Speaking Truth in Love: Counsel in Community by Powlison David

Author:Powlison, David [Powlison, David]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: New Growth Press
Published: 2005-11-15T06:00:00+00:00

Chapter 10

WHAT IS “MINISTRY OF THE WORD”?

Free-associate with me for a minute. What pops into your head when you hear the phrase “ministry of the Word”? What do you think of when you hear the phrase “proclamation of the gospel”?

Jot down two or three words, phrases, or images that come to mind. You might want to ask friends, members in your church, people you counsel, or coworkers what their associations are as well.

I suspect that at or near the head of most lists you will find such things as “preaching,” “pastor giving a sermon,” “church on Sunday morning,” “street-corner evangelist,” “teaching,” “pulpit ministry,” and “quoting Scripture.”

What do all these have in common? Each of them envisions one-way communication. A speaker delivers a prepared message to listeners.

These “preaching” words are certainly legitimate associations. It is certainly good that we associate sermons with Word and gospel! Public ministry of the Word of grace and truth is fundamental to the life of the church.

But I hope to reroute your train of associations somewhat.

Imagine if we asked a group of people, “Free-associate to the word rainbow,” and every person came up with “red, orange, and yellow.” Important things are obviously missing, like green, blue, and violet! Similarly, if in our thought experiment, we mainly mention preaching-oriented words, we also miss something very important. In the Bible itself, “ministry of the Word” and “proclamation of the gospel” are not exclusively (or even primarily) portrayed as what we think of as a sermon from the pulpit on Sunday morning. Sometimes the Bible portrays Word and gospel coming via one-way communication. But often it portrays two-way conversations. Grace and truth are ministered in the spontaneous give-and-take of talking, doing, and relating with one another.

INTERPERSONAL MINISTRY OF THE WORD

Perhaps you’ve heard it said, “If people would only sit under good preaching and have regular personal devotions, they wouldn’t need counseling.” That statement is well-intended. It’s even partly true since lots of personal problems are transformed by public ministry of the Word and by private ministry of the Word. But the statement is completely untrue in its premises and conclusions. A central purpose of good preaching and private devotions is to create wise counselors and promote mutual counsel! When any personal problem is in fact truly transformed, a wise counselor of others has been produced. Fruitful interpersonal ministry of the Word is the main proof that sermons and devotions are worth the time and effort. How do we know this? Let’s consider two things.

Wisdom Is a Verbal Virtue

First, wisdom is a highly verbal virtue. It’s a conversational skill. Have you ever talked candidly with a truly wise person—someone who is insightful… caring… honest… generous… concerned… persistent… patient… curious… attentive… direct… practical… humble… knowledgeable… feeling… thoughtful… open… serious… humorous… clear… and fresh… and who lives with Christ Jesus in view at all times? Such wise friends are among life’s finest pleasures. Friends that are even a little bit like this some of the time are fine pleasures! How we long

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.