The Goal of Ministry

According to the Westminster Shorter Catechism, the chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. I agree. My highest desire and aim should be to pursue God until I am consumed by Him. The difficulty is in the practicality of these statements.

In Luke 9:23-25, Jesus explains that I must crucify myself rather than be dedicated to myself. It is through interaction with people and relationships that I realize my weakness and my poverty (and theirs). It is through these that I am given an opportunity to exercise and grow. It is through these that I learn to crucify the flesh and submit to the work of the Holy Spirit in me. The more submissive I become, the more His fruit will grow in me. In John 15, Jesus tells me that I must abide in Him in order to bear fruit.

God does not need me. I need Him. However, He invites me to join His work. Being active in His work and His Kingdom is the catalyst or the avenue by which He changes me. The highest goal of ministry is to know Him deeper than ever before. The by-product of knowing Him deeper is that He will be glorified and His kingdom will expand.

5 Words For Discipleship

Submission - in (1) my relationship to Christ and (2) my relationships with others. To make Jesus Lord is to submit to a process that goes against my nature. A deep trust in Christ allows me to look after the needs and well-being of others rather than living from a self-centered perspective.

Discipline - While it is Christ who does the work in me, I must discipline myself to engage with Christ and others in ways that build relationship. I must discipline myself to cultivate and maintain a submissive attitude. I must continue in the growth process and be patient with the failures and weaknesses of myself and others.

Relationship - Key to all the other words of Discipleship. The primary relationship that informs the way I "do" all other relationships must be the one that I have with Christ. If I do the reverse, that is, allowing the way I "do" all other relationships to inform the way I relate to Christ, then I will experience spiritual sickness and will continue to experience relational dysfunction with the body of Christ.

Process - I chose this word because of Romans 12:2 where Paul uses the Greek word from which we get the word metamorphosis. Paul also speaks of God's will for believers is that they conform to the image of Christ (Romans 8). I must remember that transformation takes time. I must submit to the process no matter how long it takes. I must be patient with others and accept them as they are no matter where they are in this process.

Identity - Discipleship becomes easier when I embrace my identity as a beloved child of God. The circumstances and people in my life must not be allowed to define my primary identity. Secondary identities come and go. This can create identity crises if they are allowed to be primary identities. I must be first a child of God in every circumstance and every relationship.