Mission Impossible

One of my favorite television series as a kid growing up was Mission Impossible.  I saw every episode more than once.  I know Hollywood has updated the concept in recent years with three new installments from Tom Cruise.  I'm not talking about that series; I'm talking about the black and white version.  I'm talking about the one without special effects, unless you count exploding reel-to-reel tape recorders!  The thing that kept me tuning in week to week was the notion of the Mission Impossible team taking on seemingly insurmountable odds to reach what seemed to be an impossible goal.  I never doubted their superhuman ability; I had confidence that within the next 60 minutes they would triumph, and the world would be safe again.

My thoughts ran back to the Mission Impossible theme a couple of weeks ago as our campus hosted a pastors' conference.  Pastors from across our education region visited the campus as they shared together in worship services, prayer meetings, meals, fellowship times, and workshops.  I participated in the conference and enjoyed every minute of it.  As I reflected back over the various events at the conclusion of our time together, I decided that one of the most memorable moments for me occurred following a rather mundane portion of the programming.

Toward the beginning of the first plenary session with the platform still dark and most folks visiting with their pew mates, the tech booth played a video recording of a lay person assessing his perception of the worth of a minister's call to ministry.  He observed how our society places great value and multi-million dollar salaries on such jobs as those held by movie stars, television personalities, professional athletes, and coaches of professional sports teams.  Most people in our culture envy individuals with these jobs.  Movie stars and professional athlete are chased by an entourage of camera hounds, autograph seekers, and folks just wanting to get a closer look at them.  They have reached the top of culture's most cherished ladders.

The man on the video went on to say that in his estimation the most enviable job in the world was not any of the roles just mentioned.  Rather, for him, the greatest job in the world would be to get to serve in the role of minister.  Why?  Because ministers receive their calling from God.  Because ministers have the privilege of sharing God's good news with people who desperately need to hear a good word from God.  Because ministers get to offer a helping hand to others in the name of the Lord.  Because ministers minister to people's eternal souls in a work that reaches beyond the grave and into our next world.

I thought long and hard about what the man on the video had just said.  I quickly agreed with him for all of the reasons he gave and a dozen others.  Then I looked across the congregation - a large room filled with hundreds of ministers.  What variety!

• Some were men; others women.
• Some were seasoned and coming to the end of their careers; others were fresh from school and just beginning the journey.
• Some looked refreshed and ready for a new challenge; others looked like they needed a break from too many challenges.
• Some had a great deal of high quality formal education; others had only been able to learn the basics through self-study.
• Some served churches as full-time pastors; others served in bi-vocational roles.
• Some looked as though they were well compensated for their efforts; others seemed to struggle to make ends meet.
• Some pastored mega-churches; others pastored small churches.

The pastors who filled the sanctuary represented every possible way of categorizing folks in Christian service.  Yet, for all of their differences, they had at least one thing in common -- a calling from God on their lives.  That's what led me to thoughts of the old Mission Impossible television series. 

You see, God's mission for your life, should you choose to accept it, is a seemingly impossible one.  The needs of our world are so great.  Sin seems so entrenched in our culture.  Drug cartels are so well organized.  Crime rates remain high in cities and rural areas of our land.  Cultural deception is so sophisticated.  Baal worship is as real today as it was in Old Testament times.  I could go on, but you get the picture.  Where do ministers even start in trying to make a difference in their world?  On the surface, the mission seems rather daunting.

The mission would be impossible if ministers had to do their work on their own.  That's where the "unless" of the tagline to this article comes in.  You see, the beauty of God's call for ministers is that He does not leave them to do their work on their own.  He offers daily resources for the task.  That's what makes being a minister so rewarding.  It's not that we take our efforts and energies and give them in service to others.  Rather, we become conduits for God to reach through us to meet the needs of others.  When you think about it, that's the way God has always accomplished His work in our world.

We sometimes like to think that our day offers the toughest challenges for ministry of any time in history.  We note the fact that society (and therefore ministry) has changed radically in the last decade.  And - we're right.  It has changed.  But, that's no news flash.  Society (and therefore ministry) has been changing since Adam and Eve moved out of the garden.  It wouldn't surprise me if Adam said to Eve as they passed out the garden gate, "Things are really changing now!"  I took a graduate course during my formal education on the generation that faced the greatest challenge to ministry over the past 2000 years.  We studied social trends, world events, and sermons from the era.  You know which one it was?  It was every generation from Christ's ascension until today!  It seems that every generation has assessed their situation as dire and ministry challenging in ever-new ways.

Yes, challenging times have always been with us.  Road blocks to ministry have always been in our way.  Society has been in constant change.  The problems of humanity have always been complex.  That's what makes God's mission for us, should we choose to accept it, seem so impossible.  And, it is impossible - unless He empowers us.  Unless the Spirit of God flows through all of our efforts they remain nothing more than human enterprises.  But, if the Hand of God touches them and flows through them, they have the stamp of eternal results on them.

That's what makes the role of a minister such a high calling.  Ministers have the wonderful blessing of having their efforts touched and empowered by God.  How rewarding is that!  So, the next time you look at your particular ministry challenges and think they seem impossible realize that they are - unless God helps you.  The next time you see no way out realize there isn't -- unless God helps you.

Whenever I think along these lines, I'm always reminded of a little verse of Scripture tucked away at the end of 1 Thessalonians.  I know Paul said these words in the context of God's gift of sanctification, but I think the message applies to this thought as well.  Always remember, "The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it." (1 Thessalonians 5:24)

Go into the rest of this day with the reminder that you have a special calling to a special work from a special God!