You know which direction to turn a bolt: clockwise to tighten, counter-clockwise to loosen. Unless, of course, you’re working with a reverse-thread bolt. Then you have to do what’s opposite to the way you think.
Ministry is a reverse-thread endeavour. In ministry, our instinctive response — the normal way we do things — is often the opposite of what’s needed.
In 1 Samuel 9, Saul embodies everything people wanted in a leader. He had the leadership qualities people wanted. We tend to pick leaders who look and act a certain way. God quickly rejected Saul for his repeated character failures and chose a different kind of leader named David. God’s criteria for leadership is different from ours.
In Matthew 5, Jesus began to describe the values of his kingdom. His list continues to confuse us today. The truly blessed are the ones that look anything but blessed according to the world’s standards. Jesus prizes those the world overlooks.
In 1 Corinthians 1, Paul describes God’s strategy to build his church. We would have picked the wise and powerful; God chose the foolish, weak, and nothings to shame the wise.
Turn to almost any theme in Scripture, and you find that God works in counter-intuitive ways to what normally makes sense.
I’m slowly learning the reverse-thread ways of ministry.
Want to communicate with relevance to a changing world? Stop trying to be relevant. Preach the word.
Want to find good leaders for the church? Don’t look for good leaders. Look for godliness. Value character over gifting, even if it means passing over the extraordinarily gifted.
Want to grow devotionally? Don’t read a devotional book. Read theology. Light a fire with hardwood, not kindling, and you will burn brighter and longer, even if it takes a little longer to get the fire going.
Want to do great things for God? Emphasize praying more than doing. You’ll never accomplish much on your own strength. Ask God to empower you rather than trying to do so much yourself.
Want to serve God in great ways? Take the lower place. Realize that nothing — no group of people, no act of service — is beneath you. Be content with doing little for God if you want to do much for God.
I could go on.
As I list these counter-intuitive ways of the kingdom, don’t think for a minute that I’ve mastered any of them. I keep forgetting that God works in the opposite way that I think. I frequently stop myself because I tend to turn the bolt the way the world does. Some habits are hard to break.
But I’ve seen enough to appreciate those who seem to have learned the counter-intuitive ways that God works. They serve out of character, not charisma; they cling to God’s word; they aim for substance and depth; they pray and plead with God to work; they make room for those the world overlooks; they take the lowest place. As they do, God seems to show up. The world doesn’t always recognize it, but it’s a beautiful thing.
I want to learn to be like them.