11　And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12　for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, 13　till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ (Eph 4:11-13, NKJV).

Last week we considered the job of a pastor, now we turn our attention to the saints (believers in general). In a previous article we saw that God’s Word says the saints are to carry out "the work of ministry," and we defined that as whatever role God has for you that either directly or indirectly fulfills the Great Commission—making disciples (Matt 28:19-20).

We also saw the process of ministry as follows: (1) The gifted men (evangelists, pastor/teachers) equip the saints, (2) the saints then serve (using their own gifts, see Rom 12:3-8; 1 Cor 12; 1 Pet 4:10-11), (3) the body is then built up or edified and we all grow into maturity.

So every Christian is to contribute to this goal of spiritual maturity (Christlikeness). But you may be wondering, "Am I really qualified to do ministry?" Well, it may help to consider the qualifications of the original 12 disciples of Jesus. Here’s how one consulting firm evaluated the disciples:

To: Jesus, son of Joseph
Woodcrafter, Carpenter shop, Nazareth.

From Jordan Management Consultants

Dear Sir,

Thank you for submitting resumes of the 12 men you have picked for management positions in your new organization. All of them have now taken our battery of tests; we not only ran the results through our computer, but also arranged personal interviews for each of them with our psychologist and vocational aptitude consultant.

It is our opinion that most of your nominees are lacking in background, education, and vocational aptitude for the type of enterprise you are undertaking. They do not have the team concept. We would recommend that you continue your search for persons of experience in managerial ability and proven capability.

SIMON PETER is unstable and given to fits of temper.

ANDREW has absolutely no qualities of leadership.

The two brothers, JAMES AND JOHN, the sons of Zebedee, place personal interest above company loyalty.

THOMAS demonstrates a questioning attitude that would tend to undermine morale.

We feel it is our duty to tell you that MATTHEW has been blacklisted by the Greater Jerusalem Better Business Bureau.

JAMES, the son of Alpheus, and THADDEUS definitely have radical leanings, and they registered a high score on the manic depressive scale.

SIMON THE ZEALOT, having pronounced terrorist leanings, would blow apart the harmony of the team.

One of the candidates however, shows great potential. He is a man of great ability, and resourcefulness, meets people well, has a keen business mind, and has contacts in high places. He is highly motivated, ambitious and responsible. We recommend JUDAS ISCARIOT as your controller and right hand man. All of the other profiles are self-explanatory.

We wish you every success in your new venture.

Sincerely yours,
JORDAN MANAGEMENT CONSULTANTS

Obviously God’s qualifications are not those of the world. God is glorified in using the unlikely to accomplish the extraordinary.

26　For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. 27　But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; 28　and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, 29　that no flesh should glory in His presence (1 Cor 1:26-29, NKJV).

You might say, "But I have so many inadequacies. I don’t have what it takes." Great! You are just the kind of person God can use!

9　And He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness." Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10　Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ's sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong (2 Cor 12:9-10, NKJV).

When you choose to rely on the Lord to serve Him you become the most qualified person to be used by Him. All He requires is a willing heart. Are you willing to let God use you in ministry?

God doesn’t need your ability, but your availability.

Serving with you,
Pastor Massimo