You yourselves are our letter of recommendation, written on our hearts, to be known and read by all. And you show that you are a letter from Christ delivered by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts. Such is the confidence that we have through Christ toward God. Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God, who has made us sufficient to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. 2 Corinthians 3:2-6.
The best marketing strategy for the church is the people of God. That is not to say that there is no point to social media, advertising or marketing. We clearly know that from just talking with many who enter into our building that they found us on the web, social media, Facebook or Instagram. Clearly there is a place, certainly in the culture, for such tools and we are profoundly thankful for those who know how to handle those tools. But we also know that many people who walk through our doors are those whom people have graciously invited to come and check us out. These days people prefer to “check us out” online first to get a feel for what kind of church we are and then walk through our doors. But, time and again, the most powerful element that convinces people stay is squarely on the culture of our community, built by the character and commitment of our people. The best commendation for any faith community will always be the testimony of its people.
The highest impact we can have in our community is what Christ is doing in our lives. Notice the focus of the “commendation” for Paul’s ministry are the people he has shared Christ. They are described, not as a work of Paul but a letter of Christ. They are, in fact, not followers of Paul but of Jesus. Their lives are a result of the inward activity of the Spirit of God. This “spiritual work” is not written on papyrus or engraved on stone but how the Spirit of God marks and imprints His presence on the heart of Christians. His message is not about the messenger, in this case Paul, but each life is a testimony and reflection of Christ in them. Paul even pushes the metaphor to include that their lives are being written, or possibly re-written, not with ink but the Spirit of the living God.
The evidence of effective ministry is the transformation of people’s hearts, not our programming. I get we live in America and the measure of success is often on size and programming. Again, the issue here is not that programming is wrong but often the wrong indicator of successful ministry. There is often this tacit approval that just because we run a program well that we are successful in changing lives. Certainly for many individuals, being in a structure has brought life-changing effect in their life. But if we are to examine this more closely, it is not the structure that has brought the change but the relationships within that structure that has impacted their life. If we go even deeper, these individuals take the time to discuss, discover and dive into truth that the Spirit of God then imprints on to the heart of those being cared for. The power is not in the structure but the Spirit of God working through people whom He uses to speak into the lives of others. The right question is always more about how are lives being changed by being in our programs than how many people are in our programs.
The confidence of ministry is our complete inadequacy. Our confidence is not so much about what we do but what God does in us. Paul humbly states what ought to be true for everyone – we are not sufficient for this kind of ministry. We have seen people in our world, with the right kind of personality and the most persuasive words, sway and influence people to get them to do lots of things and build great things. But this ministry is not accomplished by smooth talking or persuasive words of wisdom, manipulation or deceit. This ministry is indisputably a work of the Spirit of God alone. Only He can change the heart to become a letter of Christ. Only He can imprint the character of Jesus on a human heart. This is the message of true, spiritual ministry.
In His grace, Pastor Brad
