Colossians 4:17 NKJV And say to Archippus, “Take heed to the ministry which you have received in the Lord, that you may fulfill it.” I dont have a lot of ministry experience, Im just starting. If any of yall ever wonder about prayer needs for me, this would be appreciated: that Im taking heed to the ministry which Ive received from the Lord, that Im able to fulfill it. Some of you may wonder why I havent surrendered to ministry yet so Ill share that. I havent gotten clear direction from God yet. God has a way of confirming important decisions in my life and that hasnt happened. When it does, Ill surrender. Id like to use this opportunity to share some things about ministry you may not know. First thing, its tough but rewarding. Second, when you show up to a church service, everything you see and hear took longer than you think to prepare for, and Ill give you an example. When you hear a powerful message from the pastor, its probably a result of somewhere around 15-20 hours of preparation, many untold hours spent on his knees in prayer, and a deep well of Christian experience to draw from. Messages typically last around 30 minutes and this man may have many times that amount of time invested in it. Also the musicians didnt just pick up a guitar and play that song. They have many untold hours invested in practice and rehearsal and EFFECTIVE music ministry ALSO requires a huge investment in their personal relationship with God. The third thing you may not know about ministry is it can be lonely. Theres a lot of people that go to my church, but not a lot are involved in ministry and simply dont understand what is involved or problems associated with it and it can sometimes isolate those involved. Fourth is people involved in ministry tend to get judged a lot and often unfairly. Ill use the example of a pastors wife and children. They are often held to a completely different standard from others wives and children. They are judged for their opinions, their behavior, their appearance, their possessions, their knowledge of the Bible, and much much more. If you dont see the unfairness of the standard they are held to, you are blind. And yes, if someone is the wife or child of a pastor, they ARE involved in ministry, if nothing other than a support role, they ARE involved, its impossible to separate the relationship between family and ministry. Fourth, ministry will bring the burdens of other people. Once people around you see that you are willing to serve, there will be no shortage of people willing to give you opportunities to serve. Ministry requires a lot of preparation and constant maintenance and if your hands are full already when someone tries to hand you something else, it can be a real juggling act to try to carry it all without dropping something. Ill end with this example, if youve ever seen an old variety show with someone spinning dinner plates on wooden sticks, thats an excellent picture of ministry. The guy starts out setting one plate spinning after another. As the plates loose momentum and start to wobble, he has to hurry back and give it another spin. Once that plate slows down to much, it falls to the floor and breaks. Finding all those broken pieces and trying to put them back together would only result in more broken plates. Ministry as I know it has the highest highs and the lowest lows. Its messy because there are imperfect people involved. Its just the beginning for me and even with the downside, I wouldnt trade it for ANYTHING! Im thankful to the Lord for the ministry path He has me on and Im excited about the possibilities, for with God, ALL things are possible. I thank God for this study, the growth Ive experienced THROUGH this study is having positive eternal consequences in my life and the lives of others. I praise God a LOT for this study and Id like to challenge those of you that just read along to start posting some of your thoughts and any questions you may have. Gods using this study to prepare me for ministry. He WILL put it to use in YOUR life.
Posted on: Mon, 15 Sep 2014 14:41:38 +0000
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