ministry
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How should you instill in people a godly ambition to take on more responsibility?
It’s helpful when people “step-up” and take on more responsibility. It allows leaders to delegate more and start new things and keep things going. But how should we motivate people to step-up? Rewards? Notoriety? Offer to meet up with them… Continue reading
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Limiting your ministry to “with my spouse” only
On one hand, married couples have a great ability to focus and influence and care and endorse. I love married couples who do team ministry. It’s great. There are certain seasons of life where this can happen more and others… Continue reading
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Debunking the small-church-is-better myths (Part 1)
I’m not part of a big-church (although many readers may think I am). We have about 12 full-time staff, 8 MTS apprentices, and just over 500 adults in GrowthGroups. Compared to Acts 2, we’re a small church about 10% its… Continue reading
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The difference between being in ‘sales’ and being in ‘ministry’ is…
The difference between being in ‘sales’ and being in ‘ministry’ is heartbreak. See, if I’m trying to sell you something, it’s because I get a commission, or it’s my job – get paid to help you want something (usually want… Continue reading
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Amaze people with “no reason”
If you’re in Christian leadership, its your job, your responsibility, to keep asking and encouraging people to give their time and effort to ministry. So much so, that it can feel like every interaction and phone call is a request.… Continue reading
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Ministry “Pioneers” vs ministry “Settlers”
In the early days of Europeans in Australia, everyone was a pioneer. Plowing up a plot of ground was a vocation, a way of life. You didn’t choose to be a farmer, farming was just what you had to do.… Continue reading
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Energy levels do not equate to amount of work done
Often when we talk about how much energy we have, we have the idea in our head that a certain amount of energy means we should be able to achieve a certain amount of output. That is, we assume human… Continue reading
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Things you can’t really understand until you’ve been in full-time ministry…
There’s nothing super-godly about being in “paid FT ministry”, but there are some things that you just couldn’t know without experiencing them first-hand… (This is why MTS is so important!!! No matter how much ministry you’ve been doing, or how… Continue reading
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Reblog: Do you have enough for people to do?
Imagine if everyone in your congregation(s) [who isn’t already giving a few hours to ministry at your church] all came to you next week and said they each wanted to give 2hrs – per week. Would you have enough for… Continue reading
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The arrogance of humble Christian ministry
When you do ministry in the spirit (and in the Spirit) of the gospel, it beckons a humility unlike many things in this world; servant-heartedness, other-person-centeredness, the willingness to sacrifices ones own desires and preferences and opinions for the good… Continue reading
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Would it have been better to just do walk-up?
Structures take a lot of effort. They take time. Human hours. Sometimes structures can get so big they no longer justify the number of human hrs it takes to make them happen. But how can you make that call? How… Continue reading
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Your way is not the only way it can get done right #horstmans-laws.8
(This is a series of reflections on Horstman’s Laws) If you’re in gospel ministry, it’s easy to get into a way of thinking that the way you do things is the right way… the only way. And when someone comes up and suggests… Continue reading
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What are they afraid of?
If you can help Christians answer this question for themselves, for their own lives and their own ministry involvement, you help them take a big step towards maturity as they face fear with the god who provides and promises to… Continue reading
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If you get devastated when your ministry fails, was it your idol?
Don’t think so highly of your ministry that you get wiped out when it doesn’t work. So… the kids didn’t come along. So… the person didn’t think it was valuable to meet with you. So… they decided to go to… Continue reading
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Your pastor doesn’t need to have experienced your special circumstance in order to pastor you
It is a firm reluctance to trust the word of God as authoritative when people assume they can only be “pastored” by a minister/church staff/gospel worker who has been through what they’ve been through. The single person CAN do marriage… Continue reading
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Why gospel workers don’t need real life experience
It’s often said that young men and women who are keen on doing gospel ministry full time should get some real life experience. But this advice is often misunderstood. The goal of getting real world experience is the same goal… Continue reading
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Why gospel ministry is about producing people, not things
We make disciples. That’s our Lord’s command. We’re not about making events, or buildings, or programs, or sermons, or books, or blogs. That doesn’t mean we don’t work on these things, it doesn’t mean we don’t also do these things.… Continue reading
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Why you should move people from front-of-house via back-of-house
Different sorts of people put their hand up to be “out the front” at church. And, to some extent, the very fact they’ve put their hand up for that might be a reason to raise some eyebrows – but that’s… Continue reading
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Why God gave you gifts
God gives gifts to individuals (like you) to serve his people (your church and the non-Christians around you). Gifts from God enable people to do particular tasks really well. If you’re struggling to do something at an average standard (kids… Continue reading
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What makes your task valuable…
The value of a task is not derived from who can do it, but who it is done for. Just because only a few people can do a task, doesn’t make it valuable. The preacher’s prep, the musician’s practice, the… Continue reading
MINISTRY PRINCIPLES & PRAGMATICS 