Seven Reasons I Became a Minister
So they went over to him and asked:
- Who brought you here?
- What are you doing in this place?
- What is keeping you here?” (Judges 18:3, HCSB).
It is often therapeutic, directive, and beneficial to pause to reflect for a moment concerning the why behind what we do. This lesson caused me to do just that.
There are at least seven reasons why I became a minister. Read more 
Time Management for Effective Leaders
Accomplishing goals are difficult enough without adding the additional workload of being a spiritual leader into the mix. Time management often proves a daunting task for many leaders around the world both secular and religious. It is a focal stress for people and if properly miss-managed can create harmful stress on the individual, his/her family and those in which they lead. Yet what can be discovered in light of this to help a leader overcome the rigors of time management and become successful? To find such answers the following areas are explored:
- The Leader and Time Management
- Stress and Time Management
- Time Management Tips
- Getting Things Done Diagram Read more
Dreaming Dreams, Seeing Visions
“And your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams” (Acts 2:17).
Helen Keller was a woman suffering from being both blind and deaf. She overcame these handicaps and raised money for the blind through the sale of her books and lectures. She was once asked, “What is worse than being blind?” She quickly responded, “Having sight but not being able to see.”
As Peter, on the Day of Pentecost repeated the Old Testament prophecy concerning the visitation of God’s Spirit upon all flesh, he reiterated that young men shall see visions, and old men shall dream dreams. The Wise Man in the Book of Proverbs 29:18 wrote, “Where there is no vision, the people perish.” Read more
Don’t Look at Us! Ministering with Humility
“And when Peter saw it, he answered unto the people, Ye men of Israel, why marvel ye at this? or why look ye so earnestly on us, as though by our own power or holiness we had made this man to walk?” (Acts 3:12).
As Peter and John prayed for the lame man, strength came into his feet and ankle bones. He stood, walked, and leaped as he went into the church praising God. The people were surprised to see him since many of them had passed him as they made their way into the church. What a great time for Peter and John to try to impress others with their spiritual power. Perhaps, they could have had someone take a few pictures so the story could appear in the daily newspaper. What if the local television station could have gotten in on the story? Their fame would have spread and they would become famous with people calling them to minister in their assembly. They could have boasted over the healing that had just taken place. However, they asked, “Why marvel at this? Or why look ye so earnestly on us, as though by our own power or holiness we had made this man to walk?” They basically were saying, “Don’t look at us! We didn’t do it, Jesus did.” Read more
The Day “It” Died
No one remembers the day, or for that matter the year, “It” died, but we all experienced the emptiness “It” left within society. “It” was not loud or bossy. He was not arrogant or proud. “It” was honest, faithful, blameless, dignified and honorable. “It” lived according to the strictest code of conduct and could be depended on to do the right thing, even when no one else was looking. Yes, “It” was complete within himself. He had nothing to fear, nothing to hide and nothing to prove. He was always just himself. “It” had a wholeness that few, if any, could match.
You will remember “It” when I use his full name, “Integrity.” In a world of relativity, integrity has become passé, old fashioned, and unpopular. Get to the top at all cost seems to be the order of the day. Yet the Bible has a lot to say about “It”. Read more
Leadership Made Easier
Little did we realize God was giving us a free home demonstration on handling all the interesting challenges that come with leadership that fateful day in Kenya, Africa.
Three missionaries were on their way to dedicate the first permanent church building (the work in Kenya had begun only a year before). They neared the equator in a mountain pass when the horrified eyes of two passengers saw a large stake-bodied truck hurtling down the narrow tarmac road, evidently having lost his gears and brakes.
The driver, John Harris, decided the wise thing would be to get out of the way, so he quickly pulled 23 feet off the road (all the space the pass allowed) and switched off his engine. His Superintendent, Bill Cupples, lay asleep in the back seat. But the driver did not hurtle on by, he evidently thought the small English car could stop his wild plunge so he turned the truck toward it and stripped off the whole left side including doors – the cab sheered off the base of the truck and plunged on into the mountain side where they found the driver dead. Read more
Leadership Principles
1 Kings 12 contains a blueprint for successful leadership within any sphere of influence, be it ministry, business, or family. After the death of his father, King Solomon, Rehoboam prepared to ascend the throne of Israel. Read more
Some Things I’ve Learned
- Success in the spiritual enterprise is based on commitment.
- Experience is what you get when you don’t get what you wanted.
- You need to know where you want to go.
- Loyalty is productive.
- To be productive, I must be responsible.
- Not all the old is out of date, nor is all the new acceptable.
- Cherish the treasures of the past. Read more
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