Ministry in the Image of God

Dr. Stephen Seamands will be our professor for an upcoming class, the Theology of Ministry. I was reading his book, Ministry in the Image of God, at my new coffee shop when a fellow coffee drinker came to my table and asked what I was reading. I showed him the book and he said, "Hey, I'm meeting Steve here for breakfast." So, I got to meet Dr. Seamands. I'm looking forward to his class.

Coming from our Stone-Campbell tradition (we can be a bit uneasy about the doctrine of the trinity) it was interesting to spend time in this book. Trinitarian theology baffles me because of its complexity. I like it on one level because it attempts to deal with all of the scriptural witness to the nature and character of God. However, Trinitarian doctrine can become so speculative that it spirals into a nebulous abyss. I don't blame the book, the act of considering the nature of God always makes my head hurt. Even as kid I remember feeling a little dopey whenever I contemplated God. I used to tell my mom that when I got to heaven (presumptuous, I know) the first question I was going to ask God was, "How did you get here?"

Seamands' book only begins by considering the nature of God, though. He uses the fruit of Trinitarian contemplation on the nature of God as a model for ministry. He contends that the Trinity is at the heart of our call to ministry, that ministers are called to perfect submission while not losing their distinct personhood. Below are some of the chapters with my favorite insights included:

Relational Personhood: This chapter is a reminder that the gospel calls us to relationships.

• "Many Christians have bought into the cultural notion that religion is an individual, private matter and assume they can believe without belonging."
• "Your faith may be individual, but it's not personal except in relationship."
• "Solitary religion is unbiblical; so is solitary service for God."

Joyful Intimacy: Our joy lies not in accomplishing things for ourselves or for God. Our joy rests in our intimate relationship with God.

• "Jesus is declared to be the Father's beloved Son in whom he is well pleased before he begins to preach, teach and heal."
• "God wants us to be something before He wants us to do something. . . . God wants us to be lovers so that we do work."
• We must be careful, lest "working for God becomes more important than loving God."
• [This section reminded me of an acronym my friend, Nathan, came up with to remind him that God loves us . . . .Period. The things we do are simply a response to God's love, not an enticement to gain approval. Nathan coined the acronym, D.U.M.B.--Doing Until More Believe--to remind himself that evangelism is more than what we do.]
  

Glad Surrender: The persons of the Trinity are only too pleased to surrender to each other. This is to be emulated by Christians.

• " . . . The triune person are self-actualized not through self-assertion but through self-giving and self-surrender."
  
• "As bearers of the divine image, we too find our life by losing it."
• "Can you imagine an advertisement in a Christian magazine urging those considering preparation for ministry to choose a particular college or seminary because 'we will prepare you to die'?"
  
• As minister at Grandview, I identified with this one: "For those of us in Christian ministry, how often our Isaac is our ministry itself. This wonderful gift--the ministry to and for which we have been called, gifted and equipped--can easily become an idol rivaling God."

Complex Simplicity: This chapter claims that there is a simplicity in the Trinity. This claim i's not so convincing to me. It breaks the question down into mystery, paradox, and simplicity.


Gracious Self-Acceptance: Ministry needs to flow out of an understanding of self that is rooted in our relationship to God and others. We don't lose our personality (like the Star Trek concept of the Borg), we accept that God gave us uniqueness and we minister from that gift. This means, by the way, that we have to separate our false selves from our genuine selves.

• He quotes Henri Nouwen: "self-rejection is the greatest enemy of the spiritual life because it contradicts the sacred voice that calls us 'Beloved.'"
• "Fig leaves and makeup don't make us more presentable to God."
• "Accomplishment, acceptance and acclaim have been the fig leaves of my false self."
• "Define yourself radically as one beloved by God." [emphasis his]

Mutual Indwelling: Phew . . . this is getting really long, sorry. I liked this book, though. Basically, this chapter makes the point that Christ indwells us, but doesn't become us; fills us and joins us, but doesn't replace us.

• "the problem with many who earnestly pursue holiness is defective faith. Because they have a faith that seeks but not a faith that rests, the joyful confidence of abiding in Christ eludes them."

Passionate Mission: If mission is at the heart of the Trinity it must be at the heart of ministry, too. This is the strongest chapter. It bemoans the sad reality that many times a seminary education winds up isolating the minister instead of sending the minister out into the world.

• John Wesley said that the world was his parish, some ministers find, though, that "their parish tends to be their world."
• "The greatest danger that success brings, aside from arrogance, is the fear of losing what has been gained."

Okay . . . if you're still reading you may as well buy the book . . . or borrow it the next time you see me.