#ministry

The Worst Baptist: Apollos and the Nature of Missionaries

“It is helpful to consider this story, as it is the main example we have in Acts of what missionary preparation and sending looked like when it did not directly include Paul. It is easy enough, if all we talk about is Paul’s work, to put his work in one category and our own in another; the case of Apollos contradicts this tendency.”

svtvres:

sandmandaddy69:

“We were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God, but also ourselves.” -1 Thessalonians 2:8

Once upon a time, I was sitting on the steps of a soccer field, trying unsuccessfully to get two young women to open up to me about their lives, the absolute mess that our bible study was in, and the reasons behind their jealousy of a couple other girls in the community. They suspiciously gave me meaningless answers and turned up the music so I couldn’t ask anymore questions. 

But I was a woman on a mission  

….or rather three separate staff members told me in no uncertain terms that someone needed to talk to those girls and it had to be a girl who spoke Spanish (literally only me). Also I was pretty sure God was calling me to do so as well.  

So it was a bit of a forced mission but I was no less determined for it. 

As the beginning of the conversation wasn’t going well, I decided to start praying that God would soften their hearts towards me. And then he spoke to me: “How are they supposed to be open to you when you haven’t been vulnerable with them?” 

That’s the mentality we often have when we try to love and minister to others. We expect people to trust us without giving up any part of ourselves to them. Yes, we can tell them that we’re trustworthy and that we believe in God, but if we don’t sacrifice our own comfort zones, can we truly become frustrated when the other person seems unwilling to open up and discuss life with us? 

In 2 Thessalonians, Paul tells the church of the Thessalonians that he, Silvanus, and Timothy loved them enough to share the gospel, but also to share their own lives. This is true community- sharing God and sharing ourselves, and that has a price. Sharing ourselves is scary; it means being weak, and being honest, and trusting others. Not too comfortable an idea. 

So here’s the end of that story on the steps of a make-shift soccer field: 

God asked me what I was willing to give up to follow him, and I said everything. 

“Let’s make a deal,” I told the girls. “You can ask me anything you want and if I answer honestly, then I get to ask you a question in return.” 

You can assume that they started with the most personal question that could. When I answered honestly, they were so shocked they forgot that only 30 seconds ago they hadn’t trusted me. It was a dangerous game, but I was prepared to pay the price to build community. That game was the start of a 3-4 hour conversation that was centered on real struggle and real questions about God. It was worth every secret I had to give away. It was not only the first time those girls were honest with me, but it was also the first time that they had ever wanted to be. It was a 180 degree change in those relationships, and as a result, my ministry. They changed my heart and I hope I showed them real love in return.  

So you want to do discipleship, ministry, mission work, community building, activism, etc. Be genuine. Be authentic. Be honest. Be vulnerable. Be trustworthy. Be smart. Be faithful. Be ready to give it all. 

-31Women (Beth) 

This post is 2/2, you can find the first “The Price of Unity” here

And he sat down opposite the treasury and watched the people putting money into the offering box. Many rich people put in large sums. And a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which make a penny. And he called his disciples to him and said to them, “Truly, I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box. For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.” Mark 12:41-44. 

My home church recently decided to take a leap of faith and pay off the mortgage of the sanctuary building early. Instead of careful financial planning, they wanted to allow God to work by trusting in Him to provide and allow the congregation to participant in this trust by asking them to give. 

I can’t remember the exact number that the church needed in total, but it was in the ballpark of 80,000 dollars (US). 

An elder of the church got up in front of the congregation one Sunday to explain what was going on and ask people to give some extra money that month so that the church could accomplish their goal. The congregation was generally positive about the message, but not particularly motivated or inspired…. 

with one exception. 

One little girl in the church listened to the message and felt God calling her to action. After the service, she marched right up to the elder who spoke about giving and handed him… 15 cents. 

Not exactly a great start to an $80,000 project, but the elder thanked her and took the money. Later, he came up to that little girl’s father to tell him the cute story about how his daughter had given $0.15 to the building fund. But what that father said changed everything: “You don’t understand,” he said, “That’s not just the money she had with her, that’s ALL the money she HAS. That’s her entire weekly allowance.” 

The next week, that same elder got before the church again. This time, he told the story of how a little girl faithfully responded to God’s call and gave everything she had with a heart of worship. And he cried. 

People were inspired by the heart of that girl. They followed her example and gave all that they had. And for many of those individuals, they made a lot more in a week than $0.15. The church raised all the money they needed and more that very day. That girl didn’t give $80,000, but she did inspire others with the way that she gave, which led to the giving of $80,000. 

She teaches us a lesson about giving and perspective. 

I often fall into the trap of believing that what I have to give is not enough. I am easily overwhelmed by the weight and size of the problems in our world. I start to feel like a failure when I can’t solve the issues or heal the pain around me. 

But the truth is, God is not asking for you to cure world hunger or singlehandedly stop child trafficking. He does not require us to find a way to fix everything that is broken in the world all by ourselves. 

He is asking for you to give Him all you have. And whatever that is, He wants it. 

We do God’s will when we faithfully respond to His call for sacrifice with a heart of worship. He asks for what He knows you have the strength and ability to give, and he takes care of the rest.

Our small gifts that seem worthless encourage and challenge others when we give them wholeheartedly. What matters is that we do what God is calling us to do and we lay down all we have to offer at the foot of the cross. 

-31Women (beth) 

Phil Anselmo and the Illegals performing Pantera classics, Primus, Ministry, and Slayer last night at PNC Arena in Raleigh, NC. All the bands put on a great show!

Al Jourgensen

Isn’t Ministry over? The spurs hung up last year? In 2007? Even longer in terms of relevancy or inspiration for some older fans no doubt anyway, right? For the past five years, the band’s all-encompassing front man, Al Jourgensen has been saying just this. No more Ministry and no more original Ministry music. Hmm. Seems you just can’t keep a good (or aging, drug warped, bored or broke – whichever…

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