Mrs. Jones. This is not training, but it did awaken the group to the possibilities of a congregational ministry. They saw the Christian faith, if only at a verbal level, at work in a “flesh-and-blood” situation. After the members of the group had each had a turn, “Mrs. Jones” shared her reactions to the group’s ministry. In this kind of exercise it is important to work for specifics and avoid platitudes. That night the service continued past the closing hour. One person who had the reputation of being rather hard and bitter demonstrated deep Christian compassion. “Mrs. Jones” said she stayed awake until two the next morning thinking about what had happened.

A pastor could then ask members of the congregation to list, for their own thinking, the areas in which God had given them a gift that might be developed by training. It is important to distinguish between thinking of a gift as a full-grown ability to minister and possessing the gift as a potential that can be developed by hard work. It is also important that the Holy Spirit, through the Word, guide each person for himself. Sometimes a person can get feedback about himself by talking to Christian friends. But a pastor would be wise to resist the temptation to fill the vacant place on a ministering team by assigning the gifts of God. He is then ready to ask for volunteers to join a training group.

Real training in congregational ministry can be more complex and time-consuming than one can imagine. One or two lecture sessions simply will not do it. A careful, comprehensive Bible study of what each gift implies is extremely important. The underlying question is always: What does this passage of Scripture mean in terms of my ministry, using my gift, to a living human being? Role-playing is a valuable, if limited, tool. It is artificial because most of the anxiety of a real encounter has been removed. However it does enable a participant to put into words and actions what he understands to be the application of Biblical teaching about his gift. As the team meets to study and discuss, role-play and evaluate, share and pray its members will have every opportunity to grow in their relationship to the Lord, to each other, and to themselves.

The second stage of training is a kind of apprenticeship. The pastor can take each member of a ministering team with him on a call. The purpose is experience and understanding. The member could ask himself how does this person we are visiting need the particular ministry of the gift God has given me? Gaining confidence at this level of genuineness comes slowly for most people. They find it a new and awkward experience, this dealing with the real issues of another person’s life in a Christian way. During this period the training meetings can be times of sharing experiences and searching the Word for new insights. The most difficult gift to develop seems to be that of leader. The pastor will probably have to spend extra time with this person helping him to “catch a vision” of a congregation providing a Biblical ministry to the total needs of a person.

When a member of the family of God experiences a crisis in his life the congregation is now ready to provide a Biblically adequate ministry. For example, in one of the cases already mentioned: a family who had previously lost two children in a highway accident had their youngest daughter struck by an auto in front of their home. The team leader coordinated a schedule of visitors that extended for the duration of the hospitalization. Some visited with flowers and toys, some with the Word of God and prayer. Some talked with them about the will of God, others provided an evening meal for the family at home. At one time the mother had to be confronted about her Christian responsiveness to the patient. This ministry was far from complete. Nevertheless, this family has testified on a number of occasions that the whole experience was a time of growth in the Lord. One of the skills in a congregational ministry is in serving people in such a way as not to take away from them their God-given right to carry their own responsibility and make their own decisions. As the shepherd-teacher, I kept up with what was being done, offering a suggestion here and there. My visits to the family had more meaning, partly because a number of hearts and shoulders were sharing the responsibility for their spiritual welfare. There was one shepherd-teacher, but there were a number of ministers, each contributing what God had given them the gift to provide.

Congregational ministry offers many possibilities beyond the crisis team. The opportunities are as varied as the particular needs of God’s people. And it certainly provides a more complete Biblical ministry to the body of Christ and helps Christian people develop and use the gifts God has given.

Notes

1. F. Godet, Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans. Translated by A. Cusin, revised by Talbot W. Chambers (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House, 1956).
2. Robert Haldane, The Epistle to the Romans (London: The Banner of Truth Trust, 1958).