Cater to Christ

Ministry is hard.  I don’t mean that it’s not glorious and awesome, obviously Jeff and I both think there’s nothing else we’d rather give our life to, but it certainly isn’t always easy.

In the midst of praying about some ministry situations, I’m going through our Women’s Bible study workbooks, which is on attending the Bride of Christ, studying how our service in the church is really us preparing Christ’s Bride (the church) for His return.  Now I think one of the trickiest things in ministry is figuring out what to do and what not to do. There area  million “good” things to do. And there are a million people to serve.  But you can’t do it all! And you can’t serve them all! And for every person there is a different set of preferences, needs, desires.  Trying to figure it all out can make us what to throw up our hands and tell everyone to fend for themselves!

Yesterday I read this sentence in my Bible study book: “We must rediscover what’s most important to the divine bridegroom, exchanging unproductive religious activity for actions that are wholly focused on pleasing Him, actions that truly prepare for His return.”

I remember my own wedding a little more than six years ago.  Though it was far from glamorous and sophisticated, I have absolutely no regrets about how the wedding went, and I owe that to one thing–I wanted everything to be about blessing Jeff (and our union) and glorifying God.  Instead of buying an expensive dress, I borrowed one from a friend for free (and it was gorgeous!).  Instead of renting an expensive facility, we married in my parents’ yard (which was gorgeous). Jeff specifically requested that I not have professional hair and makeup because he wanted me to just look like myself, which I happily agreed to (professional hair and makeup people scare me), so that was free.  We made our own invitations (which Jeff designed–he love that sort of thing).  We served limeade instead of punch because that’s Jeff’s favorite.  We had a drum roll during our first kiss (woohoo!).  Jeff had the awesome idea to do “JK museum” as centerpieces for each table instead of flowers or candles, so we had a different fun item that represented our relationship, along with a framed little explanation.  For example, on one table we had a stack of our favorite books, another table had our laptops because we loved to dork out together and study side-by-side. Another had a few of our old, worn Bibles.  Another one had our letterman jackets because we both loved sports, another had the lite-brite he had used to propose to me.  Another had a picture of our most ridiculous faces (I have a monkey face that will bring you to tears).  It was just a fun, silly way to share with the guests little bits of our love for each other–to tell the story of our love. For the actual service, we with worship songs.  At the end of the ceremony, Jeff’s best man (a pastor) shared the gospel and gave an invitation to receive Christ. Three people gave their lives to Jesus that day.

And let me just say there were plenty of moments that we felt some opposition to our less-than-traditional ideas.  But over and over I kept reminding myself: this wedding isn’t for the guests, the family, the bridesmaids.  It is about my Jeffrey and my Jesus, the love of my life, and making everything about this day revolve around his joy and His glory.

I thought of that yesterday when I read that sentence.  It’s so easy to get caught up wanting all the wedding guests to be happy.  Will they be impressed? Will my wedding stand out?  What about the groom??! It is so sad that often the groom is the least-considered person in a wedding.

So I know there is a balance, because in ministry we are to meet the needs of the people we serve. And yet, I’m so thankful for this reminder that ultimately, every single bit of this “wedding preparation” called ministry should be filtered through this: Is it for the Groom or for the guests?  Does this truly please Him and prepare His people for His return?  Do we cater to the people? Or do we cater to Christ?  Thankful for the new perspective, I pray for grace to live it out.