When I talk to my ministry volunteers one of the things I try to communicate is the need for consistency.  If there is one thing that everyone hates it is the unknown.  When you commit to do something you had better see it through until the end if you start a program you MUST let it play out. Anything less will be seen as flakiness especially if you back out numerous times.

I can remember, when i was interning, youth would come to me and complain about not ever knowing what was going on because we would start new programs or classes all the time only to cancel them due to poor participation or a leader backing out. But by canceling the class we were establishing a reputation of inconsistency and like so much else in their life we were just another disappointment to the students.

If we are to reach a lost generation we must gain their respect and trust and to do that we must be consistent in all that we do. As the old saying goes “say what ya mean and mean what ya say”

NEXT UP- Future

Evangelism, say this word to some church members and they immediately think of Billy Graham. Too many people believe that they have no role in evangelism.  A big part of the ministry I try to do is reaching out drawing people who have never had an encounter with Christ. BTW that is my definition of evangelism.

Churches today seem to be satisfied with growth. I take a closer look at growth. Sure you may have had 100 people join the church this year  but if only 5 or 10 of those were salvations then all you have accomplished is being more appealing than that church across town.  recycling church members does little for the Kingdom of God. There are those rare occasions when changing churches sparks something inside someone to do more for God but again that is rare.  Normally these recycled church members wind up running away at the first sign of something they don’t like.

I have heard pastors say that they prefer to emphasize discipleship over evangelism. But in my mind we disciple people TO evangelize. Evangelism is the end game going and spreading the word to those who haven’t heard it.

Up Next- Consistency

In the ministry we spend so much time trying to teach but rarely do you find those who truly understand that the before you can teach someone they must trust and respect you. To earn that trust to deserve that intimate respect you must spend time cultivating a relationship.

Relationships are key to everything we do. In our daily lives we have relationships with family, friends, coworkers and people that serve us in the places where we do business. It is those relationships that are fundamental to our success or failure. Consider this if everywhere you went you were an absolute jerk and everybody hated you how would that shape your life. You would probably get passed up for raises, promotions not get good service at that restaurant and eventually your rep would be such that no one would want to have anything to do with you.

Too many times as ministers and as ministry volunteers we develop this arrogant attitude towards the people we work with and develop strained relationships. I think the best example of this is the relationship between generations. There is a us against them mentality and it is tearing churches apart.

Bottom line is that before we can accomplish anything for the cause of Christ we must cultivate a relationship of trust and respect with our audience. Which means we need to stand firm in our beliefs but learn to be gentle and loving towards others

Next up- Evangelism

Over the next few days I will be discussing some words that I probably over use.

Today’s word is Passion

Over the course of the past year I have interviewed with many churches. Through those interviews I got a ton of feedback. One comment that I got everywhere I went was”well you are certainly passionate.” I do not know why that comes out. it is certainly not something that I set out to make people aware of but nonetheless it comes out.

The Dictionary defines passion as boundless enthusiasm, strong desire . But to me it seems so much more than that. Passion is the willingness to sacrifice for what you want to abandon whatever stands in your way.

Many times people care more about what you have on paper than what is in your heart. Passion is not something that can be analyzed and measured. Maxwell says that talent is not enough give him someone with passion and he will show you someone who can get things done.

In ministry I demand passion from my leaders if you are doing God’s work without a fire in your belly it isn’t going to make an impact. We have enough apathy in our churches already and I for one am not going to add to it.

Coming next : Relationship