Fun? Ministry? What?!

The other night I was talking about my schedule for the following day. I had a coffee date, phone calls to make about an outreach we're doing on Friday and a few other things to do as well. My friend said, "Oh, so you're doing ministry stuff tomorrow." I said, "Oh no. It's not ministry stuff. It's going to be fun."

I did not realize how deeply the culture of my previous church experience had scarred me and skewed my view of ministry. You see, anytime I thought something was fun, I was told that it was a mountaintop experience and I'd get over it. Everytime I thought something was a drudgery and horrificly boring, I was told it was ministry, what God expected of me, what would be used to humble me to get me prepared for what He had actually called me to do.

I'm not saying that 100% of what God has called us to do is definable as fun. Sometimes you have to do things that are not smile-inspiring to prepare for the fun stuff. However, the end result, the meeting kids in a park who are adorable in their costumes is a blast; having coffee with a new friend is exhilarating; having a township official call us nuts makes me want to up what we are considering to prove her correct. In short, I believe that when you are doing something that God has created you to do, it's fun.