Chapter 4: Ministry

Chapter 4: Ministry 

Life Together by Dietrich Bonhoeffer 

Luke 9:46 An argument arose among them as to which of them was the greatest.  

In this chapter Bonhoeffer describes a few ways in which Christians ought to be doing ministry.  He suggests that just as the disciples argued about who was the best in their group the church members are likely to argue, even if just in their minds, each person's position. Some may walk into the room and assess who is the strongest or the weakest, the most spiritual or furthest from God, or who is the best prayer or speaker. The problem is that this makes this person a self-interested judge over his or her brothers and sisters in Christ. Bonhoeffer proposes seven different areas of ministry which God invites each individual church member to take part in. These include the ministry of holding one's tongue, the ministry of meekness, the ministry of listening, the ministry of helpfulness, the ministry of bearing, the ministry of proclaiming and the ministry of authority. I am going to focus in on the three which I find most difficult myself; the ministry of holding one's tongue, meekness, and listening. 

The scripture demands Christians not to speak evil against or judge our brothers and sisters in Christ. Too often words are spoken under the guise of "help and good will". Bonhoeffer suggests that "it must be a decisive rule of every Christian fellowship that each individual is prohibited from saying much that occurs to him". If there is going to be unbroken Christian fellowship then the community will have to begin seeing each individual as made in God's image and given gifts from God which are valuable to the body of Christ. This is the ministry of holding our tongues. When we do this the body of Christ is built up rather than torn apart. I have been part of many different Christian communities where the members did not seek to hold their tongues or if they did they did not do it well. Instead it was just more likely someone would share information about others as they pretended it was out of care and concern for the person they were gossiping about. This is an area where I know I need to grow. There have certainly been times I have not kept private information to myself or had doubts about people and therefore shared my judgments freely. But, this is definitely not what God is calling us to. Instead as we submit to God we can overcome the temptation to speak our thoughts without wisdom or discernment.

Bonhoeffer also writes about the ministry of meekness. This is the idea that individuals in the church should have the lowest opinion of themselves and the highest opinion of others. In order to serve our brothers and sisters in Christ well we must think of them above ourselves. When we do this we are most likely to serve them well and put their will and needs above our own. Bonhoeffer points out that Paul wrote that he was the best sinner; that there was no one worse than him. Paul, though given the position of apostle, thought of himself merely as a sinner saved by grace. When we realize how terrible we are then we are able to think higher of others. This is the only way that we can get ourselves out of the way in order to serve well. This is another are where I struggle. How can it be so difficult to count others more important than myself? I don't know but it is. But, Jesus also calls me to this mindset that remembers the value of others and I can do this by counting myself as the greatest sinner I know only saved by God's grace. 

The third and final ministry I want to discuss is the ministry of listening. Bonhoeffer writes that "the beginning of the love for the brethren is learning to listen to them". Sometimes listening to someone is exactly what they need even more than they need you to say something. When people are in the midst of big decisions, difficult trials, or even great joy they might just need someone to be present and listen. I took a counseling class last semester and we just practiced active and patient listening most of the semester. We learned how often people do not want to be told want to do but want to feel like they are being heard. This is one more way that we can minister to the body of Christ and that is by listening well.