By Stephen Sun, InterHigh Student, 11th grade @ Alameda High

According to v. 2, what is the crucial criterion for ministry? Is this in agreement with what I think is the crucial criterion for ministry?

According to Apostle Paul in v. 2, it is faithfulness that is crucial. It is more important that someone is faithful to their area of ministry than that person bringing in hundreds of people everyday to church, but ultimately doing it for the wrong reasons, such as to just be able to spend more time with their friends or to look good or more “spiritual” as a Christian.
I often find it easy to value ministry based on how many people attend. There is nothing wrong with wanting a lot of people to come to church, it is when I start to value the count over the content that a problem arises. There have been many times where I begin to lose faith, doubt, be discouraged, or look down on an area of ministry because it isn’t necessarily successful in drawing masses of people. I find it easy to be discouraged when I see only a few people at a church event or a bible study. This really creates a messed up view of what ministry is for me. I begin to focus on ministry as a competition to have the largest number of people present, rather than focusing on the most important aspect of ministry, which is preaching the Word of God and teaching the Gospel to those who have not heard. Not only is this a distorted view of the purpose of ministry, it affects my vision for others that I may participate in. I begin to doubt future events and directions that ministries may take. For example, as RISE approached, I worried more over gathering a huge number of youth students, rather than reaching out to those youth who are in need of this ministry and support through apologetics training and peer fellowship. My priorities quickly get mixed up and I lose focus on God and doing his work, and turn instead to my own criterion.
It is crucial to remember Paul’s words, and that faithfulness to ministry through ups and downs is much more valuable to God than just having a couple successes and giving up when hard times set in. God wants us to remain faithful in everything we do, in every role we play, and being faithful is what He really values over anything else in ministry.

By Amy Kim, InterHigh Mentor, Senior @ UC Berkeley

What is the relevance of Apostle Paul’s description of the suffering and sacrificial life of the apostles to the Corinthians’ worldly evaluations of people, and prideful boasting?

Apostle Paul’s description of the suffering and sacrificial life does not stand relevant to the worldly standards of materialism and superficiality.  I plan on going on to Cambodia this winter for a mission trip, and a lot of my family members or peers don’t understand why I would voluntarily take time out of my winter break and spend money to go work with strangers that I do not know.  It won’t add to my resume or give me any compensations.  Its hard to explain to them
that I am indebted to Christ and then I want to steward my gift of knowing the Gospel well in order to teach it to these people.
Compare and contrast the life of the apostles to that of the Corinthians described here.  Which one better describes what I expect of Christian life?

The apostles are “fools for Christ, dishonored, hungry & thirsty, in rags, brutally treated, homeless, work hard with our own hands, bless curses, endure persecution, kindly respond to slander, scum of the earth, refuse of the world.”  This is the life of a true Christ-follower, yet I am focused on preserving rest and comfort, where I want to be satiated, well rested, respected, and admired.  In order to let go of these idols, I need to focus myself on Christ’s sufferings and the sufferings of all those that served Him to save others.  A small step would be starting to sacrifice my time for the sake of others, spending less time on focusing on myself but talking to a distressed friend or visiting a sick person.

By Sally Hong, InterHigh Mentor, Junior @ UC Berkeley

1 Corinthians 4:14-21

What is the difference between a guardian and a father, and what lesson is there here about what true Christian discipleship looks like?

The main difference between a guardian and a father lies in whether there is a relationship or not. A guardian can be someone who looks over you, protects you, but does not necessarily have any relational significance to you. Like… a policeman. On the other hand, a father is one that does all the things the guardian does but because he is your father and he loves you. And, because a father has the element of love, his rebukes will be made to shape you to be a better person.

So in Chapter 4, Paul refers to himself as the father of the members of the church at Corinth. And, as their father, he rebukes them for acting so arrogant and boastful. To remedy their arrogance and boastfulness, he asks them to imitate him. As the commentary stresses, this is not Paul being arrogant himself, but rather a loving challenge to the Corinthians to become true Christian disciples. Thus, to establish true Christian discipleship, all Christians should look to follow the example of the more mature Christians, who in turn, should be strive to be good examples and be accessible to the younger ones around them.

I think this text is a good reminder to strengthen my relationships with all the Christians around me. Often times Christians tend to get caught up trying to look more “Christian”, more “spiritual” than each other. But Paul reminds us that we are all one family in Christ (hence… “Christian”) and that we actually need to help each other grow in Christ. For me, I think this means that not only should I be a good example to the younger ones (like in Interhigh) but also establish stronger ties with the older ones so that I may be able to imitate them and ultimately grow stronger in my faith. True Christian discipleship, then, is building relationships with one another not to compete with each other, but so that we may hold each other accountable, serve each other like Paul did for the church in Corinth.

By Irene Kwan, InterHigh Mentor, Senior @ UC Berkeley

How do I feel about the fact that God will one day bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men’s hearts? How does this discourage me from passing final judgment on another person or even myself?

Knowing that God is the one who will be the ultimate judge of my life makes me all the more aware of my sinfulness. I need to constantly reflect on life and my motives for doing the things that I do because many of the times it is out of selfish gain, recognition, or people’s approval. When I forget that God knows all of my flaws, my weaknesses, my sins, and evil motives, I don’t realize that I begin to judge myself and others based on worldly standards. However, when I do see that God has searched me and knows me, knowing when I sit and when I rise, perceiving my thoughts, being familiar with all my ways (Psalm 139), I can be free from human judgment. I realize that I don’t have to live and do things to please people, but I can devote myself to doing things that are pleasing to God. I am cautioned to consistently evaluate my thoughts and my actions so that I am truly living a life that God intends for me.
This discourages me from judging other people because I know that in the end, we are all accountable before God and not before man. Who am I to say that people are not as moral, are not as faithful, are not as committed, are not as loving? When I judge others, I find myself being very hyprocritical because people can easily fire the same questions or judgment back at me and I would not be able to say that it is not true of me. When I pass judgment, I often find myself holding a self-righteous attitude, especially towards non-Christians, thinking that I am better off than they are because they do not have God or do not see how their sinfulness can lead to misery. I become blind to my own sinfulness and hyprocrisy, and forget that these are broken people, who also need the Gospel. Instead of judging them, I need to show love and compassion to them as other Christians, who strive hard to not judge me by worldly standards, have showed me. Furthermore, this discourages me from judging myself because I know that my judgment is often based on worldly standards of morality, success, beauty, etc. which deviates from God’s standards. This is because our consciences have been corrupted by sin and so Jesus Christ is the only grounds of justification and the only source of a clear conscience.