Evaluating the health of your ministry

Oh that there were one among you who would shut the doors, that you might not kindle fire on my altar in vain! I have no pleasure in you, says the Lord of hosts, and I will not accept an offering from your hand. (Malachi 1.10)

Post-exile and pre-Messiah, the prophet Malachi addressed these words to a religious but ultimately self-interested group of Israelites: the priests, the nation's spiritual leaders, who diluted the purity of Hebrew worship by offering blemished animals as sacrifices to the LORD rather than the perfect stock He required.  More importantly, however, their hearts had no connection to the ceremonies they performed, which propped open the door for apathy and sinful practice to enter unregarded.

The church, of course, ministers within a different context, but we too would do well to heed the advice given in this text concerning the authenticity and efficacy of our ministries.  If the Levitical Priesthood could grow so spiritually cold in their routine to earn such a harsh rebuke, chances are we can unfortunately do and earn the same. Briefly, here's three quick ideas I take from the text, applicable to pastors, ministry leaders and deacons, or lay staff.

"Shut the doors."  Whether you're the leader of your ministry or a volunteer, participants in the work of the Holy Spirit must know how to critically self-evaluate, both on a personal as well as on a corporate level.  The ministries we lead and/or serve stagnate without careful and regular evaluation of their effectiveness, both in terms of their horizontal reach and also their vertical priority of glorifying God.  To "shut the doors" doesn't mean to kill a struggling ministry, but rather to put it on pause or probation in order to practice repentance and perhaps even take the program back to the drawing board.  Such is better than to allow an ineffective and possibly detrimental facet of your church family or nonprofit organization to further stagnate.  Sometimes we have to pump the brakes a bit before we can accelerate to see growth.

If -- as was the case of the Priesthood in Malachi's Israel -- rampant sin is festering in the ranks, then it's especially time to perhaps literally close the doors and humbly sort out the persisting issues between or within personnel.  Should we fail to do so, we risk not only an impotent ministry with a limited lifespan, but also the inevitable revelation by fire of a foundation loaded up with wood, hay, and straw (1 Cor 3.12-13).

"Kindle acceptable fire."  Early in the nation of Israel's history, Aaron's sons were executed by God Himself for kindling "strange" or "unauthorized" fire (Leviticus 10), which is likely the reference point for Malachi's choice words to the Priesthood centuries later.  While it is difficult to grasp exactly what Nadab and Abihu did to incite the Lord's wrath, their actions arrogantly and probably intentionally violated the standards God had given to Moses for acceptable forms of worship within the tabernacle.

You and I must constantly ask ourselves whether we are humbly seeking to serve the Lord on HIS terms, or arrogantly insisting on our own.  Often, we become far more concerned with being pragmatic, with evaluating the success of our ministries by the numbers they boast, or by how good the feedback is that we receive.  I know how easy it is to pat myself on the back on the days my teens come to me after a lesson with questions or with thanks, and how easily frustrated I can become when the opposite is the case: criticism of the way I phrased something, misapplication of the point I was trying to make, or perhaps just indifferent silence.

"Acceptable fire" is what God commands.  "Acceptable fire" is simply our duty as followers of Christ and ministers of His Kingdom.  What might seem an ambiguous instruction is actually systematically identified across the scope of Scripture.  Micah insisted on the Lord's priorities of mercy, justice, and humility (6.8); Jesus summarized acceptable worship as that which is done in spirit (wholeheartedness) and in truth (Scriptural accuracy) (John 4.23); and James distilled true religion to careful self-control and attentive ministery to those in need (Jas 1.27).  The penultimate breakdown, of course, is the total worship of God and resulting servant-heartedness toward others (Mark 12.30-31).  Threfore, in order to kindle "acceptable fire" to the Lord, my priority as a pastor or ministry leader must first be the worship of God in my personal life, and -- second -- the edification and discipleship of those whom the ministry is intended to serve.  Of course, that will look different for each ministry, which each has its own unique reach and function, but the supreme values of God's glorification and one-anothering must be central.  Anything else is akin to unacceptable fire.

A few good evaluating questions on this point:

• Do I have a personal agenda, or am I doing the work of God?  Which am I actually accomplishing?
• Am I driven by the praise and opinions of others, or by the parameters of Scripture?
• What do I consider to be "success" in this ministry?
• How am I pursuing long-term goals rather than simple maintenance?
• Who benefits from this ministry -- me, or the people it is intended to serve?

Take pleasure in Him.  At the core of Malachi's indictment is that the priests have allowed themselves to descend into careless routine, with hearts that take no delight in worship.  In order for God to say, "I have no pleasure in you," we must have first reached the point where we have no invested interest in pleasing Him.  So the question is, what kind of attitude do I bring to my ministerial responsibilities?  What kinds of compromises -- for the sake of ease, time, reputation, or otherwise -- am I willing to make that could damage the ministry's integrity?  How has the freshness of the gospel, with its uniquely renewed mercies, impacted my heart for the Kingdom work that I'm doing?  Regardless of circumstances and difficult people, you and I will never lack for love of doing ministry if we never lack for love and adoration of God Himself.

On one hand, we cannot effectively minister if the work is a drag.  On the other, we cannot effectively minister if we get pumped for programming but fail to engage our hearts in personal relationship with Jesus.  If the former is true, our frustrations and weariness will inevitably and negatively impact what we are trying to accomplish.  If the latter is true, our "ministry" is only going to spin its wheels on the road to spiritual maturity, because the kind of fellowship and growth you espouse will lack the genuine worship component of true relationship with the Savior.  Either frame of mind is a failure to delight in the Lord and the work He has laid out for you to do.

Instead, "shut the doors" -- pause and invest in your own walk with Jesus.  Offer "acceptable fire" by "taking pleasure in Him," and then see what He is able to accomplish through your willing hands.