Ministry of Reconciliation

The NIV version of II Corinthians 5:18-20 says, "18All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 20We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God."
As I read this passage today, I was really impacted by the notion that the moment an individual receives Christ into their heart, they instantaneously become a minister. The main purpose of the ministry is intended to be sharing the message of reconciliation. In essence, because I have become reconciled, I then should share the opportunity of reconciliation with everyone else.
Does this responsibility scare you? Do you feel that you are not possibly up to the task? Maybe you are too shy, too ignorant of the Word, too afraid to be rejected by your friends or made fun of, or maybe you just don't know how to get started?
What I came to realize today was that none of that really matters. If you are a Christian, you are, by default, a minister of the message of reconciliation. If you happen to be not actively seeking to minister, it doesn't change the fact that you are a minister. You just happen to be a fairly inept minister.
My next thought regarding this matter occurred after speaking with a friend about the above topic. I asked the question, "Could the idea of instantly becoming a minister discourage someone from becoming a Christian?" The answer that we came up with was, "Probably yeah." I could see someone thinking that not only are they not good enough to be saved, they definitely aren't ready for ministry. Of course a response to that could be, "No one is. There is none perfect. No not one. However, through Him we are able." But, after I walked away from the conversation, it occurred to me....being afraid of becoming a Christ Follower because you are afraid that you cannot live up to the standards or that you will be a poor minister of the faith is an extremely illogical thought. My reasoning, regardless of whether you are a Christian or not, you are a minister of something. If you are not ministering to your friends about Christ, you are encouraging (ministering) them to do something.
So, take a good look at yourself today. What is your ministry about? Reconciliation? TV? Food? Sports? Material interests? Laziness? Depression? Fear? Gossip? Road rage?

Prayer Cells

Our pastor has recently called our church to prayer. Specifically, he has asked us to seek out prayer partners to begin meeting together for focused prayer on Kingdom matters. My initial response to this request was two-fold: 1) I would love to take part in such a thing, and 2) I doubt that the request will be fulfilled by greater than 5% of those asked.
Tonight I was pondering my response.
In regards to #1, I have taken part in similar experiences in the past, and have found them to be quite rewarding from a spiritual and social stand point. I really desire to have some meaningful male relationships in my life right now, and the idea of meeting with like-minded men to pray and share with God's Kingdom as the focus sounds like something that would be worthwhile.
In regards to #2, there are a litany of reasons why few people would share my #1 response. My thought is that the top 2 reasons are likely time and fear of the unknown. Participating in something like this must be somewhat intimidating to someone who has never experienced it before.
If you happen to be struggling with this issue, I would tell you that if you could only participate once, you would likely see that it is worth making time for and nothing to fear.
If you have Prayer Cell experience, I would love to hear your input.