One who attends or waits on another, (one who serves! Matthew 20:28)
so Elisha was the minister of Elijah (1 Kings 19:21; 2 Kings 3:11).
Angels are ministers of God and of his people (Psalms 103:21; Hebrews 1:14).
Christ came to minister, not to be ministered unto.
(From the ATS Bible Dictionary)
Here's a excerpt from the book "Following Jesus Without Dishonoring Your Parents" by Jeanette Yep, Peter Cha, Paul Tokunaga, Greg Jao & Susan Cho Van Riesen.
"Since the days of the early church, history has led us to an unfortunate understanding of the word minister as a professional, seminary-educated leader. This leads the rest of us to think that ministry is an extra, a volunteer aspect of our lives.
Kingdom resources are often wasted because those who do not do official "ministry" simply pour all of their skills and talents into self-growth, success or making money.
More Christians should see themselves as ministers first in whatever job they do and seek to maximize their effectiveness as kingdom workers, regardless of position or title."What a big difference it would make if Christians changed their perspective on who is actually a "minister" and not automatically excuse themselves from being involved in God's work just because they are not in full-time ministry.
