So often we say
We are call to do this or that
As opposed to ministry
Which is the fact.
One is called to write
Another is called to preach,
One is called to sing
I am called to teach.
The emphasis, therefore,
Is on what I do
As opposed to service
Or ministry in view.
Again, it is the “I”
Instead of the community,
No wonder it often breeds
Much disunity.
Ministry is what’s critical
And not what one does,
It’s not essentially what we do
But what’s done for Jesus.
We vaunt ourselves
And we beat on our chest,
“What I do is key!”
O what a mess!
It is a call to ministry,
Not what I do
Whether I am in the pulpit
Or siting in the pew.
“Amen!” is a ministry
An encouraging one at that
Especially when what is said
Is a biblical fact.
It’s a call to service
Using God-given resource
Which more often than not,
Determines our course.
Whether I sing
Or whether I preach
Is far less important
Than my outreach.
And whether I dance
Or whether I teach
Ministry is the key
In church or the street.
So, preachers, cool it
And you teachers too,
It is about ministry
And not about you.
It is not the show
That the singers put on
But a call to ministry
So, be warned!
Whatever it is we do
We must learn to do it well,
It is our call to ministry
To go and tell.
Tell of the love of God
And His Son He freely gave
To save you and me
From a Christ-less grave.
Tell of how he came
To die upon the cross
To restore to humanity
What was originally lost.
Do not be a block
In your God-given ministry,
Let it be Jesus
That your audience sees.
It’s a call to ministry,
I repeat,
Whether you’re in the church
Or on the street.
Stewart Russell © October 20, 2021
