Everyone's Job - NOT!

All my life I have been in churches that teach it's every Christian's job to "win souls for Christ." To the best of my recollection I have never overtly done that. I told playmates, when I was a child, about my faith in Jesus and invited them to church, but I neve asked Billy or Suzie if they wanted to "receive Jesus as their personal Savior."

As an adult I've always participated in the worship services by either singing in choirs or playing keyboard instruments for congregational singing - or both. Also as an adult, I express my faith to others when the opportunity presents itself. Here again for example, I've never asked Mr. Jones, for example, whom I just met, if he would like to bow his head - in the lunch room - and "receive Christ as his personal savior."

I still participate in the worship services of my church by playing keyboards and teaching adults from time to time. I have never been paid for any of this I always viewed it as part of my "service for the Lord." I still do, in a sense. I have never thought about what I do as a ministry. Prof. Clark has this to say about that:

I realize this is heresy in contemporary evangelicalism, but not everything every Christian does is “ministry.” The baker has a vocation to bake to the glory of God but baking is not his ministry. We need to recover the idea of vocation. Calling the daily work of Christians “ministry” is intended to elevate it but it actually accomplishes the opposite. It devalues it by implying that anything that isn’t “ministry” isn’t valuable significant in itself.

Recently I have been the brunt of a couple of remarks from someone I know along the lines that makes what I do and have always done as a Christian sound almost as though I wasn't really a Christian: All because I have not led someone to a "saving knowledge of Jesus Christ as their personal savior," nor "visited others" like I've been told I should.

In searching scripture I was never able to reconcile the stuff I heard about "everyone should be a soul winner" with what is actually said in the Bible. Still when I was confronted by the person who accused me of "not winning anyone to Christ," I had no answer for him, all I had was a sense of guilt. Thank God for the internet and sound teachers around the world. Here is more of what Prof. Clark says about this issue:

I think the “every member” model probably has a lot more to do with democratic populism than it does with the biblical view of the church. Our Lord did not give the keys of the kingdom (Matt 16) to every member but to the apostles, the first officers in the visible, institutional church. The “every member” model fits well into the program-driven approach adopted by virtually all evangelicals since the 18th century but does it fit Paul’s view of the church elsewhere? It seems to me that, if Paul had such a view, he would have expounded on it in detail in other places but he did not. He did, however, spend a considerable amount of space detailing the nature of the special offices. 1 and 2 Timothy were written to a young pastor. 1 Tim 3 is about the offices of elder or overseer (vv.1-7) and deacon (vv.8-13). Most of 1 and 2 Timothy are about how Timothy should conduct his office as pastor. Much of Titus 1 is taken up with the matter of elders and Titus 2, again, is about the conduct of pastoral ministry. 1 Peter 5 is devoted to the office of elder. In other words, we have extensive revelation about the special offices and precious little about so-called “every member” ministry.

Over the years I've tried to open a dialog with some in church leadership about these kinds of issues by going back historically to what the early American/Puritan church was like. That was like butting my head against a wall. The last answer I got for my efforts was "he's messing with a very fine line." How do you discuss issues with someone who thinks like that? They're attitude seems to be "he's a nut," and "I know better just do as I say, I'm not arguing about it."

The old post I've quoted above has at least reassured me my "discernment" about what I am doing in my church is correct. I serve to glorify God, and we pay big bucks to the hired help (leadership) to do what the Bible commands them to do. But, it is certainly an irritation to have them tell me unscriptural things because I refuse to do what I'm not "called" to do, and we pay them to do what they claim they were "called" to do.

I am of an age now, however, I will tell them to do their jobs and quit trying to palm-off their calling obligations on me through some twisted ideological guilt trip so they can play golf three times a week. Prof. Clark says this:

Strictly speaking, ministry is what ministers do. They administer the Word of God. They fulfill their calling just as God’s people, who hold the office of believer, fulfill their callings (vocations) to bake, to pave streets, or even do radio shows to the best of their ability, before the face of God, to the glory of God . Not everyone in the congregation is a “minister” and frankly, that should be a relief.

It sure is a relief to me.