February 2010
Upcoming Schedule
February 14 (Sunday), Northwest Church of Christ, Oklahoma City, Focus: Missions
Exact date TBA, Cuzco, Peru, Focus: Small Groups
Exact date TBA, Seminar, Honduran Bible School, Catacamas, Olancho, Honduras
A Mission Calendar and information about upcoming mission activities appears on my Missions Page.
Five Things Ministers Need to Know
The apostles, disciples, teachers and preachers who followed Jesus Christ were the nucleus Jesus used to build His church-a church that, with courage and confidence, faced all the enemies that rose up against her. The early followers had just spent three years with the master teacher as he showed them and taught them what they should know and do as leaders of a new movement -a "reformation movement" among God's people. What did Jesus emphasize? When asked about the greatest commandment, Jesus mentioned two commandments as primary: love God and love your neighbor. The basics of Christianity are encompassed in these two ideas. Various lists have been developed to explain the meaning and application of these two commandments. In this article I suggest five things that summarize the basics of loving God and loving others. These are things that ministers (and all Christians) need to know: how to love God, talk to God, love others, serve others, and keep oneself pure.
1. HOW TO LOVE GOD.
Put God first in all of life, in everything you do. The minister must love God supremely. Jesus identifies this as the greatest of all the commandments. All that the Ten Commandments teach is encapsulated in this brief statement of Jesus: "And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart . . ." (Mark 12:28-31; Matthew 22:37-40). Note that Jesus was speaking to the religious leaders of His day. His words resound to all his followers today, but especially to those who would serve as leaders. Leaders must know how to make loving God the first priority. This means putting selfish desires and ambitions in second place.
2. HOW TO TALK TO GOD.
Effective prayer is essential to a successful ministry. Prayer enables us to tap into the power and presence of God. One of the things the disciples asked Jesus was, "Lord, teach us to pray." Jesus responded, "When you pray, say, 'Our Father, who art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth . . .'" (Luke 11:1-4 and Matthew 6:9-13).
Ministers who do not know how to communicate with God remain spiritually weak. Most ministers are responsible for their own spiritual "battery charging". Without the ability to listen to God and talk to God in meaningful ways, spiritual growth is stunted, and eventually the minister will find that he has little to share that is helpful to the church.
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Follow the link to read the rest of the article: Five Things Ministers Need to Know.
