The Minister, Growth, and Its Implications

What is a minister? To be a minister is being; hence, a minister is a person in a process of becoming; he is someone who is willing to be ministered upon by others, not just someone ministering to others in action. And yet, I also believe that being and doing—which is to “minister” in its state of action—are suppose to be one in the minister as an individual.

The “being” is not a stranger to the “doing.” It is unlikely for a minister to be so preoccupied with his sense of being, pouring out his all energy on his self, but neglecting the external manifestation of his ministry as a minister. In other words: a minister is not just a person per se, but an embodiment of a minister who functions as one. A claim to be a minister without functioning as minister is empty claim, a byword without sense.

The true minister is not only self-conscious about who he is a minister, but as a self-giving minister to others, as well as a recipient of the ministry of others unto himself. By implication, being a minister is more than just a personal identity and self-consciousness; it is a state of a person emanating what is from within unto others the essence of clarity, compassion, and contemplation.

In short: authentic Christian living. Hence, a minister is not mere principle, but person; not a cliché, but character; not mere internal preoccupation, but incarnational. It is Christ within the minister, working out for others to be like Christ.

The parting question was: If my spiritual life cannot grow in the ministry, how will it ever grow in the edge? But why cannot? Isn’t it that the ministry is also the best—if not the better—place to grow? To be in the ministry is a spiritual adventure; we do not come or involve ourselves in the ministry because of who we are as “we are” already.

We are in the ministry because we are called into it and to be a minister is becoming and fulfilling of who we are called to be. Hence, the question is not on the regression of “cannot” but on “why not?” if ever that is the case. Does the parting question assume that spiritual growth is possible “only” outside the ministry? The qualification “cannot” seems to indicate. It is unlikely. But if it is just a hypothetical qualifier, the question is not only the “how” in reference to the method or solution, but also of the “why.”

Thus, by implication, spiritual growth in the ministry is dynamic, if not given. There are times when the minister may not feel the growth. Perhaps it is because the growth is not like constant or sudden change; it is possible that the growth is gradual, not to mention that measuring spirituality is not like measuring grades and IQ. It is through the drudgery of life that growth is strengthened, not on the assumption of expertise or accumulated knowledge.

Spirituality is like the essence of being a minister; it is a process. The height or depth of it is covered in the whole process. The fact that we cannot measure or draw the clear line in between spiritual and carnality makes spirituality a lifetime challenge; most of the time, we are only able to identify the extremes of it—that is the external manifestation of deep spirituality and grave carnality. Most of the time, spirituality is a personal matter, but not self-centeredness; it is not just the external manifestation of deeds, but also of the internal consciousness of living and being controlled by the Spirit. Thus, the minister’s spirituality is beyond implications; it is explicated.