Burned Out,Flamed Out Or Tired Out?

Some estimates reveal that a high percentage of those who enter vocational ministry will only last 5 years. Others sources document that a mere 1 out of 10 actually reach retirement.

In the following article, Rick Warren explains to conference attendees why he believes many he knew 10 yrs ago are no longer in ministry. You may be surprised by Warrens diagnosis and his prognosis.

[RGH]

"About 10 years ago, Pastor Rick Warren made a long list of the "up-and-coming" pastors in America he wanted to pray for.

Just as he had older mentors who prayed for him when he started Saddleback Church in southern California at 25 years of age, he felt compelled to do the same for the younger generation of pastors.

Unfortunately, about half the people he listed are no longer in ministry today.

"They burned out; they flamed out morally; they got tired; they got discouraged; they quit," Warren said Tuesday to thousands of pastors and ministry leaders.

"You don't get credit for starting the race. You get credit for ending it well," he stressed. "The only way you're going to finish well is if you build roots, not fads, not therapies, not management."


Warren, who has been training pastors for 30 years, believes most churches, pastors and Christian leaders are "spiritually rootless." While they chase the latest fad, methodology or technology, many are not rooting themselves deep in Christ, Scripture and love. And without deep roots, Christ followers give up ministry as soon as life gets hard. "


http://www.christianpost.com/article/20100210/rick-warren-calls-for-radicals-rooted-in-christ/index.html

The Temptation To Seperate Public and Private Life

Justin Taylor posted this insightful article by Paul Tripp. We should all ask,"Is This me?"
[rgh]

..." we are used to big borders between your public personal and your private life. By the time you are nine years old you learn that there are things you don’t talk about and must protect. We live in an incredibly individualized culture. We are very used to living in networks of terminally casual relationships. We are very used to living as fundamentally unknown. What that can promote is this disconnect between public ministry and the actual realities of my private life. Not only do those exist, but no one knows they exist because few people know me."

"How many people actually know you? How many people are aware of, concerned about, ministering to, not the public guy of leadership, but to the private man? How many people know what kind of relationship you have with your wife? How many people know what kind of dad you are, the condition of your finances, what you do with the rest of your evening when you leave your study, where you go on your computer? How many people in your life actually step over that boundary between public persona and private life?"

"Would you say that there is any way in your life that the public man is different than the private man? Is there consistency between public confession, public preaching, public calls to godliness and the way you approach your life, or is there incongruity? "

http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/justintaylor/2010/02/01/paul-tripp-the-dangerous-calling-of-pastoral-ministry-and-culture

J. Lee Grady Is Antagonizing!

Writing in Charisma Magazine, J.Lee Grady absolutely “speaks truth in love”. His words are biblically antagonizing! [rgh]

“We’ve mastered the art of hype. We know how to fake the anointing. We push people to the floor during our altar times. We know how to manipulate music and crowds so that we can create the atmosphere of the anointing. But in so many cases the real anointing isn’t there. In its place is a hollow imitation.”

“Some charismatic leaders today are even selling specially handcrafted oils that promise the Holy Spirit’s power. Others sell scented candles that claim to bring God’s presence. And last year one brother was traveling the country with feathers in a jar-claiming that these belonged to an angel with healing powers.

“Lord, forgive us for our charlatanism….”

http://charismamag.com/index.php/fire-in-my-bones/26080-recovering-the-axe-head-of-genuine-anointing

The Theological Serenity Prayer

Brothers,

I am confident you will find it very easy to agree that I need to personally adopt this modification of the Serenity Prayer. So go ahead and shout "Amen!" [rgh]

Lord,

grant me the serenity to humbly accept the theological inconsistencies
that do not make a difference

The courage to graciously challenge the ones that do

And the wisdom and knowledge to know the difference!

http://www.reclaimingthemind.org/blog/2010/01/the-theological-serenity-prayer/

Aspiring For A Platform

Kingdom Greetings Brothers,

Here is my personal definition of what it means to have a ministry platform. Check it out and then read Tony Morgans article concerning the issues associated with such a privilege.

"A Platform is simply when the Grace of God brings us to the place where others intently listen for the treasure of "His Voice" through the flawed container of "our earthen vessel". This increased scope of influence is afforded solely for the advancement of his Kingdom purposes! "

Now consider the wisdom below by Tony Morgan. WOW!

{RGH}



*No one owes you a platform.

*Sometimes someone who is trusted can help you get a moment on the platform, but you still have to deliver to keep it.

*The harder you try to have a platform, the harder it is to get it.

*If you do what you’re designed to do and you are faithful to stick with it over time, there’s a good chance you’ll have a platform.

*Not all platforms are created equal, but all have the opportunity to positively impact the lives of others.

*Relationships are the foundation of a platform. If you can’t build relationships, you can’t have a platform.

*The person who yells the loudest doesn’t necessarily get the platform.

*If you never stop and listen, you probably won’t get the platform either.

*If it’s just about you, you don’t have a platform.

*You’ll lose your platform if you don’t continue to use it for positive change. You have to move people to a better place.

*You’re more likely to leverage your platform if you tell stories that engage both the head and the heart.

*You’re more likely to keep your platform if you ask questions.

*If people can’t have access to you and your daily life, your platform is probably shrinking whether you know it or not.

*Platforms are established over time and lost in an instant.

*Lots of people want a platform, but very few are gifted to have a platform and even fewer are humble enough to keep it.


http://tonymorganlive.com/2010/01/06/platform/

Four Reasons Leaders Stop Leading

By Perry Noble

#1 – Fear –
being a leader does not mean that we will never be in situations that make us shake in our shoes; in fact, it means quite the opposite. When a leader allows the fear of a circumstance to trump the fear of God in his life…he ceases to lead.

#2 – A Desire To Please Everyone –
Moses, the greatest leader in the Old Testament, had people ready to kill him on several occasions. After Jesus preached His first sermon people took him to a cliff and wanted to throw him off. (Luke 4:28-30)
The Apostle Paul actually had people who traveled from town to town just to persecute him. If Moses, Jesus and Paul could not please everyone…why in the world would anyone think they could. When the shift goes from please “Him” to pleasing “them,” it’s over. You’ve ceased to lead!

#3 – Addiction To Comfort –
There is always a price to pay if you want to go to the next level…and so often when that price begins to impact a leaders comfort zone he will back off from leading the charge and slip into cruise control. This type of person refuses to seek advice from other leaders. They refuse to read anything that may be helpful. They refuse to attend any sort of conference that may challenge them. They refuse to believe that there are better, more effective ways to do what they are doing. All because IF they did these things they may have to face CHANGE…which totally blows up comfortability.

#4 – Disconnection From God – THE most DANGEROUS thing a leader can do is to STOP focusing on God and BEGGING Him for direction. Going back to Moses for a second…all Big Mo did was listen to God and then do what He said. When we become so busy “doing” leadership rather than focusing on the ONE we are supposed to be following in order to effectively lead others…we (AND the people we lead) are in trouble.

http://www.perrynoble.com/2010/01/05/four-reasons-why-leaders-stop-leading/

Four Skills Needed To Be An Accountability Partner

Jeff Fisher reveals four key responsibilities we have in holding one another accountable. These characteristics should be clearly observable in the way we relate together as Covenant Friends. [rgh]

Cheer
The man who makes himself accountable needs to know he is not alone. He needs to feel that someone is on his side. He needs someone to root for him, but not from the sidelines. An accountability partner is right on the field with him.

Challenge
A man plateaus at times and settles into a comfortable level. This is when the accountability partner needs to challenge. He needs to help his friend stay focused on the big picture, the vision and the mission.

Confront
Confronting a brother in Christ is the hardest job of an accountability partner. No one likes to confront, but when a man is willfully sinning, it is important that we step in and be “our brother’s keeper.

Confrontation is needed when there is negative momentum. When sin and failures occur they need to be addressed. When a man is hardening his heart or not willing to take the next step, he needs to be confronted over his choices. When a man’s behavior is hurting others, it must be confronted. Confession and repentance are the right responses to confrontation.

Comfort
Every man experiences hurts, wounds, disappointments and failures. But it takes a man a long time to start talking about them. As your relationship grows, your friend will begin to trust you with the deeper things. He will slowly expose the hurts of his heart and his feelings about them. This will require that you learn to comfort and be a caring friend.


http://newmanmag.com/e-magazine/122809/story1.php