We share the ministry of the church together. I have always held this conviction that as a pastoral leader, I am simply one part of the puzzle which is God's church. My hope has always been to create and atmosphere where the gifts of everyone contribute to make a stronger whole.
I cannot remember a time when I did things on my own for very long. I am wired to need others and to live in community. As a youth, I craved the company of our youth group so I found myself always with different members of that community. I experienced college as part of a group, closely connected to others. It was the same way in seminary. The church has been no exception to that process. I feel most comfortable working in the context of a team.
Jeff Jones in his book entitled "Heart, Mind, and Strength" talks of ministry in the context of the congregation. He shares the understanding that our work is done together, a collection of gifted individuals who are bound together for the common cause of ministry.
The church is in a transitional time. Our role in the society and culture have changed since many of us first became connected with the local church. It feels at times that the challenges are great or even unsumountable at times. How do we adapt or change in order to continue to reach our community? How do we continue to remain effective in this constantly changing society? It puts pressure upon us to discern or discover answers in a tough time. My observation is that in times like this, it is easy for people of become discouraged and disheartened in the work of the church.
Jeff ends this wonderful book with this paragraph. "Ministry in all its forms is a wondrous thng. For both clergy and laity is makes greater demands and at the same time bestows astonishing gifts. Our ministry as leaders in the church is in a very real sense an impossible challenge. And yet if we attend to the who and the what, if we nmurture both the heart and the mind, the strength we need for the chaallenges we face will come tous. By the grace of God, it will come."
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