What I Believe About Ministry Pt 2
James Buehler
RLGN489 – D02
25 October 2022
What I Believe About the Church:
The Bible is the source of all things. The Bible is foundation of all things. The Bible
represents the true spoken Word of God. Scripture says we are the body of Christ. The church is
two things in one. First, it is just a building. The building itself represents nothing but structure.
It is nothing special. However, “For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there
am I in the midst of them” (Matthew 18:19–20, NIV). Church is the body of Christ itself. The
church building is where we can gather to fellowship and worship together as a community. That
makes church, a Church…capital “C”. “The church is Christ's body, the completion of him who
himself completes all things everywhere” (Ephesians 1:23, GNT). Leadership starts at the top,
obviously with God and then with the pastor/minister and the elders. However, we are all
leaders. “The greatest of leaders among us are not powerful senior executives, commanding
military strategists, celebrated athletic coaches, or respected political figures. No, the greatest
leaders among us are the great teachers among us.”1 Each one of us is called to continue the
mission Jesus started.
Our mission is to, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the
name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I
have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matthew
28:19-20, NIV). This does not mean we only mission oriented and forcing ourselves into
people’s homes. We are first to live right in God’s eyes. And allow our testimony to speak for
itself. It is crucial that we share what Jesus has done in our lives. That is how we make disciples.
Revelation 12:11 says, “We overcome him by the blood of the lamb, the word of our testimony,
1 Bredfeldt, Gary. 2006. Great Leader, Great Teacher: Recovering the Biblical Vision for Leadership.
Chicago, IL: Moody Press.
and we do not love our lives, even unto death” (NKJV). Our mission is to share the Good News
personally, not scare and threaten people into salvation.
What I Believe About Spiritual Formation:
Sanctification is available to all those who believe. “But you were washed, you were
sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God”
(1 Corinthians, 6:11, NIV). It is by his blood we are redeemed. “Sanctification depicts, first and
foremost, not a discipline of the Christian but a gift of the Savior.”2 Maturation of the church is
crucial for growth, but it starts with the individual first. The church does not grow without each
individual growing themselves. “Christ’s exemplification of the attitudes and actions appropriate
to God’s kingdom provides the defining standard of what it means to be mature.”3 All these
things mix together as the necessary ingredients to ministry.
2 Allen, Michael. Sanctification. Grand Rapids: HarperCollins Christian Publishing, 2017. Accessed October 25,
2022. ProQuest Ebook Central.
3 Samra, James G.. Being Conformed to Christ in Community : A Study of Maturity, Maturation and the Local
Church in the Undisputed Pauline Epistles. London: Bloomsbury Publishing Plc, 2008. Accessed October
25, 2022. ProQuest Ebook Central.
Bibliography
Allen, Michael. Sanctification. Grand Rapids: HarperCollins Christian Publishing, 2017.
Accessed October 25, 2022. ProQuest Ebook Central.
Bredfeldt, Gary. 2006. Great Leader, Great Teacher: Recovering the Biblical Vision for
Leadership. Chicago, IL: Moody Press.
Samra, James G.. Being Conformed to Christ in Community : A Study of Maturity, Maturation
and the Local Church in the Undisputed Pauline Epistles. London: Bloomsbury
Publishing Plc, 2008. Accessed October 25, 2022. ProQuest Ebook Central.
