Title A Biblical Philosophy of Ministry
Contents br> Everything in life needs a certain order and purpose and direction. The traffic
laws for example. Without order, purpose, and direction life becomes
meaningless. So, its needless to say that Gods church is in need of a biblical
order and biblical purpose and biblical direction (Titus 1:5; 1 Cor 11:34; 14:40).
And since were talking about Gods ministry in Gods church, our philosophy of
ministry must originate from where? God and not the world.
What do you think should drive our ministry? Let me tell you.
The driving force of our ministry should be our Theology. Or what we believe.
This should determine our philosophy of ministry, not what we do, in other
words, our methodology of ministry. Not individual ambitions or our social
agendas.
Instead of our faith determining the direction of our ministry, its easy to let the
methodology of ministry determine the direction of our ministry. Pragmatism is a
dangerous foe to a biblical church ministry. The temptation to evaluate ministry
by its activity must be avoided.
Wrong ways to develop a philosophy of ministry
1. Focus on programs mere busyness without depth or purpose.
Business-like approach to ministry. Its like saying, If the church is big
and has a lot of good programs, they must be doing something right.
2. Focus on needs people-centered ministry. Philosophy of ministry that
says, the customer is king. Catering to peoples needs, instead of divine
commands. Often churches get filled with unbelievers because of this kind
of philosophy of ministry.
3. Focus on goals Philosophy that says the bigger the better. Evaluating a
ministry by goals that are not validated by the scriptures.
This morning, I will mainly talk about the sufficiency and the authority of the
Scripture.
Theology of Ministry
(HollandTheology of ministry: The biblical convictions that determine and direct
our approach to ministry
Our philosophy of ministry should always point us to God and his truth. This is
the starting point of even the very existence of the church. Without the Word of
God we wouldnt have the slightest idea of how to run church. we wouldnt
even be aware of the very existence of the church. we would be completely
lost without any sense of direction.
The sufficiency of Scripture
The Bible is sufficient for everyone in every aspect of life. The Bible alone,
and the Bible in its entirety, is the inspired Word of God. It is absolutely
inerrant in the original writings, complete, infallible, and sufficient for our life
and godliness.
The inspiration of the Word of God
2 Peter 1:20-21
Not by human invention, or origin. It did not originate, begin with
humans.
By divine communication and initiation and will
2 Timothy 3:16-17
Literally, God-breatheed or the very breath of God.
The Word of God is sufficient in every area of ministrypreaching,
teaching, and counseling (virtually everything that the church does).
This means every sermon, every bible study, every counseling session must be
consisted of proclamation of Gods Word and exhortation to obey it (1 Tim
4:13).
The eternality of the Word of God
It follows the first point.
Matthew 5:18
Gods Word is unchanging. It needs no new editions. It needs no
updating. No sequences. It applies to all men of all times. From the elderly
to the infants. From the rich and the famous to the hungry and the
homeless. From the heroes to the criminals of our society. From the
history makers to the forgotten lives of our history. Every soul that ever
lived and every soul that will ever be created is subject to the eternal
Word of God.
This means every church, no matter what culture or subculture they are a part
of, no matter the social atmosphere, no matter the political structure, no matter
the economic success, is subject to the Word of God.
The authority of Scripture
Because the Bible is the inspired and eternal Word of God, it is the absolute
authority in the life of every living soul.
2 Peter 1:3
The Word of God is the standard for life and doctrine. It answers to
questions like, How am I to live? and What am I to believe? There
is no room for human opinion or preferences. We do what God wants
and we know what God wants by studying his Word.
Whos ministry is it anyway? If we truly believe that our ministry is Gods, then
we will do as what God has said. When you buy a product, if you want to use
it properly, you will consult the manual because you believe in the maker. If we
believe in Jesus Christ, the one who founded church, we will submit to his
Wordthe manual for the church.
One concerned pastor has said (Rick Holland): The relativism of postmodernism
has unfortunately found a welcome mat at the door of the modern church.
It seems like the only rule of the moral ethics of our society is demanding no
rule at all. Relativism has replaced the old rationalism of the 19th century. Now
nothing has to make sense at all. As long as it feels right to you, no one can
say what you believe or how you live is wrong. You decide whats best for
yourself. Just dont get in other peoples business. And the sin that deserves all
the punishment in the world is when someone tries to apply the Creators
absolute rule on the rest of his creation.
In our current society where everything and anything goes with majority vote,
the only way we could stand without wavering is to stand upon the ever
unchanging truths of the Word of God.