Micah 3:11 NLT

For those of you in ministry, or aspiring to be ministers, here are the questions I’ve been chewing on:

1) What are my motives for doing ministry?
2) Why do I serve the way you do?
3) Am I in this for the Lord?
4) Am I merely doing ministry for some kind of vain glory?
5) Has ministry turned into a paycheck for me?
6) Am I really depending on the Lord, or simply claiming to do so?
7) What needs to change in my life so that this verse isn’t true of me?

Here’s a repost of his article which you can also read on Brad’s website:

I’ve been reminded recently of the constant tension on a team. And…. the Tension is Good. We talked about this and leaned into this phrase at our Catalyst event earlier this fall in Atlanta. The right kind of tension is important for teams, as well as for individuals. It stretches and shapes and allows for growth.

But there are other things that can creep into a team and poison it quickly. Things that sneak up fast and before you know it, start to define the team and take everyone off course. In the wrong direction. Headed the wrong way.

Here are a few of the poisons to make sure and avoid:
1. Arrogance- Pride comes before the fall, and for teams, the same holds true. Jim Collins talks about this at length in his book How the Mighty Fall. Humble confidence is the ticket.

2. No communication- this one is the most common poison for all teams to have some form of. The remedy? Overcommunicate. Be intentional and make sure folks are in the know. For team leaders, this one is tough. I struggle at this.

3. Me first, vs. We first- see this alot on high profile sports teams. Or with celebrities. As they say, there’s no “I” in team. A WE first mentality starts at the top with the leader who has to set the tone in word AND deed. If you are hearing “it’s not my job,” then it’s time for a gut check.

4. Jealousy and Cynicism- many times these go hand in hand and one follows the other. The remedy? Confronting it head on. Don’t allow jealousy or cynicism or cliques to form. Stomp it out immediately.

Hopefully this is as helpful to you as it was to me. I wholeheartedly agree with Lomenick. We need to fight off these poisons at all costs.

It reminded me of my call. I was in 9th grade, and God used a camp speaker named Ken Gillming from Springfield, MO to awaken my heart to God’s call. I am eternally grateful. My life has never been the same since.

We didn’t know what to expect, but Tim laid the challenge for our people to respond to God’s call on their life if they sensed it. They responded. 14 people total between our three morning services. We had a time of prayer over them. My heart was moved beyond explanation. Many thoughts ran through my head in those moments… Here’s a few:

1) Why would God ever call me? His grace is so real in my life. I am overwhelmed every day that I — a sinner deserving of no good thing from the Lord — gets to give my life for the cause of the gospel.

2) The missionaries that took the gospel to Kerala, India. I was moved to tears thinking about this. Someone answered God’s call and took the message of the cross to the region where my family is from. Because of that, our destinies were altered forever.

3) The pastors/leaders who responded to the call to ministry and had an investment in my life. Dave & Kathy Vandenbergh and Doug & Becky Williams in New City, NY. Jamie Gillespie, Dave Watkins, and Jeff Miller in Youngstown, OH. Chip Collins, Dave Adams, Jimmy Scroggins, Chad Brand, etc. from Southern Seminary. Russ & Diane Dean in São Paulo, Brazil. I am sure this list could go on. I am so grateful that they responded. My soul has been blessed to know them.

4) Stewardship. We need to be thankful and obedient to God’s voice. This is a privilege, not a right. May my life always glorify The One who called me.

This is an exciting time. We are going to do our best to pour our lives into those who sensed a call. From the middle schooler to the 50 year old man, our hope and desire is to equip and encourage. May the God who called them do marvelous things through these servants who surrendered their lives to the gospel ministry.

We’ve been having a blast here! We had a great day of ministry yesterday and today started off with a bang as we had the privilege of worshiping this morning at Templo Batista Biblica here in Jacarei. Here’s a few shots of yesterday and today.

Sam Cirrincione sharing his testimony with translator Patrick McClure.

Our group singing in Portuguese and English at the favela (slums).

Our team doing the drama called “The Woman”, which is about finding hope and peace in Christ in the midst of a chaotic world.

This drama is called “King of Hearts”, which is about how we all hide beyond masks but Christ helps us realize who we can be in and through a relationship with Him.

I had the great honor of preaching at TBB, the first church I worshiped with in Brazil in 1998.

Our CPC team with some of the staff and members of TBB hanging out after church.

All in all, it has been an incredibly fruitful trip thus far! God has multiplied blessings here. The best highlight so far: our team leading 9 people to Christ last night… IN PORTUGUESE! It was awesome.

Keep praying for us. Hopefully the next update will be by Tuesday.

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There is some stuff I just cannot comprehend. Try as I may to get it…it doesn’t make any logical or Scriptural sense. Here is a partial of things I do not understand.

1. Folks that show up to church only a few times a year but expect the pastor to drop everything to provide them with his undivided attention.
2. People that put nothing in the offering plate but still have the stones to expect that their opinions on the church should count.
3. Parents who ground their children from church or the youth group…the very things that could help them with their behavior, future and afterlife.
4. People that expect the pastor to tolerate their political views…but leave the church because of his.
5. The occasional volunteer that expects the church to throw a parade in their honor just because they finally did what the Bible commanded.
6. People that have basked in the grace of God…but fail to give grace to anyone else.
7. Pastors that leave one church for another…for better pay.
8. The need for church growth plans, programs, books, conference, seminars and resource kits…when we already have the Bible
9. Women that tolerate their husbands having multiple affairs…”for the sake of the kids”.
10. Pastors that would rather be political pundits or civil rights leaders…instead of just preaching the life-saving message of the Word of God.
11. People that have one spiritual standard for their pastor…and another for themselves.
12. Folks that think the word ‘disciple’ is a noun…and not a verb.
13. People that make comments about needing to go “deeper” in God’s Word…as if there is a Scripture in the Bible that isn’t deep.
14. Pastors that think accountability means never asking them the tough questions or taking the hard line when it comes to their failure to follow Scripture.
15. Men that think being the head of the household has something to do with the amount of money they are bringing in or the title they acquire at work.”
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Again – I don’t necessarily sign off on all of these. But they made me evaluate some things. What about you?

What resonated with your spirit? What did you disagree with? Did this make you think?

This year’s Pastor’s Conference had some fresh, new faces that represented the up-and-coming generation of SBC pastors. While I am a Southern Baptist – both in theology and in mission – I have had my concerns with the future of our denomination. But at this year’s annual meeting it became clear to me that God is not sleeping, and He is definitely raising up a new generation of passionate preachers, teachers, and missionaries.

David Platt, the senior pastor at The Church at Brook Hills is one of the leaders of this younger generation of gifted SBC pastors. He is only 30 years old, but he is wise beyond his years and commands attention – even from those twice his age. He was privileged to preach at one of the main sessions at the conference, and he left a profound impact on those in attendance.

What I appreciate about David Platt is his combination of confidence and humility in his preaching. He is convinced of the reliability of the text and not his ability as an orator. Sadly, the opposite is true with many pastors, but that is a different discussion for a different day. Back to the message he preached at the conference…

With the foundation of Hebrews 13:11, he began with a question that struck at the core of every pastor in the room: “Are we going to die in our religion or are we going to die in our devotion?” He then followed with a great explanation of the text and a fantastic charge on missions and evangelism.

I pray that, if you choose to watch this, you will ask that of yourselves as well.

UPDATE 07.10.09
I was requested by SBC Tapes to remove the video of David Platt’s PC sermon. Apparently, they have the copyright privileges to all of the videos from the SBC Annual Meeting. As soon as they have the copyrighted version finished and up on the web, I’ll add a link to the page. It’s worth watching.

A few months ago a firehouse in Hawaii responded to a call and rushed to the scene of an accident. The problem was, they forgot something important back at their own station… Read on:

Oahu firefighters have been issued a reminder to be sure to turn off cooking equipment when responding to emergencies. The advice comes in the wake of a May 22 blaze at the Waipahu fire station that caused about $25,000 damage.

Honolulu Fire Department spokesman Capt. Terry Seelig said food was inadvertently left cooking on a stove when the firefighters responded to an emergency call involving a traffic accident.

He said after finishing the call, the firefighters responded to a call at their own station house. Seelig said like everyone else, firefighters need to be careful and attentive when cooking.

According to Seelig, the fire caused smoke and heat damage, primarily to kitchen areas that had been scheduled for renovation. He said the damage has been repaired. (Associated Press)

I looked over this story the other night, and at first glance, I saw it as just another interesting news read. For whatever reason, I decided to skim through it again. As I read, God gripped my heart and reminded me of something that so many pastors/ministers forget – myself included.

We are called as pastors to serve people and minister to the world we live in. We are called to help others in spiritual need, mediate in difficult conflict situations, and challenge people to walk closely with Christ. But herein lies the problem: we are often so concerned with others that we neglect our own spiritual growth and well-being.

I have heard it said that “the mechanic has the worst car in the shop.” As I hear stories from around the country about pastors and ministers that have had significant moral failures and burnouts, I fear that this is true in our context. Pastors work so hard “fixing” everyone else’s spiritual problems that they forsake their own spiritual health. It may seem like the natural thing to do in ministry, but all it leads to is an atrophy of the soul.

Reading this story brought to light a passage of scripture I’ve been meditating on recently. Paul instructed Timothy in many things, and one of those things makes more sense now:

Be diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them, so that everyone may see your progress. Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.

1 Timothy 4:15-16

While we’re called to shepherd the flock of God (1 Peter 5:2), we must remember to be sheep ourselves as well as tend to the lives of those around us. We need our Shepherd as much as anyone else in our churches.

There are a few introspective questions that this story and this verse made me ask myself. Be careful if you read this – conviction ensues:

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First: Am I walking closely with my Shepherd and growing in my walk with Him?

Second: Is there any sin in my life (or the temptation of any such sin) that will, if not addressed and repented of, lead to destruction?

Third: Am I honest/accountable with Christian brothers so as to avoid disaster?

Fourth: Am I busy attending to the needs of others while neglecting my own soul?
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Here’s the moral of the story: if we aren’t careful and intentional about this, our “firehouse” will burn down while we’re out on call.

We try our best, but even then, our efforts seem fleeting. We are so easily puffed up! And even if I’m not struggling with pride at the moment, it is probably creeping at my door, waiting to overtake me.

Check out this short Mark Driscoll clip from a message he recently preached on this:

HT: The Resurgence