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4.2 – Equipping and Training for Mission
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I believe that integrity is something that’s easily overlooked, especially in Christian ministry. It is very, very easy to convince yourself that the sin or even “laziness” that you apply to your personal relationship to God does not exactly translate to your effectiveness in ministry… but it really does. Perhaps there is some grace with God because it doesn’t really sound right to say that God only works through you as much as you’ve given to him. Nonetheless, integrity remains, arguably, paramount when it comes to ministry. Poison from within will always come out in some fashion, so we are to ensure that we are as devoted as we can be behind closed doors so that God will operate in his Grace through us to the utmost that it can in our given contexts.
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To shepherd with integrity is remembering the purpose of our mission is all about God and expanding His kingdom. We are only able to do this with God – it is not by our own works. We must remain skilled by continually seeking spiritual development and remaining connected to God. The Bible is our foundation that we get our skills from.
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Shepherding with integrity of heart means that we are shepherding people for the purpose of building God’s kingdom. The mission is not for our own glory – it is not our ministry but His ministry. Everything we do should be pointing to God and not ourselves. We will be skilled when we rely on the Bible to continually develop ourselves, our hearts, and our relationship with God.
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Integrity of heart highlights to me that it is God’s ministry. The ministry I find myself in is not built by man’s doing but by the grace of God. The Bible must be our foundation for building our skills through His Word.
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