Back in the day, at the beginnings of my ministry life, but far enough along where I’d begun to question my own “omniscience”, I was privileged to intern under a very gifted teacher. I was quite driven, quite passionate, to “get it all right”. I wanted to be perfect, to make no mistakes, to minister the “right” way, with the touch, finesse, and wisdom I saw among so many of my elders.
(Been there? Remember those days?)
From time to time, more frequently than I care to remember, I fell short of this self-imposed standard. I came away from an encounter realizing that while it was “mostly right”, it “could have been better”. One or another place there had been a lack of grace, an injection of ego, or impatience, or my own content and wisdom rather than inspiration. These places would highlight in aftermoments, like “worn spots” or “scuffs” on the surface of an otherwise acceptable textile or leatherwork.
Time and time again, I would take such encounters in review to my mentor, with the question, “How would YOU have handled this? How could this have been better?”
He’d listen, carefully and prayerfully, without interruption… never a grimace of disapproval or disappointment crossing his features. Then he’d usually reach for his Bible and find a passage, and set it aside for the moment. He’d then speak, reviewing my narrative, agreeing and affirming what went “well”, and then highlighting and restating the “scuff mark” I was asking about. He always wanted to be sure that he’d rightly “heard” what someone thought they’d “said”. (These do not always match, I’ve since then learned.)
Then, he would teach two lessons. One was a lesson of “content“. He would, before we finished, address the specific question or issue I had come with. This lesson I had no trouble identifying, understanding, and implementing. But the other lesson… the other was a lesson of “context“. He would point out a fallacy in the way I framed the question and teaching paradigm. THIS lesson, this message, I consistently failed to identify, understand, or implement. Not until years later, when “all these words came back to me” and suddenly, it all made sense.
Amazing, isn’t it? Someone can repeat the same words to us, time and time again, but if we aren’t yet “ready to hear” them, they just don’t seem to impress themselves on the brain or in the memory? Such were these words, oft repeated to me…
“You ask how this could be done better, how you could minister more perfectly. That’s a great question, and we’ll address that. But, you ask ‘how would *I* have done this?’ Thank you for that, but that shouldn’t be your first or primary question. There is only One Perfect Minister, and He is within you and you have access to Him. The first question is, ‘how was He doing this…’ for the parts that you sense as ‘right’… and ‘how would He have done this’ for the other parts. A second approach, if we don’t know that answer, is to go to scripture and see how DID Jesus handle parallel situations, as shown through the gospels? I’ve never yet found a situation here, that He did not face there in some form or another. Once we look at THAT, have that exemplar of the Perfect Minister in mind, THEN, if it is helpful we can look at how I, or anyone else you learn from, might apply that lesson.
“Don’t look first at what *I* would do. For I, too, am frail and limited in my understanding. First look at how Jesus handles such things, and then… if application and example from my walk are helpful to illustrate, we can discuss that, too. But I am not the exemplar of Perfect Ministry, He is. I am just another learner a bit further along the road.”
And we’d then begin to look at the specifics, look at the text of a parallel situation Jesus faced, and… often… he would share an illustration from his experience in applying the principle involved.
I always “got” the “content lessons”. I tended to make mistakes but once.
(My brother used to say, “The only person who makes no mistakes is a dead man. The trick is always to improve the quality of your mistakes.”)
But it took years before I actually caught on to the “context lesson”. The Holy Spirit who resides within us is the fullness of the Presence of Christ. He is not deaf/mute. He is not passive. He is not uni-directional, aiming and firing His divine nature towards the Father alone. He is Love, He is radiant (like radioactive), and He engages us in every way we are open to.
The more we can relax and flow with the love, care, and nurturance that are innate within the heart of God, the more clearly He can express Himself through us.
“Nothing missing, nothing broken. Graduated, complete and mature.” The meaning of “perfect” as in “be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” So to be Christlike, to be Christ-ian, we seek to let Jesus be Jesus in and through us. There’s nothing wrong with that. There’s nothing “proud” or “arrogant” about that. We are not claiming that by dint of our efforts, intelligence, will, or righteousness, we can equal Jesus. Quite the opposite. We’re saying that by embracing our own weakness and “letting go” our own life, He can fill us with His.
So dare to reach towards “perfect ministry”. Don’t let false humility foreclose us at the starting gate. Just let us embrace the template and realization that it will be in the same model as Jesus did, and does. And that is thrilling to explore.
Question: For those who preach, teach, and guide… What would Jesus talk about in your pulpit, your podium, your classroom, or your study… this Sunday. (or this week?).
Open Mike Time………….
Church Set Free 
In my youth I did woodworking as a hobby (still do). One of the skills I struggled with was drawers. I would make and assemble the cabinet to specs, then make these drawers to the same specs, rarely did the drawers fit the openings. They were too tight or too loose, rarely a perfect fit.
One year there was a woodworking show near my town, with some of the premier woodworkers demonstrating skills. I stopped by and chatted with a number of them, who all told me the problem was in the quality of my measurements, and that I needed better (expensive) tools like they were demonstrating. I couldn’t afford them, and it seemed odd that so many thousands of years before me craftsmen were able to do the task without them, there had to be another solution.
The last woodworker I talked with, Ian Kirby, said the problem wasn’t with my tools, but with my methods. Specs only take you so far, they’re great at getting the foundation (cabinet) made, but to make the drawers you have to lay the plans aside and realize that the openings aren’t perfect. You need to make the drawers to fit the openings. Once the cabinet is assembled, measure the openings and make each drawer to fit the opening. I’ve never had a bad drawer since.
People are like that, no two are the same, but each one is a perfect creation of Our Lord. The trick to bringing them to God is not presenting the same teaching to them and waiting for it to take hold, but presenting the teaching they need, then watching as it slides in perfectly. Paul understood this when he said, 1Cor 9:19-23 “…I have become all things to all men, that I might, by all means, save some.”
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Wonderful comment! Great memory and lesson. Thank you! Bless! LM
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“First look at how Jesus handles such things” Yes, brilliant. And what Mike said: “presenting the teaching they need, then watching as it slides in perfectly.”
Two brilliant lessons in one. I am truly blessed today. 🙂
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Thank you for your kind words.
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You are too kind! 🙂 LM
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WWJD (OR SAY)? PERHAPS WHAT IS NEEDED AT JUST THAT PRECISE MOMENT FOR JUST THAT PRECISE EAR(S). MAYBE THAT PRECISION SILENCE. MAYBE THAT PERFECT GESTURE. OR MAYBE HE WOULD HEAD OFF SOMEWHERE ELSE COMPLETELY. MAYBE SOMEWHERE SOME BARREN PLACE IN NEED OF SWEET WATER. OR A PLACE LESS HOSTILE TO TE REALITY OF LIVE WITHOUT CONDITION. AND YET ALL OF THOSE PLACES EXIST IN EACH OF US IN DIFFERENT WAYS AND DIFFERENT TIMES. WWJD (OR SAY)? HE CONNECTS. IF WE ALLOW.
(Sorry about the CAPS – on a train between London and home)
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Thanks for the reply! Glad yer heading home! Grace — LM
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Reblogged this on Annie.
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This Sunday? Don’t really know. One of my associate pastors is preaching. I have to do a wedding. 🙂 I usually know what Jesus wants to do ahead of time, but about 20% of the time, He tells me I’m not going to be preaching my message when I’m in the shower Sunday morning. He’s a bit annoying that way. LOL! Seriously, that’s when it gets fun.The people usually tell me that was my best message. Not good for the ego, but Jesus looks pretty good.
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Lol! Yessir, I TOTALLY get that, along with several others I’ve spoken to. Doesn’t usually happen, but when it does it’s so tough on the nerves. Happens sometimes teaching a class, too, doesn’t it? Weirdest time that ever happened with me I was filling in for a pastor away at a conference. Wednesday evening class. Had written notes, handouts, everything… Stepped to the podium and all my pages were blank white in my eyes. Tried to remember my notes, couldn’t think of a thing. Nothing, nada, zip, zilch. Panic time!
So I backed up and punted, asked a central topic question (the class was on “forgiveness/unforgiveness”. Someone took up an answer, that prompted another question, another person answered, and off we went. The strangest thing was… (I hesitate to say this in public)… but the strange thing was, the class was happening in the sanctuary because there had been a flood in the downstairs classroom and renovations were going on… and I noticed a “light”… a golden light like a spotlight… starting to appear over the head of one or another person. As I turned towards that person, THEY were the one with the next answer or question or whatever.
The “class” moved forward like an avalanche. I think I said about three things total, as everyone was teaching everyone else. The whole time, I’d check my “notes” and saw nothing but blank white paper. I thought I’d grabbed the wrong sheets.
At the end of our time, everything just settled and came to completion. Um… people came up to me, complimenting, etc. and I didn’t know what to say. I thought I might be losing it. Thank goodness, two of the elders walked up at the very end, and said, “were you seeing that too? I’ve never seen anything like that. That was amazing.” and we all knew, we’d “seen the light” (no pun intended).
Only once in my career (so far), but I’m open to more.
Oh, and by the way, as I picked up my notes to clear the podium, there they were. All the black marks on the white page, just as I’d printed them. I just shook my head, prayed a thanksgiving for the privilege of even witnessing this (let alone getting to participate), and moved on with the evening.
May your wedding go wonderfully, and this Sunday sermon be awesome! Grace to you! LM
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