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    Each One a Minister: Using God's Gifts for Ministry
    Each One a Minister: Using God's Gifts for Ministry
    Each One a Minister: Using God's Gifts for Ministry
    Ebook169 pages2 hours

    Each One a Minister: Using God's Gifts for Ministry

    By William J. Carter

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    About this ebook

    *Each One a Minister**, a revised and enlarged edition of Carter's previous book by the same title, begins with a six-session study of Ephesians. Carter engages the reader in discovering the meaning of church, ministry and gifts from the early church up to the present.

    As a follow-up to the Bible study, readers and study groups look at ways in which God's gifts are practical as well as spiritual. Four ministry categories, closely connected to the congregational primary task (receive, relate, equip, send), are identified. Scripture readings, activities and ways to implement specific ministries are suggested.

    Designed to encourage individuals to discover God's call to ministry in their own lives, Each One a Minister leads toward practical ways of using gifts in ministries in our congregations and in our communities. An ideal resource for clergy, lay leaders, study groups and others seeking to identify and use their gifts in meaningful ways.

    Lay Speaking Ministries Basic Text (Advanced Course): Lay Speakers Discover Spiritual Gifts)
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherDiscipleship Resources
    Release dateOct 1, 2003
    ISBN9780881776607
    Each One a Minister: Using God's Gifts for Ministry
    Author

    William J. Carter

    William J. Carter, a retired ordained minister of The United Methodist Church, leads numerous retreats for local church staffs and Bible study sessions throughout the Southeast. His ministry career includes 28 years as a pastor of local churches in the Holston Conference (Tennessee) and service as director of the Holston Conference Council on Ministries.

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      Book preview

      Each One a Minister - William J. Carter

      PART 1

      THE CHURCH, MINISTRY, AND GIFTS

      Suppose you had lived for two years in a community where you argued vehemently with members of your group, caught some of your fellow Christians practicing black magic, and started a riot over religious commercialism. If you were later writing a letter to this community, what would you say?

      What you would write might depend on your maturity in the faith. While in his formative stages, Paul often became involved in controversy. His first preaching led to criticism from fellow Christians and to his banishment to Tarsus for a number of years (Acts 9:26-30). Later, he returned to ministry as a teacher with Barnabas in the Gentile church at Antioch (Acts 11:19-26) and then went on his first missionary journey with Barnabas, Silas, and John Mark (who went back home within a short while). Paul was a leader in a delegation to a conference in Jerusalem to protest the requirement that all new converts obey the ceremonial laws of Judaism (Acts 15:1-35). There a great debate between the people from Antioch and the apostles was resolved only when the apostles agreed to stop requiring new Christians to observe most of the ancient customs.

      Shortly after their return to Antioch, Paul and Barnabas got into a shouting match over whether to take John Mark on the next missionary journey. The result was that each went his separate way, with Barnabas taking John Mark with him. Paul chose Silas to accompany him and later recruited Timothy from Lystra in Galatia to complete the new team (Acts 15:36–16:5).

      Early in his ministry Paul wrote a letter to the Galatians in which he accuses them of deserting him and calls them foolish Galatians (Galatians 3:1). He hints that those who disagree with him are cursed. Later, in letters to the church at Corinth, Paul condemns those who criticize him and threatens to bring a whip and to not be lenient (1 Corinthians 4:14-21; 2 Corinthians 13:1-4). However, Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians also contains the magnificent chapter on love, 1 Corinthians 13. In his letter to the Romans, he admonishes the faithful to welcome those who are weak in faith, to stop judging one another, and to aim at those things that bring peace and that help strengthen one another (Romans 14:1, 13, 19). By the time Paul wrote to the Philippians, he was even more tolerant and affectionate (Philippians 1:18-28; 3:12-21). Paul’s letters from prison are gentle and persuasive. God was working mightily in him during this transition time, so we can see the work of grace as we read his words.

      What you would write to your community might depend on what was happening to you at the time. Paul’s letters to the Thessalonians were written while he was dealing with controversy over Christ’s return. Some people were stopping their ordinary lives in order to wait for Christ, so Paul’s words are directive, even sharp, in tone: Whoever refuses to work is not allowed to eat (2 Thessalonians 3:10). The letter to the Ephesians was written from prison. Like Paul’s other prison letters, it reflects a sense of serenity and universality.

      What you would write to your community might also depend on what had happened to the community since you left. The Corinthian congregation never settled down. Even at the end of the first century, another Christian letter writer, Clement, was still calling them to overcome the immaturity of pride and envy. But the church at Ephesus appears to have become a stable, stalwart group.

      The letter Paul wrote to the Ephesians is sensitive, affectionate, and compassionate, reassuring the people that they are beloved of Paul and of God and that they are citizens of a wider community than they had ever imagined. Furthermore, Paul says, they are the body of Christ, just as Jesus had been the body of God; and they carry within themselves gifts of such importance that they could become the foundation for building the Body up to its intended stature.

      THE FOUNDATION OF THE CHURCH:

      THE GIFTS FOR MINISTRY

      The early church faced a dilemma that all new organizations encounter: What was its mission, and how could it be accomplished? Paul was the spokesperson for God’s design for the new fellowship.

      It all began in Paul’s letter to the church at Corinth. Some of the people there had asked in a letter about pneumatikos, a Greek word derived from pneuma, which is usually translated as wind, breath, or spirit. It should be translated as spirituality or spiritual matters, but it is translated as spiritual gifts in many versions. Paul, led by God, perceived that they were actually talking about dramatic evidences, such as speaking in tongues. Are these required for Christians to prove that they have the Holy Spirit?

      Paul wrote in his letter that they do not need to worry about that. He reassures them that no one can confess ‘Jesus is Lord,’ without being guided by the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:3). So, being able to affirm that Jesus is Lord is the only proof Christians need that they have the Holy Spirit.

      However, in the next paragraph, Paul says that there are manifestations of the new life in Christ that do need to be explored. He calls them charismata, derived from charis, which means grace. The meaning of charismata would be something like gifts of grace (1 Corinthians 12:7-11).

      People like me who do not know Greek missed this shift for many years. Paul introduced a new Christian concept. He and God turned to a new word, not used before in Christian literature, to describe the evidence in Christian lives that they are new creatures in Christ. Paul switched the discussion from spiritual requirements to signs of grace. Instead of matters of the spirit (pneuma), he began to discuss matters of grace. He wrote of pneumatikos only six times, mostly in disapproval, but he referred to charismata many times. Charismata are gifts of grace by which people are prepared to do ministry. Those who have been saved by grace are prepared by grace to serve God. It is all connected.

      While these gifts of grace are sometimes identified as given by the Spirit, they are also given by Jesus Christ (Ephesians 4). They come from God, the whole Trinity, as a way of preparing believers for ministry. So, throughout this book we will refer to them as gifts for ministry. You will learn much more about that in the study of the Book of Ephesians that follows, along with other insights into the expectations for Christians in the first century and today.

      ABOUT THIS BOOK

      Part 1 will guide you in studying the key New Testament concepts of church, ministry, and gifts, based on the letter to the Ephesians, with other New Testament references. Since I am convinced that the study of the New Testament is the only way to learn about Jesus Christ and the intentions of God for us, I put special emphasis on study of the text. Even though we may have read the Book of Ephesians many times, we can gain insights by studying it again that we have not seen before.

      The study, divided into six sessions, is intended for either personal or group reflection. Within each session several themes are developed, each with Scripture references from the Book of Ephesians and from other sources. Be sure to read the designated chapter or verses in the Bible before reading the discussion of the topics. Then be sure to complete each of the spiritual exercises as you study. A minimum of six ninety-minute sessions is suggested (perhaps shorter for individual study, perhaps longer in some groups).

      Parts 2 and 3 address the application of the gifts to ministry in our church and community. They will guide individuals or groups in recognizing and using gifts for ministry, with specific areas outlined to illustrate general principles.

      Part 4 directs you to other resources you may want to explore. Some are fairly new resources.

      Scripture quotations are taken from the Good News Translation in Today’s English Version—Second Edition. You may wish to compare the texts with other translations, especially if you have favorites.

      References to The Book of Discipline of The United Methodist Church are from the 2012 edition and paragraph specific only when absolutely necessary since paragraph numbers may change with successive editions.

      SESSION 1

      EPHESIANS 1

      GOD’S INTENTION FOR US

      GET READY

      The book of Ephesians is a letter rich in resources for people who desire to serve God. It is a spiritual manual designed to introduce readers to the plan of God for themselves and for the body of Christ. The six sessions in this part of the book will lead you through that resource and will help you focus on God’s intentions for you and for your spiritual maturation. The lessons may be studied by someone in solitude, or they may be studied in a group of friends, in a Sunday school class, or in an organized spiritual-growth group. In any case, it would be good to start with the aim of enlarging your spiritual life. Spirituality, defined as closeness to God, is our highest goal. Christians have been on a spiritual journey much of their lives, and each day brings an opportunity to add to that voyage of faith.

      Since you are starting a spiritual-growth adventure, it would be good to review your past spiritual life, tracing how you came to be where you are now. The spiritual exercise below will help you review and will give you a

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