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:
- Pray:
both with my spirit and with understanding - Read
His Word: for personal growth in addition to ministry tasks - Attend
Corporate Worship: participating regardless of my emotional state - 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:
- Honesty: neither telling lies nor slanting truth
- Consistency:
acting on what I profess to believe in public and private - Courage:
disregarding personal consequences when facing moral choices - Hard
Work: doing the best I can do because God is always my boss - 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:
- Spiritual
Discipline: learning to live a Godward life - Hermeneutics:
learning to interpret the Bible responsibly - Leadership:
learning to help others act effectively - Communication:
learning to articulate ideas persuasively - 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.