It's Not About "Me" and "My Ministry"

Thursday, January 27, 2011

Reading: John 3:22-36

Reflection: When John first appeared on the scene, I noted his humility and willingness to deflect all attention away from himself unto Jesus. Here in this passage that same humility is highlighted and contrasted with some of his disciples who seem to be upset that Jesus is gaining in popularity, while John’s ministry is decreasing. The result is a dispute between some of John’s disciples and some other Jewish man. While the details of this dispute are left uncertain, it seems that the validity of John’s ministry in light of the purpose of ceremonial washing is in question.

It seems striking to me how common this pattern is even in our present day churches. Ministry seems to be going well within our church and surrounding community, until some new and vibrant ministry shows up. Suddenly, this new ministry grows in influence and followers, and for some reason those inside the church feel threatened. The church becomes territorial, complains of the insensitivity of this new ministry, and often questions both the validity of their own ministry and the ministry of the new ministry. All of a sudden, while we say its all about Jesus, somehow a bit of selfish pride enters the picture.

This is where John’s attitude and teaching are helpful not only to his disciples, but to us as well. John argues that if God is in control of all things…and He is…then the ministry of Jesus bears the marks of the Holy Spirit because God has desired it to be so. For that reason, rather than being angry that his popularity is fading, John celebrates with great joy that the Christ has appeared and is gaining in influence. After all, John’s ministry was never about John. It was never about his disciples. It was never about the crowds or the confrontations. John’s ministry was all about pointing to Jesus, and if it takes the fading of his ministry for that to happen, John joyfully accepts that reality.

We could learn from this humble attitude. What is needed is not for churches to be territorial and competitive with one another. We should not criticize other ministries that point people to Jesus simply because they are gaining in reputation and our ministry may be fading in influence. We should be partnering together in ministry, seeking only one thing: that Jesus would increase and we would decrease. If this is our humble attitude, then the jealous fights and petty differences will not really matter so long as Jesus is glorified. May the glory of Jesus be the driving force of all our ministries.