Christian education: principles and practice

Theology of Ministry

To me, ministry means the sum total of all that I am as a human and how that relates to my experience with religion. Looking at the Bible, Jesus was, first and foremost, a teacher. Furthermore, he did not just rely upon the traditional Jewish teachings to explain what it was to be a good man; he was a good man. I think of Sunday Adelaja as an example of what ministry means. He kept faith in adverse circumstances, he inspired others to become Christian, and he acknowledged that he had been a sinner, but tried to make changes in his life and live as much without sin as possible Adelaja, 2008).

My feelings about ministry, which is that it must be lived, are much like my feelings about Christianity. "Sitting in church doesn't make you a Christian any more than sitting in an oven makes you a biscuit." I have heard variations of this expression throughout my life, and they speak to my personal understanding of what it means to be Christian. To be Christian means that one is in a personal, spiritual relationship with Jesus. It is my belief that all human beings need to be in a salvific relationship with Jesus the Christ (Romans 3:23). Furthermore, I believe that to be Christian means to understand the meaning of love. God's love for humans means that he is constantly working in our lives, even if we cannot see it. His grace is what allows us to see him. Some people will reject God, and that is something that they can do through their free will, but that does not relieve Christians from their obligation to reach out to people and try to share God's gifts with them. That does not mean acting as if, by being Christian, we are superior to anyone; we were all sinners before being introduced to God's grace, and remain sinners even afterwards. Therefore, a Christian does not reject any person based on his or her history.

My view of God, truth, and Scripture is complicated, as I do not view the three in the same manner. The Bible says that "Thy word is truth" (John 17:17). This is taken to equate God with the Bible with truth. However, the Bible is full of seeming contradictions. I do not believe that these contradictions necessarily exist. Looking at the Bible as a whole, one sees a story unfold, and I believe that story, the story of God's love and redemption offered to a struggling group of people, is the truth. Therefore, to understand a Biblical passage, it is important to examine the context of that passage and what was going on at that point of time. The relationship between God and His people is more important than any single isolated account in the Bible. In this way, I support Groome's approach, which places participant's experience in a direct relationship with religious tradition (1980).

As a result, I reject the idea that the Bible is infallible, even while embracing the idea that the Bible reveals truth. I believe it to be a powerful narrative tool that unites people through commonality (Bausch, Unk.)Because I believe that Scripture is truth based on the story told throughout of God offering redemptive grace to all people, I try to approach my ministry in the same way. Instead of offering judgment and condemnation, I try to share God's love in places where others might not.

I believe that human beings have been created in the Image of God and that they are free. Genesis 1 provides support for my thought that man was created in the Image of God, and the rest of Genesis provides support for the idea that not only are we endowed with free will, but we will be responsible for the consequences, both good and bad, of exercising that will. This is where, as a Christian, the role of Jesus is important. Not only do I believe that all humans need to be in a relationship with Christ, I also believe they have the capability to either choose to be in that relationship or to reject Christ (John 3:16).

My view of the church is that the church is a group of people who have responded to God's gift of salvation and are growing their relationships with God. Ideally, the church should resemble Christ in work, study, and life. However, I also recognize that the church is made up of human beings, with all of the frailties and weaknesses that plague other human beings. The fact that they are members of a church does not take them outside of the realm of sinners, which is reflected in the condition of my current church, which does not always seem to be a community of Christ.

My view of education is that it is critical to a Christian, particularly a minister. Not only should the church strive to be a community of Christ, but Christians, particularly Christian leaders, should strive to be Christ-like. Christ was a teacher, and he lived the lessons that he taught. I think that his is a critical element for an educator. Discipleship is about more than theoretical instruction; it also involves modeling behavior. To me, this is made clear in Deuteronomy 6, which tells me that I need to keep God first in my heart in order to be an effective disciple.

I think that my responses above inform how I approach the practice of ministry. I believe that ministers teach by example, as well as by helping bring the Word of God to their congregation. In fact, I believe that even the most impassioned minister bringing the Word of God to people without living that word will fail to fully engage the people in a congregation. It is not enough for me to tell people that they need to be charitable; I need to be charitable. It is not enough for me to tell people that they need to stop being judgmental; I need to work on approaching people without judgment.