Can anybody become a minister of God? If you ask Pastor Rick Warren from Saddleback Church, the answer is yes.
Warren quoted 1 Peter 2:5a GW on his website: "You come to him as living stones, a spiritual house that is being built into a holy priesthood."
"God says that you are a priest. Depending on your background, that may be scary or confusing. Peter is saying that the two benefits that priests have are now available to everyone who is a believer," he wrote.
In the Old Testament, priests did two things. First, they had the right, privilege and responsibility to go directly to God. While everybody else had to go through a priest to talk to God, priests could do so simply with a prayer. Second, the priest could represent God to the people and minister to their needs, Warren said.
"Those are the very two things that are true of you when you become a believer," he said. "You now have direct access to God. You don't have to pray through anybody else. You don't have to confess through anybody else. You don't have to fellowship with God through anybody else. You can read your Bible, talk with the Lord, and fellowship directly with him."
The veil between God and people was lifted when Jesus Christ died on the cross, Warren said. With Jesus having made that huge sacrifice, people have been gifted for ministry to serve other people. This makes every Christian a minister. Any time Christians use their talents and gifts to help others, Warren said they are already ministering.
"How do you know what your ministry is? Look at your talents, gifts, and abilities," he said. "When you use those talents and gifts to help other people, that's called ministry — nothing fancy or scary about it. It's just helping others."
The pastor added that a priest can still be in a sales office, work as an accountant, a waiter, or a truck driver. Priests can take on whatever profession they choose, said Warren. Just as long as they are helping other people in God's name, they are already ministering.
