EFFECTIVE MINISTRY IN MODERN TIMES
Rev. Sajesh Mathews, Dharma Jyoti Vidya Peeth,
Faridabad, Haryana
Celebrated Austrian
psychiatrist and Holocaust survivor Viktor Frankl remains
best-known for his indispensable 1946 psychological memoir Man’s
Search for Meaning. Frankl introduces his concept on ‘Existential
Vacuum’ or meaninglessness or emptiness. He uses the term ‘existential’ in
three ways. Firstly the term refers to existence itself, which is specifically
human mode of being. Secondly it refers to the meaning of existence. Thirdly it
refers to the striving to find
meaning in personal existence. Emptiness is not an experience of those who are
lonely but it is for all those who failed to find meaning in their life. For
Frankl, it is an experience where people think that their life has no purpose,
no challenge and no obligation. People who go through this vacuum try to fill
with material things, pleasure, sex, power or job. The quest for meaning or question about one’s
own existence in the world is significant in relation with ministry. Why am I
living for? What is the purpose of my life? These are pertinent questions which
everyone has to ask himself or herself.
Ministry
from Biblical and Theological Perspectives
The word Ministry has come from the
Greek word diakoneo, meaning "to serve" or douleuo, meaning "to
serve as a slave." In the New Testament, ministry is seen as service to
God and to other people in His name. Jesus provided the pattern for Christian
ministry.
“For the son of man also came not to be served but to serve, and to give his
life as a ransom for many”- Mark 10:45. This is the fundamental basis of
Christian ministry. Ministry is a service to others without expecting any
reward. Jesus is the model of a suffering servant who emptied and denied
himself to serve the world and to redeem the world. Jesus ministry was to
transform humanity. He recognized their worth and dignity and taught them to
serve others. He healed their physical infirmities and he opened their eyes to
see spiritual realities. He fed the hungry and released those who were in
bondages. The central purpose of his ministry is found in Luke 4: 18-19, often
called as the Nazareth Manifesto. Jesus has quoted prophet Isaiah’s words to
declare the task of his ministry saying, ‘to bind the broken, liberate the
captives, release the imprisoned and comfort those who mourn’.
There are three distinct ministries in the Old Testament namely, the prophetic, the priestly, and the kingly. These three
are essential within the covenantal relation between Yahweh and Israel. Israel
was a called out community which engaged with other communities and proclaimed
their faith in the living God. The election and call of Israel is the
foundation of the service of Israel to God. Prophets, priests, kings were the
chosen people who shared God’s vision. In the New Testament the ministries
of prophets, priests and kings come to fulfillment in Jesus Christ, who is
himself the Prophet, Priest, and King. Jesus continued his ministry through
apostles. The Twelve were chosen, appointed, ordained, and sent by Jesus Christ
himself. They shared the vision of ministry in their life and later the church continued
the ministry of healing, redemption through her communion with Christ. Apostles were the eyewitnesses of the
resurrection. Their testimony is the living foundation of New Testament church
and its ministry.
Theological foundation of ministry
is based on the image of Christ. Church manifests the image through her life in
the world. According to Bernard Haring, Church is meant to be a faithful image
of Christ whose redeeming presence is therapeutic, liberating and healing.
Church is not only a community that worships together but church is called to
continue God’s ministry in the world. Etymologically, the term community refers
to the obligations, gifts or services that persons bring to one another; thus,
what they have, they have partly “in common”. Church is a faithful community
which should not experience themselves as immunities form, but as resources for
persons. The Indian Christian Theologian, Dr. M.M Thomas envisioned a church
which participates in the humanization of the world and enters into the
dialogue with other religions and secular movements. For him, church is an open
community which is a Christ centered openness and it is not exclusive but
rather the most inclusive. Therefore church is not an exclusive community that
satisfies itself but church is responsible to participate in the struggles of
the entire creation. Church should be an
ethical, alternative model for a community life.
The
laity and ministry
We have a ministry for
the laity. The laity is the people of God. Laity represents varied culture,
education, social status and frame of mind. The participation of the laity is
seen from the very beginning. The laity are not the resources we pool for the
projects. But laity is also involved in the ministry of the church. They are
simply not laborers who work in the vineyard but they are being part of it;
they do not only belong to the church but of being the church. The leadership
and presence of laity in every ministerial endeavors make the God’s ministry
relevant to the community around us. It is the laity who continued the ministry
of Jesus from the beginning of Christianity. The whole church is invited to
continue God’s ministry. As we read in Peter 2:9, “you are a chosen race, a
royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people” and it implies the church as
a whole as the people of God has a ministry and priesthood. Every member of the
church is a called minister, not only the ordained ministers. In Sister Dr.Mary
Sruti Joseph’s view the lay faithful are personally called by God and receive a
ministry and mission on behalf of the church and the world.
Challenges
of ministry in late modernity
Ministry
for the diaspora community….We need to redefine the methodology
of ministry in a multi religious, multi-ethnic and globalized context. It is a
fact that ministry is formed due to the challenges in the diaspora context.
From sociologists’ perspective, the first generation of the migrated community
live with a nostalgia about their homeland. They glorify their past and try to
follow what they have followed, practiced and learned in the past. They would
try to render the same in to the next generation. The second generation has a
legacy to continue but they live in the present context where the nostalgia of
the homeland is not relevant to them. They relate with the new context in which
they have been living. They love the tradition, roots, faith of their parents
but would also love to follow what they see as the best in their context. The
third generation of the migrated would integrate the values of their
grandparents and parents. The second and third generation experiences
tremendous exposure in culture, religion and life. The ministry of the church
is located in this particular sociological and religious context.
Ministry
for the multi-ethnic group..It is fact that Church shares
varied cultural diversities. Present day church is not a community of same
ethnic group. Church has widened its boundaries to other communities. It may be
through our evangelistic works or through our communal, marital relationships.
Church has been traveling from its traditional, exclusive ethnic identity to
multi-cultural identity. Therefore we
need to accommodate and appreciate people who belong to various linguistic,
cultural back grounds. Church cannot be fixed its ministry for one area or for
one community. She needs to serve the communities or identities where it is rooted.
The new initiatives of the church to
reach out people who belong to different cultural back ground are the best
examples for the effective ministry. The diversified nature of church and its
ministry is a challenge we face in the globalized era.
Ministry
in a changing trends…Globalized world provides various trends and exposure
in the area of spirituality and religion. People are exposed with new
contemporary movements. The tradional church goers are influenced by the trends. The
contemperory spiritual movements cater secularized people. They use powerful
mediums and enterainment icons to promote their ideology. They make use of
diinterested people in the traditional way of worshipping. Apatheism is a major
challenge in today’s world. Apathy means lack of interest or concern. There is a
growing number of indiviudals that have become apathetic. Apatheists are just
disinterested in issues pertaining to God. They are satisfied with monotonous
activities in the church. Those people are vulnerable in nature and are
fragile. They may be misguided or misled. The challenge for the church is to
minister among the people who move away from the church for various reasons.
Ministry
through media.. We need to be aware of media explosion and we need to
effectively use the media. We cannot neglect the influence of media in our
life. Social networking has become very common in every society. There are
advatages and disadvantages for social networking. Many are addicted to
internet and living in the virtual world. But We have a ministry for the online
communities. We must have new avenues to communicate through visual and print
media. We need to seriuosly think about e-mentoring to cater and to reach out the present generation.
Ministry for the youths…Recent studies have shown
that young adults leave the church when they leave for college. This is
labelled as youth exodus, which true in all over the world. There may be many
reasons for their detachment from the church. But the question is whether we
are able to satisfy the changing demands of the younger generation. We need to
be aware of ministerial demands. Demands are determined by the change with
times. We live in a late modernity or postmodern world. Younger generations are
post traditional in general. Post tradional attitudes arise when tradition
dominates. Tradition has its own significance but sometimes it is described
that choices are already prescribed by the traditions and customs. Younger
generation who live in post-traditional times don't really worry about the
precedents set by previous generations, and options. A society can't be fully
modern if attitudes, actions or institutions are significantly influenced by
traditions, because deference to tradition - doing things just because people
did them in the past - is the opposite of modern reflexivity. We need to be
open with the recent developments in the society and the present day challenges
that our youths face. The message of the gospel never changes, but the
methodologies used to reach individuals for Christ must change because we live
in a fast-paced world. Church needs to extend its hands to reach out the
younger generation with all the means.
Ministry for the Families…We’re in a crisis at the moment.
Our world is turning towards an idea of marriage and we hardly reflect about
marriage but talk more about relationship which may be the influences of
globalized culture which does not focus about marriage because of the divorces
and broken relationship within their communities. There are an increasing
number of gay marriages and open marriages, broken marriages and sex outside of
marriage that challenge the real family system in our society. As we celebrate
family Sunday in our church we should not forget the fact that the Church consists
with widows, orphans, divorced and divorcee who are the victims of family
problems, who must be catered in our broader family relationship. That’s why
today it’s more important than ever to be turning back to the Bible and
reminding ourselves of how God intended marriage to be. Whether you’re a
husband, a wife, single, married, a widower, a mother, a father, a friend or a
child, we all should understand not just more about marriage, but understand
more about God and his relationship with us.
The
issue of marriage has become a serious discussion in recent days. Marriage is
being re-defined by organizations like the LGBT and GLAAD organizations.
However, the issue of homosexual marriage is not the only issue where marriage
is being redefined. The church must define the biblical roots of marriage and
where it stands on these issues. The church must ask such questions as: What is
marriage? Why is there a marriage covenant? What is this church going to recognize
as marriage? It is high time to minister the families who are undergoing
various challenges in life.
Church and its effective ministry
How do we deal with the persecution against church all over
the world. Christians are being persecuted in Kenya, Egypt, Syria, and Iraq. In
india, the idelolgy of becoming one religion, one culture, and one language is
becoming very strong. Churches are being attacked in various places. We cannot
be passive obeservers as these atrocities occur. The role of the church is not
to be silent against the injustice, oppression and violence but to be a channel
of peace, healing and liberation. Church cannot be confined with the
structure but the church needs to share
its presence in the world. Church is called to minister for the most
vulnerable, oppressed and silenced in the society. Dr. George Zachariah in his
article, “Church without walls: Church happening in the street” introduces the
‘Night Ministry’ which is an ecumenical ministry of various churches in the
city of Chicago. A group of volunteers, consisting of nurses, paramedics,
social workers and counselors under the leadership of a pastor travels through
the byways and alleys of the inner city from 10pm to 4am. They meet the
homeless in the street and provide them food and clothes. The bus has all the
fecilities to provide the needy for the medical advices. The night ministry
envisions a church happening in the street. People who are in the street
experiences church in their life. We demand the needy to be present in the
church but we are called to stretch our hands to the needy. This is called
effective ministry.
