The gifts he gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers…
Ephesians 4:11 (NRSV)
I never thought of writing as a ministry. Or called it that.
Then I began to see blog posts and mimes on the topic. So I decided to take another look at the list of ministry gifts or offices given by the apostle Paul in Ephesian 4:11. Here is what I found.
Paul’s Ephesian 4 list does not include writing, at least not explicitly. But it doesn’t include radio outreach or food pantries or digging wells in Kenya either. And I think that most of us would agree that each of these is ministry.
We can make the connection between these ministries and the offices Paul mentions. Food pantries and missionary work are forms of evangelism. Many shows on EWTN teach as well as evangelize. The same connections can be made between writing and the Ephesians 4:11 gifts.
Writing can prophesy. Writing can teach. And, sometimes, writing can evangelize.
I find it hard to think of my writing as a ministry because I feel unworthy of ministry. But I do know that we are all called to believe in our own natural gifts and abilities. Whatever we have is from Him.
And whatever else we may think about ourselves, we have to believe that God knew what He was doing when he created us – just as we are.
You created every part of me; you put me together in my mother’s womb.
Psalm 139:13 (Good News Translation)
