Ordinary ministry (May, 2005)

This month's piece really shines, and I praise God for the blessing Jay is to the Covenant.

John Ames saw the glory in the ordinary. God does too. No follower of Jesus--however modest their gifts or menial their task--should consider their lives and ministry less than glorious.

Amen. When I was younger, I dreamed ambitiously of God using me in much more earth-shaking ways. I would probably have been put off at the utter ordinariness of John Ames. But those like him (and me) who labor in menial tasks and with modest gifts are shaking the earth. And pleasing God.

During the last few weeks the world has mourned and celebrated the extraordinary life of Pope John Paul II--and justly so. He was a towering figure in world history. ... But for every John Paul II there are millions of John Ameses--ordinary people involved in ordinary ministry.

And the person God seeks for such high-profile missions are the ones He's been pruning in obscurity. Pope John Paul II lived most of his life not just in obscurity, but completely powerless and persecuted in Communist Poland. I think of Tabitha in Acts 9. Like the long list of names ending Romans, she was an obscure, ordinary woman. But suddenly her story--her death--made an extraordinary impact. We never know if or when God will catapult us into completely different realms of influence (for better or worse). Our job is to be faithful where we are today. "Who despises the day of small things? ..." (Zech. 4:10a)

My wife noticed that the theme, ordinary ministry, fits nicely with the upcoming CHIC 2006 theme: "No ordinary day." Intentional? A God thing either way.