INFOCUS
Face-to-Face Education for Face-to-Face Ministry by A . C R A I G T R O X E L
“T
hough I have much to write to you, I would rather not use paper and ink. Instead I hope to come to you and talk face to face, so that our joy may be complete.” —2 John 12
A MINISTRY MODEL
The only perfect ministry the world has ever known was that of Jesus Christ. It was and can be said of him alone, “he has done all things well.” Truly it was a model ministry. By model we do not mean—as some might suggest—that Christ’s ministry should be emulated in a perfunctory or external way, in that we ought to cast out demons or turn over tables in like fashion. Nevertheless, the New Testament does draw some relationship between what Christ did and what we are to do in his name. For example, Christ taught that he was a “good shepherd” who knew his sheep by name and would lay down his life for them (John 10:3, 11, 16). Similarly, the New Testament describes elders as under-shepherds who must “shepherd the flock” that is among them by exercising care over them (1 Pet. 5:2-3; Acts 20:20). Or again, Christ spoke of the cross, both in terms of his imminent death and as what must characterize his followers (Matt. 10:38; 16:24). So also, the Christian ministry is distinguished by the cross (1 Cor 1:18). Lastly, when Paul pleaded with the Corinthian church “by the meekness and gentleness of Christ,” he was aspiring to a service that would resemble the character of Christ’s manner with others (2 Cor. 10:1; 4:10; 13:4; Gal. 6:14). There is another aspect to Christ’s ministry that we should consider as ideal and worthy of imitation. It could easily escape our notice because it is something so obvious. It is the fact that our Savior ministered face to face. The Gospel accounts describe a ministry of one who traveled from place to place over the course of three years, the whole while pursuing his work in the most personal, familiar, and some4
