I am now finishing up my fifteenth year of ministry, spent both as a youth minister and a senior minister. I've messed up a lot, succeeded a lot, and learned a lot in those years. Something, however, hit me about a month ago that may completely revamp the way I view ministry and specifically how I spend my time.
I've noticed that there are roughly three categories of people that I interact with. On one end of the spectrum, there are the "hardcore lost." These are the guys I see in my prison class on Tuesday mornings- drug dealers, addicts, thieves, liars, etc. This category of folks are far away from Christ. They are the atheists, the criminals, the homeless, the addicted, the hopeless, etc.
On the other end of the spectrum are the "hardcore committed." These are the people who are disciples of Jesus Christ. They are committed to following Him- His word is sovereign, His will is their will, etc. These are the folks that are the future leaders in the church.
Somewhere in the middle, however, is the largest segment of people. They are neither hardcore lost nor hardcore committed. They are what the Bible refers to as "lukewarm." The Bible doesn't have very kind words to say about them (Revelation 3:16) and pastor Francis Chan made a profile of the lukewarm found here (check it out- it's very good).
I've found that most of my time in ministry has been unintentionally spent in this middle category. Basically what I have found is that most of my ministry has been trying to get lukewarm people not to be lukewarm. It's been spent trying to people who call themselves Christians to pick up their Bibles once in a while, get people who don't care to care a little bit, get people who go to church but don't really care what Jesus has to say to care about what Jesus has to say. Unfortunately, this is an area of investment with not much return. Lukewarm people are very difficult to disciple, and don't particularly even want to move. Most problems in churches come from this category- most of the complaining or factions or issues arise from lukewarm people acting like lukewarm people.
What I have realized is that Jesus specifically avoided this group. He spent His time equally with the two extremes- the hardcore lost and the hardcore committed. When He wasn't spending time with tax collectors, prostitutes, lepers, and thieves He was hanging around with His twelve disciples, teaching them about the Kingdom.
Jesus invested at the margins. Why? Because that's where the biggest returns were.
He spend a great deal of time discipling the committed men who followed Him. The result? 2000 years ago there were 12 Christians. Now, one out of every three people on the planet, more than 2 billion, call themselves Christians. Jesus invested His time in people who were committed, who were teachable, who were serious about God's will and would follow God's commands to the death. The results speak for themselves.
However, He also was found at the other end of the spectrum. His greatest miracles were among the outcasts. He was among the hardcore lost so much that He was accused of being a drunk and a glutton. He was loved by the extremes and hated by the middle.
If you are a minister (a lot of ministers read this blog), how much of your time is spent in the margins? Or, like me, have you inadvertently spent most of your time among people that Jesus specifically avoided? What would your schedule look like if you devoted the majority of your time to discipling the hardcore committed and reaching the hardcore lost? Would it look significantly different?
If you are a layperson, challenge your minister to invest at the margins. Then, you go invest at the margins as well. What hardcore lost people are you ministering to? What hardcore committed person are you discipling? Maybe you aren't doing either because you are smack dab in the middle category. If this is you, I challenge you to move to the hardcore committed category and begin investing where Jesus invested.
What would the church look like if we spent all of our time in those two categories? What if 50% of the time, the church was going after the hardcore lost- going into prisons, going on missions to persecuted countries, sharing faith with atheists, etc; and the other 50% discipling people who actually care, who actually will put into practice the Word of God, who are ready to become leaders and influencers in the Body of Christ?
Unfortunately, most of our time is spent in the middle category, trying to get lukewarm people to care, trying to get halfway committed people to commit a little more, trying to get monthly Sunday attenders to come twice a month, etc. Pathetic. Why invest in a black hole? Invest where the returns are, church. The returns are in the margins. They are in the hardcore lost and the hardcore committed. Not much else is going to happen in the middle.
Most ministers are incredibly frustrated because all of their time is spent in the middle. About 1500 pastors leave the ministry every month because of the discouragement ministry brings. Maybe they like investors who continue to pour money into a stock that stubbornly refuses to budge, and they need to stop pouring time and effort into that one and find one with real returns. Ministers spend a great deal of time trying to calm church members who are upset over non-Kingdom issues. They spend a great deal of time following up with lukewarm members who simply just don't care. They spend a great deal of time among the lukewarm who know better but have no intention of ever giving up their sin or changing. All of this amounts to a great deal of frustration. I know this personally.
So, I've decided to stop. I've decided to stop trying to get lukewarm people to not be lukewarm. I'm going to love them, pray for them, etc, but I'm not going to spend a great deal of time and effort there. It's just not worth it. I am devoting myself to the margins. I am going to increase my time among the hardcore lost- more prison ministry, more street ministry, more missions, more getting my hands dirty where angels fear to tread. I am also going to increase my time among the hardcore committed- training them for ministry and moving them into leadership in the Body of Christ. If you are in either of those two categories, I have time for you.
That's where Jesus spent His time. That's where I'm going to spend my time too. I invite you to join me.
I've noticed that there are roughly three categories of people that I interact with. On one end of the spectrum, there are the "hardcore lost." These are the guys I see in my prison class on Tuesday mornings- drug dealers, addicts, thieves, liars, etc. This category of folks are far away from Christ. They are the atheists, the criminals, the homeless, the addicted, the hopeless, etc.
On the other end of the spectrum are the "hardcore committed." These are the people who are disciples of Jesus Christ. They are committed to following Him- His word is sovereign, His will is their will, etc. These are the folks that are the future leaders in the church.
Somewhere in the middle, however, is the largest segment of people. They are neither hardcore lost nor hardcore committed. They are what the Bible refers to as "lukewarm." The Bible doesn't have very kind words to say about them (Revelation 3:16) and pastor Francis Chan made a profile of the lukewarm found here (check it out- it's very good).
I've found that most of my time in ministry has been unintentionally spent in this middle category. Basically what I have found is that most of my ministry has been trying to get lukewarm people not to be lukewarm. It's been spent trying to people who call themselves Christians to pick up their Bibles once in a while, get people who don't care to care a little bit, get people who go to church but don't really care what Jesus has to say to care about what Jesus has to say. Unfortunately, this is an area of investment with not much return. Lukewarm people are very difficult to disciple, and don't particularly even want to move. Most problems in churches come from this category- most of the complaining or factions or issues arise from lukewarm people acting like lukewarm people.
What I have realized is that Jesus specifically avoided this group. He spent His time equally with the two extremes- the hardcore lost and the hardcore committed. When He wasn't spending time with tax collectors, prostitutes, lepers, and thieves He was hanging around with His twelve disciples, teaching them about the Kingdom.
Jesus invested at the margins. Why? Because that's where the biggest returns were.
He spend a great deal of time discipling the committed men who followed Him. The result? 2000 years ago there were 12 Christians. Now, one out of every three people on the planet, more than 2 billion, call themselves Christians. Jesus invested His time in people who were committed, who were teachable, who were serious about God's will and would follow God's commands to the death. The results speak for themselves.
However, He also was found at the other end of the spectrum. His greatest miracles were among the outcasts. He was among the hardcore lost so much that He was accused of being a drunk and a glutton. He was loved by the extremes and hated by the middle.
If you are a minister (a lot of ministers read this blog), how much of your time is spent in the margins? Or, like me, have you inadvertently spent most of your time among people that Jesus specifically avoided? What would your schedule look like if you devoted the majority of your time to discipling the hardcore committed and reaching the hardcore lost? Would it look significantly different?
If you are a layperson, challenge your minister to invest at the margins. Then, you go invest at the margins as well. What hardcore lost people are you ministering to? What hardcore committed person are you discipling? Maybe you aren't doing either because you are smack dab in the middle category. If this is you, I challenge you to move to the hardcore committed category and begin investing where Jesus invested.
What would the church look like if we spent all of our time in those two categories? What if 50% of the time, the church was going after the hardcore lost- going into prisons, going on missions to persecuted countries, sharing faith with atheists, etc; and the other 50% discipling people who actually care, who actually will put into practice the Word of God, who are ready to become leaders and influencers in the Body of Christ?
Unfortunately, most of our time is spent in the middle category, trying to get lukewarm people to care, trying to get halfway committed people to commit a little more, trying to get monthly Sunday attenders to come twice a month, etc. Pathetic. Why invest in a black hole? Invest where the returns are, church. The returns are in the margins. They are in the hardcore lost and the hardcore committed. Not much else is going to happen in the middle.
Most ministers are incredibly frustrated because all of their time is spent in the middle. About 1500 pastors leave the ministry every month because of the discouragement ministry brings. Maybe they like investors who continue to pour money into a stock that stubbornly refuses to budge, and they need to stop pouring time and effort into that one and find one with real returns. Ministers spend a great deal of time trying to calm church members who are upset over non-Kingdom issues. They spend a great deal of time following up with lukewarm members who simply just don't care. They spend a great deal of time among the lukewarm who know better but have no intention of ever giving up their sin or changing. All of this amounts to a great deal of frustration. I know this personally.
So, I've decided to stop. I've decided to stop trying to get lukewarm people to not be lukewarm. I'm going to love them, pray for them, etc, but I'm not going to spend a great deal of time and effort there. It's just not worth it. I am devoting myself to the margins. I am going to increase my time among the hardcore lost- more prison ministry, more street ministry, more missions, more getting my hands dirty where angels fear to tread. I am also going to increase my time among the hardcore committed- training them for ministry and moving them into leadership in the Body of Christ. If you are in either of those two categories, I have time for you.
That's where Jesus spent His time. That's where I'm going to spend my time too. I invite you to join me.
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