There he was–a poor beggar without the use of his legs, relying on the goodwill of religious people in front of the temple. Peter comes with John, and he’s miraculously healed, which leads to a wonderful, hope-filled sermon about Jesus. From this remarkable snap-shot of Peter’s early ministry (Acts 3:1-26), I’m absolutely convinced that we’re at our best when we focus on serving people, wanting to help them by bringing them the rich comforts of Jesus with clarity and compassion. For us and our churches, we’re at our best when we focus on helping them in their recovery.

WEALTH-INTENSIVE MINISTRY–“WEALTH”

Wealth-intensive ministry can have a positive effect but will always fall short. This is what the beggar wanted and expected from Peter, some silver, some gold. Yet, it’s wealth that Peter said he didn’t have! (Acts 3:1-6). We sometimes believe that wealth can solve everyone’s problems. It helps run programs at large churches. Christian advocates of social justice inevitably talk about what they or others must do with their resources to relieve distress and pain. Relief can be good, and within the local congregation through diaconal ministry it’s imperative. But, we’re like Peter: We’re limited, especially those of us involved in small churches or church plants. We can’t just throw money at peoples’ problems, and if we put our hands in other peoples‘ pockets to give it a shot, we’ll only make things worse!

MIRACLE-INTENSIVE MINISTRY–“BIG ‘M’ MIRACLES”

If we only had some “Big ‘M’ Miracles,” you know, the ones that violate the laws of nature, we would have effective ministry, right? Peter actually did perform one of these miracles through God‘s power. He commanded the man to “walk” in Christ’s name, seized his hand to pull him up, and the man’s ankles and feet were healed so that he leapt about as he praised God! (Acts 3:6-10, esp. v. 6, NASB).* Yet, this miracle wasn’t the end of the story, and contemporary claims about miracles shouldn‘t be the focal point of Christian ministry. Most of us know that they’re not really being done at the hands of the big-name folks who hold miracle crusades. We can’t make modern-day miracles or even sensationalistic attention-grabbers the cornerstone of our ministry.

COMFORT-INTENSIVE MINISTRY–“JESUS’ COMFORT IN RECOVERY”

If we really want to help people, we’ll focus on helping them. Yes, it’s tautological, but if we really want people find a sense of wholeness, to be assured of forgiveness, we’ll bring them the comforts of Jesus in their recovery. Peter did this as he contextualized the gospel for his hearers. He spoke of Jesus’ death and resurrection, and since some of the men whom Peter addressed had some involvement in condemning Jesus to death, he pointed this out. His purpose, though, wasn’t to beat them down, for he said that they “acted in ignorance“ and talked about forgiveness, “times of refreshing,“ blessing, and appealed to their knowledge of the Hebrew Scriptures to communicate the marvelous things that Jesus brings (Acts 3:11-26, esp. vv. 17, 19, NASB).*

How can we be like Peter today? Well, we can begin by clarifying and contextualizing the gospel of Jesus, talking about the significance of His death and resurrection for human lives, and explaining how He heals our hurts with His forgiveness and acceptance. This will always be fruitful. This comfort-intensive ministry, this intentional focus on helping people, has application for us individually as well as for our churches. The gospel meets the spiritual and psychological needs of hurting, wounded people, assisting them as they process deep-seated issues related to their personal backgrounds and life-situations. When we and our churches do this, we’re serving people within the context of their recovery.

Recovery is far-reaching. We may think of those of us with a background in substance abuse as the prime candidates for recovery, but it’s much more. To be in recovery simply means that we’re in the process of improving the ways we cope with the “thorns” in our lives. We can be in recovery from bitterness, disappointment, resentment, anger, and the list goes on. Some of these dynamics in our lives are brought on by issues in relationships or by mental illness, but none of us get through life unscathed. We all need help in these areas. We can help others fit their experiences and influences into a larger narrative that has Jesus’ love and acceptance as central, which will cultivate acknowledgement, sympathy, accepting others, accepting life-callings, and accepting God’s Providence.**

Within the context of recovery, we can minister to those who see their need, who are in the process of coming to terms with life-circumstances they have ignored or pushed aside. We can help those who are coming to terms with the ways they’ve failed to cope and the people they’ve hurt in the process. This is you; this is me. It’s here that Jesus meets us, as we internalize His forgiveness, safety, and security. We exalt Him as the Safe-Maker, who embraces us as we go the wrong way…. He takes us up in His arms, lifts us onto His shoulders, and to our utter amazement begins to sing, shout, and rejoice over us! (Luke 15:1-7).

OUR RECOVERY MINISTRY ASSIGNEMENT

How can we begin to practically minister to others within the context of Christian recovery? Consider the following simple steps:

1. Familiarize yourself with Christian recovery literature to better understand the types of “thorns” that powerfully affect us at the core of our being. Celebrate Recovery produces resources that can be helpful.

2. Write down a few things that people in your sphere of influence struggle with. Ask yourself, “How does the gospel of Jesus Christ help them to better cope with these issues? What do they need to know?,” and write down some responses.

3. Start a support group for your church, even if it’s only a church plant or mission work. It doesn’t have to be a full-fledged recovery group. Set expectations about privacy during meetings and do what you’re able to make it a safe place where people can talk about powerful influences in their lives to learn to better cope.

4. Talk a lot about Jesus’ kindness and acceptance. As we recover, we face things about ourselves that are, well, unpleasant to think about. They need to know; we need to know that God accepts us for the sake of Jesus, that all condemnation has been taken far out of the way, and that the angels join Jesus in song over us as He parades us through the courts of heaven!

Ministry means service, service to God, often through serving people. Because God has and continues to serve us with nail-pierced hands, we do well to serve others with the same mindset. We can bless them more than we think if we meet them where they hurt and help them to internalize Jesus’ comfort and light!

— John A. Peters

* Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE-R-, Copyright-C- 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

** I wrote about this in “On God’s Shoulders: Recovering from Bitterness Through the Gift of Acceptance” (https://johnapeters.wordpress.com/2015/01/30/on-gods-shoulders-recovering-from-bitterness-through-the-gift-of-acceptance/).