All posts tagged: ministry

7 Wins for your Community

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Dear Church Family, It is good to come to you today through the love and grace of Jesus our Lord. Allow me to share a few words about what I believe God is doing and wants to do at TAG this fall. The Lord has shown me at least 5 Areas in wish He wants to prosper us this fall I am calling this the 5 Wins of Fall. The church that prays together wins The church that suffers together wins The Church the forgives one another wins The Church that serves together wins The Church that Dreams together wins The church the unites wins The Church loves God and His people believer and unbelievers wins. As your pastor, it is my duty to not only call the Church to action, but to lead the way, through example. So I want to Repent and ask your forgiveness in areas I have failed to show good example and leadership. I want to personally ask for your forgiveness if I have hurt or grieve you in any …

Bitter Free

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How do you react to grumbling and criticisms? Do you react in the same negative spirit? Do you feel the need for revenge and payback? I personally think it is a test of character when others slander and are judgmental of us. Character is not only how we act but how we react to people who hurt us – especially those we call brothers and sisters in Christ. I have been in situations in my life and ministry when I literally felt my heart descend into a dark and bitter place because of how others treated me. But The Lord has taught me and has given me tools to keep me from bitterness. I tweeted about this sometime ago: “I will not sin against God by ceasing to pray for you." 1 Sam. 12:23. Give me thick skin and a soft heart toward mean spirited church folk — Walter Bright (@WaltBright) May 9, 2014 So what’s up with this verse? How can this verse help deal with the hurt and pain that come from the people we  love and gladly serve. In …

Fulfill your Ministry

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And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here I am! Send me.” And he said, “Go, and say to this people: “‘Keep on hearing, but do not understand; keep on seeing, but do not perceive.’  Make the heart of this people dull, and their ears heavy, and blind their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed.”  Then I said, “How long, O Lord?” And he said: “Until cities lie waste without inhabitant, and houses without people, and the land is a desolate waste,  Isaiah 6:8-11 It is a great feeling to receive the call of God to any given work or mission. The idea of hearing from God and knowing that He hand-picked for a purpose is very special. But it is extremely difficult to get up and fulfill that ministry everyday. Sooner or later, you will discover that the call is not a feeling but …

Bible App for kids

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YouVersion and OneHope released a free Bible App for kids last year, and it would be a great resource to get your kids into the word of God this year. iOS and Android users can get the app on their devices. Download the Bible App for Kids Checkout the behind the scenes making of the app Start a Bible reading plan for you and your family The bible commands us to “Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.” What an incredible promise! If we would do the hard work of educating our children in the ways of God, we can rest assured that God will do the rest. Isaiah 54:13 says, “All your children shall be taught by the LORD, and great shall be the peace of your children.” I pray that you would take these promises to heart and begin your year by investing everything you got in your kids.

Patience is more about long-term endurance than it is about short- term

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I finished reading Mohler’s “Conviction to lead” yesterday. It is a great read jam packed with lots of substance. I immensely enjoyed the chapter on the “passion to lead”, and “the leader understands worldview.” But I was more impressed with chapter 23 – Leadership that Endures. The following paragraphs are from chapter 23. The title above each paragraph is not in the book. Here are three things I want you to consider over this weekend: Consider Patience Patience is a virtue that is highly honored by Christians.The Bible reveals patience to be one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit. The apostle Paul prayed that the church would be “strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy” (Colossians 1:11). Evidently, patience and endurance and joy belong together. Paul also told Timothy to preach “with complete patience and teaching” (2 Timothy 4:2). Consider long-term not short-term. We often think of patience as a short-term issue. We are impatient in a checkout line, impatient in traffic, and horribly impatient …

7 reminders to help take frustration in ministry to level zero

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If you’ve been in the ministry any length of time, I am sure you have come to understand that it is glorious but sometimes very difficult. This is  an across the board experience for both highly successful leaders and not so highly successful leaders. It also doesn’t really matter where you are or how long you’ve been in the ministry, we have all experienced frustration one way or the other. I certainly don’t think this little post is going to stop all the frustration that ministry can bring – fact is, some of that stuff is very good for you. They come highly recommended. But at least, I think this little post  can point out some common mistakes leaders make and shine some light  on how to avoid them. Let’s share with you a few: It is simply dumb to compare yourself with others Not that we dare to classify or compare ourselves with some of those who are commending themselves. But when they measure themselves by one another and compare themselves with one another, …

With the Word and the Spirit together, you grow up.

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Too much Word and not enough Spirit you puff up. Too much Spirit and not enough Word you blow up. With the Word and the Spirit together, you grow up. – Anonymous How you seek this kind of balance in ministry is what this post is about. Just before I went to seminary for a four and a half of preparation for ministry, the Lord impressed on my heart a verse from Luke chapter 4. I started meditating upon it, but didn’t get it until the end of my first semester. I went to church at least five different times during the week. I lived on campus, so I attended our school chapel time, midweek bible study, Friday nigh prayer meetings, than both Sunday morning and Sunday evening services. I had wonderful, Spirit filled professors,  great prayer meetings and church services, but my personal prayer time, bible reading and meditation and my personal evangelism gradually came to a standstill. My passion, my fire was going out little by little. I thought to myself, I’m in the right place, …

How Should a Reformed Pastor Be Charismatic?

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The message by U.K. Pastor Tope Koleoso is entitled “Sovereign Grace, Spiritual Gifts and the Pastor: How Should a Reformed Pastor be Charismatic?” He encouraged church leaders not to sidestep the supernatural in the Christian faith and ministry, but to rightly understand and exercise the gifts of the Holy Spirit while shunning fanaticism. The freedom in Spirit must not surrender to fanaticism, our openness to the Spirit must never violate the Word of God, and our expression of joy must never degenerate into mere excitability.     Video via Joshua Harris

Dear Pastor: A Letter from a Humble Church Member

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Dear Pastor, I don’t think I need to apologize for anything but here it is… I sincerely apologize for anything, or apparently the many things I have said and/or done to offend you and/or made you feel defensive towards me and my efforts to do what I have felt was serving the Lord with all the blessings He had provided. I truly respect your spiritual leadership. I feel that we are all purposefully imperfectly made with strengths and weaknesses. I definitely have a need for a spiritual leader. I am thankful that He has put you in my life. I have pride issues but I think you do too I realize that I have to fight the battle of pride and perhaps that is also why God has put you in my life. On the other hand, perhaps in this pride I felt you had been blessed for me to be put here to help YOU make our church even more successful than you have already made it. Pastor, I have often been successful and consider …

10 Sacred Reminders Before You Step Into The Pulpit

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1. It is foolish to think the gospel message you are about to preach will not offend your audience. 2. It is foolish to presume that after you’ve preached, everyone will like you, friend you on Facebook or follow you on twitter 3. It is foolish to think that everyone in you audience is on the same level of spiritual maturity..therefore will understand what you are saying 4. It is foolish to believe that anything of eternal significance can happen through the flesh 5. It is foolish to act like you are indispensable or anything better than an ass…excuse me…I meant donkey…because God can speak through them too… 6. It is foolish to approve the guy taking notes as super spiritual or a great student of the word 7. it is foolish to act like your personal style of communication, is the only way to preach or teach…the only way God can save or bless others 8. It is foolish to lead one-self into believing that what you are about to preach is only for your audience and not for …