ÿþ<!doctype html public "..//w3c//dtd html 4.0 traditional//en"> <html> <head> <meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1"> <title>"If I was starting my ministry again, bible, Christian, Jesus Christ"</title> <link rev="http://lftd.org" href="mailto:"> <meta name="description" content="Bible, Scripture, God, Jesus, Christ, Spirit, Christian, church, Devotion, Sunday School, Meditation, worship"> <meta name="keywords" content="Bible, Scripture, God, Jesus, Christ, Spirit, Christian, church, Devotion, Sunday School, Meditation, worship"> <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="cssex1.css"> <base target="_blank"> </head> <body bgcolor=#ffffff> <basefont face= "Arial, helvetica, geneva,tahoma,verdana, times new roman, sans-serif"> <div align=center> <center> <table border="1" bordercolor=#aaaaaa width="590" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="10" bgcolor="#ffffff"> <tr> <td width="100%" align=left> <div style="font-size: .95em; font-family: "helvetica, arial, geneva,tahoma,verdana, times new roman, sans-serif; line-height:1.2"> <div class="fontset7"> <a target="_self" href="http://lftd.org/" class="link2"><b>[Home]</b></a> <br><br> <b><center> <span style="brackground:whilte;"><font color=red> If I Was Starting My Ministry Again <br></font></span> JOHN M. DRESCHER <br> (Summary excerpts from the book) <br></b> <a target="_self" href="nbdlcv2.htm" class="link2">(N¿u B¯t §u L¡i Chéc Vå)</a> <br><br> <span style=color:green;> To the glory of God <br> and for the encouragement of all those men and women, <br> called by God, in the varied ministries of the church <br> of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. </span> <br><br> <span style=color:red><b> <u>Book Index: </u></span> </center> <span style=color:#111777> <br> I. I would seek to more disciplined in the cultivation of my own spiritual life. <br> <br> II. I would seek to give much more time to the study and preaching of Scripture. <br> <br> III. I would seek to make my ministry more Christ-centered. <br> <br> IV. I would try to remember that it is not my eloquence but the Holy Spirit s enablement which will accomplish Christ s purpose in my ministry. <br> <br> V. I would seek to keep in mind that, in spite of all its difficulties, the church is the body of Christ doing God s work in the world. <br> <br> VI. I would strive to lead and equip each member for the work of ministering. <br> <br> VII. I would look for and encourage creative centers. <br> <br> VIII. I would place a primary emphasis on prayer. <br> <br> IX. I would seek to always remember that my calling is not to control people s faith but to love them into the kingdom of God. </b><br> <a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2%20cor%201:24;%201pet%205:3;&version=31" class="link2;"><i>(2 Corinthians 1:24; 1 Peter 5:3) </i></a> <br> <br><b> X. I would seek to always be aware that God is at work, usually in the pensions, places, and programs where I least expect God to be working. <br> <br> XI. I would seek to always remember that I minister only out of overflow, and that fruit is produced only on new growth. <br> <br> XII. I would be strongly drawn to church planting rather than to an established congregation. <br> <br> XIII. I would seek to be more disciplined in practicing the personal touch through visiting the flock. <br> <br> XIV. I would beware of particular pitfalls in the ministry. <br> </span></b> <br><hr><br> <center> <span style=color:red;><b>Addition Wisdom: </b></span> </center><br> <b>1-</b> I would commit myself to never say anything from the pulpit which I am unwilling to speak to a person about individually. In other words, the pulpit is not the place for a personal attack. <br> <br> Early in my ministry a person called me to task for what he thought was a personal attack in my preaching. I assured him that I did not have him or any other one person in mind. I shared with him the above commitment and asked him if he felt it. He replied that he felt I had done so, and the rift was healed. <br> <br> <b>2-</b> I would seek to always keep a confidence. Many a minister has lost effectiveness, not because of lack of ability but because the minister betrayed a confidence. <br> <br> <b>3- </b> I seek to remember not to get off the train when I m going through the tunnel. There are plenty of discouragements in ministry, but it is not good to make a major decision during times of discouragement. Usually, in the first three years of ministry, as in marriage, we have a period of disillusionment. That is not the time to make a sudden move. It is especially wise to get the counsel of a number of spiritual, discerning persons at such a time and not to listen to one or two who tend to see only the negative side of things. <br> <br> <b>4-</b> I would seek to remember that the most successful leader is not the one who knows or does everything but the one who knows his or her strengths and weaknesses and who has the ability to find those who are strong in areas where he or she is weak and empower such. <br> <br> <b>5-</b> I would pray for just enough encouragement to keep going strong for God. God seldom, if ever, allows his servants to see how great a blessing they are. He allows just enough encouragement to make us fruitful, but even the fruit in not for the benefit of the preacher but for the refreshment of others. <br> <br> I would beware of letting compliments built self-confidence in spiritual things. The compliments of others can be used for evil if we are not determined to give all glory to God. The more gifted, the greater the temptation and thirst for praise. As we grow older the craving for praise leads to frustration and bitterness, followed by contrived efforts to get attention and affirmation. <br> <br> <b>6-</b> I would seek to remember that, regardless how hard a person appears, each one has an inlet. If I row around long enough I will find the inlet and be able to reach the person for Christ who died for this person as much as for any other. <br> <br> <b>7-</b> I would remember that Jesus changed people by love, acceptance, and forgiveness. The Pharisees tried to change people by criticism, judgment, and condemnation. <br> <br> <b>8-</b> I would seek to remember that Jesus did not spend time or effort justifying or vindicating himself. St. Augustine prayed,  O Lord, deliver me from the lust of vindicating myself. <br> <br> The lust for vindication is the lust for approval. Oswald Chambers wrote:  Our insistence in proving that we are right is nearly always an indication that there has been some point of disobedience. <br> <br> Therefore, I would seek to let the Lord fight my battles for me as He promised. When I seek aside and lets me fight alone. When I step aside He will do the vindicating and work all things for His glory and for my good. <br> <br> <b>9-</b> I would seek to keep myself free from the love and lust for the material. ... A minister will be forever unhappy and unproductive spiritually who allows the spirit of discontent or greed to begin to grow. <br> <br> <b>10- </b>I would seek out several spiritual, wise, and sound counselors who have the concern for the church and my well-being in their hearts, to whom to go for counsel and perspective. Such can save from many a pitfall and wrong or skewed perspective, which a minister can easily develop or which can be developed through the compliments or criticisms of one or two other persons. <br> <br> This means also, I would not take the adverse reaction of one person too seriously without checking such criticism with other trusted leaders who can advise with candor and love. I have suffered most in ministry for allowing broad, sweeping criticism from one person, who claimed to be speaking for many, only to discover it was a very personal reaction, backed only by some personal prejudice or agenda, and not the opinion of others at all. <br> <br> <b>11-</b> I would gather around me a few persons deeply committed to daily prayer and fasting for the church and for its ministry. To pray is to join the saints of all the ages and to join with Christ the great High Priest and intercessor in His concern for the whole world. The ministry of the Holy Spirit is linked with prayer more than any other aspect of the Spirit s ministry. <br> <br> I have come to believe that a minister should not seek to minister without a group of prayer partners who will hold the minister before the throne of grace for divine preservation, proclamation and empowerment. <br><br> <b>12-</b> I would avoid envy like the plague. Envy is to feel sad when another is glad. It raises its ugly head when someone succeeds in the area I work or in the area I seek to be successful. Envy makes bitter persons and puts one in competition with another. Envy arises out of the basic evil of pride. <br> <br> O. W., in one of his stories, discusses how the devil was crossing the Libyan Desert when he met a number of his associates tempting a holy hermit. They tried to tempt the hermit with sins of the flesh, tempting him in every way they knew, but to no avail. The saint was steadfast and shook off all suggestions. Finally after watching their failure, in disgust the devil whispered to the tempters,  what you do it too crude. Permit me one moment. Then the devil whispered to the holy man,  Your brother has just been made a Bishop in Alexandria. A scowl of jealousy crossed the serene face of the hermit.  That, said Satan to his subordinates,  is the sort of thing I recommend. <br> <br> <b>13- </b>One of the subtleties of leadership and preaching is to think that by preparing a Word of the Lord for my people I myself am therefore faithful and obedient. I would be on particular guard so that the truth I preach and teach is that which I myself first surrendered to and experience. <br> <br> <b>14- </b>I would remember that my love for Christ and the church is revealed as genuine when I can sincerely rejoice over the success and achievements of my successor and in the success of other ministers in congregations. <br> <br> <b>15- </b>I would seek to keep in mind that, when my ministry is finished, I will have very likely influenced people more as a person than as a preacher. The final test is not how gifted I am but how godly I have lived. Will Garrison wrote:  In the only judgment that matters we will be measured not so much by what we have done as by what we have become. <br> <br> <b>16-</b> I would ask God to deal with pride of any kind and to give me a spirit of Christ-like humility. C.S.Lewis points out that the essential vice, the utmost evil, is pride. All sins of the flesh are flea bites in comparison.  Pride is essentially competitive. He suggests.  If you want to find out how proud you are, the easiest way is to ask yourself,  How do I dislike it when other people snub me, or refuse to take any notice of me, or shove their oar in me, or patronize me, or show off? <br> <br> Lewis also points out that pride or self-conceit is the sin we are most conscious of in others and which we are most blind to in ourselves. The more we have it ourselves the more we dislike it in others. The opposite virtue is humility. Pride takes delight in shining or seeking to set others straight. It is out of pride we criticize and judge others. Humility is the most conscious of one s own failure and need of God continual grace. <br> <br> <b>17-</b> I would seek to give my family the proper place. The order of priority is God, family, work. And this includes the preacher s family. For any one of these to get out of this order means all three relationships will suffer. Surely there are those times, as in everyone s experience, when the family must take a back seat. But, at the very best, my family should have the same claim on a my time that the members of my congregation have. Hopefully my family should have special claim on my time, love, attention, patience, and care. <br> <br> <b>18- </b>I would seek to accept the limits of my humanity. I will never be able to do all that needs to be done. I cannot meet the need of every person. I cannot be in peak performance in every meeting, and in meeting every need which presents itself. Some things will be left undone. <br> <br> My concern should be not my human frailty but rather to avoid a spirit of laziness, indifference, negligence, or procrastination. God will take up the slack of my frailty, but I must develop the discipline of faithfulness and diligence. <br> <br> <b>19- </b>I would remember that some of the areas of life where I ve been helped most as a person and pastor were those in which some layperson questioned my thinking or approach. Without this challenge we forget our fallibility. To look at the layperson s doubt or questions will save me, in the end, from playing God and from pontificating. I would pay particular attention to the lowly, because God gives special insight and wisdom to such individuals. <br> <br> <b>20-</b> If I were minister again. I d do all I could to promote strong Christ-centered families, beginning with a carefully prescribed premarital counseling program and continue guidance to the newly married, young parents, middle-aged, aged, and singles. In other words. I would seek to provide continuous help to all the family. A congregation can be no more spiritual than its families, and if families are not making it, it becomes hard to hear what God is saying in other areas of life. <br> <br> <b>21-</b> I would seek to remember that any group of leaders needs both the optimist and the pessimist. Prime Minister, Lord Asquith said,  It s an excellent thing to have an optimist at the rear. Jesus had a Peter who jumped into things quickly and a Thomas who questioned. <br> <br> Pastors need to be optimists with spurs. I have never known a successful pastor who was a pessimist. Yet, I admit, pessimists in my congregations were a real irritation until I realized that such persons many times saved me from premature action. I may have had the spurs, but those who held the reins also caused me to think through an idea second time. <br> <br> <b>22-</b> I would do more reading. I ve never known an effective preacher or teacher who was not also a great lover of books. <br> <br> <b>23- </b>I would seek to spread the joy of the Lord. The word of the gospel is  Good News and it gives  eternal hope and good encouragement. The joy of the Lord is your strength. <br> <br> Ministers live so much with people s problems, with cancer and heart attacks, with alcoholism and depression, in funeral and in hospitals, that it is possible to begin to live in darkness and gloom. Ministers are drawn to people who are hurting. <br> <br> While the Christian message and mission dare not gloss over or dodge the sorrow, suffering, and gloom, neither dare it center here. The light of Christ and the resurrection penetrate the darkness and give glorious hope and joy to all who put faith in Jesus Christ. <br> <br> </div> </font> </td></tr></table> </center></div>