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Effective Tips for Ministering to Single Moms

June 30, 2010 By Sandra 2 Comments

Pew Research recently released a study on motherhood in America.  Among their finding was the realization that 41% of babies born in 2008 were to single mothers (up from 28% in 1990).

How is the church, and specifically those of us who minister to women, going to help these moms?

First, we need to realize single moms are a growing demographic. Even if you haven’t seen it in your church, it’s happening in your community. For the purposes of this article, we can also include the growing numbers of “spiritually single” moms (women who bring their children to church without their husbands) and women whose husbands are deployed.

Second, take a look at your Sunday morning activities. Is there a Sunday school class or small group specifically for women? Some women may not feel comfortable in a couples class. The average church size in America is less than 100 people, so I know some churches are limited in what they can offer. Even if your church can’t offer a class specifically for women, making sure that everyone is welcome in every class will help single women feel comfortable. Also, are there greeters at the doors who can help moms get their children to their classes? Since my husband is a pastor, I have to get everyone in my family where they need to go on Sunday mornings. It can be hard to chase two little ones (usually going opposite directions!) and carry the diaper bag and my church purse. Train your greeters to be aware of the extra challenges single moms face on Sunday mornings and to offer to help.

Third, look at what you do during the week. Offer childcare as often as possible. It’s easy to think that if you have a ladies activity on a Saturday afternoon, Dad will just keep the kids so Mom can come. But that isn’t always true. It takes extra work for the organizers to find childcare, but if our goal is to minister to women, the women need to be able to attend! Go the extra mile and make sure all the women can attend if they want by offering childcare.

The church needs to be able to meet the needs of the 41% of new moms who are single as well as the growing number of “spiritually single” and “seasonally single” moms in our church and community.

What ministries and programs to help single moms have worked in your church?

Sandra Peoples is a pastor’s wife and mom to two boys (expecting #3 through adoption from Ethiopia). She blogs at Heart for Him- giving ideas for your women’s ministry and encouraging women to grow in godliness. You can also connect with her on Twitter and Facebook.

Filed Under: Ministry Tagged With: motherhood, sandra peoples, single moms, women's ministry

Making Ministry More Effective: Connecting Across Ministries, Part 1 (Plus Give Away)

June 23, 2010 By Daisy Leave a Comment

Connecting Across Ministries:

  • What does that look like?
  • What does that mean?
  • How do you even get started on something like that?

There are so many times when you spend your day (your life) in ministry that you get so caught up and focused on what your ministry is doing or even what your church is doing that you tend to forget that there are so many other people out there doing the same thing as you and sometimes even better.

For years it has been a part of my ministry philosophy to share, connect, and encourage others in ministry.  I like to meet with leaders from other churches or ministries and get to know them.  Figure out how we can mutually help each other, share ideas, dream together, and just have someone to talk with that totally “gets them”.

Connecting Across Ministries: What does that look like?

Just last week I went to lunch with the Kids Ministry Director at another church in my area and just spent two hours laughing, dreaming, sharing, but importantly just listening.  In the course of our time together it became evident that she just needed to talk, so talk we did, and we did lots of it.

But you want to know what else happened just from us hanging out and encouraging each other?  She has offered to allow my church to have all their VBS set designs and props this summer.  If you know anything about VBS then you’ll know that this is a very large and gracious gift, to which I am extremely thankful to accept.

Connecting Across Ministries: What does that mean?

Sharing,

Caring,

Dreaming,

Encouraging,

Listening.

We do these things all the time with our volunteers and those who come into our ministries.  How much sweeter is it to be able to do the same thing for someone else in ministry.  They can be in ministry in your local area or even online, but we all can learn from and grow with each other to make the Kingdom even better.

Next month we’ll finish up with Part 2 of “Making Ministry More Effective: Connecting Across Ministries”, now that we know what it looks like and what it means, come back so we can talk more about how you get started and why follow up is so important.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

If I am meeting with another woman in ministry or Pastor’s wife, then I might bring along a little gift to share with her.  I just recently read an amazing new book called “10 Things Every Minister’s Wife Needs to Know” by Jeana Floyd and it was so good that it is now something that I will bring to every new meeting.

A strong marriage plays a pivotal role in the success of a ministry. Being the wife of a minister can be tremendously rewarding, but it is also a commitment of time, personal investment, and patience. Ministry is a challenging vocation, even in the best of times.

Jeana Floyd knows these challenges well and has created this faith-affirming guide for pastors’ wives. Sharing years of wisdom and insight from her participation in her husband’s growing and visionary ministry, 10 Things Every Minister’s Wife Needs to Know is filled with practical tips on marriage, prayer, stewardship, parenting, and faith. With “interactive testimonies” included from other wives of pastors at the end of each chapter the book shares poignant and powerful insights any woman or wife can appreciate.

I love this book so very much and am excited to let you know that the publisher, New Leaf Publishing Group, has graciously offered to give away an autographed copy of this sweet little treasure to one blessed reader here at Exemplify Ministry Channel.

All you have to do is leave a comment and either;

  • Let me know how you “Connect Across Ministries”, or
  • What from today’s post really met you where you are, or
  • The name of the Pastor’s Wife that you’d like to give it to.

Father God, thank you for allowing us to connect with other women in ministry.  Whether they are local or across the globe it is our heart’s desire to link arms with them and continue to grow this Kingdom for your glory.  Thank you for allowing us to go on this journey together. In Jesus Name, Amen.

Filed Under: Ministry Tagged With: encouragement, exemplify online, Mel's World, Melissa Mashburn, Ministry, women's ministry

Making Ministry Count: Avoiding the Trap of Numbers

June 16, 2010 By Leah Leave a Comment

As we continue our series on the ins and outs of ministry, I want to talk about an area of ministry that has the potential to trip up even most spiritual of us.   This is an area where I have to constantly remind myself that my human wisdom is severely lacking in comparison to God’s heavenly wisdom.  The issue that I am talking about pertains to allowing numbers to drive our ministries.

Ministry requires at least two people; the person doing the ministering and the person or people to whom we are ministering.  For most of us who are in speaking, writing, teaching or music ministry, we typically serve groups of people rather than doing individual ministry. The size of our audience can easily become more important to us than the ministry we are doing.   Friends.  Followers.  Registration numbers.  Comments.  Tweets and re-tweets. It all has the potential to trip us up and cause us to sin. May I share an example from my own life with you?

Several months after I began blogging, I discovered a cool program called SiteMeter. This nifty little application would track the number of visitors that came to my blog each day and tell me all sorts of wonderful information, such as where the person lived, how long they stayed on my blog, what post they came into and left from and how they got to my blog.  Awesome, huh!!

Well, yes……….and no.  It was fun to see those statistics and be able to track the topics on my blog that seemed to appeal to the audience.   The problem arose when I began logging onto Sitemeter multiple times each day to see how many people had visited my blog.  Oh yes, I do have an obsessive-compulsive personality.  On the days when there were numerous visitors, my happiness factor was high, but on the days when the number of visitors plummeted, my happiness factor plummeted right along with the numbers.   I realized that on the days I posted, the numbers went up; while the numbers declined on the days that I did not post.  Before long I was posting something every day just to assure increased traffic to my blog.  What had happened?  I made the number of visitors to my blog a false god. What began as a lovely avenue to write and share the words the Lord gave me, turned into a dirt road of idolatry.

When the realization of my idolatry hit me, my heart was grieved. I never intended for my blog to become an idol.  Never!!  The Holy Spirit instructed me to remove SiteMeter from my blog for a season, until I could get a grip on His purpose for blogging in my life.  That is precisely what I did.  For several months I was SiteMeter-less and in that time the Lord reminded me, once again, that the ministry He has entrusted to me is His ministry.  I am to write only what He gives me and He will bring the people He desires for me to touch.  On my own I have no words that will touch anyone.  Anything on my blog or in a message I give that is worthwhile is totally from the Lord.

The same is true for any avenue of ministry to which we are assigned.  Ministry is about Jesus.    When human affirmation becomes more important to us than allowing God to grow the ministry He has entrusted to us, we are in trouble and we need to step away and allow the Lord to re-focus our eyes.

I hope that I am the only one who has struggled with this, but my guess is that it is quite a common problem.  It is my constant prayer that Jesus will remind me daily that IT IS ALL ABOUT HIM!!

Filed Under: Ministry Tagged With: humility, Leah Adams, Ministry

How to Care for Hurting People

June 9, 2010 By Sandra 3 Comments

Because I’m a pastor’s wife, sometimes I hear the  stories of people’s lives. See that woman sitting alone? Her husband left her last week. See that couple on the back row? This week is the five year anniversary of a car accident that took their son’s life.  See the young family sitting to your right? She had another miscarriage last month.

Because we live in a fallen world, all of our stories have chapters that include heartbreak, death, illness, sadness, and rebellion. Being a Christian does not make us immune to problems.

But, being a Christian does equip us to help others with their problems.

I have to admit, when I see someone who is hurting, I’m more likely to let someone else handle it than get involved myself.  What if I say the wrong thing? What if she breaks down and cries right there? But all of my excuses are based on my selfishness. What God asks me to do is get over myself.

“Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind,” (1 Peter 3:8 ESV).

We are family, and when one member of the family suffers, we all suffer. So we are all called to share the burden. Whether or not you know the entire story, you can show sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart and a humble mind by just reaching out. Here are a few simple ways to show someone you care:

  • Make eye contact and smile.
  • Reach out and touch the person who is hurting. A quick hug, a hand squeeze, a pat on the leg can all communicate that you care.
  • Just say something- “I’m sorry for your loss” will allow the person to open up if she wants to, or will let her know you care even if she doesn’t want to talk.
  • Follow up with an email or card.
  • Pray.
  • Keep it to yourself.

Every person in every pew has a story. And every one of them needs someone to care. Ask God to give you opportunities to show you care this week.

Sandra Peoples is a pastor’s wife, mom to two boys, and has a Master of Divinity Degree in women’s studies. At her blog, Heart for Him, she shares ways to strengthen your women’s ministry and encourages women to grow in godliness. You can also connect with her on Facebook or Twitter.

Filed Under: Ministry Tagged With: counseling, Ministry, sandra peoples

Saturday Spotlight: The Orissa Christians of India

June 5, 2010 By carrien 1 Comment

Editor’s Note:  It is with great excitement that we welcome Carrien to the Ministry Channel as our Persecuted Church blogger.  On the first Saturday of each month, Carrien will post about a different portion of the Persecuted Church.  These posts will make you uncomfortable.  They will make your heart ache.  They might even fill you with righteous anger.  It is our prayer that these posts will move you to your knees in prayer for our brothers and sisters in Christ enduring unimaginable persecution around the world.  Please join us and your fellow Exemplify readers as we intercede for those who are giving everything they have for the name of Christ.

Imagine lying in bed one night when an angry mob armed with guns and bombs throws a bomb at your house and sets it on fire. By the time you manage to escape the flames your daughter has 3rd degree burns on her face. They are waiting for you outside and drag you through the street beating you. They destroy your place of worship and set the people there on fire. You have never seen such hate.

In 2008, in the Indian state of Orissa, Hindus carried out the largest attack on Christians in Indian history. It was well organized and every known Christian leader was targeted. Many had to flee to the jungle to escape being killed. Not even orphanages were spared. An orphanage for children with leprosy was attacked and a Hindu girl working there mistaken for a Christian and gang raped before they set her on fire.

Attacks centered in the 25% Christian Kandhamal district. Most of the Christians there were killed. State police did little, or nothing, to stop the attacks before the Delhi Central Government stepped in to restore peace. In the aftermath more than 50,000 Christians had to be located in refugee camps because their homes were destroyed.

Click here to see images.

The supposed flash point for these attacks was the assassination of Orissa’s most prominent Hindu leader, Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati, even though a radical Hindu communist group called Naxalites claimed responsibility. Saraswati had been speaking against Christians converting Hindus at the time. Hindu groups seized his death as occasion to attack Christians.

Kel Frandsen, head of Grace Life Ministries, has been working in Orissa since 1997. GLM now supports more than 50 churches in Orissa state. He told me that according to local Christians their attackers were not local, but from other states such as Gujarat and from militant Hindu political groups.

Orissa is one the most backward and poverty ridden states in India. Tribal animism mixes with Hinduism as the central religion.  They are the lowest of the low, the Untouchables (dalat), the less than human in the Hindu caste system. It is still common practice to hang an unwanted child in a tree in a sari until it dies. The laws are such that to rescue such a child results in charges of kidnapping.

So, why are those who name Jesus there so hated? Well, they treat Untouchables like human beings. They tell the poorest of the poor about God’s love for them, about their value as human beings made in the image of God. Not surprisingly, the Dalat are turning to Jesus and rejecting the caste system of Hinduism in droves. This makes other Hindus angry, especially those who think India ought to all be Hindu still. For news coverage go here. Click on “orissa violence.”

Apparently it’s no fun to be a superior Aryan race if those you are better than and subject stop believing that you are any better than them or have any right to subject them.

Kel also had this to say, “I read in Kolkota an advertisement for tourism in Orissa, with a population of 38 million people, that this state has more temples and shrines than all of India combined. So this is the darkest poorest and most disease ridden State in India and I believe that God is taking down the idols of this place and will replace this with His kingdom.

I spoke to one of our district leaders, (named) Juberaj…. In just over a year since the persecution they have started 12 churches. I spoke with this pastor at the height of the persecution and he was terrified. I believe God is doing His thing and that this is the time to take India.”

Ken Blue, of Good News to the Poor, has been to India several times to teach local pastors. In his words, “These guys (pastors) are really smart, really together, they could be really successful doing something else. Instead they do this…One pastor asked how we in America respond to persecution. My response — “We don’t face what you would consider persecution.” To which he replied, “How can you follow Jesus and not be persecuted by the world?””

It is men and woman such as these, possessed of great faith and courage who will be the change that India needs, who shine the light in the darkest of places. They need your prayers and love in ways that you cannot even begin to comprehend. They never know when they will be attacked. In the past month 3 more men have been martyred, including a 74 year old a catholic priest. Christian girls are attacked, beaten with sticks, and molested.

I could go on.

It is hard to imagine, living in the west, the faith and courage it must take to continue under such persecution. Yet it is their testimony and the spirit of Jesus in them that has the only power to change their culture, their neighborhoods, their state and their country, and they continue to advance the kingdom of God.

Filed Under: Ministry Tagged With: Carrien, India, Persecuted Church, Saturday Spotlight

Praying for Those in Ministry

June 2, 2010 By Tara 3 Comments

Image by Geri-Jean Blanchard

How often do you really step back and pray for those who minister around you and to you?  I’ll confess, I don’t do it enough.  It pains me to say I’m always quick to comment about and even criticize things that I see ministers doing, but very rarely do I automatically move into a state of intercession for them.  Can anyone relate?

Let’s face it: most ministers, regardless of the area in which they are serving, have it tough.  They have a noble calling, high expectations placed on them (either by themselves or by others), are often under-appreciated, and are constantly in the spotlight and have every detail of their lives scrutinized.

Today I want to share with you some prayer prompts for ministers in your lives.  I also want to encourage you to develop a habit of praying earnestly and fervently for people you know who are publicly serving the Lord.  The first section I want to cover is people in your local body of believers.

Pray for your pastor – in detail. Go beyond, “I pray his message will touch lives this Sunday.”  Pray for him personally.  Pray that God would continue to speak to him and draw near to him and refresh him.  Pray for the anointing of the Holy Spirit on his life and ministry.  Pray for his home, his marriage, his children (if applicable).  Pray for his direction and guidance from the Lord as he seeks to direct and guide your church.  Pray for his emotional, spiritual, and mental strength.  Pray for his protection from the attacks of the enemy.  Pray for his family, that they would be a blessing to him and build up and encourage him.

Pray for your pastor’s wife. More often than not, the pastor’s wife has a ministry just a large as her husband’s, whether she has an official “title” or not.  Pray specifically for her, that her own walk with God would grow and flourish and thrive.  Pray that God would speak to her and guide her, and that she would lean on Him rather than on her husband for spiritual strength.  If she is a teacher, pray for God to increase her wisdom of His Word and her ability to communicate.  If she is a servant, pray for opportunities for her gift to abound and bless the congregation.  If she is a musician, pray that the Gospel would be boldly spoken through her music.  If she is all of these and more, pray she gets some rest once in a while!

Pray for the other leaders in your church. Even if you don’t have young children, pray for the Children’s Minister in your church.  Pray for the youth leader and the person who works with senior adults.  Pray for those who serve without titles and recognition, such as the person who greets people as they come into your church.

Pray for your church as a whole. Pray for the message your church sends out – that it glorifies Christ and preaches His Gospel.  Pray for a shared focus and vision for everyone serving in your church.  Pray for earnest evangelism and dedicated discipleship.  Pray that your church would be a beacon in your community, that your church would reach out and serve those in your area.  Pray that your church would have a heart for the nations, and would seek to care for widows and orphans.  Seek the Lord for His plan for your church, and pray for that plan to come to fruition.

When praying for ministers, you cannot neglect those who are serving overseas.  Praying for the global church is an important part of praying for ministers.

Pray for native Christians around the world. These are the people who live in foreign countries and have accepted Christ.  Pray for their protection from persecution, from their families, from other religious groups, and from hostile governments.  Pray for their provision, as many live in impoverished areas.  Pray that they would be strengthened in the Lord.  Pray for an increase in their knowledge and wisdom.  Pray for opportunities for them to share the Gospel with their fellow countrymen.  Pray for the increase of their churches and the spread of the Gospel in their areas.

Pray for missionaries serving around the world. Pray that God would continue to reaffirm their calling to them.  Pray He would give them a love for the people to whom they minister.  Pray He would break down barriers: language barriers, government barriers, culture barriers.  Pray for the people being ministered to, that their hearts and ears would be open to hearing the Gospel, and they would receive Christ with joy.  Pray for the family lives of the missionaries – strength for marriages, protection and growth for children, safety for the family as a whole.

Finally, I have one more minister who needs your prayer.

Pray for yourself.

You read that right.  You need to be praying for you!

Every Christian is a minister.  When you accept Christ, you become a minister of His Gospel.  And whether your ministry is as public as the Director of Women’s Ministry at your church, or as private as you caring for your children in your home, you have a ministry.

Pray for the people you are called to minister to.  Is it the women in your church?  Teen girls?  An online community of strangers?  Your husband and children?  Whoever it is, pray for them specifically.  And remember, you might be the only opportunity they have to hear the Gospel.

Pray for boldness and obedience for yourself.  Pray for an increase of wisdom, discernment, and compassion.  Ask God to speak to you, to meet with you, to grow your relationship with Him.  Pray for the words you should speak, actions you should perform.  Pray for the outpouring of His Spirit on your life.  Pray for strength to step outside your comfort zone when asked.  Pray for an abundance of love for those around you, that you might pour out to them.

I hope this has given you some good prompts of how to pray for those serving the Lord.  It is so important that we keep our fellow servants of the Lord covered in prayer.  After all…

“The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.”  James 5:16


Filed Under: Ministry Tagged With: pray, prayer, Tara

My great-grandchildren are great grandchildren OR Compounding the hyphen problem

May 26, 2010 By Christa Leave a Comment

Is the writer well known or is she a well-known writer?

Both. Which explains why compound and hyphenated words can cause a headache when your head aches.

The information here comes from Sleeping Dogs Don’t Lay by Richards Lederer and Dowis. In addition, this link from Writing for Business and Pleasure by Stephen Wilbers is one you may want to bookmark for quick reference.

Naturally, the rules are snarly, and it doesn’t help that three different dictionaries may provide three different answers. When in doubt, consult The Chicago Manual of Style (the online version has a free 30-day trial).

COMPOUND NOUNS

If the second element is an adverb, then hyphenate the construction:

drive-in go-between

COMPOUND VERBS

GENERALLY (which means an exception is lurking somewhere!) the rule is:

Adverb + Verb = solid compound

overdo

Verb + Adverb = open compound

do over

COMPOUND ADJECTIVES

When used BEFORE the noun, usually hyphenated.

one-horse town blue-black bruise

narrow-minded scientist well-intentioned plan

HOWEVER (you were waiting for this, right?) if the compounds before the nouns are created using “-ly” adverbs, NO HYPHEN is used.

newly employed cashiers     lavishly designed office

Adverb + Adjectives = solid compound :

up+tight=uptight                    forth+coming=forthcoming

COMPOUND PRONOUNS, PREPOSITIONS, ADVERBS

These are always solid: herself, throughout, moreover, nevertheless

SOMETIMES CONTEXT DETERMINES STYLING:

I write every day because writing is an everyday event.

Backdoor schemes don’t always slither through back doors.

HYPHENS: GENERAL RULES

1.Use hyphens when connecting the following prefixes to a word: ex, pre, mid, anti, all, self

2.Use hyphens between compound numbers

3. Use hyphens when a number + a noun is used as an adjective:

12-hour day, 19th-century poem

4.Use hyphens to join one capital letter to a noun or participle

H-bomb, V-neck, T-shaped

And, if I’ve compounded your headache, consult the nearest dictionary!

Filed Under: Ministry Tagged With: christa allan, writing

Live Your Life AS Your Ministry

May 19, 2010 By Daisy 13 Comments

“So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him.” Romans 12:1 TM

I just absolutely love that verse.  It cuts right to the chase, doesn’t it?

Whether you are in ministry at the church (Pastor, Pastor’s Wife, paid staff or volunteer staff) or not we are ALL called to ministry.

The truth of the matter is that each and every day the people in and around our lives watch us. No, not because we are anything special or have it all together, but because at some point or another they have noticed that we are “different”.

Something about you stands out to them and that is a good thing.

If we act like everyone else in this world how on earth are we going to be a light in this darkness?

This verse lays it right out there for us, and guess what, if you are in the ministry (in any way, shape, or form) this is even more important.

First take note of what it says in the first part…”God helping you” because the Lord knows we can’t do it on our own might.

Take your everyday, ordinary life, which I looked up on Dictionary.com and guess what it says for everyday and ordinary; “the routine, something regular, customary, or usual.”  It then goes on to get even more specific (that is what I love about the Message Bible) and says, “your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life”.

If we want to live our life as our ministry that includes:

  • Our sleeping
  • Eating
  • Going-to-work
  • And walking-around life

Let’s get down to the real nitty gritty and take it a step further so that it applies to our lives right now:

  • That’s what time we go to bed,
  • what books we are reading,
  • the posts we make on Facebook and Twitter,
  • how we talk about our spouses and children to other people,
  • how prepared we are in our ministries
  • what we put in our mouths
  • what we say with our mouths
  • how we drive our cars

Ouch, ouch, ouch!

Stepping on some toes here, I know it, because I’ve already stomped all over mine.

If we are in ministry then we need to live our lives AS our ministry…not just what we do at the church, for the church, or in our personal ministry…but our entire lives.

When we do that it goes on to say, “and place it before God as an offering”.

Do you know what an offering is?

According to Dictionary.com an offering is; something offered in worship or devotion, as to a deity.

That really puts it back into perspective doesn’t it?

Our everyday, ordinary lives ARE our offering to Him.

So when we sit to encourage that volunteer, take phone calls, plan events, and do the everyday, ordinary tasks of being in ministry if we do it with a right heart and with “God helping us” we really can give it back to Him as our worship of Him.

WOW!  Is it me or is that completely awesome to think about…

And also humbling!

I think the last part of the verse sums it up the best; “Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him.”

Father God, it is such an honor to serve you in ministry.  Father so often we forget that ministry happens even more outside the walls of our church, so help us learn to take our everyday, ordinary lives and place them as on offering to you.  We want to be women who passionately pursue you each and every day.  Give us your strength, your wisdom and your help.  In Jesus Precious Name, Amen.

Ladies, if you have ever wanted to know how you can Live Your Life AS Your Ministry I think we just unlocked that door…are you going to walk through it with me?

I’d love to hear what steps you are going to take or already taking to “live your life as your ministry”.

Filed Under: Ministry Tagged With: encouragement, exemplify online, Mel's World, Melissa Mashburn, Ministry, women's ministry

Video: Right Motives

May 12, 2010 By Lisa Shaw 15 Comments

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DV677XEhxog[/youtube]

2 Chronicles 1:7-12 (NIV)  That night God appeared to Solomon and said to him, “Ask for whatever you want me to give you.”  Solomon answered God, “You have shown great kindness to David my father and have made me king in his place.  Now, LORD God, let your promise to my father David be confirmed, for you have made me king over a people who are as numerous as the dust of the earth.  Give me wisdom and knowledge, that I may lead this people, for who is able to govern this great people of yours?” God said to Solomon, “Since this is your heart’s desire and you have not asked for wealth, riches or honor, nor for the death of your enemies, and since you have not asked for a long life but for wisdom and knowledge to govern my people over whom I have made you king, therefore wisdom and knowledge will be given you. And I will also give you wealth, riches and honor, such as no king who was before you ever had and none after you will have.”

James 4:2-3 (NIV) You want something but don’t get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask God. 3When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.

Dear Abba Father,

We love and adore You and our hearts desire is to please You. We ask that You would grant us with Your wisdom to do those things which You have purposed us to do and may we do them with a spirit of excellence and unto Your glory.  Thank You Abba. We pray with humble hearts as Your children and we pray in the Name of our Precious Jesus. Amen and Amen.

Love and blessings to you all!

Lingering in His Presence,
Lisa Shaw
http://lisashawshares.blogspot.com

Filed Under: Ministry Tagged With: lisa shaw, video blogging

The Three B's of Ministry: Behavior Tips for Women in Ministry

May 5, 2010 By Leah 7 Comments

We are in the middle of a series on the ins and outs of ministry.  Two months ago I talked about the calling of God on our lives and how that looks and feels.  Last month we looked at self promotion and the fine line that we walk with this issue.  Today I want us to think about three other issues that are often ignored, but are of great importance in ministry.   Let’s dive in to the three B’s.

First, BE DILIGENT!  We need to be diligent about honing our skills and perfecting the craft that God has called us to, be it speaking, teaching, singing or anything else.  No matter how long we have been at it or how good we think we are, we can always improve.  God taught me this personally a few years ago.

I was expected to attend a speaker’s training course in order to comply with the requirements of a speaking ministry of which I was a member.  Now, understand that I had been speaking in the secular world for YEARS and YEARS.  To be honest, I had my feathers ruffled by the idea of attending a training conference.  What could they teach me that I didn’t already know?  Really, now?

However, I registered for the CLASSeminars program and went…..grudgingly…and with a very bad attitude.  I thought, “this is going to be the biggest waste of three days.”

WOW! Was I wrong!!  It was an incredible three days.  I learned SOOOO much and benefited a great deal with regard to my speaking.  Lesson learned!!

BE RELIABLE! If you and I make a commitment to an event or deadline we need to make sure we keep that commitment or meet that deadline.  Unless Jesus comes back and snatches us away or other extenuating circumstances occur….we must do what we say we will do.  Our reliability and consistency…or lack thereof…..reflects not only on our ministry, but also on our Lord. This deficit of a sense of responsibility is at epidemic stage in our country.  Be different!!  Be reliable and consistent!

Finally, BE FLEXIBLE!! God has a huge sense of humor and He is prone to sending us a different way than we would have imagined.  Whether it is in the preparation of a message or song or even an entire event, be flexible and allow Him to lead you.

Recently I, along with a friend, was hosting a weekend retreat for women.  We were very excited about it and had planned a phenomenal program.  The registration deadline came and we were far from the minimum number that we needed to pay the bills for the event.  We were forced to cancel the retreat.  I was so disappointed, but assumed that God had a reason for this twist in my plans.

On the day that the retreat was cancelled, the Lord opened a door for me to attend another event; one which I was not anticipating attending and at which would not be speaking.  I could not imagine why in the world He wanted me there, but it was blatantly obvious that He did even to a slow learner like me.

To tell you that I had an incredible weekend would be a significant understatement.  I was filled to overflowing spiritually.  Holy Spirit showed up in such a magnificent way and brought me five new, precious, godly friends, one of whom is walking through a personal struggle that virtually mirrors a struggle that I have dealt with in my days of walking the dusty sod of earth.

What a blessing I would have missed had I not been willing to be flexible.  If I had moped and sulked over ‘my retreat’ being cancelled, I would have let pass a huge God-ordained weekend.  I am so thankful that I heard from God AND was obedient to His whisper.

Be diligent.  Be reliable.  Be flexible.   Join me next month for more on the ins and outs of ministry.

Filed Under: Ministry Tagged With: Committment, Leah Adams, Ministry
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