Experiences In Ministry

EXPERIENCES IN MINISTRY

I. I have learned to appreciate those who help me in the ministry

Rom 16:3-5(KJV)

3 Greet Priscilla and Aquila my helpers in Christ Jesus:

4 Who have for my life laid down their own necks: unto whom not only I give thanks, but also all the churches of the Gentiles.

5 Likewise greet the church that is in their house. Salute my wellbeloved Epaenetus, who is the firstfruits of Achaia unto Christ. (6-15 names many others)

A. Jesus himself demonstrated the importance of teams in doing ministry. When He started his ministry the first thing he did was to start forming his team, the 12 disciples Matt. 4:18-22:

18As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. 19“Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will make you fishers of men.” 20At once they left their nets and followed him.

21Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets. Jesus called them, 22and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.

Jesus who knew God intimately, was directed to use the team to change the world. Today this is still the will and plan of God for the Kingdom of God. The Lord is the coach and he is putting us through training camp so that we can learn to become an unbeatable team. But many of us still don’t want to be a team player.

Jones states, " I once had a discussion with a gentleman from another country who said he was envious of Americans’ ability to form teams. "When your people want to get something done, they gather a group and assign the tasks. In my country, unfortunately, we do not have it so easy. Many of us cannot even seem to sit down together at the table. We spend years playing King of the mountain, while your people have already figured out how to move it, save it, or make it bigger.”

If you want to accomplish anything for the Lord you need to comprehend that you must be apart of the team (the church). The next step toward unlocking the door to revival is found in teamwork.

There are many teaching that God uses super men and women to do his work. They focus on rugged individualism as the key to success in ministry. They promote the lone superman image, the lone ranger image. But if you read the book of Acts you discover it takes a team to build a church and spread the Kingdom of God..

1. Jesus used all types of people with different backgrounds to reach the world Matthew 10:1-42

2. Jesus knew that people contribute their uniqueness to churches and therefore they make it stronger.

3. Each person in the body contains a host of knowledge, insight and experiences to a scenario, a situation.

4. Look at those who surrounded Jesus: A tax collector, a physician, fishermen, a woman who was a prostitute and at one time possessed with seven demons. Some were poor. Some were wealthy. Some were very energetic, while others were passive. Some were explosive like Peter. Others, like James, were logical" (pg. 101).

B. Remember the Titans

In Virginia, high school football is king. It is a way of life, an institution revered and venerated, each game celebrated more lavishly than Christmas, each playoff distinguished more grandly than any national holiday. And with such recognition, comes powerful emotions.

In 1971 high school football was everything to the people of Alexandria. But when the local school board was forced to integrate an all black school with an all white school, the very foundation of football's great tradition was put to the test. In what was a potentially volatile situation with far reaching consequences, Herman Boone (DENZEL WASHINGTON) was brought up from South Carolina and hired as head coach of the T.C. Williams High Titans over Bill Yoast (WILL PATTON), a coach with several years seniority and a steadfast following.

Hiring Boone as coach of The Titans was a very precarious situation. However, as he and Yoast learned to work together, they found they had much more than football in common. Both were men of integrity and honor, with a strong work ethic. Although from vastly different backgrounds, these two coaches not only molded a group of angry, unfocused boys into a dynamic, winning team, but helped to guide them into becoming responsible, caring young men. Their determination to work together and win was a triumph of the spirit and brought together a town torn by prejudice and intolerance; their love of the game initiated a lifelong friendship.