Category Archives: Reflections on Ministry

Occasionally I like to look through the statistics for the web site at the keywords people use to find the site. Sometimes those keywords spark something within me, giving me a topic I feel could be further developed on the site like this one — “why singles should serve in ministry.” Since God designed the Church so everybody has a part, this seemed like a good topic to write about.

3 Biblical Reasons Why Singles Should Serve in Ministry

Look at the key passages on spiritual gifts and you do not find where they are distributed or to be used based on marital status, gender, or age. When, therefore, God says in 1 Peter 4:10, “Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms” … that includes singles. Also see Romans 12:6-8 which basically states that whatever our gift is, we should use it.

Why should singles serve in ministry? – Because God has gifted them to serve and He holds everyone accountable for what they have been given.

No one knows how long they will have on this earth. Shouldn’t we use whatever time we have, in whatever state we are in, to its fullest potential (Eph. 5:15-17). Certainly that must include serving. To not serve as singles would be to waste a significant portion of our lives. Serving one another is part of fulfilling the greatest commandments (Matt. 22:37-40; Gal. 5:13-14; 6:2).

Why should singles serve in ministry? – Because time is short and God wants our lives to count at all times.

In 1 Corinthians 7, the Apostle Paul addressed the issue of being single and wished more people were in that state. Why? It wasn’t because marriage is awful. In verse 28 he said, “But if you do marry, you have not sinned.” Paul was all about serving and he understood that with marriage comes many distractions in life. Being single provides a much greater potential for “undivided devotion to the Lord” (v. 35). Of course, singles must have this perspective for that to become a reality.

Why should singles serve in ministry? – Because singleness is a potentially optimal time to serve.

Considering the above three reasons for why singles should serve in ministry, my question becomes “Why should they not serve in ministry?”

How can we determine our best fit in ministry? Read through the Finding Your Best Fit in Ministry section of the site and you will learn to bring the various parts of your being together, like a puzzle.

God wants to use the whole of who we are in serving — our spiritual gifts, personality, passions, and experience, with our walk with God right in the center of it all.

What to Do to Find Your Best Fit for Ministry

Here’s an acrostic that pulls together how we can find our best fit in ministry.

B – Begin with Being

Focus on who you are in Christ Jesus.

E – Embrace your Life Experiences

Believe a Sovereign God does truly work both the good and bad for the good.

S – Serve in areas using your Spiritual Gifts

Consider how God has empowered you to serve as a key component to finding your best fit.

T – Temper your Temperament

Bring both the strengths and weaknesses of your personality under the control of the Spirit.

F – Find your fervor

Consider what God has impassioned you toward.

I – Invite Input

First and foremost, ask God how you should serve and also learn from others.

T – Trust God’s Timing

Look to Him to bring it all together, giving Him the right to further prepare you in other ways first.

A Resource to Help You Know Where to Effectively Serve

(Please Note: The acrostic is not included in the above mentioned resource.)

Your church began a new ministry initiative and a plea has gone out for people to help with it. Should you volunteer? The pastor presented some needs and requested assistance. Should you get involved? A call goes out for Bible teachers or small group leaders still needed. Should you accept the challenge? I could go on and on for we constantly face needs and opportunities to serve.

Reading through the book of Ezra, I was struck by the reality that God does not lay it on everybody’s heart to do everything. Judah had been taken captive. God led Cyrus, king of Persia, to permit the exiles to go back and rebuild the house of the Lord. He said, “Any of his people among you may go . . .  And in any locality where survivors may now be living, the people are to provide” (Ezra 1:3-4). Look at what follows in verse 5 —

Then the family heads of Judah and Benjamin, and the priests and Levites — everyone whose heart God had moved — prepared to go up and build the house of the LORD in Jerusalem.

If we break this verse down, we can use it to draw out some principles for serving.

Principles about God Laying Something on Your Heart

1) God’s desires define our primary criteria for involvement.

Notice that the verse reads “everyone whose heart GOD has moved.” It does not say, “everyone who heard the king’s proclamation.” Nor does it say, “everyone who was nudged by their fellow Jews.” And, it doesn’t say, “everyone whom the leaders determined.”

We need to let God do the moving in people’s hearts. In recruiting we should look for the right person for the right ministry at the right time … the person of GOD’s choosing. This means we should spend much time in prayer when we recruit, not arm-twisting people to get involved.

We don’t have to feel guilty, nor should we make people feel bad, for not accepting each and every opportunity presented. We are accountable for what God moves us to do.

2) God does not expect everybody to do everything.

The verse implies that there were some whose spirit God did not stir to go and rebuild. Not everyone will be moved by God to the same task. We need to be careful not to look down on or judge those who do not get involved like we do. We can sometimes project our own heart passions on others thinking that they should feel the same way we do if they love the Lord like we do.

3) If God lays it on our hearts to do something, we should do it.

Notice how EVERYONE whose heart was moved by God obeyed His prompting. We don’t read of any excuses about it not being a convenient time for them to go. We don’t observe them immobilized by fear of what might lie ahead or be expected of them. The journey would undoubtedly be filled with hardships and uncertainties but “everyone whose heart God had moved” went.

4) Just because God has obviously moved you to get involved doesn’t mean you can forego preparation.

Notice that “everyone whose heart God had moved — prepared to go.” For us this could mean pulling resources together, getting some training for the ministry ahead, praying for God to go before us to open doors and work in people’s hearts, etc.

5) If God hasn’t moved your heart to be involved in a specific ministry, it doesn’t mean you are absolved of all responsibility toward it.

The people were to “provide them with silver and gold, with goods and livestock, and with freewill offerings for the temple of God in Jerusalem” (Ezra 1:4). In this case it was their neighbors, undoubtedly both the Jews who stayed behind and the people of that land, who “assisted them with articles of silver and gold, with goods and livestock, and with valuable gifts, in addition to all the freewill offerings” (Ezra 1:6). While God might not lay it on everybody’s heart to “go”, those who don’t still support the ministry. For us this could be financially as seen in the way their neighbors provided materially but it also could be through prayers and encouragement.

Why did I add “Ouch!” to the title of this post? Referring to yourself or anyone else in the Body of Christ as “just a lay person” is a hurtful comment.

1. If the lay person makes the statement, it betrays a sense of inferiority regarding the view of one’s self in the Body.
2. If the clergy makes the statement, it emits a sense of superiority regarding the view of one’s self in the Body.

At the Root of a Lay Person Complex

To make such a statement from either point of view suggests inferiority of lay people to clergy or paid professionals. The flow chart would depict a hierarchical structure in doing ministry with the clergy at the top not just in terms of decision-making but also worth or importance.

Question: How does this fit into the priesthood of all believers? See 1 Peter 2:9.

In addition, it could suggest the view of the importance of some spiritual gifts over others. Certainly someone with the gift of service or helps, it could be argued, is not as critical as a person with the gift of pastor or leadership.

Question: How does that reconcile with God’s teaching on the Body and spiritual gifts that all are needed and all are important? See 1 Corinthians 12:14-26.

Why a Low View of Lay People Hurts

Consider all these different ways a low view of laity hurts the Body.

• If people have such a view of themselves, not seeing their contribution as important as someone else’s, it is much easier not to get involved. Ouch!

• When the Body misses out on the contribution of certain members, it stunts growth. Ouch! Remember, the Body “grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work” (Eph. 4:16).

• If clergy or other church leaders view themselves as superior to others in the Body, pride can set in which can lead to a fall (Prov. 16:18). Ouch!

• When pride sets in to any member of the Body, an attitude of self-reliance can develop with the feeling that they don’t need others. Ouch! Not only is that a lonely place to be but it also goes against God’s design for the Body to be interdependent (1 Cor. 12:20-26).

• If people in certain positions of ministry are elevated higher than others, discontent can surface within people as they wish they could serve like someone else instead of being the person God designed them to be. Ouch! Isn’t that a slap on the face for God who “arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be” (1 Cor. 12:18)?

• When at the top of a hierarchy  it can be so easy to develop control issues which can lead to spiritual abuse. Ouch! Jesus, however, said “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant” (Mk. 10:42-43).

• If spiritual gifts are ranked in order of importance, a need to compare and compete can set in. Ouch! This kind of approach to spiritual gifting only divides the Body, something God expressly wants the Body to avoid (1 Cor. 12:25).

In a previous post we considered how sin keeps us from experiencing the blessing of the presence of God.  The example of the Israelites making the golden calf serves as a good example.  God told Moses, “Go up to the land flowing with milk and honey. But I will not go with you, because you are a stiff-necked people and I might destroy you on the way” (Ex. 33:3).   God’s holiness requires judgment on sin.  God would fulfill His covenant in giving these people the promised land but, He told Moses, He would no longer go with them.  The people were distressed when they heard these words.

Later when Moses met with God, he said, “If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here” (Ex. 33:15).  Moses knew the importance of God’s presence.

How will anyone know that you are pleased with me and with your people unless you go with us? What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth? (Ex. 33:16)

Why God’s Presence is Important:

1. God’s presence is an indication of God’s pleasure.
   When people sense God’s presence, they perceive that something good is happening in that church or ministry.  God will not bless that which displeases Him.  Because He is sovereign, God will work all things for the good (Rom. 8:28) but that is different from putting His stamp of approval on it.
2. God’s presence is an identification mark of being God’s people.
   There are a lot of individuals and organizations doing good things in this world who are not Christian.  What makes us different from them? — God’s presence.  With God’s presence comes a power to make an eternal difference, not merely a temporal one.

People will be more prone to getting involved if they believe God is present in it because it will be going somewhere, making an eternal difference.

These points are included in the Steering the Church Toward Discipleship Leadership Guide along with other input about God’s presence being a leader’s Case for Confidence when it come to fulfilling our mission to make disciples.