When was the last time you did a personal ministry check-up? The Apostle Paul made this kind of assessment of his ministry in light of criticism levied at him. False accusations that could have stirred up doubts within the Thessalonian church required Paul to defend his ministry. In order to do that, he had to step back and look at himself, to do a check-up of sorts. We can learn much from his conclusions.
For the appeal we make does not spring from error or impure motives, nor are we trying to trick you. On the contrary, we speak as men approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel. We are not trying to please men but God, who tests our hearts. You know we never used flattery, nor did we put on a mask to cover up greed – God is our witness. We were not looking for praise from men, not from you or anyone else. (1 Thess. 2:3-6a)
Value of Personal Assessments
For Paul, doing a ministry check-up became essential for the purpose of defending his ministry to reassure others of the validity of his message. We might not be in the same position as Paul so we might not need to broadcast conclusions. We do however need to be ready should the need arise.
Like Paul, we need to know before God, with Him as “our witness”, that we’re doing ministry as He would have us do it. Whatever we do, we do it to the glory of God (1 Cor. 10:31). We ultimately stand accountable before God to be good stewards of that with which we’ve been entrusted. Two times in just a few verses, Paul stated the perspective that kept him from failing the check-up. He wasn’t trying to please people, to gain their praise, but rather cared most about what God thought, for he realized that God was the One who tested his heart. He knew he could fool other people, but not God.
What to Consider When Doing a Personal Ministry Check-Up
Look back at Paul’s words to the Thessalonians. There we find three different areas for us to assess.
- Our message – Make sure it’s true.
- Our motives – Make sure they’re pure.
- Our methods – Make sure they’re upright, filled with integrity.
Be sure to click on the above links for more on each area.