Ten Question: MInistry

I received these questions this morning in an email. Needless to say, my day has been spent reflecting upon them. I wante to share them with you

1. Is our vision so big that we obviously can’t accomplish it without God?
2. Am I doing ministry from memory or from fresh direction from God?
3. What ministry (or program or meeting) has lost its effectiveness and should be stopped?
4. Is there a person who needs to be moved to another role (or removed), and I haven’t done it?
5. What faith risk is God calling me to take?
6. Have I repented to my team at least once in the last year for a failure in leadership?
7. Have I done everything in my power to make sure my team is living without unconfessed sin?
8. Am I expressing love and care for my team members’ families?
9. Am I living with delayed obedience toward God in any area of leadership?
10. If Jesus my sole motivation for ministry or has my motivation become clouded?

Ten Questions: Introspection

Hey guys, I received these via email and wanted to pass them along. It is always great for introspection and reflection


1. In what area of life have I lost my passion? (What can I do to get it back?)
2. If the enemy were going to “take me out,” what are my three most vulnerable points?
3. What new burden has God given me in the last year?
4. What have I unlearned that has made me closer to God?
5. What new discipline is God calling me to do?
6. What has God asked me to do that I haven’t yet done?
7. Is there something that I think about more than I think about pleasing God? (Money, possessions, ministry, family, recreation, something else.)
8. Do I have an increasing joy in serving Christ?
9. Am I handling the pain of ministry with integrity?
10. Am I still being persecuted for my faith in Christ?

Key Disciplines Strengthen Discipleship

This is an article I came across while doing some research. As a Pastor who spent more than 13 years in youth and college ministry, I found this article to be helpful.


“What exactly is discipleship?” “How do I do it?” Are questions students often ask. Sometimes the concept of discipleship can seem overwhelming. We can help students grow as disciples by making the process a little more practical. Discipleship doesn’t have to add another meeting to your weekly schedule. Simply helping students focus in on some key areas of their spiritual lives can go a long way. Here are a few ideas.

Prayer. It’s more than a casual conversation. Prayer is a discipline, and scripture tells us it is effective. Yet, most Christians spend very little time in prayer. Help students enrich their own prayer lives by including some prayer “exercises” in your group times. Have a prayer time that is just for giving thanks. Give students some silent time to spend in personal confession. Pray for a specific area, ie. missions, lost friends, your church. Give your group weekly prayer “assignments.”

Bible Study. Help students understand that personal Bible study doesn’t end at noon on Sunday. Provide resources that they may want to use during their own personal Bible study time at home. Incorporate times of accountability into your group meeting times. Simply ask the group, “what have you been learning in your own Bible study times this week?”

Fasting. We live in a consumer driven society where, more often than not, we feel we should be denied nothing. The discipline of fasting does not come easy for us, but it is a great way to learn self control. Challenge your students to give up a meal during their week and spend that hour in prayer and meditation. Have a group discussion and Bible study on fasting at your next meeting time.

Stewardship. Little lessons can go a long way. Help students learn personal stewardship by doing an inventory of where they spend their money in a week, or how they spend their time. Have them keep a written log for the week, then evaluate their findings together. Help them find ways to be better stewards in their personal lives based on their results.

Leadership

10 questions leaders should ask themselves:

1. What did I learn in God's word this week?
2. Is my burden for prayer growing or diminishing?
3. Does my heart break for the things that break the heart of God?
4. Have I grown accustomed to or accepted sin in my life?
5. Am I doing ministry out of an overflow of God's work in my heart or out of my own
strength?
6. Has my teaching and ministry deepened, changed, or evolved in a positive way in the last year?
7. Do I have a sincere peace that I'm living an authentic life of spiritual integrity?
8. Is my heart growing larger for people and God or is it shrinking?
9. Am I closer to God today than I was a year ago?
10. Do others comment that they can clearly see evidence of God's work in my life?

Messy Spirituality

EXCERPTS FROM THE BOOK "MESSY SPIRITUALITY" by: Michael Yaconelli

"What if genuine faith begins with admitting we will never have our act completely together? Maybe messy disciples are exactly the kind of imperfect people Jesus came to earth for and whose company he actually enjoyed - and still enjoys. If you want to find Jesus today, look from Him in the midst of burned out believers, moral misfits, religious incompetents... men and women whose lives are, well, messy.

"Our churches are filled with people who outwardly look contented and at peace but inwardly are crying out for someone to love them... just as they are - confused, frustrated, often frightened, guilty, and often unable to communicate even within their own families. But the other people in the church look so happy and contented that one seldom has the courage to admit his own deep needs before such a self-sufficient group as the average church meeting appears to be" - Keith Miller

"Spirituality is not a formula; it is not a test. It is a relationship. Spirituality is not about competency; it is about intimacy. Spirituality is not about perfection; it is about connection. The way of the spiritual life begins where we are now in the mess of our lives. Accepting the reality of our broken, flawed lives is the beginning of spirituality not because the spiritual life will remove our flaws but because we let go of seeking perfection and, instead, seek God, the one who is present in the tangledness of our lives."

"Messy Spirituality has the audacity to suggest that messiness is the workshop of authentic spirituality, the greenhouse of faith, the place where the real Jesus meets the real us"

Going into the neighborhoods

We are going to be passing out fliers in the neighborhoods surrounding our new location where we are presently holding services. This is an exciting time on our church's life. We have a Community Event next Saturday February 9th followed by our Grand Opening as well as the beginning of our new sermon series, "Marriage Uncensored" on February 10th. Please pray for us as well walk the neighborhoods and pass out information about the church. Pray that we will have the opportunity to befriend some new people in the community. Please also be in prayer for our events on February 9th and 10th.

The PLANT Campaign

It has been a while since I have been able to post anything here. Our church has been in a state of transition for the past few months. As many of you know we started our church in a store front on Main Street, which quickly grew and we had to acquire another store front on Main Street to handle our children and student ministries. We have just re-located from those two buildings in down town to a brand new 23,000 square foot day care facility. It has been amazing to witness the handy work of our Lord in all of this and we look forward to what the future holds for our church.