True Christian ministry is not what you think. You may think that it's a matter of becoming a priest, or pastor, or Salvation Army officer. That may be God’s calling on your life. Ministry is much broader that those roles and responsibilities. It is not bound by age, nor does it stop with retirement. Too often ministry is avoided. It is passed over being delegated to professional, career ministers. Step away from the conventional stereotype of ministry and look at it from another perspective. We do so with the help of Dietrich Bonhoeffer. He tips over the ministry pyramid.
Bonhoeffer was martyred at the age of thirty-nine, a month before the end of World War Two at the hands of the Gestapo for a secondary participation in an assassination plot against Adolf Hitler. He left a legacy of writings that are inspiring to generations ever since. He may be best known for two books: The Cost of Discipleship and Life Together. It is in his book, Life Together, that Bonhoeffer offers us a remarkable discourse on ministry. He wrote this remarkable little book while establishing and leading a clandestine, underground seminary during the Nazi years. His discourse is simple, biblical, and provocative. Bonhoeffer offers a very different, yet helpful perspective. The sequence of his depiction of ministry is surprising.
First, he talks about the ministry of holding one’s tongue. This is an unusual place to start. We often think of ministry as preaching, of verbal persuasion, having a pulpit for proclamation, and an audience to hear our case. Instead, Bonhoeffer exhorts us to exercise the discipline of silence. We think of ministry as particular forms of activity, but the inactivity of silence is a form of activity that sets the stage for other forms of ministry.
The ministry of silence (holding one’s tongue) is coupled with the ministry of meekness. This form of ministry compliments silence and is exercised through self denial, not putting one’s self forward and upfront, not in the spotlight, and without conceit. It is a ministry of humility toward the service of others.
Then Bonhoeffer introduces us to the ministry of listening. This is the natural progression of the stage setting of the first two ministries – holding one’s tongue and in silence stepping back in humility ready to pay attention and listen to the other. Love listens. Often love that listens is a greater service than speaking. While he does not comment on these three together, I think of these three ministries as making up a combined ministry of presence and preparedness for other forms of ministry yet to come. How often in times of sorrow and loss do others merely need the presence of a friend? In the circumstances of the unimaginable, as in the loss of the life of a beloved child, words seem superficial. Just the presence and silence of mutual sorrow is comfort enough. Holding ones tongue and in silent humility just listening to the angst, need, and struggles of another sets the stage at the right time for the ministry of helpfulness. Having listened we then know better just how to be helpful.
This was the genius of The Salvation Army’s ministry at the site of the 9-11 tragedy where and when the Army was responsible for ministry at the morgue. Families went through the ordeal of identifying the bodies and body parts of loved ones. They were required to do so not once but twice by protocol. It was one of The Salvation Army’s finest hours. It called for the ministry of presence (silence, meekness, and listening) as Salvationists accompanied families through the painful ordeal at the morgue. It is a ministry often repeated every day around the world at times of natural and human disasters. When we listen to understand, we are often given wisdom of how to help.
The ministry of helpfulness follows. It is exercised in active engagement when God interrupts us on behalf of others. He provides wisdom, insight, and grace to help. He works through our human agency. As we continue in Christ, even in the most difficult of ministry circumstances, God provides all we need in the service of others. As we walk and work with him, by the Holy Spirit, Christ is our sufficiency in the ministry of helpfulness. Look at how the ministries build, one foundational for the next, preparing and equipping us in life for ministry so that when the time comes to help, we are of the mind and spirit to partner with God in the provision of his grace to others.
Then there is the Ministry of Burden Bearing – forbearing and sustaining, going beyond the episodic moment of giving help. Burden bearing is sustained help over a long period of time. As Bonhoeffer states, “Some things we cannot change. We can only carry.” This includes things like helping a loved one carry the burden of pancreatic cancer, the loss of life or limb (We think of the victims of the Boston marathon bombings), and even shame and the loss of face, so important in some cultures. Helping and burden bearing are ministries of service. Together with ministries of presence, they continue to build from one to another and lead to two more ministries in Bonhoeffer’s framework.
Bonhoeffer then presents the ministry of Proclaiming the Word of God. Here, proclamation is preceded by ministries of presence and service. Verbal proclamation is made possible because its forerunner is the Word become flesh by Christ living in and working through life already lived in love. Sharing the word of Truth becomes natural and credible in light of grace of the other preceding forms of ministry. Here the grace of presence and service precedes the proclamation of truth.
Finally, Bonhoeffer presents to us the ministry of authority. Authority reflects mature leadership in loving others. This is not positional authority dictated by one’s position in the church hierarchy or organization. It is not based on status or rank. It is authority that is grounded in the ministries of presence and service. It is recognized as such by others. Authority in which the life of ministry is lived out in any and all walks of life on a daily basis is a life that reveals the living Christ. In its maturity, ministry leadership is sought after, embraced, and respected because it is the authentic mix of competence and character after the likeness of Christ.
What Dietrich Bonhoeffer describes as ministry is a form and framework that reflects the life and ministry of The Salvation Army at its finest. It describes an ideal not only of officers, but of all who identify themselves as Salvationists. Such escalating ministry is occasioned by fidelity to continuing the journey by continuing in Christ, setting out each day to walk and work with him, enjoying the high privilege of authentic ministry, and understanding that life is ministry if our ministry is grounded in our life in Christ.
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