Every Christian is a minister. That was the message from the president of the Southern Baptist Convention at their annual meeting earlier this month.
Steve Gaines told messengers at the 160th session of the SBC that he was not just giving a convention address — he said, “I’m going to preach the Gospel.”
Gaines, pastor of the Memphis-area Bellevue Baptist Church took his message from Acts 13:1-12. From that passage he told those gathered at the Phoenix Convention Center — “every person in this room that knows the Lord Jesus Christ is a minister — a servant of the Gospel.”
Gaines added, ”You might not be called to pastor a church, but still, nevertheless, if you’re a Christian, you’re a minister of the Lord Jesus Christ.”
Referencing a recent Arizona Diamondbacks baseball game, Gaines said he noticed that “baseball has a process or pattern.” In order to score, a batter has to hit the ball, run to first base, to second base, to third base and then run to home plate in order to score. “Bad things would happen if they got that out of order.” And he said that’s also true for the ministry, which “has a fundamental, essential process/pattern.”
From Acts 13 Gaines found a “divine sequence/pattern” for ministry. First, Christians are to minister to the Lord “God wants you and me to minister first to Him.” Second, the Lord “must minister to us and then anoint us with His Holy Spirit. Then, and only then, do we have the power, the anointing to minister to other people.”