Some of you may know that Peter has his very own blog at Substack.com. One of his recent articles reflecting on what ministry could look like if we slowed down to the pace of Jesus relates closely to Browncroft’s aspiring mission and vision, enough that we thought we’d share it on our Browncroft blog, too. Here’s what he had to say:
–Carissa Gray, Communications Coordinator
My pastoral training started with relationships and small rooms. It wasn’t a stage or a classroom. It began with a few individuals who invited me to come with them. I sat in hospital rooms praying for others. I went to a gym to work out with a pastor who asked me about my spiritual life. I accompanied ministers to funerals and graveside services. I visited shut-ins of various ages and stages.
Suppose you had asked me twenty years ago what ministry would look like. In that case, I’m not sure I could have articulated the rapid changes brought about by technology, travel, and the vast array of information at our fingertips. As I reflect, I hope I would have answered by recognizing these experiences with ministry.
A seminal moment in my understanding of ministry occurred in college. A group of us sat with a minister in Washington, D.C.. He served several individuals from Congress. I had my notebook open, writing from his wisdom, when he made this statement: “Jesus had approximately 31 individual encounters in the Gospels.” My pen stopped for a moment. The writers of the Gospels took careful note of how Jesus engaged individuals in the behind-the-scenes moments one-on-one.
This week, I rewatched the documentary Godspeed. It captures a story of an American pastor who embraces parish ministry in Scotland. The word parish means “a small administrative district typically having its own church and a priest or pastor”(Google and Oxford dictionary).
Rewatching Godspeed reminded me of my early training in ministry. If you asked me about where I have seen God work the most in the last six months since returning from sabbatical, it happens the most in the one-on-one quiet moments that no one sees; the small groups of individuals on the back porches; the conversations of individuals looking to get baptized sharing their story of how Jesus impacted their lives; sharing meals with people.
Henri Nouwen once said, “The interruptions are my job.” The question for pastors, leaders, and followers of Jesus in the Twenty-First Century is, do we have the margin to be interrupted? Are we matching the pace of the world around us? We live in a time where people feel anxious and exhausted, longing for someone to notice them.
A pastor who embraces the parish recognizes how much ministry happens outside the church building. I walk into the gym ready for any number of discussions and even the opportunity to pray with people. Each coffee shop has a regular crew of patrons and baristas, full of conversations.
Jesus embraced the interruptions because He embraced the image of God in others. The Savior of the world worked one relationship at a time. He had every reason to dismiss others for more important matters, but paradoxically, he had all the time in the world for people.
Jesus embraced the interruptions because He embraced the image of God in others.
Kosuke Koyama wrote the book Three Mile an Hour God. In it, he reminds us that humans walk at a pace of three miles per hour. That seems painfully slow to those of us in a rush or hurry. He makes this connection to Jesus:
Jesus Christ came. He walked towards the ‘full stop’. He lost his mobility. He was nailed down! He is not even at three miles an hour as we walk. He is not moving. ‘Full stop!’ What can be slower than ‘full stop’ — ‘nailed down’? At this point of “full stop’, the apostolic church proclaims that the love of God to man is ultimately and fully revealed. God walks slowly because he is love. If he is not love he would have gone much faster. Love has its speed. It is an inner speed. It is a spiritual speed. It is a different kind of speed from the technological speed to which we are accustomed. It is ‘slow’, yet it is lord over all other speeds since it is the speed of love. It goes on in the depth of our life, whether we notice or not, whether we are currently hit by storm or not, at three miles an hour. It is the speed we walk and therefore it is the speed the love of God walks.
The longer I pastor, the more I realize the inefficiency of ministry. We love at God’s pace. Depending on the individual, that requires time and trust. People don’t grow in neat fashions. Our processes and metrics matter because people matter, not solely on the efficiency of getting things done. We don’t push or pull. We trust the Holy Spirit’s work in people’s lives. Rarely do crises happen at a scheduled time. So, as pastors and churches, we’re called to live at a slower pace with margin for these opportunities. This spiritual speed humbly calls us to live as humans, recognizing what only God can do.
We love at God’s pace. Depending on the individual, that requires time and trust.
A few weeks ago, I thought through my own definition and understanding of ministry…
Ministry involves helping individuals locate God’s presence and work in their lives. That requires you pray up, show up, listen up, and speak up. The word “up” means recognizing God’s presence in every person and situation.
I’ve heard it said several times in church settings: “What’s old is new again.” Now more than ever, people need relationships with other people. Jesus modeled a deep connection with others. The rest of the writers of the New Testament laid out a vision of a church where people love each other deeply.
I think we distract ourselves with conversations about the use of technology and production in churches. I think we distract ourselves with conversations about the size of churches or whether megachurches should exist.
The deep questions for churches involve the following: Can a person be known? Can they experience health? Can they discover their God-given calling and gifts? Can confession happen in the context of relationships? Do people pray together and for each other? Are we applying the Bible to real life or consuming knowledge? Are people growing in the fruits of the Spirit? (Galatians 5:22-23) Are the ministers equipping the saints for ministry? (Ephesians 4:11-16)
Like metrics and processes, technology, production, programs, and the size of the churches are evaluated on how these tools bring people closer to God and one another. No matter where our opinion lies, the Gospel calls us to give up our personal preferences as a sacrifice of love for others.
To live with interruptions, to minister at three miles an hour, to see people as Jesus did— we need to minister at his pace in a countercultural way. Maybe God has called us in 2025 to embrace the inefficiency of ministry.
