The Fellowship of the King

In my Church & Ministry subject I have to carry out a field trip to two churches – one reformed but not similar to the Presbyterian system and one not reformed.

I’ve visited my non-reformed church last week and it was quite interesting to be a part of an atmosphere that was full of people being joyful to God (and no it wasn’t Hillsong) and shouting and deeply into a prosperity gospel.

But in my endeavors in finding a reformed church, I thought I’d look into some Chinese churches and check out their structures and beliefs and what they are into. And while in my discoveries, I came across some shocking webpages for these churches, not in what they said but the way they looked, what they didn’t tell me like their times of worship, their location etc. Many other Chinese church websites look like they were done back in the early nineties and could very well do with a facelift.

But many of these churches are quite large and growing and cater to a specific culture and denomination so it seems that they are not trying to entice people in their churches thru the world wide web. Their growth must come thru other ways and that says something for those churches who pour much of their attention into web development and making sure they have an attractive, eye-catching website.

So beware of the mystery man coming to a Chinese church near you this weekend. I promise I won’t pretend I know Chinese.

Having started up at Macquarie Chapel Presbyterian Church 2 weeks ago, it has been busy and hectic and trying to work out what I’m meant to be doing as well as trying to finish my final year of college and family stuff also.

One of the things I’ve been slowly getting round to is trying to clean out my office and work out what I need and what I don’t need. As I write I can tell you that in my office here at church I have in one corner a bar fridge which i think every pastor needs of course, especially after a busy Sunday or a tough pastoring session with someone.

There is also such things like a TV (not such a big deal), a data projector (so I can watch copious amounts of Veggie Tales DVD’s that are lining my bookshelves in big screen), a Wii console with Super Smash Brothers and Mario Kart amongst other games and also I’ve now been handed over Guitar Hero 3 which were all bought before I got here. 

Now I just have to work out how I’m going to fit in ministry with all these things I can watch and play and have in my office. I mite never go home with all the overtime I have to spend in my office now.

I really enjoyed mark Driscoll’s talk he gave at RIce this year about “10 things he wish he knew about ministry when he was 25″ and without explaining them too much here they are in no particular order:

10. God gave some people to be prophets, priests and kings. That is, some teach the bible, some care, pray, encourage & love thru pastoral care and some just delegate and build the church.

9. Satan, Demons and Judas‘ are real. There will be times when things confront you and dishearten you from doing ministry. Judas’ will betray you and turn away from you but we are encouraged to keep running the race and don’t quit.

8. There will be rough patches in ministry. These are the times where we’re encouraged to ‘just get thru it’ which mite involve a lot of pruning and then harvesting.

7. The power of silence and solitude. We need to replenish ourselves, refresh ourselves, renew ourselves.

6. Humility. Something that we’re not really good at because it’s often easier to be proud than humble. Pride will destroy our ministries.

5. I wish I knew that no one else knows what they’re doing. Sometimes you just have to figure things out for yourself because no one can tell you how to do your job except Jesus.

4. Know how to handle your critics. In ministry we’re bound to get criticised but if we do, it means that we’re actually doing something. Listen to your critics and see if there’s anything good or helpful in what they’re saying but don’t become the critic, rather spend your time growing in Christ.

3. Depression is real. Sin is depressing.

2. Look for a people who can be a release valve and a lightning rod. Sometimes people end up ready to explode in ministry so we need other like minded people around us to release our angst. But don’t let it be your spouse. Look for a suitable release valve through an extra-curricular activity.

1. The ministry of the Holy Spirit. Regeneration is important giving us a new status and new desires. Ministry is what God created for us to do so we can walk in the Holy Spirit. Don’t serve Jesus just because you have to but do it because you want to.

I like this article in the Briefing where Carmelina Read goes through 10 ways you can discourage your husband in ministry. It is adapted from a talk she gave at a women’s equip day for minister’s wives.

I guess it’s not something we think about much of but it’s something that I have experienced first hand in my church life in seeing how a minister’s wife can quickly bring down such a great and fruitful work.