GameDay - Ohio Men's Ministries Convention

Checking out for a couple of days. Be Blessed!

Are You Ministering in Your Gift?

Last night, I payed an unexpected visit to one of our Children's Ministries classes. What I observed thrilled me. I saw smiles, excitment and participation that most teachers/leaders would be thrilled to have in their classes.

Why was this class so dynamic? For one thing, the leader in that class was actively engaging the kids. The kid's were learning not and, but, because they were having fun. The teacher knew the material and went beyond the curriculum to exlain the topic and bring it to each child's world.

That teacher has the gift of teaching, especially for children's ministry. That is why serving within one's gifting is so important! When we fail to serve, God's kingdom is not advanced according to his will. When we fail to serve, using the gifts and abilities God has given us, God's kingdom isn't advanced in full force with amazing results following. These kids do not want to miss, and have not missed, a class since we started this ministry. They beg their parents to take them!

That's why we are so prayerful and careful about ministry leadership. The right combination of ministry and leadership creates the avenues for the Holy Spirit's working in people's lives.

YOU have spiritual gifts! You have talents and abilities that God has given you! Are you using them?

Excited? Don't Forget To Pray!

Wow! Yesterday was an amazing day. I am excited when people accept Christ! I am excited when people come back to Christ! I am excited about people getting excited about Christ and His church! I am excited about the wave of fresh new ministry volunteers and their ideas, that have been coming across my desk. Did, I mention that I am excited?

Among the excitement; however, there has to be order. Do I like these ministry ideas? I love them! From the start, the leadership at Grace Fellowship has followed three primary rules in regard to church ministries.

1. Ministry must be maintainable - We watch for and, often, wait for a person(s) with a desire for a particular ministry to come forward. God places these desires on their heart and when he calls someone he also empowers that person(s) for that ministry. If we get ahead of God and place someone in a ministry, just to fill a need, that particular person my become discouraged and tired very quickly and that ministry's success will be vulnerable. All the persons involved in a ministry must be on the same page - there is an energy that is created when God's people are in unity and God blesses that!
2. Ministry must be Sustainable - Once we start a ministry at Grace Fellowship, it is our intent for that ministry to be ongoing - meeting felt needs and connecting people with God and each other. We desire for every ministry at Grace Fellowship to have the resources required for long term success.
3. Ministry should be done with Excellence - From idea, burden or vision to ongoing success, ministry efforts need to be bathed in prayer. Prayerful and careful consideration and planning are critical to all seasons of a ministry - especially ministry leadership. At Grace Fellowship, we wait on the Holy Spirit's leading and when he leads - we move. As we follow his leading, we will never be early and we will never be late, because God's timing is perfect.

We are in a season of growth, spiritually and numerically. Now, more than ever, we need to pray and seek the Spirit's direction. As he leads, we will move. Someone once said that the church moves forward on it's knees. The pace may seem slow, but the importance of our message and our mission requires that we follow and then lead at the Spirit's pace.

Pray with us!

Guess What I Get To Do Tomorrow?

Teach the Word and Love The People!
I love It!

Important or Urgent

I had breakfast this morning with a great Christian brother. It was so refreshing to step away from the busyness of life and just relax, eat and talk. We talked about plans, dreams, desires, current realities and our hope for the future.

After a while our conversation turned into a intriguing discussion about Biblical prophecy and the recent prophecy/warning issued by David Wilkerson . This discussion brought me to a few questions. In light of current events and, discerning the time in which we live, has my focus been on the important rather than the urgent? Have I been so caught up in the "How" that I have allowed it to overshadow the "Why" of kingdom advancement?

Sure, I still desire to be in full-time ministry and I perceive my calling to be very important; however, encouraging people to be prepared for the coming days and, ultimately, for our Lord Jesus Christ's return is urgent. I need to place the greater emphasis on reaching people rather than the capacity or role in which I reach them.

Are you focusing on the important or the urgent?

Fake IT or Take IT

Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things — and the things that are not — to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him. It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God — that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. Therefore, as it is written: "Let him who boasts boast in the Lord." 1 Corinthians 1:26-31 NIV

My family and I are nearing our first year anniversary at the place of ministry in which God has placed us for this time. Today, in a informal meeting, we were reminiscing about the past year and it's experiences. During the course of the conversation one of my most apparent weaknesses was mentioned. I call it a weakness, most would consider it a personality trait. Believe me, from the vantage point of the bearer of the trait, it can seem like a weakness.

I have blogged about this before and I am sure that I will again. Call it charisma, dynamic personality, excitability or whatever else it is called, whatever it is, I do not have it. Never did, never will!

Why?

It is simple, really. Personality is largely hard-wired from infancy - from a time during which we had little to no control of our environment. Our temperament, personality, mannerisms and, especially, the way we portray ourselves around people cannot readily be changed at the core of our being. We can adapt our actions in an attempt to fit into specific roles or situations, but over the long term such adaptation will become exhausting.

If I'm not dynamic, what am I? I am real! When I counsel an individual, lead a Bible study, teach a class, preach the Word and minister in any capacity, those watching and listening are seeing a minuscule amount of my ability and a truckload of God's power! I never want to portray anything fake or anything that misrepresents who I am. If I ever did I would be robbing God of his glory!

It's by God's power that I can even speak to one person. There was a day when speaking to even the smallest groups would have me swallowing a half bottle of antacids beforehand. God has brought me a long, long way. I receive the criticism about my lack of the dynamic as a testimony to God's grace and faithfulness. You see, in order to be criticized for something, one has to be, at least, trying to do that something. I remember when I would not have even tried.

The next time you are criticized, instead of trying to adapt and fake it, why not let God take it and just watch what he alone can do!

Got The Spirit?

2 Corinthians 3:17-18 NIV

"Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is , there is freedom. And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. "

The past few weeks have been amazing in regard to what God is doing in his Church at Grace Fellowship. We have just surpassed the one year anniversary of Grace Fellowship's existence and we have been experiencing the moving of the Holy Spirit in our services.

I have noticed a couple of factors that have been instrumental in preparing the way and creating the avenues for the Spirit's working.

1. Prayer - There have been several men, who have been gathering around our lead pastor before the AM service and praying for the Lord's anointing to empower his messenger as he brings God's Word. There are also those who spend a great deal of time in prayer and fasting, both privately and corporately, for the church. God is honoring these things.
2. Expectation - A common statement to hear around Grace Fellowship is, "We just can't wait to see what God is going to do next." It is that expectancy that prepares hearts to be open to whatever the Holy Spirit wants to do in each person. If we expect the Holy Spirit to do something, he, most likely, will.

I have determined in my mind and heart that I am going to expect God to "show-up big" in all of our our services - children, youth and adults. Regardless of what songs we're singing, who is preaching and what the message is about. In these past weeks, I have seen God take a simple and short message and touch the hearts and lives of many.

As the verse above says, "Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom." The presence of the Holy Spirit is what draws people. That is something that can't be programed; however, it can be practiced. I am expecting great things in the weeks and months to come. As we draw closer to God and allow the Holy Spirit to work in our lives, we will see even greater things as he makes us more like Christ and his glory is revealed.

Got the Spirit?