As the Lord’s called-out community of people, we are called to help each other grow up; we are called to know and be known by each other. We are called to be instruments of change for each other’s good – to make a difference in the lives of our brothers and sisters. But for many of us, our experience of church life falls woefully short of the significant, life-changing, mutual ministry which is the central thought of Ephesians 4.
One reform that is desperately needed in the church of Jesus Christ today, requires that we as its members, become wise in the face-to-face curing of souls. It is exactly because the people of God have neglected this admittedly uncomfortable practice, that psychotherapists and psychologists become so attractive.
The Bible provides the perfectly balanced model for the work of the ministry and in particular the ministry of the Word in the church. It reveals a seamless joining of the specialized competency of pastors and teachers publicly proclaiming the Word, with the church community and peers speaking the truth in love to one another. As Paul writes to the Roman church, I myself am satisfied about you, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge and able to instruct one another. (Rom 15:14). Brothers and sisters, let us labor together to make this aspect of the ministry of the Word to one another a reality.
