Thursday, February 22, 2018

Practical exam

Matthew 25:37

“Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink?’

Jesus, in one of the long discourses recorded by Matthew, gets to telling a story of what it would be like in the final judgement, Matthew 25:31-46. This description of the final judgement reads like the answering of oral questions in a final exam, except that this is a final exam.

However, that description, or exam parallel, falls down because the questions are not about theoretical content, or about things learned in the course of study. These questions are about the practical conduct of those who are being examined. The examiner also seems to have known the answers that the students would give and graded them before having them engage with the questions.

Jesus said that the passing grade goes to those who have completed the practical projects of feeding the hungry, quenching the thirst of the thirsty, giving lodging to the stranger, providing clothing for the naked, and visiting the sick and the imprisoned.

Jesus did not invalidate ecstatic spiritual experiences. He never downplayed the role of effective preaching. He modelled and taught prayer and intercession. But he also modelled the practical expressions of faith to transform the lives of those who needed the ministry.

More and more we are filling up worship events, conferences, seminars and the like than we are engaged in practical ministry. It is easier to sell tickets to an evening of extravagant worship than to get volunteers to visit an old lady down the street. There is something fundamentally wrong with contemporary church culture that has tended away from practical ministry.

We have allowed church to become such a selfish place that there is little chance that most of our members and visitors would pass the practical exam that Jesus gives after we have provided ministry to them. People have been trained to focus on how the worship experience makes them feel, and to sow a seed for their next breakthrough and so they are focused on personal feelings and rewards and not on service and ministry.

Today, many who want to serve, join a service club and not one of the ministries in church. Here is a Wikipedia description of the Rotary Club: an international service organization whose stated purpose is to bring together business and professional leaders in order to provide humanitarian services, encourage high ethical standards in all vocations, and to advance goodwill and peace around the world.

Well, we should admire the Rotary Club. But we should wonder where our practical ministry went. We have lost practical ministry in church and we are failing to cultivate it among our youth. I remember not so long ago when we knew who all of the members of the church of advanced age were, especially those who were now unable to make it physical to church, we referred to them as ‘shut-ins’ and there were routine responsibilities to provide basic services to them. Every communion Sunday there was a team that went to their homes to ensure that they were able to partake of the ‘Lord’s Table’ and to take supplies for them from the benevolence offering. Not from the seeds sown to get something in today’s church.

Where I am from, every church now has a dance ministry, but the young dancers are not being taught any practical ministry. Church is now like everything else, we come to enjoy the music, watch the young women dance, listen to a motivational speaker, sow a seed, and then go off back to our world and await the benefits that should flow.

Just to be clear, I have no issue with the arts, be it poetry, singing, theatre or dance. I practically grew up on stage in the theatre. Neither do I discredit the principle of seedtime and harvest as taught in the scriptures. But we are missing something major when we fail to develop and encourage practical ministry.

Few in the New Testament could preach like the Apostle Paul, but he spent a lot of time organising and participating in practical ministry. “For it pleased those from Macedonia and Achaia to make a certain contribution for the poor among the saints who are in Jerusalem.” Romans 15:26.

Here was Paul’s advice to the church at Corinth, “But as you abound in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all diligence, and in your love for us—see that you abound in this grace [giving] also. 2 Corinthians 8:7.

There is a story in Acts 9:36-43 about a woman in Joppa named Dorcas. Dorcas got sick and died. The church there sent for Peter, who was in another nearby town, to come and pray for her because of her practical ministry. “Then Peter arose and went with them. When he had come, they brought him to the upper room. And all the widows stood by him weeping, showing the tunics and garments which Dorcas had made while she was with them.” Acts 9:39.

Back in the day, many churches had a Dorcas Society, a local group of people with a mission of providing clothing to the poor. I grew up with my Anglican mother who was a member of a Dorcas Society in her church and who was very active there. Knitting none stop, at one point in her life, to both survive and to give.

And so, we are all headed for that final exam before Jesus, but the grades are based on what we are doing in practical ministry now.
Think on these things:

1. What practical ministry opportunities does your church provide?
2. When last did you volunteer or participate in practical ministry activity?
3. Which of these areas would you give time to work in: feeding programmes, homeless shelter, hospital ministry, prison ministry?

Prayer focus:

Let us pray today that we would find a place of practical ministry.

In His Grace
Pastor Alex