Reflections on 30 Years of Kingdom Service

Thirty years ago today, at the age of 32, I was ordained into the Christian ministry. The elders of my church who had watched my life through three of the toughest years of it, affirmed that they saw the call of God on me. They laid hands on me, prayed for me, and officially set me apart as a servant to the Body of Christ.

Even at that point, I did not suspect that God would use me in the specific way He has over the past 25 years. The elders of that ordaining church called me on staff as a part time associate minister to Jim Garrett, our beloved pastor. Within a year, Jim and I had switched roles. He was part time and I full time. God was
re-assigning Jim to another church in the area. After several months, Jim was gone altogether and the congregation asked me to assume the role of pastor.

In that new role, I experienced something I did not expect. People came to talk to me privately about their personal problems. Frankly, it was surprising to me to see what was beneath the surface of people’s lives, some of whom I had “known” for a few years. I thought everyone was as fine on the inside as they appeared on the outside.

I was blessed to receive some training from Jon Eargle, a minister who specialized in inner healing. He provided a basic skeletal structure upon which I could add learning in this arena. An opportunity to go back to school and get some grad school training in counseling presented itself and I seized it. I eventually earned a masters degree in counseling psychology.

For my first 15 years, I served as pastor of that local church. I could preach adequately, but my strongest gifts were clearly in teaching and counseling. So, 15 years ago, my wife and I took a grand step of faith. I resigned my position with the church and we launched a Christian counseling ministry called Home Improvement Ministry. Our mission was to help churches in our area address the great needs of families more effectively.

My wife and I have had our membership in three different churches over the past 15 years. We have been actively involved members. I served as an elder in one of these churches. I taught classes and led small groups in each of them.

I caught the vision for small group ministry back in the early ‘70’s. The church where I was ordained had begun small group ministry while I was doing my college work. Though it was an innovative ministry style, actually held suspect by many at the time, it was a style that fit me perfectly. It still does.

It has been a delight to see many lives changed for the better over the past 30 years. At the same time, it has been a point of grief that so much has not changed at all, and much of what has changed is not for the better. The church structure has changed dramatically in these 30 years. In most churches where my wife and I have been involved, mere song leaders have been replaced by true worship leaders. New songs have replaced old songs. Small group ministry has become common. Specialty support groups have multiplied. Jesus has been exalted above denominational loyalties. Practical, relevant preaching and teaching has become typical in churches. Christian schools have flourished as has the home-school movement.

In spite of all the good changes that exist, our culture continues to spiral downward. The church in America has not grown in the past 30 years. In spite of the emergence of mega churches, there are no traffic jams on Sunday mornings where I live. Consider this heartbreaking reality: The parking lots of casinos in my city – seven days a week – reveal a sad reality when compared to the parking lots of churches. Only one day a week can we give them a run for their money, and this only if we put together a worthy performance.

Let us not be deceived. And let us not be content with the way things are. Jesus was not into crowd building or building “buildings”, but rather people building. He was absolutely committed to the truth and obviously content for truth to thin His crowds. At one point, because of some “hard teachings” Jesus had preached, “many of His disciples turned back and no longer followed Him” (JN 6). Jesus didn’t go running after them. In fact, He actually turned to the Twelve and asked if they planned to leave, too. Peter responded for the group, saying in effect, “We don’t have anywhere else to go. You’re the only one with the words of life for us.” I fear that sizable percentages of the membership of churches of which I have been a part lack such loyalty to Jesus. And, if true revival should come, as has been preached and prayed for repeatedly over the past 30 years, this would change.

It is my intent to continue to fight the fight of faith throughout my remaining years. I shall invest the resources of my life in God’s Kingdom in Christ. I invite you to join me. Though we are not responsible for the return on these investments, it is our responsibility to make them. You see, the return on Kingdom investments is never fully seen in this life, and sometimes hardly visible at all here and now.