If you are anything like myself, there are times when some of the people you're not 'crazy' about write or say something you MUST agree with? I'm not fond of getting into the political discussions of the day, this is one of those moments when I must agree. I'm sure several of "my friends," will want me to jump off a bridge, but sorry, facts are facts and truth is well, the truth. "Ubuntu" T
Sunday July 29, 2012 7:45 AM
Free Speech applies to Christians, Too - commentary by Cal Thomas
Chick-fil-A President Dan Cathy is in hot water with the LGBT community because he committed the cardinal sin in an age of political correctness: Thou must not speak ill of anything gays, lesbians, bisexuals or transgenders wish to do.
In an interview with the Baptist Press and later on a Christian radio program, Cathy, whose father, the philanthropist Truett Cathy, founded the company, defended marriage between a man and a woman and when asked about the company’s support of traditional marriage said: “Guilty as charged. We are very much supportive of the family — the biblical definition of the family unit.” Cathy believes American society is rotting (and where is evidence to the contrary?) because the country has turned away from God.
That was it. Cathy did not say he would deny someone with a different view than his the right to eat in or work at any of his fast-food restaurants, which would violate the law. He did not say anything hateful about them. He simply expressed a deeply held conviction rooted in his Christian faith.
The reaction tells you everything you need to know about certain liberals who believe every sort of speech, activity and expression should be protected, except the speech, activity and expression of evangelical Christians.
Boston Mayor Thomas Menino said he would try to deny Chick-fil-A’s application for permits to open restaurants in that city. Now that’s discrimination. Menino wants to ban Chick-fil-A in Boston, not for discriminating against customers or employees, but because of its owner’s beliefs, a threat he has since backed away from. Does Boston have “thought police” who might investigate whether other business owners already operating in the city hold similar views? I’ll bet there’s someone at Durgin-Park who holds similar views. What about a player for the Boston Red Sox? Better follow them to see if any of them go to church.
Maybe Menino would like to force business owners in the city to testify before an official panel of grand inquisitors and then deny operating licenses to anyone who believes traditional marriage should be the norm.
In Chicago, Mayor Rahm Emanuel has said, “Chick-fil-A’s values are not Chicago values.” Are Chicago values represented by the anti-Semitic firebrand Louis Farrakhan, with whom Emanuel is going to partner in hopes of reducing the number of homicides in his city? Are Farrakhan’s anti-Semitic and anti-gay sentiments somehow more palatable, more of value, than Dan Cathy’s support of marriage and family?
The Weekly Standard found a video posted on the Nation of Islam’s website of a Farrakhan speech two months ago in which he blasted President Barack Obama for endorsing same-sex marriage. Farrakhan said Obama is “the first president that sanctioned what the scriptures forbid.” He added, “Sin is sin according to the standard of God,” and “the Bible forbids it.”
That goes a lot further than Dan Cathy.
The Jim Henson Company has decided to pull its Creature Shop toys from Chick-fil-A and donate profits already made to GLAAD, the media-monitoring group that promotes the image of LGBT people. I knew Jim Henson when we both worked at the NBC-TV station in Washington in the mid-1960s. While we never discussed politics, I don’t think at the time, at least, he would have wanted his characters, which appeal to everyone, involved in a cultural and political battle.
Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and former Sen. Rick Santorum, both also former presidential candidates, have called for a show of support for Cathy. They want people to eat at Chick-fil-A restaurants on Aug. 1.
This is more than an economic battle. It is a First Amendment issue. Freedom of speech is guaranteed by the Constitution. Dan Cathy has a right to his opinion, so does Farrakhan, so do we all.
The real “war” in this country is not only against the supposed civil right of nontraditional marriage. It is a war against conservative Christians and a denial of the same rights the LGBT community claims for itself. Free speech is an American value. We shouldn’t settle for anything less.
Cal Thomas writes for Tribune Media Services.
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
Monday, July 30, 2012
Praying Together on Monday - 7/30/2012
Abba,
Today I thank you for redeeming me and calling me into your service. You could have done the first and not the second. You have given me more than I deserve or could have thought possible. Your blessings are overwhelming, THANK YOU.
I pray today for those of us who have called into a life of service, and find ourselves in places we never expected. We question why me, why here, why now. We wonder if I got it wrong, and yet we struggle to fight on, not with others, but so often we my (our) selves. I ask for your continued courage to keep moving in and at your direction.
Forgive me because I fall victim to cult of now, the fashion of the moment, the desire to become, when all you really want is my heart. Jesus, I'm not a good listener, but the noise of this world (life) causes me to mistake activity for time alone with you. thank for these times, when it's just you and me. Help me shut out the busyness of my daily routine and find a place just for you and me. Even now, come Lord Jesus, come.
May I find peace in the place where you call me too, the work you given me, the people with whom I serve, my family. Thank you being near, not only in this moment, but every moment. Thank you for loving me, where I am, but you're always moving me ever closer and near to yourself, I bless you in your own name, AMEN!!!
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Romans 8:31
Enjoy the beautiful flowers . . . .
An Angel says:
'Never borrow from the future. If you worry about what may happen tomorrow and it doesn't happen, you have worried in vain. Even if it does happen, you have to worry twice.'
1. Pray
2. Go to bed on time.
3. Get up on time so you can start the day unrushed.
4. Say no to projects that won't fit into your time schedule or that will compromise your mental health.
5. Delegate tasks to capable others.
6. Simplify and unclutter your life.
7. Less is more. (Although one is often not enough, two are often too many.)
8. Allow extra time to do things and to get to places.
9. Pace yourself. Spread out big changes and difficult projects over time; don't lump the hard things all together.
10. Take one day at a time.
11. Separate worries from concerns. If a situation is a concern, find out what God would have you do and let go of the anxiety. If you can't do anything about a situation, forget it.
12. Live within your budget; don't use credit cards for ordinary purchases.
13. Have backups: an extra car key in your wallet, an extra house key buried in the garden, extra stamps, etc.
14. K.M.S. (Keep Mouth Shut). This single piece of advice can prevent an enormous amount of trouble.
15. Do something for the kid in you every day.
16. Carry a spiritually enlightening book with you to read while waiting in line.
17. Get enough rest.
18. Eat right.
19. Get organized so everything has its place.
20. Listen to a tape while driving that can help improve your quality of life.
21. Write down thoughts and inspirations.
22. Every day, find time to be alone.
23. Having problems?Talk to God on the spot. Try to nip small problems in the bud. Don't wait until it's time to go to bed to try and pray.
24. Make friends with Godly people.
25. Keep a folder of favorite scriptures on hand.
26. Remember that the shortest bridge between despair and hope is often a good
'Thank you GOD'.
27. Laugh.
28. Laugh some more!
29. Take your work seriously, but not yourself at all.
30. Develop a forgiving attitude (most people are doing the best they can).
31. Be kind to unkind people (they probably need it the most).
32. Sit on your ego.
33. Talk less; listen more.
34. Slow down.
35. Remind yourself that you are not the General Manager of the universe.
36. Every night before bed, think of one thing you're grateful for that you've never been grateful for before. GOD HAS A WAY OF TURNING THINGS AROUND FOR YOU.
'If God is for us, who can be against us?'(Romans8:31)
My instructions were to send this to four people that I wanted God to bless, and I picked you. I decided to send it to more than four, because I didn't want to limit blessings.
Monday, July 23, 2012
Abba,
Today I want to thank you for Monday, the first day of a new work week. Thank you for the opportunities you have and will set before me and the means by which you will help me walk through them. Thank you for those I work with and those I have yet to meet who will help me to them see you transform the situation we will face. Thank you for your presence in the little things, for options I didn’t know I’d have and for those you will guide me through into unexpected places and results.
Thank you for new friends and fellow believers who are struggling with ugly situations and feelings of being betrayal. The anguish of pouring your heart into a ministry of love and finding your home and ministry ransacked, and find the very items used to bring blessings stolen and torn apart. For those who know only how to love those unlike themselves but it was and is your Spirit that motivated us to move and serve as we attempt to do.
Thank you for fellow servants who walk with us, especially those who are near and want to share the burden; thank you for their hearts, prayers and tears. Thank you as they share their resources, even while limited. I praise you for those who have help with their limited resources and yet they too struggle with challenges I don’t understand.
Thank you for Monday, and with it your blessing to begin again, start again, and throw myself into your powerful and loving arms, you have a purpose and a plan even when I don’t understand why? Thanks for being near and yes dispelling my doubt and fears for filling me with a faith in yourself. For your confidence that you will arrange an outcome, that pleases yourself. by faith I’m learning to walk into it, with thanksgiving, In Jesus name I pray, AMEN!!!
Friday, July 20, 2012
JUST THINKING:- 7/20/2012
In every area of your life there ought to be some (here goes, "watch this, . . .") FUN! Enjoyment if you will. If you have a job and you need to grab yourself by you backside and drag yourself into work every day, find somewhere else to work!
In ministry it's the same, if you are out of place, go to God in prayer and with the support of those you work with, find out what you do best and were you should be, then work to place yourself where you will find joy in working. God may choose to call you to a place of suffering or struggle, that's His choice, but even there He will provide you with strength of the battle and journey. Learn to laugh again, even if it's at yourself! I'm sorry that you've never done anything dumb, I know I have, and I hate being there alone.
Being so stiff you lost the joy of serving, doesn't make you Holy or superior, you just look and feel funny to others. Get over yourself and have some FUN! "The joy of the Lord is your strength," and we both know it. Want to talk about it, love to, write me at thobur1@gmail.com Keep growing!!! Love ya,
In ministry it's the same, if you are out of place, go to God in prayer and with the support of those you work with, find out what you do best and were you should be, then work to place yourself where you will find joy in working. God may choose to call you to a place of suffering or struggle, that's His choice, but even there He will provide you with strength of the battle and journey. Learn to laugh again, even if it's at yourself! I'm sorry that you've never done anything dumb, I know I have, and I hate being there alone.
Being so stiff you lost the joy of serving, doesn't make you Holy or superior, you just look and feel funny to others. Get over yourself and have some FUN! "The joy of the Lord is your strength," and we both know it. Want to talk about it, love to, write me at thobur1@gmail.com Keep growing!!! Love ya,
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
JUST THINKING:
1 Corinthians 13:4-8
Loving deeply is the only way to love. Love requires throwing your heart into a relationship or ministry which means you risk everything for it. But what if . . ., there is no what if in love, its all or nothing. Sadly, I too have had love thrown back, rejected in my face, but I'm called to remember Jesus on the cross, " . . Father forgive them, they don't know what they do." Christ rose from the dead, and so can you, when you love as He did, He does and He will live love out of and through you. Empowered by the Holy Spirit, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. " When they reject you, without knowing it, they are rejecting His gift to them. Then who is the loser?
Loving deeply is the only way to love. Love requires throwing your heart into a relationship or ministry which means you risk everything for it. But what if . . ., there is no what if in love, its all or nothing. Sadly, I too have had love thrown back, rejected in my face, but I'm called to remember Jesus on the cross, " . . Father forgive them, they don't know what they do." Christ rose from the dead, and so can you, when you love as He did, He does and He will live love out of and through you. Empowered by the Holy Spirit, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. " When they reject you, without knowing it, they are rejecting His gift to them. Then who is the loser?
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
Monday, July 16, 2012
Abba,
Today I thank you for each of these your children called to be your servants, and the opportunity to be a part in sharing hope in a time filled with hopelessness and despair. Father our world and our county are divided, economically, socially, racially, why even Your church is divided. Come Holy Spirit, may we learn to sing again, "Onward Christian soldiers, marching as to war, . . .; All one body we, one in hope and doctrine, one in charity, . . ." While this hymn may no longer be popular, its truth remains. Lord we are at war, and many are asleep, made comfortable by our social standing or status and place in the world.
May our hearts be knit together for one cause, one Lord, one faith and one baptism, Oh, that we might be one in you, by you and because of you. May your love kindle a fire within us, and may that fire burn into a flame so hot, it purges my own prejudice and selfishness. I am yours through no act of my own will, you chose me (us). Somehow may I learn to love the 'least of these,' and even for those who don't care, even they are yours.
You want to break down the walls that divide us, and you've provided the tool, love. May i pick it up and weld it in the power of the Holy Spirit, break my heart so that you can accomplish Your pleasure and demonstrate it to the world and say " . . . behold they love one another." My prayer today is for each of us, that we might somehow get to know those that different from myself and not merely on the surface but in digging deeper and beyond the polite conversation and daring to become not only 'brothers and sisters in Christ," but friends who challenge each other because of our passionate love for Yourself and Your Kingdom.
Jesus, I pray today for those who have given themselves to sharing you in places that seem to break the heart of the worker; for those who weep because of lack and limitation, and yet they press on. For those where thanks are few, and those who ask," why are you here?" For those who cry tears unseen by anyone, because of another life loss to violence in their neighborhood. And yes, for those who live among affluence and never see that tragic loss of spiritual and emotional life around them. Lord, I thank you that I (we) are not alone in this struggle, You're right in there with us, THANKS, for being here, and standing with us, THANK YOU for this Your VICTORY!!
I love you, but I'm just returning what you gave me, I do you no favor, but honor you most when I reach out to someone who like myself faces my own anger, prejudices and yes, faithlessness and falls before you in real repentance and sense your hand reaching out to me, hearing Your gentle and strong voice saying to me, " . . .come here, I love you and get you!" "I am at work, even here!"
In your Name I pray, AMEN!!!
Love ya,
T.A.B.
T.A.B.
Monday, July 9, 2012
Abba, today I pray for for those of us who have been called into your service. For those who labor in places where few if any know their name or the work they do.
For those whose heart ache for the forgotten, lonely and marginalized, the poor and “those people.” You know who they and we are. Not only do you know us, but you lived among us, labored with your hands, sweat over the work your earthly father taught you. You are no stranger to hard work and now we take up this our cross in your name.
Bless I pray these hearts, even as we labor among those who have power and infulance, but sometimes look the other way when needs present themselves and would cause even a minor inconvenience. Open our hearts not only for these, but for those like ourselves who do similar work but I don’t know them.
I thank you for those who have given themselves the foreign missions, they left the comfort of what they knew to share your love ‘over-seas.’ Yet now is heart turned to those who choice (of felt lead) to ‘stay home’ and bring the good news to hurting communities here at home. for those who create gardens in the inner-city, and share the produce with the community; for those who visit the homes of the elderly, sick and shut ins were often their own child don’t visit much. Thank you for those who hold the hand of someone who has told you the same story four times during your visit. For those who love you but must go to a job everyday and can’t do anything I just say, but wish and want too, I thank you! Bless them in their desire.
I thank you for the place where I serve, it is your pleasure for the moment. forgive me because there are moments when i want to “get out or move on,” to some more productive field, your pleasure is here in this place and time, thank you. I struggle with why me, why here and why now? You know what you are working out in and around me, help me to learn to embrace where and what I am and you are making of me. For those who love and find no one to return it, help me to be blessed in the drawing of a young child, a paper flower, etc., these are often your reminders, you voice to me and us, “I Love YOU!” May I find joy and blessing until you bring that someone I long for into my life.
Jesus, I’m yours; even in my brokenness, in what I consider failure or lack of success, you are with me, You’ve never left me. May I trust you for the unseen outcome, the results you created of something I did that you led me into and I never saw the outcome. THANK YOU for loving me, for holding me and giving me courage to stand and fight on in Your name. I am not responsible for results, I am called be be your Son (Daughter) and Servant, the results are up to you.
I love you, my Savior, Lord and King, AMEN!!!
For those whose heart ache for the forgotten, lonely and marginalized, the poor and “those people.” You know who they and we are. Not only do you know us, but you lived among us, labored with your hands, sweat over the work your earthly father taught you. You are no stranger to hard work and now we take up this our cross in your name.
Bless I pray these hearts, even as we labor among those who have power and infulance, but sometimes look the other way when needs present themselves and would cause even a minor inconvenience. Open our hearts not only for these, but for those like ourselves who do similar work but I don’t know them.
I thank you for those who have given themselves the foreign missions, they left the comfort of what they knew to share your love ‘over-seas.’ Yet now is heart turned to those who choice (of felt lead) to ‘stay home’ and bring the good news to hurting communities here at home. for those who create gardens in the inner-city, and share the produce with the community; for those who visit the homes of the elderly, sick and shut ins were often their own child don’t visit much. Thank you for those who hold the hand of someone who has told you the same story four times during your visit. For those who love you but must go to a job everyday and can’t do anything I just say, but wish and want too, I thank you! Bless them in their desire.
I thank you for the place where I serve, it is your pleasure for the moment. forgive me because there are moments when i want to “get out or move on,” to some more productive field, your pleasure is here in this place and time, thank you. I struggle with why me, why here and why now? You know what you are working out in and around me, help me to learn to embrace where and what I am and you are making of me. For those who love and find no one to return it, help me to be blessed in the drawing of a young child, a paper flower, etc., these are often your reminders, you voice to me and us, “I Love YOU!” May I find joy and blessing until you bring that someone I long for into my life.
Jesus, I’m yours; even in my brokenness, in what I consider failure or lack of success, you are with me, You’ve never left me. May I trust you for the unseen outcome, the results you created of something I did that you led me into and I never saw the outcome. THANK YOU for loving me, for holding me and giving me courage to stand and fight on in Your name. I am not responsible for results, I am called be be your Son (Daughter) and Servant, the results are up to you.
I love you, my Savior, Lord and King, AMEN!!!
Saturday, July 7, 2012
Visions Become Reality July 6, 2012
The parched ground shall become a pool . . . —Isaiah 35:7We always have a vision of something before it actually becomes real to us. When we realize that the vision is real, but is not yet real in us, Satan comes to us with his temptations, and we are inclined to say that there is no point in even trying to continue. Instead of the vision becoming real to us, we have entered into a valley of humiliation.
Life is not as idle ore,
But iron dug from central gloom,
And battered by the shocks of doom
To shape and use.
God gives us a vision, and then He takes us down to the valley to batter us into the shape of that vision. It is in the valley that so many of us give up and faint. Every God-given vision will become real if we will only have patience. Just think of the enormous amount of free time God has! He is never in a hurry. Yet we are always in such a frantic hurry. While still in the light of the glory of the vision, we go right out to do things, but the vision is not yet real in us. God has to take us into the valley and put us through fires and floods to batter us into shape, until we get to the point where He can trust us with the reality of the vision. Ever since God gave us the vision, He has been at work. He is getting us into the shape of the goal He has for us, and yet over and over again we try to escape from the Sculptor’s hand in an effort to batter ourselves into the shape of our own goal.
The vision that God gives is not some unattainable castle in the sky, but a vision of what God wants you to be down here. Allow the Potter to put you on His wheel and whirl you around as He desires. Then as surely as God is God, and you are you, you will turn out as an exact likeness of the vision. But don’t lose heart in the process. If you have ever had a vision from God, you may try as you will to be satisfied on a lower level, but God will never allow it.
My prayerful response:
Abba, I thank you for the vision you gave me a very long time ago; it was you who gave it, thank you again. The vision is real, but no it isn’t real in me. There have been moments when I’ve said, there isn’t any reason to keep going, “you’re a fool for wanting or thinking you could be . . . “Forgive me!! Satan and his temptations are real, very real, how often have I allowed him to blind me even for a moment to you. your truth, your vision and purpose for me anD my life.
I thank you for the valley where you led me and walked with me, even when I felt alone. “ . . .and no man cared for my soul.” I thank you for teaching me patience, it is a hard but useful lesson, but you are a great teacher. forgive me for giving up so often. You’ve been at work on my behalf in ways and means I’ve knew nothing about, thank you. I continue to think of myself as a failure, (there I’ve said it!) I’m in a hurry, you’re not and yes, even now, a very big hurry, forgive me. I want to do or be something, forgetting you say, I am something and someone already. I’m yours, its not what I have, or who knows me, or how often I’m mentioned in high places, but that I’m known by you, following you, completing the work you want of me. Jesus, i am who you say I am; I am becoming who and what you want of me, for the purpose you designed and wished for me, Thank You! Help me to remain in the place where you can get the greatest glory. I like Jacob. “ . . . the Lord was here, but I didn’t know it.” Forgive me because I judge too much before the time.
All of this time you’ve been at work in or around me, but I didn’t know it. My sense of failure has been a false one; I have no idea, what you have accomplished, nor do I have the right to attempt to judge the result(s).
forgive me because I believe my being rejected, etc., was the result of . . . , whatever I might think, is probably very wrong. Thank you for being at work, not only behind the scenes, but in ways and places I will never know or understand, not even in part or in a small way. thank you for getting me into the shape you want of me. It just seems fifty years is a long time. thank you for the goal you have for me, and shaping me as you have and continue to make of me.
Thank you for reminding me, that the goal you set isn’t unattainable, but very attainable even for me. You would give me something to do, or be, that you could
accomplish. So do your best work Jesus, in places and by means I never thought or know possible. I will turn out as an exact likeness of the vision you had in mind for me. THANK YOU!!! Abba, hold my heart along the process. Thank you for not allowing me to settle for being on a lower level than what you want of me. I love you for the dream, the goal and the desire. AMEN!!!
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
10 Real Reasons Pastors Quit Too Soon
Over 1,700 pastors leave the ministry every month. This staggering number includes some of the brightest, most inspiring pastors in the country. To prevent the continued flight of our pastors, we need to understand the cause of the problem. Though every situation is unique, the reasons pastors leave are often similar. Here are 10 common reasons pastors quit too soon.
1. Discouragement
Fifty percent of pastors report feeling so discouraged they would leave the ministry if they could. Complaints speak louder than compliments. You can receive 15 compliments and one complaint, and the complaint will stick. When you hear criticism and look out to see empty pews, it can be difficult to recognize the positive impact you’re making. The key is to remember: no matter how much negative you hear, you’re always doing 10 times more good.
2. Failure
Seventy percent of pastors say they have a lower self-image now than when they started. Many pastors have difficulty recognizing success. They compare themselves to other pastors and other ministries. Comparisons produce only two outcomes: (1) you think you’re better, which results in excessive pride, or (2) you feel like you don’t measure up, which creates a sense of failure. The key is not to compare, but to celebrate your successes.
3. Loneliness
Seventy percent of pastors do not have someone they consider a close friend. With so many people looking to pastors for guidance, it can be difficult for pastors to let their guards down. They don’t want to come across as less than perfect. They feel they can’t be transparent and vulnerable. That creates a sense of isolation. It’s important for pastors to find people they can open up and share their struggles with, instead of absorbing and isolating.
4. Moral Failure
Thirty-three percent of pastors confess having involved in inappropriate sexual behavior. The moral failures of pastors are magnified more than the average person. The key to avoiding moral failures is creating a system of risk prevention. When you meet with someone of the opposite sex: let your spouse know, never meet behind closed doors, and do not discuss relationship issues. For pornography, software is available to monitor or block Web activity.
5. Financial Pressure
Seventy percent of pastors feel grossly underpaid. Most ministries are nonprofits so pastors are not compensated well. When you can’t fully provide the life you want for your family, it makes it hard to continue. Then you look at friends not in the ministry with big houses and nice cars. Pastors can relieve the pressure with better financial planning. Try following the 80-10-10 rule – 10% to church, 10% to savings, and 80% to live off.
6. Anger
Each year, 4,000 new churches begin and 7,000 churches close. When things aren’t going well, pastors become angry – with others, themselves, or God. Thoughts fall along these lines: “I did everything you told me. I went to seminary. I started a ministry. Why are you not doing what you said?” The worst thing about anger is it spreads like wildfire. The medicine for anger is forgiveness. We have to forgive so we can move forward.
7. Burnout
Ninety percent of the pastors report working between 55 to 75 hours per week. Pastors are put on a treadmill. They go from the ministry to a hospital visit to writing a sermon to meeting with congregation members. They just keep running until there’s no passion or energy left. They become exhausted and depleted. Vacations and sabbaticals can provide perspective. Another key is empowering other leaders so all the weight is not on the pastor’s shoulders.
8. Physical Health
Seventy-five percent of pastors report significant stress-related crisis at least once in their ministry. Many pastors overwork themselves and simply do not care for their bodies. When you’re busy, it’s easy to eat poorly. But eating the right foods is essential to physical health. It’s the difference between fueling the body and depleting the body. Pastors also don’t get enough rest or regular exercise. Exercise makes a huge difference in physical and mental health.
9. Marriage/Family Problems
Eighty percent of pastors believe pastoral ministry has negatively affected their families. Too often, a pastor’s spouse and children end up taking a backseat to the ministry. The key is balance. Marriage has to be a top priority. Your relationship with your spouse is the most important relationship you have on this Earth. You have to nurture your family relationships – whether that means having family night or seeking counseling.
10. Too Busy/Driven
Ninety percent of pastors feel they are inadequately trained to cope with the ministry demands. A lot of pastors simply are not working efficiently. They are not protecting their calendars or giving themselves the space they need. They haven’t learned how to say “no.” Being busy is not always being productive. Pastors need to find ways to maximize the use of their time. You have to learn how to say “no” at the right times.
Take a look at these 10 points, then pray and ask God: What area do I really need to address? Where am I struggling? Once you identify the areas where you need to improve, take these three steps:
• Ask for help. If you’re struggling, there is absolutely nothing wrong with asking someone for help.
• Institute accountability. Find a group or person to keep you accountable in the areas you think you are weak.
• Take ownership of your choices. More than anyone else, you control the path you walk.
Take actions and precautions to make sure you don’t let any of these 10 reasons separate you from your passion for the ministry and your calling.
From a Post on FB by Jason Tyree
Over 1,700 pastors leave the ministry every month. This staggering number includes some of the brightest, most inspiring pastors in the country. To prevent the continued flight of our pastors, we need to understand the cause of the problem. Though every situation is unique, the reasons pastors leave are often similar. Here are 10 common reasons pastors quit too soon.
1. Discouragement
Fifty percent of pastors report feeling so discouraged they would leave the ministry if they could. Complaints speak louder than compliments. You can receive 15 compliments and one complaint, and the complaint will stick. When you hear criticism and look out to see empty pews, it can be difficult to recognize the positive impact you’re making. The key is to remember: no matter how much negative you hear, you’re always doing 10 times more good.
2. Failure
Seventy percent of pastors say they have a lower self-image now than when they started. Many pastors have difficulty recognizing success. They compare themselves to other pastors and other ministries. Comparisons produce only two outcomes: (1) you think you’re better, which results in excessive pride, or (2) you feel like you don’t measure up, which creates a sense of failure. The key is not to compare, but to celebrate your successes.
3. Loneliness
Seventy percent of pastors do not have someone they consider a close friend. With so many people looking to pastors for guidance, it can be difficult for pastors to let their guards down. They don’t want to come across as less than perfect. They feel they can’t be transparent and vulnerable. That creates a sense of isolation. It’s important for pastors to find people they can open up and share their struggles with, instead of absorbing and isolating.
4. Moral Failure
Thirty-three percent of pastors confess having involved in inappropriate sexual behavior. The moral failures of pastors are magnified more than the average person. The key to avoiding moral failures is creating a system of risk prevention. When you meet with someone of the opposite sex: let your spouse know, never meet behind closed doors, and do not discuss relationship issues. For pornography, software is available to monitor or block Web activity.
5. Financial Pressure
Seventy percent of pastors feel grossly underpaid. Most ministries are nonprofits so pastors are not compensated well. When you can’t fully provide the life you want for your family, it makes it hard to continue. Then you look at friends not in the ministry with big houses and nice cars. Pastors can relieve the pressure with better financial planning. Try following the 80-10-10 rule – 10% to church, 10% to savings, and 80% to live off.
6. Anger
Each year, 4,000 new churches begin and 7,000 churches close. When things aren’t going well, pastors become angry – with others, themselves, or God. Thoughts fall along these lines: “I did everything you told me. I went to seminary. I started a ministry. Why are you not doing what you said?” The worst thing about anger is it spreads like wildfire. The medicine for anger is forgiveness. We have to forgive so we can move forward.
7. Burnout
Ninety percent of the pastors report working between 55 to 75 hours per week. Pastors are put on a treadmill. They go from the ministry to a hospital visit to writing a sermon to meeting with congregation members. They just keep running until there’s no passion or energy left. They become exhausted and depleted. Vacations and sabbaticals can provide perspective. Another key is empowering other leaders so all the weight is not on the pastor’s shoulders.
8. Physical Health
Seventy-five percent of pastors report significant stress-related crisis at least once in their ministry. Many pastors overwork themselves and simply do not care for their bodies. When you’re busy, it’s easy to eat poorly. But eating the right foods is essential to physical health. It’s the difference between fueling the body and depleting the body. Pastors also don’t get enough rest or regular exercise. Exercise makes a huge difference in physical and mental health.
9. Marriage/Family Problems
Eighty percent of pastors believe pastoral ministry has negatively affected their families. Too often, a pastor’s spouse and children end up taking a backseat to the ministry. The key is balance. Marriage has to be a top priority. Your relationship with your spouse is the most important relationship you have on this Earth. You have to nurture your family relationships – whether that means having family night or seeking counseling.
10. Too Busy/Driven
Ninety percent of pastors feel they are inadequately trained to cope with the ministry demands. A lot of pastors simply are not working efficiently. They are not protecting their calendars or giving themselves the space they need. They haven’t learned how to say “no.” Being busy is not always being productive. Pastors need to find ways to maximize the use of their time. You have to learn how to say “no” at the right times.
Take a look at these 10 points, then pray and ask God: What area do I really need to address? Where am I struggling? Once you identify the areas where you need to improve, take these three steps:
• Ask for help. If you’re struggling, there is absolutely nothing wrong with asking someone for help.
• Institute accountability. Find a group or person to keep you accountable in the areas you think you are weak.
• Take ownership of your choices. More than anyone else, you control the path you walk.
Take actions and precautions to make sure you don’t let any of these 10 reasons separate you from your passion for the ministry and your calling.
From a Post on FB by Jason Tyree
A Prayer at midnight . . . 7/2/2012
Father tonight I pray for your children, those whose hearts are heavy with personal concerns. Those Longing for love and to be loved; to know that someone cares about them, yes, we know you care, yet there are those moments when they long for a gentle word, and the warmth of the hand of another, who love you and them as well. I thank you for the reminder, I am and you are not alone, forgotten or abandoned. May in this moment Your comfort and strength refresh their heart, THANK YOU for being my friend and lover of my soul and my very life. Because of it, I (we) can make it, no matter where it is or what is before me. I rest now in your strong and loving arms, " . . . great peace have they who love thy law, and nothing will shall cause them to stumble." Ps. 119:165
AMEN!
AMEN!
Monday, July 2, 2012
Praying together on Monday,
Well, here we are Abba, facing another week, my calendar tells me what a week this will be, and I wonder . . . ? Come Holy Spirit, I need you to not only in what must be done, but in those empty spaces and places that allow me doubt you and your blessing upon and in my life.
I thank you for people, who allow me to walk with them, and listen, who are willing to allow me to to share their life as a brother, knowing I can’t ‘fix’ the problem, but that there is somebody just like them who cares about them. Thank you for being present with them in this moment; but sometimes, I thank you for a friend or brother, who has ‘skin on,’ and chooses to walk or be near.
I thank you for my own personal struggles, it reminds me that I am just a man, a human and not ‘Superman,’ the loneliness and tears are real; the pain of serving is one you understand, my questions are many, the friend and fellow-laborers so few, those who dare to be ‘real’ . . . well you know I how feel, you felt this way when you walked in the flesh, THANK YOU!
Come, Holy Spirit, come, I know you’re near, but this coming week, well how unsure am I? Very! What am I to do now, where am I to go, who . . ., Come Holy Spirit come. Thank you for the reassurance of this moment, you whisper, “ . . . I’m here!” Thank you for the reminder, that I am (we are) not alone. You the Holy Spirit are present, right here and right NOW!!!
May today and this week be the start of what you’ve been moving me toward and I couldn’t see or image it. May my confidence be entirely in yourself, “ . . .I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” I thank you for the victory, “ . . . not by might nor by power, but by your
Spirit . . .”
Here we are Jesus, left alone, but not forgotten, struggling but not without help, broken, but not beyond repair. Thank you for making me your own, when I cry out, you reach out and save me and remind me, “I never expected you to do this alone.” Thanks for the help, encouragement, and hope; thanks for being here.
So then I thank you for bless week, bless work, the blessing of help, hope and victory, in every act and action we take; yes, we, You and I together. Bless those who would have me STOP!!! There are those who don't believe you can do what you say, this is after all your work, I’m walking in, thank you for the personal growth, both spiritually and as a person. Your victory is assured. I love you Abba, AMEN!!!
Well, here we are Abba, facing another week, my calendar tells me what a week this will be, and I wonder . . . ? Come Holy Spirit, I need you to not only in what must be done, but in those empty spaces and places that allow me doubt you and your blessing upon and in my life.
I thank you for people, who allow me to walk with them, and listen, who are willing to allow me to to share their life as a brother, knowing I can’t ‘fix’ the problem, but that there is somebody just like them who cares about them. Thank you for being present with them in this moment; but sometimes, I thank you for a friend or brother, who has ‘skin on,’ and chooses to walk or be near.
I thank you for my own personal struggles, it reminds me that I am just a man, a human and not ‘Superman,’ the loneliness and tears are real; the pain of serving is one you understand, my questions are many, the friend and fellow-laborers so few, those who dare to be ‘real’ . . . well you know I how feel, you felt this way when you walked in the flesh, THANK YOU!
Come, Holy Spirit, come, I know you’re near, but this coming week, well how unsure am I? Very! What am I to do now, where am I to go, who . . ., Come Holy Spirit come. Thank you for the reassurance of this moment, you whisper, “ . . . I’m here!” Thank you for the reminder, that I am (we are) not alone. You the Holy Spirit are present, right here and right NOW!!!
May today and this week be the start of what you’ve been moving me toward and I couldn’t see or image it. May my confidence be entirely in yourself, “ . . .I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” I thank you for the victory, “ . . . not by might nor by power, but by your
Spirit . . .”
Here we are Jesus, left alone, but not forgotten, struggling but not without help, broken, but not beyond repair. Thank you for making me your own, when I cry out, you reach out and save me and remind me, “I never expected you to do this alone.” Thanks for the help, encouragement, and hope; thanks for being here.
So then I thank you for bless week, bless work, the blessing of help, hope and victory, in every act and action we take; yes, we, You and I together. Bless those who would have me STOP!!! There are those who don't believe you can do what you say, this is after all your work, I’m walking in, thank you for the personal growth, both spiritually and as a person. Your victory is assured. I love you Abba, AMEN!!!
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