When we first become followers of Christ we want to drink in of Christ’s teachings. As we grow in His grace and knowledge we learn to trust and rely on Him. We realize God has given us the gift of forgiveness and redemption. We are children of God and heirs of His salvation. As heirs of His salvation we become ministers of Christ, given the responsibility to carry out His ministry. The main way most of us perform this duty is to live a Christian life, serve others, be a light to the world, share the gospel when appropriate, and generally “walk the walk” instead of just “talk the talk.”
In going about living the Christian life and doing Christian “stuff” we inadvertently become leaders. Not so much from the point of view of putting ourselves in a position of responsibility over others, but setting an example others might want to emulate. In other words, leaders can be those that others want to follow. Every person who follows Christ is a minister in one way or another. If they are following God closely they become ministry leaders by default, because others will want to follow their example.
Our example should be the same as Jesus’ example. What did he do while here on earth?
Christ was obedient to God (John 4:34). He prayed for others whether they knew it or not (Mark 1:35). He empathized with those who suffered (John 11:35). He served others and even washed their feet (John 13:1-17). He loved people (John 13:34-35). He was a friend to all, even sinners (Matthew 9:11). He prayed to God, “Your will not mine be done (Luke 22:41).” If we read Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John we’ll see that this list could go on and on and on.
As ministers of God we may have to endure hardships (2 Corinthians 6:4), but God has confidence in us. He has made us ministers of His New Covenant (2 Corinthians 3:6) – a covenant of the spirit of God – a covenant of love. You see, being a minister is not about being addressed as “Reverend Brown” or wearing robes; it’s about loving and serving others. We should all be ministers of Christ.
