When we talk about something that “hits different,” what do we mean? It’s a common phrase within the younger generation. It is used to say that something is uncommon. It’s unique. It exceeds our expectations.
Maybe a specific food or a certain song hits differently. When something catches us off guard with how amazing it looks, sounds, tastes and feels, we recognize that there is something uniquely special about it.
But what do we mean when ministry hits different. What does it mean or look like for ministry to hit differently amidst different pastors, teachers, churches and organizations that say they do ministry?
Based on 1 Corinthians 2:1-5, we are given some key indicators that define the kind of ministry that truly hits different.
Ministry that is set apart is marked by:
- What is preached or taught.
- The demeanor or presence in which it’s carried out.
- The purpose or “why” behind doing ministry.
Preaching and Teaching
Ministry that hits different is rooted in God’s Word. Specifically, the preaching and teaching of God’s Word. What God has said through His Word under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit must be the foundation of ministry that is set apart.
What this means is that there is no new content to be said. The goal of preaching and teaching is not to say anything that hasn’t been said already. Instead, the goal of preaching and teaching is to interpret what God has said in His Word and apply it to our everyday lives.
In 2 Timothy 4:2, Paul describes what this looks like by challenging his spiritual mentee, Timothy, to “preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching.”
The question to then be asked is, “what do we preach and teach?” What is the content of our message? 1 Corinthians 2:2 answers this question, saying that we ought to preach, “Christ and him crucified.” The Gospel with Christ must be the focal point of whatever lesson or sermon is at hand.
It is said in Ephesians 1:3 that the Father “blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.” It’s knowing that the centrality of the Bible is found in the birth, life, death, resurrection and coming again of Jesus Christ.
This would raise the question, “so what? What does this have to do with my life? What am I supposed to get out of the Gospel?” However, this is not how the question should be asked.
Rather, what should be asked is, “what can I give the Gospel?” That doesn’t mean that any person or idea can add or subtract value from the Gospel. The question “what can I give the Gospel” must be interpreted like this: “what does the Gospel demand from my life?”
The Gospel did not come without a cost: the cost of the earthly life of Christ. So, what does a Risen Christ on this side of His crucifixion and resurrection require of us? He requires us to “take up his cross daily and follow me,” as it says in Luke 9:23-24. He requires that every portion of our life and our life as a whole be committed to knowing Him intimately and walking with others so that they may come to know Him or know Him more intimately. Put it another way, through His Word and by His Spirit, we are given everything for “life and godliness” (2 Peter 1:3).
Presence and Demeanor
Not only should the preaching and teaching in ministry hit different, but so should the presence and demeanor of it. Paul says it this way, “And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling” (1 Corinthians 2:3).
Ministry that hits different should begin from a place of humility. Humility that denies believing we know best or that our ways are better than the Lord’s. Humility that the world would call foolish, but God would use to further His purposes (1 Corinthians 1:27).
Ministry that hits different also requires a sense of authenticity. An authenticity that comes from a place of being “fearfully and wonderfully made,” as it says in Psalm 139:14. God didn’t call us to be anyone other than ourselves.
Like Paul, we– left to ourselves– are weak. In 2 Corinthians 12:1-10, Paul talks about his situation regarding the thorn in the flesh. He recounted that the Lord would not take it away or remove it from him. Why? So that he would be reminded that in and of himself, he is weak and cannot provide anything of eternal significance.
It’s this reminder that should humble us. Humble us to a place where we can display the Spirit’s power (1 Corinthians 2:4), depending on Christ not to display our own strength, but His power (2 Corinthians 12:9-10).
What’s the purpose of doing ministry?
1 Corinthians 2:1-5 describes the purpose of ministry that hits different. It answers the question “why do ministry?” or “what’s the point of ministry?” in another way. Paul answers this question by saying, “so that your faith might not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God.” In other words, the focus is not the person in the ministry.
The focus is that the person is an avenue to display the person and work of Jesus Christ. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 1:31 that our boasting is “in the Lord.”
He would say it to the Roman church in this way: that the power of God is the only means for the salvation of humanity (Romans 1:16-17).
In layman’s terms, our power is not in who we are or what we have done. It is solely about who Christ is and what He has done. Our purpose is in this proclamation.
