I was at a dinner party recently, celebrating the birthday of a friend. There must have been about 30 of us there, and as we were mingling before dinner, the hostess came to me and asked, “Would you mind saying grace for us?” I told her I would, and I turned to my wife and said, “I must be the highest ranking clergy here!” Sure enough, when the hostess wanted me to pray, she said, “Bob is the closest thing we have to a minister so I have asked him to return thanks for the meal.” I didn’t know everyone, but I knew that well over half of us were believers so I said, “I’m glad to pray, but we’re all ministers here!”<\/p>\n
Please see a few of my posts: “Imagine if Churches were Equipping and Sending<\/a>,” March 2017; “Women in Ministry<\/a>,” February 2017; “What part of ‘all’ do we not understand<\/a>?” January 2015. A pervasive problem that I decry in these posts is that we tend to see only a few as “ministers” and everyone else as…what? Consumers? As long as this is the case, we won’t be nearly as effective as reaching our neighborhoods, communities, and the world.<\/p>\n After dinner, my wife and I had a delightful conversation with someone who does get it. She and her husband just bought a car wash, and they see their interactions with their employees as front-line ministry. A chance to make a real difference in people’s lives.<\/p>\n “We’re all ministers here” is the best message I could give, I think. I’ve written a book on it. Please click the Join the Adventure tab at the top of the screen, and start thinking of yourself as on the adventure…because you are. We’re all ministers here…and wherever you are.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I was at a dinner party recently, celebrating the birthday of a friend. There must have been about 30 of us there, and as we were mingling before dinner, the hostess came to me and asked, “Would you mind saying grace for us?” I told her I would, and I turned to my wife and … Continue reading The Closest Thing to a Minister<\/span>