Philosophy of Ministry

1 Corinthians 9 NASB95

Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? Are you not my work in the Lord? If to others I am not an apostle, at least I am to you; for you are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord. My defense to those who examine me is this: Do we not have a right to eat and drink? Do we not have a right to take along a believing wife, even as the rest of the apostles and the brothers of the Lord and Cephas? Or do only Barnabas and I not have a right to refrain from working? Who at any time serves as a soldier at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard and does not eat the fruit of it? Or who tends a flock and does not use the milk of the flock? I am not speaking these things according to human judgment, am I? Or does not the Law also say these things? For it is written in the Law of Moses, “You shall not muzzle the ox while he is threshing.” God is not concerned about oxen, is He? Or is He speaking altogether for our sake? Yes, for our sake it was written, because the plowman ought to plow in hope, and the thresher to thresh in hope of sharing the crops. If we sowed spiritual things in you, is it too much if we reap material things from you? If others share the right over you, do we not more? Nevertheless, we did not use this right, but we endure all things so that we will cause no hindrance to the gospel of Christ. Do you not know that those who perform sacred services eat the food of the temple, and those who attend regularly to the altar have their share from the altar? So also the Lord directed those who proclaim the gospel to get their living from the gospel. But I have used none of these things. And I am not writing these things so that it will be done so in my case; for it would be better for me to die than have any man make my boast an empty one. For if I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast of, for I am under compulsion; for woe is me if I do not preach the gospel. For if I do this voluntarily, I have a reward; but if against my will, I have a stewardship entrusted to me. What then is my reward? That, when I preach the gospel, I may offer the gospel without charge, so as not to make full use of my right in the gospel. For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a slave to all, so that I may win more. To the Jews I became as a Jew, so that I might win Jews; to those who are under the Law, as under the Law though not being myself under the Law, so that I might win those who are under the Law; to those who are without law, as without law, though not being without the law of God but under the law of Christ, so that I might win those who are without law. To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak; I have become all things to all men, so that I may by all means save some. I do all things for the sake of the gospel, so that I may become a fellow partaker of it. Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win. Everyone who competes in the games exercises self-control in all things. They then do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. Therefore I run in such a way, as not without aim; I box in such a way, as not beating the air; but I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified.

Why do you do what you do? Can you explain your approach to life? I mean, What motivates you to get up and go to work or school? How do you view your relationships?

I recently read a book titled “Start with Why” by Simon Sinek. This is a book for business-owners, but I find his logic to be consistent with Biblical principles. He argues that if we want to be successful in the long-term, we must have a driving purpose that eclipses temporal goals. For instance, if you want to start a company, you must have a purpose that is greater than making money or producing a product. Rather, your “WHY” should be transcendent of these things and instead focuses on meeting needs or changing lives. Basically, your WHY should be what you would do even if you never got paid.

Well, whether you have taken time to assess it or not, we all work from a basic philosophy. A philosophy is a statement that explains your perspective and why you do what you do. It’s why we treasure certain things in life. Our philosophy might include one’s family values, work ethic, perspective, etc.

As I was entering ministry, I was given the task of developing my personal philosophy of ministry. The point of this was to ensure that this was more than just a job opportunity or an obligation. Instead, my mentors wanted to see the commitment I had to ministry. Was I doing it for the right reasons? Was it a self-serving endeavor?

If my philosophy was not biblical or genuine, then ministry was not for me. In my study to develop my philosophy of ministry, I came upon this section of Scripture we have before us today.

Now, there is more in this passage than this, but certainly not less. What I hope we can do in our time together is examine the Apostle Paul’s approach to ministry. But not simply for academic reasons. You see, the points we’ll draw out of this text this morning are points that every minister and every church member should acknowledge and seek to live out.

This letter was written to the church for the sake of the church- if we are going to live out our calling, then we ought to have a good feel for WHY we do what we do. Just as we have learned over the past several weeks, the church exists to bring God glory through the building up of His Kingdom.

So if you’ve been wondering why we at LRBC are involved in certain programs or why we have certain goals; why it seems like I am constantly goading us toward our mission to make disciples, it is because of there is a philosophy of ministry that I follow and I hope that today you will choose to adopt this philosophy with me as we move together toward God’s mission.

If you picked up a bulletin, I invite you to make use of the sermon guide and follow along as we study 1 Corinthians 9, A Biblical Philosophy of Ministry.

Paul spends about half of this whole chapter (14 verses) making the case that:

Ministry is a Valid Vocation (1-14)

Paul argues here that the work of ministers has value. This value should be acknowledged by the church the response ought to be to pay the pastor(s) a decent wage.

Let me just pause for a moment and say that I am so grateful that I do not have to make this argument on my behalf. Even so, we all know that there are some who have the mindset that pastors should fulfill this role without any compensation. After all, they argue, it’s not a ‘real job’. You know the joke- a pastor only works one day a week, what’s the big deal?

Truly, there is more to my role as a pastor than delivering a sermon each week.

Yet, despite the misconceptions, there are others who believe:

We have to keep the pastor humble, so we won’t pay him much.

He decided to be a minister, if he wants a paycheck, he needs to get another job.

Why should we pay a pastor when we can watch one on TV for free?

Paul faced a bit of criticism from somewhere in the Corinthian Church as well. Somehow they had the idea that it was wrong for a pastor to expect any financial support. But we can see that Paul takes a very strong position here to the contrary.

He argues from a logical side (4-7) as well as a Biblical side (8-14).

First, he argues that ministers are people too- and just like a farmer should expect to earn from his crop, or a soldier should expect to be supported while on duty, so too should a pastor be able to expect to receive funding through his service to the church.

Biblically, he uses the words of Moses and the example of the temple priests and servants to illustrate the principle. If indeed a farmer plows and plants with the hope that he will reap from the crops, so also one who leads spiritually should expect to preach and minister with the hope of being supported financially by the church.

Think of it this way: How many of you go to the grocery store to purchase food? How many of you go to a farm stand and buy produce? You go expecting to exchange money for goods that are necessary in order for you to be physically healthy. Well, if you come to church in order to experience Spiritually sustaining teaching and direction, then you why would you consider it not to be worthy of some sort of financial support?

He says it plainly in v. 14 (READ)

Again, I am so thankful that you as a body financially support the ministry through your giving. To value the work of the ministry is a piece of our philosophy because it demonstrates our priority to spiritual health & growth. And if one day you find yourself on a personnel committee or a pastor search committee, I pray you will remember that God’s word teaches that it is right to pay your pastor a wage that allows him to spend appropriate time in ministry preparation and also permits him to lead his family well. Ministry is a Valid Vocation.

Discuss: Why is it important that a church financially supports their pastor?

Like any assertions of validity, it is important that we recognize qualifiers to these statements. Even though ministry is a valid vocation, there is more to it than vocation. This brings us to our second point:

Ministry is a Calling, Not a Career (15-22)

Paul actually refused to accept financial support from the Corinthians at this time. Not because he didn’t need it, but rather because he did not want the Corinthians to be confused as to his message.

There is a problem that exists in some churches where the pastor is simply there to do his job and get on with life. Indeed, some that I have met only preach because they have to in order to keep their job.

Paul knew that this some would accuse him of preaching this message simply to get rich. Like many prosperity preachers of our day, there were some who went around asking for support for a mission, but the mission was merely the fattening of their own wallet.

I’ve talked to some outside the church who assume this whole church-thing is a sham. They assume that pastors are all hypocrites who are hustling people.

Paul says it this way (READ v.16-18)

In other words, while it is right for a church to pay their pastor, a pastor (and any other ministry leader) must be motivated by the Gospel, not the support.

Folks, I want you to know that I am not in ministry for the money! The reason Paul preached is the reason I preach- because there are millions of people who are dead in their sins and their only hope is the Gospel of Jesus Christ!

The reason I go to the school and do FCA is because there is opportunity for Jesus Christ to be magnified.

The reason I counsel broken marriages is because Christ is the hope of the world.

The reason I go on mission, coordinate with other pastors, visit, pray, witness, etc. is because I know that unless the Gospel is proclaimed, people cannot respond in faith!

ILL: I heard a story one time of a small child who was walking on the beach and saw hundreds and hundreds of starfish that had washed onto the shore. She hurriedly went about picking them up and tossing them back into the water, racing against the sun’s increasing heat. A man stopped her and said, “Child, you will never be able to save all these starfish. Why, you will not make much difference at all.” The child replied, “Yes, but to the ones I save, it makes all the difference in the world.”

Friends, I entered ministry because God called me to proclaim His Hope and to equip the saints of His church to go and do likewise. Each week, as I prepare a message and seek to minister to our community, I do it not out of compulsion that I must fulfill a job duty nor out of the motivation of financial support. I don’t even do it so that you will be happy with me.

I do it because God has placed this call on my life! I do it because I am broken and moved to action by the condition of our world. I do it so that others might experience the joy and peace of Christ’s kingdom- That they might have life when all they’ve ever known is death. So that the world may know my God and be known by Him!

Church, if the day ever comes that I step up here to preach out of anything less than a Gospel motivation; If I am merely preaching out of my job responsibility, I pray that God would take me on, for the Gospel is far greater than a career!

Folks, I need you to hear me here: My desire is that you would be equally inspired to live out your calling. That you would be motivated by the hope and truth of the Gospel

A Biblical Philosophy of Ministry includes a church who believes in the ministry enough to support its pastor, and a motivation to minister for the sake of the Gospel. Ministry is a calling, not a career.

Discuss: How does one’s motivation for ministry factor into their effectiveness in fulfilling the ministry?

Finally, the philosophy of ministry must have grounding. Thus, our last point in the philosophy of ministry is:

Ministry is an Authentic Testimony of the Gospel (23-27)

Let me just read these last few verses (READ 23-27)

The call to ministry is not simply a calling for the sake of others. This is important, as we’ve noted. But at the root of a ministry calling is authenticity.

I minister because I am a partaker of the very Gospel I preach.

I have been given victory through the cross of Christ. I am simply sharing the hope that I know. It’s who I am. We are all in this race called life. And one day, we will stand before our King.

Folks, it’s then that we will finally understand that all of our ministry efforts will be worth it because we get to enjoy the eternal blessings of Christ’s Kingdom!

Let me say it this way- The ministry work that I do or you do may never be validated on earth. I may strive and preach and you know what? I won’t see all the results. I may get discouraged. I may wonder if I’m an effective pastor.

But my hope is not rooted in any human response. After all, it’s the Holy Spirit that’s responsible for the work of salvation, not me. Instead, I know that I am living out the calling of my life. And if I never receive any acknowledgement of that on earth, I will be forever joyous because I have been redeemed by my Savior.

I will sing His praises throughout eternity and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever!

Here’s the thing: Authentic ministry is born out of authentic relationship with Jesus Christ. Any fruit I produce is because I have been grafted into the Vine of the Lord. All the efforts I put forth, all the troubles I deal with- all of it will be worth it because I belong to Him.

Discuss: If you are honest with yourself, how authentic is your relationship with Jesus? How do you live it out?

So, let us return to the question I posed at the beginning. “Why do you do what you do?” Why are you a part of this church? Is your relationship with Jesus real enough for you to live it out? Are you serving? Are you giving? Has Christ transformed you?

My prayer is that you will embrace this biblical philosophy of ministry that has been presented and joyfully join in the mission that God has called this church to.

As the writer of Hebrews put it:

Hebrews 10:19–25 NASB95

Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful; and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.