When I started attending church conferences in my 20s, I was struck with the thought that these pastors were nice enough but not … how should I put this… not very cool. I expected them to be more impressive, more distinctive. Most were pretty ordinary. Yet I had this sense that they were not like, say, a group of salesmen or carpenters. Jesus said, “The greatest among you will be your servant.” It was that, I think; they were Jesus’ kind of servants.
When Peter and John were hauled before the authorities for “proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead,” Peter boldly called them to account for Jesus’ crucifixion. “Jesus is ‘the stone you builders rejected,” he said, and “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.” That made an impression!
When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished… (Acts 4:13)
There they are—our forefathers, our kind of people. Ordinary, plain, common. And no matter how good our education, the secret to gospel ministry has never been something we learned in school.
Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them…
…and they took note that these men had been with Jesus. (Acts 4:8, 13)
What was it about having been with Jesus? To begin with, Jesus revealed the Father to them. What’s more life-changing than that! Then Jesus schooled them in faith, prayer, love, mercy, and servanthood through the curriculum of his example, teaching, and presence. “We have seen his glory,” John recalled later.
Tutored by Jesus, they learned by doing: theology, counseling, spiritual disciplines, worship, and evangelism. No matter how good the classes, internships, or mentors we’ve had, the thing that really equips us for ministry is learning those things with Jesus.
In Luke 10, when “the seventy-two returned with joy,” Jesus, also “full of joy through the Holy Spirit, said, ‘I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children.’”
There we are again: this time as little children, kindergartners given access to the secrets of the kingdom, authorized “to overcome all the power of the enemy,” and gifted to bring out Scripture’s new and old treasures. All of this, because we are filled with the Holy Spirit and have been with Jesus.
I’ve hunched over my desk, Bible and other books open before me, trying to understand a text and sculpt a sermon. Sometimes I sensed the Spirit across the desk from me, sometimes not, but he was there. And when I stood to preach, I was never alone, and never hollow.
We have faced bewildering counseling situations, heartbreaking hospital calls and funerals, angry conflicts, and unsettling meetings. Many times, I remembered how Jesus told his disciples that when they faced hostile authorities, “the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what you should say.” Many times, in all kinds of circumstances, when I didn’t know what to say or do next, I would grip that promise.
We’ve each sat across from someone drawn to the Lord and said, in one way or another, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved!” We baptize the born again, serve a holy meal, and are shepherds of saints. We traffic in the eternal.
We are ordinary, to be sure. Just little children. Only servants. But we have been with Jesus!
Be ye glad!