I have not driven my car in 4 weeks.  I have not been to my office at church in that same 4 weeks.  Other than doctors’ appointments and my daughter’s graduation, I have not been “out” much in 4 weeks.  I have been basically homebound for the last month from my ministry as pastor, with an as-yet undetermined illness.  As you can imagine, there is much God has for us to learn in such times.  One has been regarding the nature of ministry even while I have been homebound.  Even though I can’t stand up for more than a minute without getting lightheaded, and having my pulse escalate dramatically, I still have a desire to do something to minister.  And I’ve found that there are ways that I can.  Let me share a couple of them – one “old school”, and one more “modern”-type ministry.

Prayer Ministry

This is the “old school” ministry, of course.  Even “stuck at home”, I can always pray.  And that I have done.  I have not been able to attend our church worship services, but it has not kept me from praying fervently for them.  I am praying for each minister as he has been preparing to preach, and then specifically as he delivers the message during the service.  I have been able to lift up our church, and our people who are sick, and several of our mission teams as they have gone out.  “Though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh; for the weapons of our warfare are not according to the flesh, but are divinely powerful”, II Corinthians 10:3-4 says.  Being limited physically does not always limit how I can pray – in fact, it can give one even more undistracted time to pray.  We often speak of prayer as being “the most important ministry” – and now I have gotten a chance to put that into practice.  I have previously told homebound people that they do not need to just sit there and wish they could do something, or merely wait for death; that they can still have a profound ministry through prayer.  For the last month, I have now had the opportunity to “take my own medicine” in that regard – and I can truly say that I have!  I know that the time I have spent praying these last weeks has been beneficial to me, and hopefully it has been of value for those for whom I have been praying as well.  The ministry of prayer is one that we can do as well or better homebound as in the office – one which we may exercise in the hospital, prison cell or halfway around the world from those we love and care about. 

Electronic Ministry

We are blessed to live in an age in which we are able to do more than merely pray when we are physically limited.  Through modern electronics and communication we can actively minister to people all over the world.  Someone may note that being ill has not seemed to limit my time on Facebook.  That is true.  In fact, I have spent much more time there – because it is one of my few connections with people and events out in “the world.”  But more than just “keeping up”,  I have been able minister that way as well.  I can keep up with people who are suffering physically like I am, who have specific prayer requests, or who are going on mission trips – and let them know that I am praying for them.  Facebook, as has been well-documented, has its potential hazards.  But like any tool, it can be used for ill or for good, and it has been a beneficial arm of ministry for me while I have been homebound.  I don’t know how many times I have typed the words “Praying for you” in a Facebook comment in recent weeks, but it has been many!  It has been at least a minimal way to stay in touch, and to minister to people from our church and elsewhere. 

Another electronic ministry during my homebound season has been that of blogging.  I have written a blog for a little over a year, but I have gone through spells where I did not post that much.  That has changed the past few weeks, and for good reason: it is one of the only ministries I can participate in while shut in at home.  I have posted brief articles on some of my daily Bible readings, books I have read, and the “inside scoop” of life inside the pastor’s home.  It is gratifying to see that every day, dozens of people read my blog – and it is especially satisfying to see “Google” searches for topics being answered with hits on my site.  For example, someone searches for: “What does it mean that love is patient” – and they are connected with my sermon from I Corinthians 13:4, “The Real Thing: Love Is Patient”.  Or someone asks, “What does ‘so loved’ mean?” — and see it hit my sermon on John 3:16.  Or someone researches the quote about how “the early morning belongs to the church”, and they came upon my article on Life Together by Dietrich Bonhoeffer which addresses that very thing.  And it is not just limited to my local church family, either.  It is fun to see “hits” on my blog from South Africa and Senegal and Singapore and the Philippines and from nations on every continent all over the world, virtually every day.  Watching people connect with answers from my sermons and blog articles makes me feel like even though I am limited in my mobility, my ministry through the internet is still as wide as the Lord allows. 

There are other ways to minister at home, of course: cards, and phone calls, and texts.  You may know, or be, someone who is ministering from their home in other effective ways.  But these I have mentioned have helped this “homebound” person keep from feeling quite so “stir-crazy”, and have allowed him to continue to be a part of the work of the Kingdom – even from his living room chair!