Recently, I have entered into a new phase of my
ministry. I have to admit that I have
found myself to be a bit over-eager. I
tend to get this way when I get excited about things, and I get excited about
ministry. The problem with this is that,
when I get this way, I start to look for the big opportunities that will bring
the dramatic results. I often forget how
small ministry can be. In fact, it can
sometimes be rather minuscule. It is
little words said at the right time. Or a little gesture of grace when someone
needs it. We have to look closely to see
it, or we will walk right past it. The
secret to this is to be attentive: something that I am not always very good
at. We also need to be willing to me a
small minister. By that I mean that we
have to be willing to be a minister of little things. There is no act of love or compassion so
small that it cannot make a difference.
The concept of the smallness of ministry runs contrary to
our pride and everything that we are told about ministry success. But, this is where most of us will live in
ministry. I remember one of my seminary
professors saying in class that most of us will never be mega church
pastors. Most of us will minister in
seeming obscurity in small parishes around the country. These small things do, however, have an
accumulative effect. Like small stones
in a wall, they can build a ministry over time.
It requires patience (something else that I struggle with) and
commitment to a community over time. However,
grand reputations are rarely ever made this way. To be a minister of the small things means
that we must put the call to pastor above our ambitions. There will be those occasional big events,
and we should be grateful for them, but let’s not forget that it is the small
ministry that can make the most difference on the long haul.
