As I come to the end of this first week of reading the gospel of John, its interesting to note how central people are…more specifically disciples who follow Jesus are…within the program of God’s kingdom. One of the first things John the Baptist does to prepare the way for Jesus entrance into public ministry was to prepare the people to receive him. One of the first things that Jesus does, once this ministry begins, is to gather followers around himself who will learn about His life, His mission, His kingdom, and His atoning presence. Some of those who follow Him will come to him out of their own curiosity with a desire to learn more (Andrew). Some of them will come to Jesus because of the witness of those who have become believers (Peter, Nathaniel). Some of them will come to Jesus as a result of Jesus initiating the contact and calling them to follow (Philip). But regardless of the exact method, people who become followers take center stage very early in the drama.
What a great reminder this is to me that ministry…kingdom work…is to be centered not on the construction of building, the development of programming, the production of worship services, or the administration of institutional structures. Rather, kingdom work is centered on people. More specifically, it is centered on calling people to come and see Jesus that they may have a chance to become His disciples. It’s not that buildings, programs, worship services and administration are unimportant. In fact, the opposite is true. They are critical. But the reason they are critical is because without them it is hard to reach and disciple people. So the buildings and programs are important because they can be used to minister to the people God wants to become followers of Christ.
What this means, at least to me, is that I must keep the order straight in my head. People are not to be used to advance buildings, programs, services or institutions. Rather, buildings, programs, services and institutions are to be used to advance people. When I begin to think of people as giving units who can help fund a building project, I have gotten the order wrong. When I begin to see people as targets who can keep a program up and running, I have gotten the order wrong. When I begin to use people to advance the fame of our worship services or the scope of our institution, I have gotten the order wrong. So, as we come to the end of the first chapter of John, we are reminded of the central place of calling people to follow Jesus in a life of discipleship. What a great reminder!
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