In my previous post, I discussed a ministry model based on statements about Jesus’ activities in Scripture. There are a handful of repeated statements that summarize Jesus’ activities and these are reflected in the rest of the narratives. The thought was that those summary statements give a grouping of actions that a follower of Christ would want to emulate if we are to be growing in likeness to Him. However, in thinking about those statements more, I noticed one other detail that I think can result in a more effective model.
In particular, statements about Jesus healing people use two different words for their ailments. One is a general word that refers to specific illness, while the other is used to refer to people who are themselves sick in some way. Maybe, one can be said to refer to people who are generally well, but have an isolated problem, while the other refers to people who are sick in their core.
This may be a stretch, but perhaps the first of these two descriptions could refer to people who are entering the kingdom of God, but still have some problems. Then the second could refer to people who are not yet entering the kingdom and may never do so. Both of these can be thought of as physical ministries.
Now, I think this metaphor is a bit of a stretch, but it does lead to an interesting model, perhaps a little more clear than the last one.
When lined up with the other terms, namely discipleship and evangelism, we see a similar separation between those who are entering the kingdom (and thus, in the process of being discipled), and those who are not (and thus, need to have the kingdom proclaimed to them). These can both be thought of as spiritual ministries.
Combining these, we end up with a sort of 2×2 matrix – both physical and spiritual ministries for those both within and outside the fellowship. The combination can be pictured like this:
A lot more can be said about each of the categories, but to start with, here are some brief thoughts.
Discipleship can be thought of as the process of helping people to become more like Jesus. As such, it really encompasses all of life even though it is primarily pictured as teaching in Scripture. This might even include things that could be seen as spiritual counseling.
Evangelism is the activity of announcing the good news of God’s kingdom. As such, it is focused towards unbelievers, those outside the kingdom. It is the key act of spiritual ministry to them because without having faith in God, nothing else makes spiritual sense.
Love of the Brethren is taught throughout Scripture. As such, whenever believers meet each other’s needs, they are expressing this love in a tangible manner.
Jesus also met many of the needs of those around Him who were not believers, through healing, feeding, and so on. He was described as acting in compassion, but there was meaning behind the actions. For example, miracles were often referred to as “signs” because they also pointed to His identity or other spiritual truths.
Although a little artificial, this seems like a clean way to organize ministries, with clear links to the life of Christ and with lots of Scriptural teaching for each of the categories. As an organizational scheme, it seems helpful to me as an individual to think through the various ways of loving those around me. Perhaps it would also be useful for organizing the ministries in a church.
Future post will explore each of the components further.
Exploring Antioch 