Dear Young Minister

 I will be the first to admit that I'm not what one would call an "expert" in ministry, but having spent the past twelve years being involved in active ministry (from outreach to in-reach to curriculum planning to teaching to preaching), I would say I have developed a great deal of "in-the-ministry-training" from some of the best preachers, teachers, apostles, evangelists, and prophets the Ecclesiastical Body of Christ has to offer. In spite of this, I find myself coming across more and more young ministers who seem ill equipped to deal with the realities of ministry. Like Paul, I believe that until we leave this life, we all have to some degree a never ending process of growth and development that must occur. So, to encourage the young minister, I want to share 7 truths with you concerning this thing called ministry. There are many more, but I feel these are core truths that no matter what capacity you serve in, they can be applied to any area. 

1. Ministry is not to be entered into lightly. There are souls at stake, including your own. You will give account to God for how you handle the Word of God, whether deceitfully, in truth, out of envy, vain glory, etc. 

2. Ministry is about serving, not being served. This is the wrong field to enter if you are looking for a paycheck, kudos, accolades...you get the point. To be a minister is to be the chief servant. You may come in last quite often in order to lead others to the feet of Jesus.

3. Ministry has great days, bad days, and ordinary days.  There will be times when you fell as if you really made an impact, times you may feel as if they just aren't getting it, and times as if nothing big is happening. Just know we walk by faith not by feelings. Trust God is working the change as you were obedient to deliver the message.

4. Ministry is not a place or a position, but an action. You "minister" beyond the pulpit. When you visit a school, hospital, offer a tissue to someone grieving, write a note of encouragement, you are ministering.

5. Ministry is a team effort, shared by both male and female. Some Jesus' strongest supporters (physically and financially) were women. Though you may bear the greater load as lead, you need a team to impart to and multiply the vision. The vision (which is the Gospel) should not stop if anything should happen to you.

6. Ministry begins with and flows out of relationship. Jesus didn't just perform miracles and lead the disciples with awe. They saw him weep, pray, eat, cast out demons, worship God in a hymn, call out the hypocrites, cook, etc. They saw him at "work" and "play". Ministry first flows out of your relationship with God and with your fellow man. Don't expect much ministry to happen when you don't take time to know those that labor among you.

7. Ministry requires you to do, live, and speak. You are called to be the hands and feet of Jesus in the earth. You are called to live the Truth. You are called to speak the truth, regardless of who it is. Know in advance that everyone will not receive you, but they are rejecting the message God gave. Jesus was received as a carpenter, Mary's baby, a teacher, the Son of the Living God. One thing about Jesus- he never forced anyone to accept what he KNEW he was. We still have a choice today to receive him as he really is. Isn't that awesome?

I hope you will search the scripture and see what it says concerning ministers and ministry. One last word of caution: Don't allow anyone to put you in a place of authority that you know you don't have the maturity for. Paul said, some ought to be teachers, but were immature and still repeating and re-learning the rudiments of the faith.  Then, there are those who are leading, that have the charisma, but lack the character and the Word of God to sustain the place of authority they have been given. I encourage you to be real with your shortcomings, your strengths, your weaknesses, and build yourself up on your most holy faith. The five-fold ministry is here to equip and mature you, but you have a personal responsibility to seek God and his purpose for yourself. Want to have Outrageous Church? Grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus!

Blessings & Church <3

Men Gone Mighty in a World Gone Mad

2 Samuel 6:12-16, 21-23 (KJV)

 ¹²And it was told king David, saying, The LORD hath blessed the house of Obededom, and all that pertaineth unto him, because of the ark of God. So David went and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obededom into the city of David with gladness.
 ¹³And it was so, that when they that bare the ark of the LORD had gone six paces, he sacrificed oxen and fatlings.
 ¹⁴And David danced before the LORD with all his might; and David was girded with a linen ephod.
 ¹⁵So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the LORD with shouting, and with the sound of the trumpet.
 ¹⁶And as the ark of the LORD came into the city of David, Michal Saul's daughter looked through a window, and saw king David leaping and dancing before the LORD; and she despised him in her heart.

²¹And David said unto Michal, It was before the LORD, which chose me before thy father, and before all his house, to appoint me ruler over the people of the LORD, over Israel: therefore will I play before the LORD.
 ²²And I will yet be more vile than thus, and will be base in mine own sight: and of the maidservants which thou hast spoken of, of them shall I be had in honour.
 ²³Therefore Michal the daughter of Saul had no child unto the day of her death.

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In a world where everything but Godliness seems to be increasing, we have to ask the question: where have the mighty men gone? First, let me define what I mean by mighty: men who are unashamed to love God with all their, heart, mind, soul, and strength...even to the point of coming out of their outer garments to do so. Our society prides men on their physical prowess, their sexual prowess, intellectual prowess, and even their military prowess, but even here, in this passage, when they "Go broke for God", it is looked upon as something strange, feminine, and distasteful.

Well, let me set the record straight: Real Men praise God, and not only do they praise God, but they do so with abandon. David, in the passage above, had finally gotten in line with God's plan and how to bring the presence of God, the Ark of the Covenant, back into the city where it belonged. He developed a six-step plan: every 6 paces, he gave God praise and sacrificed to the Lord. He left a bloody trail all the way to the city. It was no wonder that by the time he reached the city, he had danced himself out of his outer garments.

Though David was not a priest, he put on the ephod, and operated out of the priesthood of grace, the order of Melchisedeck, the line through which his descendant, Jesus Christ, would come as well. He came in, leaping and praising before God. His own family member got upset with him for his outrageous display of praise. Because of her attitude, she remained barren for the rest of her life. She didn't give God the fruit of her lips; God didn't give her the fruit of the womb.

David, who understood the magnitude of having God's presence, took his might, and wrapped it up in praise and hurled it before the Lord, not caring who thought it was "appropriate" or not.

Our current world has seemingly lost its mind, lost its reason, lost its moral compass, and it is up to those who know God, who hold the presence of God as precious, to Go Mighty in a world gone mad. If there was ever a time for men and women to lift up our voices and give God the sacrifice of praise, it is now! Want to have Outrageous Church? Give God an Outrageous Praise, and watch him make you fruitful, while your critics stand around barren, wondering what happened. It is the Lord's doing, you can say, and it is always fitting to praise God!

Blessings and Church <3