An important lesson I learned in seminary is that no one can come to the Bible without bias. He stood before the class and said “I am a white, Anglo-Saxon, male from America. Alone, I can only read [the Bible] as a white, Anglo-Saxon, male from America.” The goal of that statement was to remind us that we all carry inherent biases about how we are to interpret the world around us. We rely on God and those around us to break us out of those biases and see a fuller picture of truth. Years later, I found that I was carrying biases I had never identified. Biases about ministry, spiritual gifts, and expectations about how my calling would work itself out. They needed to be torn down.
I felt called to ministry, but only vaguely knew what that even meant. In the broad sense of the word, all of us are commanded to be about the business of ministering to the needs of those around us and to preach the gospel. The definition changes when you add a preposition in front of it. Being in ministry. For myself, this second definition had a number of clinging expectations. Little thorns that tugged and irritated it. There was a set list of spiritual gifts you could pick from and say, “Yeah, I’m that one.” From that point you knew what your ministry would look like. I took tests and was excited when pastor/teacher was on the top of each list, broken down by points and percentages. In the back of my mind I always thought about being the leader of a church, or at least some part of it. That’s what pastor/teacher’s did after all, and that’s what I got on the list.
If I were walk into a Bible study and ask what was the first passage that describes the Spirit of God filling someone – I would be fairly confident that few to none of those present would site Exodus 31 or a man named Bezalel. After God has finished laying down the intricate details for the tabernacle and everything that needed to be inside it, we find the following words,
“The Lord said to Moses, “See, I have called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with ability and intelligence, with knowledge and all craftsmanship, to devise artistic designs, to work in gold, silver, and bronze, in cutting stones for setting, and in carving wood, to work in every craft.
Exodus 31: 1-5
I’ve taken a number of “spiritual gift inventories” in my time. Woodworking and stone cutting have never been on any of those lists. I became fascinated by this man. The people of God set about to make a home for God as they traveled, and God Himself empowers one man and his assistant to craft with an excellence unparalleled. I hunted through the rest of the Bible to see if his name was ever mentioned again. Did he go on to be a great speaker? A prophet of God? Did they sing of him in song for generations to come? None of that – at least not any that is recorded. In the few instances he is mentioned, it is either in reference to the very items he makes here in these passages, or as a part of a genealogy. Arguably the first person “filled with the Spirit of God,” at least in those words, and his task was to build a place of worship – and that’s all. It was his ministry.
I’ve interviewed across the country and for a number of different church positions to varying success, but never got it. One night, as I was thinking about my friend Bezalel, I looked to the heavens and just asked, “Alright, God. Maybe I’ve got this wrong. What does wood carving look like for me?” You are currently on a site that is part of that answer. I am a geek, and have been since before I put my faith in anything, and God has used that to speak to so many people who downright refuse to even enter a church. The box I put around God shattered, and has been replaced by boxes of cards, cardboard, and plastic. The games I loved became the means by which I demonstrate God’s love and relational focus to others. This IS ministry.
This is my story, the short version at least. It’s a bit of how I went from random gamer who happens to love Jesus to the head of a growing ministry helping to train others to see gaming like I do. But what about you? What if you want to start something in your church? What if you want to start a gaming ministry in your congregation?
An artistic representation of Bezalel
There is one criticism that I have had to address. “Is this really a ministry or is this just an excuse for you to do what you want?” It was a good question, and it made me think. As InnRoads continues to grow, build relationships with local churches, and attempt to show that games and gaming have a place as a ministry focus – we had to come up with some things that make what we do distinctive from your Friday night game night with your buddies.
Follow-Up:
If all you do is hold awesome events or tell people about awesome events, you’re missing something. To be fair – this doesn’t mean you personally have to be responsible for all aspects of following up with people. It means that the ministry can’t just be one-and-done. If you are hosting an event, connect them to something that goes beyond that moment. A website is good. If you know a local church you could recommend that would be great. If you ARE the local church, that’s even better. Whatever you choose, there needs to be some way that this person doesn’t just float off in the wind.
Intentional Relationship:
The bulk of our ministry model takes place away from the table. You play the games as a point of contact, a chance to make the connection and build relationship with other people. Whether your ministry focuses on discipleship, outreach, or simple fellowship, you have to be committed to the relationships that are being made when you’re doing it. Obviously, God can do anything, in anyone, at any time, but, as a a general rule, no selfless play, beautiful carving, or anything else besides God will bring someone to know Him who didn’t before. If that happens, it is more than likely the Spirit of God working through relationship.
Training:
Admittedly, we’re still working on this. As we transition more and more away from just being a web resource and being inside local churches, we’re working on what we need our leaders to be about and do. However, there needs to be clearly stated expectations on those who are working with you, either on staff or as one-time volunteers. You need people who know what they’re doing, both as a leader and as a gamer in our case. If you have a volunteer who doesn’t have the skill set, you need to be willing to train them until they do.
Ministry Mindset
I remember when I first said I wanted to go into ministry as a kid. My father was upset with me. When he was growing up, the people around him that were trying to go into ministry were doing so with the purpose of avoiding “real” work. Real ministry can cost almost everything. It requires you to put aside yourself for the benefit of others. When it comes to games, you have to be prepared to run events where you play games you don’t especially like. You need to know that you will probably spend more time teaching games to others than you do playing games yourself.
Obviously, this is a simplification of a complex process. Everything needs to be tested and not everything will work. But if you are willing to crack open your box a little, I hope you’ll dive in and see what God might do through you.
Good. Write more please.