Rick Warren: Every Christian Is a Minister Because You Have Direct Access to God
Every professed Christian is someone who has a ministry, even if it's not an official institutional church body, says Saddleback Church Pastor Rick Warren.
In a "Daily Hope" devotional published on Friday, the best-selling author of The Purpose-Driven Life wrote an entry centered on the first part of 1 Peter 2:5.
"You come to Him as living stones, a spiritual house that is being built into a holy priesthood," reads the verse, as rendered by the God's Word Translation of the Bible.
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Warren went on to state that while not every Christian is a pastor, every believer is a priest, according to the two obligations Old Testament priests had.
"They had the right, privilege, and responsibility to go directly to God. They could pray and talk to God, worship, and fellowship with God. Everybody else had to go through a priest," noted Warren.
"The priest had the privilege and responsibility of representing God to the people and ministering to the needs of other people (serving)."
Warren wrote that these "are the very two things that are true of you when you become a believer."
"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," continued Warren.
"You have also been gifted for ministry to serve other people. Every Christian is a minister — not a pastor, but a minister. Any time you use your talents and gifts to help others, you are ministering."
These comments echo statements Warren made in a "Daily Hope" entry from September 2016, also titled "Every Christian is a Minister."
In that entry, Warren explained that "God did not put people on Earth just to live for themselves. He wants people to make the world a better place!"
"There's a word for this: ministry. Every Christian is a minister. Not every Christian is a pastor, but every Christian is to be a minister. That means you use your talents and gifts to make a contribution in life, to be a giver, not a taker," wrote Warren in September.
Warren's recent "Daily Hope" entry comes as his wife, Kay Warren, was honored by the Orange County Register as one of the county's 100 most influential people.
Warren received the honor last month for her work in mental illness advocacy and awareness following the suicide of her son, Matthew, in April 2013.
"Through her leadership, Saddleback Church this year hosted a conference to provide steps for clergy and mental health professionals to build a network of support for people living with, or who are affected by, mental illness," noted the Orange County Register.
"She also has worked with donors, agencies and hospital systems to rally around pediatric and adolescent mental health."
