Goldfish in the Morgue Devotional
Sower, Waterer, Accountant?
Day 11 - Sower? Waterer? Accountant?
Scripture Passage: 1 Corinthians 3:1-9
Focal Verses: I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth. So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who causes the growth.. ~ 1 Corinthians 3:6-7 (NASB 95)
Forensics is a relatively new scientific discipline. Although the first recorded instance of using forensic science came about in China around the 12th century, its use systematically didn’t gain traction (despite Arthur Conan Doyle’s best efforts) until the mid-twentieth century. Since then, it has grown and evolved by leaps and bounds. And with its growth and acceptance, there has come the thing that has come to almost every other discipline in the modern world: specialization.
There’s no such thing as just a ‘forensic scientist’ anymore. There’s no such thing as a mere C.S.I. (Crime Scene Investigator) anymore. Now there are distinct specializations within the various sub-fields of forensics. You have ballistics experts to study projectiles from firearms and their trajectory. You have forensic pathologists, who know far more about physical trauma than your average ER doctor or a medical pathologist. You have physical (or forensic) anthropologists who study bones for legal reasons. You even have forensic accountants who crunch numbers for the law. In today’s world, it’s not good enough to just know a little bit about a lot of things. One is expected to focus their knowledge on a particular aspect of the overall field if they hope to make it in the profession.
Which brings us to the controversy Paul wants to address both the ‘Team Paul’ and the ‘Team Apollos’ factions of the Corinthian church. In his rebuke, he basically asks them (after calling them spiritual babies, by the way): Paul or Apollos…what does it matter? He then illustrates his point with a farming metaphor. Paul planted. Apollos watered (nurtured) the crop. The only thing that truly mattered was that God is the one who causes any growth at all!
My best friend and I served together in my old church as ministers to College and Career and Singles for a few years. We both had been called to ministry. I went to seminary and committed a number of years to prepare for it thinking I was showing true commitment to the calling. He didn’t do that. He continued serving in the same ministry in the same church. Guess who became a senior pastor of a church and guess who never did? I’ll admit, part of me was jealous. Maybe even a bit miffed that God would place him in that position, but not me.
Twenty years later, he’s still the pastor of the same now-thriving church. And I’m serving God in a way that I never would have imagined and in my own unique specialized way. You see, just as in forensics, specialization is the way to go. Used to be, I thought there were only three ways to minister: pastor, worship leader, and youth minister. That’s not the case anymore. Honestly, I don’t think that was ever the case. It was simply a mindset that tradition had instilled in us. God tends to call us to ministry in the places we are at. The same God who created so many variations of flowers, animals, and people tends to love diversity in ministry. Specialization. Doing something for Christ that you are especially designed to do. No idea of your place in God’s ministry? Just look in front of your face and you might be surprised you’ve been serving Him all along.
Father God, thank you for the things that make us different. Thank you for the interests you’ve allowed us to have for the sake of your kingdom. Help us, LORD, to use those interests, skills, insights, and knowledge to bring glory to you in ways we never would have imagined possible.
Want to know more about your place in ministry? Want to serve God, but not sure what your spiritual gift(s) is/are? I suggest checking out Lifeway’s Spiritual Gift Inventory (link posted below). The link will take you to a page that no only provides a nifty little questionnaire to help discern your gifts, but is chock full of great insight into spiritual gifts in general, as well as finding your place in ministry. I highly recommend checking it out!