The Let Go Approach To Ministry

The Basic Issue

Ministry in many ways is similar to Community Development. However, there is a difference in the source of power. In the protestant Church this is viewed as being true not just for a select group of people in the Church (i.e. clergy) but also for all people. That is, all ministries, of all people, have the potential of laying into God's provisioning power for effective ministry.

According to the "let-go" section of the Protestant Church, God's spiritual presence and power for ministry is accessed through the dynamic of "letting go" and "letting God" do the action, rather than "taking hold" and doing the action for him.

The author Watchman Nee, writing out of China in the 1930's, has some superb material on this approach to ministry, and the truth it contains. Nee among others, draws attention to the fact that the children of Israel carried three objects in thier "Ark of the Covenant".

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Nee notes that they included Aaron's rod because of an incident where Aaron's authority to minister was challenged. Aaron knew that it was not his battle and immediately threw himself before the Lord for guidance. God said that a leader for each tribe as well as Aaron were to place their rods before the alter all night and in the morning which ever one budded blossomed and bore fruit would be indicated as being God's servant. They did so, and of course, Aaron won. Nee points out that the only God-recognized ministry is one which lets go of trying to attain authority to act and rests on God's appointment (for whatever task). He goes on to say that all power for ministry is to be found in that dynamic, and the fruit comes after the long night in the sanctuary of darkness : it is not of our doing but of God's grace.

That is the essence of ministry within the "let-go" section of the Protestant Church. They are very much aware (at least on their good days!) of the need to give God some room to operate.

The problem with this approach to ministry is it leaves the human will and "take-hold" dimensions in something of a gray area. Ministers are likely to find themselves "taking-hold" in a situation and feeling guilty about it. There is also a tendency to give extra credence to the supernatural actions of God (e.g. spontaneous healing) rather than to the natural actions of God (like his creating clotting cells and calling Doctors to long years of dedicated study in his name). There is a tendency to lay back, and an unease with doing so.

I was alerted to this problem thirty years ago by the Mennonite fellow who had helped me weather the "Culture Shock " storm. He was the person who introduced me to the writings of Watchman Nee. On giving me the literature, he alerted me to and oddity in this man's outlook, which he described as "an oriental laid-back-ness foreign to our culture". He left it at that, but I remembered it over the years.

It was not until the past few years, however, that I came to understand the problem to which I had been alerted . It was what I call the bridge problem between the "take hold" outlook I had grown up with and the "let go" outlook which I had been introduced to much later in life.

The Relationship Between a Life Outlook and a Ministry Outlook

The "letting go" approach to ministry springs out of a "letting go" approach to life, just as the "taking hold" approach to ministry flows out of a "taking hold" approach to life.