Southern Seminary Magazine (Vol. 91.2) Pastoral Ministry in a Changing World

The Strange World of Personal Ministry
This avoids two opposing temptations: either
to get lost in trying to figure out all the
specifics or to ignore the specifics because
they’re so confusing. Instead, attendance to
the Word means that you’re willing to wait on
the Lord regarding the unknowns while you
trust and obey the knowns.
Figuring out what furries are and to what
degree your college ministry leader is
associating with them will take time.
Discovering why this guy in his fifties is
drawn toward this particular young lady,
how they have conducted themselves in the
relationship, and what accountability looks
like in this situation will take effort. Sorting
through the obvious sin that occurred
when a wife is impregnated by another man
with the less obvious relational history
and motivations that led to that sin will be
complex. Those unknowns are daunting. But
Scripture is full of knowns. And they provide
the grace of clarity for each step.
To know which knowns are most relevant,
you have to know your Bible. And that will
be my parting encouragement. I’ve already
made it clear you can’t entirely prepare for
the unexpected. That’s what makes personal
ministry strange. But you can be prepared to
respond wisely to the strange and unexpected
by stockpiling wisdom from the Word over
the course of your ministry. Know the God
of Scripture, and you will know his heart in
each situation.
Strange, I know. But look at all the strange
situations Paul wrote to in the early church
or Jesus walked into when he entered a
town. The world of ministry has always been
strange. But we can confidently wade into the
unknowns precisely because God has made
known everything we need to wait on him.
10 THE SOUTHERN BAPTIST THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY