by T. Austin-Sparks
Transcribed from messages given in March, 1967. The spoken form has been retained verbatim, words which were unclear are in [square] brackets.
Don't think of that word ministry as something official. Just rule that right out. Don't think of the pastor, the minister, a ministerial class and profession. This language is phraseology which has crept into the service of God, and is all so false and misleading when people say, "I'm going into the ministry." we have to get our minds clear and adjusted over that word "ministry", for it does not only mean (and very largely it does not mean at all) going about with a Bible in your hand and giving addresses anywhere. That may be a form of ministry some have, but ministry is a very comprehensive thing, and if I were to put it into a phrase, I should say this: it's the influence and effect of the Lord's people being here in this world. And that effect and influence can be in very many different ways - what we amount to for the Lord by being here, what the world knows by our being here, and what other believers know by our being here.
