Your co-workers in the ministry and you
I have said it before, many Christians believe and know that working in a Christian organization is one of the most difficult things to do. Why, because you may have to look very hard and intently to find the demonstrated love of CHRIST. The atmosphere can sometimes be described as one similar to the one during the cold war. One world but full of camps, factions and unaddressed, fueled conflict.
It is common to hear of people in ministry telling tales of severe mistreatment as they work in churches and ministries. It is even justified on the pulpits by statements insinuating that GOD allows senior servants to maltreat HIS children in the name of training and sharpening them to be greater vessels of glory. Well, if this is the case, then the churches would have very many workers. But how be it that the churches have few workers and many leave the kingdom of GOD entirely never to return, licking their wounds in private, wounds obtained from fellow servants of GOD. And this seems to be the culture in the churches and ministries. Beloved, we are outdoing Saul in his unsuccessful pursuit to keep David in his place.
Well Beloved, I don’t think this is GOD’s modus operandi. It may happen and maybe rampant but it is within HIS permissive will not HIS perfect will.
I have heard several times servants of GOD recount enduring hardship under other servants of GOD. When they are successful in ministry ( read to mean they have founded their own ministry and it has a number of people) they state that the training(read cruelty) meted on them as they grew in the vineyard has greatly helped and shaped them in their success.
At this point, let me also digress and ask when did the presence of The HOLY SPIRIT, HIS instructions and holiness stop being the measure of success in ministry? O sorry, I forgot, the holiness meter was buried deep down in our conscious along with the commandments and other treasures. Expedition loading to retrieve buried holiness meters and spiritual treasures.
Back to what I was saying, Beloved. Our FATHER is not a monster. HE is good. In the beginning, HE put Adam and Eve in a great place at no cost and did not bully them into submission. When they transgressed, HE handled the situation, prophesied to their good and withdrew.
Same case with our KING YESHUA, HE had disciples. Several times they were not in synchrony with HIM. How did HE handle it?
Let’s all thank GOD that Peter was ministered to directly by CHRIST because if Peter was in today’s world, in today’s ministries, in today’s churches he would have been reduced to a fishing mogul, controlling the fishing business worldwide but would never be the rock who CHRIST said he was. Talk about destiny manipulation, in the church, in the ministry! But who am I to say? Meanwhile, somebody please explain to me this market place Christianity thing. I don’t understand. Is Peter supposed to preach to those in the fish business or to catch men. Someone explain to me, I humbly beg to understand.
After Peter’s epic fall and fail, we see The KING HIMSELF minister to Peter and even make him bread and fish and asks him a very simple question three times. “ Do you love ME?” and then gives him the instructions, “Feed MY sheep!” "Follow ME !" That’s all. Straight to the point.
Beloved, I dare you: Go ask your senior in the ministry if they love you. Go ask your juniors in the ministry if they love you. Hehe! I suspect you really want to and could but you may not be able to handle the response you get. You may not get the “Yes LORD, you know I love YOU “ response you expect and no shrink in the world can deal with the resultant trauma, short of them telling you to walk away from the ministry like many have and give you something to “numb” your senses and your pain for as long as you walk this earth.
With those three words, very simple instruction, ”FEED MY sheep”, Peter goes on to fulfill his foundational role in the Body of CHRIST. You don’t see him deviating from his MASTER till death. Yes, he faced challenges but he ran his race. What spurred Peter? I say, the love that our SAVIOR showed him when he had failed beyond failing by denying CHRIST. Our SAVIOR did not appear before Peter and start, “See, you thought I was down, I’m back to continue with the ministry. I’m going to heaven and y’all shall know who I am. Can’t trust anybody in this world, gotta do everything by myself. Peter! You betrayed me..how could you?..you dumped me!.. off to hell you go…..” . Beloved, in this business of our FATHER, HE does not handle matters like that.
Our KING after feeding Peter, asked Peter to feed HIS sheep. Let’s flip it, if he wanted peter to lord it over the sheep and torture the sheep, then HE would have lorded it over Peter and tortured Peter. The question and instruction to every worker in the Vineyard is simple and clear. “DO you love ME? Feed My sheep”. Let me put it this way. If you love YESHUA, our KING, commonly called JESUS our LORD and SAVIOR, you will feed HIS sheep, you will care for HIS sheep and follow HIM. End of story.
So, Beloved, this nastiness, calculated cold moves, war games, power plays, backstabbing, suspicion, fear , envy , witchcraft, greed, malice you name it that we see in our ministries and churches needs to come to an end..Like yesterday.
Since, this problem is there, how do we deal with it? It starts with you. How about you do the following:
i. Be part of the solution and not the problem. Feed the sheep of CHRIST and follow CHRIST.
ii. Turn the other cheek. Painful but it works.
iii. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Don’t slap others, hehe! What goes round comes around.
iv. Do not be a stumbling block to spiritual babies and children. As our SAVIOR said it would be better if you were drowned in the ocean with a millstone.
v. Shut up! I mean let your words in public be few if any, let your prayers in private be so many. Quit the complaining and lamentations about the ills in the ministry especially in the hearing of new sheep and lambs. Be wise and helpful. Be a builder and an encourager.
vi. When things get hot, retreat. Our SAVIOR did. Best example. Some battles are not worth fighting. Learn to walk away. Remember the time HE walked away from a crowd trying to kill him and similarly from a crowd trying to make him KING. HE already was KING and is KING, so HE had no point to prove. You too, stop trying to prove a point or points. Be happy your name is in HIS book of Life. Just a word about walking away, as you walk away, don’t walk away with a chip on your shoulder, hurt, vengeful and angry with every Christian on the planet. First chance they get, they are going to crucify you, of course you know this. It does not matter, what miracles can be linked to you. Our SAVIOR said many are the troubles in this world.. remember this.
vii. For goodness sake, so they tortured you or are torturing as you are in the ministry, feels worse than an initiation into those campus groups. It is wrong. I am sorry about that. May The MOST HIGH heal and help you as you continue in ministry. Please Beloved, do not repeat or carry on the evil or the mistreatment that was done to you to while in ministry to another in the ministry. You start and continue with a culture of love, care and concern. If you struggle with hidden pain, shame, anger and other attitudes that are not beneficial to the Vineyard of The LORD, may The MOST HIGH guide you to one of HIS children with the gift of healing. And as you read this, forgive, let it go, take a step higher, continue serving GOD, do not go back to fishing, press on, The LORD will help you, comfort you, heal you, use you mightily and at the end of it, HE will say, “Well done, good and faithful servant….enter into the joy of your LORD”
viii. Get clear directions from the KING as concerns your personal work for HIM and get it done. The rewards are personal not in groups.
Beloved, let us be intentional about caring for our fellow workers in the Vineyard of The LORD whether they be senior , junior or equal to us.
See how John the Baptist treated JESUS and how JESUS honored him. See how they related. Everyone stayed in their lanes and the purposes of GOD in both John the Baptist and in our SAVIOR were fulfilled minus drama.
See how Moses and Joshua worked together. I state that The MOST HIGH prefers a Moses and Joshua kind of approach as we work together. Moses did not mistreat Joshua not once. Even when Moses knew his time was up, he did not engage in a “ lets bring Joshua down campaign” . Moses did not start a “I will not be succeeded by Joshua campaign..” Joshua on his part waited patiently for Moses to die peacefully before assuming leadership. Indeed, Joshua waited for GOD HIMSELF to confirm the death of Moses, he waited until GOD told him, “Moses, MY servant is dead…”. Who knows, HE knew that GOD could resurrect Moses at anytime, and indeed we see Moses in the New Testament and in the book of Revelation. Beloved, there is nothing impossible with The MOST HIGH. All power belongs to HIM. But, I have digressed again.
The LORD and Moses greatly encouraged Joshua in the work set before him. Oh, why can’t we be like this? We have copied world traditions and systems and our outputs and outcomes are wanting, yet the same world is copying Christian traditions and principles and using them to clobber the churches and ministries. See how we were closed during the pandemic. See how our stand is labeled hate speech. Because they know, we love fighting each other and most probably we will accept thirty pieces of silver and sell our brethren.
I’m sure Joshua is thanking GOD in heaven that he is not in the ministries and churches of nowadays because he would have long been bewitched, killed, maimed or transferred to some remote place in Alaska, India or Africa, where he would never have been heard from again, or humiliated to a point he would never open his mouth again in front of any animal leave alone person.
Beloved, why are we so cruel to each other?
Many people come to the Kingdom of The MOST HIGH with noble intentions of serving and bringing glory to The MOST HIGH. Their intentions are good. They may be naïve and innocent but as they always say, “I just want to serve The LORD.” They may not even know what that means and the implications. Somewhere along the line , they are severely maltreated and humiliated and are forced to retreat to where most of them are never heard from again. Our role is to strengthen, encourage, love, guide, guard, protect, do the Paul to Timothy thing, help. Get my point.
Beloved, let us work on this area. It is critical, an area which we gossip about but don’t address. You address it as far as it concerns you. The rest leave to The OWNER of The Vineyard. Our SAVIOR said HE will build HIS church and the gates of hell will not prevail. So, please, get out of HIS way.
All the best Beloved, The MOST HIGH will help you.
Do you want to know JESUS as your personal Lord and Savior? Your eternity is at stake! JESUS has opened the door of salvation to every person. But there is coming a day when the door will be closed. Today is the day of salvation. Choose to be in the family of GOD. JESUS died so that we can spend eternity in Heaven with HIM. Don't delay! And if you want to begin a relationship with GOD or resume a broken one, say this: O GOD, I come to YOU today. I know I am a sinner. I believe that JESUS died on the cross to save me and HE resurrected on the third day. I repent of my sins and forsake them. I confess JESUS as my LORD and SAVIOR . I invite JESUS into my heart. By this prayer, I know I am saved. Thank YOU JESUS for saving me and making me a child of GOD. Amen
