Thursday, April 19, 2012

Short Thought: Ministry and the Individual

John 10:3 - "...he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out."


We must never lose sight of ministering to the individual, both in theory and in practice.  If we become ministers to the masses and not to individuals, then we cease to see the full potential of the power and life of Christ in our ministry—both the external fruit and the inward man.  But if we keep fresh in the front of our minds the soul of the individual, we may very well win the masses, one individual at a time.

This is contrary to our engineering or business training, which is all about efficiency and greater output per input.  However, Christ ministered to many at one time and we know that He saw each and every individual.  We may not yet have the full capacity of Christ, such that we could minister to a mass of people and see them all distinctly individually, but I believe that keeping the mindset of the individual in need of the life of Christ helps make our efforts more authentic and powerful.  I believe this because I believe it is the mind of Christ, and in the power of the Holy Spirit, He is not encumbered by our limited capacity to personally minister to specific few individuals.

May we walk in the mind of Christ, empowered by the Holy Spirit, to minister to the individuals whom, in His sovereignty, He places in our path this very day.  Amen.

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