To see God. To connect people with God. To see the sacred and holy in our lives and in each other.
To me, that is the essence of ministry. It can be carried out anywhere—and should. It can be carried out by anyone—and should. As a Christian, it is my baptismal call. As a Christian, my ministry is also shaped and formed by a set of beliefs about God. But in looking for God and connecting with others, those ideas and beliefs can’t help but be stretched and expanded and changed. I will grow.
To me, ministry is also the acting out of my faith. As Micah 6:8 says, that is to do justice, to love kindness and to walk humbly with God. It sounds simple, yet it gets complicated fast. That’s not a good reason not to start, trusting that what is good and holy and right—the great I AM—has this. And has me. And holds me in love, beyond all space and time and reason.
That is grace, and it begs a response. Martin Luther said, “God does not need your good works, but your neighbor does.” Love freely given and freely shared is salvific; it heals. But it must be modeled and taught and learned. And the doing of that is ministry.
