Serving, Part 2: A Tale of Two Ministry Teams

Second in a series about serving

God calls us to serve people. If we as individuals serve people directly rather than from the overflow of our service to God, we find ourselves battling burnout and depletion.

Ministry teams face the same danger. Does yours?

A Tale of Two Ministry Teams

In Ezekiel 44:10-16, God reveals two distinct ministry teams that served Him in Israel: the Levites and the sons of Zadok.

The Levites. Born into priesthood, ministry to God was the Levites’ birthright. But their purpose shifted during the wanderings of the Jewish people. The Levites chose to please the people and allowed idolatrous practices to infiltrate worship. They abandoned God in favor of the people (Ezekiel 44:10).
The Sons of Zadok. The sons of Zadok, also members of the tribe of Levi, were not diverted into idolatry when the rest of the Levite ministry team went astray. Instead, they continued to minister faithfully in the Lord’s will while performing their priestly duties. By guarding their relationship with the Lord and not taking their position for granted, the sons of Zadok remained humble to His wishes. God took note of that (Ezekiel 44:15-16).

How the Two Ministry Teams Serve

In spite of their unfaithfulness, God gave the Levites charge of the ministry to His people and His sanctuary. But the sons of Zadok, who remained faithful stewards of their relationship with the Lord, were invited to minister to Him.

Both services were necessary and both were based upon the teams’ choices made along their journey. Yet one had a much higher reward, for it was especially pleasing and personal to God.

The age-old battle about a team’s priorities remains today. Pressure to perform is enormous, whether imposed from within or without. Your team may work hard to execute programs, provide services, and reach goals as set forth in your strategic plan … all worthy endeavors. Yet if your team spends its time and energy fulfilling people’s desires for activities – rather than discerning whether those demands line up with God’s wishes – then you are in danger of watering down or even ignoring God’s direction and will. A compromise of faithfulness to God over His people means your team values people more than its relationship with God.

A Choice with Consequences for Your Team

Your team can either serve God by serving people, or serve people by serving God. With one, your service is limited to people. With the other, you have the privilege of ministering to God Himself – and His people as a result.

Either way, God can use your team. Yet as the Levites learned, the choice has consequences.