You Are Your Ministry

Over the past couple of weeks God has been sharing with me concerning ministry and how important it is. When most of us think of ministry we think of the church we attend, we think of the organizations within the church that help the homeless, that go into the community and preach the Gospel of Christ, etc. True all of these are components of ministry but there is a much more valuable component to the structure that I believe gets overlooked regularly, which can cause people to stumble in their walk with Christ if not cared for in the appropriate manner.

Let me give you an example; when I worked in downtown Chicago, I was a Marketing and Communications Coordinator for a non-profit. That was something that I did but it wasn’t who I was, who I am is Daryle F. Houston II, husband, son, brother, and most importantly a son of God. There was separateness between my job description and who I was. I believe that many people also view ministry this way. The end result of this thinking is duality; many people believe that preaching the Gospel of Christ is something that they do instead of taking the standpoint that that is who they are. If I view ministry work as a job description instead of a life-walk than it is easy for me to turn it off and on in a moment’s notice. On Sunday’s when I’m at church it’s on, on Monday morning it’s off, and on Wednesday night Bible study its back on. Have you ever witnessed a preacher when they are out of the pulpit, act as if they were a part of the world, this could be the reason why… The duality of the mind.

James 1:8 (KJV)
A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.

The word double-minded there means divided in interest. This is a very pivotal point when you dedicate your life to Christ. When you make this decision you have decided to make the things of God your main interest. When you make the things of God your main interest and are serious about them, this means you can’t turn it off and on like a light switch because the light must always stay on to guide people through the darkness of life to Christ. Once you renew your mind to ministry just not being a “church” thing but rather a life thing you’ll be more cognizant of your actions outside of the church and more receptive to truly applying the things of God in your everyday life so negative actions can be avoided and not a stumbling block to a new believer or to someone who may look to you for spiritual guidance.

Acts 6:3-4 (NKJV)
We give no offence in anything, that our ministry may not be blamed. But in all things we commend ourselves as ministers of God: in much patience, in tribulations, in needs, in distresses…

Paul new the importance of being one with the ministry God gave him. To him it wasn’t something that he did but rather it was who he was. He says that in every situation he had to act according to the things of God rather good or bad because he knew that many people looked on his ministry as a holy example. If he would have acted out of his Christ-like character he could have potentially destroyed the character of Christ in the minds of those that followed him.

In today’s terms that could equate to someone who looks up to his Pastor only to find out that the Pastor is having multiple affairs on the side. Now if someone looks up to you as the disciples looked up to Jesus and they find out this secret of yours it could destroy the image of Christ in their minds and they might revert back to the same behavior that they were engaged in before they accepted Christ in their lives.

So I say to you, if you are involved in any type of ministerial roles, operate in those roles in the character of Christ 24 hours a day 7 days a week. Know that God gave you the assignment because that’s who you are and not just what you do.

Daryle Houston II
Kingdom Vizion Ministries
www.kingdomvizion.org