I really wanted to be a good pastor.
As a theology student, I was focused on my studies, passionate about my beliefs, and enjoyed few things more than a lively discussion on the ideas and interpretations of scripture. In my mind, ideas contained the answers–and I quite honestly presumed that if I could teach the truth effectively, I would be able to evangelize the world and strengthen my future congregation.
Then I went on practicum.
For several months I worked with an experienced pastor in a fairly urban setting, assisting with not only an evangelistic series but also with the daily operation of the church. My eyes were opened!
I still remember talking with a friend back at school after this interlude of practical experience. “What did you learn?” he asked. “l learned that ministry is much more practical and real than I had imagined,” was my reply.
Indeed, I quickly realized that when the homeless came knocking on the church door, they weren’t looking for an explanation of Adventism’s historicist interpretation of prophecy. When a church member lost their job, they didn’t call asking for a cogent synopsis of my understanding of the human nature of Christ. I had noticed that even those whom God was leading to accept Him and His end-time truth would get glassy-eyed and distracted if I tried to interject with what I previously thought were important theological nuances that a “good pastor” should hold correct views about. What people needed was assistance with their electric bill, prayer for their wayward children, a personal visit during their darkest days offering a word of encouragement or a shoulder to cry on. Deep down inside, they needed a pastor who cared about them more than one who could set their ideas straight.
I mean, I shouldn’t have been surprised, right? After all, I’d been raised a Seventh-day Adventist Christian. We’re called Christians because we’re followers of a man named Jesus Christ. And Jesus lived in this world as a human Himself to give us an example of how we should live. “For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps” (1 Peter 2:21).[i] His example of the practical nature of ministry was there in the Bible the whole time!
This week’s lesson highlights the way Jesus met real people’s real needs, as portrayed in the first chapter of the Gospel according to Mark. Don’t get me wrong: Jesus certainly taught concepts of truth, and we should too! Jesus clearly illuminated the teachings of the (Old Testament) scriptures and set them in their proper context with their true meaning. He came to reveal the true nature and character of God, the understanding of which emanates from a correct understanding of doctrine. But most of His time was not spent preaching sermons.[ii] It was spent in one-on-one interactions where a personal relationship was being formed, and people left their contact with Jesus knowing that He valued (loved) them. Perhaps Mark didn’t record the content of Jesus’ Sabbath sermon at Capernaum in order to emphasize this reality?
Communicating Value
Jesus was a master of reading hearts and meeting needs. He knew that the greatest motivation that could be awakened in the human soul was that of a sense of being loved. And the love that Jesus had for every individual was often communicated to them by the way He demonstrated their value. He didn’t just call the wealthy sons of Zebedee, He also called the presumably poorer and less-cultured Simon and Andrew. And being wanted and even needed is a powerful communication of value. Jesus had invited them to follow Him! They didn’t hesitate.
That communication of value continues in Mark 1. Simon’s mother-in-law was probably not the most important person in Capernaum. But she was important enough to Jesus that He made it a priority–even before having His Sabbath lunch–to enter her sick room and heal her. The love of Jesus was practically communicated as He made people a priority even over His own needs, and they realized that in this new Teacher’s heart, they had value and importance. The temple rulers told the diseased that they were under God’s curse, but with Jesus, they sensed no judgment, and He healed them. The leper was an outcast of society, but Jesus touched him, and he was made whole. The demon-possessed were liberated, their dignity and humanity restored.
Even in His preaching, Jesus didn’t show preference or prejudice. Scripture records that “when they found Him, they said to Him, ‘Everyone is looking for You.’ But He said to them, ‘Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also because for this purpose I have come forth.’ And He was preaching in their synagogues throughout all Galilee, and casting out demons” (Mark 1:37-39). It would have been tempting to accept speaking invitations to the biggest venues and largest crowds. But Jesus communicated value to even the smaller towns and insignificant synagogues just by choosing to be there.
None were too small, too insignificant, too poor, too unclean, or too sinful to have value in Jesus’ sight. Whether it was the woman at the well,[iii] the woman caught in adultery,[iv] or even Saul the persecutor, Jesus found a way to communicate value to them, and they responded to His love with a new sense of personal meaning and purpose as His followers.
The Seduction of Ministry
As might be expected, the enemy of souls has in various ways inverted modern ministry into the reverse of the ministry of Jesus. The siren call of popularity leads many in ministry to seek the ever-growing crowds and even to use this as the standard of success. There’s a temptation to neglect the marginalized and insignificant of society while catering to the well-heeled and influential. Popular ministers too often draw a following, not by personal interactions that leave people feeling wanted or needed, but by conveying from afar their own importance, success, and prestige. If, as followers of Jesus, we wish to be successful in ministry as He was, we would do well to study His example.
Working as Jesus Worked
Many are familiar with Ellen White’s description of Jesus’ method of ministry in the book Ministry of Healing. “Christ’s method alone will give true success in reaching the people. The Saviour mingled with men as one who desired their good. He showed His sympathy for them, ministered to their needs, and won their confidence. Then He bade them, ‘Follow Me.’”[v]
This is a powerful paragraph and certainly worthy of our contemplation, but the following paragraph is just as poignant.
“There is need of coming close to the people by personal effort. If less time were given to sermonizing, and more time were spent in personal ministry, greater results would be seen. The poor are to be relieved, the sick cared for, the sorrowing and the bereaved comforted, the ignorant instructed, the inexperienced counseled. We are to weep with those that weep, and rejoice with those that rejoice. Accompanied by the power of persuasion, the power of prayer, the power of the love of God, this work will not, cannot, be without fruit.”[vi]
The good news is that this work is one that anyone can do. With the love of Jesus in our hearts, we can each find ways to communicate value to those God places in our path. It often doesn’t cost anything and usually doesn’t require any special training. And it’s what we’re called to do: to walk in His steps, loving people as He did–and as He would if He were here today.
[i] Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version unless otherwise noted.
[ii] “The work of Christ was largely made up of personal interviews. He had a faithful regard for the one-soul audience. From that one soul the intelligence received was carried to thousands.” Ellen G. White, Testimonies, vol. 6 (Mountain View, CA: Pacific Press Pub. Assn., 1900), 115.
[iii] Consider how Jesus gave her a sense of value and purpose by asking water from her!
[iv] Jesus’ command to “Go, and sin no more” may be read as a daunting and even impossible command, but I like to think that what this woman heard was the incredibly encouraging idea that an imminently godly Teacher believed in her enough to think that she could be a different person!
[v] Ellen G. White, Ministry of Healing (Mountain View, CA: Pacific Press Pub. Assn., 1905), 143.
[vi] Ibid., 143.