I currently have three quotes on the wall in my study at the church building. I suspect that this will change with time, but each phrase is a reminder to me and I hope will shape my ministry over the next few years.
None of them is from the Bible, which perhaps itself is surprising. My desk at home has plenty of the word of God displayed to warm and guard my heart. These three phrases are ones that have deeply impacted me and shape how I live and particularly how I think about ‘ministry’ in and with the church.
Our hearts are restless ‘til they find their rest in you
St. Augustine
This might be most obvious, it’s right in the middle of my homepage here at nuakh, and influences how I read the word ‘nuakh’ itself. This quote is from Augustine’s Confessions, and famously so.We find rest in God.
In ministry terms, I might summarise it like this: Jesus wants you.
We were made for him and he wants us, to know us and enjoy us.
The posture most natural to him is not a pointed finger but open arms.
Dane Ortlund
This is from Gentle & Lowly and very much the heart of that book. In ministry terms, I would summarise it like this: Jesus isn’t mad at you.
Of course, the Lord God almighty is a consuming fire that will burn bright and hot at sin. He hates sin, much more than we do. Yet, in his heart, Jesus is kind towards sinners. He bids us come and keeps doing so. We deserve anything but, and still he is kind.
If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up people to collect wood and don’t assign them tasks and work, but rather teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea.
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
Perhaps the most rogue—from a French novelist—and the one I talk about most often. It’s central to my whole philosophy of ministry. In essence, we give people something to live for that motivates them to do big and difficult things. Some people call this ‘vision-casting,’ I call it ‘preaching the gospel.’
My ministry philosophy, such as it is, amounts to: Jesus wants you, he isn’t mad at you, and if I get that into you then you’ll probably find your life turns upside down.
Give them Jesus, don’t tell them what you want them to do, give them Jesus. If they don’t end up doing the thing you wanted, but you did a good job at giving them Jesus then you can sleep easy. It may even be that you wanted the church to do the wrong thing.
There’s a preaching strategy in here too, and it comes down to that old novelist’s advice that anyone gives an aspiring writer: show, don’t tell. My attempts at fiction often fall at this hurdle.
In essence, don’t assume what I mean is that you need to say ‘Jesus is amazing!’ a lot in your next message. Rather, you’re aiming to preach so that people leave saying ‘Jesus is amazing!’ I need to show you that he is rather than tell you that he is.
I’ve got these in my study because they apply much more widely than just sermon preparation. When I’m counselling someone the words appear just behind their heads. That’s not deliberate on my part but it is helpful. I need to remember that they need to be offered Jesus, as rest to their souls; that Jesus isn’t primarily mad at them but wants to welcome them into forgiveness, life, peace, and wholeness with open arms; and that if I want them to get involved in a church thing and do something then primarily I need them to see Jesus and be caught up in a vision of his glory and his church.
Sometimes I manage that, even. Whether I do or not, it’s true: people need Jesus, he offers himself, and that’s the heart of what we’re about. Work on their hearts, there’s nothing more precious.
Photo by Glen Carrie on Unsplash
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