From the pen of Brother Brett Clayton, I asked some of my Pastor, Missionary, Evangelist, and preacher friends about 20 Things You Know Now That You Wish You Knew When You Entered Into The Ministry, here is the list.
1. Don’t seek to please people – it is impossible to please everyone. Seek to please the Lord.
2. Take better notes – when you go to Pastor conferences, Pastor school, mission conferences, revival, campmeeting, or etc. Take notes. Don’t rely on your memory. You Remember 100% more of what you write down.
3. Maintain a Personal Devotion Life – The only time 70% of pastor’s read there bible is for a sermon. Don’t starve yourself Spiritually. You may be giving out more than you take in and you will go in the negative.
4. Don’t neglect the family – Don’t devout so much time to the ministry that you don’t have time for your family. A wise preacher friend said, Remember it ought to be “God-Family-Ministry.”
5. Take advantage of where you are – often times we pray for places to preach instead of people to minister to. Some of the greatest messages aren’t preached in the pulpit, but amongst the people.
6. For/With – many of us are guilty of substituting the we do FOR the Lord for a real relationship WITH the Lord. I have found that when my relationship with the Lord is tight, the other stuff finds its rightful order and place.
7. I don’t know – as a preacher, we often want to have “all” the right answers. It’s ok to say I DON’T KNOW.
8. It’s not all about me – it’s ALL about Him!
9. Its All about HIM! I wish I had known it wasn’t about me at all. It’s ALL about Him. I’m afraid we have a lot of manufactured results instead of genuine faith, because many times we leave the Holy Spirit out of the equation. Emotions can be easily stirred, but faith comes when the Holy Spirit draws a person to Jesus Christ.
10. Ask for help – every leader is different. Some will volunteer, others may not. Don’t assume someone will “show you the ropes.”
11. Learn to hear Gods voice. There are so many other distractions that sometimes it’s hard to discern what is Truth especially in a particular moment. There will be a time when tough decisions will have to be made and that’s when it will matter most. This only comes by an intimate study and knowledge of God and His Word.
12. Beware of friendly fire – some of The people that praise you the most, shout the loudest and jump the highest; will be first in line to stab you in the back. Ouch!!!
13. Humility – find it & keep it.
14. Pray – pray about everything. Keep a faithful prayer life.
15. Let your Motives be right and pure – I wish I would have understood 1st Corinthians 3:10-15 better. I did learn it early, but my motive for ministry has not always been pure. Sometimes I wanted to sing better, or preach better than the other person, to get, “ahead,” in the ministry. The Bible says, you’ll loose your rewards, and give an account for the sort of work we have done for the LORD. We can do the right thing, at the right time, the right way, and at the right place and do it with WRONG MOTIVES, and we will loose our rewards.
16. Listen – To talk less and to listen more.
17. Take risk – just me typing that was difficult lol. Take the risk and empower your people! Let them try! The leaders will rise up and they often will be the ones you never imagined!
18. Application – preach against sin, but also show them how to overcome it!
19. Love more – love more and stop trying to be the Holy Spirit
20. Balance – one of the most important parts of ministry. Have balance in your reading, prayer, devotion, and service life. Then have balance with work and your family. Remember ministry is not the enemy. You don’t want to win the world and lose your family.
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