If I wrote a book about my biggest insight into ministry, I would call it "The Middle Finger."
No, I'm not talking about flipping people off. I'm talking about how ministry is done in the church.
See, I realized about three years ago that there are three times of people, basically, in this world (viewed from a Christian perspective). Hold up three fingers- most people will use their forefinger, their middle finger, and their ring finger. Your forefinger represents the hardcore lost. These are people that are outside of a relationship with Jesus. No pretense of a relationship with Jesus. No attendance or desire for attendance in a church.
On the other side is your ring finger. These are your hardcore committed. These are the people who are in relationship with Jesus, people who are being led by the Holy Spirit of God, and who are producing fruit for the Kingdom.
Then, in the middle, you have the middle finger. The lukewarm.
What I found, about three years ago, is that most of what I had been taught was "ministry" was to the middle finger- the lukewarm. What I was told was ministry was basically trying to get lukewarm people to be a little less lukewarm. It was trying to get people who show up once a month to show up twice a month. People who cuss to stop cussing. People who don't care to care a little bit more. People who give a little to give a little more. That's basically what I came to a realization of.
I realized that very little was being done to reach the forefinger- the hardcore lost, and very little was being done to disciple the ring finger- the hardcore committed. Therefore, we had a church, and many churches, that neglect the lost AND the committed and spend all of their time and energy on the one category that Jesus said He would vomit out of His mouth.
If you examine the life of Jesus, He split His time between the forefinger- the prostitutes, tax collectors, the sick, the lepers, and the outcast- and the ring finger- His twelve disciples. Very rarely do we see Him spending any time with the middle finger. As a matter of fact, if Jesus ever sensed that there were middle finger folks in His crowds, He intentionally said things to turn them away. In John 6, at the height of His popularity and when He was drawing the biggest crowds, He told them in order to follow Him they had to eat His flesh and drink His blood (referring to communion). All the middle finger people deserted Him and all that was left was His disciples.
If you are a pastor reading this, do you spend your time as Jesus did? Is half your time devoted to reaching the hardcore lost and the other half devoted to discipling the hardcore committed? If I had to guess, the answer would be no. Don't worry. You're not alone. I want to challenge you to change around your schedule- radically if necessary- to imitate the time management of Jesus.
See, Jesus knew something about the middle finger folks that many pastors don't. He knew that they were lukewarm by choice. There wouldn't be much return for His investment of time and energy in those folks. So, He spent His time where there WERE results- in the hardcore lost and the hardcore committed. So many ministers are burnt out and wondering if they are making any difference at all. If I had to guess, I would wager that burnt-out ministers are the ones spending all their time and efforts into trying to get lukewarm people to be a little less lukewarm, all the while neglecting the lost and the committed.
Pastors, start doing ministry in prison. Start discipling your leaders. Tell the middle finger folks in your church that you love them, but you won't be investing one more minute of your time there. Invite them over to the hardcore committed category. Spend all your time in those two categories like Jesus did.
If you are not a pastor, what category are you in? I invite you, if you are not a Christian, to become one. Move into a relationship with Jesus. However, I challenge you to skip over the middle finger and go straight to the ring finger- become a disciple. If you are a middle finger person, your future doesn't look very bright. Jesus reserved His harshest words for this category, and you would be wise to move from the middle finger to the ring finger.
For you pastors out there who are thinking of quitting, throwing in the towel, chucking it all, I ask you to take a look at your schedule and see who you are really spending your time with. I'll tell you this- since I started investing in the forefinger and the ring finger it most definitely hasn't been easy, but it most definitely has been awesome. I love my prison ministry, I love my time working in the drug rehab house, I love my time with the hardcore lost. They are awesome. I also love my time with the guys I'm discipling. It is energizing and fulfilling. That's how most of my ministry time is spent.
Or, you can keep arguing with the middle finger folks over the color of the carpet, the paint on the walls, and the volume of the music, which is what middle finger folks do. You can keep reading anonymous letters criticizing your ministry, which is what middle finger folks send. You can spend a great deal of time chasing people begging them to get back in church, which is something Jesus never did. You can spend your time organizing craft bazaars, committee meetings, and planning sessions (some of which are necessary, but most aren't) and at the end of the day never make a disciple.
Your time is short. Spend it where the returns are. Reach the lost and disciple the committed. You haven't been called to do anything else. Unfortunately, many ministers are doing everything EXCEPT reaching the lost and discipling the committed. Love the middle finger folks, but don't invest much time and energy there. Jesus didn't. Neither should you.
No, I'm not talking about flipping people off. I'm talking about how ministry is done in the church.
See, I realized about three years ago that there are three times of people, basically, in this world (viewed from a Christian perspective). Hold up three fingers- most people will use their forefinger, their middle finger, and their ring finger. Your forefinger represents the hardcore lost. These are people that are outside of a relationship with Jesus. No pretense of a relationship with Jesus. No attendance or desire for attendance in a church.
On the other side is your ring finger. These are your hardcore committed. These are the people who are in relationship with Jesus, people who are being led by the Holy Spirit of God, and who are producing fruit for the Kingdom.
Then, in the middle, you have the middle finger. The lukewarm.
What I found, about three years ago, is that most of what I had been taught was "ministry" was to the middle finger- the lukewarm. What I was told was ministry was basically trying to get lukewarm people to be a little less lukewarm. It was trying to get people who show up once a month to show up twice a month. People who cuss to stop cussing. People who don't care to care a little bit more. People who give a little to give a little more. That's basically what I came to a realization of.
I realized that very little was being done to reach the forefinger- the hardcore lost, and very little was being done to disciple the ring finger- the hardcore committed. Therefore, we had a church, and many churches, that neglect the lost AND the committed and spend all of their time and energy on the one category that Jesus said He would vomit out of His mouth.
If you examine the life of Jesus, He split His time between the forefinger- the prostitutes, tax collectors, the sick, the lepers, and the outcast- and the ring finger- His twelve disciples. Very rarely do we see Him spending any time with the middle finger. As a matter of fact, if Jesus ever sensed that there were middle finger folks in His crowds, He intentionally said things to turn them away. In John 6, at the height of His popularity and when He was drawing the biggest crowds, He told them in order to follow Him they had to eat His flesh and drink His blood (referring to communion). All the middle finger people deserted Him and all that was left was His disciples.
If you are a pastor reading this, do you spend your time as Jesus did? Is half your time devoted to reaching the hardcore lost and the other half devoted to discipling the hardcore committed? If I had to guess, the answer would be no. Don't worry. You're not alone. I want to challenge you to change around your schedule- radically if necessary- to imitate the time management of Jesus.
See, Jesus knew something about the middle finger folks that many pastors don't. He knew that they were lukewarm by choice. There wouldn't be much return for His investment of time and energy in those folks. So, He spent His time where there WERE results- in the hardcore lost and the hardcore committed. So many ministers are burnt out and wondering if they are making any difference at all. If I had to guess, I would wager that burnt-out ministers are the ones spending all their time and efforts into trying to get lukewarm people to be a little less lukewarm, all the while neglecting the lost and the committed.
Pastors, start doing ministry in prison. Start discipling your leaders. Tell the middle finger folks in your church that you love them, but you won't be investing one more minute of your time there. Invite them over to the hardcore committed category. Spend all your time in those two categories like Jesus did.
If you are not a pastor, what category are you in? I invite you, if you are not a Christian, to become one. Move into a relationship with Jesus. However, I challenge you to skip over the middle finger and go straight to the ring finger- become a disciple. If you are a middle finger person, your future doesn't look very bright. Jesus reserved His harshest words for this category, and you would be wise to move from the middle finger to the ring finger.
For you pastors out there who are thinking of quitting, throwing in the towel, chucking it all, I ask you to take a look at your schedule and see who you are really spending your time with. I'll tell you this- since I started investing in the forefinger and the ring finger it most definitely hasn't been easy, but it most definitely has been awesome. I love my prison ministry, I love my time working in the drug rehab house, I love my time with the hardcore lost. They are awesome. I also love my time with the guys I'm discipling. It is energizing and fulfilling. That's how most of my ministry time is spent.
Or, you can keep arguing with the middle finger folks over the color of the carpet, the paint on the walls, and the volume of the music, which is what middle finger folks do. You can keep reading anonymous letters criticizing your ministry, which is what middle finger folks send. You can spend a great deal of time chasing people begging them to get back in church, which is something Jesus never did. You can spend your time organizing craft bazaars, committee meetings, and planning sessions (some of which are necessary, but most aren't) and at the end of the day never make a disciple.
Your time is short. Spend it where the returns are. Reach the lost and disciple the committed. You haven't been called to do anything else. Unfortunately, many ministers are doing everything EXCEPT reaching the lost and discipling the committed. Love the middle finger folks, but don't invest much time and energy there. Jesus didn't. Neither should you.
Excellent commentary and quite accurate. The lukewarm will always be that way, thus they think they can have their cake and eat it too. In the end, though, they will answer to Jesus at the Judgment seat, and yes, we need to work diligently to keep as many from the Great White Throne Judgment seat. Good job, keep up the good work.
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