A couple times a year, people from our church take their tools and work on construction projects. In the fall, they take a weekend and go work on a church or a city mission. In the spring they take a week and go build a house in Kentucky. By build a house I mean they start with some foundation pilings and a pile of lumber and leave when the outside walls are up and sided, the roof is on and shingled, the interior walls are framed and ready for plumbing and electrical.
They call their team “Cup of Cold Water.” They do amazing work.
Last week, in the Wednesday night study I’ve told you about before, someone said “Do we need to tell people stories about Jesus in order for a Cup of Cold Water project to “count” as ministry?”
It’s a great question.
- Some people would say that you aren’t being the church unless you go do practical stuff. Part of the hypocrisy that we mentioned yesterday is rooted in words without deeds.
- Other people would say that you aren’t being the church unless you preach. Without preaching, or something close to it, churches are no different than any other social service agency.
- Still other people would quote Saint Francis, who probably never said “Preach always, if necessary use words.” Actions are stories about Jesus, particularly if they are actions that Jesus did.
- And others would say, “What do you mean by ‘count as’?” Is there some spiritual behavior measuring stick?
I’m bringing this up because this Wednesday (August 3), we’ll be talking about the question. I am curious about any comments you might have or additional questions you might ask. Because this isn’t just about the work team. This is about deciding what it looks like to follow Jesus.
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Speaking of getting out of the building, my friend Andrew Hoffman is part of a team of 8 people riding across the country in 7 days to raise funds for and call attention to the peace-building process in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Here’s the World Relief link and a tumblr version.
300 words a day 
Rich Dixon
I think I’ll let someone smart decide whether what I’m doing counts as ministry. Honestly–I don’t care.
Seems like we’re back to looking for rules or a formula to replace a heart relationship. One guy’s worldly construction project is another guy’s ministry, and only God knows the difference.
My two-step formula for following Jesus: Step 1–look for His footprint. Step 2–place my foot there.
Problem: neither step is easy.
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Rich Dixon
Racing across the country–Andrew must have an amazing heart, physically and spiritually. Excited to follow his adventure, which I’d classify as ministry if anyone asked my opinion.
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Jon Swanson
okay Rich, here’s what fun. I’m guessing Andrew would look at your ride and say, “that counts too.”
You are right. We’re looking for shortcuts, which is what formulas are. And there aren’t any formulas. Jesus was pretty clear when He was talking to Peter after the resurrection. “But what about,” Peter said. “What’s that to you?” was Jesus’ response.
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Frank Reed
Jesus is a heart matter.
Matthew 25:40 says: 40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’
Ministry is action. Words are, well, words. They can be incredibly powerful when associated with action but ring incredibly hollow when accompanied by nothing.
I am so much more aware of how my story needs to be told better (thanks again for the Donald Miller and Rich Dixon’s books!) and that the words need to be framed in action. I guess the reality is that actions do speak louder than words.
So if people are helping others and their heart is with Christ then it is definitely a ministry. The words will be be handled by the Holy Spirit on the hearts of those impacted. After all, people can’t save people, we can just show the way.
More than my two cents. Thanks for listening.
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Jon Swanson
Frank, your words are always welcome. Thanks for the connection to the Matthew 25 passage. Jesus clearly talks about actions: visiting, feeding, clothing, housing. All intentional, all active,. all outside the church building.
So, dear friend, what’s your story? The one that everything up til now was an introduction to?
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Lance
This “Cup of Cold Water” group is exactly what Christ asked us to be. That they have to ask whether or not they are “preachy” enough is sad. Very sad. It wasn’t a good question, but a sad one and a window into how badly the church misses the point.
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Jon Swanson
I understand completely, Lance. And sometimes we miss the point. But sometimes we are working so hard to figure out how to break out of an entertainment culture, a performance culture, that we have to ask.
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Mike Shields
The Great Commission states we are supposed to go forth and make disciples of all nations. That’s pretty straightforward. Also, each of us has various God given talents with which to do his work. As such, you’ve been placed in a mission field wherein your talents can be fully exploited for the glory of God. I once heard a pastor say, “If you’re not doing anything for God, do something!” I believe that everything you do should be considered a ministry.
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Jon Swanson
And Mike, you have your own skills and are using them, doing something. A great example. And nice words from the pastor.
And, to pick up on the great commission, the challenge is not to teach what Jesus commanded, it’s teaching them to obey what Jesus commanded. Clearly a push to action which included, but is not limited to, words. In fact, obedience is action that takes words (like Frank mentioned above) and does them.
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Tim Dahl
I don’t think that a person/group specifically has to mention Jesus on any particular ministry excursion for it to be “ministry.” I think we should be willing to say something. For instance, if someone asks, “Why are you doing that?” I think it is perfectly acceptable to answer, “Because I love Jesus.”
However, I also think that ministry transforms us just as much as those being ministered too. Service is a spiritual discipline. So, since the affect can go both ways; let’s not worry too much about words.
Tim Dahl
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Jon Swanson
Tim, I love this. The idea of service as spiritual discipline, as a transformative process, is key. Thanks.
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AJ Leon
This is an interesting question, especially as it relates to work in developing countries. Is “ministry” helping a community get something or somewhere they couldn’t without your help? Do you have to “preach” or is preaching done through the work … I’ve often wondered about this stuff. Glad you brought it up. 🙂
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Frank Reed
My story, Jon? That is the question du jour. I know that a huge part of it is to break some generational patterns and build a family that is focused on Christ. Of course, I am still figuring out my first generation experience as a believer so that mission at times has been uneven at best.
Uneven as it is though it is my story and I am willing to try to tell the best one possible through the lenses of Christ.
THANKS Jon.
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Matt Hawk
I was surprised to see this post turn out that question: What counts as Ministry? To me the answer is yes, without hesitation, the Cup of Cold Water is a ministry. 10-15 years ago the church I go to went through a discernment process that formulated the following mission statment: “We are Christ-centered inclusive community called to ministry.” Then the value statement: “We seek to help individuals identify their unique God-given gifts for ministry, and we strive to aid people of faith in discerning where God is calling them to employ their gifts in the world.” The church boards we re-organized and renamed ministries. Members are called to serve on most ministries with the exception of some appointees. The church has a gifts and call ministry that specifically works with members to understand and enhance their calling as well as game plan to make it happen. So at my church it seems that the question to ask may be what isn’t ministry.
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