Christians around the world believe in Jesus Christ. We attend masses mainly on Saturday, Sunday or even everyday. I used to attend church everyday when I was young at one point of time, however, as time went by, attending church everyday was not feasible.
I am a catholic so this entry will be based on my experience as a catholic. Catholics are called not only just to attend Sunday Mass and be holy on Sunday but to live our Christian values everyday of our lives.
We have to serve Jesus Christ because that is what he has called us to do. There are various ways in accomplishing these tasks. The various ways are envanglisation, joining a church ministry and doing missionary work. In no way this list of ways are exhaustive. However, to engage in these actives we need to be committed, sincere, trustworthy, authentic and frequent.
I am going to touch on what it means to join a church ministry. There are various ministries in various churches. The ministries that I am going to name are from my church.
They are : Altar Servers,
Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion. Lectors and Commentators
Wardens, Answering the Call To Serve ( ACTS ), Catholeaque, Genesis,
Ministry of Expression, Revelation Generation, Youth Arise Ministry,
Youth Mentors, Youth Music Ministry.
To join these ministries we need to possess five vital elements. They are: Commitment, sincere, trustworthiness, being authentic and being frequent. Without these elements we will not last in a ministry for long because we are not serving Christ with our heart. Mostly likely we are in a ministry to serve our own agendas. I shall elaborate further on this issue in relation to the five elements.
Commitment
In every church ministry that we join, we must be committed to it. We must be truthful to our cause in joining the church ministry. There must be no hidden agenda in why we join an a church ministry. In being committed, we will be able to work in harmony with our fellow workers and contribute fruitfully to the church ministry. One reason is because we are in sync with the church ministry's goals and vision. We will be willing to help our fellow workers in their work if they face any difficulty in carrying out their duties. There will be fewer disputes. Organising activities would be much easier. Disagreements and differing in opinions is a natural phenomenon in any church ministry because we all come from different backgrounds but they will be better dealt with if we remain true to our cause towards the church ministry.
For those that have their own agendas, they will feel stifle if they feel that their fellow brothers and sisters do not campaign for the same agenda as them. Sometimes, it is very difficult to spot them because the way they do things are all under cloak and dagger. Only time will tell. They would not last very long in the church ministry also. If there are too many of them, activities may not be organised smoothly. It will be harder to carry out the activities planned if they find that the activities to not cater to their goals.
On the whole, I believe that those that join any church ministry are there truthfully. For those who may have their own agendas in joining a church ministry, I ask of you to do some soul searching. God loves everyone of us so do as us a favour and ask yourself whether you really want to hurt the God that truly loves us all because of your own agendas. Join if you truthfully want to serve the lord.
Sincere & Trustworthiness
What I have much wrote on commitment also applies to the notion of sincerity and truthfulness in joining a church ministry. Sincerity and trustworthiness comes hand in hand. Being sincere is a very good christian value that we all have to upkeep. Yes, we may find ourselves in a dilemma at times when we have to bend the rule in order to survive in the secular world or even in the religious world as well. Religious leaders do fall from the path of righteousness at times. Why? It is because we are all humans and not God. We can always go for confession but please do not make it as a fail save facility. If we find ourselves swaying from the path of being sincere and trustworthy then we have to be honest with ourselves and stir back to the right path. It is easy to go to the dark side. Never underestimate the power of dark force!!!!
Being Authentic
As mention in my post previous post titled Being Authentic, Being Encouraging, Being Supportive, Being Forgiving, Being Sincere & Trustworthy, Being Humble, Being Respectful, I wrote that being authentic is about being one true self. In a church ministry, it is important to be your true self and not be somebody that you are not. Sometimes we indulge in things that we do not normally do or agree on in order to impress others around us and not to hurt others.
I say do not do that because you are forcing yourself to be somebody that you are not. If you disagree with something that have been suggested just voice it out diplomatically and tactfully!!. Remember the words here are " diplomatically and tactfully". In being who you are , you are also being honest with your fellow brothers and sisters in the church ministry that you are in.
Well some may say that at times it may not be too wise to be authentic. Some people may not accept it or may gossip about you if they cannot accept who you are. There is some truth to it. The question is how much of authenticity should you portray in an organisation? These vary from organisation to organisation. For example, in a church ministry, it is good to be 100% authentic, however it may not be possibly so. Being 70% authentic would already be a great effort. That is why I mention that those who join a church ministry must be committed, sincere and trustworthy. Unfortunately, achieving a 100% bench mark would never be able to achieve because they will always be some black sheep. It will be great if everybody play their part and atleast try to achieve a bench mark of 90% on being sincere, committed, trustworthy and authentic.
Being Frequent
Being frequent is to attend meeting and activities regularly. Sometimes due to exigencies of work, you may not be able to attend the meetings and take in the activities. However, do not absent yourself frequently. If you are committed, sincere, trustworthy and authentic, you will not let it happen. People will be able to trust and depend on you. More community bonding with your fellow brothers and sisters will be formed.
Well, I hope more people would serve the lord in different ways and join the various church ministries in their church. You need not have to join every one because it can be time consuming. I have recently joint the Catechist Ministry. YES!! there is nothing wrong with your eye sight. If you are a deep shocked and have your mouth wide open, I am glad!! I am so evil. Rest assured I got no hidden agenda. Trust me, "BIG SIMILE" Have a great week ahead. Take care and God Bless.
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