Ministries Blog

By Rev. John W. Nupp

“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”

Matthew 4:17

When you rate the most important aspects of your ministry, what would you rank at the top? Balancing multiple demands can make life in ministry a constant challenge, but faithfulness in small things is not without its rewards. We may be tempted to count our sermons and lectures, our public acts of protest and the more dramatic cases of compassion as the most important. But in God’s economy, even something as mundane as posting a notice on a bulletin board can endure through the centuries!

This year marks the anniversary of Martin Luther nailing his 95 Theses to the door of the university church in Wittenberg. Taking issue with the practice of indulgences by way of this simple announcement set off a Reformation that continues to affect us 500 years later.  

Luther begins his notice by bearing reference to Jesus’ call to Repent (Matthew 4:17). Not a bad place to begin, since these are the words with which the ministry of Jesus begins. Jesus calls for “the entire life of believers to be one of penitence.” Penance, argues Luther, is not meant to become an administrative function of the institutional church, but rather a daily practice of life in the community of believers. Radical stuff, even today. 

Maybe 500 years of reformation talk has dulled our ears to just how radical this call to repent was, or is, or could be, in our world today.

If you don’t believe me, consider some of these questions that come straight from the original Reformation playbook:  In your ministry setting, who usually wields the power to interpret scripture? Is it primarily the most highly-educated clergy person who preaches?  And in spite of 500 years of reform, where do people point when someone asks for the “minister”?

In this book, The Second Reformation, missionary and pastor William Beckham describes some of the shifts that have yet to take place five centuries after the theological beginnings of the Protestant Reformation. We continue to perpetuate an over-reliance on clergy leadership. And whether we intend to or not, we continue to convey the Romish arrogance that clergy leaders are the sole interpreters of Scripture, the very voice of God in the congregation. Our church buildings and ecclesiastical structures continue to point inward toward this event horizon known as the Pastoral Ego. And we wonder why our political landscape is such a mess!

Is it any wonder Jesus begins his ministry with a call to repent?  Dear friends, the judgment of God does not begin with the world, but within the household of God. The place where God dwells, where God lives and moves and reigns, God’s realm, has drawn near. As leaders in that kingdom, in that house, we are called upon to be the first to repent of our own selfishness and sin. 

We have too long made the church about us, made its mission about our needs, made its budget about supporting us. We have been guilty of making repentance about the sins of those in political power, while ignoring our own desire for authority. We are apt to focus on personal sins among the unchurched, but less forthright in confessing our own need to repent.

But lest we be guilty, even in our repenting, of drawing even more attention to ourselves, let’s consider how we might act on this Reformation and set the Word and Spirit free...

We might take time to listen to others, to pay attention to the questions they raise when they read scripture. Rather than retreating to our study, we might consider stepping into the coffee shop or at least leading a mid-week discussion with laity, to listen to what they say to one another when they interpret God’s Word.  We might back up our lip-service of our belief in the “priesthood of all believers” by actually trusting others to act on the gifts God has given them. We can look for ways each day to encourage young adults and youth to step out in faith. We must do so with patience and consistency, just as the people who mentored us in ministry so patiently invested their lives in us year after year. 

One small step for Ordained Elders would be to begin treating Deacons and Local Pastors with some degree of respect! For starters, we have to learn the names of those serving in the churches we pass by every day. Imagine that! But learning names and attending meetings together is only the beginning of change.

When advances in communication produced an instant link between the Old World and the New through the first transatlantic cable, the news was celebrated as ushering in world peace: “This binds together by a vital cord all the nations of the earth. It is impossible that old prejudices and hostilities should longer exist, while such an instrument has been created for an exchange of thought between all the nations of the earth.” (Charles  F. Briggs & Augustus Maverick, The Story of the Telegraph and a History of the Great Atlantic Cable, New York:  Rudd & Carleton, 1858, p. 22). We know that the Reformation was not achieved by posting a piece of paper on a church door. It took years of prayerful study and miles of travel, many tearful choices and numerous mistakes along the way.  Communication alone is the not the answer. Unless we follow through with lives dedicated to changing the status quo for the sake of Jesus, our world will never know the power of God to transform and redeem.