Dear Rose Park,
Henri Nouwen was a Dutch priest, professor, writer, and theologian. He was a leading voice when it came to pastoral care and what eventually became known as spiritual direction and counseling. I’ve deeply enjoyed his writings and his tremendous care for God’s Word. Recently, I’ve been thinking a lot about Nouwen’s deep belief that every minister should have two ministries: the ministry of presence and the ministry of absence.
A ministry of presence essentially says a minister needs to show up. I can remember when I was being interviewed here at Rose Park. I did my best to make it very clear to the search team that I intend to show up in the lives of our people. I enjoy having dinner with you on Wednesday nights. I enjoy having coffee and donuts with you on Thursday mornings. I enjoy visiting you at your home and in the community. I enjoy seeing you in the stands at a football or volleyball game. All to say, the ministry of presence comes far easier to me than the ministry of absence.
The ministry of absence says we need to humbly acknowledge God has the ability to work in the lives of the community without us. This past week, I attended a conference at Western Theological Seminary. It began Monday afternoon and ended at noon on Wednesday. It was a great opportunity to see other pastors, learn a bit, and spend time with my brother Matt. However, during the entire conference I had this nagging feeling in the back of my brain that I was supposed to be doing something. This feeling didn’t come from a sense that I had forgotten to do something, but rather because I was starting to feel guilty that I wasn’t writing a sermon, making a visit, or planning with our staff. In short, I love participating in a ministry of presence, but if we take it too far then a ministry of presence is tempted to twist into a ministry of self-absorption. In other words, there’s a sinful thought creeping in my mind that says: God can’t do this without me.
This isn’t limited to just ministers. Have you ever thought about this in relation to parenting, marriage, the PTO, your extended family, the neighborhood Homeowners Association, or even the church? It’s a dangerous thought to assume you are so vital to an organization or relationship that nothing can be done without you (and if in fact nothing can be done without your presence, perhaps we need to reevaluate how this organization or relationship is structured). The ministry of absence faithfully and humbly acknowledges that God is God and we are not; God is fully able to work over us, under us, around us, and even despite of us. The great joy of the Christian life is that God so deeply love us that He graciously invites us to work with Him.
So, as each of us continue to work with God in our various places and relationships, let us always adopt a posture of humility standing in between a ministry of presence and a ministry of absence. God graciously works through us and at the same time God can work wonders without us.
Grace & Peace,
Pastor Mark
Photo by Mohammad Alizade on Unsplash