What Have I Learned in Thirty Years of Ministry?
Posted: Wednesday, September 10, 2008
by Jack Hager
http://midlandjack.blogspot.com
Three decades ago I was in Bible school. At the same time I began working with a large youth ministry. Thus for thirty years (what is such a young guy doing in such an old body?) I have been vocationally involved in ministry. God has opened doors for school assembly programs, prison and jail work, speaking to scores of civic agencies and service clubs, hundreds of churches, and a wide variety of other speaking venues.
The Word of God does the work of God
People are much, much more important than programs
"New" rarely is synonymous with "better"
Worship is a matter of the heart, not posture or posturing
When someone says, "I don't want to gossip; I just want you to pray about something," insert something in your ears
Most committees take minutes and waste hours
When youth workers say the teens are bored with something, it usually means the youth workers are bored, not the kids
If we don't encourage people to think, we are not discipling, we're merely creating more religious groupies
Musical styles are not worth discussing, mucess fighting over (lyrics may be)
It is possible to have a Christian meeting without food (or an invitation)
Non-Christians expect more of Christians than Christians do
A walk talks, and a talk talks, but a walk talks louder than a talk talks
Ministry happens
It is easy to spend so much time "earning the right to be heard" that you never say anything
Acts records that Peter preached to "a gathering of about one hundred and twenty," Acts 19:7 says Paul laid his hands on "about twelve men," thus evidencing the Holy Spirit's concern with numbers
Most evangelicals will sign petitions to get the Ten Commandments back in school though most of them could not list the Ten
Neither teens nor adults can spiritually live on periodic "big" events
Only God can convince someone that their perceived "conviction" is, in fact, a personal preference
The often-voiced arguments against rock music are nothing but the parroting of closet racism
If you verbalize a strong view of anything you will be labeled narrow-minded and opinionated
If it hurts you to confront, you are probably okay; if you eagerly anticipate it, forget it
God's Word is always relative
Youth speakers are less than a dime a dozen; speaker that will hang out with the kids between pulpit times are a rarer breed
Other than people, time is the only irreplaceable commodity
Never preach above your experience
Don't let what you don't know mess up what you do know
It's dangerous to use personal pronouns while referring to the ministry you serve
A real danger for the disciple of Christ is making the Bible, witnessing, worship, or ministry an idol
Aggressive listening is demanded from the speaker as well as from the audience
Never tell counselee that they are saved. That is the ministry of the Holy Spirit
Never tell a teen that he or she is "the church of the future." They are the church of today
It is high time for the Body of Christ to quit messing with the scaffolding and spend more time strengthening the foundation.
Nothing drastic or profound in the above, but they are some observations made not in a textbook but in the reality of life. Very often people ask me what my favorite verse is, and my primary response is Deuteronomy 29:29. Look it up, as it sums up rather handily my view on life.
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Top-level comments on this article: (3 total)Hi Jack,I have experienced some of these noted comments. Excellent article and I love how the Lord has used your life as a witness to Him. God bless always,
Great article, Jack. Wise words of wisdom, indeed.Thanks so much for sharing them with us all.Sandra
Oh, by the way, Jack. I forgot to welcome you to searchwarp.Sandra
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