I love the Thessalonian church. This church plant, which was started by the dream team of the Apostle Paul, Timothy, Silas and Dr. Luke is an impressive model of a church that can get it done. In a city of 200,000 dominated by Greeks and Romans, this church has a great reputation. It is not a large church and, more importantly, it is not a seasoned church filled with lots of mature saints and a dozen seminary grads. Most of the people in Thessalonica were blue-collar ship builders working in the naval station at the port. [1 Thessalonians 4:11] 
 
When Paul and the team brought the message of the gospel to this great city on the Egnatian Road, which was a strong military highway, the message was heard and received with joy by a small group who became the base for the church at Thessalonica (1:6). It was a dangerous time in history for anyone to profess Christ as Lord and Savior. Rome was torturing and killing devout Christ-followers and the old-line devout Jews who rejected Jesus were serving as bounty hunters, exposing Christians so they could be arrested.  In the midst of this persecution a group of 20 to 30 believers fell in love with the message of grace that resonates from the cross of Jesus Christ. Having trusted Christ's sacrifice to be only means of their salvation, they wasted no time starting an effective ministry.  
 
PROCLAIMING THE MESSAGE

What kind of ministry can a spiritually young, small, new church start?  According to Paul's letter to the church they "proclaimed the word of God throughout the region." Paul says the word has "sounded forth". This means it literally trumpeted out from the little church. How effective was their trumpeting proclamation of the gospel? Paul says he has no need to go into the surrounding cities. The great church planter and missionary says, “You guys have done such a great job of proclaiming the message of Christ to the neighbors I am not needed here.” I wonder if Paul could say that about you and your church family?  What message did they proclaim? This is a good question. I'm sure that no one taught "Evangelism Explosion"  or "Contagious Christianity"  or the "Walk Across the Room" curriculum to these believers. Their faith and enthusiasm meant they just shared what they knew. They knew they were sinners and that Jesus loved them enough to die for them and pay for their sins. They knew Jesus rose from the grave to conquer sin and death. They knew the freedom that they experienced in their heart. They knew the peace they had found in a relationship with Jesus. Could they quote five Bible verses? I would think not! Could they explain the theological issues of Calvinism, Armenianism, or the reformed teachings?  They could not! But they could testify! They could testify and proclaim the message effectively. 
 
SAVED TO SERVE

The sincere Christ-followers in Thessalonica did four important things that made their ministry effective. 
 
First, they turned to the one true God as their source of help and life. 
 
Secondly, they turned from idolatry. They left their past sinful life choices behind. Life change was evident to all who met this group. They did not try to live with one foot in the faith life and one foot in their sinful past. 
 
Thirdly, they believed Jesus was coming back and lived with a hope and zeal that let everyone know they were waiting for Him to come and rescue them from the wrath to come. 
 
Fourthly, the turned to God and served God. How they served him was to proclaim Him. They trumpeted the truth and message of Jesus to all the neighbors. This is exactly the Great Commandment and Great Commission lived out by this small but mighty church. 

"…how you turned to God from idols to serve a living and true God, and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, that is Jesus, who rescues us from the wrath to come."  — 1 Thessalonians 1:9-10 
 
HOW ABOUT YOU?
 
Are you proclaiming the message of grace to your neighbors? Are you telling those whom you can influence about what Jesus did for you? Sadly, in our American culture, we often sit quietly, even as Christ-followers, and hope that someone else will tell the Good News. What can you do to fire up your church to share the message? The best thing to do is start sharing your testimony and then let those in your church hear of your adventures. Reaching the lost with the message of grace is exhilarating. It is contagious. Once you get the ball rolling, the excitement will grow. But someone has to start. Pray now for God to give you divine appointments this week so you can share your testimony. Start the fire in your church so that it can be like the Thessalonian church. Small groups of believers can be very effective and mighty witnesses in the community. 
 
6.14 Ministries is designed to help small churches — and all churches — become more effective at reaching the lost and raising up a biblical community for the glory of God. We want to come alongside churches and encourage the leadership and core members to serve with joy.

If you're in need of such encouragement, renewal, or revitalization, please contact us at 614rebuild@gmail.com or visit our website and we can support or visit your ministry at no charge.  You can also follow us on Facebook at Facebook.com/614rebuild and on Twitter at Twitter.com/614rebuild.

Have you ever noticed when you are standing with a group of friends or associates talking and one person walks away, the rest of the group may often comment on that person? "She's a really good co-worker." "He's got a lot of problems at home." "She's not a morning person." The group will often comment behind our backs with some thoughts on how they view our character or behavior. So how can I get better ratings? Well, take a moment and consider what it means to be filled with God's Spirit and how it can help your reputation and ratings. 

A Little Background
 
I was raised in conservative, fundamental, evangelical churches (even though in all those years I had no real idea what any of those words meant). My mother's family was mostly holiness and full gospel. In my years of speaking in different venues I've encountered many forms of worship and many aspects of praise and celebration. Some of them I am more familiar with and more comfortable with than others. But I appreciate all forms of worship that are sincere and meant to bring glory to God. I remember the first time I was leading worship in a faith-based rehabilitation center and while singing and playing guitar a gentleman on the front row started a "praise train" and took a good group of worshippers with him on a trip around the chairs in the chapel. Not understanding exactly what was happening, I ended the song long before the worshippers were ready to end the train. They were still rolling down the tracks of joy and worship, stepping lively to the beat and I stopped the music! Awkward! We all have learning curves. In the body of Christ, we must be willing to dwell in unity through these differences. Country conservative boy was not "jiving" well with the holiness crowd. They had to be patient with me, and I had to be understanding of them.  
 
A Simple Truth
 
Following the Holy Spirit's leading can appear in many different ways for growing believers. The Bible is very clear that the Holy Spirit indwells all who truly believe on Jesus as the means of their salvation. If you are saved by the grace of God (Ephesians 2:8-10) then the Bible says you also have the Spirit of God dwelling in you (John 14:17; Romans 8:9; 1 Corinthians 3:16). This is not a controversial issue. This is simple and powerful truth. I have taught it many times. I believe and know the very Spirit of God lives within me. In fact each Sunday that I preach the word of God is great evidence of the Spirit's indwelling for me, since I am an introvert and prefer not to be the one everyone is looking to for instruction. The Scriptures teach us to walk by the Spirit (Galatians 5:16), to be taught by the Spirit (1 Corinthians 2:14) and to be led by the Spirit (Romans 8:9).

All of this I have woven into dozens of sermons. I have also taught on the passage of being "filled by the Spirit” from Ephesians 5:18-20. You remember this passage, the one that says you shouldn't get drunk. "Don't be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit, 19 singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, and making music to the Lord in your hearts. 20 And give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ." 

We emphasize lots of truth from this passage. We tell all the "good-ole-boys" in church this is why you shouldn't drink heavy every weekend. Some churches say that even partaking of wine is not acceptable based on this verse.  They struggle with Jesus making 3,000 cups of wine as His first miracle and Paul telling Timothy to take some wine for his aching stomach. 

At times we let these controversial and trite things blind us to what the passage is trying to offer as great life advice. As Christ followers, we are to live our lives filled with the Spirit of God. Some teachers equate filling of the Spirit with indwelling of the Spirit. This may be because they are afraid of being labeled something that does not align with their core denominational values. Regardless of the fears, the filling of Christ followers with the Spirit of God is important. 
 
A Closer Look 
 
But here the Apostle Paul is telling the true Christ followers in Ephesus, who already are indwelt by the Spirit of God to make a definitive effort to be "filled by the Holy Spirit." He knows the Ephesians believers are indwelt.  Indwelling and filling are different. If you are a Baptist, indwelling and filling are different. If you are a Pentecostal, indwelling and filling are different.  All Christians are indwelt by the Holy Spirit of God, but not all Christians are filled by Spirit of God.  In fact, many Christians never seek or try to be filled, they are satisfied with the indwelling. The indwelling gets you safely home to heaven. But don't you want more? Be sure you do not equate the filling as you would think of filling a container here. Many teachers use this "word picture" but it is not at all implied by the original text. The word filling used by Paul means "controlled by," as when someone intoxicated is controlled by the substance. The same word is used when Ananias in Acts 5 is "filled by Satan" or controlled by Satan and lies to spiritual leaders. 
 
Look closely at the text and you will see the results of the filling. There are four behaviors that happen when we are filled.  The Bible says we will be continually:

• speaking to others in spiritually uplifting ways (psalm, hymns, spiritual songs)
• singing with a light heart
• giving thanks - Always giving thanks for all things (for and in all things)
• submitting to one another in the fear of Christ

Do your co-workers describe you in any of these terms? Does your core family and extended family describe you as a light-hearted person? Do they see you as an uplifting person? Do they find you to be continually thankful? Does your family talk about you with these attributes as your most common behavior?  I know it’s a hard question. It’s something that, as Christ-followers, we must wrestle with in our daily lives. We need to grow up in all aspects as unto Christ and become more Christ like.
 
So, rather than be a Christian who speaks discouragingly, we should instead speak encouragingly to and about others. Rather than murmuring and carrying a heavy heart, we should sing to the Lord continually. Rather than complain about what we don't have, and demand or expect more, we should be continually expressing thanks. We should submit to others in our workplace and home rather than be combative or resistant or bossy! This is the filling of the Spirit of God ALIVE in us. And if you know your Scripture, it is also evidence of the fruit of the Spirit, which is Christ-like love. This would be the fifth behavior that is evidenced in someone being filled with the Spirit. The Spirit's filling will bring about the Spirit's fruit. My new friend, Dr. Tom Dooley (pathclearer.com), shared with me at breakfast recently that "manifesting any of the gifts of the Spirit or all of them must be accompanied by the fruit of the Spirit, which is love, or it is of no value in the work of the Kingdom.” May God help us all seek the filling and fruit of the Spirit in our daily lives. 
 
How do I get filled if I am indwelt? Here are some good verses to help you. 

• Ask for the filling: Luke 11:13
• Believe in the promises of the Holy Spirit's indwelling: Galatians 3:2
• Surrender yourself daily to God's will and service: Romans 12:1-2
• Obey the instructions of Jesus to enjoy the fullness of the Holy Spirit's work: Acts 5:32

 
For more study on this you can access the sermon audio library at Northside Bible Church and listen to "The Not So Secret, Secret to the Christian Life." You can also subscribe to Northside's podcast on iTunes. You can also listen to this message on Northside's BuzzSprout profile here.

Stay tuned to 6.14 Ministries at our official website 614ministries.org and be sure to like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

The Bible is filled with people who model how we should live out our faith in our daily lives. As a pastor, I am always looking for role models in the Scriptures. The classic Old Testament list includes Joseph, David, Elijah, Ruth, Nehemiah, and the donkey who saved Balaam the prophet's life. I am also a big fan of Ziba. I may not be able to achieve the spiritual strides of Joseph or Elijah, but the donkey gives me hope!  In the New Testament you have the core disciples, Paul the former bounty hunter, turned laser-focused missionary, and Timothy his spiritual son. And everyone who has heard me teach through Philippians knows I love Epaphroditus, the blue-collar super-star. 
 
We should thank the Lord weekly for giving us good examples to follow. I believe we should read their stories and their backstories to glean life lessons. Mary of Magdalene is one of those super role models for us to follow. For our Easter service at Northside, I highlighted her life and suggested she teaches us exactly how we should respond to the resurrection of Jesus Christ. 
 
Here are five lessons Mary of Magdalene taught me about my faith:
 
First: Be sure to accept your full freedom with joy. 

Consider that she was freed from her demonic oppression by the Lord Jesus. "Now after He had risen early on the first day of the week, He first appeared to Mary Magdalene, from whom He had cast out seven demons." (Mark 16:9) Her life with oppression would have been filled with suffering: emotional, psychological, physical, and mental agony.  At some point Jesus crossed her path, had great compassion on her and cleansed her of those demons. She accepted the freedom from her past and the Enemy of her soul and devoted her life to serving Jesus.

Second: Exercise your faith by following Jesus. 

Luke 8:1-3 records that Mary and other prominent women were with Jesus and the disciples and were contributing to their support out of their private means. Mary of Magdalene become one of his disciples. She dedicated herself to serving his purposes. I know a number of people who let Christ help them be free from sin and their past, only to continue living a lifestyle that did not serve the Lord or honor Him. Mary accepted her freedom and chose to become a devoted follower. Many new church models use the term "fully devoted followers of Christ" as part of their purpose statement. Mary exemplifies this purpose from the time she met Christ. 
 
Third: Be strong enough to identify with Jesus' suffering.

The Apostle Paul wrote that his highest priorities included knowing Christ with deep personal understanding, and to fellowship with his suffering, "becoming like Him in His death." (Philippians 3:10) Mary of Magdalene did exactly that. "Therefore the soldiers did these things. But there were standing by the cross of Jesus His mother, and His mother's sister, Mary the {wife} of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. " (John 19:25) There is great wisdom in this passage. The death of Christ is a powerful moment in any true Christ-follower's life. We do not need to skip over this moment in history or these passages. In fact, I contend that we need to regularly review the cross. My life verse is Galatians 6:14 which explains we should only boast in the cross.  Mary was willing to stand at the foot of the cross with Jesus and endure His suffering with Him. How can you identify with Jesus suffering? May I suggest we need to speak of Jesus openly in our culture as our Savior, Lord, Redeemer and Friend. In doing so, you will possibly incur some pushback and maybe some ridicule. Mary was willing to take all the ridicule at the foot of the real cross because she loved Jesus so much for paying for her sins. Why wouldn't we be willing to identify with Jesus' suffering by speaking of His grace, love and sacrifice? Tell somebody today about what Jesus did for you. 
 
Fourth: Support and serve Jesus with undeniable faith. 

Mary helped bury Jesus. Mary saw the hundreds of cuts, gashes, and wounds from the scourging Jesus endured. She saw the nail holes in his hands and feet. She saw the large deep wound in his side where a Roman soldier's spear pierced him under his ribs. She saw him placed in Joseph's tomb and knew the burial was rushed. It was not complete. So she got up before daylight on the first day of the week to go finish His burial preparations. Her devotion to Christ was so strong that she wanted to be there at the moment the sun broke over the horizon. By Jewish law she was not to be in the graveyard unless the sun was up. I picture her dressed and ready to go early, spices in her bag, standing at the edge of the graveyard waiting for the sunlight to peak over the horizon. The very second she sensed the sun on the graveyard, she rushed to Jesus' tomb. She was committed to Him even in His death. While all of the disciples would have been in shock as to the events of the trial and crucifixion of their Savior, Mary is serving. Surely she is confused and filled with questions about what happened and how did Jesus allow Himself to be executed. But she is there again, beside Him, wanting to serve.  Faith in God says we serve Jesus. If things go wrong we serve Jesus. If we don't understand, we serve Jesus. If we are confused, we serve Jesus. If we are afraid, we serve Jesus.  Even if we do not understand what is going on around us, we must serve Jesus. May God give us all the fortitude that Mary had to rush to the graveside of "her Lord" even in the confusion, and to serve Him.
 
Fifth: Choose to believe all the time, even when it seems dark and hopeless. 

John 20 records that even as Mary stood bitterly weeping outside the tomb, confused and troubled about Jesus' body missing, she told the angels, "They have taken away, my Lord!” She still declares Jesus as her Lord, even though in her mind He is a corpse on a slab in a tomb. This is a faith that is rich and deep. Mary did not stop serving, loving and honoring Jesus in all the darkness of His death and burial. This is troubling to her, but it did not change how she related to Jesus. Jesus was personal ("my") and Jesus was the "Lord" of her life. I wish when troubled times washed into our lives we could all declare Him Lord, even when He seems distant. Job understood how to do that! (Job 1:20-22) David many times in the Psalms made it clear that even when God was distant, He was enthroned and in charge. (Psalm 22:2-3) Even the donkey in Numbers 22 was willing to take a beating and trusted God's pathway. (Numbers 22:26-31) When you are in a dark place, choose to believe. Use Mary of Magdalene as your example and believe. Believe when it seems hopeless. Believe when it seems all is lost. Believe, not on hope or good things, but believe on Jesus and let your relationship with Him be your guide. 
 
It is my sincere belief that Jesus met first with Mary of Magdalene after His resurrection because she was last at his tomb and first at his graveside. Her faith was undeniable and darkness or doubt did not deter it from showing up as actions of love toward Jesus. May we love Jesus with the same passion and display this love to others in a fallen world. This world needs a lot more Mary Magdalenes who will model freedom from sin with faithful and fervent following. 

For further reflection on Mary Magdalene, you can check out part two of my Easter 2019 sermon series "As If" on Northside's sermon audio page or iTunes podcast. 
 
P.S. there is a great donkey story in the New Testament also...Just sayin'!
 
6.14 Ministries is dedicated to rescuing healthy churches and encouraging saints to keep serving faithfully. We welcome your prayers and support. Learn more about us, what we do, and how we do it by visiting 614ministries.org. 

It is Easter season for the family of God. This is the time of year that we consider to be the highlight of the Christian faith and one of the holiest and most wonderful seasons to celebrate our faith. It is indeed both painful and beautiful because it is a time that we celebrate Christ's death and His resurrection simultaneously. We call “good Friday” good, but it's when we remember that the Holy Son of God, sinless, perfectly loving, was brutally beaten and executed for my sins and your sins. But Sunday celebrates the resurrection and new life and eternal hope. With recent trends of our culture and society wanting to imply that the message of the Christian faith is antiquated at best and inappropriate at every level, we must declare the message of grace clearer than ever. Liberal and progressive thinkers shun the message of Jesus and His word like a country boy shaking fire ants from his boots. But most often I have found that the message of Jesus is not hard for them to accept. In fact, the real message of Christ is something most people are starving for if they would just search deep enough within themselves and not fear what they find.  
 
I propose that this Easter season, and the days to follow, we who know Christ need to talk as much about Him as we possibly can. We need to look for ways to share the message of grace and the hope of the gospel of Jesus Christ.  Here are four ways to talk about God in everyday conversations. 
 
#1. God is a Comforting God.  

We are in a society that is rapidly deteriorating into depression, fear, insecurity, and high anxiety. The suicide rates are climbing. February and March are months where suicides typically sore. Loneliness and emptiness are highest on the list of challenges facing many young people today. But God has promised to never leave us nor forsake us. (Hebrews 13:5) In 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 God teaches us He is the God of all comforts, who will comfort you in all your afflictions.
 
When I find someone lonely, empty, or afraid, it is easy for me to share with him or her that I have had such feelings. I share with them that in my personal experience when it seems like no one else can understand or even cares what is hurting my heart, God is there for me. God has been, is, and will be my comfort. I share it with great confidence. I know most of you reading this have had that same experience with God. Listen for people to express hurts or emptiness, anxiety or fears and then tell them about your experience with our comforting God.  (Below this blogpost we will give you some specific ways and times God has comforted hurting people.)
 
#2. God is a Giving God.   

God is the greatest giver of all times. I recently heard a fellow minister teach in a chapel at a rehabilitation center where I share that God made trees that produce fruit and plants that produce vegetables. You can simply pick your food from a plant or tree and eat. That is pretty cool when you think about it. He talked about how God made cows, chickens, deer and rabbits and how tasty they can be! Can I get an amen? As a deer hunter, I thought at least the cows and chickens are easy to catch! How good is God to us! James 1:17 says He is the Father of all good gifts. Every good thing you have is from God. I have a good Labrador retriever laying at my feet as I type, who was given to me by a great friend about 15 years ago. I love Dakota. She is a gift from God and my friend, Scott, to our family.  God made chocolate. How good is that! I have a great Ford F-150 pick-up with 340K miles on it. I affectionately call my truck "Shadow." (It’s a country boy thing to name your truck.) Shadow is a gift from God and has served many single moms, young families, widows and my family for 12 years now. The computer I use to create my blogs is a gift. My music that is playing now as I write is a gift.

My church family is a gift from God. I am blessed with many friends. Each is a gift from God. My wife and children are gifts from God. My first grandson, born just three weeks ago, is a gift from God. I have some amazing friends, really amazing close friends who I consider all special gifts from God. Drinking water, breathable air, soft beds, guitars, chocolate, traditional recurve bows, books, movies, chocolate, napkins, photographs, toilets and accompanying paper supplies, flowers, birds, sunsets, work opportunities, and chocolate — well you get the idea — these are all gifts!

Take time to be thankful, and you will be able to share with those who may struggle in the area of thankfulness. He is a generous and loving giver. Ephesians 1:3 says that God has blessed us with all spiritual blessings. 1 Peter 1 says that He has given us all we need for life and godliness. The greatest gift ever is Jesus. We read in John 3 that God so loved us He gave us His Son Jesus to save us from our sins. In Romans 8 we read that He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all — how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?  Please use this time of year to remind your co-workers and friends that God is a giving God. He is the best provider you will ever know. I hope and pray you can and will say that with conviction this Easter season. Also, anytime you are called on to pray for a meal you can say, “Thank you Lord for being the best provider ever and giving us Jesus Christ and the only means of our salvation.”

#3. God is a Creative God.

Have you ever really looked at a hippopotamus or an elephant or a crocodile? How about the zebra and the giraffe? You can see this truth in almost any area. Insects, stars, clouds, sky colors, people's taste in clothing, food, hairstyles, etc. The list is endless. God created this world with millions of colors and beauty beyond words. There is creative beauty in nature, music, art, in loving behavior, in children playing carefree without schedules and time frames. Our world is filled with creativity. You can start this conversation in a Walmart line. Just a few weeks ago at a long check-out line in a local gas station several people were talking about the new M&M flavor: jalapeno. Yep, you read that right! Just in case you have not heard, that is the recent new flavor!  Introvert that I am, I stood there for almost three minutes hoping the line would move. Then I remembered that years ago God whispered to me, "I put you in long, slow lines so you can talk about me!" Oh, yeah! Duh! So with a quick "Jesus help me" prayer, I blurted out, "Well as creative as M&M has become, they have long way to go to catch up on God's creativity and they are using all of God's ingredients!"

Certainly with all the "Pinterest" creativity out there, you can find a way to compliment a friend's decorum and highlight how wonderfully creative God is at the same time! God created mature wine from jugs of water in John 2.  He created stars so beautiful it made angels sing we are told in Job 38. Best of all, He created a way for lost, lonely and helpless sinners to go to heaven and live with Him forever. Now that's creative! 
 
#4. God loves the underdog.

If you know any Bible stories at all, you probably know at least one about an underdog that God blessed and helped. Young David, a shepherd boy, (“pizza delivery guy” as I like to call him; just a shout out to my camp friends) faced down a 9 foot tall, seasoned warrior with more battle scars than David had hairs on his chest, is a good underdog story. Gideon, the "fraidy cat" threshing wheat in a hole in the ground for fear of being seen by the Midianite terrorists, was an underdog. He questioned God several times, snuck around at night, and played "prove-it" games with God using a rug! God used him to become the warrior who helped defeat the Midianite army that held Israel captive for over seven years. How about Joseph, the favored son of the all-important Jacob? He was sold into slavery by his brothers, abandoned in jail, and forgotten. Later he was unjustly accused of sexual crimes against an official’s wife and put back into prison. Yet he became a great ruler who would save Egypt and Israel during a great famine. Let's not forget Rahab, the harlot of Jericho, who is listed in the lineage of Jesus Christ. Think of Joseph, the carpenter, who was privileged to care for the only, holy, begotten Son of God. Think of Zacchaeus, that tree-climbing little man, whom Jesus knew by name. Think of others such as Levi the tax-collector, Peter the fisherman with a rocky path to walk, or Paul, the violently aggressive bounty hunter turned super-missionary. God loves the underdogs. God loves redeeming and rescuing “unredeemable”.  

Somehow I think you have a personal story of an underdog season of your life when God showed up and showed off His grace in your weakness.  Most every Sunday that I speak somewhat coherently in our pulpit is one of those moments for me. It is when a country bumpkin, introverted, speech class dropout shares the Word of God and people are helped by the Spirit of God in that moment. 

So many people today feel unloved, unimportant, insecure, ashamed and afraid. In this Easter season you can brag about how God loves the unlovable. Jesus turned a raving demon-controlled man with no identity into a missionary in Luke 8.  He transformed an arrogant and bigoted Samaritan woman, with deep hollows in her heart, into a vibrant missionary in John 4. In everyday conversations you will hear people talking about underdogs. Maybe in the sports world they will mention the final four. (Auburn? Really?)  Maybe in the political realm an underdog candidate will be discussed.  Maybe a t-ball team or a student who graduated despite severe handicaps will be discussed, and you can inject how God loves serving the underdog. Take a shot and testify that He is a loving, gracious and caring God. 

Final note to my friends who are pastors: Please, please, please, lead the way in showing your church family how to share in everyday conversations. Tell a waitress, a gas clerk, a stranger asking directions something wonderful about God and let the adventure begin. Let's not miss the opportunity during this special season to share about the greatness of our God and His Son Jesus. 

If 6.14 Ministries can be of any service to you and/or your church, please feel free to email us at 614rebuild@gmail.com. We want to see your ministry thrive. You can also contact us through our website by clicking here.

Footnote: God comforts those with 

• Heartache—Luke 7:11-17 Widow’s only son
• Insecurities—Exodus 4:1, 10 Six times Lord spoke to Moses
• Fear–Joshua 1:6-9 Great responsibility
• Depression — 2 Timothy 4:6,10-16, 17-18
• Loneliness and fear—1 King 19:9-14 Elijah comforted by God v.19– companion found
• Great defeat—Lamentations 3:19-21 Great is thy Faithfulness God is faithful, we can have hope.

 

Meet Everett Lee Givens, my grandson! Annette and I and the family are thrilled with his arrival. As a new grandfather, I have hundreds of thoughts daily regarding Everett. Here's a sample:
 
I can’t wait to see:

• What kind of music you will fall in love with.
• What instrument you will play
• What hand you will throw ball with as we play together
• What your favorite color will be
• What songs you will love
• What Bible stories you like to tell
• What Bible stories will you like us to tell you
• Who your best friend will be
• What your spiritual gifts will be
• What your favorite books to read will be
• What your singing voice will sound like
• What will make you giggle uncontrollably 
• What silly jokes will you tell your grandparents
• What year Ford Mustang will be your favorite (it’s a family thing)
• What your heart becomes when God's grace consumes it.
• What you will name your first dog
• What stories of your mom and dad will you like best
• What your favorite movie will be
• Who your first “crush” will be
• What passions will drive your life to achieve excellence
• What mission work and mission field will touch your heart the deepest

​
​I have prayed for Everett for months before he was born, and I pray for him daily now. I believe God will use him mightily to serve the Kingdom of God. You are all invited to join me in those prayers, but I want to challenge you regarding prayers for your family. 
 
A friend of mine on the phone the other day was congratulating me on my first grandchild and reminded me that I had numerous spiritual grandchildren. I realized at that moment, I should pray for, hope in and long for my spiritual children and grandchildren to be strong in their faith. Do you think about your spiritual children often? Do you pray for your spiritual children to continue to lead others to Christ, so you have spiritual grandchildren? As Christ-followers and ministers, our spiritual family are the most important family we have. The heritage of our spiritual children can change the world. I realized I can pray ahead of time for my grandchildren. Are you praying for spiritual children and grandchildren?  Let's all pray with faith and work with diligently to raise a strong family of sincere and passionate Christ-followers.  What are you looking forward to learning about your spiritual grandchildren?

Excellence is a driving force for some of us as minsters. When we consider the holiness of God, the extremely detailed way that He instructed His temple and tabernacle to be built, and how it was designed to function, it's clear that He wanted us to practice excellence both in worship and in ministry. However, striving for excellence, and being excessive or compulsive toward all aspects of ministry, can be destructive. Allow me to give you some examples for reference. 

In my church, I am blessed with over a dozen volunteers. These men and women sacrifice a lot of time for our ministry and its goals. Some of them lead small groups, prepare incredible meals, work with our social media, plan events, and care for our building and grounds. If I were to micromanage any one of these areas, I would find things that could be done differently, or perhaps even "better." But it is not healthy to strive for so much excellence that relationships and passions are squelched in the process. It's easy to understand why someone designing graphics or picking music may want to quit if each week someone shows them a "better" way or a "better" song. While excellence is certainly important, allowing others to minster and serve the Lord with a zeal and an excitement of their own is also as equally as important. 

Sometimes it is an opinion-based critique that you must guard against sharing. For example, you may not particularly care for the color of the new youth room, or the decorations chosen for an updated lobby or conference room. But the color is most likely not an excellence issue, rather it is a preference. If a group of volunteers zealously took on a project to help update a room, then rejoice. Celebrate servant who are doing things to help your facility and your ministry needs. Don't miss the big picture that members of the body of Christ took some responsibility and applied themselves to do some work. 

Of course, there are indeed times when corrections and critiques are very necessary. My full name is Stanley, most often shortened to Stan, except by my father, who never once called me "Stan." So, when someone sends out an e-mail that reads: "Satan will be leading the board meeting tonight because our chairman is out of town," someone should step in and make corrections. Just so you know, texting doesn't always help to correct this because — according to the text sent out at my church  — "Santa" has apparently also been leading many of our meetings. 

To get from my office at the church to my house, there are about five good routes. I know which ones I think are best. But my wife and children often take other routes. I do not need to correct them in this or even chide them. I do not need to tell them that they're doing something wrong. They arrive at the same destination that I do every time. In fact, the way my wife goes is actually a few minutes quicker than the way I go. (Even though I know my route is best.) 

My point is that we have to let each other work and minister with grace and encouragement. Praise those who serve in your ministry. Resist the urge to micromanage every part of their work. Let them lead, learn, grow, and mature. Teach your co-leaders how to ask for input and welcome input. Teach them how to welcome criticism without giving up or quitting. But keep diligent to avoid micromanagement and micro-criticism. Encourage servants, enable co-laborers, and build up one another. (1 Thessalonians 5:14) 

Secondly, sometimes we allow excellence to push us into a complicated place. I've been guilty of creating complex programs, systems, or plans for our church (usually trying to adapt something that I learned from a mega-church that looked amazing). Recently I started trying to simplify the way that we do ministry. Bill Hybels' book "Simplify" was an eye-opener. We had events on our schedule that we did not need to be on the calendar. Who says we need to have a Homecoming Service every year? Lightening our calendar load frees up servant leaders and gives breathing room for other events that might be more productive. We are researching alternatives to traditional VBS. In the past, we've done weeklong VBS programs, which utterly exhausted our volunteers. The few Sundays following VBS, we have a lot of empty seats and pews because our team needed rest. So why not simply VBS? Could it become a three-day, two-day, or one-day event? Look at the overall picture of your committee/board/team meeting. In smaller churches, there are usually five to ten people who are in almost all of these meetings. How can you simplify them? Are they all necessary or could one meeting accomplish two or three team's responsibilities? Can some of the meetings themselves be simplified? Can group calls or video calls save team members an hour of travel? 

Thirdly, remember that God assembled a team of people at your church for you to encourage and develop as servants of Christ. We are to be equipping others for the work of the ministry, not exhausting them with activities. (Ephesians 4:11-13) Let young people learn how to minister. Give them opportunities to lead devotionals with prayer breakfasts, work days, and nursing homes. Teach them how to serve senior citizens by raking leaves or cleaning gutters at widows' homes. Give new believers opportunities to serve and to share their testimonies. At our church, we have a phrase that's started to catch on: "Every member is a missionary." That's biblical truth by the way. A serious Christ-follower is a missionary every day, all day, all the time. When we have "testimony time" in our worship services, it really should be like a "missions report" from our group of local missionaries. 

As ministers, we must equip with patience and practicality. At 6.14 Ministries, we long to help every size church, particularly the small ones, thrive in equipping their people and reaching their full ministry potential. I would be honored to pray for your leadership team and to talk with you if you're in need of some encouragement, revitalization, restructuring, or refreshing. Contact us at 614rebuild@gmail.com or visit our official website at 614ministries.org. 

Thanks for reading and please feel free to share this will fellow ministers, pastors, lay leaders, and church volunteers! 

There are two "nots" in the Bible that have continually challenged my years of ministry. Galatians 6:9 challenges us to not grow weary in well doing, and 2 Corinthians 4:16 challenges us to not lose heart. Having been in ministry for over 35 years I can say that numerous times I have become weary in ministry. In fact, a common response I hear from my fellow ministers when asked how they are doing is: "I'm tired."  So are we missing something about this verse? 

It is one thing to be tired "in our ministries." It is an entirely different thing to be tired "of ministry."  The verse says we are not to grow weary in "well doing." I have learned that to "not to grow weary in well doing" is different than being physically or emotionally tired. Paul was exhausted at times, but he kept up his ministry and his "well doing." I love doing ministry. I love teaching, shepherding, encouraging and helping. I can be physically exhausted and still teach. If I am emotionally worn down by counseling or serving and someone needs me to comfort or shepherd them, or disciple them, I love the opportunity. I can be diligent in "well doing" while I am tired.  

In 2 Corinthians 4, Paul writes we are not to "lose heart" in our ministry work. This phrase can literally be translated “we are not to give up”. In the next few verses Paul gives us some helpful instructions, a "how-to" guide so to speak, on not giving up. He actually teaches us how to renew our strength and our minds continually so that we do not grow weary in well doing. 

First, we are RENEWED when we contemplate the spiritual and eternal.

It is vital for our spiritual strength that we focus on the spiritual man. (2 Corinthians 4:17-18) If your spiritual man is growing stronger it will even help your physical man not be weary! Your spiritual man will strengthen your emotions. With all the hundreds of health plans on the web these days, this is a great health plan! Jesus told the woman at the well in John 4, if she would trust in him, she would have living water spring up inside of her. A spring inside her that would satisfy her very soul. How much healthier can you be? Remember that Jesus also teaches the soul is the most important thing you can care for, because there is no profit if a man loses his soul (Matthew 16:26).  Colossians 3:1-4 emphasizes this same idea. We must learn to set our affections on things above, not on things of this earth.  The direction and desire of your thinking need to be spiritual in nature; heavenward and heavenly.  Paul says in 2 Corinthians 4 that when we look at what we cannot see, we do not lose heart. How cool is that?  We must look with eyes of faith, we must look with eyes of hope and trust in a loving God who died to save us from our sins. There's a great "old" song and chorus we used to sing all the time when I was younger, and I still let our church sing it regularly, that says "Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in His wonderful face, and the things of earth will grow strangely dim, in the light of His glory and grace."  The opening verse of that song says, “O soul are you weary.” We will not become discouraged and wearied by long hard ministry days, fears and anxiety and trials, even when our outer man is decaying if we keep our focus on the spiritual man. Renew your inner self daily in the Word of God and prayer. 

Second, we are RENEWED when we confess our sins daily.  

David wrote in Psalm 51:10, “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.” Daily confession of sin renews our spiritual strength. 1 John 1:9 reminds us to "confess our sins daily and God who is faithful and just, will forgive us our sins and cleans us from all unrighteousness. The word confess in this context means to "say the same thing as" or literally to name your sins by name. Mature Christians do not go to God and say, "Father forgive me for I have sinned" and leave it at that. Mature followers of Christ understand we have a relationship with God and Jesus, and we must tell Jesus specifically what we have done wrong.  This kind of confession sounds like, "Lord please forgive me for using your name in vain today," "Lord I know I had anger in my heart today," "Lord I am struggling with doubting you today." We can list dozens of sins by names: lying, lust, bitterness, jealously, greed, selfishness, coveting, etc.  When we confess our known sins, the Scripture teaches us we are forgiven and cleansed from all unrighteousness. We are fully righteous when we practice healthy forgiveness. This is how we refresh our soul and renew a right spirit.  Do not neglect this great strengthening tool. 

Third, we are RENEWED when we commit our life to God daily. 

Look at Romans 12:1-2 which are very familiar verses for many of us. “Therefore, I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.” When, by God’s mercy, you present yourself daily to serve and worship God and you resist sin and the temptation of the world, you are renewed in your mind. One of my mentors, a 76 year-old, hard-working godly man, taught me to do this daily. Jack's morning prayer routine includes these verses as he presents himself to God each day to serve Him. Although he still works to maintain a small lawn service, he is in 10-14 nursing homes and several rehab centers a month building relationships, discipling men for Christ and loving the "least of these." In his spare moments he writes inspirational books about God's peace, and prayer, and the Cross of Christ. Oh, that God would give us more men like him, fully surrendered, and willing to serve with all their days. 

Fourth, we are RENEWED when we confirm our faith with truth.  

Lamentations 3:19-26 says, “Remember my affliction and my wandering, the wormwood and bitterness. Surely my soul remembers and is bowed down within me. This I recall to my mind, therefore I have hope. The Lord's lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, For His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness. "The Lord is my portion," says my soul, "Therefore I have hope in Him." The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the person who seeks Him.  It is good that he waits silently for the salvation of the Lord.”  
When we sing, say, write, teach, share and speak the truth about God we renew our spirit. Look how many times in the Psalms the writer was despairing of trials, defeat, enemies, unfair circumstances, or pain and then spoke of the lovingkindness and mercy of God.  If you really want to refresh a tired spirit, write in a journal four or five sentences that declare truths about the God you know and love.  Speaking truth into the light always makes the darkness run. Once you start, it’s hard to stop! Speak and declare truths out loud when you are discouraged. God's Word will not return void; it will bless you. 

Conclusion

You can be tired when you minister. In fact, if you are a minister and not tired, something is wrong, or you need to be writing to me and telling me know how you do it.  But there is a difference in being tired from ministry and being tired of ministry. Let's all agree to refresh our spiritual man and keep our souls strong in faith so that we can effectively minister. I want to encourage fellow ministers, full time, bi-vocational and and lay-ministers to hold one another accountable to these Scriptural guidelines. If you know some who are weary, check on them. Ask them some good questions regarding their inner strength. At 6.14 Ministries we long to see ministers thrive and serve others with joy. Feel free to reach out to us at 614rebuild@gmail.com for prayer, support, encouragement, or help. We would be happy to visit with you. 

When I was 19 years old I preached my first sermon in my home church, Northside Bible Church. This is the same church at which I have served as lead pastor for the past 18 years. With my knees literally knocking, I preached from 1 Corinthians 2:14-3:3 and titled the sermon "The Four Classes of Men." The sermon was based on a doctrine class which I had attended during my first year at Southeastern Bible college. I learned from Dr. Alden Gannett that the text describes four types of men on earth: the natural man, the spiritual man, the carnal man and the baby Christian. The natural man is un-spiritual and disconnected from God's Spirit and God's truth. The spiritually mature man is described as one who discerns spiritual truths with help from the Holy Spirit. The carnal Christian is described as one who lives like the natural man despite the fact that he has the indwelling Spirit. Apparently the carnal man does not listen to the Spirit, but instead listens to his flesh.

Then there is the baby Christian, or "babes" as the Apostle refers to them. Paul has helped plant the Corinthian Church and spent a year and half teaching and ministering there. About two years later he wrote a letter back to those same Corinthian believers, all of who would be young converts and scolded them for being immature. Paul explained that he should be able to write to them as spiritual and mature, but instead (and he is not happy about this) he has to feed them milk like babies. When I was a kid on the playground at my elementary school, one of the biggest insults you could throw out verbally was, "Big baby!" 
 
If you do really conservative math, Paul expected the believers at Corinth to be mature within two or three years. Here is a big important ministry question: How long do you think our churches in America take to "mature" a believer?  My answer is "way too long!" In fact, for over 38 years of ministry I have worked with some really old "babies" in my church experience who have never matured and have no desire to do so.  

One of my greatest mentors in my last several years, Robert E. Cochran, who is with the Lord today, used to teach a retired men's class. Several times he, much like Paul, would bemoan the level of immaturity that he found in men who claimed to know Christ for 30-50 years of their life. He used to jest with me that "it is annoying to have to move their whiskers out of the way to give them a milk-bottle for the Sunday school lesson." 

So let's get real for a few minutes. Francis Chan reports from the churches in China that the youth are praying for mission opportunities in their own country that may actually cause them to be imprisoned or martyred. (Letters to the Church, Francis Chan). If you are a pastor, let's get serious about putting our church members into service roles. Why shouldn't they be serving if they are two years old in their faith?  In fact, I would argue that Jesus put His converts into ministry roles almost immediately. The Samaritan woman at the well in John 4 went from being an immoral, bigoted rude woman to a missionary to her whole town in the course of an afternoon. The blind man in John 9, who was likely uneducated, was witnessing for Jesus among Pharisaical lawyers the same afternoon after He had met the Messiah. The chain-breaking, crazed Gadarene man with no real identity because he was filled with many evil spirits, was commissioned by Jesus that same afternoon to "go tell his family." He went to nearby towns and witnessed like crazy! 

So why do we wait so long to let people serve or testify? Is it our professional training that makes us want to professionally train new converts? Is it our prideful desire to protect them by giving them insight from our years of experience? Is it our thought that "we've never done it that way before?" Whatever the deal, let’s look at the New Testament examples, and let’s get to work putting our church members to service.
 
THREE STEPS TO GET BABIES GROWING: 
 
STEP 1: I would recommend every believer be taught how to share a simple 3-4 sentence testimony. At our church we call it our "elevator testimony" which means you can share it quickly. We use this in our membership class and it is fun, fast and effective. It’s meant to intrigue, not teach theology. It is so simple even a cave man can do it because the blind man in John 9 did it. My staff at 614ministries.org will gladly send you a pdf or a Word document outlining the three easy steps to train Christ-followers how to share their elevator testimony. Reach out to us at 614rebuild@gmail.com and request the elevator testimony steps. 
 
STEP 2: Make sure every believer finds something at church that they can do for the church. Tell them to develop some courage and "just do it!" Serving is what I call “miracle grow” for believers. When they begin to serve in the various ministries of your church, they feel compelled to read their daily devotions more faithfully, to listen to your teaching more intently, and to study verses they have previously ignored. Some begin praying more. Some begin to share their testimony more often. Find ways for young Christians to join with you as you do nursing home visits, hospital visits, community events. Make sure they are helping serve juice for the youth or helping clean up before and after an event while connecting with the other mature believers who are serving. Serving is everyone's calling from God (Romans 12:1-2). Let's get those babies serving. 
 
STEP 3: Remind the believers they are to be maturing as missionaries. Every true Christ-follower is a missionary. Each believer who professes a love for Christ at your church should consider themselves bi-vocational missionaries. Missionaries have pictures of friends and groups they are ministering to each week. Missionaries have stories of how God is working through them and in them. Can your average church member share stories and give a good "missionary slide show?" I believe we are all suppose to able to do that! I believe instead of making excuses as to why we don't do that, we need to get busy fixing the issues. Challenge the young believers to find someone in the church they admire in the faith and attach themselves to that person. Help them find a healthy mentor. Young missionaries need older missionaries to train them up.  Encourage your young believers that you are looking forward to hearing their stories from their future mission work and even from the training they are receiving. 
 
At 6.14 Ministries we are committed to helping community church leaders be strengthened and encouraged for effective ministry. In the next 10 years it is estimated that 300,000 churches may close and/or become ineffective. We want to see struggling churches renewed in their mission and passion. Find out more at 614ministries.org. 
 
Like us on FB at facebook.com/614rebuild and follow us on Twitter @614rebuild.
 
Please stay tuned to this blog as well. Your comments are most welcome!

Here's a short list of things you can do to help support the ministry of your church and your pastor. I would suggest these are things your pastor will never ask you to do, but would love for you to do. I know you think that he wants you to tithe more, show up on time to every service, and get a haircut (smile). But those are not the best ways for you to support him. (Side note: Please tithe more and show up on time.)

1. Ask him what you can do to support or help this week and then keep on asking.   

The skeptical nature we pastors tend to have, combined with the accumulated years of experience when people ask and do not follow through, means we will likely blow you off the first time you ask and say "Um, just pray for me." In truth, while this is important, you should pray for him anyway, EVERY WEEK! EVERY DAY! What he really needs is friends who sincerely seek to help him in his ministry task. Can you come by the office and join him in a hospital visit or a home visit? Can you make the hospital visit for him? Can you make some calls and organize a group he needs to gather — maybe a work crew or people for a specific meeting? Can you go pick up something for the church: groceries, paper goods, bookstore supplies that somehow ends up on his ever-growing to-do list? By the way when you first ask to help, he will likely not have a clue how you can help and you may need some smelling salts to revive him when he faints. But persistence will help him to understand your sincerity. 

2. Find ways to care for and minister to his family. 

One of the greatest gifts you can give your pastor is to befriend every member of his family. Do not assume the youth workers or children’s workers are doing this important task. Get to know them all, learn their likes and dislikes, and their needs. I think this is likely what Paul means by “double honor” in 1 Timothy 5:17. Honor his family. If his children are young, babysit for them. Give the pastor and his wife some "together time." Some days you could call and ask if you could pick up the kids from school or take them to ball practice. There were many times I had to go get my kids from school and get them to practices, work, or home and still had to make a hospital visit or meeting. Just someone to occasionally help with the crazy transportation can be a big bonus. If your kids go to the same school as his kids, it is even easier to assist him with transportation. Make sure each of the pastor's kids are well loved at the church. I believe it is vital to the health of the spiritual leader at your church and therefore vital to overall church health that the pastor's family is well loved by the church. Men of the church need to know the boys in the pastor's home. What sports do they like? What are their interests and hobbies? Can you help support them academically? Likewise the ladies of the church need to connect with the pastor's daughters. What are their interests and hobbies? Could you take them for a girls’ day out?  If the children are older, it is still important that they are well loved and cared for by the church family. Help them through every stage of life. If you want your pastor to feel connected and lead well, and keep the church stable, support his family. He will never want to go. 

3. Tell your pastor things you like about the church. 

Good pastors love the local church. Their love for the church is very strong!  So complimenting the church builds up the pastor’s hope and faith that God's work is going forth. Compliment the good things that are going on at your church. If you experience good friendships there, make it known to your pastor that it is a safe place to find friends. If you experience genuine love there, let him know. If you are growing in your understanding of who God is and who you are, praise the Lord and tell your pastor. If you are learning to serve others and not think so much about yourself, let him know. Most pastors do not need a personal compliment to drive them through a month, but complimenting the work of God he is leading, can go a long way to encouraging his heart. And remember, the pastor hears a lot, repeat... a lot of negative criticism. It goes with the work of the ministry and he knows that. But one of the healthiest things you can do for the whole church is to compliment the work of the Lord. 

4. Be sure the leaders are monitoring his off-days and vacations. 

Most every pastor I know is a true work-a-holic. "Hi, I'm Stan, and I am a work-a-holic." It's the truth. Most pastors cram 60-70 hours of church work into their week and give the leftovers to family. The pastor's "day off" is a mythological day, one which usually only happens in conjunction with the flu or, in my case, the shingles. Many churches are not good at watching out for the pastor's overly busy schedule. How many meetings in one week do you expect him to attend? Did he take a morning off if he attended a meeting that went late the night before? Does he have a regular time he can get away for personal refreshment? How does he recharge his batteries? If you are a deacon, elder or on a leadership team, be sure someone has the task of monitoring his work schedule. If you are not, read this section to a trusted lay leader at your church and ask him to help. This may save the leaders from dealing with a burned-out pastor. And, let’s be honest, who really wants to deal with a burned-out pastor?

5. Be sure his financial bases are covered.

This one is very sensitive, so tread lightly. Let a trusted friend who is the pastor's accountability partner keep you informed if the pastor has needs that he is not sharing. But, to the best of your ability, be sure that his needs are being covered to the point that he has security with your church family. Just checking the condition of the tires on his vehicle can send the message that he is valued. If they are in need of replacement, ask him if he has the necessary funds. If he does not have the funds, help by donating or find someone who can. What about his furniture? What is the condition of his couch at home? Does his mower work well? There’s nothing more stressful than not being able to start a mower in the intense heat of the summer! It’s enough to make a preacher….well, you get the idea!  And what about those "vacations" he should take? Can he afford an occasional trip out of town with good restaurants and good hotels?  

At 6.14 Ministries we are committed to helping church leaders and lay leaders serve one another well and serve the community. If your church could use some encouragement or help, please contact us at 614rebuild@gmail.com and visit our site at 614ministries.org for more information. If you leave a phone number, we will return your call or you can leave us an e-mail address. We want all church workers to be encouraged and to pursue the work God has called them to with diligence and enthusiasm. We would love to hear from you!

I am writing this to all my ministry friends, full time pastors, part time pastors, bi-vocational pastors, volunteer ministry staffers and good hard- working church members. Some weeks of ministry are much harder than others. Some months of ministry are much longer and harder than others. We can often glamorize ministry in our minds, and when we gather around with other fellow ministers we can walk with our heads held high, but there are days (usually every Monday) when a part time job at the local fast food establishment seems like a good idea... no a great idea. (I picture myself being great at sweeping and cleaning a fast food dining room.) Some of you have been at the same ministry post for years, faithfully serving, sowing seeds of truth, casting divinely envisioned visions, loving unlovable people, discipling men for countless hours and the fruit from your "field" has yet to be harvested. Sometimes great families feel "led" to leave the church. Someone decides your preaching style is just too "quiet" or too "loud." Over the years, I've been told I'm not funny enough and I've been told I spend too much time being funny. Someone doesn't like the way the music minister sings. Someone else thinks the youth pastor wears inappropriate clothes or makes inappropriate posts on Facebook. Someone else thinks your church family is great and you are a great leader, but his job calls him away.  Someone doesn't like the way you pray. One church member or family thinks you are caring too much for another family and neglecting them. Someone in your church family thinks you spend too much time studying to preach, while another thinks you don't spend enough time studying and preparing. Ministry is just plain hard. God has entrusted you and I with caring for his people and some days, some months, some years are just really difficult. 

The good news is the great Apostle Paul, mighty church planter, had the same kind of days and months.  In truth much of his "fruit" was after he was either in prison or dead.  Consider this great insight into how his year of ministry was going. 

"I am talking like a madman—with far greater labors, far more imprisonments, with countless beatings, and often near death. 24 Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. 25 Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea; 26 on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers; 27  in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. 28 And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches. 29  Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to fall, and I am not indignant? 30  If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness." — 2 Corinthians  11:23-29 ESV

My lists would not include physical lashing, but ooohhh the tongue lashings. I have not been shipwrecked or stoned. I do identify with the sleepless nights and there was that time my board allowed me to go to jail for the church, which is a story for another blog post.  (For now, let's just say there is a reason I am known as "chainsaw" at summer camp!) Then after Paul lists all these difficult physical things, he says "there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches." That one I get! Daily pressure - YES!  Anxiety for the church body - YES!  Who is weak? YES, Paul, I am weak. Who is made to fall? YES! YES! YES! So Paul did not have a glamorous ministry either at times. It helps me to remember Paul's list. Maybe you need to re-read it as well! 
Here are a few other ways to get through the discouraging seasons.