Minister's Toolbox

Because centuries of traditions have ignored or rejected present-day apostles, where do we begin in our quest to recapture God’s intent towards His Church? The place to begin I believe is to understand the basic premise of Christian leadership.

Many pastors mistakenly add the title, apostle to their business cards hoping to gain more respect or attention.

Christ laid out a plan to bring his people to full maturity by sending forth 5 gifted ministries. I talk about this in detail during the podcast.

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In the past ten years, there has been a dramatic increase in labels like apostle, prophet, bishop and even archbishop.

Apostolic ministry has been eliminated from our present church leadership worldview. We don’t talk about or include apostles or prophets in our structure, planning or teaching.

The pivotal scripture in the New Testament about apostolic ministry is Ephesians 4:11-13. During today's show, I break down the difference between true and false apostles.

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Is church leadership reserved for males only? What does scripture teach? Are you sure? This is probably the most crucial question you will face during your entire ministerial lifetime that will affect your congregation for years to come.

During the podcast I mentioned some resources for further reading. Click here or here. 

I also mentioned the study guide, How To Discover Your Ministry for use in your church.

We are often guilty of seeing the world the way we want to see it rather than how it truly is. Innovation helps us interact with culture to better serve them if done with the right heart.

Ecclesiastes informs us that there is nothing new under the sun. Innovation can be communicated through just about any variety of means.

Innovators, who think outside the box, see how to utilize inventions and methods from other communities in ways to advance the Kingdom of God.

During the podcast, we offered a free download with a brief description of the gifts mentioned in I Corinthians 12:28-31, Romans 12:34-8 and Ephesians 4:11. You can get the download here. 

Jack shares part two of his extraordinary journey from hospitalization to joining a church and eventually planting a church in Rocky Hill, CT. You can contact him about his book or their church here. 

During the podcast I mentioned MileIQ. You can get the free app here.

Jack shares an amazing testimony of his recovery after a horrific accident left him as a paraplegic with no hope of regaining the use of his body. Currently, he is the pastor of Oasis of Life Christian Church in Rocky Hill, CT

During the podcast, I mentioned the book, How To Discover Your Ministry. This study guide is ideal for individuals or groups to explore what genuine ministry entails while driving them toward serving in the local church.

For additional resources, visit ministerstoolbox.com

Starting a new congregation out of thin air takes a special kind of calling. To ensure that Christianity grows and flourishes, new churches must form.

The "normal" way churches form, is heavy sponsorship from a larger congregation via a satellite network. This method has proven effective, but what about the pioneer church planter? What about the person who feels called to start a church without any of the normal resources many have come to expect?

Shane and Maria Priebe share their story of planting Storehouse Columbia, a brand new congregation in Columbia, PA, along with many of the struggles it took to get there. More than anything, this true story should encourage you in your faith.

Contact Shane and Maria @ www.storehousechurch.com/columbia.

For more resources, visit us at ministerstoolbox.com or leave an honest review on iTunes here.  

Your character is the strongest sermon you’ll ever preach. Much more is caught than taught.

Choices confront us every day. We can do the right thing or the easy thing. As a pastor, one of your main jobs is to do everything in your power to grow the influence and size of your church. The integrity challenge is how you invite people to join.

A phrase pastors used years ago was sheep-rustling. A sheep rustler sneaks onto the farm of a neighbor and takes one or more sheep. The term came to mean pastors who actively invite people from other churches to come to their own to increase their numbers.

This egregious behavior is all too common among pastors and church leaders. During the podcast, I share about retaining our reputation as we reach out to the unchurched.

During today's show, I mentioned my recent book, When A Good Church Goes Bad that you also download on Kindle or as an audiobook.

Through Audible by Amazon, you can get the book for free by signing up a for a 30-day trial. If you decide not to stay with Audible, you can cancel within the trial period but keep When A Good Church Goes Bad for free.

I also mentioned my blog which you can check out here.

The second offering used to ordain Levites was a burnt offering. This is not designed to pay for or address sin but a sacrifice required by God in order to become a minister.

Burnt offerings happened when every part of the animal was completely consumed by fire. They represented submitting to total loss as part of your worship toward God.

Similar to the Levites, you cannot just call yourself into ministry. I am sure that many of us have seen individuals who strongly believe they have a calling to full-time church work when in fact they are just infatuated with the idea of people listening to them speak.

One of the key parts of our calling is giving God a burnt offering before our ministry becomes acceptable to God. I explain what this means in biblical terms during today's podcast.

If you'd like to read more articles about leadership, check out my blog.

We all know the verse, Without vision the people perish. That also applies to pastors and church leaders. How do you get your vision back when ministry has dealt you harsh blows?

To get further resources, visit www.ministerstoolbox.com.

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