Author: Jeffrey Bush

Ingredients of a Great Church

By Curtis Hutson

Preacher

The preacher is the most important ingredient.  Dr. Roberson always said, “Everything rises or falls on leadership.”

You don’t attract what you want, you attract what you are

God doesn’t bless a ministry, God blesses a man. God’s blessings were not upon Metropolitan Tabernacle, they were on Charles Spurgeon

Jack Hyles said, if you expect your people to jump an inch, you must jump six feet

You don’t limit God to a location.  It is not WHERE you are, but WHOSE you are and WHAT you are that determine whether or not you succeed in the ministry

Dr. Bob Jones Sr., said, “The test of a man’s character is what it takes to stop him.”

Unlikely people, but people who were sold out to God.  It is not WHO you are but WHOSE you are that makes the difference.

Purpose

One man said, blessed is the man who aims at nothing for he shall hit it every time – a lot of preachers are like this, they do not know where they are going

You ought to find out where you are going before you get started

Purpose in your heart that you can and will do it.  A man once said to Spurgeon, “Mr. Spurgeon, I am really concerned about my ministry.  Not many people are being saved.” Spurgeon said, “Do you expect people to be saved every time you preach?” The man reaplied, “Well, no.”  And Spurgeon said, “Then that is the reason they are not being saved every time”

You need some goals, some purpose, as to what you want to do

Plan

Not only purpose but plan. Plan. Plan. Plan

Publicize

Run spot announcements on the radio

Everything you do at your church should go out with the churches name on it

Let everyone in your city know that you are there

Bumper stickers

There is nothing wrong with publicizing

Perspiration

W-O-R-K – that is it!

If the average business man worked no harder at making his business a success than the average preacher works at making his church a success, every business in town would be bankrupt in a matter of weeks.  You can not sleep until 10 in the morning, go to the store with your wife, rest in the afternoon, etc and expect something to happen on Sunday.  You go the pulpit about half prepared, your message is not burning in your heart, and you are not really excited about preaching.  You cannot build a church like that.

Do you know what will help you? Read the Journal of John Wesley. “Up at 5:00 o’clock this morning; preached several times before 10:00 in the morning.”

Read about John Welch who kept his old coat by his bed and got up in the middle of the night to go out into the yard to pray.  His wife would ask, “For what are you praying?” His answer was, “O woman, I have three thousands souls to my charge, and I know not how it is with many of them!”

Edison said, “Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration.” WORK!

Patience

Boy!  You’re going to need patience to build a great church

If you don’t have patience, you won’t be able to take it

If you don’t have some patience, you will quit.  Little things are bound to happen that will require patience.

Persistence

You have to keep going on

The fellow who keeps on and keeps on is the one who gets the job done

You are never going to do anything until you decide to drive your stakes somewhere and invest your life in something instead of skipping all over the country.  Every time you have problems, you run from them.  You are going to meet the same Devil somewhere else.  Make us your mind that you are going to stay put and fight the devil and build a church.”

Keep on keeping on.  Don’t quit!

Preaching

Preachers build a church. You say, “Folks won’t come.”  Yes they will.  If you have something to tell them, they will come.

Make up your mind that you are not going to the pulpit with a blank

Make up your mind that you are going to have a solid, Scripture-packed sermon when I go to the pulpit.

One man said if I had a little sermon and a big sermon, I would preach the little sermon to the little congregation and save the big sermon for a big congregation.  The wise pastor said, “then you probably aren’t going to have any big congregations.” He was right.  Preaching will build a congregation.  There is no substitute for preaching!

Praise

Of course praise the Lord, but I’m talking about praising the people in church. If people do special things in your church, give them special recognition.  Praise your people. “Folks did you hear Mr. and Mrs. Bagley got 128 riders on the 66 passenger bus – can we have the Bagley’s stand.  God bless you!  You are doing a wonderful job.”

Everyone likes praise. We all enjoy it.

Promptness

Do it now.  Do not wait.

Billy Sunday had a saying, “Get right with God and do it NOW.”

A kid said to his dad, “there were 3 frogs on a log and one decided to jump, how many were left”.  The dad said “2”.  The kid said, “no 3”.  The dad questioned how it was possible if one decided to jump, how was 3 still there.  The kid answered, “That’s right. One decided, but he never did.”  And there are a lot of frogs in the church sitting decided but have never moved.

The wise man’s day is today and the fool’s day is tomorrow.

Yesterday is a canceled check; Tomorrow is a promissory note; Today is the only cash you have, so spend it wisely.

 

Intimacy with the Almighty

By Charles Swindoll

The Decision

• To Reorder one’s Private World

• To be still

• To cultivate Serenity

• To trust the Lord completely

The Discipline

• Simplicity

Ecclesiastes 7:29

II Corinthians 11:3

• Silence

Psalm 46:10

I Samuel 30:1-4

• Solitude

Psalm 139:1-4, 23-24

I Corinthians 11:17-22

I Corinthians 11:28-31

Mark 6:30-32

• Surrender

Proverbs 3:5-6

“Surrender is the key that unlocks the vault of God’s best and deepest treasures”

Hudson Taylor’s Spiritual Secret

By Howard and Geraldine Taylor

CHAPTER 1

What role did Hudson Taylor’s mom play in his conversion? She prayed

When Hudson Taylor surrendered to go anywhere, where did he feel the Lord was leading him? To China

After he surrendered to China, what did he do? He began to prepare.

How did he begin to prepare? Woke up early to study; he moved into a poor section of town

Why did his girlfriend break up with him? She did not want to be a missionary to China

CHAPTER 2

(finish this sentence by filling in the space) To move man through God by _________ alone. Prayer

How did Hudson Taylor depend on God giving him his salary? By waiting on God to remind his boss to pay him

CHAPTER 3

Why did Hudson not continue living with his father? He wanted to learn to trust and depend upon the Lord

What was the reason the doors opened up in China and why did they choose Hudson Taylor to be one of the first to go? The president in China got saved and invited missionaries – since Hudson Taylor was single, they told him to be one of the first to go

Did Hudson want to see his parents before he left for China and why? No, because it would be hard to say goodbye

CHAPTER 4

When did Hudson Taylor feel his ministry in China begun? When he moved and lived among the people

Why were the missionaries criticizing and gossiping about Hudson? Because he lived among the people, spent little time with other westerners and his clothes were looking shaggy

CHAPTER 5

Did the Chinese like westerners? No

What did Hudson decide to do to reach more Chinese? Take on native dress. At any of the missionaries ever done such a thing? No. Were the missionaries going to approve of it? No

CHAPTER 6

Who became Hudson’s new partner in ministry? William Burns. How did Hudson influence him? He began to wear Chinese clothing as well

What benefits did Hudson and his new partner have at the new city (Swatow) because of their address? They found a place to live, were able to minister more easy, they were not easily spotted as other westerners

Why were the doors later closed for Hudson Taylor and his partner in Swatow? Because Burns was arrested and taken away

CHAPTER 7

What was the name of the girl that Hudson Taylor started to like? Maria Dyer

Why was Hudson Taylor interested or attracted to this girl? She had the heart of an evangelist, loved the people

What attracted Maria to Hudson Taylor? His generous giving, his Chinese dress, his love for the people, his zeal.

What did the lady that took care of Maria (Miss Aldersee) do to Hudson Taylor? She tried to ruin his reputation

CHAPTER 8

What was Mr. Ni’s difficult question to Hudson Taylor? How long he had the truth and why he didn’t bring the truth sooner

Why specifically and initially did George Mueller begin to support Hudson Taylor? Because he read the letter of how Hudson Taylor forgave and loved the people that stole from him.

CHAPTER 9

How many years did Hudson Taylor spend in China before his first furlough? Six years

What reasons did Hudson Taylor have for taking his furlough? To recuperate and recruit more workers for China

What did the doctors tell him when he got back to England? That he would not be able to continue working like he was

How many missionaries was he appealing would go to china and how many actually went? He wanted 4 or 5, only 1 went

Why did Hudson Taylor begin to pray for 24 missionaries? 2 for each of the eleven provinces and 2 for Mongolia

CHAPTER 10

(finish this sentence by filling in the space) God’s work done in Gods way will never lack Gods ________. Supply

What was Hudson Taylor’s new mission called? China Inland Mission

How much money did Hudson and Maria Taylor begin their bank account for the new mission? 10 pounds

CHAPTER 11

Hudson Taylor’s desire was to become Chinese in all ways not sinful to win some. What were some of the ways that he and his mission tried to become Chinese? Dressing like the people, learning the language, adapting their habits, living amongst the people.

How did Hudson and his wife respond to the criticism that the new missionaries gave them for their rule about Chinese dress and Hudson’s leadership? With much love and patience

What is one of the greatest sacrifices that Hudson felt like he did? Leaving his wife and children when he traveled

CHAPTER 12

What did Hudson do as a result of the riot in the city? They had to leave the city

What happened later to some of the Chinese that were involved in the Riot? Some of them got saved and baptized

CHAPTER 13

What did the national newspapers in England accuse Hudson Taylor and his mission of? Asking for warships to forcefully convert the Chinese

When most people began to diminish their support to Hudson Taylor and the mission in China, who was the man who increased his giving? George Mueller

CHAPTER 14

After spending much time discouraged, what was Hudson Taylor’s secret to getting close to God again? Abiding in Christ

CHAPTER 15

(finish this sentence by filling in the space) To be content with God’s Will and Gods Way is ________.  Rest

What did Hudson and Maria do with their children that they considered one of the most difficult things they ever did? Send them back to England

What happened while Maria was giving birth? The baby died

CHAPTER 16

What did Hudson pray as Maria was dying? He thanked the Lord for the 12 ½ years they had together

CHAPTER 17

When did Hudson get married again? Right after he arrived to England on his furlough

What was his new wife’s name? Jenny

After how long of being in England did Hudson Taylor return back to China? 15 months

Explain what Hudson Taylor meant when he said that missionaries are like scaffolding? They’re used to build but the sooner they can be removed, the better

CHAPTER 18

Hudson Taylor said and felt that when his work became a begging work (appealing for funds), what would happen? It would soon die

How did Hudson reply when a preacher told him that he must be very proud of how much God has used him? He replied by saying, on the contrary, God must have been looking for somebody so weak and so small and that is why he found me

CHAPTER 19

What doors began to open up from the Chinese government? That foreigners would have protection and could enter into any province or city

How many missionaries did the China Inland Mission begin to pray for as a group? 70

CHAPTER 20

When Hudson preached or met with people, his attitude was not to get but to give

To advance in any more work in 1887, Hudson Taylor and the mission asked for how many new workers? 100

How many missionaries actually applied in 1887 and how many did they choose? Over 600 applied and 102 were chosen

How much extra funds did Hudson and the mission pray for and how much extra funds did they receive? (at the time they prayed for the extra 100 missionaries) They prayed for £50,000 pounds and received £55,000 pounds that year

Who from America invited Hudson Taylor to come visit America? DL Moody

CHAPTER 21

(finish this sentence by filling in the space) Either God is ____________ of all or he is not _____________ at all. Lord, Lord  (If God is Lord, then let us treat him as such.)

The China inland Mission became a international board. Name some of the other countries that sent missionaries to China? Norway, Germany, New Zealand, …

What difficult prayer did Hudson Taylor’s wife ask him to pray for her and what was the result of that prayer? That the Lord would take her quickly when she was sick… and the Lord did.

Hudson Taylor said we cannot do much, but we can do a little and God can do much of it

EPILOGUE

What did Hudson say was one of most difficult things for a missionary? To maintain his walk with the Lord. He said the devil will find anything to keep one busy and not have his walk with the Lord

Extra Notes

Hudson Taylor was sacrificial – to the missionaries he worked with, to the people he loved, to everyone

He raised support through prayer – he believed that God moved man through prayer alone.

He had a goal and lived that goal of wanting to see missionaries all over China, in every province – he raised hundreds of workers for the mission field

He put God first – he was willing to let his girlfriend, luxuries and love go in order to go to the mission field. He left good living of money to live in the slum area and depend on God.

How to Stop Worrying and Start Living

by Dale Carnegie

 

Work and stay busy and you won’t have time to worry

It has been said that nearly all of our worries have come from our imagination and not from reality.

The law of average tells us that it most likely cannot happen to us.

What are the chances that what I am worrying about would ever occur?

We can get through anything if we would just decide to.

In the mind we see and live.

There’s a remedy for everything under the sun –find and try and if it is not possible then accept that.

If you can fix things than do it but if you cannot, do not bother with it or stress over it.

You can either bend with the storms of life or you can break. When things happen that are not according to your will, you can do nothing about it so just bend and go with the flow.

Tires are made to absorb the bumps in the road – and if we are going to live a peaceable life, we must learn to absorb instead of fighting.

God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference.

Cooperate with the inevitable.

How much is this problem going to cost you? If you stress more time over the problem than the time it takes for the problem, you lose!

When something happens you must realize that you can do nothing to change the past. So you must either forget it or analyze and learn from it, and then forget it.

You cannot saw sawdust because it is already been sawn. And the same applies for worry – you can do nothing about it, so leave it alone.

All the kings’ horses and all the kings’ men cannot put the past back together again.

Our thoughts make us what we are.

A man is what he thinks about all day long.

If we think sick thoughts, we will probably be sick; if we think failure thoughts, we will probably fail.

Hellen Keller wasn’t able to see yet she enjoyed life; others can see and do not enjoy life – It’s all in your mind.

When we hate someone, it is not hurting them it is only hurting us – it hurts us physically, emotionally and in every way. If our enemies knew how much our hatred towards them destroys our own selves, they would be happy.

If hatful people try to hurt you, cross them off your list; do not try to get even with them. Getting even with them will only destroy yourself, not them.

It is proven that hatred and resentment will destroy you. Your blood pressure rises, heart failure, anxiety, etc. Forgiveness is a great medicine.

No one can humiliate or disturb you if you do not let them.

An angry man is always full of poison

If you expect gratitude and recognition, you’ll live frustrated. Never expect it and you will be happy.

Jesus Christ healed 10 lepers and only one thanked to him – why should we expect any more thanks than Christ received?!

If you have all you need, don’t complain. Listen to this saying that has a lot of meaning: I had the blues because I had no shoes until I met a man on the street that had no feet.

If you want to be happy and not worry, concentrate on the 90% that is going well and not the 10% that is going wrong.

Think and thank – think about all that you have to be grateful for and thank God for it.

We seldom think about all the things that we have and focus on what we do not have.

Count your blessings, not your troubles.

Be yourself and quit trying to be someone that you’re not.

If you have a lemon, make it lemonade. Learn to turn a minus into a plus.

Two men looked out the bars; one saw mud the other saw stars.

The most important thing in life is not capitalizing on your gain; rather turning your losses into profit.

Our infirmities can help us obtain success.

Two reasons why we should work at making all our lemons into lemonade: 1) because we may succeed, and 2) because it will help us look forward and not backwards – at what we can do instead of what we can’t do.

Think about how you can please others instead of worrying – it will allow you to sleep again and replace the worry or helping/pleasing others.

By helping others you will forget about your own problems and discomfort. Take your attention off yourself and put it on others.

When you’re good to others, you’re best to yourself.

Take an interest in people – ask them how they are, what they’ve done, their ideas, their plans, how they succeeded, etc.

Learn to complement others and talk positively to them, it you will change their day and yours.

Forget yourself and find interest in others.

Fill your life full of peace, joy and multitude because your life is made up of your thoughts.

Never waste a minute thinking about people that you do not like.

Prayer is an excellent substitute for worry. Prayer helps us feel and know that we are not alone.

Prayer helps us know that we are sharing the burden with somebody else. Bottling things up will only hurt us, but sharing them is better for everyone – and prayer is sharing with God.

Learn not to worry about criticism. People criticize because they want to feel important or better than.

When you are criticized, just laugh and let it roll off your back like water off of the dock. People do not know how to respond when someone laughs about criticism.

Let’s not let the critics beat us to it, criticize ourselves so we become better in many areas. And when we are reproved and criticized, learn from those mistakes to be a better person.

Some of the greatest men are those that have learned from the critics and grown from their criticism.

Fatigue often causes you to worry or worsens your worry. Fatigue lowers your retention for fear and worry.

Learn to relax. Learn to rest often.

Even the US Army knows that a soldier needs a 10-minute rest for every hour if they are going to perform the best.

You don’t have to cure fatigue you can prevent it.

John D Rockefeller was the richest man at the time and lived to be 98 years old. How did he do it? He took a good nap for 30 minutes every afternoon.

Rest is not just doing nothing; it is a time to repair.

Worrying is one of the biggest reasons for fatigue.

When you face a problem fix it, don’t keep putting it off.

Don’t have unfinished work.

Learn to organize, deputize and supervise.

If you cannot sleep, get up and do something – read or work until you get tired.

If you cannot sleep, try prayer. Ask God to protect you and think about how He is with you. If you cannot sleep, exercise – get so tired that you have to sleep.

You can crowd worry out of your mind by reading a book.

Learn to live with gusto – if you enjoy your life and what you do, you will be less worried.

Learn to play games – if you can enjoy yourself you will take away worry.

Exercise is great for worry – use your muscles more and your mind less and it takes care worry. Worry goes when exercise begins.

If you would devote half the amount of time solving your problems as you do worrying about your problems, you wouldn’t have these problems.

Find out exactly what your problem is. Find out what caused that problem. Find a solution to that problem.

It’s good to look back on any big problems that we had to face because it helps us get through the small worries of every day – they can’t be as bad as that one time.

Don’t take yourself too serious learn to laugh.

The secret of being miserable is having the luxury to sit down and worry.

People lose time in life because of worry.

When you are worried, write it down and put it in a drawer and close it. If you can put that worry behind you, you can move on.

Time solves a lot of things so if you can let time go by, you’re worry will probably not come to pass.

If you can learn to say as Jesus said to God “thy will be done”, your worries can disappear. Leave it in Gods hand.

Realize that worry will destroy your career and destroy your health.

You can change your worry by changing your mental attitude.

If you can change your emotions, you will change your health.

If you will hang around positive people and talk about good subjects, you will dissipate your worry. You can catch and learn happiness and success from others just as you can worry about negativity.

If something worries you, take care of it immediately and get it off your mind.

What is the worse a problem can do? Concentrate on that mentally and then how to solve it.

How to Pray

by R.A. Torrey 

• Prayer is important because the devil is our enemy and does not sleep.
• We have not because we ask not
• why is it that we see so few saved, so little accomplished, etc? We have not because we ask not.
• Mighty men of the Bible and outside of the Bible are all the men of prayer.
• Prayer played a very important role in the life of our Lord – Mark 1:35; Luke 6:12
• Prayer is what God chose to use for receiving from him – Hebrews 4:16; John 15:24
• Prayer is communion with our Savior and in his presence is where Joy is – Psalm 16:11
• Prayer is the way that we rid of anxiety and have the peace of God that passes all understanding – Philippians 4:6-7
• We are to pray to be ready for His coming.
• In answer to prayer he forgives – Psalm 51
• In answer to prayer, he gives wisdom – James 1:5
• Prayer brings power to our work – prayer often avails where everything else fails.
• Prayer brings blessings to the church
• There is special power in prayer. If there’s power in individual prayer, there’s something very special in united prayer.
• When we least feel like praying sometimes we most need to pray.
• Many obstacles in Prayer: lack of forgiveness, stinginess, problems between spouses, lack of faith, etc.
• The Lord teaches us to pray in the morning, at night, alone, and when we are busy. And when we are most busy we most need to pray

Have a New Kid by Friday

Dr. Kevin Leman 

Below are topics he talks about:

• Allowance
• Anger
• Attending Worship
• Attention
• Babysitting
• Bad Language
• Bathing and Hygine
• Bedtime
• Bedwetting
• Bullying
• Carelessness W Money
• Cellphone
• Cheating
• Chores
• Christmas
• Courtesy
• Communicating
• Complaining
• Curfew
• Defiance
• Disruption In Class
• Driving
• Drugs
• Earrings
• Eating Hassles
• Fear
• Fighting In Car
• Forgetfulness
• Going On Overnights
• Grocery Store Antics
• Helpless
• Hitting
• Homeschool Teaching
• Homework
• Hyperactivity
• Ignoring Parents
• Internet
• Interuptions
• Irresponsibility W/ Car
• Isolating
• Know It All
• Lack Of Cooperation
• Lateness
• Laziness
• Lying
• Manners
• Me Me Me
• Messy Rooms
• Misuse Of TV
• Music
• Music Lessons
• My Space
• Name Calling
• Not Getting Up
• Nursing
• Obsessive Compulsive
• Overeating
• Over caution
• Parties
• Peer Influence
• Pets
• Picky Eaters
• Pornography
• Potty Training
• Power Games
• Procrastination
• Punching Holes
• Put Downs
• Respect
• Retention
• Rolling Eyes
• Rudeness
• Saying Thanks
• Screaming
• Selfishness
• Sharing
• Showing Off
• Shyness
• Sibling Rivalry
• Slamming Doors
• Smoking
• Spaciness
• Spanking
• Spitting
• Sports
• Stealing
• Stomping
• Stubbornness
• Talking Back
• Tattling
• Tattoos
• Telephone courtesy
• Temper Tantrums
• Thumb sucking
• Undereating
• Unkindness
• Wardrobe
• When Life Isn’t Fair
• Whiners
• Youth Activities

 

Top 10 Countdowns to Having New Kid by Friday:

10. Consistent in your behavior as a parent

9.  Always follow through

8.  Respond, don’t react

7.  What would old self do – do what new self would do

6.  Never threaten

5.  Never get angry and apologize when do

4.  Don’t give warnings – if do, you are saying, “you are so stupid I have to tell you more than once”

3.  Ask self, who’s problem is this – don’t own what is not yours

2.  Don’t think problem will go away

1.  Keep a happy face on – even when want to do something else

“A” (attitude), “B” (behavior) and “C” (character) – all in their order.

Remember that “B” (behavior) doesn’t happen until “A” (attitude) is taken care of.

Guided by Grace

By Paul Chappell

• One reason a dog has so many friends is that he wags his tail, not his tongue.

• Greatness for God requires greatness with God.

• The key for any pastor is that he learns to control his schedule, disallowing his schedule to control him.

• We cannot become an emotional hermit and still serve God’s people.

• Example of David – pg 96-97 (look at it)

• We know that Biblical separation does not avoid contact with the world, only conformity to it.

• We must be out in the world without conforming to the world.

• Biblical separation is turning away from sin and toward Christ.

• People would rather see a sermon than hear a sermon any day.

• Biblical vision is clear, compassionate and courageous

• Every day Christopher Colombus wrote in a personal journal. Some of those entries are only four words – “Today we sailed on.” We too will experience many days during the course of our spiritual journey when all we can record is “Today I sailed on”. Be encouraged – siling on is better than turning around. The implementation of spiritual vision is an act of obedience to God’s Word, and sometimes that means we must stay the course without seeing visible results. This is the nature of vision. William Carey, recognized as the father of modern missions, called it plodding.

• The man of God prays to God, gets Biblical vision from God and stands up to proclaim the Word of God.

• It is only as we develop others around us that we permanently succeed in the ministry.

• A local pastor who believes that his only responsibility is to teach the Bible has not captured the full understanding of his calling.

• Most Christians realize the mission of the church is to evangelize the world with the Gospel of Christ, but a definite strategy of accomplishing this goal is often not clearly implemented.

• The word influence is derived from the Latin word for influenza or what we commonly refer to today as the flu. How is the flu contracted? It is passed from person to person through one-on-one contact. Influence passes from person to person in a similar way—unseen.

• Although recognizing leaders is an important first step in developing them, I is incomplete without mentoring. It is vital that those who are currently in leadership of the local church spend time with and mentor the future ministry leaders.

• Fellowship with purpose – the activities we have should not just be for any reason, but have a purpose.

• However, mentoring is not an end in itself. The process must proceed to the next step which is equipping.

• It seems we don’t mind mentoring and equipping, but we struggle to share the ministry with others. Unfortunately, if people are not allowed the opportunity to share in the real ministry, they are hindered in exercising a leadership role, and the entire organization is stifled. Maturity doesn’t come with age. It comes with acceptance of responsibility.

• The two basic reasons we do not delegate are: insecurity (lack of spiritual growth) and Disorganization

• The process of delegation can be outlined in the following way:

• Remember to mentor and teach before delegation.
• Give clearly identifiable duties for the given task.
• Verbalize confidence in the person to whom you delegate.
• Give him authority to get the job done.
• Establish budget limits if applicable.
• Allow him room to fail and learn from his mistakes.
• Set predetermined checkpoints fro evaluation.
• Praise him and give him credit for a job well done.

• The process of leadership development

• Saturated in prayer
• Mentoring
• Equipping
• Delegating
• Evaluating
• Multiplying

• In the Epistles of Paul, John, James and Peter, they are full of names of believers mentioned who made a difference by laboring together – None of these men stood alone in the ministry.

• Learning is change

• A critical spirit equals ministry suicide.

• Building a team requires time and commitment. It involves building relationships with the members of the team. Many church leaders get so caught up in administration and paperwork that they forget to invest in the lives of their people.

• Learn to enjoy teamwork. After all, anything worth doing is worth doing together.

• Fellowship is a tool in the continuing process of an equipping ministry. We are not going to develop a team without fellowship. We may not think we have time to take out staff to a ball game or invite them to our homes, but we don’t have time not to. We need to redeem the time, and that includes building relationships.

• The common, ordinary, one-gift Christians are the very backbone of the church. We have our great evangelists, our large congregations led by dynamic leaders and our wealthy brethren who are able to finance great works. But if the work of the Lord is to be done and if the Gospel is to be taken to the lost, then it will be accomplished by ordinary Christians.

• Christian pollster George Barna has reported in a number of surveys that three-fourths of the church growth in our day is growth from transfer of memberships from one church to another. North American pastors need to be reminded that the ministry is not about paper work—it is about people work.

Five Love Languages

By Gary Chapman

• Words of Affirmation

Positive verbal reinforcement. If this is your love language, you feel wonderful when someone gives you a genuine compliment. You may feel insecure without encouragement or regular expressions of approval. You feel loved when your partner expresses appreciation for the small things you do.

• Quality Time

Periods where you have complete attention. If quality time is your primary love language, you feel neglected without time spent specifically focused on each other, or doing something together that you love to do. You enjoy sharing things you love with others, and feel special when someone else includes you in something they are passionate about.

• Receiving Gifts

Physical or visual symbols of affection. If receiving gifts makes you feel loved, that does not mean you are superficial. Some people simply respond to tangible illustrations of the love in a relationship. Different from being a “gold digger,” someone who speaks this love language appreciates thoughtful, personal gifts, not necessarily dependent on price. A home-made card or tiny trinket can speak volumes, if well-chosen and suited to the recipient.

• Acts of Service

Doing things for a loved one. If this is your dominant love language, you feel loved when someone goes out of their way to make things more pleasant or smooth for you. Examples include: doing chores, cooking dinner, taking care of something that would normally be your responsibility, chipping in without being asked. Most people can relate to this love language, though in very different ways, and it is extremely important to practice this love language out of genuine feeling, rather than duty, to avoid resentment.

• Physical Touch

Bodily contact between people. Not restricted to sexual intercourse or intimacy, this love language encompasses all kinds of touch, from hugs to kisses to cuddling. Physical contact can be its own form of communication. If this is your love language, you need your partner to recognize what kinds of touch are pleasant and which are irritating, and focus on increasing the former and reducing the latter.