Stopping to Think

A Brief Philosophy of Ministry Biblical ministry is centered on Christ and Him crucified 1 . Without the message of reconciliation 2 offered by God 3 to sinners 4 , there is nothing for us to minister. “Christ is the center of Christianity; all else is circumference.” 5 A ministry centered on Christ will take a certain shape: namely, that of prayer and of the Word 6 . Paul asks the Ephesians to pray for him that he may speak boldly 7 , turns his every thought of the Philippians vertical in prayer 8 , and asks the Romans to join him in the struggle of prayer. 9 The same apostle commends to his protégé Timothy the preaching of the Word as a right response to the decaying nature of humanity and the sufficiency of God’s revelation in Scripture to save and transform. 10 Paul also makes clear that those called and gifted by God to minister are to do so for the purpose of building and equipping the body of Christ 11 , and such an endeavor will be futile and ultimately unsucce...

"Christ is the center of Christianity; all else is circumference." John Stott Commonplace Monday is a series of posts wherein, on Monday mornings, I share short quips, sentences -perhaps as much as a paragraph- which I have collected in my various commonplace books and files. If I wrote down or recall where it came from I will certainly give attribution. However, sometimes I write down things and not where they came from. So if you see anything like that here and recognize it, that's what comment sections are for. 

"God is not interesting. He is deeply upsetting." John Stott Commonplace Monday is a series of posts wherein, on Monday mornings, I share short quips, sentences -perhaps as much as a paragraph- which I have collected in my various commonplace books and files. If I wrote down or recall where it came from I will certainly give attribution. However, sometimes I write down things and not where they came from. So if you see anything like that here and recognize it, that's what comment sections are for. Anyhow. Hope you enjoyed week's installment.