Sunday, September 07, 2008
Ingredients To Successful Ministry Part Three
We are talking about the three ingredients for successful ministry. They are being relevant, being relational and being reverent. The last blog focused on the challenge of being relevant without compromising our being reverent. Can we ever be too reverent towards the Lord? Of course not! In our best effort to revere Him we come way short. So perhaps the third “R” in our three ingredients should be called “Religious”. Now let me ask you, can we be too religious? I would call being too religious being to “Churchy”. I remember in the zeal of first being saved I adopted a full blown Christianeze language (I am not speaking about tongues). “Praise the Lord this!” “Hallelujah to that!” “Glory to God!” The zeal of a new Christian is often refreshing to other Christians cheering them on as they pass from death to life, but to the unbelievers, the unchurched and unsaved it is like nails on a chalkboard. It usually does nothing to draw them in and often pushes them further away. I was and often still am very religious in my talk. These days I try to be aware of who I am conversing with and be careful not add too much of this ingredient of Religion. Paul said in 1 Corinthians 9:22-23 “I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some. 23 Now this I do for the gospel's sake…” I do not believe Paul is saying that he took on the ways and language of the world. I do believe He was saying that we should be aware of the lost folks around us and be careful not to push them away with our religion. In today’s world we will push them away with religion. They do not need religion; they need to know a relevant, relational and reverent Jesus.
Workers, Open Doors, Provision, Lasting Fruit
Five years ago we started Power Hour Sidewalk Sunday Schools in an inner city neighborhood called Lincoln Park in Hampton, Virginia. We believe the Lord told us to give Him five years in this community. We began a labor of love reaching the children. It expanded to a mentoring ministry for eleven to thirteen year olds. From there we were able touch the lives of the children's parents. We have ministered faithfully for those five years.
Pastor Mark Geppert (www.seapc.us)discipled and mentored us in our early years of ministry. Mark's main ministry focuses on prayer. He taught us a long time ago that when praying for ministries, cities and nations to focus the prayer in four areas. Those areas are workers, open doors, provision and lasting fruit.
On most Thursdays over the last five years I spent time on Buckroe Beach walking and praying for the Lincoln Park ministry. One fourth of that time I have asked the Lord of the harvest for laborers. I have cried out for workers to help our small group of volunteers who faithfully showed up to reach the children of Lincoln Park. The next quarter of my time on the beach was spent asking God for "Open Doors". We needed open doors in the community. We needed open doors in the hearts of the children and the adults. We asked for open doors with the local government and the housing authority. The next fourth of my prayer was for provision. Someone once said, "Salvation is free, the delivery system is expensive." Our popsicles and snacks cost $40 each week. We needed prizes, balloons, object lesson materials, and sound equipment. We never lacked in the provision for the Power Hour each week. The last fourth of my prayer time was spent asking God for lasting fruit in the lives of the children we ministered to. Some of those prayer journeys on the beach were with my wife, Debra, or ministry interns. Most of the time it was me and Jesus.
Debra and I attended a commissioning service for three churches who are taking over in Lincoln Park. I was approached about a month ago by the leader of this endeavor who asked what our future plans were in Lincoln Park. I informed him that we were finishing our work there but we were concerned about just concluding without a plan for the future ministry there. He shouted "Hallelujah!" as he informed me of the plans of these three churches. At the end of the service this evening, the pastor leading the service asked for all the workers who were going to be involved in the Lincoln Park ministry to come forward. Most of the people in the service proceeded forward for prayer. It looked like a hundred or more. Debra and I wept. In my mind I saw every step made on those prayer walks. I thought of how I cried out for workers! This was beyond what I was asking for or imagining.
Do not give up! God hears every prayer and He answers them above and beyond what we could ever ask of think.
Pastor Mark Geppert (www.seapc.us)discipled and mentored us in our early years of ministry. Mark's main ministry focuses on prayer. He taught us a long time ago that when praying for ministries, cities and nations to focus the prayer in four areas. Those areas are workers, open doors, provision and lasting fruit.
On most Thursdays over the last five years I spent time on Buckroe Beach walking and praying for the Lincoln Park ministry. One fourth of that time I have asked the Lord of the harvest for laborers. I have cried out for workers to help our small group of volunteers who faithfully showed up to reach the children of Lincoln Park. The next quarter of my time on the beach was spent asking God for "Open Doors". We needed open doors in the community. We needed open doors in the hearts of the children and the adults. We asked for open doors with the local government and the housing authority. The next fourth of my prayer was for provision. Someone once said, "Salvation is free, the delivery system is expensive." Our popsicles and snacks cost $40 each week. We needed prizes, balloons, object lesson materials, and sound equipment. We never lacked in the provision for the Power Hour each week. The last fourth of my prayer time was spent asking God for lasting fruit in the lives of the children we ministered to. Some of those prayer journeys on the beach were with my wife, Debra, or ministry interns. Most of the time it was me and Jesus.
Debra and I attended a commissioning service for three churches who are taking over in Lincoln Park. I was approached about a month ago by the leader of this endeavor who asked what our future plans were in Lincoln Park. I informed him that we were finishing our work there but we were concerned about just concluding without a plan for the future ministry there. He shouted "Hallelujah!" as he informed me of the plans of these three churches. At the end of the service this evening, the pastor leading the service asked for all the workers who were going to be involved in the Lincoln Park ministry to come forward. Most of the people in the service proceeded forward for prayer. It looked like a hundred or more. Debra and I wept. In my mind I saw every step made on those prayer walks. I thought of how I cried out for workers! This was beyond what I was asking for or imagining.
Do not give up! God hears every prayer and He answers them above and beyond what we could ever ask of think.
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