Uninterruptible: Missing Ministry Because You’re Too Busy? 

By: Chuck Peters

I often ponder the parameters that people put around their ministries. For many of us ministry is a vocation. Because we live in the modern western world and ministry is our ‘work’, the church is our office, and the actions and activities of ministry follow the patterns and practices of the secular work world. By this I mean that, for many of us, the ministry we conduct is carefully planned, programmed, and practiced at predictable times and places. Moreover, the ministry experiences that we lead are packed with prepackaged programming and have precise beginning and end times. If someone does not come to the church at 9 or 11 on a Sunday, they miss the moment of ministry because those are the times that ministry is offered and conducted. While there are most certainly meetings and counsel and ministerial care that we provide outside of these hours, it may be fair to assert that even these moments are typically scheduled connections. 

As driven and busy people, we like our schedules, calendars, goals, and checklists. We can be easily irritated by interruptions. We run tight ships on tight schedules and anything that takes us off ticks us off. Unplanned tasks are often unwelcome and can cause us to feel stressed out, grumpy, or outright angry. Many of us are simply uninterruptible. 

A quick perusal of the gospels reveals that Jesus’ ministry looked very different. Much of the recorded teachings of Jesus didn’t take place in formal settings at scheduled times. In fact, a large part of his ministry seems to have happened while he was on the way to do something else. The ministry of the Master is something that happened on the way, as he was going, along the road, or around a table in response to something that happened in the moment.  

As he was walking by the sea, he called his first disciples. As he was passing through Samaria, he encountered a woman at a well. While he was teaching in a house, someone ripped the roof open and lowered a paralyzed man into the living room. On his way to heal Jairus’ daughter, a woman in the crowd touched him. While he was sailing to another city, he calmed the storm. While he was teaching in the temple, he healed a man’s withered hand. As he was eating, a woman washes his feet with her tears. As he was dying on the cross, he forgave the thief next to him. 

Don’t miss this! Jesus maximized unscheduled moments of intersection with people who were not on his calendar. His recorded ministry did not largely take place inside Saturday synagogues, but out in the everyday world. Not on the clock, but off the cuff. Although it wasn’t scheduled, none of it was accidental. All of it was ordained. 

What’s the lesson here for you and me?  

I confess, I am often so focused on where I am going, what I am doing, what I am thinking about, or the demands of my schedule, I have no doubt missed countless opportunities to minister to people who I pass on my path. How many divine appointments have I missed because I am preoccupied by a plan instead of being present with a person?  

I’m not suggesting that we forgo our scheduled ministry times, plans, and strategies. But I am proposing that amidst them we ask God to give us eyes to see opportunities to minister in unplanned and unexpected moments. When helping a new family with a broken printer takes us off task. When a disruptive child needs extra attention. When you have to fill in for a volunteer who cancels at the last minute. When one last child is delayed in being picked up after a service.  

Lord, remind me that ministry is more than what happens during programmed service hours. Every interaction I have is an opportunity to see, show, and share Jesus. Help me to be more aware of Your presence in the unexpected so I don’t miss the ministry moments you bring into my day while I am on my way to other things. 

Chuck Peters is Director of Lifeway NextGen. Before his role at Lifeway, Chuck had a prolific career in television and video production. He is a 3-time Emmy Award Winning producer, director, writer, and on-screen talent. A graduate of Columbia Bible College, Chuck, and his wife, Cris, have served in Student and Children’s Ministry for many years.