RevWrites - April 5

Somebody once said: “You can achieve a great deal if you don’t care who gets the credit.” As Senior Minister of NAC I often get credit for what somebody thinks we have done. I often point out that I’m part of a team. In a church like ours so much happens that I cannot even know about all of it let alone claim any credit for most of what happens.

But I might be able to claim credit for some of things! So let’s stop and think. God does things in people’s lives because of some things I do. So, first of all, glory goes to God.

Let’s think a little more. There are people who pray for me every day. Some are even members of NAC! They have asked God to do things and bless my ministry. In response to their prayers, the Lord Jesus acts. Again, glory goes to him but some thanks go to those who pray.

These people have prayed. God has acted. And the temptation might be to give credit to the Senior Minister. But who achieved it? I think the person who prayed achieved it first of all. Nobody knows they did but it came as a direct result of their prayer. They have achieved it and didn’t care who got the credit. They didn’t even mind if I got it

I have written about teaching for the last two weeks. I’ve argued that teaching others about God is something most Christians should be doing. But some can’t teach and none of us teaches all the time. So what other ministry opportunities are there?

Prayer is clearly one most significant ministry. All of us, all of us, should be praying for others and for the ministry of others. We might even achieve a great deal if we don’t care who gets the credit. In fact, no one other than the One who notices all might ever know. But in the end it’s what he notices that matters most.

Another significant ministry is supporting those who teach. Robyn has always supported me. Her support has enabled much significant ministry to happen. So spouses are important.

People who prepare material for those who teach others are really important. You might not be able to stand in front of a school SRE class, but you can back up someone who does. Prepare their activity sheets each week for them. You can achieve a great deal if you don’t care who gets the credit.

How about being a class-room helper for an SRE teacher? A gentle, patient helper can change the ethos of a class room. More than that, they can change the lives of individual students. And no one might ever know what you achieved. Maybe even you. But our Heavenly Father will. He might, in fact, be the only one whoever knows.

Behind the scenes ministries. We all should be involved in them. Remember, you can achieve a great deal if you don’t care who gets the credit.

Neil