Relationships

I think that the “reformed church” in general lacks a strong philosophy of how God grows people primarily, and that is through other people themselves in close interaction. That is putting it in a very general and basic sense but let me elaborate. At minimum, it is prioritizing the other person by spending ample amounts of time with them face to face, helping them connect the “dots of life.” We Americans have a hard time with this reality I think. Other cultures are superior in this regard. We just simply value projects and lectures etc., etc more than talking, listening, and struggling with others in their lives. It takes tons of time and we often might not respect the time it takes to do those things well. We grow though, not solely, but most significantly by a back and forth process of slow, organic, and mutual sharing of lives with others. This is a philosophy of ministry that has as its center the centrality of relationships. I can find no better grounding for this other than the triune God. I believe this is who God is and how He changes us—through incarnations of himself in others to us, and us to others. It is a personal ministry, in other words. This of course, is the grounding for any ministry. I see this with Jesus’ life with his disciples. If the rich will not have this kind of ministry of love and shepherding, because they feel like they don’t need it, then this ministry may be most effective in helping those that know they really need a physician. This is why I think opening up a counseling ministry in a poor area is a noble attempt at ministering the gospel to the community, to the "world." Is this not how many aggressive evangelical churches have powerfully effective ministries to those washed up on the shore of broken lives? I do think the “reformed” need to learn a thing or two from these Christians.