Day 49: Jesus Propels Us Toward Our Ministry Destiny

I commend to you our sister Phoebe, who is a servant of the church in Cenchreae. So you should welcome her in the Lord in a manner worthy of the saints and assist her in whatever matter she may require your help. For indeed she has been a benefactor of many—and of me also.

Give my greetings to Prisca and Aquila, my coworkers in Christ Jesus, who risked their own necks for my life. Not only do I thank them, but so do all the Gentile churches. Greet also the church that meets in their home. Greet my dear friend Epaenetus, who is the first convert to Christ from Asia. Greet Mary, who has worked very hard for you. Greet Andronicus and Junia, my fellow Jews and fellow prisoners. They are noteworthy in the eyes of the apostles, and they were also in Christ before me. ROMANS 16:1–7, EMPHASIS MINE

I HAD TO WEAR full leg braces for two years when I was a little girl. They buckled around my waist with a thick leather strap from which protruded heavy steel bars that extended down either side of my bowed legs all the way to my ankles and then looped under my feet inside heavy orthopedic shoes. Remember in the Tom Hanks movie Forrest Gump, when the bullies are chasing little Forrest and Jenny yells, “Run, Forrest, Run”? And remember how Forrest’s braces fell off when he started running? Well, Forrest and I had identical braces. Only mine didn’t miraculously fall off. . . . I had to wear them throughout kindergarten and most of the first grade.

I hated the way those braces made me look as damaged on the outside as I felt on the inside. And I hated missing recess. Almost every day I watched Charlene Williams boot home runs in kickball while I sat stiffly on the sidelines. But then one spring afternoon, the doctor took another set of X-rays and said my bones were finally growing straight and that I didn’t have to wear braces anymore.

The next day I lined up with the rest of the kids when they chose teams for kickball. I was fidgety and excited about getting to play again . . . and just a little disappointed when I got picked last. Of course, that made sense. I hadn’t been able to run or jump for so long that the other kids naturally assumed I’d be a cruddy kickball player. I can still vividly remember what happened when it was my turn to kick. The outfielders moved in close, thinking I’d be an easy out. The pitcher rolled this red rubber ball toward where I was standing behind home plate and it seemed to get bigger and bigger as it wobbled toward me—and then “boom!”—I kicked that sucker over everybody’s head and raced around the bases for a homerun so fast I almost mowed down the kid in front of me. If he hadn’t sped up, I’m pretty sure I would’ve soared right over his head because I felt like I could fly that day!

In today’s passage, we see the proverbial braces come flying off of five unlikely ministry home-runners—three of whom are women! A big honkin’ surprise given how marginalized women were in Paul’s cultural moment. First there’s Phoebe, whom Paul calls a “servant”—or diakonos in the original Greek, which means, many scholars say, that she was a deacon.

Then there’s Priscilla (Prisca), the wife of Aquila, whom Paul refers to as a fellow worker, or synergos in the original Greek. Which was a special term Paul only used to describe his close associates in church ministry. In fact, in the book of Acts, Paul lauds Priscilla and Aquila as being able to “[explain] . . . the way of God more adequately” to a fiery, John-the-Baptist like leader in the early church named Apollos (Acts 18:26 niv), which meant she at least co-mentored other spiritual leaders with her husband. And what’s even more interesting is that in four of the six times Priscilla is mentioned in the New Testament, she is listed before Aquila! Which is so unusual in New Testament literature that some scholars assert that she was the more prominent one of that dynamic duo!

But I think the most interesting member on God’s team of star devil-booty-kicking athletes in Romans 16 is Junia, whom Paul refers to as “note-worthy in the eyes of the apostles” (v. 7, emphasis mine) along with Andronicus. In other words, a leader among leaders. However, since it was assumed for centuries that women weren’t “supposed” to be leaders, somewhere along the line of biblical translation a gentleman (I’m using considerable restraint here!) who was copying the letter to the Romans changed the original spelling of “Junia”—which was a woman’s name in Greco-Roman culture—to “Junias”—which was a man’s name in Greco-Roman culture. As a result, for many years it was assumed that Andronicus’s buddy and Paul’s ministry partner in Romans 16:7 was a dude. However, relatively recent and exhaustive study has pretty much proven that this outstanding leader that the apostles took note of was indeed named Junia and was indeed a woman!45

Now please know, I don’t want to burn my bra and, believe me, you don’t want me to either! I’m not trying to shake down any institutions or stir up any more drama when it comes to gender. What I am trying to point out is that if you’re firmly rooted in Christ, He’ll propel you into your ministry destiny. If God has blessed you with leadership gifts which you’ve willingly put under the authority of the Holy Spirit, He’ll launch you into situations where you can lead for His glory. If God has blessed you with serving gifts which you’ve willingly submitted to the authority of the Holy Spirit, He’ll scoot you into settings where you can serve for His glory. If God has blessed you with teaching gifts which you’ve willingly submitted to the authority of the Holy Spirit, He’ll lead you toward students you can teach for His glory. If God has blessed you with musical gifts which you’ve willingly submitted to the authority of the Holy Spirit, He’ll usher you into environments where you can sing or play for His glory. You don’t have to sit on the sidelines anymore, the King of all kings had picked you to be on His team, baby!

• AUTHOR AND THEOLOGIAN Frederick Buechner once said, “The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.”46 Where do you find deep gladness?
• READ MATTHEW 9:35–38. What specific gifts do you have that could help bring in a spiritual “harvest”?
• THE GREEK WORD for apostle is derived from the verb “to send.”47 What do you feel like God is sending you toward during this season of your life?