The best tools for ministry

I’ve had countless discussions with groups of younger pastors, and among the important issues we discuss, the tools and technology available for ministry today is usually either a topic of conversation or at least a subtext to it. I can’t remember the last time I was in a meeting where there was no technology present (in fact, I can’t even remember the last meeting I attended where there were no Apple products visible). In 2012, technology is something we take for granted like the air we breathe.

As I write this blog on my MacBook Air I can quickly access the Internet, which serves as a portal to all kind of helpful tools. Study aids, sermon outlines, video clips, stories and illustrations, service planning apps, worship music, and ideas for production (to name just a few tools) are available to me at the speed of light. We’ve come a long way from the days when a pastor had to slowly build his own library and use the familiar time worn tools as he studied for the Sunday sermon.

It’s become fairly easy to duplicate the best of what the brightest stars in the church world are creating to minister to their large congregations. Friendly one-upmanship evident on twitter between pastors who are leading their “greatest service ever” and reminding us not to miss the “epic opening number” often leads us to wonder what tools they may be using to get the job done. We want access to those same tools; we get a bug to take a pilgrimage to the Mecca’s of ministry technology—all in the name of having a more significant impact on our community and of preforming our own assignment even better.

And what’s wrong with that? Paul writes in Romans that if we have a gift of leadership, we should use it with all the energy we have and steward it with greatest care. Pastor Timothy was told to work hard (the word used means “giving it all I’ve got”) to be an effective preacher of the Word. Jesus spoke more than once about the wisdom and responsibility of investing and multiplying the talents we’ve been given.

But using great tools for ministry causes us to forget something vital: You and I are the primary tools God chooses to use for ministry. When we utilize tools, no matter how great, we can start to think that ministry is about what “I” can do, and we often unknowingly begin to use the tool to manipulate the outcome, instead of becoming the tool that God uses in order to shape the people being served.

It’s subtle, but it’s dangerous. God won’t share His glory. Your skills, your team, your production values, or your Apple products can never take the place of a humble, submitted spirit ready to be used by God. Working hard, working smart, and working with tools is great—thinking that those are what cause you to have the “BEST. SERVICE. EVER.” is a one-way-ticket straight away from the heart of God for your ministry.