How do you evaluate whether your ministry is successful or not? It is crucial to remember that we are never called to get people to make certain decisions or “act” in a certain way. In relationships with others we are only called to one thing: love them. I think if we forgot all the other methodologies and just remembered this one basic calling, we the Church, would have a much bigger impact in our communities and in the world.
Reflecting on the ministry that has taken place at Advance Memphis, I’ve learned a lot about what it means to truly love people. There are four elements of love that come to mind. These are summarized well in the following verse.
Reflecting on the ministry that has taken place at Advance Memphis, I’ve learned a lot about what it means to truly love people. There are four elements of love that come to mind. These are summarized well in the following verse.
“Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.”
1 Corinthians 13:7 (ESV)
Love BEARS all things:
Listen and pray. Your job is not to give all the answers, but rather to listen empathetically and help bear their burdens. Love isn’t concerned simply with outward performance, but it aims to see the wounded heart healed. The main aim here is to identify the pain/disappointment/temptation etc. in someone’s story, and help shoulder their burden so that they do not have to bear it alone. When this is done effectively, you should feel some of the emotional weight of the person’s struggles. The best expression of this is to pray with the person on the spot, rather than saying “I’ll be praying about that.”
Love BELIEVES all things:
One of the most powerful things you can do is express your belief in the person to whom you are ministering. Every human being, Christian or not, has been created in God’s image, and was knit together by God to possess unique talents and abilities. Learn to see these gifts in others, and as soon as you do: affirm, affirm, affirm. Many people are paralyzed by their shortcomings or failures. Break the chains of inadequacy in others by naming specific strengths you see in them. Another very important way to champion someone is to show them your own inadequacies and insecurities. They likely believe in you, and if you are open about your own struggles, they will gain the much needed comfort about their own issues so that they can start taking risks again.
Love HOPES all things.
Hope is the most important ingredient in someone’s development. As soon as someone begins to think, “I can’t change” or “life is what it is; what’s the use?" is the moment that trying to change their behavior, or get a certain action out of them becomes a waste of time. Most of what is perceived as “laziness” is usually a classic case of hopelessness. Restore someone’s hope and you will unlock the key to their movement. Your best tool for this is the gospel of Jesus Christ which is the POWER of God to bring hope to every area of one’s life. Be quick to open God’s Word and claim his promises with others.
Love ENDURES all things.
There is no excuse worthy of withholding our love from another. This means that no matter how atrocious you think someone’s sin is; no matter how stupid of a mistake someone makes; no matter how many times they’ve made the same mistake; no matter how badly they hurt you, intentionally or not; no matter if they flat out reject your love for them, you have one single responsibility, and that is to endure whatever betrayal comes your way and love them as you love yourself. One of the worst things you can do is to add guilt or shame on someone else in an attempt to get them to make the “right” decision. Unconditional love is the key to melting the hardest of hearts, so endure all things and continue to pour yourself out in love no matter what happens in the relationship.
Andrew Vincent
andrew@advancememphis.org
Jobs for Life Instructor
Listen and pray. Your job is not to give all the answers, but rather to listen empathetically and help bear their burdens. Love isn’t concerned simply with outward performance, but it aims to see the wounded heart healed. The main aim here is to identify the pain/disappointment/temptation etc. in someone’s story, and help shoulder their burden so that they do not have to bear it alone. When this is done effectively, you should feel some of the emotional weight of the person’s struggles. The best expression of this is to pray with the person on the spot, rather than saying “I’ll be praying about that.”
Love BELIEVES all things:
One of the most powerful things you can do is express your belief in the person to whom you are ministering. Every human being, Christian or not, has been created in God’s image, and was knit together by God to possess unique talents and abilities. Learn to see these gifts in others, and as soon as you do: affirm, affirm, affirm. Many people are paralyzed by their shortcomings or failures. Break the chains of inadequacy in others by naming specific strengths you see in them. Another very important way to champion someone is to show them your own inadequacies and insecurities. They likely believe in you, and if you are open about your own struggles, they will gain the much needed comfort about their own issues so that they can start taking risks again.
Love HOPES all things.
Hope is the most important ingredient in someone’s development. As soon as someone begins to think, “I can’t change” or “life is what it is; what’s the use?" is the moment that trying to change their behavior, or get a certain action out of them becomes a waste of time. Most of what is perceived as “laziness” is usually a classic case of hopelessness. Restore someone’s hope and you will unlock the key to their movement. Your best tool for this is the gospel of Jesus Christ which is the POWER of God to bring hope to every area of one’s life. Be quick to open God’s Word and claim his promises with others.
Love ENDURES all things.
There is no excuse worthy of withholding our love from another. This means that no matter how atrocious you think someone’s sin is; no matter how stupid of a mistake someone makes; no matter how many times they’ve made the same mistake; no matter how badly they hurt you, intentionally or not; no matter if they flat out reject your love for them, you have one single responsibility, and that is to endure whatever betrayal comes your way and love them as you love yourself. One of the worst things you can do is to add guilt or shame on someone else in an attempt to get them to make the “right” decision. Unconditional love is the key to melting the hardest of hearts, so endure all things and continue to pour yourself out in love no matter what happens in the relationship.
Andrew Vincent
andrew@advancememphis.org
Jobs for Life Instructor
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