Barbeque and Minsitry

A Little Closer to Home

I have been thinking about writing a book about how ministry is like cooking good barbeque.  Before you laugh me out of the county, read a little further and see if you might just agree.  As a disciple of Jesus Christ we have this thing we call ministry which is the orientation of our lives to make more disciples of Jesus.  When I refer to our ministry I mean we may be professionals in ministry on a church staff, unpaid volunteers, or simply committed folks who believe and then act on those beliefs.  I think each of us are called and uniquely equipped for the ministry of making disciples.  

Having said this I have identified five barbeque ideas which seem to hold true regardless of our ministry position or place.  They are in no particular order of importance: preparation is essential, learn to take advice, someone has to do the dishes, if your looking then your not cooking, and the final product will speak for itself.

Preparation is essential in good ministry and barbeque.  Start with fresh ingredients, not something left over from last year.  One of the worst things we do in ministry is to use outdated ideas and programs with no “spice” left in them.  The meat of the ministry may be one of any number of possibilities, but it must be fresh, handled carefully, trimmed of the fat, and always focused towards the purpose.  I have found it is easy to get sidetracked during the preparation time, to the place where something unrelated can throw off my whole days schedule.

Learn to take advice.  How many times must we hear this before it begins to sink in?  If we just start to barbeque and never read a recipe or inquire of a friend how this best works, we will have set our selves up for failure and disappointment.  Yes, if we are stranded on a desert island with nothing to eat and find a rack of ribs, bag of charcoal, and a nice grill we could probably make something tasty happen.  However, with all the information or history freely offered, it just makes sense to ask and receive assistance.  We must respect ourselves, those around us, and the ministry itself enough to read, ask, and then listen.  Good barbeque is always kind of personal thing as is ministry.  Feel free to take what you learn and tweak it to match your situation and personality.

Someone has to do the dishes.  Oh, crud.  I never knew barbeque was so messy until I actually got to cooking myself.  When I make the rib rub, I have to clean everything again; the counter tops and then the measuring spoons, and containers.  I find it is the same for the mop sauce and finishing sauce; let alone actually applying the rubs and sauces to the meat.  I wash a lot of dishes while I am in the process of cooking.  Many times I wash the same dishes several times in the same day.  Someone has to do the not-so-fun work part of ministry also.  I have found that if I am in charge of a ministry, I should also be prepared to do the most unpleasant work.  My experience is that as I engage positively in, “dish washing,” others come along side and we end up having fun.  But make no mistake, the dishes will need to be washed.

If you are looking; your not cooking.  In good barbeque temperature is critical.  I try to cook along at 215 degrees for several hours without high peaks or low valleys.  Once you have developed a little history and have a basic idea of what you are doing, you will be able to keep the fire burning with discipline and planning.  The biggest problem with all of us is that we want to see what is cooking.  We open the lid and in doing so we release the temperature and then have to start over again.  It is hard to trust the process and not keep checking and looking, looking and checking.  Barbeque takes time, but requires us to trust the process.  Ministry also needs to be able to do its thing without a herd of folks picking and poking at the meat of the ministry all along.  Perhaps it is a God thing to learn to simply sit back, enjoy a nice diet Pepsi, and just let the meat cook.  

The final product always speaks for itself.  We might want to make excuses or put our product on a silver platter, but the truth is that the final product will speak for itself.  Barbeque, like ministry is unique to the time and place, but the people who come into contact with our work will make the decision whether to engage further or back away slowly.  I am always wary of those who claim to know all the best barbeque recipes but have never actually personally attempted to cook a brisket for 10 hours.  It is always nice to get feedback and then use that information to tweak the process a little one way or another with the goal of becoming more effective.

As you can tell I am having some fun with using barbeque as a metaphor for ministry.  There are several more chapters I am considering and I hope to link a Biblical example along  with a recipe to each thought.  So, lets get cooking and I hope I gave you some “food for thought.”

See You Sunday,   Pastor Dave Weesenr