Conversation #1
1Co 3:5-9 Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers through whom you believed, as the Lord gave to each one? I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase. Now he who plants and he who waters are one, and each one will receive his own reward according to his own labor. For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, you are God’s building.
A friend of mine is overseeing a para-church ministry that encourages churches to get involved with pro-life causes by coordinating prayer initiatives. He has been reaching out to local churches trying to get a meeting with the pastor to encourage them and to discuss what the ministry is about and the opportunities for them to get involved as a church. Often times these efforts are met with the pastor politely declining the invitation to get involved either because they already have a prolife ministry or support one or by stating that’s not the focus of their church.
Do these excuses come from an unwillingness to hear or consider what God may be doing through another ministry? Maybe there is a fear of trying something new or a different way of doing things? Or just being too busy and consumed with the happenings inside the church that there is an unwillingness to consider “adding” another ministry. Whatever the reasoning I believe a little courtesy and curiosity can go a long way.
Courtesy has its benefits in that it encourages the recipient as well as the one opening the door. By being open and giving the minister an opportunity to express his vision, he is given the chance to refine his presentation, cement his resolve, pray for the pastor and be encouraged in his work. The pastor or the one showing courtesy can also be blessed in this situation by hearing what the Lord may be doing through another ministry that he is not familiar with or didn’t know existed. He may also be stirred or encouraged to pursue a different type of ministry or have a direction that the Lord had given him confirmed. And don’t forget the blessing he may receive by having the opportunity to pray for the visiting minister and his ministry.
Curiosity on the other hand can also lead to new blessings that the pastor may not have seen or considered. Just by hearing another’s vision for ministry we can be prodded along in our own ministry to attempt new opportunities for the gospel. Or stirred by the plight of the lost in our community. We might even get a new idea of how we can approach a need we see. So maybe we should consider opening the door next time, who knows what the Lord may want to do, at minimal it gives us another chance to pray.
Until next week, pray hard.