Typical Ministry vs. Biblical Ministry
Often I hear deep lamenting from pastors and staff teams about the lack of volunteer engagement in their churches. And often I have discovered that the problem is not with the people but a faulty ministry culture that fosters low levels of volunteerism and perpetuates an unhealthy dependence on clergy. The typical approach to ministry in most churches stands in stark contrast to the biblical approach given to us clearly by God.
The typical approach to ministry in many churches looks like this:
(Pastors) >> minister >> (people)
Typically pastors or staff persons are hired to minister to people. The number of children increases, so the solution is another staff person. The number of sick people is on the rise; therefore, someone is hired to visit people in the hospitals. The typical approach is both illogical and unbiblical. The view is illogical because a church will never be able to afford to hire the entire ministry away. The view is unbiblical because it violates the essential doctrines of the priesthood of believers and spiritual gifting.
The biblical approach is found in Ephesians 4:11-12. “It was he who gave some to be … pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up.” The biblical approach looks like this:
(Pastors) >> prepare >> (people) >> to minister
In other words, we’ve created a big discrepancy between “Ministers” and “ministers.” Pastors and staff (Ministers) are really leaders who don’t do ministry. Rather they equip and prepare people (ministers) for ministry. Churches that have effectively created a volunteer culture possess a deep seeded biblical conviction that all believers are gifted for ministry, not just the “professionals.” The pastors view themselves as equippers and trainers of the ministers within their church, and the people view themselves as active and essential servants.
Do your leaders recognize their role as ministers? Are you preparing and equipping them adequately?
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This article was contributed by Eric Geiger. You can follow him on his blog at EricGeiger.com.
Very cool! I am passing this along to many friends.
Amen! Amen! We can go faster further if we will do the biblical task of equipping the body to use their gifts and do the work of the ministry!
Unfortunately, this is the opposite of what we do. We rely on a small number of full-time paid guys to do everything. It burns pastors out, contributes to some leaders’ messiah complex, keeps most people stuck in their seat as a pew warmer – it’s just not biblical or strategic!
I thikn we stick with this system b/c it’s easy. It’s easy for us to choose a few type A personalities that are funny, pay them to do everything and sit back and watch. Easy for the leader that wants to be in charge & control everything & easy for the pew sitter that doesn’t want to do anything. It’s easier than sharing responsibility, training people, dealing with the mistakes of volunteers, working with too many chiefs or cooks; easier than trusting people – that the Holy Spirit really has gifted them & empowered them, easier than helping people find their gifts, easier than delegating, easier than branching out and meeting real needs, easier than pressuring lazy people to get up and be a part, easier than finding a way for full time non church staff to be a part (working around complicated schedules), etc.
But it’s more biblical & more strategic for growth, multiplication & distributing burdens & essential for maturing of pew sitters.
Eric, thank you for an insightful post, I have never heard is said or spoken about so clearly. I came from a large church where volunteers and the culture WAS to raise up people to DO the ministry and that church continues to grow by leaps and bounds. It’s very interesting to see the discrepancy at some other churches that separate the ministry from the ministers.
Hey, this is good. Thanks.
Great post. As a volunteer and leader in my church–the “typical ministry” modal is evident in my church. For me, it’s evident in that as a volunteer, I get burned out as a result of the ‘typical’ modal. And if I’m really being honest, most of my training and equipping for my service in my church has NOT come from the pastors or staff there. I’ve received it else where by going to conferences on my own or listening and reading blogs such as this. I would love it if my church followed the “biblical ministry” modal that you just described. How did so many churches fall into the ‘typical’ way of doing church?
Great post Eric. Common sense, biblical, yet needs to be said because it doesn’t always happen that way.
Thanks!
What about Luke 10:7 (“for the worker deserves his wages”) and 1 Timothy 5:18 (“The worker deserves his wages”)? Sure equip people to serve, but there are very good and Biblical reasons to hire people and not expect them to volunteer.
Paul was the exception to the pay for ministry model and that was his choice (1 Corinthians 9:3-18). He even argued that people serving in the church should be payed, but he refused the pay that was his right.
It seems like paying people to do work for the church is VERY Biblical. It’s also Biblical that they not take pay.
Paul
Eric,
Appreciate the article. I would like to ask though, are we not all ministers?
You state, “Pastors and staff (Ministers) are really leaders who don’t do ministry.” The use of the word minister or ministry is one who serves. So isn’t the “equipping” that pastors, teachers, evangelist, prophets do for the body “ministry?”
God Bless,
Phillip
I liked the article and I agree with everything EXCEPT the statement, “Pastors and staff (Ministers) are really leaders who don’t do ministry.” I think in order to equip people we have to “do” ministry. We need to lead the way. Part of equipping is doing ministry. We do it with them watching so they learn how, they do it with us watching, then they do it. I always want to lead people by example which means I MUST do ministry in order to equip them to do ministry.
Excellent article – putting link on Twitter & FB
Right on Eric! I pray that more our church and others grip on to this idea.
Excellent thoughts. I could not agree more. There is a book called Me to We by Alan Nelson that I wish I could give to all of my friends in ministry. Here’s a link to an article by Nelson that sums it up: http://www.rev.org/article.asp?ID=2729
Great blog. Let’s put your approach in sports terms: the PASTOR is the coach. The PEOPLE are the players. The Coach doesn’t score any points — the players do. Coach needs to help people prepare for the game. The game itself is LIFE, and it happens EVERY DAY where the people are — at work, at home, at school, in the neighborhood.
We need to pay the professionals to EQUIP, and not to DO. God’s people are the primary ministry agents, not the paid professionals.
Unfortunately, the paradigm of paying the professional to DO is so solid, it will take a major cultural shift in the church to ever get this fixed. And the everyday believer feels relieved that they can delegate the ministry jobs to the professional, that they pay for…
This is true in all areas of ministry, but especially evangelism: “We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors.”
Sorry everyone for being slow to respond. I am out of town for several weeks on sabbatical (pastors receive one every seven years at Christ Fellowship).
Let me respond to the comments asking for a response. Hope I hit them all…
1) How did we drift to “typical?”
Easy to drift there when there are lots of resources (as in US churches). And us “ministers” sometimes don’t mind the drift.
2) On paying people…
Not against it. I am paid and am grateful that the church’s support allows me to focus on the church each day. But those texts (such as Ephesians 5) give the impression that the pastors teach and lead/direct the affairs of the church. My intent is to challenge us to lead ministry, not just “do ministry.” The basis is Ephesians 4:11-12. If we paid everyone who “did” ministry we would be out of cash or have much less ministry occurring. So we say, where I serve, if your on staff your role as a leader is to lead/equip.
3) Leads me to the question about us all being ministers… Absolutely. We are. All believers are. So in my identity as a believer, I must maintain the posture of a servant. But in my role within the body (the called out ones), I have been put in a role of pastor/shepherd. And this role does not trump my serving role, but it causes me to train/teach/prepare other ministers/servants (all of God’s people) to serve. But Kent is right… if i do not serve, I lose all credibility to teach others.
Bottom-line is, which I believe we all concur, is that all of God’s people have been gifted, are called priests (I Peter 2:9), and are commanded to serve. Which means if pastors do not hand ministry continually over to people, we hamper them from being who God has called them to be.