The Ministry of "OK"

Last night, I found myself in a "stuff" meeting with other coordinators at Life Bridge.  We have different types of meetings each Monday, depending on the week of the month.  Some are for details.  Some are for long-term planning.  Others, still, are for evaluating the ministry effectiveness.  This last one was the focus of yesterday's time.

We spent the entire evening simply asking the question, "What are we celebrating that God is doing?"  The question spurred a time of excellent reflection.  Some of the answers came from ministries that are going on today.  Some of the celebrations came from ministries that occurred years ago, but we are seeing some of the results today.  There was one "ministry," however, that really caught my attention.

By the time we had finished talking about it, several of the team members had chimed in with a sparkle in their eyes.  They saw God working in this ministry, too.  It was the ministry of "OK."

Let me try to explain.

In most church ministries we had all been a part of before, the church approached ministry much like a business.  A vision is put together by the leadership.  Ministry positions are defined like jobs.  People are recruited to those ministry positions.  The bigger the vision, the more ministry positions available, the more slots to fill.  The better the leadership team is in filling these slots, the more people involved in ministry.

There's nothing wrong with this model.  It's a very valid way to help people live out their giftedness and, of course, accomplish God-honoring projects.  We use this model with everything from feeding the hungry and housing the homeless to organizing weekend services to help the whole church focus on God.

But what if someone doesn't fit that mold?  What if they have a set of talents that don't fit any of the ministry positions we have available?  In the business world, you don't need that person to accomplish your goals or vision.  In the Body of Christ, though, we cannot say, "I don't need you." (1 Corinthians 12:21)

What, then, should we do?

I'll tell you what we've learned to do.  We've learned to say, "OK."

"Does the church have a lawn mower for mowing the land?" "No."  

"I want to donate one."  "OK."

"Does the church have someone to mow the lawn?" "Not right now."  

"I'd like to do it every week." "OK."

"I'd like to bring in food for the coffee bar." "OK."

"I'd like to play the harmonica on the worship team. "OK."

"I've drawn up plans for steps to the camera booth.  Can I build them?" "OK."

"I'd like to work the first shift for the homeless shelter every week." "OK."

Now, we've never tried to empower someone to teach Greek and Hebrew unless they actually knew how to teach Greek and Hebrew.  But, you get the idea.  

The ministry of, "OK," has been probably the most effective ministry we've ever done.  It empowers people to use their gifts and follow their heart in a way that gives Glory to God.  Our part is simply to get out of the way and say, "OK."

What's God calling you to do as a part of His Body.  
Ask someone.  I'm guessing they'll say, "OK!"