To the church planter’s wife who is battling the urge to quit. To the women’s director who is feeling like she is running an uphill battle between what God’s Word says and what the culture is screaming. To the seasoned pastor’s wife who only says yes to the big things. Let’s fight.
I remember my time at Southwestern Seminary like it was yesterday. The long (and hot!) walks around campus, the nervous feeling of sitting in those bright orange desk chairs right before I began a Systematic final, and the lifelong friendships and people that poured into my life for the 5 years I spent in Fort Worth. However, my favorite memories revolved around the weekly Chapel services known as the “President’s Classroom”.
While there were certainly many great sermons and worship services, the most eye opening and memorable was Dr. Patterson’s series entitled A Dangerous Call. Dr. Patterson began his series by painting a vivid picture and welcoming students into war and urging us to prepare for an epic battle. The five-sermon series went on to warn of the potential pitfalls and dangers coming to us at some point in our ministry journey and providing us with a field guide or battle plan on how to navigate these various dangers that may arise. With the students, faculty, and staff sitting at the edge of their seats, Dr. Patterson proposed a question, “Are you willing to walk into danger?”
If serving in the United States, we often don’t think about ministry as being too dangerous. Sure, we will have tough or awkward situations and conflicts arise, but dangerous? Do me a favor. Go to any Lifeway bookstore and walk up and down the aisles. There are a number of different assessments and countless resources and books you can read to determine if you're ready for ministry. Do you have these in your artillery? Despite all the books and seminary education, no one asked me how I was at sweeping or cleaning toilets. Let me guess, you probably didn’t think to pick one up on homemaking or Biblical hospitality when building your artillery on surviving ministry.
However, for the pastor’s wife, danger can play out in many different forms. Contentment in her stagnant walk with God, bitterness, hardness of heart to serving the church, and wanting to just serve God in big, noticeable ways instead of being obedient in the small (side note: who defines what small is anyways?) are just a few.
Ministry is more than sweeping sometimes, but often it's not. I wish someone had asked me: how do you feel about sweeping? Can you do it with joy? Can you ask people to help you sweep in a way that isn't burdensome, but convinces them that you actually think getting to be a sweeper is a blessing? Or what about cleaning bathrooms? Or folding worship guides (aka bulletins)?
While my husband was finishing up seminary, he was Senior Pastor at a small church in North Texas. Due to budget and size, my husband and I volunteered to clean the church grounds every Sunday and Wednesday. The grounds weren’t large and consisted of a small sanctuary, two bathrooms, two classrooms, and a fellowship hall that included a kitchen. At first, it was tiring trying to figure out an organized and efficient way to clean everything in the short amount of time we had each week before members and guests began to arrive. But, in those two years, I learned how to serve and love the church. I learned what it looked like to be the hands and feet and serve sacrificially. I learned the valuable lesson that how we view our work makes all the difference in how we represent God and draw others to Him.
Fast forward a couple years later, I thought I hit the jackpot when I no longer had to sweep, clean bathrooms, or organize supply closets. I thought I had arrived. That I could move on to bigger responsibilities like writing and teaching Bible studies. But, you know what I soon realized after arriving at my husband’s new church and ministry assignment? That small town country church taught me how to serve. It taught me to slow down. It taught me how to pray over the chairs in the classrooms as I was picking up crayons off the floor. It taught me how to prayover the people that would soon be filling the pews as I weaved the vacuum cleaner and stubborn cord in and out of the rows.
You see, the danger I found myself facing in ministry was the danger of thinking I was too busy or important to do the small things. Once I realized that I was missing out on a huge opportunity to serve and pray for my local church just as I had done before, I had to return. Not because it was a position needed, but because it is a blessing to me and how I show my church that I love them.
So, I challenge you to show up to church early. Open the door for a young mom that looks like a hot mess after wrangling three kids all morning. Fold worship guides as you pray over each family that will receive one that morning. Pray over the chairs that you are straitening as you weave in and out of the rows. Restock tracks and connection cards in the foyer as you welcome first time guests. Sweep the classrooms that children will joyfully learn the foundations of their faith in. Pick up donut sprinkles from the welcome room floor and thank God that family came early for fellowship and encouragement.
Now, I am not writing this as a way of saying look what I do or to toot my own horn. I am simply asking you, do you know how to sweep? More importantly, do you know how to serve? Do you only chase after the things that include recognition and status? Or do you faithfully serve your husband and the church in whatever capacity is needed? Don’t miss out on where God has planted you because you are convinced that it is not important enough in the kingdom of God. Ladies - you don’t have to do the small things, you GET TO do the small things. You get to serve the church. THE CHURCH. The Bride of Christ. You get to love and serve her.
Maybe we won't always have to sweep, but I pray we will anyhow. I pray that our lives will always reflect what our hearts believe: it's better to be a door-holder, a sweeper, a listener, a servant in God's house than anything else. And it actually helps people meet Jesus.
I just want to say from one gal holding a broom to a bunch of others: we're so blessed, right? Thanks God for using us - in different ways, in different places. Because we actually believe that what we do with our hands, hearts, and voices helps people meet Jesus.