Encouragement

How does one keep going in life and in ministry?   Both personally and as congregations?   If only it was as easy as putting an Energizer battery into our ministry or church sockets!   Perhaps you have seen (or remember) those images of the Energizer bunny.  While others quickly run out of steam, the Energizer bunny just keeps going and going and going ....

The tasks of church ministry are not easy!   Church life is not always a walk in the park.   It has been said, "in choosing ministry one chooses to command an outpost of unequalled danger which threatens from without and within."   In our society today the tasks of evangelism and preaching are not considered high by people.   Dr. Rowland Croucher, the director of John Mark Ministries, estimates that while there are 10,000 employed local church pastors in Australia, there are also 10,000 ex-pastors who have left full-time ministry.   Those are stark statistics.   When I began my ministry studies in 1980, in the opening lecture at seminary, we were told that less than 50% of our class would eventually graduate with our degrees.   And less than 25% of us would go the distance and engage in a lifetime of gospel ministry in and through the local church.   How is that for discouragement for a 22 year old who felt called by God into Christian ministry?

This is why the core Biblical value of 'Local Church Empowering' is so important!  We have been considering the Biblical values that shape the culture of the CRCA, a contemporary, Reformed, gospel-focused denomination.   When it comes to 'Local Church Empowering' we are saying that as a denomination we are light on structures and hierarchy, and high on support, partnership, mutual accountability and encouragement.   We have already looked at the first three aspects:  support, partnership, and mutual accountability.  We now turn to the aspect of encouragement.   

Yes the CRCA is high on encouragement, not discouragement.  As a denomination we are high on encouragement because the Bible is high on encouragement, especially when it comes to helping one another as churches and individuals. When the apostle Paul visited the churches it was described by Luke as "speaking many words of encouragement." (Acts 20:2; cf. Acts 27:36)  Paul saw ministry generally as one of encouraging the churches (Ephesians 6:22; Philippians 1:14; Colossians 2:2; 4:8; 1 Thessalonians 2:12; 3:2; 4:18; 5:11,14; 2 Thessalonians 2:17; 2 Timothy 4:2; Titus 1:9) But this ministry of encouragement went both ways.  As Paul looks forward to being with the church in Rome he looked forward to being "mutually encouraged by each other's faith." (Romans 1:12; see also 1 Thessalonians 3:7; Philemon 7)   The church in Corinth gave Paul "great encouragement". (2 Corinthians 7:4,13)  The writer of Hebrews reminds us that a key purpose of the church, and especially the gathering together, is so that we can "encourage one another" (Hebrews 10:25)  And one also cannot forget Joseph who the apostles nicknamed  Barnabas (which means Son of Encouragement; Acts 4:36).    From these (and other) passages it is abundantly clear that encouragement is a key aspect of empowering the local church in being the body of our Lord Jesus Christ.

But what does this ministry of encouragement look like among believers, among churches, and within the CRCA denomination?   To put it very simply, encouragement is about helping one another have a 'can-do attitude' in life and in ministry.  You can overcome sin.   You can pray.   You can share your faith with others.   You can worship God.   You can serve in the church.   You can begin a new ministry.   You can plant a new church.   You can become healthy as a congregation.   You can disciple the lost. You can have an effective small group ministry.   You can figure out God's direction for your life or your congregation.   You can develop strategies to have a healthy church. You can preach.   You can follow God's call into a lifetime of gospel work.  You can fill in the blank.   

You can read a lot about having a 'can-do attitude' through popular literature or doing a Google search.   Most popular 'can-do attitudes' begin by telling you to develop a 'self-belief'.  In other words, if you simply believe in yourself, then you will be able to do anything.    Success is possible, if not inevitable, for those who continue to try.   So people tell one another, "You can do it!"  People exert a whole lot of self-effort to try to achieve what they hope to achieve.

When we say the CRCA is high on encouragement, the above is not the kind of 'can-do attitude' being promoted.   As Christians we realise that on our own we can do nothing.  Did not our Lord Jesus teach us: “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing." (John 15:5)?   The converse is also true, as the apostle Paul testified about his own ministry:   "I can do everything through him who gives me strength."  (Philippians 4:13).   God alone is the one who can do all things, without the assistance from anybody or anything else. (see Job 42:2)  As individuals and as churches we need God to help us.   Our belief is not in ourselves, in what we are able to do, but in the LORD God Almighty, what he is able to do in us and through us.   This God "is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us...."  (Ephesians 3:20)   God is able to do all things in us and through us.

The aspect of encouragement is the blessing of being part of a church and a denomination.   For within a church community and among churches in our denomination we are able to remind people that since God is our helper (Hebrews 13:6; Psalm 121:2), we can do all those things listed above and more.   Personally I can attest to the fact that the reason why I followed God on my life's call into gospel ministry, and why I am able to go the distance, is because of the countless people who have said to me throughout my life, "Jack: you can-do it!   God will help you do it!"   And today, like Barnabas in the NT, God has entrusted me with a ministry of encouragement among the churches of the CRCA, where I am able to say to pastors, church leaders, and congregations:   "You can-do it!   God will help you do it!"  Think of your pastor, your elders, other church leaders.   Think of neighbouring churches, who are doing it tough.   Might you be the one who goes up to them and say, "Keep going.   You can-do it.   With God, all things are possible."   This is all about encouragement!