Are you familiar with TED talks? These are relatively brief presentations by
thought leaders that stimulate, inspire, and encourage. At the Annual Fall Gathering of the AlabamaCooperative Baptist Fellowship yesterday, one of the breakout sessions was
titled “CBF Meet TED: Inspiring Stories
from and for Our Movement.” Hosted by
Chris Aho, the session featured three short presentations to stimulate, inspire,
and encourage participants.
All of the presentations were helpful, but the presentation
by Jamie Mackey, minister to students at First Baptist Church, Huntsville,Alabama, particularly caught my attention.
Jamie identified the four ingredients of a healthy student ministry—relationships,
Bible study, ministry, and fun—and explained their importance. He made some application to other types of
ministry as well—senior adults, campus ministry, etc.
As I listened to Jamie’s presentation, I
realized that these are the ingredients for any effective Christian ministry. They apply in the local church, in community
work, and in judicatories.
First,
relationships are essential to healthy, growing ministries. The time invested in getting to know one
another, telling stories, praying together, and sharing experiences provides a
strong foundation for everything else that takes place.
Second, Bible study gives us not only a
theological rationale for our work, but it also provides the images, language,
and inspiration that sustain us when the going gets rough. There is nothing new under the sun, but the
Bible shines its light on all of our experiences.
Third, I would define ministry here as the way
we practice or live out our faith, especially in the world around us. Community and Bible study are not ends in
themselves but result in changed lives that impact the place where God has put
us. As God’s people, what we do is not
ultimately to benefit ourselves but others.
Fourth,” fun” means different things to different
people, but I think we can all agree that fun facilitates creativity, relief of
tension, and a bit of mischievousness! What does this have to do with the work
of ministry? No one is going to stay
with anything very long if there is not a little fun involved. If we are too rigid, we stifle the work of
the Spirit. Real innovation comes out of
spontaneous, free-flowing experiences. All of us dread committee or team work where
there is not a good balance of task and relationship. A little fun gets the creative juices
flowing.
How does your ministry stack up to these
criteria? Thanks, Jamie, for giving us something
to consider.
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