The Danger of Ministsry

by Rev. Raymond Coffey

November 2008

Danger in the ministry? Are you kidding? I remember a teenager in Arkansas who once asked me what I did besides work 1 hour a week. With a straight face I answered, “Nothing.”  After she realized that I was being facetious, she laughed nervously about asking what she realized was an inadequate perception of the ministry. There is no real danger in just preaching, is there?  The dangers that I refer to are not the dangers of tyrants and terrorists, not even of persecution, oppression or rejection. These are very real in other areas of the world, and many believers and pastors face them on a daily basis. The dangers we face are the dangers from within.  

Paul, in II Corinthians 11, catalogues the dangers he faced in his ministry. In this passage he is defending his apostolic ministry against those who were false teachers in the church. He writes, “I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and have been exposed to death again and again. Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my own countrymen, in danger from the Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger from the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false brothers. I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked. Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches. Who is weak and I do not feel weak? Who is lead into sin, and I do not inwardly burn?”    

Paul is saying that the most critical issues that he faces are internal, spiritual and concern the life of the church.  And facing these concerns brings its own danger. What is that danger? It is the danger of thinking that the spiritual challenges of the church can be met in the strength of the flesh. And anyone who thinks this way will face burnout and spiritual fatigue. The resources that are needed to deal with the concerns of the church are not found within us; they have to be supplied by the Christ himself.  In II Corinthians 3, Paul made a statement that is so poignant in this regard: “Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God, who has made us competent to be ministers of a new covenant….”  Our adequacy comes from God and his Word. Our own personality, temperament, or disposition cannot sustain us. Our gifts, our intellectual abilities, or our skills will not enable us to build the church. It is not our ingenuity, leadership abilities or training per se that equips us ultimately for the task. The work of ministry is rooted in the grace and power of our Trinitarian God. 

The one thing that I must give attention to in my own life is the renewal of my walk with Christ. Paul said to Timothy, his protégé in ministry: “Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching.” I Timothy 4:16  A failure to give attention to our spiritual life will invite tremendous spiritual danger. We will succumb to discouragement, we will be overcome by fatigue, we will lose heart. This is what Paul guarded against in his own life and this is what we are to guard against in our own lives.

 But why mention this now?  The western church, particularly at this juncture in our culture, is facing spiritual fatigue. We have substituted worthy causes for the gospel of Jesus Christ and have lost out spiritual vitality and power to speak with authority to the culture. This has left many believers and churches empty and devoid of spiritual authenticity.  

The root problem is the failure to distinguish law and gospel in terms of the witness of the church. The church as a church must speak the gospel to a broken world. A failure to do so is to lose sight of our mission. The church then becomes just another political lobby in the welter of groups clamoring to be heard. Yes, we must stand against injustice, unrighteousness and lawlessness and against evil in every form. But the word that we proclaim is the word of the gospel. This is what we are about as a church. In speaking the gospel, we are assured of God’s blessing, power and grace upon us.  The danger we face is not the danger of the world’s assault on us. The real danger is our failure to address the world with a message of the gospel. Our message is not merely political, social, or intellectual. Only then can a culture be turned to righteousness. The law will not save us. It is only the gospel that will save.

 It is really impossible to fight spiritual battles in the power of the flesh. The result is that people often give up. And they give up because they have not framed the issue properly, nor have they addressed the issue from the perspective of the gospel. The temptation is to walk away, saying they are just tired of the conflict. And what good does it do to fight those battles and lose one’s own soul, one’s family, one’s walk with Christ because those battles were engaged in their own strength rather than in the power of Christ. The issues we face in our culture, and they are legion, are to be faced by prayer, by a Scriptural worldview, by true worship, by proclaiming the gospel. I realize this seems to be so weak, so ineffective, and so inadequate to the challenge. And yet the cross of Christ is the power of God to salvation. It is the hidden manner in which God works to accomplish his purposes.

 I am confident in, and must apply myself daily, to the reality of the gospel for my own life. This is true for us as a community, as families, and as a church. Only then will the danger of spiritual fatigue and loss of power be overcome. Our battles ultimately are not against flesh and blood, but against powers and principalities, against the rulers of darkness, against spiritual wickedness in the heavenly places. But it is there that Christ rules and from there, in the heavenly places that his kingdom advances. May we serve in his strength and power as we face the daily concerns of our lives.