The Church in America

   So you want to go into full time ministry.  Are you qualified?  Have you taken the assessment tests?  Lets look at some reasons people give when asked, “why do you want to go into full time ministry?”  I also have added questions you should be asking yourselves. They are blunt and to the point. Don’t ignore them.

I want to go into full time ministry because….

1. “I love the Lord” -

Yet what have I done the last two days to show it.? Is it just an emotional response or is there more to this?

2. “I want to see people come to Christ” -

Yet what did I do this week to help people come to Christ? If I’m not making a difference now with all the people that are around me, what makes me think I will in the future by getting on a church staff or becoming a pastor?

3. “It’s the career I would like to pursue’ (Yes, I hear this one a lot) -

Am I pursuing Jesus or going on a job search.? Anyways, I could make better career choices. I hear the pay is terrible and I’d always be on call.

4. “So I can serve the Lord full time” -

Am I a part time Christian now? What is it I’m trying to really say?

5. “I believe God is calling me into full time ministry” -

Do I really believe this or am I making a decision based on other factors. Doesn’t it make more sense to work 24/7 among “the world” where people need Jesus the most , then to work 8 to 10 hours a day with believers who don’t?. Am I just being self centered?

6. “I’m unhappy where I am working now” - (Yes I hear this one often too.)

Is the grass greenest on the other side or where I cultivate it. ? Anyway, Talk about a bad day. I hear Peter died hanging upside down.
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OK OK… I must admit. The opportunity of having the time and paycheck to do full time ministry does sound good.  Well,.. unless your in a country where they chop your head off or torture you to death.

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Can I be blunt here. I’ve seen too many burn outs and disillusioned people leave the ministry for me to dance around the obvious. 

• The grass is not greener on the other side. Thinking we can do more for the kingdom of God if we were on staff at a local Church or ministry is a journey in futility.

• Most of the time we are simply exchanging one job for another. At some point you will probably find yourself spending more time doing the opposite of what you originally got into ministry for.

• Thinking the ministry title such as “Pastor or Teacher” gets us more credibility when we try to influence people is highly overrated.  People follow leaders. Not titles. “Bosses tell people what they should do, leaders show people how its done.

I tell this to everyone who come to me wanting to pursue full time ministry.

   “Are you doing full time ministry now?”.  If you are effectively doing full time ministry in the environment you are in now, the sheer force of the task you are doing will move you to it’s desired course. You will have no choice in the matter of where to go. It will be as a natural flow of water in a stream. Not even the rocks and obstacles can stop it. It’s a rush and frightening at the same time because it will always be bigger than you.”

I hope this site can give you the tools to do effective ministry now.  But don’t wait. The best place to start is where you live life. See where it takes you. 

Do you want to serve at a church, become a pastor, church planter, elder, do ministry outside the church walls, at school, work, home, a neighborhood, street, overseas or maybe start a spiritual movement? If so, ask yourself this very important question.

Before you answer, their is a rule you must follow. Whenever I ask kids or adults a bible, spiritual or personal question the two answers they cannot give is “God” or “Jesus”. We have all learned to give generic answers to questions instead of really thinking the questions through. So here is the first question.

Why do you want to be involved or go into ministry? Here are examples of the most common generic answers most people give.

• “I love the Lord”
• “I want to see people come to Christ”
• “It’s the career I would like to pursue’ (Yes, I hear this one a lot)
• “So I can serve the Lord full time”
• “I believe God is calling me into full time ministry”
• “I’m unhappy where I am working now”
  

Note: If you are already involved in “part time” or “full time” ministry you might want to do this exercise also, whether you are “successful or not”

Here are some guidelines to follow when you are at this stage.

1. Be specific. Break down your answer by asking why. It’s like that annoying kid who asks why the sky is blue and every time you answer one him he asks, WHY… to the answer you just gave him.

2. Put it in writing. Don’t skip this step. If you are not willing to wrestle with it on paper, your conviction and commitment is questionable and it may be more an emotional decision than a rational one based on foundational principles.

3. Don’t make an emotional decision with out understanding the root cause and specifics of where the emotion comes from.
You may find that you will talk yourself out of it. If thats the case, circumstances or someone else will eventually talk you out of it also.

Note: You may have noticed I didn’t say pray, read your bible or ask advice from someone in ministry because I assume you have already done this. It’s not others that need convincing that you are making the right decision. It ’s you who will need to be convinced of this.

   For over 35 years I have been actively involved in helping church ministries get from point A to point B. I seen just about every church model function at different levels with many different results.

   As a ministry analyst I have actively engaged myself in ministries within the churches, working with as many ministry volunteers as possible in order to properly examine the operational and spiritual structure down to its smallest component, recommend changes and help implement those changes working side by side with wonderful and faithful friends.

   This blog is intended to help people in all walks of ministry whom are either just starting out, are engaged in church planting, have an established ministry or are a struggling church.

   This site will also help you find practical solutions and may challenge many assumptions of ministry that exist today which end up choking the very life out a having fulfilling and transforming ministry.