Full Time Ministry

We've all heard the term. We all know what it means. It refers to folks like pastors and missionaries. They are in "full time ministry". Most of us are not. We are, at best, in something that I can only guess would be called "part time ministry". And we all tend to look up to those folks doing it full time. You see, they're more dedicated, more spiritual, more ... ministers. They live in the sacred and occasionally visit the secular. We live in the secular and occasionally visit the sacred.

I would submit to you that this notion is completely false. I would submit, in fact, that holding to this notion is damaging to you as a Christian. Let me tell you why.

When almost all of us think of "church", almost all of us think of "pastor." It's extremely common. "Where do you go to church?" is a common question when Christians meet, followed almost immediately by, "Who is the pastor there?" because we know that at the head of each church is a pastor. Interestingly, the term occurs only once in the New Testament. Speaking of the gifts that Christ has given to the Church, Paul writes:

He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers (Eph. 4:11).

That's it. That's the only reference to "pastor." Indeed, Greek scholars will tell you that it appears to be a hyphenated-type term, where "pastors" and "teachers" are kind of stuck together. They are not "pastors" as much as "pastor-teachers." They shepherd and teach the flock. Now, the ramifications of the fact that this is the sole reference might be interesting to explore, but that's not where I'm going here. These are the ones we always think of as being in "full time ministry." These are the messengers of God ("apostles"), the ones who speak God's Word to us ("prophets"), the missionaries ("evangelists"), and the ones in charge of our churches ("pastors and teachers"). "Full time ministers." But I ended that quote above in the middle of the sentence. Paul goes on to state the purpose of these gifts from God:

for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fulness of Christ (Eph. 4:12-13).

You see, they are gifts to us for the purpose of building us up for service, unity, knowledge, and maturity. Who, in this equation, is doing "ministry"? I think it is unavoidable that we are the ones doing ministry. You see, the primary function of "ministry" is "to give service" -- the primary function of those of us in the Church.

Those that we recognize as being in "full time ministry" deserve our appreciation and prayer and support. They are doing a job given by God that is service to God and to His people. Never forget, however, that we are not called to "part time ministry". We are called to be His servants whenever and wherever we are. In Paul's words, "Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus" (Col. 3:17), and "Whatever you do, do all to the glory of God" (1 Cor. 10:31). We are all full time ministers. If you forget that or, worse, neglect it, you are missing out on a command and on the blessing of being the servant of God wherever you find yourself. Your job, your home, your family, your friends, your church ... all are your full time ministry. Don't demean or neglect the ministry to which you are called. Make full use of those whom God has given to build us up and equip us to serve ... and then serve on a full-time basis.