Intentional Ministry

By Chris Hammett -- How does ministry translate to you?

How about the word intent?

I want to look at the concept of doing and being church with intent. Random acts of kindness vs. intentionally acts that lead to KINGDOM reward.

For the most part we could testify, this class wants to help the hurting. This class does wonders when there is a need brought to them. Whether it’s Operation Kyle, Imagine Christmas, Hammy’s for Tammy, and the list goes on and on, we open our hearts and wallets when called on.

What about your day to day life? What about the family next door, or the coworker down the hall?

How many times do we wander through a day and everything we do is reactionary? You know, just going through the motions of life. Wake up, get a cup of coffee, drive to work, get another cup of coffee, look at your daily schedule, do what you do, have lunch, do some more of whatever you do, leave work drive home and the rat race goes on and on.

What was the last thing you did with intent? It could be any number of things. I contend that whatever it was you made a plan. Why should ministry be any different?

On Feb. 27, 2008 the NCAA announced it had reached an agreement with the city of Omaha NE. to extend the Baseball Collage World Series for 25 years which included Omaha City building a new stadium. My wife and I have given each of our children a Special 16^th birthday gift. With Rebecca it was a trip to NYC with her best friend. With Adam it was his SCUBA license and a dive trip in the Dominican Republic. I like to think of myself as a baseball guy and Isaac had taken an interest in baseball as well. When I heard they were closing Rosenblatt Stadium and building a new stadium in Omaha I asked him if he wanted to go. I also asked him if he wanted to take anyone. He chose a friend and I spoke with the dad and he agreed. Tickets went on sale on April 3, 2008 at 10:00 eastern and was sold out by 10:12. I had secured 4 books of General Admission tickets and seated tickets for game 4 and game 7. Next, I called our travel partners and let them know we had tickets. Did I mention this was April 3? There was no way of knowing who was playing in the CWS let alone which teams would be playing games 4 and 7. Next we started looking at flights and hotels. We decided we would stay in Lincoln and drive the 46 miles into Omaha each day. Plans were made, flights were booked, and rooms were reserved. Now we wait till June 15 to go to Omaha. Did I mention Isaac and I are Carolina fans, and his friend and dad are Clemson fans? Most of you know how the Old Rosenblatt stadium was closed in 2010.

I share that as an example of doing something with intent. I want to look at a couple of places in the Bible where followers did things with intent. First let’s look at Acts 9: 10-18. Here is where God calls Ananias to do something he very much did not want to do. Saul (later the apostle Paul) was not someone Ananias would have ever sought out to minister to. The scripture records when God called him, Ananias never said NO. He just wanted God to understand what He was asking. Once that was clear Ananias did what he was asked. Do you think he hem hawed around? The Bible says he went to Saul and called him brother. No beating around the bush. He intended for Saul to know who had sent him and why he was there.

Now look at Genesis 22. We all know the story of Abraham being asked to sacrifice Isaac. Look at vs. 3-8 of Genesis. 22. Abraham did what God asked with intent. I can’t imagine what he was going through. But what he did was answer God with Intent.
No, Abraham didn't find wood along the way; he got up and cut the wood to take with them.

No, Abraham didn't sleep in, giving God a chance to change His mind. Abraham got up early the next morning.

He even brought the fire. No ZIPPO or BIC liters in those days. Everything he did he did intentionally. No accidental obedience here.

Have you ever wondered what people really think of you? I think we all have from time to time. What about what we think of ourselves? A survey taken in 2009 by one of the leading denominations determined 85 Percent of people surveyed felt they we good people. You know all the right reasons, I don’t steal, I haven’t killed anyone, and I don’t cheat on my wife etc . . . You may even be one of those GOOD people. How many people do you expect to win for CHRIST by just being good? Can you be good enough? When is the last time a lost person came to you and said “you are really good and I want to know JESUS because you do”?  When Sharon and I went on staff with the International Mission Board, they were very clear. We were not being sent just to live a good life in front of others. We were being sent to build relationship that would lead us to introduce people to JESUS. NO OTHER REASON.

Why should we think doing ministry is any different? God calls on His people to share the Good News of Salvation. When you share, it’s more than letting people see what you have. I could be having a double slice of cheesecake and if you see me enjoying it might cause you to want a piece. Unless I offer you a bite, you are most likely only going to want it. You probably won't ask for it. I contend that salvation is much the same. When things are rough and we lean on Jesus people see that and may even want that. Really though, how many do you think will ask for it? I want to challenge you to think about those you come into contact with daily. How many of them have no personal relationship with JESUS? Then ask yourself what you can do to introduce them to JESUS. The rest is up to HIM. ACTS 1-8 is very clear as to what is expected of us. Like any good witness we are to share what we have seen JESUS do in our lives.

Make a plan. I shared that Sharon and I lived overseas and we were intentional about building relationships that would lead to faith sharing. You may be the person God has called to go and tell them what He has planned for their lives. So I guess all that is left is to ask: "What is your plan to reach the lost in your life?"

Death causes us to pause

Throughout my 20-year newspaper career, at both small weekly and large daily newspapers, I became quite skilled at writing obituaries. Granted, there was a style format for writing them and some were very basic. But, often a family would provide extra information and I enjoyed helping tell a person’s story for the family, and sharing light on how the person lived his life. I especially enjoyed helping accentuate a person’s faith in Jesus and involvement in her local church. Sometimes, I would even call the family and ask them to give me more information about the loved one’s faith story.

Obituaries are important on two fronts: First, they are the final written record of a person’s life. I call them the semi-colon, separating the Earthly chapter from the Eternal chapter.

Obituaries should tell the story of a person’s journey. Second, obituaries are not for the immediate generation; obituaries are for the future generations who want to reach back and understand their family legacy. I tell people the obituary is for four generations away, and it’s important to help that generation understand family and faith.

Writing obituaries and death always causes me to pause and reflect on our human existence. When death comes knocking, it always serves as a wake-up call for me, forcing me to recognize death as a reality of our human existence. The closer death knocks to our lives, the more it causes us to face some realities and ask ourselves some questions.

First, we are reminded that we are frail, that we are a vapor. Psalm 39:5: “You have made my days a mere handbreadth; the span of my years is as nothing before you. Each man's life is but a breath.” And Psalm 102:3, “For my days vanish like smoke; my bones burn like glowing embers.” And Psalm 144:4, “Man is like a breath; his days are like a fleeting shadow.”

When talking to my boys about the value of each day lived, I would breathe on the bathroom mirror and tell them, “What you see on the mirror is the total beginning-to-end of your life. What will you bring to this day? Order or chaos?”

How many times do we catch ourselves saying, “Where has time gone?” Each year, at Halloween, when I drag out all of my pirate gear and prepare for our church’s Halloween Carnival, I find myself saying to my Vicki, “Didn’t we just pull this stuff out yesterday?” and “Before we know it, Christmas will be here and gone.” I cannot believe three of my four boys are already in college. How did that happen? Time is fleeting.

Under the best of circumstances, we really have a very short existence here.

Secondly, death reminds us that it can come for you and me, and the ones we love, at any minute. And, so it begs us to be ready. Ecclesiastes 9:12 tells us, “People can never predict when hard times might come. Like fish in a net or birds in a trap, people are caught by sudden tragedy.” And, Luke writes in his gospel, in 21:35, “For it will come upon all those who live on the face of the whole earth.” Luke is referring to the final judgment, but that judgment follows death and death will truly come to all who live on the face of the whole earth.

These two realities beg then the question: Am I ready to face my death?

I believe our readiness comes in two ways. First, and most important, we must be followers of Jesus. Secondly, we are wise to be connected to a fellowship of other believers.

Can you imagine, for one minute, death and tragedy coming to your life and being found (a) on the outside of faith doomed to an eternity without God’s love; and (b) facing tragedy without the love and support of other believers, pulling around you and lifting up your arms, carrying you and your family through it? I have to tell you, I think those who go at life alone are among the most ridiculously foolish people that I know. I hurt for them, and I want them to find faith and I want them to find the fellowship of other believers.

Being a part of this family of faith is not about sitting in a classroom as a spectator. Certainly, the weekly gathering through Sunday School is critically important because it’s what keeps us bound together. We recharge and refocus together with laughter and study together. But, beyond our weekly gathering, it’s through our relationship that we are able to put feet to faith, exercise our faith, and get our hands dirty in ministry toward an eternal impact.

Acts 2:42-44 relates to the early church and it also relates to our fellowship and to fellowships like ours. Luke writes, “All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching (Scripture), and to fellowship (loving and serving), and to sharing in meals (including the Lord’s Supper), and to prayer. A deep sense of awe came over them all, and the apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders. And all the believers met together in one place and shared everything they had.” Then, look at verse 47, and they did all of this “while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved.”

Doesn’t that sound just like what we are experiencing as a fellowship of believers? Well, minus the Lord’s Supper, but we can take that if we choose to do it. Absolutely, it does. And, what convicts me is that God loves sending people into that kind of fellowship. So, we must be faithful in our journey with God, alongside God, waiting on God, and leaning on God. Because it’s through the fellowship of believers that people come to know Jesus; it’s through the fellowship that each of us is strengthened by the Holy Spirit in our daily walk.

I hurt for those who make a conscious decision to avoid real involvement in the fellowship of believers, whether the church at large, a group like ours, or both. Personally, I choose both and encourage you to do that, too.

But, before a person can embrace this community spirit, that larger issue stands as bold and rugged as Calvary’s cross. A person must first be a believer before they can fully join a fellowship of believers. Sure, people can join our class and discover Jesus through it. Some have. We celebrate that. But, in the long run – we are likely to share a thread in that we have made a confident confession of Jesus as our personal Savior from God’s wrath upon sin. Attendance at a church property will never save anyone. Only that confident confession of Jesus as Savior will actually save a person.

Our lives don’t end with the grave. The grave simply launches a new chapter of our eternal existence. For those who love Jesus, Romans 8:38-39 remind us that nothing can separate us from the love of God. While nothing separates us from the love of God, we have to know Jesus as our Savior in order to have that blessed assurance. Life without Jesus is bad enough. (A life without Jesus is wasted; you can never fully know the depth of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control – Galatians 5:22-23.) But, imagine life without Jesus on the other side of death’s door. That place we call hell, leading to the lake of fire, is the eternal no-second-chance penalty for a life lived without Jesus. It is a place more awful than the human mind can fathom.

And, yet, some people foolishly choose chaos over peace.  John 14:6, the apostle quotes Jesus saying, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.” And Matthew 7:13, the apostle quotes Jesus this way: “You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way. But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it.” What does that say? We must be confidently confessing followers of Jesus; our lives must reflect that we love Jesus; our words must reflect that we know Him; and we must acknowledge our secret places of self-love and not brag about or worship those times (repentance). Our lives cannot be about what the world calls important, but what God calls important – loving Him, loving others, and helping others discover Jesus. That marks the believer.

Death causes me to ante up. Where am I in pursuing a closer relationship with the Savior that I claim to love? Occasionally, I still find myself very broken before the Lord, knowing I’ve let my life slip into the ditch, knowing I’ve disappointed my Savior, and knowing He is weeping over my words and decisions. I have found, personally, in those times of brokenness, a sweet, sweet peace as I draw closer to Jesus.

Death is a wake-up call. It’s a reality check. 

As believers, we must call each day precious and ask, “Am I ready to face death and spend eternity with Jesus? Am I surrounded by a family of faith – a close network of other believers? Who’s life will be better because I lived this short existence? Who will enter the gates of heaven because they saw and heard Jesus through me? Anyone? No one? Someone? Everyone? I pray, it’s everyone.