Commanded to Minister (1 Timothy 1:1)

During my sabbatical I am looking at Paul's writings to his student and friend, Timothy. Paul acts as a long-distance mentor to his young protege, giving him guidance on the practice of ministry and the health of the minister. I thought it might be a good starting point for reflection during this time away.

I spent most of last week examining the first verse of 1 Timothy. In the NIV, Paul introduces himself as an apostle. Then he shares the source of his apostleship: the command of God. That word "command" stuck in my mind. So I dug a little deeper. I expected to find the common word for command in my Greek New Testament: entole. Nope. He used epitage. Now don't stop reading just because you are not a Greek geek like me. Here is the significance. Paul didn't really need another word. An apostle literally means, "a person who is sent" and you can't be sent unless someone sends you and apostles believed they were sent by God. But Paul tosses in this additional word. And there are two shades of meaning that are important.

First, epitage is a very strong authoritarian word. I hear forced words and see furrowed eyebrows on the face of the command-er. God didn't just suggest an apostolistic ministry as one good career option among others for Paul. God commanded Paul to minister. His options are: minister or disobey. In our culture we bristle at such words. We resist commands and welcome suggestions. And when it comes to God we understandably would rather freely love God than obey him out of obligation and fear. But could it be that Paul wanted Timothy to remember that a call to ministry is not a career suggestion but a command? Then whenever it seemed easier to just give up and quit and sell insurance, he might need to remember that he/we are commanded to minister and to quit is to disobey?

I know that first meaning has a negative slant. But the second half is better. Epitage is a God thing. It is very direct. Paul has been commanded by God himself to minister. It is as if he was called to the general's tent and given special orders directly from the mouth of the general himself. I can hear the words now, "Son, I have chosen you for a mission-critical assignment. . ." Orders directly from the top.

I remember that day myself. Sitting on the wide railing of a porch, rain dripping off the roof above me, in the middle of Big Sandy Camp, when God said, "Jason, I want you to be a pastor. Jason, I want you to be a pastor." Commanded. Orders from the top. epitage.

Addicted to Email

I am one week into my 7 week sabbatical. Last Monday was day one. A crazy day, but a normal Monday for me: Erica works, so I watch the kids all day, do laundry, meals, baths, etc. It didn't feel much like a break from anything. But there were a few sabbatical-like plans already kicking in. In my desire to really step away from ministry for 7 weeks and really rest and re-charge, I knew that I needed to avoid my email. I get several church/work email messages every day- and not just from church members, but from other businesses and organizations. And I knew that seeing the subject line of an email would push my mind to engage, so I asked a trusted friend to check my email for me and then forward only personal emails to me to another account that I rarely use. On Sunday night I changed the settings in Outlook to check only the other account. Goodbye jmatters@juno.com See you in 7 weeks.

So it was Monday morning, right after transferring a load from the washer to the dryer, and I sat down to check my email. Nothing. Right after lunch: nothing. Okay, now the kids are down for their naps: No new mail. After bedtime? Nothing all day. I felt bored . . . unneeded . . . unimportant . . . uninformed . . . lightheaded. I craved an electronic message that might boost my sense of self-importance. Yes, I am addicted. (As it turns out, at least I am not alone. Check out this article in Psychology Today. Wow- I bet I spend a ton of time every day just checking email- even though most of it is junk, spam, or ads for products I won't purchase. And now I discover that I am also investing emotional energy in email. Seems kind of like a waste. I need to get a hold on that and make a change when I get back to regular duty in 6 weeks.

So now it is one week later. We went out of town for the weekend, and because I don't have Internet Explorer installed on my new laptop, I was unable to get online from the hotel. And I didn't even care. Tonight I got online for the first time in days . . . and it feels pretty good.