Category Archives: Reflections on Ministry

Use these reflections on ministry to focus on the equipping and empowerment that comes from lining up with God’s heart, priorities and ways through His Word.

Your View of the Goodness of God Matters in Ministry

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Taste and See the Goodness of God

Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him. (Ps. 34:8)

Our View of the Goodness of God is Critical to Thriving in Ministry

When we consider what we have as a result of God’s goodness, we begin to realize how critical it is.

  1. Perspective comes from His goodness.

A good God works good in all things (Rom. 8:28) so you don’t have to fear, doubt, or worry even if you don’t understand what is happening.  No matter how hard ministry may get, even if others wrongly come against you or obstacles stand in your way, you don’t have to despair.  You can know His goodness lies ahead.  “I am still confident of this,” the psalmist said, “that I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living” (Ps. 27:13).  Because of His goodness, you can have hope which leads to perspective.

  1. Provision comes from His goodness.

“The lions may grow weak and hungry, but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing” (Ps. 34:10).  “If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him” (Matt. 7:11). God knows what you most need and when you need it.  He looks at the big picture and will bring about what is best in the best timing and way.  You can “seek first His kingdom and His righteousness” truly believing that all you need “will be given to you as well” (Matt. 6:33).

  1. Pardon for sin comes from His goodness.

Be honest.  You do not always control your words, reactions, use of time, etc. in ways that honor God in ministry.  You sometimes sin.  You make wrong choices. If you didn’t have a good God, you may as well give up.  Wrapped up in His goodness is mercy and forgiveness.  He may not remove the consequences of your sin because He is also just but He will forgive you and give you grace to cope with the consequences.

  1. Protection comes from His goodness.

God gave you His Word to instruct and direct you.  His commandments are good (Rom. 7:12) and they are for your good (Deut. 10:13) because they come from a good God.  A good God isn’t going to lead you down the wrong path.  When you understand this your prayer will be as the psalmist’s in Psalm 143:10 — “Teach me to do your will, for you are my God; may your good Spirit lead me on level ground.”

Out of His goodness come the perspective, provision, pardon, and protection you need to not only continue on but to thrive in ministry.

Your view of God’s goodness matters in ministry but so do His other attributes. Get alphabetical listings of His attributes in the Our Great God from A to Z Discipleship Tool Download.

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Your View of the Greatness of God Matters in Ministry

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Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise;
his greatness no one can fathom.  (Ps. 145:3)

Your view of the greatness of God is critical to ministry effectiveness.  Here is why:

  1. It will affect your confidence level in ministry.
  1. It will affect your enthusiasm or passion in ministry.

These points are included in the Steering the Church Toward God’s Power Leadership Guide along with some brief input about them. This resource also looks at the means through which God imparts His power and the practical outworking of that power in 25 different leadership tasks or responsibilities. (Click on the above link to learn more about this resource.)

Reflect on the Greatness of God

Need a little refresher course on the greatness of God? Perhaps this video of Louie Giglio speaking on “How Great is Our God” will give you some perspective. (If the video doesn’t show in your browser, you can watch it on YouTube.)

 

For more, check out Our Great God from A to Z Discipleship Tool Download which looks at many of the different attributes of God. Putting all these traits together certainly should lead us to conclude that we have a Great, Great God who works on our behalf and wants to work through us.

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Christ-like Ministry

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How Christ-like are you in your ministry and relationships with others?

Defining Christ-like Ministry

Christ-like MinistryJohn 1:14 says that Jesus was “full of grace and truth.” The more Christ-like we become, the more we too will be filled with both grace and truth. You can’t have one without the other and still have Christ-like ministry.

See the post: Grace & Truth – Not a Matter of Balance

When Christlikeness is Missing in Ministry

Think about it:

  • How many church conflicts could have been resolved had grace not been laid aside while speaking the truth!

As long as the church is on this side of eternity, we will experience resistance from time to time.  Expect it, even as you pursue the purposes of God.  Learn to speak the truth in love to one another.  Conflict among brothers and sisters in Christ is Satan’s playground.  Let’s be Christ-like with one another.

  • How many mishaps or misunderstandings could have been avoided in special activities had both grace and truth been a part of the planning!

Grace finds its expression in the context of relationships so we plan special activities to help build community among one another.  Yet, these seeds of grace can be undone if you don’t follow the proper lines of communication and develop policies and procedures to help ensure the safety and understanding of all.

  • How many problems could be prevented in the classroom if teachers maintained both grace and truth at all times!

Exercising both grace and truth prevents teachers from being too much of an authoritarian or from being too permissive.  Speaking the truth in a discipline situation needs to be accompanied by grace for discipline to have its greatest effect.

See worksheet:  Biblical Authority versus the Authoritarian and Permissive Teachers

Becoming More Like Christ Full of Both Grace and Truth

Have you found yourself in any of the above scenarios where grace was laid aside for truth or vice versa?

Truth: If you want to be Christ-like, you must be filled with both grace and truth in all situations.

Grace: Tomorrow is a new day.  God will be sending more opportunities your way to demonstrate Christ-likeness.

Learn from the past and move on.

Church leaders, check out this resource: Steering the Church Toward Christ-like Character Leadership Guide

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3 Reasons Prayer is Critical in Ministry

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Prayer is Critical So Pray Without CeasingBecause of what prayer does, we should view it as essential for any ministry we might engage in. We should always pray, continually (1 Thess. 5:17).

Reasons Prayer is Critical in Ministry:

  1. Prayer allows us to have intimate communion with the Lover of our souls as He delights in spending time with us.

Ministry is empty without this connection. John 15 draws the parallel to Jesus being a vine and us the branches.  In verse five Jesus emphasized the importance of such a connection when He said, “apart from me you can do nothing.”

  1. Prayer enables us to work in cooperation with the King of Kings and Lord of Lords as we get involved in the lives of people in our communities, across the nation, and around the world without even having to leave home.

Ephesians 6 pulls back the curtain to the spirit world to help us understand the battle going on around us.  Verse sixteen concludes, “With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.”

  1. Prayer gives us a means of showing compassion toward other believers and the world around us as we take them and their needs to a God who cares and can help them far more than we could ever hope to do ourselves.

Read through the Apostle Paul’s letters for the many prayers he offered on behalf of those He served and you will sense not only his desire for them to walk close to God but also a heart of love.

Of course, the list could continue.  I just wanted to share a few reasons we don’t always think about in conjunction with ministry.  These three reasons alone are enough for me to ask, “How Can We Not Pray?“

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Is Maximizing Your Ministry a Biblical or Worldly Concept?

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One of the teaching methods I’ve used is the Agree/Disagree Statement.  I choose a statement that can be looked at in more than one way and ask students if they agree or disagree.  This method often generates some lively discussions.  Maximizing your ministry is one of those issues I could easily turn into an agree/disagree statement, saying something like

Agree or Disagree about Maximizing Ministry?

          “Maximizing your ministry is biblical.
                   Agree or disagree?”

 

Here’s how I could disagree with that statement:

If by that statement you are looking at self-effort, getting all you can out of it for self-glory, self-promotion or self-actualization, then it is a worldly perspective and I would have to most definitely say, “I disagree.”  God’s Word is filled with verses about how it needs to be God’s power at work in and through us to HIS glory if what we do is going to count for eternity.   Here is a sampling of verses:

I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.   (Jn. 15:5)

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit.  (Phil. 2:3)

“… for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.  (Phil. 2:13)

May the God of peace … equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.  (Heb. 13:20-21)

His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.  (2 Pet. 1:3)

Here’s how I could agree with that statement:

If by that statement you are suggesting the need to plan, be diligent, and work toward excellence in ministry, to make the most of your time and resources in it, I would have to say, “I agree.”  God’s Word is filled with verses about giving God our best and being faithful stewards of what He has given us.  Here is a sampling of verses:

So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. (1 Cor. 10:31)

… so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, … (Phil. 1:10)

… if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things. (Phil. 4:8)

Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms. (1 Pet. 4:10)

Look at the Whole Counsel of God to Reconcile the Concept of Maximizing Ministry

When we look at the whole counsel of God, as in both sets of Scripture listed above, we must conclude that we are to do our best, to maximize our efforts, but to do so in the grace and power of the Almighty God.  The Apostle Paul said, “But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them (He maximized his ministry efforts.) – yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me” (1 Cor. 15:10).  The last phrase of that verse is the key.

God is in the business of maximizing ministry … beyond what we would ever think:

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.  (Eph. 3:20-21)

Based on this perspective, let me ask: Is your church reaching maximum effectiveness?

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A Holistic Approach in Ministry

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Express Worship in a Love Letter to GodJesus responded to a question about what the greatest commandment is with, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength” (Mk. 12:30).  He created us with a body, mind, soul, and heart. We are “fearfully and wonderfully made,” knitted and woven together when we were made by Him (Ps. 139:13-14).

Some Implications for Ministry when Taking a Holistic Approach

  1. God wants to use our whole being when we serve. Combining all these parts becomes a guide to how to best serve based on His design of our lives — what we can call our ministry profile.
  1. God wants us to care about the whole person in those we serve.  Remember the second greatest commandment, to love others as we love ourselves (Mk. 12:31).  Just as we attend to the whole of who we are, so we should care for the whole person of those whom we serve.  As a church we can get caught up in ministering to the spirit, neglecting other areas of people’s lives..
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