MINISTRY
Most
ministries in our church have not begun with a bright idea in a pastors'
meeting. We usually don't say,
"Let's start a street outreach," and then go recruit laypeople to
staff it. We have learned over the years
to let God birth something in people who are spiritually sensitive, who begin
to pray and feel a calling. Then they
come to us. "We want to start
such-and -such," they say- and the ministry gets going and lasts. Discouragement, complications, and other
attacks by the enemy don't wash it out.
Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire, Zondervan Publishing
House, p. 74.
Though He did
what he could to help the multitudes, He had to devote Himself primarily to a
few men, rather than the masses, so that the masses could at last be
saved. This was the genius of his
strategy.
Robert E. Coleman
The Master Plan of Evangelism, Fleming H. Revell Company, p. 35.
My calling is
sure. My challenge is big. My vision is clear. My desire is strong. My influence is eternal. My impact is critical. My values are solid. My faith is tough. My mission is urgent. My purpose is unmistakable.
My direction is forward. My heart is
genuine. My strength is
supernatural. My reward is
promised. And my God is real. I refuse to be dismayed, disengaged,
disgruntled, discouraged, or distracted.
Neither will I look back, stand back, fall back, go back or sit
back. I do not need applause, flattery,
adulation, prestige, stature or veneration.
I have no time for business as usual, mediocre standards, small
thinking, normal expectations, average results, ordinary ideas, petty disputes
or low vision. I will not give up, give
in, bail out, lie down, turn over, quit or surrender. I am a minister. That is what I do.
Author Unknown
Ministry that
costs nothing, accomplishes nothing.
John Henry Jowett
One of the
gravest perils which besets the ministry is a restless
scattering of energies over an amazing multiplicity of interests which leaves
no margin of time and of strength for receptive and absorbing communion with
God.
Andrew Bonar
Quoted by Curtis C. Thomas, Practical
Wisdom for Pastors, Crossway Books, 2001, p. 122.
Used by Permission.
Depend
on it! God's work done in God's way will never lack
God's supply.
Hudson Taylor
There
are three stages in the work of God: Impossible; Difficult; Done.
Hudson Taylor
Ministry to
children, therefore, should be conducted in a humble spirit of service rather
than in a patronizing manner, and should be viewed as a privilege rather than
as an undesirable chore left to those rho are unable
to attain to a higher calling.
Andreas Kostenberger
God,
Marriage and Family, Crossway, 2004, p. 114.
When
reminders of your past invade, don't question your kingdom usefulness. That is Satan's ploy to derail you. Instead, thank God for His commitment to work
through your folly to make you more sensitive to fellow sinners. Ask Him to open doors of relational ministry
and to give you the wisdom and courage…to testify of His life-changing grace in
your life.
Bad Memories: Getting Past Your Past, P&R
Publishing, 2004. Used by Permission.
The church
has been established by Christ to be an army…(but)
armies, in order to be effective, must be very sensitive in caring for their
wounded… There is always a major work to
be done within the church in terms of ministering to the needs of the people.
R.C. Sproul
The Purpose of God, An
Exposition of Ephesians, Christian Focus Publications, 1994, p. 103.
The most
effective churches that I know are churches where the ministerial staff devote many hours in training and mobilizing their
congregations to be mighty armies of saints, as they minister to a dying world.
R.C. Sproul
The Purpose of God, An
Exposition of Ephesians, Christian Focus Publications, 1994, p. 103.