CHURCH
... her primary purpose!
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Who can tell me the purpose of the church, and the ministry?
I have to ask this because recently I have become aware that in many denominations we have turned our churches away from "teaching and raising up the saints for ministry" and into more or less a "service center", or a "ministry of helps".
Our mission trips and our retreats have become "work farms" where we take our youth and go out and build, and clean up, and work in the community. While this is a worthy task, it is not at all the primary purpose of our churches! Have we so quickly forgotten the command of Jesus?
In Ephesians 4:11 Paul tells us of the 5-fold ministry offices and why they were put into place. He says they are "for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ." He goes on to tell us in verse 14 that we are to be "no more children" tossed to and fro by various teachings and doctrines, but we are to "grow up" into Him in all things!
He teaches here that the Body of Christ (the Church) is to become fitly joined together, working well together. He says we are to abandon the ways of the Gentiles (the non-Christians) and are to walk with a renewed spirit in the faith of God.
We often think that because Jesus fed the hungry, and healed the sick, that this was why He was sent. The fact is that healing the sick or feeding the hungry is a temporary fix, at best! Jesus used these to meet the needs of the people so that He could "get their attention"! If you heal a man, or feed him, or pay off his bills, YOU HAVE GOT HIS ATTENTION!
Somewhere in the process, we have become so focused on the feeding and the healing and the caring for others that we forgot the whole purpose of those was to "get their attention" so that we can "teach them"! In every event where you see Jesus healing the sick, He was also preaching and teaching to them! And I assure you "THAT" was His primary goal! For if you teach them and you get them saved, "they" can carry on the healing and the feeding and the caring for others ... so that they too can preach the word!
So, in your church plannings, and in your missions, don't get so focused on helping others that you forget your "primary purpose". We, the "Church", are here to prepare the saints for the work of the ministry! We are here to "preach the gospel ... to the World"!
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CampfireTALK is our weekly e-newsletter, speaking life into your heart, with stories, a word from our affiliate ministries, and a devotion from pastor Rich. It's a source for you to feed your spirit, to challenge your faith and to build you up!
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 WORD CHURCH is a church, a ministry, and a fellowship, even an outreach, where like in the days of the Apostles and Acts, the people joined together! Our vision and our goal, is to bring churches together in the unity of the faith, to help them to begin to bring together the gifts and talents of each separate church, and to share those gifts and talents with each other, that we may be better and more effective in teaching and training the Body of Christ, for the word of the ministry, to tell the World about Jesus! .... Learn More |
A KEY ELEMENT IN LEADERSHIP
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 I've been in ministry for many many years, and have worked at just about every position in the church, from usher, to greeter, to sound department guy, praise & worship leader, intercessory prayer leader, and even pastor! In fact, God instructed me to work in these positions to get that experience, knowing that I would need it in the future. Suffice it to say, I have served in many many roles in the ministry, and there's a few things along the way that Holy Spirit has taught me that I want to share with you today. Over the years I have noticed that there are two types of people in leadership in the Body of Christ, working in ministry. There are those that work for God, and have grasped His heart and purpose, and there are those who proceed under law and practice, procedure and policy. And while the latter is good to have, I find without the first we can often bypass what God has intended without realizing it, in our zeal to make things work proper and in order. Example: I knew a guy in ministry who messed up in his life. He made a mistake. It was not a tragic mistake, but it was a "bump" in his walk, and it set him back a bit. Others working with me wanted to demote him, and to ask him to "step down" from his position. And while that seemed like the proper thing to do, I sought the Lord's "heart" on this matter. I was, at the time, rather surprised to find that Holy Spirit leaned more towards the forgiveness side than towards the administrative protocol that we were all considering. God's words to me, "Rich, I sent Jesus to die on mankind's behalf to wipe away his sin and to make provision for the failures and falls that he would make in life. While his spirit is born-again, his flesh is still being renewed, and trained, and I want to encourage him and build him up ... not punish him. That punishment has already been paid for ... at Calvary." I will never forget those words! God was more willing to forgive and move on, than we were, in all of the glory of our administrative stance and protocol. And since that time, I have noticed that all-too-often, we take "common business practices" and we put them into our ministries, as a method to follow. Now Holy Spirit is all about a man's character and his integrity, but He is NOT about the demoting and punishing of man who made a mistake ... not if he has a truly repentant heart. King David, for example ... He actually committed adultery with a man's wife, and then had the man murdered to cover it up! Now God didn't ignore the sin, but addressed it directly. But you will notice He did not publicly shame David, or ask him to step down from his role as King? No, God sent the prophet Nathan to address this with the King at a time when he had him in private audience ... not during the business day in court! He preserved his honor, and his position, and as David was truly repentant, God preserved him. Now his sin still had consequences, but these were not things that God put into place. The things that followed were the result of David's actions ... the "open door" that was created by David's sin. But God preserved him, and kept him. Today, I want you to remember ... we can come up with all of our rules and our protocol, our policies and our practices, but when it's all said and done, please ... please make sure that your heart is following God's heart in a matter. God, you see, is very willing and ready to forgive a man (or woman) a whole lot faster than most of us seem to be. We have to embrace God's mindset, and God's way of thinking. We need to "have the mind of Christ" in us! The Old Testament was all about "law and order", bringing with it judgement and justice. But the New Testament is all about love, and forgiveness, about restoration and deliverance. As John 3:17 puts it so well, "God did not send Jesus into the world to judge and condemn the world, but that through Him the World might be saved!" Forgiveness. Restoration. Remember these! The Bible calls a pastor an "exhorter", or "one who 'lifts others up' towards greatness". The job of a pastor, or any leader in ministry, is to "lift up", to "exhort"! We are to build up and encourage others, forgiving them along the way, correcting them when needed, and helping them in the wonderful excellence that God has created them to perform here in the Earth! God only knows where I'd be if every time I messed up, God was right there to slap me down! I'm not perfect, folks! My friends and those who know me personally will tell you this! But if God demoted me and cast me aside every time I messed up, I would NOT be gaining ground and moving forward ... I'd be down on 6th Street and in desperate need of prayer! But God does forgive! And He does lift you up, and encourage you! And if I could teach you anything about ministry ... "THAT" is what you need to grasp! We are not perfect! We are not saved by our works, but we press-in to God, so that He can lift us up, encourage us and establish us ... so that we may "glorify Him" with our good works! THIS is what the Bible is talking about when it says to "judge not"! We are to give folks the benefit-of-the-doubt. We are to look for the best, and not analyze them through a magnifying glass. Folks need someone to "believe" in them, to trust them and give them hope! If you have questions, ask Holy Spirit! He knows the inside of a man (or woman) better than anyone else could ever hope to! But trust, believe in, and pray for these folks that God has placed you over. Encourage them, love on them, and learn to be a "lifter of men"! Make me proud! -pastor rich-
Get ON-TRACK with HIS Plan ...
1. Be holy - the Bible calls us a "Holy Temple", where the Spirit of GOD lives. the Spirit of GOD lives in your heart! And to keep it holy, we must confess our sin when we sin (1 John 1:9). "
If we confess our sins, HE is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleans us from all unrighteousness." In order to remain holy and clean, before GOD, we must avoid sin, and when we do sin, we must confess those sins before GOD, so that we can be made clean again.2. Study the Word - Jesus said in John 8:31-32, "If you continue in My word, then are you truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free." Folks, rare is the time you will ever see someone skip eating for the day, let alone days upon end. But we do that all the time spiritually. The Word of GOD is food for our spiritual bodies! We need that spiritual food, for spiritual energy, and for the faith that we need ... to live the life that GOD has called us to live, here in the Earth. When we study and meditate the Word of God, our spirit man grows strong, in much the same way as a battery is charged! (Romans 10:17) But when we do NOT study the Word, our spiritual battery begins to run down, and the natural man begins to surface. We act more like our "old self" than like the renewed man that GOD created us to be. In other words, the "flesh" wins out. 3. Pray in the Holy Spirit - Paul teaches us that we are to pray in the Holy Spirit. "But you, beloved, build yourselves up [founded] on your most holy faith [make progress, rise like an edifice higher and higher], praying in the spirit." [Jude 1:20 - AMP] Our supernatural energy, our faith, is charged and built up when we spend time in the presence of GOD, and when we "pray in the Holy Spirit". We are told in Ephesians 6 to "be strong in the Lord, and in the power of HIS might", putting on the whole armor of GOD. We cannot be strong if we do not spend time in GOD's presence, and in supernatural prayer! ALWAYS REMEMBER THIS:
"This is YOUR day ... YOU control it, how it goes, how you deal with the obstacles that come, and how you finish it! Master it! And don't let the day, or the little bumps that come with it determine how "YOUR DAY" is going to be. This is "YOUR" day!" Master it! Conquer it! MAKE IT ... what your Father wants it to be!-pastor rich-
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