The other day on a very chilly run I was listening to John Piper preach on John 1. He was focused on John the Baptist, sharing how John’s ministry and John the Baptist himself were about making Jesus great and making himself small. In John 1:6-8, the Apostle John makes it clear that John the Baptist (as well as he himself) was not the Light, but he came as a witness to the Light. Both John the Baptist and the Apostle John were all about shining the light of Jesus in the world. Then in vv.19ff, the focus again is constantly shifted away from John and onto Jesus. These men wanted to elevate Jesus, to have him be remembered, and to have themselves be forgotten. John 3:30 – “He must increase, but I must decrease.”

So that got me thinking about my ministry. As a missionary, it is important that I communicate with people about how God is working through our ministry. We want our supporters and partners to know that their investment is paying eternal dividends. We feel compelled to send out regular updates of the great things happening in equipping pastors in Africa and globally through Pathways, which is all true.

However, are we getting things backwards in sending out much communication about great things happening in our work? Is that what John the Baptist would have done, or John the Apostle? Am I trying to decrease everything with Eric’s thumbprint on it, and trying to increase the name, glory, fame of Jesus Christ? We use language like, “God is doing great things…” and then share all about our ministry. Maybe we should talk less about our ministry and more about God. I firmly believe in my heart that I’m not in it for a name for Eric Belz. Yuck! I’m totally fine being forgotten. But at the same time I feel a pressure from missiological trends and Christian culture to communicate much (with supporters and others) about our ministry (usually in a positive way) so partners will be encouraged in their relationship with us and our work.

What would happen if I didn’t share much about our ministry, or shared equally about the defeats, hardships and disappointments (which certainly are present) as I did about victories, encouragements and positives? What if I worked not only to make Eric decrease, but Pathways decrease while working to make Jesus increase? What would that look like? How would my prayer newsletters and blogs change? The NT writers shared about various ministries, such as Paul’s, but it certainly wasn’t always positive. Paul writes in 1 Cor. 2 that he came with weakness and fear and much trembling, preaching and knowing only Christ and him crucified. Why? He says it was “so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.” (1 Cor.2:2-5)

I think I’m due for some soul searching as I consider how to best make Jesus increase and make Eric and everything associated with Eric decrease. Perhaps that will mean we lose some supporters, perhaps that will mean our ministry will not be well known. But if it means Jesus is better known, more exalted, more in focus, more at the center of attention, does anything else really matter? I have more questions than answers at this point, but I encourage you to consider your own life and ministry in relation to these issues. How can you work so everything of yourself is forgotten, minimized, and overlooked, but Jesus Christ shines out brilliantly in and through you? May God grant us wisdom and grace to grow in these ways.