Core Ministry Values

This isn’t a full philosophy of campus ministry–it’s more of a summary statement on my life and ministry.

At the core of my ministry lies a set of convictions summarizing my understanding
of the Biblical teachings on ministry and life.

I Must Nurture Intimacy With God: if I do not act out of a vibrant
spirituality, then I labor in vain. I must regularly:

  1. Pray:
    both with my spirit and with understanding
  2. Read
    His Word: for personal growth in addition to ministry tasks
  3. Attend
    Corporate Worship: participating regardless of my emotional state
  4. Meet
    With a Small Group of Fellow-Believers: for accountability and encouragement.

I Must Cultivate My Character: who I am is more important that
what I do. Character is a broad topic, but I consider these qualities
to be central:

  1. Honesty: neither telling lies nor slanting truth
  2. Consistency:
    acting on what I profess to believe in public and private
  3. Courage:
    disregarding personal consequences when facing moral choices
  4. Hard
    Work: doing the best I can do because God is always my boss
  5. Fiscal
    Responsibility: living within my means, being generous, saving for the
    future

I Must Build My Marriage: God gave me a wife for a reasonshe
is to be a friend and a partner in ministry. Plus, I will be married after
I retire. I ignore that fact at my peril.

I Must Hone My Skills: God deserves the very best I have to offer.
Therefore I read widely and wisely, and I earnestly desire book, conference,
and other resource recommendations from those I esteem. My goal is to
master the essentials of my profession. At present, I understand those
essentials to be:

  1. Spiritual
    Discipline: learning to live a Godward life
  2. Hermeneutics:
    learning to interpret the Bible responsibly
  3. Leadership:
    learning to help others act effectively
  4. Communication:
    learning to articulate ideas persuasively
  5. Marketing:
    learning to intrigue others with Christ and His Church

I Must Maintain Healthy Relationships: fundamentally, ministry
is about relationships. As a spiritual leader, I accept responsibility
for the health of the relationships I am involved with and will work to
deepen them.

I Must Rigorously Analyze My Beliefs: beliefs drive behavior.
I have a tremendous capacity for intellectual laziness and self-deception.
I must read the most challenging works and talk with the most challenging
people to test my ideas for truth.