Writing and ministry: Jesus the minister

The best example Christians have of ministry is Jesus' ministry.

Who was Jesus, and how did he minister?

Jesus’ ministry flowed out of his identity. Jesus was God’s son, whom God loved. After Jesus’ baptism, the Holy Spirit descended on him in the form of a dove and a voice spoke from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased” (Mark 1:11). 

Jesus was the promised messiah, or “anointed one,” heir to the throne of King David and long-expected savior of God’s people. The early Christian writers frequently showed how Jesus’ life, death and resurrection fulfilled the Hebrew scriptures, which they believed point to a person sent by God, through whom the Hebrews and the whole world would receive blessing, healing and peace; in a word, shalom.

Jesus’ ministry embodied this shalom. He taught us how to love God with all our mind, heart, soul and strength and how to love our neighbors, even our enemies, as ourselves. His miracles gave wholeness to people who were physically, emotionally, mentally, spiritually and socially disabled. His words and deeds proclaimed the coming kingdom of God – a reign of justice and righteousness, in which God’s will is done, and in which people relate to one another in love and truth.

Jesus’ ministry spurred friction, and a collaboration of religious leaders, Roman authorities and one of Jesus’ closest friends plotted his crucifixion. But even this fulfilled the scriptures. Christians understand Jesus’ death to atone for humanity’s sins, reconciling us with God once and for all. Jesus also reconciles us with other people; all who confess Jesus as Lord are adopted into God’s family, making us siblings of one another.

Further, God raised Jesus from the dead, making him the “firstborn from the dead” (Colossians 1:18), the leader of many to follow in his resurrected life.

After ascending into heaven, Jesus sent his Holy Spirit to his disciples, accompanying and empowering them to be his witnesses throughout the world, and to be faithful citizens of God's kingdom. The following was his commission to them: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matt. 28:18-20).

As far as we know, Jesus did not write as a form of ministry. But we wouldn’t know much about Jesus if the evangelists hadn’t written about him. And if we are to write as a form of Christian ministry, Jesus must be our inspiration.

Writing as ministry witnesses to Jesus: to his presence and work in the world today through his church and Spirit, to the good news that we receive eternal life and reconciliation with God through Jesus’ death and resurrection, to signs of the coming kingdom of God, to the shalom that Christ brings.

I work for a Christian charity called International China Concern, which partners with carers in China to give love and therapy to children who have disabilities and who have formerly been abandoned. I write updates about the children to their sponsors in various countries. I understand this to be a form of ministry because it connects the children with people who care for them, communicating the children’s needs and development. My writing establishes relationships and furthers ongoing support for the children. It also witnesses to their transformation as a result of the work of the caregivers, volunteers who serve them in the name of Christ and many others.

Beyond witnessing, writing as ministry can teach people the way of Christ, building people into Christian maturity, as the author of Ephesians encourages ministers to do (4:7-16).

But why writing? Couldn’t all of the above be done through the spoken word? What is writing’s contribution to ministry? These questions deserve attention, but as we are coming to the end of this post, I will simply say that writing is one of many forms of communication that comes with both unique gifts and limitations. God has used the written word to speak to people throughout history, and I believe God continues to do so today, connecting people across vast distances in space and time.

Jesus is our best example of a minister, and the Bible is our best example of writing as ministry.
The Bible employs a variety of genres, from plain writing (for example, epistles and chronologies) to poetry (the Psalms) to fiction (Jesus’ parables) to creative non-fiction and memoir (prophetic visions, like those of Ezekiel) and more.

Paul writes in his second letter to Timothy, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work” (3:16-17). This is also a helpful description of writing as ministry.