Every church requires a basic foundation for effective congregational leadership in ministry. At Trinity Baptist Church, the staff abides by four tenets that can apply to almost any church seeking to create an atmosphere for ministerial excellence.
Tenet 1: Professionalism.
Although there is some debate as to whether ministry is a profession, we at Trinity Baptist Church feel that every minister–from the office administrator to the music minister–is to be as professional as possible. This means that every minister has a responsibility to be punctual, well-kept, and thoughtful in all he or she does.
Being professional also applies to boundaries and ethical standards. Boundaries keep ministers from inappropriately relating to the laity or overstepping their authority.
Boundaries also provide opportunities for spiritual and personal growth as a minister schedules his or her time for professional development, recreation, and family time.
Professionalism ultimately establishes a healthy work environment that enriches both the staff and the congregation. When healthy boundaries are established and everyone values healthy lifestyles, the entire church thrives as a whole.
Tenet 2: Confidentiality
One of the primary goals of a minister is to honor the confidentiality that pervades the office of the ministry. Ministers have always functioned in society as Called-Ones in whom others trust. Ministers, therefore, are spiritual stewards and confidants. When ministers break this trust, then the integrity of all of Christ’s Body suffers.
That is why confidentiality is of utmost importance in ministry, and valuing confidentiality is something that honors each person’s pursuit after a holy God. We cannot seek God alone, for we all need encouragement, prayer, and support. If ministers do not value confidentiality, then the road to spiritual maturity can become a lonely one indeed.
Tenet 3: Patience.
We live in a society of urgency and fast service. Our desires and wants must be satisfied right now, this minute. There is no time to waste!
Ministers remind people that God works on a different timeline than do humans. God’s time–holy time–meanders through both the blessings and perils of life, in season and out of season.
Ministers remember that patience is necessary when one’s spiritual growth, healing, grief work, and expectations are at stake.
Patience is also one of the fruits of the Spirit, for “those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives” (Galatians 5:22, 24-25).
Tenet 4: Prayer.
In the letter to the Philippians, Paul encourages his audience to “worry about nothing; instead, pray about everything” (4:6). Ministers must be examples to congregations by seeking God in prayer for all things, be it prayer about life decisions, ministries, or even missions in the church.
I am convinced that God is honored the most in those churches that put prayer ahead of all other endeavors; for without prayer, our programs, and liturgies, and ministries, and relationships ring hollow. Prayer allows that hollow-ness to become hallow-ness, or holy as God is holy.
In all things, Trinity’s staff makes prayer a priority. The staff engages in very few decisions or ministries without first bathing those decisions and ministries in prayer. It is prayer–the act of coming into God’s presence in vulnerable communion–that allows the power of the Spirit to flourish in a church’s midst.
Professionalism, confidentiality, patience, and prayer are four values that allow ministry teams to become all the more effective in their ministries at church. At Trinity Baptist Church, these four foundations are what drive our ministries and establish ethical parameters in our work and worship.
Baptist Spirituality 