Full-time Ministry

Ministry Framework

Posted on by jesusfollower38

I’ve been thinking quite a bit about a template for ministry that I’d like to see used at every level and at every ministry within our church. This isn’t a program, but ministry values if you will.

Here is what I’ve been thinking about. We want our ministries to be EPIC:

Eternally–focused

Personal

Intentionally-initiated

Christ-centered

It seems to me, if we strive for any or all of these as we think through how we plan, promote, pull off, and follow up with things we do, we would live more like Jesus and love more like Jesus. In addition to that, we would most likely see longer-lasting impact and develop trust and discover deeper more meaningful ministry opportunities.

Whether you are a lead pastor, a worship pastor, a student pastor, or whatever level of ministry you are involved in, I think if you get the “ok” and use this framework for 8-16 months, I think you’d see some traction, some positive things, and potentially some real life change take place.

What do you think?

A “Wow” Quote on the Eve of All Saints Day

Posted on by jesusfollower38

“God hates visionary dreaming. . . . It makes the dreamer proud and pretentious. The man who fashions a visionary ideal of community demands that it be realized by God, by others, and by himself. He enters the community of Christians with his demands, sets up his own law, and judges the brethren and God himself accordingly. He stands adamant, a living reproach to all others in the circle of brethren. He acts as if he is the creator of the Christian community, as if his dream binds men together. When things do not go his way, he calls the effort a failure. When his ideal picture is destroyed, he sees the community going to smash. So he becomes, first an accuser of his brethren, then an accuser of God, and finally the despairing accuser of himself.”
Detrich Bonhoffer, Life Together (New York, NY: Harper Collins, 2009), 27
Bonhoeffer

Predominant Priorities

Posted on by jesusfollower38

When we talk about full-time Christian ministry, three priorities should dominate the landscape and our thinking.

  • Our lives
  • The Gospel
  • Others

These become clear as we focus on and meditate on three crucial texts.

In 1 Timothy 4:16, Paul exhorts Timothy to watch his life and his doctrine closely. For us, this basically has to do with what we believe and how we live. These two are to be congruent or the same. They are intertwined and inseparable. Our lips and lives should be in agreement. Our beliefs and our behaviors should line up.

An Old Testament passage that reinforces this is,  “Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life” from Proverbs 4:23. It doesn’t take a seminary professor to see that as our hearts and our lives go, so go our ministries.

If these principles all have to do with our inner life, then the next thought has to do with our outer life or the ministry that others “see.”

1 Thessalonians 2:8, “We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God, but our lives as well, because you had become so dear to us.”

Notice, for Paul ministry was a delight, not a duty. Why was this so? He saw it this way because the Thessalonians had become so near and dear to him.

Pastors can share the gospel without love and they can love their people without sharing the gospel. The right path to walk, however, is to share the gospel and our lives. And we walk this way because of our love for God and our love for the people we serve. There is a relational connection between God’s truth and people’s lives.

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We need to have gospel-centered ministries that focus on bringing Jesus and the people we serve together.

So we discover these and dive in, but the more we think about culture, atheism, and the popular notion of there not being any objective truth, I believe we see more and more the importance of the ideas presented above. In other words, we see how desperately the world around us needs us to live out the truths set forth here.

So let’s watch what we believe and how we behave. Let’s share the gospel and our lives. And let’s see how God might use us for His kingdom and His glory.

And may these predominant priorities help us lead prevailing ministries.

colored light waves forming a pattern

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What Do You Want?

Posted on by jesusfollower38

Read Joshua 1:1-9
We want what we want more than we want what God wants. Since the cross and resurrection, we recognize that the greatest enemies to godliness are not outside us both within. We want comfortable lives more than we want to depend on Christ for his daily provisions. Obeying God’s call did not make the Israelites’ lives nice (or better). They escaped Egypt to walk in the harsh desert. They evicted the Canaanites only to face ungodliness among their own tribes.
William Smith, The Heart of the Matter, p. 237.
As leaders, do we want what God wants?
Honestly, do we really want it?
Answering that could make all the difference in us making a difference in people’s live spiritually.
And that’s a leadership thought for you today for those in church world.

The Leader’s Prayer Life

Posted on by jesusfollower38

As for me, far be it from me tha I should sin against the LORD by failing to pray for you. And I will teach you the way that is good and right.

1 Samuel 12:23

First off, some background on this verse.

Samuel is getting ready to fade off of the scene; to ride off into the sunset.

As leaders though, what he said here, I think, gives an Old Testament example of Acts 6:4.

In Acts 6:4, the focus for spiritual shepherds is praying for people and sharing God’s Word with people.

1 Samuel 12:23 is clear, Samuel calls failing to pray for people in Israel sin.

Two responsibilities for spiritual leaders are praying for people and teaching them right and wrong based on God’s Word. Those should be our focus.

For now, let’s think of the prayer aspect.

The Holy Spirit has a way of taking God’s Word and helping us ponder it and apply it. Most likely, you and the Spirit know if you’re sinning in failing to pray for those you shepherd or not. So, pause. Disengage your inner lawyer. And honestly ask yourself, “Am I praying for others on a regular basis? Am I teaching them what is good and right?”

And if you answer no to either of those, just say a quick, honest prayer asking for the Father’s forgiveness (1 John 1:8-9).

Then start praying for those under your spiritual care and leadership. Then start teaching them the way that is good and right.

One thing I do on a regular basis is to pray God’s Word for people. Take some of the following and pray God’s Word for your people.

Romans 12:1-2     Ephesians 1:16-20     Ephesians 3:16-19     Philippians 1:9-11 

Colossians 1:9-14     1 Thessalonians 3:12-13    2 Thessalonians 1:11-12     

2 Thessalonians 2:16

Feel free to share how God answers these prayers for people in the comments section.

God may use it to encourage someone else.

Together

Posted on by jesusfollower38

I get it. I do. Ministry is busy. And many church leaders are hard-charging and scheduled people. There is no magic church size whereas pastors that we feel like the pressure is, “off.” There is always more to do and more preparations to be made. Small church leaders are busy and have many hats to wear. Growing church leaders are busy because they are equipping other leaders. Bigger church leaders have full schedules due to the sheer volume of people and events that call for your attention.

But I have a few strategic and heart level questions for you.

When is the last time you lingered with God in prayer? When was the last time you were awake and you weren’t checking your phone or messages every 11 minutes? When are you scheduling and setting aside time to hear the still, small voice of God?

Well, at church Christ-followers have a weekly opportunity to gather together and seek the God of the universe through prayer.

At the same time, we only have a certain number of these every month.

Our leadership and spiritual influence will only be so long. Then it will be gone.

I also wish I had a dollar for every time I heard a pastor or other church leader who had a moral failing or succumbed to burn out longingly say, “I wish I would have done things differently.”

Thinking of both extremes, we can more clearly see the need for us and others for closer connections to God and to others. And even if we don’t see that, have you ever thought that someone else may need some insight or encouragement or perspective that only you can bring through Christian gatherings?

Maybe this for you. Maybe it would be good for you to share this with someone else.

Let’s gather. Let’s pray. Let’s grow closer to God. Let’s glorify God. And let’s do these…together.

Life Together

Posted on by jesusfollower38

I read a quote recently that got me thinking and it may do the same for you in your ministry as well.

“There is no life change without life exchange.”

The more I ponder this, the more true I think it is.

Consider two passages of scripture.

“God made him who knew no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God,”

2 Corinthians 5:21

In other words, Jesus’ life for mine. This is the heart of the Christian life (see also Galatians 2:20).

But ponder more of God’s words.

“We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel but our lives as well, because you had become so dear to us,”

1 Thessalonians 2:8

Let’s look at these one at a time.

With whom do I need to exchange my life for salvation according to 2 Corinthians 5:21? Trusting Jesus is really trusting in his life for mine as a perfect substitute.

With whom do I need to share (exchange) my life with to see spiritual impact according to 1 Thessalonians 2:8? The short answer is those whom I share the gospel with. In other words, it’s sharing at a deeper level than just a few truths. It’s sharing in a practical, personal, and intentional way. And it’s about sharing the gospel and life with believers and unbelievers alike. It’s not one or the other.

And so it seems if we want to spiritually impact others, one way we do that is by sharing life with them. Not little snippets or trite sayings, but the intense, tough parts that get to the heart of life, who we are as people, who we are called to be as Christ followers, who God is, and what he has promised to do. It seems serving others is about sharing hours together, not just 5 minutes here or 10 minutes there. Really sharing life is more like a crock pot and less like a microwave.

So chew on these ideas for awhile. And if you want to impact others and lead them to all God has called to them, throw open the doors of your life and share it with those God puts on your heart to influence.

If you want to go deeper, what are one or two new ways can you share life with a believer or unbeliever this week? Think about that, then put it down in your life to do it.

 

 

Ministry for the Long Haul

Posted on by jesusfollower38

I have been chewing on something lately.

I recently taught on some passages where Jesus did ministry with the disciples, equipping them, and then directed them to minister and serve others. Some have called this the. “Showing and Equipping” model or the “lecture/lab” model. But whatever you call it, there is an undeniable pattern of Jesus modeling, equipping, and directing his followers in ministry.

Now I have had quite a bit of exposure to pastors in church world. Whether it’s at pastors conferences or in my local pastors network or friends in full-time ministry, there is a common thread or theme if you will. And that is, “I’m tired of doing ministry alone. We don’t have nearly as many volunteers as we need.”

So let’s put those two thoughts together. What if, as church leaders, we took time where we do ministry to take some of the people we want to develop with us. They see us loving and leading people and then we equip them at some point to do the same. After this, we lead them to serve on their own.

How might God expand our influence and ministry because of this?

How could God use Jethro’s words to Moses in Exodus 18:17-27 to inspire us to action?

How might we implement the equipping that God calls pastors to in Ephesians 4:11-12 into our daily and weekly habits?

What a difference it might make. It could be used by God to be the difference between burnout and meaningful, fruitful ministry.

Something for us all to chew on.

Discipling Others

Posted on by jesusfollower38

There’s something about getting a critical mass of people.

It’s like when I was leading a student ministry. Teens would show up and there would be a handful of people. Invariably they would ask, “Where is everybody?” as if myself and the other people already there were either invisible, chopped liver, or both.

What they were saying or even thinking and unable to put their finger on was, “Where is the critical mass of people I know that would tip this over the edge to being a great get together?”

Jesus got a critical mass of men that he invested his life into. We call them the disciples today, but no matter what you call them, they were used by God to change the entire course of human history after the resurrection of Jesus.

Consider Mark 3:13-19.

It is there, after a night of prayer, that the Lord Jesus Christ chose 12 men to follow him.

Jesus chose a few. He discipled this critical mass of people and unleashed these Spirit-filled, world changers. And the world has never been the same.

And it was this handful of men, that God used to turn the world upside down (see Acts 17:6).

And we as leaders need to take to heart what Margaret Meade once wrote, “Never doubt that a small group of people can change the world. Indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”

When are we going to start picking some people to disciple? To invest in? To do ministry with?

How should we get started?

Time and eternity will tell the tale of leaders’ lives that were lived following in Jesus’ footsteps.

 

 

Equipping and Empowering

Posted on by jesusfollower38

Read Ephesians 4:11-12.

If you are a church leader, ask yourself, is my main job to do the work of the ministry myself or is my main job to equip and empower others to do it with me?

Before you answer, think of Jesus and his approach to ministry and especially ministry with the disciples. Did you just minister by himself? Or did he and the disciples minister together?

2010_08catalyst_article

I was at a conference for church and business leaders recently (Catalyst One Day in Seattle) when I heard a statement by Andy Stanley (pastor of North Point in Atlanta, GA) that gives crystal clear clarity to this area of church leadership.

“Your weakness is someone else’s opportunity.”

No matter what leadership you have in your church, you do not have to do it all. You might have to do it for a season, but what about after that season is over?

Repeat after me, ” I”….(waiting for you to say, “I”)…do….not….have to do it all.”

In fact, this goes well with another quote from the conference that Craig Groeschel (pastor of Life Church in Oklahoma City, OK) shared.

“You can have growth or you can have control, but you can’t have both.”

There are two things that slow down God’s church:

  • Pastors who won’t equip people
  • People who won’t be equipped

Both directly go against God’s plan for his church.

So what are you going to do with the thoughts here? If God taught you something, what will you do about it?

Will you equip people within your  church or organization? Or will you limit its growth and potential by wanting to hold on to too much control?

Will you empower others to serve alongside you? Or will you selfishly hoard ministry to yourself for some egotistical reason?

My prayer is God would stretch you in this area so you can equip, stretch, and empower others for his kingdom and for his glory.