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I am still hungry. I'm Josiah. That's Elena. That's Amy. This is the only podcast where we take and make spiritual and biblical truths and chat it up. All right. Now today we're talking about ministry, at least for the first part.
We'll see if we get into other things at the end. So, uh, my ladies here did a whole little outline for us, which is why I'm looking over there because there's a board with all the stuff written on it.
I'm a break the fourth wall kind of guy. Um, so ladies ministry. So our, our Greek definition, the most common Greek word used for the English word ministry is the Aconeo sounds a lot like Deacon because it is.
So, um, coming off the word do loss, serve servant to serve. That's what ministry means to serve others as their servants, as their slaves. So Elena, tell me why this topic, uh, was, uh, interesting to you.
And, uh, as you laid it out for us, just tell me.
Your initial thoughts on it. Go to me coming from a Southern Baptist background and, um, hearing the word ministry my entire life. Um, to me, I always equated that to working in the church, whether that's working in the children's department or, um, a Deacon or helping serve on Wednesday night.
I saw it as ministry meant working in the church, doing lesson plan things and playing a role like that. That's how I always saw it. And it interested me because growing up in that atmosphere, you get a lot of people with the pushback when people are asked, Hey, can you be in a ministry?
And they say, uh, Oh, just, uh, you know, let me pray about it. Let me, uh, see if that's where God wants me kind of thing. And so actually diving in and seeing what the biblical reason and the biblical standard is for ministry, it really did help me to actually realize that yes, there's a place for it in the church with serving in different organizations, but it's also the one-on-one ministry you have with other people.
And that's something that, you know, I have had to work on because that was not something that I was, I grew up in learning. And so that, that I think has been one of my biggest spiritual growth since I've actually been at Witten is serving others and ministering to others because I didn't think I had that ability for a long time because I don't know enough about the Bible.
I don't know, you know, what the right answer for this is or that is, but when it comes down to this person is hurting, I've been there. Let me show you how I handled that or in, you know, whether it was the correct way or not, here's the biblical way on how to do that.
Amy, would you say that your definition of ministry has changed as you have grown in the church? Or have you always kind of had that mindset that Elaine has arrived to now?
So, I'll just give you a little background for me. Growing up, my parents were both Christians. We grew up in church and I was saved from a very young age. And switching churches, I helped out a lot with whatever like VBS is and anything like that because a lot of my friends were also fairly involved in church.
So, I was just used to that. And also like growing up, my parents had me helping my neighbors with stuff. And that was just kind of instilled in me from a young age. But coming to Witten and being in more leadership roles, being around other very intentional leaders, definitely changed my mindset.
Because at first, I was doing it more of like, oh, yeah, so we have this event coming up, they need help. I'm free, like, let me go help. And then it changed to, all right, I am in leadership over these young minds.
So like a lot of children's ministries, like I'll have them for, you know, maybe just an hour, but I need to be more intentional. I need to be more in the word, not just for me, but also so that I know what I'm talking about and like, well, I'm over them or whatever.
So that's changed a lot for me. And that's really just helped me with ministry.
I think one of the biggest mistakes we make, see, lol, I put my elbow down. See that? He said this blocked a lot. I guess. Yeah, I mean, you know, we were talking about Islam and he says no one can see me, but no one has to see me.
I was talking about Islam. See, even right now when I put my hand up, I see what you're saying. Wow, that's amazing. All right, I'm going to sneeze within the next five minutes. Just watch, I feel it.
All right, so look, one of the biggest mistakes we make with that word ministry, I think Elena hit the nail on the proverbial head. We have people, even people that I respect, traveling the world, not part of a local church with a ministry named after themselves where they answered to no one but themselves.
I do kind of chuckle whenever I see men, again, even men that I respect, who name a ministry after themselves. What do you mean? Like, let's, Josiah Shipley Ministries. Oh, okay. That doesn't, that doesn't quite ring great, at least in my head, but even so, let's say that's a petty thing.
I don't think God ever intended for us to have traveling apologists, traveling ministers who are never, ever plugged into a local church. They do their own thing on their own schedule, are never under any other authority.
That doesn't sound to me like the original intention of God. But at any rate, I think one of the problems is when we say the word ministry, we think of, oh, that person in his ministry, we'll even put the possessive there, in his ministry, and what we mean is his life works and achievements in the spiritual realm of doing the things for the Lord.
But I think Elena's definition of ministry is when one believer serves another believer or other believers, I think that definition is far more consistently found in the New Testament than the former.
So Elena's going to take us through 1 Peter 2, and I can open, oh, you got it on your phone? Perfect. I'm just going to turn there in the old school way. But keep in mind, as Peter writes this, Peter would be, I guess, what we would call one of those big name ministers at that time.
He was the person with the programs. He was the guy with the conferences, if you will. But look at what he says about this word and how he applies it to all believers. So 1 Peter 2, do your thing, Elena.
You yourselves, like living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Christ Jesus. So basically this is telling us that all believers serve as priests by offering up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God.
So how we do this is by giving what God has already equipped us with.
And pouring it back into the church. I wonder how many believers in today's world know the New Testament calls all believers priests, not just elected officials or pastors. I wonder how many believers actually are aware of that.
A priest is not a office of the church. It is a description of all believers. Right. That might help with the scenario that you're.
Discussing. Well, it also calls us disciples, it calls us saints, and it calls us ministers. Right. So it specifically uses the word that we are ministers. And that's not just talking about pastors or deacons.
That's talking about all Christians all the time. And, you know,.
As Elena continues in 1 Peter 2, we'll probably see that more clearly. But I think one thing about this verse that sticks out to me is it says, we are living stones being built up a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices.
I think that's something super easy for us to read past and not think about to offer spiritual sacrifices. When we read that, we should think, OK, when the people Peter wrote to when they read the word sacrifice, what was the first thing that came to their mind?
Well, it would have been butchering an animal, setting it on a table and lighting it on fire. Think of the Levites. Right. The Levitical sacrificial system, an Old Testament ceremonial sacrifice. That's probably what they would have thought of.
He says we offer what? Spiritual sacrifice. Well, Paul goes in detail about this in Romans 12. Basically, he says every day we offer a living sacrifice as opposed to a dead one. And it is the. It is offering our bodies and our minds as a constant renewal.
So when Elena speaks of ministry actually being and I hope some of you listen to this, when Elena speaks of ministry as being one believer serving other believers, that is the idea of offering your body, your comforts, your desires, whatever it is, as that spiritual, excuse me, spiritual sacrifice to God.
So, Elena, you said all Christians are disciples. What do you mean by that? Because I thought there were only.
12 of those. In that I am speaking about Matthew 28. Would you read that for me, Amy? Matthew.
28, 18 through 20. Jesus came near and said to them, all authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you.
And remember, I am with you always to the end of the age.
So we are called to go out and make other disciples. We are supposed to go out. It's the Great Commission. We are called to go and say, look, I was lost. I was in horrible shape and there was nothing that I could do on my own.
But look what Christ has done for.
Me and now look what I get to do for him. Yeah, that's the right attitude to have. Ladies, are you aware, I'm sure you are, of definitionally, what's the difference between disciple and.
Apostle? Miracles, right? It was God appointed the apostles to be able to perform miracles.
And speak. Well, sure, sure. But what does the word disciple mean? You can phone your.
Camera. Man, Lowell, if you need to. Phone a friend. I hate putting names. He said it.
Right. Did he say uh oh? Yes. That's close. Follower, right? Follower. Disciple means follower or student, right? You would have gotten there. I think so. Or student, right? So, when the scripture speaks of the twelve disciples, he's referring to the twelve students, the twelve followers, specifically those.
It's not a classification that only they are disciples. When it more specifically calls them apostles, we know the word apostle means one who is sent. So, the apostles of Jesus, as Elena was getting to before I cut her off, the apostles of Jesus are the twelve men specifically sent out by Jesus himself.
That's the twelve apostles. So, in one sense, we're all apostles in that we've all been sent, as Amy just read from Matthew, but we're not all apostles of Jesus because we have not been hand-picked personally by Jesus as the twelve apostles were.
In fact, there can be no more apostles of Jesus. I know there are guys out there running around calling themselves that and ladies. That's impossible because the apostles were hand-selected by Jesus personally.
So, that would no longer be a functioning office. But, at any rate, I did turn to John 12 when you need me to, Elena. Go for it. So, this is John 12, 26, and it says, this is Jesus speaking. If anyone serves me, he must follow me.
That was straightforward. Let me read that again. If anyone serves me, he must follow me. And where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him. What are we getting at, Elena?
With that, it was just the fact that for us to be able to disciple others, we have to be a disciple of Christ. If we are not able to say, hey, follow me because I follow Christ, then we're not ministering to anyone properly to a point where they can actually have good leadership in knowing what they are trying to accomplish and making sure that the standard for us is the same that we are trying to keep for those that we disciple.
And we see again.
The operative word is serve. Again, in Matthew and John, the operative word is serve. That would be Elena's definition of ministry, which is passing the test of the New Testament thus far. But, so Elena says we're all ministers, which means, and we'll get to that in a minute, that we're all servants of each other.
Elena says that we're all disciples, and Amy agrees with Matthew's take on that, that we're all students, followers of Jesus. But, I think one point to be made, and this is one that I think gets lost in a lot of churches today, and unfortunately, unfortunately in this one, my Roman Catholic friends, you guys are probably the most guilty of this one.
The scripture describes all of us as saints. That is not a super Christian. That is not someone who's performed a miracle and died as a martyr. That is not somebody who has a glowing halo around their head when Leonardo da Vinci, or Leonardo DiCaprio, for anyone who wants to get those confused, which often happens, or the Ninja Turtle, draws you and has a glowing thing around your face.
That also is not a saint. The word saint means holy and set apart by God. That would be anyone who is a Christian. And just for proof of that, when Paul writes his letter to the Philippians and to the Ephesians, he refers to all of them as saints.
Amy, would you read chapter 4 of the book of Ephesians? Let's do verse 11 and 12, I guess.
And he himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, equipping the saints for the work of ministry to build up the body of Christ.
Right. He gave all those special offices the ability to equip the saints. The scripture makes no sense if you read the word saint as a super Christian. Because then that scripture would be saying he gave these super Christians the ability to equip super Christians.
Right. Saint is someone who is made holy, not that's holy on their own. And Linden, did you have a comment on that passage? So read that one more time for me, Amy, would you?
What sticks out to me is that he's already equipped us for the calling that he has for us.
Yeah, for those of you who couldn't tell based on that, there's a motion light and I guess it normally doesn't go off because there's enough of us making motion. Who's not Anna? She never stops. She's the one not here.
But watch this. I bet if I I don't want this. I like this. This is like, hey, just yell at it. Come on. I think yelling at it. What if I throw something at it? It's a clapping. Yeah. Clap off. Clap on.
Clap off. I went through my keys. Let's see if it works. Ready? I wanted that to work. I really wanted that to work, man. I really wanted that to work. Oh, yeah. Lowell's the only camera guy today, so he's doing camera stuff, sound stuff and lighting.
What a man. What a man. What a man. That is why he is my ninth favorite dude on planet Earth. Wow. Pretty high up. There's a lot of people. That's pretty good. But back to Ephesians 4. Well, let's let's elbow back there, not just back.
Let's elbow. No. Thank you for participating. You're welcome. I hate.
Myself for it. It's fine. He he makes very clear that we already have everything that we need, that we are equipped with everything that we need to do what he has called us to do in ministry, whether that's one on one ministry or whether that's a specific ministry in the church that your church has going on.
There is a place where you will fit. Say that.
Sentence again. Say that sentence again. That was so perfect. The one about starting where the one about no matter where you're at in your church, there is a. No matter where you're at in your church, there is a place for you 100 percent where you can serve.
Yes. It's.
Not something that we have to do the whole. Oh, let me pray about it. Or I don't feel.
Called to that ministry. Yeah, I think there's two things there underlying what Elena just said, and this will be the part that someone's going to get offended. But listen to what she just said again.
Whenever we have someone join the church and they say, what programs do you have to offer? That immediately tells me that person doesn't understand what a church is. That immediately tells me their whole mindset.
It does not understand what a church is. What can I get out of it? Right. That person. Does not know what the scripture says a church is. A church is a place where you have the privilege of serving other believers.
And just. If we could go back to probably one of Jesus's most applicable analogies to the church today. It would be in the book of Matthew, where in the end of all days he separates goats and sheep, wheat and tares, however you want to do it, the righteous and the unrighteous believers and nonbelievers.
And he looks at the believers and he says, blessed are you. When I was hungry, you gave me food and when I was thirsty, you gave me drink and I was sick. You came in, you know, all this stuff. Well, just think about that moment for a minute.
How many believers are going to be there at the end of the age? Billions upon billions. Yes. Let's just think for a minute. How many of them ever saw Jesus in person? Far less than 1%. Is that fair? Of all believers in the history of the far less than 1%.
How many of those ever saw him hungry or thirsty? A very small percentage. So it's like you can put yourself in that scene and there's the one guy, that one kid in class that says the teacher hasn't assigned the homework yet.
That dude raises his hand and says, dear Lord Jesus master. Oh, excuse me. When did we see you hungry or thirsty? And the rest like, shut up. He thinks that we fed him. When did we see you hungry or sick or thirsty?
You know, I, I lived in South America in the 1800s. I, I was so far removed from me. I never saw you hungry or thirsty. And what does Jesus answer? He said, if you've done it for each other, you've done it to me.
That's incredible. But the, the analogies of scripture make sense with that. If we quit just reading them as church words, if he calls the church, the body of Christ, then if you feed that body, you are feeding Christ.
It makes sense. So it's not just that Elena gets to serve Amy. It's that as Elena serves Amy, she's serving Jesus. Isn't that incredible? Like that, that it shocks me every time I read it. So with that being said, Elena, this is the part where you prove, hold on.
I want to read Romans 12, six through eight touches on this too. Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us. Let us use them. If prophecy in proportion to our faith is service in our serving, the one who teaches in his teaching, the one who exhorts in his exhortations, the one who contributes in generosity, the one who leads with zeal, the one who does acts of mercy with cheerfulness.
Yes. I mean, right there, it just, it tells you every single gift that you were given, no matter what it is, there's a use for it. And you can shy away from it. You can try and say, oh, well, I, you know, make excuses all day long, up and down, back and forth.
Cause I mean, I did that for years. I'm not going to lie. It's, it's one of those things where you have to get out of your comfort zone and just realize this isn't about me. It's not about what I want.
It's not about what I can get out of it. Cause serving most of the time when you serve, you're not serving because you get something out of it. That defeats the purpose of what serving is. And so whether it's in ministry to, to your local body or to your family at home, your friends, anything, serving means you are getting outside of yourself and actually sacrificing something.
Of yourself for someone else. There's a perfect example. We don't have to talk in abstract. There's a perfect example of this in this room. I mean, the three of us being here talking is not overly difficult, but let's say you've been working six to seven days a week for the past four months.
And then your one day off, you come up here to record a podcast for which the other three people don't actually know what's going on. They're just talking in a microphone, but you get up here to set everything up, to make it happen, to record it.
That would be the act of service. You get nothing out of it. Your first day off, your first day off in, in three months, that act of service is a perfect example of what Alina just read. That it all different functions, all different roles.
If it's morning time, all different biscuits, cause roles are later in the day. I just, um, I just gave you a shout out. You can't. Thank you. Love you. But Alina, this is the part where you prove that we're all ministers, not just pastors.
Go. All right. I have miss Amy Lewis turning.
To, I'm sorry, I was supposed to say the last name. Oh well, too late. It's fine. Amy, can.
You turn to first Peter three, nine and 10 please? There's an asterisk by that one. Asterisk. What did I say? What is it? Asterisk. Asterisk. Yeah. What did I say? Asterisk. Okay. I believe that you're right.
I don't know that I've ever heard it pronounced how you just said it. The right way. No, no, no, no. I'm not arguing with, I'm saying, I don't think I've.
Ever heard. I had to like correct myself. I was like, that can't be right. And I looked.
In front of the podcast on something that you yourself had to correct yourself on. Because.
I had to be corrected too, so now I'm helping you. By yourself? I'm discipling you in the.
Way to correctly say it. Yes, ma 'am. Yes, ma 'am. I apologize. First Peter. Two, nine, three, 10? Uh, yes. Yeah. Get it right or she'll correct you. I'm looking for corrections. So many comments. I'm glad someone is.
Yeah. I'm about to say. Anyway, uh, sometimes. So,.
But you are a chosen race, a Royal priesthood, a Holy nation, a people for his possession so that you may proclaim the praises of the one who called you out of darkness and his marvelous, marvelous light.
Once you were not a people, but now you're a God's people. You had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. There's a really old school.
Song called marvelous light by Charlie Hall. It's an old school song, but dude, it's a good one. And she's looking at Angie out of darkness, out of shame by the cross. Oh, I love that song. I still listen to it.
That's a good one. All right. Anyway. So we have here, Peter, uh, and he says that we may proclaim his excellencies, his praises of the one who called us out of darkness and into marvelous light. Why do you think this shows that we're all ministers Elena?
Because it shows that we were called out for a purpose.
Yes. Yes. So if we're ignoring that purpose, then what are we doing with the ministry that God has called us to? Are we doing anything with it? And if so, how is that helping your fellow believer? How is that helping yourself?
How is, how is there sacrifice? And, uh, second Samuel, what's the verse in second Samuel that says I will not sacrifice to God that which costs me nothing. Oh, wow. That's excellent. And that I've actually, I've had that verse written inside my jewelry box since I was fifth or sixth grade.
I can't remember the reference and that's really bad because I've had it in there so long. But, um, but that idea of what am I sacrificing? What am I giving up so that it's not about me? Because if it's about me and what I can get from it or, um, or anything related to me, myself and I, then I'm wrong in my ministry because it's not about me.
Nothing that I do in the ministry is for me or for really, if you look at it from the biblical perspective, we are supposed to work as for the Lord and not for man. So it's really not even about the people we're serving.
It's not about anything except for bringing glory to God. And that's what everything.
Comes back to. That is the chief end of man, if you will. And if, if, if people hear nothing else out of this, you know, they may look at the title of this, you know, what is ministry or something like that.
Uh, real creative, right Lowell? Yeah. And they might say, if their initial reaction, if their initial reaction is, um, pastor, something like that, then they might think, well, why are there two women on the podcast talking about it?
That's because ministry is not simply a pastoral, a deacon office. Ministry is the job of all believers as we've already proven. And, um, if, if we're already there, chapter four says.
It even more clearly. Do your thing, Amy. Uh, first Peter four, 10 and 11. Yeah. Just as each one has received a gift, use it to serve others as good stewards of the very grace of God. If anyone speaks, let it be as one who speaks God's words.
If anyone serves, let it be from the strength God provides so that God may be glorified through Jesus Christ in everything to him, be the glory and the power forever and ever. Amen. There's another.
Word right there that's used in old school Christendom that a lot of people use and don't know what it means. Does anyone know what stewardship means? Lord of the Rings fans should get this better than others.
Of course, that is a, that is a stage of sanctification. I don't know that some of our listeners are at yet, but a steward is what? Oh, I just used the definition, the word in the definition. You can't, but I wasn't going to correct you on it.
I was just going to put a little asterisk next to it and then go. All right. So look, a steward is a caretaker of something that is not theirs, but they have the authority to take care of it until the owner returns to claim that which is his.
That's what a steward is. So if you remember in Return of the King, the steward of Gondor is not the king. He is simply the placeholder with the authority, the placeholder until the rightful king comes and takes that which is his.
And that's a pretty good example. So I want you to look here at what it says in verse 10. As each one has received a gift, use it to serve one another. The point of God giving you gifts, blessings, whatever, is to use it to serve each other as good stewards of God's very grace, because it's not actually yours.
God has given it to you for a purpose and you are holding on to it for your time in your temporary. Temporary. Thank you, Asterix. In temporary dwelling place here on this planet, you are holding his gift and not burying it in the sand and then returning it to him with no interest 40 years from now.
You are investing it in someone else to make a profit, not for yourself, but for God with that gift. It's amazing how much biblical analogies flow when you just use them together with each other, right?
Huh, hermeneutic. I love how that works. Pretty amazing. So look, the gifts that God has given you to share with other people are not to be seen as coming from your own, nor are they to be ignored. There is no excuse.
Ladies and gentlemen, there is no excuse to not use the gifts, skills and talents God has given you to serve somebody else. You. Any excuse you bring up will be silenced by looking at any example from the scripture.
Any excuse you have, cowardice, fatigue, introversion. I have a stutter. Yeah, exactly, exactly. There will be no excuse for any of us.
Man, I could talk on that though because for the longest time, I would just let my insecurities, y 'all probably don't know about this, but I would just let my insecurities take over and just be like, well, you know, who am I to go give advice, you know, or lead and be in this ministry, teach, whatever.
And having spiritual people in ministry just pour into me and help me get over that and speak truth to me and be like, all right, that's a terrible excuse. Get over yourself. Can't imagine who told you that.
Yeah, no one in this room. But, you know, it's just really helped me because it's just so sad how people make so many excuses, me, people, hi, to not go do something as little as go pray for someone because it's like, oh, I don't want to sound stupid.
I'm scared of like how I'm going to sound. It's going to be awkward. Like, oh my gosh, what if that person is having a terrible day and they really need prayer for something and you going and just talking to them, not even praying, but like just talking to them and reaching out and making them feel seen.
Yeah. And I think that's something that our church is very heavy on is because I remember I think I remember maybe three times my entire from three years old to 16 at my old church. I think I saw someone go down to the altar three times at the church because everyone just kept their hands on the back.
It was probably more than that. But I can remember three times because I was like, oh, that's just, you know, beyond people walking up to get saved or something like that. But that is something that is pushed a lot here is repentance and making sure, hey, you're not above reproach.
Not someone else. My butt needs to be down there.
Right. It's not just, hey, go pray over this person. It's no, I need to get right before I can go and do my ministry. Well, or, you know, even taking someone down and praying with them or something like that, because you're like, oh, no, they're going to see that, you know, I have a problem.
Weakness, vulnerability. Right. And that's a big thing for me is vulnerability. It's hard. It is hard to say, hey, I'm struggling. But what's better is when someone comes up alongside you and says, OK, but I've been there.
Let me walk. Let me come up beside you and walk through it with you.
So three weeks ago, two weeks ago. Low honesty is important. What's more honest for me to say two weeks ago, which is true right now, or knowing that this will air next week to say three weeks ago.
You can also do the southern thing and just say the other day, the other day, yesterday or two years down the road. Yeah. So.
And, you know, because, you know, couple should not be a arbitrary word, couple means two, but people use that to mean anywhere between two and nine, which is incorrect. A few is that. Thank you. Hold up five fingers.
A couple is always too few is three to eleven because twelve is a dozen. This is not difficult. Skipping six. That's a half dozen. This is easy. Anyway, now I want a couple of me to five fingers a couple weeks ago.
We several of us went to a boxing tournament in Biloxi, Mississippi. And was this close? Which camera? I need to look at it. Which camera?
I was just lied. Yeah, that was a lie. That was last week. Saturday was a week from today. No, no, no.
If it was unintentional, it's not a lie. Incorrect. OK, you're incorrect. Discussion. OK, I was incorrect. A week ago was this close to winning. I was in the finals. So that would have been two grand.
That hurt a little bit, didn't it? No. Well, the money was for the church. I know, but still. Oh, I thought you meant it hurt. Yeah. Hey, we'll turn that light back on. Thank you. But. Oh, so beforehand, we were all in one room, all 50 fighters, all 50 fighters.
Now, weigh in. You're not sure who's actually in your vision. So you're sizing people up like, yeah, that guy is probably my vision. I'm probably going to fight him. That guy looks like he's had a couple extra pieces of cake.
He's not invited. You know, that guy needs a cheeseburger. He's not invited. Right. So because there was just. But those of us who were experienced in fighting already know what's happening. So we're all sitting in there and everyone's quiet.
And then you have the one guy who tries to make a joke or says something very crass. But in reality, the experienced people like myself in this example, knows that everyone in the room is afraid. The newer people are not aware that everyone in the room is afraid, so they try to act not afraid when all the experienced people are looking at each other like that guy's afraid.
When in the church, once you realize that everyone's stuff stinks, once you realize that everybody is insecure, once you realize that everyone is a broken piece of pottery being mended, once you realize that everyone really messes it up in some area, once you realize that everyone is in that kind of boat, it's a whole lot easier to not feel any type of way about going down to the altar and praying or raising your hand or whatever it may be.
It doesn't matter anymore. Right. Because you recognize, oh, not only is this one of those environments, but most of the people are aware this is one of those environments where everyone's fully aware that their stuff stinks too.
That really goes a long way. I recognize that first in fighting and then it transferred to the church. Amazing how that works.
All right. Can we talk about burnout for a minute, though? Burnout. Because we've talked about those who are not serving, but why they should. But for those who are actively serving, who are just worn down, who are tired, who, like, how do you get past that?
How do you take that step to remember why you're doing it and, you know, keep going?
For me, I think one of the biggest things before we get to it on an individual basis, when the Scripture talks about bearing one another's burdens, or if you have to, armadillo or anteater one another's burdens or however you've got to do it, I think one of the biggest keys is that you do that when they're serving.
You go and help them carry the load. So, for example, if person X calls Lowell tomorrow and says, hey, next week I got the podcast, or if person Y calls Rebecca and says, hey, don't worry about cooking the Wednesday night meal, I got it.
That is not only how you keep other people from being burnt out, that in itself is an act of service, you taking that person's place, even if it's just once or twice. So, I would say, first off, believer, you go be that for somebody else makes a big difference.
As far as how to keep yourself from getting that, there's a lot of ways I could answer that personally, and it may go down a different route than you were intending. So, there's a mindset aspect of it, but then there's also a functional aspect of it.
Mindset aspect is a heavy dose of get over it, Hebrew says you've not resisted to the point of shedding blood, but also there is a time for a Sabbath. There is, and that's what other brothers and sisters are for.
That's why one of the most important things in ministry is training up others who can replace you. There is an aspect of self-survival there. But as far as a functional thing, just to be quite frank with you, discipline.
Why not Mike or Jerry? Hold up five fingers.
Y 'all see what just happened? Someone who claimed to hate the way I do that, I have now... I was being sarcastic. Man, I didn't know it was done. I have now reproduced... I'm going to tell you a story real quick.
Hold on, can we finish the point? There were so many puns when I worked at my last job at Evergreen. I love that place. Before I left, someone said, Josiah, tell another Josiah joke. And what they meant by the words Josiah joke was a pun.
A part of speech, if you will, was rebranded with the name Josiah joke. That's power.
I'm going to get you a shirt that says, ask me about my Josiah joke.
So yes, when anyone told a pun, they said that's a Josiah joke. Now there was one member of our church who also worked there, who was visibly upset that people were referring to it as a Josiah joke. So for ten minutes, they had a debate on whether or not they should be called Josiah jokes or puns.
And I sat in the back, in a chair, just overhearing, recognizing that I had arrived. It's over. I've already won. If we're rebranding jokes, it doesn't matter. And they're so funny, people laugh at the idea of laughing at them.
That's influence. Anyway, why am I talking about my jokes? I don't know. Because she made one. A Josiah joke, that is. I apologize to everyone. Can't take it back. Including myself. And see, even those laughs count as mine.
Even those count as mine. Me laughing at myself counts as a laugh for you. Why were you laughing at yourself?
See, this is like the whole evolution. Don't fall into his trap. This is the whole evolution thing. They can play that game all day long. I'm just going to say where that came from. What were we talking about?
We were talking about the discipline of not getting burnt out. And let me tell you how. I'm a serious regiment. Having a disciplined regiment so that it doesn't feel like an extra thing. It feels like a regular thing.
That's a big thing for me. Someone speak.
Go ahead, Amy. So, honestly, calling people out sometimes feels weird. A lot of it is just laziness. I've been there. That's been me. That's been me before. But a lot of it is just people don't want to commit.
And they see it more of my time. And I'm like, alright, so God created the universe. God created time. It's not yours.
You're a steward of it. Yeah. So, let's go over that one again. And I think that's where the balance is. I have a perfect example. I think the balance of that is there is a time for a Sabbath where God would not have created it.
So, I'm not denying that. I need that. That was yesterday for me. At the same time, if your Sabbath magically needs to come up every time something hard comes about, or instead of once a week, for example, it's every other day, that's laziness.
But what's your example?
My example would be we all have the same amount of time, right? Yeah. We have the same amount of time.
So true, isn't it? It's astounding how true that is.
It's crazy because, I mean, I didn't even think about this until a few weeks ago when my son came up to me and asked if he could play video games. Well, it was like 11 .30 and I said, okay, just realize that you have this amount of time to play video games or eat lunch because we are leaving at this time.
Right. And he said, okay. And so he went up and he played video games. I called him and I said, hey, it's time to go. Well, he was the only one that didn't stop playing video games to actually eat. So he came down all upset.
Well, now I want to eat. I haven't eaten. I said, okay. Well, you chose not to eat. And he said, no, I didn't have time. I said, no, you had the same time as everybody else.
You chose to do something else with your time. I'm trying to figure out which boy that would have been. Can I guess? One of the twins. It was definitely one of the twins. Aaron. No.
Oh, Zeke. What are you doing, bro? No. What are you doing, Zeke? Yeah, he has that thing where he wants to reason about everything. And so just trying to make that point. And he's like, but I didn't have enough time.
It's like, yes, you did. You just didn't use it wisely. And I think that's something we fall into all the time. I do myself. I say, oh, well, I don't have time to get into this ministry. Or I don't have time to add another thing to my schedule.
Okay. But how much time does it take to text somebody and say, hey, where are you at this week? And then you have the hours that you scroll on social media, on all these things. And quit trying to interrupt me, sir.
I'm still talking. I apologize. Please don't. Please, asterisk.
I did it right. Is that my new name? Apparently, yeah. He's just going to have an asterisk next to my name. You can't say don't interrupt you and then talk about asterisks. Okay. So don't interrupt me.
Where was I?
But we all have the same amount of time. What are we doing with that time? Are we using it wisely for the glory of God? Or are we using it for self-interest, whether that's what we want to do, whether that's playing video games, whether it's even just, you know, sitting down, relaxing, watching a show.
There's a time and place for all that. But what you said I think is really strong is the regimen and having the, okay, what's next? Okay, what's next? Not the, oh, well, let me give myself ten minutes.
I just did something. I'm going to sit down and just doom scroll. And next thing you know, it's been two hours. I don't know what that's like. But I think that's a lot of it is people are like, oh, I don't have time for that.
No, it's what are you doing with your time that is more important than serving God.
In any aspect. I think the example Elena just gave, I think one of the biggest problems with people getting involved in ministry is they think of ministry as big things. They think of it as involving a microphone on a Sunday morning.
They think of it as being on a street corner or at an abortion clinic. I'm not saying those things aren't. But she said texting somebody and saying, hey, how you doing? How can I pray for you today? When someone says they don't have time for ministry, either they don't understand what ministry is or they don't understand the Bible.
Because you may not be equipped to do X, Y, and Z. But you can pick up the phone, call someone, say, hey, I'm about to go pray with my wife. I'm about to go pray with my husband. How can I include you in that?
That takes so little time, so little effort. There's zero excuse for any of us, any of us in that realm. All right. We got one more scripture, or excuse me, two more scriptures to go. I've got 1 Corinthians.
Amy, if you've got Colossians. Oh, it's 7 through 17. You have the long one. Look at that. We should switch. I've been reading the most. Fine. I'll do Colossians. Y 'all have just been beating me up and making fun of me and yelling at me this whole time.
Yeah, payback.
How? When have I ever done that to you? So when we were talking about lying earlier?
I'm asking when I've ever done that.
Like dates? How many dates do you want to do this?
Colossians chapter 4, verse 7 through 17 says this. By the way, the title of this subnote on Alina's excellent handwriting, and that's no sarcasm, that's pretty good, says that Paul recognized those in ministry.
So in Colossians 4, he recognized other people for their ministry. He said, Tychicus will tell you about all my activities. He's a beloved brother, faithful minister, and fellow servant in the Lord. I've sent him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are, and that he may encourage your hearts.
And with them is Anesimus. By the way, if you're unaware, that is the runaway slave from the book of Philemon. That would be Anesimus, who is about to return with the book of Philemon and the book of Colossians.
The letter, I should say. Anesimus, our faithful and beloved brother, which is one of you. They will tell you of everything that's taken place here. Aristocarchus, that was my best guess. My fellow prisoner greets you, and Mark, the cousin of Barnabas.
Concerning those of you who have received instructions, if he comes, welcome him. And Jesus, who is called Justice. By the way, please get out of the mindset that Jesus was a unique name. Jesus was a rather common name in first century Palestine.
These are the only men of circumcision among my fellow co-workers of the kingdom of God. They have been a comfort to me. Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ Jesus, greets you. Always struggle on your behalf in his prayers, that he may stand mature and fully assured in the will of God.
For him I bear witness, he has worked hard for you, and for those in Laodicea and in Hierapolis. Luke, the beloved physician, greets you, as does Demas. Unfortunately, Demas is a man who later on betrayed Paul and abandoned the faith and left him.
But the rest of these remain faithful. Give my greetings, by the way that should be a, how should I say, a lesson for us. There will be those that will not stay faithful. Give my greetings to the brothers at Laodicea and to Nympha and the church in her house.
And when this letter has been read among you, have it also read to the church of Laodiceans, and see that you also read the letter from Laodicea. Say to Archippus, see you, that you fulfill the ministry that I received of the Lord.
Paul is just giving shout-out after shout-out after shout-out after shout-out, isn't he?
And that's something our pastors do very, very well too, is they make sure that they continue that encouragement, especially when they know someone is struggling. But even before that, I mean, I think I've been encouraged by more people here than I ever have in my entire life, if I'm going to be honest, because it's something that y 'all are called to make sure that your sheep are doing what they're supposed to do, but you're also making sure they have what they need to do what they need to do, including their attitudes, including making sure that their hearts are where they're supposed to be.
I mean, you never know how someone just saying, hey, you're doing a really good job, keep it up. Or, you know, I'm so grateful you're doing this. It goes a long way. It goes a lot more than you think, because...
Stuff like that has changed my outlook for a whole week. Like, encouragements like that has changed my, I mean...
It lasts so long, because it's no different than when someone tears you down. You overthink that for how long? Years? Oh, man. I'm still rethinking things I did in high school. A long time. I won't tell you how long that was.
How long ago that was. And Miss Amy, do you have the last one for you? 1 Corinthians 16.
Brothers and sisters, you know the household of Stephanas. They're the firstfruits of Achaia, and have devoted themselves to serving the saints.
So, again, he's just doing another shout-out.
And there it is right there, like you already said, Elena. He has devoted himself to what? To preaching sermons? To teaching Sunday school lessons? To singing in the choir? No. He's devoted himself to service of the saints, which we've already defined as all Christians.
Guys, if you haven't figured out yet, ministry is you serving other believers, no matter what role you play. There it is.
Hold on. Read... Go, go, Amy. 17 and 18, too.
Go, Amy. I am delighted to have Stephanas... Say it with confidence. Okay. Fortunatus and Archaicus present, because these men have made up for your absence. For they have refreshed my spirit and yours.
Therefore, recognize such people.
It's right there. I mean, he tells them, hey, they've lifted my spirit because of what they've said about me and my ministry. Give recognition to your people because we need it. Because we need to know that we need to continually be encouraged.
Not as like a pat on the back as in, you know, you yourself are doing this and we're proud of you so that we can build you up. No, it's so that we can say God is working through you and we see it.
Sometimes we end our staff meeting at this church with thankfulness or encouragement to other people in the room. That kind of stuff just lights people up. And unfortunately for many of our congregants, for many of the people in this church, this might be the only place in their life where they hear someone say, good job.
Yep. Yeah, we can never forget that. All right. Well, ladies, anything else before we wrap up?
If you appreciate someone's ministry, whether that's to your children or a ministry that you are active in or someone that has poured into you and helped you spiritually, then go up to them and let them know.
Because more often than not, they don't know the impact that they are having. And more than likely they could use that pat on the back and that uplift that you could give them just by saying, hey, thank you for being there for this.
Or thank you for teaching my child this verse and spending your time. Because children's ministry is so hard, guys. I mean, I….
RAs for four years. Those are long four years. I think I aged 13 years in those four years.
I mean, children's ministry in itself is difficult. And those in that ministry get burned out. I would argue to say faster than most ministries in the church because it's a lot more energy consuming. So much energy is poured into those kids, whether you realize it or not.
You're exhausted by the end. You have to. But just stopping and saying to those who are in those ministries, thank you for putting this together for my kids to be able to come and to learn and to love.
And I can know that they're safe and that they're learning biblical truths when under your care. I mean, just saying that to people, it makes all the difference. Fantastic. Well….
You got something? Words cannot describe not only how much I have to go to the bathroom, but also how much those encouragements can impact other people's lives and give them the energy to continue on.
So be that for somebody else this week. Don't just sit there on your phone watching this. Be that for somebody else. Pick up your phone right now. Call. Text somebody. Be that encouragement. In so being, be that minister to them.
And be the person, like you said, that comes up besides someone and says, hey, do you want me to do this next week or do you want me to help you out sometime in the next month? If you have the time available, even if you don't, find it.
I mean, you can make excuses all day long. You can rearrange your schedule for a week. One time. Right. But if you know someone who is burning out or you see them slowly fading, even if they're doing a great job and you don't see any of those things, offer to help anyway.
Because you never know. And like Pastor Josiah was saying, it makes all the difference to those who are trying to actively be in a ministry and continue that without burning out. It is difficult.
It is very difficult. The need, the work, the harvest is as plentiful as the hydration. All right. Very much appreciate you guys listening. That was fun. Don't know what we'll do next time. We'll be a little spotty.
We're going to get a couple episodes in in June, even with mission trips going on. But it might be a little spotty bear with us or lion with us or whatever you got to do. Or canopy stripey. Thank you.
Up top. Until next time. Deuces.
