Theology of Ministry

Amy Jimenez

Foundations of the Theology of Ministry

BIBM 603

Drs. Stephen Johnson and Melinda Thompson

11 November 2011

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The theology of ministry for the follower of Jesus Christ, is shaped by the work of

reconciliation that God provided through Christ on the cross, in the power of the Holy Spirit,

which He has poured out on those who believe. 2 Corinthians 5:18 states that “God, who

reconciled us to himself through Christ, gave us a ministry of reconciliation: that God was

reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them…We are

therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us.” 1 I will

reflect on each person of the Triune God and his unique role in the reconciliation of God and

man through the cross. I will define ministry and place it in the context of community. I will

assess vocation, motivation, character traits, spiritual practices, righteousness, learning,

discernment, and reflection as a Christian minister of reconciliation in the church and the world,

in the shadow of the light of God’s multidimensional work on the cross.

Practical theology combines theory and practice.2 In its simplest form, ministry is the act

of serving. A minister is thus a servant, “one who serves others, especially one who serves the

person of a master.”3 Willimon describes how the New Testament Greek word for ministry,

diakonia, is the same root word for the English terms, “butler” and “waiter.” These, he suggests,

are lowly terms, but in the “ethics of the Kingdom, this is as high as anyone rises, a servant of

1 2 Corinthians 5:18 (New International Version, 1984). Unless otherwise specified, all Biblical references from this point forward will be from the New International Version, 1984.

2 Terry A. Veling, Practical Theology, "On Earth as It Is in Heaven" (Maryknoll, NEW YORK: Orbis Books, 2005), 161-164. Veling expounds on the practical nature of theology with convincing evidence that theology is related to culture and context. He states that "no meaning can be determined out of context, but no context permits saturation." In other words, one can always learn more. No one context can "soak" up all the meaning or understanding about God. Thus we are encouraged to remain open to God in the context of ministry.

3 "Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary,” accessed November 7, 2011, http:/www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ministry and servant.

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those seated at the Lord’s table.”4 From a theological standpoint, Christian ministry is the act of

serving God as Lord and Master, manifest in service to others in His name and in His grace and

power. The theological center that is the basis for our practical theology, is thus love for God

and love for others. It is this belief that will shape every action of the saved called to serve.

As ministers, our ministry of reconciliation is performed in community. God is three

beings is one. His activity throughout the Bible is performed with authority that ebbs and flows

between the three. Shaw describes it this way: “the Father sends the Son, the Father and the Son

send the Spirit, the Son sends us, empowered by the Holy Spirit. This “economy of the Trinity”

is not a form of one being inferior to the other, but an affirmation that each person of the

Godhead plays a different role in the divine work of redemption.”5 As Christians, we are not one

singular unit, but part of a collective whole. In the image of a three part God, we must live in

community. We must seek to bring about reconciliation between sinful man and God as well as

reconciliation amongst fellow Christians through discipleship.6

The authority for genuine, empowered ministry is God the Father. God calls, ordains

(invests with ministerial authority7), and gives his people as ministers to build up his body, the

church. Ephesians 4:7-13 says that “to each one of us grace has been given as Christ

apportioned it…it was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be

4 William H. Willimon, Calling and Character Virtues of the Ordained Life (Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 2000), 17.

5 Perry W. H. Shaw, "Vulnerable Authority: A Theological Approach to Leadership And Teamwork," Christian Education Journal 3, no. 1 (2006, Spring): 120-121.

6 William H. Willimon, Calling and Character Virtues of the Ordained Life (Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 2000), 60-94. Willimon expounds on this notion by suggesting that not only do we serve in community of hearers and believers and ministers in our local congregations, but in a larger collegiality of clergy.

7 "Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary," accessed November 7, 2011, http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ordain.

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evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service,

so that the body of Christ may be built up.” God calls believers, as his agents or ambassadors,

to minister according to the grace he gives. Again in I Corinthians 12:27-30, the scripture says

that “God has placed in the church, first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then

miracles, then gifts of healing, of helping, of guidance and of different kinds of tongues.” No

one person is called to do all of these functions, not even the paid minister of the church, but to

work together with the body of Christ as God orchestrates.

I John 4:16 declares that “God is love.” Love is who God is. He cannot be otherwise.

Verse 10 of chapter 4 says that “This is love: not that we loved God, but that God loved us and

sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. God’s love is perfect, unconditional, and

sacrificial. John 3:17 says, that “God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world,

but to save the world through him.” Jesus calls us to be agents of God’s perfect love in John

13:34-35. He says “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so

you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one

another.” Ministry in the shape of God’s work on the cross, cruciform ministry, is grounded in

the perfect love of God. Shaw says the ideal model for leadership or ministry as shown

throughout Scripture is the model of theocracy, rather than democracy or autocracy. He says that

“leaders must see themselves as, first and foremost servants and followers under the authority

and leadership of God, and from that position, lead others.” If leadership in ministry is perceived

as autocratic or democratic, it is ultimately shaped and controlled by fear.8 I John 4:18 says

that “perfect love drives out fear.” Only the love of God is perfect. Ministry must be performed

8 Perry W. H. Shaw, "Vulnerable Authority: A Theological Approach To Leadership And Teamwork," Christian Education Journal 3, no. 1 (2006, Spring): 121-123. Shaw furthers this thought stating that autocracy and democracy are products of fear. "Autocracy is built on the leader's fear of control and is fed through the fear of the followers; democracy is built on the fear of autocratic leadership and is equally fed by fear of the group."

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submissive to God’s perfect love manifest in those chosen to lead. Only God’s love in us is

capable of loving those who don’t deserve love, loving our enemies, and loving those who have

hurt us or others. From the example of Moses, an untrained orator and a reluctant leader,

Willimon, points out that often God’s choices of leaders throughout the Bible, “tell us more

about the quality of God than the positive qualities of the people who are called to lead.”9

Jesus’ work on the cross was humble submission to the call and will of the Father.

Agonizing in Gethsemane prior to his death, Jesus prayed, “Father, if you’re willing, take this

cup from me, but not my will but yours be done.”10 God the Son, Jesus Christ responded to the

call of his Father, to “make himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in

human likeness…and humbled himself and became obedient to death – even death on a cross.”11

He did this humbly, not holding on to his equal place in the Godhead.

Paul urges the Thessalonians, in I Thessalonians 2: 11-13, to “live lives worthy of God,

who calls you into his kingdom and his glory.” The question arises then for ministry, “How do

we know that we’ve been called and what we’ve been called to?” Fredrick Buechner said,

“Your calling is where your deepest desires and the world’s deepest needs meet.”12 In light of I

Corinthians 12:31, “we are to eagerly desire the “greater” gifts. The New Living Translation

translates this passage, “So you should earnestly desire the most helpful gifts.” .We are to be

watchful, open, attentive to the particular gifts that we are empowered (given the energy or grace

to do) that can be the most helpful to the body of Christ in the context of the greatest need.

9 William H. Willimon, "Back To The Burning Bush," Christian Century April 2002, 7.

10 Luke 22:42.

11 Philippians 2:6-8.

12 Fredrick Buechner, Wishful Thinking, A Theological ABC (New York, NY: Harper And Row, 1973), 95.

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Every member of Christ’s body, the church, is a minister, part of a royal priesthood, intended to

be instrumental and influential in the ecclesial work of God. God gives some to perform larger

roles according to his grace, but each role is vital. God provides order and leadership structure,

but he often uses the least likely in the kingdom to be vessels for His amazing love and mercy

manifest in the church. Romans 12: 6 says that “We have different gifts, according to the grace

given us. “ We are intended to use these gifts in proportion to our faith. We do this, according

to verse 5, because we belong to one another as the body of Christ. Willimon says that ministry

is a vocation and ministers must be called.13 This inner call is a sets of reflections and feelings

that we must attend to, and an outward call, which confirms the inner call by the words of Godly

people, circumstances, and attention to hermeneutical interpretation of Scripture.

Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross was costly. It cost him his human dignity at times, the

betrayal of family and friends, even his life. I Peter 2:21 reminds us “To this you were called,

because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.”

According to Matthew 16:24, Christian discipleship costs the minister her very life as well. “If

anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For

whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it.” “For

Paul, the cross is the pattern for Christian life.”14 It is the pattern of sacrifice, self-denial,

suffering, rejection, and betrayal that Christ navigated that shows us how costly and difficult the

crucified life can be. Our goal is not to make everyone happy, not to meet everyone’s individual

needs, but to display Christ’s forgiveness, justice, grace and mercy in our flesh.15 Willimon

13 William H. Willimon, Calling and Character, Virtues of the Ordained Life (Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 2000), 33.

14 Ibid, 97.

15 Gil Rendle, "The Illusion Of Congregational "happiness"," The Alban Journal 23, no. 3 (1997, May 1): 14-17.

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reminds us that, for the sake of the gospel, we may be called to “provoke division, call names,

condemn, accuse and judge. Paul reminds me as a preacher and pastor that I must be tethered to

something more significant than peace and harmony if I am to be faithful to my vocation.”16

The character trait that defined Christ on the cross and should define ministry is humility.

Jesus had more rights than any human being that has walked this planet earth. Branson and

Martinez say that our Western culture is defined by what Americans perceive as an unalienable

right to the pursuit of happiness. The Western individualist society says that the right to

happiness ensures that the greatest number of people will then, in fact, be happy.17 In John 13,

however, Jesus gives us a different display of the use of his “rights.”

Jesus modeled the ultimate display of humility in the washing of his disciples’ feet, a

humble act of service. He did this because he had confidence in the authority of God that had

also been placed in him. He had nothing to prove and was sure that his future was secure, so he

was able to perform the lowly task of a house servant. We too must approach ministry with

confidence in the authority of God, let go of pride and insecurity, and serve humanity’s most

basic needs.18

16 William H. Willimon, Calling and Character, Virtues of the Ordained Life (Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 2000), 97.

17 Mark Lau Branson and Juan F. Martinez, Churches, Cultures, and Leadership, A Practical Theology of Congregations and Ethnicities (Downers Grove, ILLINOIS: InterVarsity Press, 2011), 157.

18 Craig Dykstra and Dorothy C. Bass, Practicing Theology Beliefs and Practices in the Christian Life, ed. Miroslav Volf and Dorothy C. Bass (Grand Rapids, Michigan/Cambridge, U.K: William B Erdmann’s Publishing Company, 2002), Location 228, Kindle Edition. "Christian practices, theologically understood, are directed to humanity's most basic needs, needs that arise out of the very character of human existence. They address conditions fundamental to being human - such as embodiment, temporality, relationship, the use of language, and mortality.”

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Jesus also provided us the example apprenticeship in his ministry of reconciliation. Jesus

learned from the Father as he experienced an incarnational body on the earth. John 12:49 says

that Jesus did not speak of his own accord, but the Father who sent him commanded him what to

say and how to say it.” In John 15:15, Jesus says that “everything I have learned from my

Father, I have made known to you.” On the cross, he laid his own selfish desires aside, and

conformed to the will of His father. In the Garden of Gethsemane, Matthew records in

Matthew 26:38-39 that Jesus was “overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death”, yet he

prayed in his anguish, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I

will, but as you will.”

As believers, we learn from one another, as we each follow the example of Christ.

William F. Hanks says that “meaning, understanding, and learning are all defined relative to

actionable contexts, not to self-contained structures.”19 The words of scripture are invaluable, but

even Paul says in I Corinthian 11:1, “Follow my example as I follow the example of Christ.”

Again in Philippians 3:17, Paul calls on Christians to “join with others in following my example,

brothers, and take note of those who live according to the pattern we gave you.” We learn by

observing and living out faith in the presence of others. When this learning takes place in the

context of family (considering the church a family of believers) it assumes a level of consistency

of Christian practice lived out in daily life that transmits subliminal and foundational knowledge

19 Jean Lave and Etienne Wenger, Situated Learning, Legitimate peripheral participation (New York, NY: Cambridge University Press, 1991), 15.

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of practice.20 As ministers, we must seek out mentors in our family of faith to walk alongside,

spend time with and “watch” with spiritually attentive eyes.

Jesus was the perfect sacrifice for our sin on the cross, yet scripture tells us in Hebrews

4:15 that he was “tempted in every way, just as we are, yet was without sin.” Jesus Christ

provides an example of facing the difficulties and temptations of ministry to include fatigue,

stress, betrayal, disloyalty, persecution, family discord, and ultimate physical, emotional and

psychological turmoil. He provides us with a rhythm of living that we, as ministers, can emulate.

He tempered active ministry with the spiritual disciplines of solitude, prayer, meditation, Sabbath

rest, fasting, and an inner circle of close spiritual friendships.21 Jesus used spiritual disciplines to

set his priority on the mission of reconciliation on the cross that he was sent to do. Willimon

reminds us that as ministers, “priorities must be set, time not wasted, talents not squandered. If

pastors do not know what is absolutely essential in their ministry, they will do the merely

important.” 22

The final person of the Godhead present in the reconciliation of God and man on the

cross is the Holy Spirit. Bedford contends “The conception of the Eternal Son was by the Spirit

20 Jean Lave and Etienne Wenger, Situated Learning, Legitimate peripheral participation (New York, NY: Cambridge University Press, 1991), 67-72. In the example of the apprenticeship of Yucatec Midwives, the authors describe a legitimate peripheral participation occurring in the relationship of a family, where young girls watched their mothers as midwives at home, and thus were asked to take over more and more of the work load, routine and advanced based on their base of knowledge.

21 Ruth Haley Barton, Sacred Rhythms, Arranging our Lives for Spiritual Transformation (Downers Grove, ILLINOIS: Intervarsity Press, 2006), 1-168. Barton highlights many spiritual disciplines that create space in the life of a minister for the transforming work of God through the Holy Spirit to take place. Practices from this work that I find most helpful to my personal ministry are weekly silence and solitude, Sabbath, and daily examen.

22 William H. Willimon, Calling and Character, Virtues of the Ordained Life (Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 2000), 114.

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(Matthew 1:18); the incarnation took place in the Spirit; the resurrection was in the power of the

Spirit. (Romans 8:11)” The Spirit was part of the plan of salvation from the very beginning,

before time began. I Corinthians 2 highlights the Spirit’s work as the very thoughts of God.

The Spirit gave Jesus a heavenly perspective on the cross, and will be the “wisdom” given to

every true believer from that moment forward.23 I Corinthians 2: 16 says, “For who has known

the mind of the Lord that he may instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ.” The same

Spirit that empowered Jesus on the cross now empowers our mind for ministry.

It was the Spirit of God that gave Christ the power of discernment as he took on a

physical flesh and human nature on this earth. The Spirit of God led Jesus into the desert where

he would fast for forty days before starting his earthly ministry. Luke 4:1 says that Jesus was

full of the Holy Spirit when he was led into the desert. The Spirit enabled Jesus to recall words

of scripture as he battled with Satan in his encounter in the desert. After his time in the desert

4:14 says he returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit. Luke 10:21 records Jesus being full

of the joy through the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit continues to enable discernment through theological reflection in the

lives born again believers. Bedford defines discernment as “figuring out what to do, all together

as a church, with the help of God’s Spirit.24 She describes the Spirit using many elements to 23 I Corinthians 2:7-11 (New International Version, 1984). “We speak of God’s secret

wisdom, a wisdom that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began. None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. However, as it is written: “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him” but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man’s spirit within him? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.

24 Nancy Bedford, Practicing Theology, Beliefs and Practices in Christian Life, ed. Miroslav Volf and Dorothy C. Bass (Grand Rapids, MI/CAMBRIDGE, U.K: William B.. Erdmann’s Publishing Company, 2002), Location. Essay entitled "Little Moves Against Destructiveness: Theology and the Practice of Discernment".

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guide and direct discernment in individuals and collectively as a group. These include, but are

not limited to, academic and practical theology (what the group believes at the head and heart

level about God – my definition,) Biblical hermeneutics, experiences, culture, prayer, discussion

and experimentation. I define wisdom as “seeing things, people and circumstances the way God

sees them.” Pursuing discernment in ministry enables the Holy Spirit to give the minister the

“eyes to see” and the mind to perceive what God’s unique perspective is as related to his context

and our calling.25

Individual and communal theological reflection and ethnographic perspective are crucial

pastoral practices to allowing the Holy Spirit to provide discernment in ministry. Theological

reflection is defined as “the discipline of exploring individual and corporate experience in

conversation with the wisdom of a religious heritage. The conversation is a genuine dialogue

that seeks to hear from our own beliefs, actions, and perspectives, as well as those of the

tradition. It respects the integrity of both.”26 The tradition is further defined by Killen and Beer

as based on Scripture, historical and current interpretation and theological literature, church

history and perspective and academic instruction. Willimon says the pursuit of competence in

ministry is a moral matter. As ministers we seek competency by study, working hard, mastering

the material in our academic pursuits, but at the same time we pay attention to our character,

formed by experience and our reaction to it.27 The art of theological reflection is a process by

which to attend to competency and character as means to authentic learning and praxis. 25 I Corinthians 2:8-10.

26 Patricia O'Connell Killen and John De Beer, The Art of Theological Reflection (New York: Crossroad, 2004), viii, 22-45. The authors further define a process for theological reflection that starts with experiences, defines experience with imagery, and seeks insight that leads to action in the context of prayer, planning and the support of other people.

27 William H. Willimon, Calling and Character Virtues of the Ordained Life (Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 2000), 41.

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The Holy Spirit has guided discernment throughout history. As we seek to apply the

Wesleyan Quadrilateral to our understanding of God, we place the scripture in the context of

ministry. We examine scripture through historical and contextual criticism, tradition by looking

at the history of the church, reason by applying logic and rational thinking, and experience by

embracing our personal and communal journeys as a means to understand God and discern our

vocation.

Ethnography is another tool that opens the minister to the insight, perspective and the

empowerment to action by the Holy Spirit. Ethnography is a way of” immersing yourself in the

life of a people in order to learn something about them and from them.”28 A minister studies and

immerses herself in the context in which she is practicing ministry to gain an emic or insider,

perspective.29 This perspective then shapes the experience, imagery and insight necessary for

theological reflection and enables her theology to grow and change in different ministerial

contexts. According to Moschella, this pastoral practice is “communal and contextual and

draws from narrative models of theology and care.”30 Thus, this practice enables the critical skills

of listening, observation, and self-awareness that are vital for authentic and effective leadership.

My theology of ministry is that God calls every believer to a ministry of reconciliation

shaped by the work of the triune God on the cross. For my ministry to bring glory to God and be

God’s work on earth with a prioritized purpose to embody God’s perfect love, it must be a

28 Mary Clark Moschella, Ethnography as a Pastoral Practice (Cleveland, OHIO: The Pilgrim Press, 2998), 4.

29 Mark Lau Branson and Juan F. Martinez, Churches, Cultures and Leadership, A Practical Theology of Congregations and Ethnicities (Downers Grove, ILLINOIS: Intervarsity Press, 2011), 174.

30 Mary Clark Moschella, Ethnography as a Pastoral Practice (Cleveland, OHIO: The Pilgrim Press, 2998), 5.

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vocation, evidenced by sacrificial and costly action in the pattern of Christ, and performed in the

power and discernment provided by the Holy Spirit.

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WORKS CITED

Barton, Ruth Haley. Sacred Rhythms, Arranging our Lives for Spiritual Transformation. Downers Grove, ILLINOIS: Intervarsity Press, 2006.

Bedford, Nancy. Practicing Theology, Beliefs and Practices in Christian Life. Edited by Miroslav Volf and Dorothy C. Bass. Grand Rapids, MI/CAMBRIDGE, U.K: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2002.

Branson, Mark Lau, and Juan F. Martinez. Churches, Cultures and Leadership, a Practical Theology of Congregations and Ethnicities. Downers Grove, ILLINOIS: Intervarsity Press, 2011.

Buechner, Fredrick. Wishful Thinking, a Theological ABC. New York, NY: Harper and Row, 1973.

Dykstra, Craig, and Dorothy C. Bass. Practicing Theology Beliefs and Practices in the Christian Life. Edited by Miroslav Volf and Dorothy C. Bass. Grand Rapids, MICHIGAN/CAMBRIDGE, U.K: William B Erdmann’s Publishing Company, 2002.

Killen, Patricia O'Connell, and John De Beer. The Art of Theological Reflection. New York: Crossroad, 2004.

Lave, Jean, and Etienne Wenger. Situated Learning, Legitimate peripheral participation. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press, 1991.

Moschella, Mary Clark. Ethnography as a Pastoral Practice. Cleveland, OHIO: The Pilgrim Press, 2998.

Rendle, Gil. "The Illusion Of Congregational "happiness"." The Alban Journal. 23, no. 3 (1997, May 1.)

Shaw, Perry W. H.. "Vulnerable Authority: A Theological Approach To Leadership And Teamwork." Christian Education Journal. 3, no. 1 (2006, Spring.)

Veling, Terry A.. Practical Theology, "On Earth as It Is in Heaven". Maryknoll, NEW YORK: Orbis Books, 2005.

Willimon, William H. "Back To The Burning Bus." Christian Century. (2002, April.)

Willimon, William H. Calling and Character Virtues of the Ordained Life. Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 2000.

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