Prioritize Your Ministry

Introduction

Turn to 1 Corinthians 16:15-16.

Recently my wife has taken quite an interest in sourdough bread. Of course, it naturally follows that I have also because it has just been an amazing culinary experience and the bread has been delicious.

First it started out as plain sourdough bread. Now when I describe it as “plain” I am not diminishing it in any way. It’s the best bread I’ve ever enjoyed. But when I say it’s plain sourdough bread, that’s simply to distinguish it from what has followed.

You see, in the last few days, her menu has grown to include a brown sugar and cinnamon sourdough bread. Oh! It’s just excellent. That, with a cup of coffee, is the start of a good day.

But it hasn’t stopped there. Yesterday, she rolled out a brand new addition: cheddar cheese sourdough bread.

Now I’m not the expert on sourdough bread - she is, but I’ve learned a thing or two about it as I’ve helped her. I’ve learned that if you want your sourdough bread to turn out, you have to prepare it in the proper order.

Read slowly:

If you want a loaf of bread to come out of the oven and not a hard disk that could be thrown as part of your home defense, there is a process, there is a certain order of steps that you must take. Doing it in the right order is critical.

In our text this morning, Paul teaches us that the same is true about life and ministry. Whatever ministry that God has given you, it is critical that you put it in its proper order. You must prioritize your ministry.

Read 1 Corinthians 16:15-16.

As Paul closes out this letter to the church at Corinth, he exhorts the church to submit themselves to the house of Stephanas and to every person that was part of Paul’s ministry team. No doubt, this included the pastors that Paul trained and that the churches ordained throughout the region.

As he gives this exhortation, Paul shares some fascinating details about this family, the house of Stephanus.

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First, they were among Paul’s first converts in the province of Achaia. No doubt, they received some of his most extensive training. The first time Paul visited Corinth in Acts 18, he remained there for at least 18 months. Think of all the discipleship that he poured into this family! In that length of time, they went from new babes in Christ to mature believers who gave of themselves to minister to and train other believers also. For this reason, Paul exhorted, that the Corinthians submit themselves to this dear family.

The most striking thing about their testimony is found at the end of verse fifteen: “they have addicted themselves to the ministry of the saints.”

Go ahead, page through all of the New Testament, and see if you can find much higher praise from Paul’s lips. Paul didn’t hand out compliments on a whim. This was heartfelt; it was genuine. These believers had made quite an impression on Paul.

But what does it mean to be addicted to the ministry?

The word “addiction” has strong connotations in our day. To our minds, the word has an automatic association with drugs and thus it may bring some negative feelings. More broadly, the word “addiction” means “a strong inclination to do, use, or indulge in something repeatedly.”

Perhaps because of this modern understanding of the word, I have heard it interpreted that the house of Stephanus were obsessed with ministry in the local church. They ate, slept, and breathed ministry. It was all that they did. It was all that consumed their time. They would run themselves ragged and nearly to the point of exhaustion every day in local church ministry.

Now particularly in some independent Baptist circles, that will get you a lot of amens and attaboys. It can make for some good preaching and whooping and hollering, but the problem is, that’s not what the Greek word means.

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Addicted: to place in a certain order, to arrange something, to assign it a proper place

It was a term used in the Grecian armies in reference to drawing up soldiers in order of battle. It meant to form, array, or marshal troops in their assigned place.

Understand, Paul wasn’t commending the house of Stephanus for burning the midnight oil in ministry to the saints, he was commending them for giving ministry to the saints its proper priority.

Prioritize your ministry.

Are there times when ministry to the saints, in other words, local church ministry, requires burning the midnight oil? Yes, but that’s supposed to be the exception, not the norm.

What impressed Paul about this family was that ministry to the saints was a priority in their lives!

They didn’t content themselves with going to church every time the doors were open; they went to church early to open the doors!

Local church ministry was important to them! It came before many other things that tried to fill out their busy lives. Local church ministry sometimes meant saying “no” to other things. But the tradeoff was more than worth it. Ministry was the normal thing to do. By the way, it’s the normal thing for every Christian.

Local church ministry was an opportunity to influence others for good! They made a difference in the lives of other saints in the province of Achaia because they made a choice to make ministry a priority.

Ministry was a priority, not an addiction like in the modern sense.

Christian, as you pray about how God wants you to serve in this local church in 2025, please understand this: God does not demand that you run yourself completely ragged in His service. That is not my expectation of you and neither should that be your expectation of your pastor, his wife, or his family. That said, we are called to be good soldiers of Jesus Christ. That means some hardship and some long days. That means putting ministry in its proper place.

Application:

What is important to you, Christian? All heavenly reward aside, is local church ministry to the saints a priority in your life? If you say “yes”, how is that being manifested in your life?

Whose lives are you touching, Christian? What life are you making a difference in?

Don’t be addicted to ministry, be addicted to Christ. Prioritize your ministry.