One of the most ‘memorable moments’ of 2011 so far is the death of Steve Jobs, Apple CEO and technology guru. Jobs’s death at just 56 years of age was terribly sad, but he has undoubtedly left an enormous mark on the 21st Century world, and on many of our lives.

I thought of Jobs again this week, when my wife received a very generous gift of a glistening new Apple product. As I thought about our new toy, and about Steve Jobs, it prompted me to think about the nature of the gospel and Christian ministry. Let me explain.

Our new toy (an iPad) is great: it’s sleek, shiny and fun, and it does things I could never have imagined. We love owning it, and I’m sure we’ll find a thousand uses for it. (By the way, you see what I did there? The gift was given to my…