The True School of Ministry
Wednesday, July 21, 2010 at 09:18AM From the very earliest moments of his ministry Jesus called men to follow him. It was the call of the Kingdom. It was his invitation into the school of ministry. Training for ministry involved one central idea: following him.
In our modern era--an age that values accreditation and authorization--the church itself looks skeptically on those who would attempt to “do ministry” apart from specialized training or recognition conferred from institutions. But institutions are notoriously hard to follow. Somewhere along the way we have lost sight of the wise and simple pattern laid down by the Master: come and follow.
Jesus selected tradesmen and villagers to follow him. In the act of following they became fit to do his work and to train others to do his work. They learned his ways not through formal education but by being with him and imitating him. When Mark’s gospel presents a list of the disciples it states simply that Jesus chose them “that they might be with him and he might send them out . . .” (Mark 3: 14). The pre-eminent qualification for ministry was that they were with him. Even their detractors observed by their actions that these men “had been with Jesus.” (Acts 4:13)
These men traveled with Jesus, camped with Jesus, and ate with Jesus. They shared life with him. If he was invited to a wedding, they went with him. If he taught the masses, they were with him. If he stayed up most of the night healing the sick, they were with him. It was their constant exposure to his presence and activity that became their school of ministry. Jesus did not assign readings or lecture extensively. If they had questions about what he said publicly, they asked him about it privately. If Jesus had a concern about their behavior he asked them about it (for example, “what were you discussing just now?” Mark 8:17).
It is worth noting that with respect to preparation for ministry, neither Jesus nor any of his original twelve disciples would be considered qualified to teach in a university or seminary today. Our educational biases tilt strongly toward knowing about Jesus or about the scriptures as opposed to knowing him or being with him. Objective knowledge is certainly easier to quantify, but Jesus cared far more about relationship than formal education. Clearly he and his disciples valued the scriptures--and all of them demonstrated knowledge of them, but these abilities were secondary to relationship with Jesus.
One gospel account in particular presents a challenge to our understanding of Jesus and his value system: after sending 70 of his followers out for their first ministry experience, he rejoiced before the Father with these words: “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was your good pleasure. “ (Luke 10:21) What kind of person is delighted when the wise and learned are clueless?
Here’s part of our problem: for many of us “Come follow me” is too simple. Jesus is no longer here, how can we follow? Jesus lived in another place and time, how does his life serve as an example for ours today? Or perhaps the greatest challenge: Jesus is the sinless Son of God, isn’t it impossible to follow him?
Perhaps the very fact that we stumble at the invitation demonstrates why individual Christians (and the church as a whole) have difficulty impacting our society. We are good at study. We are big at planning and organizing. We are very good at structure and control. But we are not very good at following. Those who cannot grasp “Come follow me” underscore the problems we face.
I suspect that we are limited in our effectiveness because we have placed understanding above obedience. We have prized our intellectual capacities above the kind of love that causes us to become imitators of the Beloved. In a natural family children learn first by imitating their parents. Only later do they understand. In the family of God we are at risk of being the kind of people who James, the brother of Jesus, cautioned: “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.” His warning reminds us that if we separate actions from what we learned we are setting ourselves up for deception.
Part of the solution is to look for his presence. It is that simple. He has promised it to us. Even as Jesus prepared to return to the Father, he made a startling assertion: “I am with you always.” (Matthew 28: 20) Through the agency of his Holy Spirit Jesus remains alive and present among us. We can train ourselves to recognize his presence. He did not lie to us; he is here for us today. Becoming a follower of Jesus is to refuse to settle for anything less than his presence. This is a challenge to a society (the church!) which has prized education over relationship. We have substituted learning about him for being with him.
If this first step sounds too mystical, too subjective, it may underscore the extent of our need. The plain promise of Jesus is that, through the agency of His Spirit, Jesus remains available for us today: to lead, to guide, in short--for us to follow. Our “studies” in his School of Ministry begin with the refusal to accept anything less than his presence.
Reader Comments (12)
This is a powerful reminder for me. "The pre-eminent qualification for ministry was that they were with him."
I live in a university town, where it seems every other person I interact with has a PhD. I mingle in Twitter and blogging circles with people who are writing about faith and have seminary degrees backing their thoughts and ideas. But I can be with Jesus—I can be with him so much more than I have been.
And ultimately, what I want more than anything isn't to have a degree to validate my thoughts and actions, but to simply have an impact on society—one that Jesus would say is evident of time spent with him.
I think I'm going to print this out and post it near my desk:
"Perhaps the very fact that we stumble at the invitation demonstrates why individual Christians (and the church as a whole) have difficulty impacting our society. We are good at study. We are big at planning and organizing. We are very good at structure and control. But we are not very good at following."
Thanks Ray. This is great to hear.
This is so good and true Ray. The idea of partnering with His presence is often times more intimdating than partnering with "Christian duties" and "Theology". Presence involves risk and vulnerability. Duties involve control and comfort. I want presence.
I've been thinking a lot this past week about the words of Jesus in the epilogue of John and it goes right along with this post. John 21 contains the famous dialogue of resurrected Jesus and Peter on the beach when Jesus asks Peter three times if he loves Him. What gets to me in this passage is that after speaking destiny into Peter's life ("feed my sheep") Jesus echoes the familiar sentiment, "Follow me" (v. 19, 22).
To be successful as Students of Jesus it all comes down to how well we've taken this command to heart. To follow Jesus is to fulfill your destiny.
Kristin: I read your comment and this thought came to my mind from St. Paul, "Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up." Thanks for the encouragement.
Josh, Thanks for the boost on Facebook, plus the compliment.
Luke: "Presence involves risk and vulnerability." Which, of course, are the marks of real relationship, eh?
Dusty: You are one thoughtful dude! I on the other hand, am an absent-minded one!
Great post, Ray. It seems like churches and individuals are so focused on impacting society that we inadvertently overlook to the reason for our focus. Our motivation may come from a good place, but your article is a great reminder that we need the simplicity of searching for Jesus.
mark 3:14 has messed me up for years - it's so plain - so plain that we almost always miss it. the central aspect to being a follower of jesus is simply being with him. "being with him" is the context for all preaching (message spreading) and authority to drive out demons (acts of power). it isn't about absorbing facts about jesus, but rather absorbing life from him. i find it interesting that most of the church, myself included, has at times thought that it were possible to do anything apart from interaction with his presence. this is probably why our message is weak and acts of power have been in such short supply. knowledge about him apart from experience with him is deceptive - and so we pick up the call to preach and avoid anything that looks like a demonstration of power - though the gospels connect the two over and over - which in the end is really no message at all. luke already said it, but i would like to agree - give me presence!
Reading this post, and others; I think, ultimately, you will find yourself in conflict with the organization you nominally work for as a shepherd. It may cost you your job.
This is so good and challenging. One of its implications, among many, is that we should be sharing our lives with others just as he did - I am so far from that. God help me!
Sandra: Thanks for your comment. Sometimes even good motives slide us into a mentality of doing things for God instead of desiring his presence. I think it's pretty common in the religious world, don't you?
Adam: Really, the only message worth spreading flows from our time in his presence. As you said, being with him is the context for the message. It was for the first twelve!
Charles: I guess the guy who gets canned never sees it coming, eh?
Sammy: You are so wise to make this connection. I had a post about this very topic back in April: http://takingtheyoke.blogspot.com/2010/04/can-we-grow-without-making-disciples.html (Oh, no! - Ray's quoting himself!)
I've been thinking a lot this past week about the words of Jesus in the epilogue of John and it goes right along with this post. John 21 contains the famous dialogue of resurrected Jesus and Peter on the beach when Jesus asks Peter three times if he loves Him. What gets to me in this passage is that after speaking destiny into Peter's life ("feed my sheep") Jesus echoes the familiar sentiment, "Follow me" (v. 19, 22).
To be successful as Students of Jesus it all comes down to how well we've taken this command to heart. To follow Jesus is to fulfill your destiny.
mark 3:14 has messed me up for years - it's so plain - so plain that we almost always miss it. the central aspect to being a follower of jesus is simply being with him. "being with him" is the context for all preaching (message spreading) and authority to drive out demons (acts of power). it isn't about absorbing facts about jesus, but rather absorbing life from him. i find it interesting that most of the church, myself included, has at times thought that it were possible to do anything apart from interaction with his presence. this is probably why our message is weak and acts of power have been in such short supply. knowledge about him apart from experience with him is deceptive - and so we pick up the call to preach and avoid anything that looks like a demonstration of power - though the gospels connect the two over and over - which in the end is really no message at all. luke already said it, but i would like to agree - give me presence!