Being in ministry is like living under a microscope. Everyone is constantly looking at you to see what you are doing, when you are doing it, and how you are doing it. I think it actually makes some people feel better about themselves if they can catch a minister doing something wrong. They want to be able to say "At least I didn't do what pastor so and so did the other night." It's kinda sick really.
However sick and twisted this is, I have also found it to be true. As minister's and minister's wives we are called to have a higher standard and to be set apart because of God's calling (1 Thess. 4:7). I simply find it frustrating that the willingness of others to tear each other down to make themselves look better adds so much stress to a life that is hard enough already.
Don't people know that it is hard enough to live a life worthy of the calling we have received (Eph. 4:1)! In order to glorify God and minimize stress, we should follow this scriptural advice: "Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe as you hold out the word of life—in order that I may boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor for nothing." Philippians 2:14-16.
This doesn't mean that we should let everyone walk all over us and push us around and treat us like garbage. BUT what it does mean is that we should do everything in our life to please Christ. If we aren't doing anything that Christ would disapprove of then we should be living a life worthy of being under the microscope. If people look at us and scrutinize us they should see Christ first and foremost. Then the imperfections don't seem so bad.
Showing posts with label bread making ministry. Show all posts
Showing posts with label bread making ministry. Show all posts
Monday, April 12, 2010
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Bread Making Ministry
Today as I sit and think about all the things that God has done in my life, I see that Jimmy and I are extremely blessed. We praise the Lord over the successes we have had in both our personal lives and ministries. We praise God for the struggles that we have lived through that have shaped who we are today. I must even praise God for my failures that show His true measure of grace.
What Make's a Great Ministry?
When people ask how you make a ministry successful, I tell them about our “bread making” ministry. No, we don’t literally bake bread. Hang on for a minute and let me explain to you what I mean…
What is a "Bread Making" Ministry?
All my young life, I would go to my grandmother’s house, and one of the things we would do was bake sour dough bread. The secret to making amazing sour dough bread is the starter. A starter is a small portion of bread dough that is reserved to start a new batch of bread. You must feed it to keep it alive and when the time comes it will be ready to perform. When you make a new batch of bread, you get out your starter and mix it with all the new ingredients for this batch of bread. It becomes completely absorbed into this new dough. Before making your bread, you must reserve a portion of it for your next starter. This bread and this starter are even better than the last because they both contain portions of the new ingredients and the faithful old starter that you have been diligent to feed and nurture. A dead starter cannot be revived nor can it be used to make new bread. Yet the bread that comes from this starter is better every batch because it blends all the different batches of bread you have ever made into one incredible loaf. That’s how we do ministry.
Our "Bread Making" Ministry
Even before I came into the picture, this was how Jimmy would do ministry. He received his very first “starter” when he was in college learning the skills he needed to feed the ministry. Then he made his first “batch” of youth ministry bread when he did a summer internship at a church in Columbia, Missouri. As he moved on to Fritch, Texas he expanded his bread making repertoire. When Jimmy moved to Fulton, Missouri, and we first met, I also had the privilege of being exposed to “starter” members that he had collected along his ministry path. Some of the people he brought along with him from previous ministries were Jeremy, Jeff, Dave, Troy, Chrissy, Penny, Bethany, Mandy, and others. They were able to do things together that they were never able to do alone. Jimmy met Jeremy when he was his youth minister in Texas. I met Jeremy at Millersburg when he came to help Jimmy with our first ever DNOW. Jeremy met his wife Hannah when we all worked together doing ministry in DeSoto, Missouri. Last night Jeremy, Hannah, and their children all came and helped Jimmy and I prepare our students for this weekends Disciple Now. Our kids are going to be the best “bread” yet because they have been exposed to the best “starter” so far.
Do You Get It?
I hope you get what I am saying. This principle can be used in any ministry and in life. Nurture the friends and relationships you have made along the way. Bring your “starter” of people, relationships, and experiences into your current life and ministry to make things even better! Learn to build from the strong foundation that you have been building all these years and someday the people you minister too will hopefully do even greater ministry than you! Wouldn’t that be amazing?!
My RED ALERT for You
WARNING: The quality of your starter will affect the quality of the “bread” that is made from it. Use wisdom and discretion when choosing the relationships and standards that you choose to expose your ministry to.
What Make's a Great Ministry?
When people ask how you make a ministry successful, I tell them about our “bread making” ministry. No, we don’t literally bake bread. Hang on for a minute and let me explain to you what I mean…
What is a "Bread Making" Ministry?
All my young life, I would go to my grandmother’s house, and one of the things we would do was bake sour dough bread. The secret to making amazing sour dough bread is the starter. A starter is a small portion of bread dough that is reserved to start a new batch of bread. You must feed it to keep it alive and when the time comes it will be ready to perform. When you make a new batch of bread, you get out your starter and mix it with all the new ingredients for this batch of bread. It becomes completely absorbed into this new dough. Before making your bread, you must reserve a portion of it for your next starter. This bread and this starter are even better than the last because they both contain portions of the new ingredients and the faithful old starter that you have been diligent to feed and nurture. A dead starter cannot be revived nor can it be used to make new bread. Yet the bread that comes from this starter is better every batch because it blends all the different batches of bread you have ever made into one incredible loaf. That’s how we do ministry.
Our "Bread Making" Ministry
Even before I came into the picture, this was how Jimmy would do ministry. He received his very first “starter” when he was in college learning the skills he needed to feed the ministry. Then he made his first “batch” of youth ministry bread when he did a summer internship at a church in Columbia, Missouri. As he moved on to Fritch, Texas he expanded his bread making repertoire. When Jimmy moved to Fulton, Missouri, and we first met, I also had the privilege of being exposed to “starter” members that he had collected along his ministry path. Some of the people he brought along with him from previous ministries were Jeremy, Jeff, Dave, Troy, Chrissy, Penny, Bethany, Mandy, and others. They were able to do things together that they were never able to do alone. Jimmy met Jeremy when he was his youth minister in Texas. I met Jeremy at Millersburg when he came to help Jimmy with our first ever DNOW. Jeremy met his wife Hannah when we all worked together doing ministry in DeSoto, Missouri. Last night Jeremy, Hannah, and their children all came and helped Jimmy and I prepare our students for this weekends Disciple Now. Our kids are going to be the best “bread” yet because they have been exposed to the best “starter” so far.
Do You Get It?
I hope you get what I am saying. This principle can be used in any ministry and in life. Nurture the friends and relationships you have made along the way. Bring your “starter” of people, relationships, and experiences into your current life and ministry to make things even better! Learn to build from the strong foundation that you have been building all these years and someday the people you minister too will hopefully do even greater ministry than you! Wouldn’t that be amazing?!
My RED ALERT for You
WARNING: The quality of your starter will affect the quality of the “bread” that is made from it. Use wisdom and discretion when choosing the relationships and standards that you choose to expose your ministry to.
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