Legitimate Ministry?

Melissa and I are always cautious to use words like “ministry” and “organization” because they have such complex meanings in modern “Christianity” (also a tricky word).

We’ve been critical of a lot of forms of ministry and traditional churches because we think in many cases they’re wasteful or self-seeking.

Nonetheless, Melissa and I, as well as a group of other individuals, wish to start an urban ministry in Columbus’ inner city.

So a fair question is, what makes us think we’re so special?

It’s a fair question, and we have a fair answer if you’re willing to accept it.  In the end, it comes down to whether or not we can be trusted to do the things that we say we will.

This ministry will look like every other ministry in the world in many ways.  There will be a group of people devoted to sharing Jesus’ message and fulfilling the needs of the poor and broken around us.

But, we think it will operate so much differently.  We think this ministry will manifest itself closer to the ideal presented in the book of Acts, closer to the way the people who saw the physical person of Jesus thought it should be done.

We are starting a legitimate urban ministry.  Simply said.

But this ministry will differ from many ministries in the following ways:

No one derives any income from the ministry
There’s no formal leader
The ministry is self-sustaining
The ministry isn’t growth oriented

We’ll elaborate more on these in the next few days, one at a time.

This isn’t a sales pitch.  This is, in simple language, what we believe the church should resemble.

We think that we ought to share that with you and see what you think.

Seriously, don’t be afraid to be overly-critical as we lay these out.  Maybe they’re wrong, maybe they need to be rethought.

Comments

I think the success of such an enterprise is hinged on the same variable that makes socialism a success or a failure.  It all depends on the commitment, humility, and integrity of those involved. 

Being one who recognizes Jesus as Lord, and is a Socialist, I hope and pray for your success.