The Gray Monk

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June 05, 2004

Spread the Gospel? Who, me?

Recently I have been examining my ministry and my role in it. Is it liturgical? Is it missionary? Is it something else? It opens up a whole range of subsidiary questions - like why do I feel a need to do it at all?

Strangely, it is not something you necessarily choose to do - it more or less chooses you. Or perhaps, more accurately - God chooses you. Now this is not something I have recently discovered, far from it; this is something I have actually spent a lot of time running away from because I felt I wasn't up to the job. Needless to say - God took care of that. Gradually the escape routes have narrowed, the number of alternative exits have diminished, and I find myself at a point where I have to face the fact that I have a ministry, I am not going to evade it, and it isn't going to go away. So, you may ask, does this mean that this blog will turn into to a Bible-thumping exposition? Well, I certainly hope not. You see, that has always been a part of my problem with ministry - people expect you to be an absolute oracle on all matters religious, to adopt and adhere to particular doctrines, and to defend the sometimes indefensible doctrines of the late medieval and the more extreme catholic and protestant reform movements to the death!

I am not that kind of person. And I do not have that kind of faith. My faith (and I give thanks to my glorious Saviour and the Holy Spirit for it!) is one which is still growing, evolving, and developing. It is a very personal journey and not one where there is much place for absolutes other than: -
a) There is a God, Creator of the Universe and everything in it,
b) That he sent His son - the Word made Flesh - to walk among us and show us the road to salvation and re-union in God, and
c) That the Holy Spirit is among us and upon us and working through us to achieve both our continued growth and His purpose in this world.

Those are my absolutes; everything else is a slow and sometimes painful process of evolving understanding as I seek to understand the Scriptures, the writings of the great scholars, the human desire to suborn everything and sometimes to pervert it to their own ends.

So, am I about to become a missionary like St Paul? Probably not; for one thing I do not have the fire that burned in him, nor do I have the vast knowledge of scripture and theology, and for another, I do not think that is the ministry I am called to render. My ministry seems to be developing along the lines of providing support in the form of study notes, short classes for the choristers ,and some liturgical roles, all of which are part of the vehicle which spreads and maintains the Gospel message. Mine is a ministry more of maintenance and support than "sales", but that doesn't mean I don't have the same passion and zeal for the Gospel, just that I am not a "frontman". My ministry seems to be settling into a pattern of preach, teach, and provide individual support where it is needed among my fellow ministers, my colleagues at work, and in the congregation. There are still more things the Spirit is driving me to explore, and I would ask your prayers as I feel my way into this.

Of one thing I am convinced: I am called to serve our great and wonderful God and to tell the world in any way I can His wonderful message of love. It will not be easy, because I find much in myself that is not admirable or particularly lovable, but if God calls, it is not for me to deny Him.

What will change in me? I am still to discover this. I have changed enormously over the last five or six years and am still changing. I have grown in matters spiritual and I have grown in my understanding of many things scriptural. It has all given me a greater understanding of not only where I am at, but where I need to be, and how I can best show my ministry to the world.

One thing I will commend to all who read this - Christianity is much less, I have discovered, about how one worships, what one espouses as the truth of scripture, and much more about how one lives the message of the Gospel as shown in the example of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. I can commend this journey to all who have the desire to discover the true meaning of what it is to be a Christian.

Peace be with you all.

Posted by The Gray Monk at June 5, 2004 12:41 PM

Comments

Posted by: Ozguru at June 6, 2004 06:11 AM