A few days ago I asked the question “What is a minister.” Here are some of Brenda’s thoughts which have come in the middle of our conversation at the Vicarage.

So what is a minister?

…It is interesting that word…”Minister”…to minister…the verb is to take care of the needs of another. You can minister as a health professional, as a pastor, a teacher, as a musician. The list goes on. Everyone can do this.

In fact in some form I believe everyone SHOULD DO THIS…. But being called a minister, or being CALLED to be a minister, that is a bit different.

Ministers do in daily life take care of life needs just like everyone else (groceries, help with bills, babysitting, holiday gifts and baskets etc). The other half is spent encouraging people helping them to become who God intends them to be. We each have our specific way of doing this. My mom was a minister to people as a nurse. Nursing them back to health, and we her children and her Grandchildren are ministers to peoples souls and spirits. I use art, singing, theater to do my work, and other ministers use their specific gifts to do their work.. I guess that is the beauty of it. There is no one way to be a minister or to do ministry.

God has gifted each one of in our own way, so that we can do what He would have us do, in our own special way. So to me…being a minister is being the best artist, director, teacher, actor, designer, singer I can possibly be, using those gifts to draw others toward the God of all creation who loves them and wants to know them better and wants them to know him better.