Category: Ministry

“What’s In It For Me?”

by Mike Avery, posted in All Articles, Christian Living, Ministry, Theology

–October of 2002

“What’s In It For Me?”

Over the years I have interviewed a number of people for ministry positions.  Some as potential pastors and missionaries, others for a position here at the college.  I’ve made it a practice to listen very carefully for some form of the question, “What’s in it for me?”  I have found this to be a pivotal question that often reveals the kind of person who gives themselves only if there is an equal return to them.  They aren’t prepared to invest themselves in the lives of others for the sheer joy of making a difference.  They lack the servant spirit.

What this question reveals is becoming increasingly important as our American culture becomes more and more obsessed with materialism.  The quest for the larger house, the faster car, the more expensive wardrobe has become the pre-occupation of not only the general population but many in Christian ministry.  Given the fact of our economic prosperity, the pressure of contemporary culture, and the natural pull of a sinful heart, it’s too easy for a person today to become a creature obsessed with security and comfort, and incapable of throwing himself into a higher cause.

This dilemma is as old as sin itself.  Adam and Eve thought there was something more for them.  Lot’s lust for real estate in the Jordan Valley cost him more than he ever wanted to pay.  Paul addressed this problem from his jail cell in Rome.  He warned the Philippian Christians about those who preach Christ “out of envy and strife” (Phil. 1:15).  The word translated “strife” does not literally mean strife.  It’s the Greek word erithea and basically means a payment made to advance a person’s own interest.  Paul was describing those who preach the gospel for their own gain.  He told the Philippian church that the antidote to this self seeking was to have the mind of Christ — the attitude of soul that does nothing out of selfish ambition but finds joy in the opportunity to pour out one’s life for others.

Does the gospel offer deliverance from this self-serving focus?  It did for Timothy.  Paul told the Philippians that Timothy would “naturally care for your state” in contrast to those who seek their own interest.  It did for Paul.  Paul’s word to the Corinthian church was “for I am not in this job for what I can get out of it, but for what benefits I can bring to the many, that they may be saved” (Barclay’s translation).

Can grace so “re-orient” our hearts until the primary focus of our life is no longer our own but that of others?  Can we be truly cleansed from the question “what’s in it for me?”  The Bible makes it clear that we can.  As a matter of fact, it’s at the very heart of the gospel’s power to make us like Christ.

A Time for Change

by Mike Avery, posted in All Articles, Ministry

–April of 2002

A Time for Change

Spring is the season of promised change.  Nature changes its dull lifeless winter garb for a majestic robe of dazzling color.  Fresh life pushes back the old and newness abounds everywhere.  Nature certainly has no monopoly on change in the months of April and May.  It is also the time of year that ministers all across the country begin to ask themselves the question, “Is it time for me to make a change?”  Church members, too, begin to hold their own private discussions about the “recall vote”.  Though this process happens every year in thousands of churches and has been experienced by thousands of preachers, it still remains one of the toughest issues pastors and conference leaders face.

Is it really that difficult to know if the pastor should stay or go?  One church leader put it like this, “It really is quite easy to derive the right answer as to whether a pastor should move or not, if you could remove all the emotional issues that surround it.  Things like home, family, friends and financial security.  All these make it very difficult to face up to any change that we know ought to be made.”

 When Should I Consider Leaving?

 1. When I know that my ministry and leadership are no longer effective. 

An effective ministry must be earned, but it is also given to us by those who willingly follow.  When you reach the place where people are no longer following, you are, in effect, no longer leading.  When you are no longer leading, you can’t take the church where it needs to go no matter how capable you are.  When your effectiveness is gone, the platform upon which you build your preaching ministry is gone.  Your sermons may still be well prepared and clear, but they will not strike with force or accomplish their purpose.

2. When I no longer have a vision or a burden for the church. 

When a man has no burden for the work at hand, when he ceases to dream about the future of his church, it is time to go!  God pity the church which must endure a pastor with no passion for his ministry.  The loss of a vision for your church becomes transparent in your conversation, administration and preaching.  The joy and excitement of special days are gone.  New ideas and approaches are a bother.  You have no conscious strategy to build up the work.  You can’t minister effectively without passion and vision.

3. When I realize that the church and I are no longer philosophically compatible. 

Are you on the same wave length with the people you serve?  Have you outgrown them?  Have they outgrown you?  Do the two of you still see ministry in the same light?  Are your goals and methods in agreement?  Have you made a change in values and beliefs that the church still holds dear or vice verse?  If so, it is time to go.

4. When you sense that your work is finished. 

God clearly sends some men to churches for a specific task.  To stay beyond the completion of that task is to tear down what you built up.  To remain and try to do or redo what you have already done, is to heap frustration upon the heads of your people as well as your own.

5. When I know that my credibility isn’t strong enough to stay. 

Credibility is essential to ministry.  You may not have done any intentional wrong and yet problems have eroded your credibility among the people.  As a matter of fact, it may have been someone else’s fault altogether.  Nevertheless, you still can’t minister without the confidence of the people.

6. When I know I am no longer willing to make the necessary sacrifices to see this church grow. 

Somebody has to pay the price for church growth.  You can pontificate all day long about lazy laymen, and it may be true, but nothing will build your church but hard work.  If you aren’t willing to give the leadership, expend the energy and make the necessary sacrifices for growth, it is time for you to go.

7. When I would leave if I had some other place to go. 

Many pastors and leaders would move in a heartbeat if another church or ministry would call, or if another church would call that could offer an equal financial package.  In other words, they are only staying because they don’t have any place to go.  I’ve watched men of God leave churches when they knew it was time to go and have to take secular employment to make it.  They may have lost a parsonage and a pulpit for a while, but they certainly kept their integrity and honesty with God and the church.

8. When my attitude is no longer positive about my present church. 

If you can’t feel good about your work and if your attitude is bad about the church – move!

 How Do I Know Where To Go?

 Obviously, we must seek clear leadership from the Spirit of God.  But, there are some practical things that will help confirm the mind of God in us.

1. Does my social and cultural background fit this church? 

Don’t give this point a religious snub.  Disaster follows the man who goes into a situation that is out of the cultural and social context of his own ministry.  The people will pick him apart, and he will begin to preach at them rather than to them.  Conflict is only a matter of time.  Take heed here!  Finding the right fit in this area has launched some of the most long-term and successful ministries.

2. Do my particular gifts and skills fit the needs of this congregation? 

When a man whose ministry style is prophetic, evangelistic, and seeker-oriented, is placed into a situation that needs a healer, the effect is the same as rubbing sandpaper on an open sore.  On the other hand, when a man who is a healer goes into a situation that needs a shaker and mover, frustration will abound.  A good understanding of your skills and limitations coupled with a good understanding of what a church needs will alleviate many heartaches.

3. Do I agree with these people in doctrine and practice?  Do we share similar views concerning the pastor’s role in ministry?

Find out some things about the church up front.  Don’t go in with a hidden agenda and think you will change it.  You may only end up splitting it.  Make sure you understanding and agree with their expectations of your ministry.

4. Has God confirmed this change through providence, common sense, and conviction? 

Ultimately, the inner conviction given by the Holy Spirit that our going or coming is the right thing to do will be what gives us a sense of peace and clarity in any change.  Yet, don’t let personal matters and fears drown His voice.  Don’t ignore some practical facts that are clear to everyone else.  If need be, pray for moving grace, or staying grace, whatever the occasion demands.

What If I Know I Need to Leave the Church, But Moving Seems Bad for My Family?

I’ve watched both sides of this question play out.  One pastor left an idealistic country setting and moved to a large city.  The timing seemed disastrous for his teenage children, but it proved, rather, to be their salvation.  Another pastor left his church and relocated nearby to maintain educational continuity and friends for his teenagers.  He had to leave pastoral ministry for a few years, but he kept a stable environment around his children at a crucial time in their lives and saved his family.  I believe God’s will for a pastor and what is best for his family can be one and the same if we will just have the courage to do and follow God’s leadership.

Whatever you do, make sure you do not short circuit the Kingdom of God by holding on when you ought to let go, or by letting go when you ought to hold on.  Change has been the fresh wind under many a tired pastor’s wings.  It has also been the salvation of many a failing church.

A Word for Men and Movements

by Mike Avery, posted in All Articles, Church, Ministry

–May of 2001

A Word for Men and Movements

Dr. Paul Brand tells a story of his most memorable visitor to his leprosy hospital in Vellore, India.  One day a French friar named Pierre showed up wearing a monk’s habit and carrying a carpetbag that contained everything he possessed.  Pierre was born into French nobility and he had served in the French parliament.  After WWII, while Paris was still reeling from the German occupation, parliament faced a serious problem of thousands of homeless beggars in the streets.  While the politicians and noblemen debated their plight, the beggars starved or froze to death in the street.  Disillusioned with the slow pace of political response, and desperately wanting to help the street people, Pierre resigned his post and became a Catholic friar to work among them.  Failing to interest politicians or the community in the beggars’ plight, he concluded his only recourse was to organize the beggars themselves.  He taught them to do menial tasks better.  Instead of sporadically collecting bottles and rags, he divided them into teams to scour the city.  Next they built a warehouse from discarded bricks and started a business in which they sorted and processed vast quantities of used bottles from hotels and businesses.  Finally, Pierre inspired each beggar by giving him responsibility to help another beggar poorer than himself.  Pierre’s project caught fire.

After years of successful work, Pierre suddenly awakened to the fact there were no beggars left in Paris.  “I must find somebody for my beggars to help!” he declared.  “If I don’t find people worse off than my beggars, this movement could turn inward.  It will become a powerful, rich organization and the whole spiritual impact will be lost.  My beggars will have no one to serve.”

It was this fear that brought Pierre to the leper colony.  It was at the leper colony that he found the solution to his crisis in Paris.  Returning to France and to his beggars, he mobilized them to build a ward at the hospital in Vellore.  “No, it is you who have saved us,” he told the grateful recipients of his gift in India.  “We must serve or die.”

Pierre possessed a crucial insight into what keeps both men and movements alive spiritually.  Good men can get so caught up in wanting God to do something for them, they forget that God’s main work is to do something through them.  The more a person reaches out beyond themselves, the more enriched they become and the more they grow in likeness to God.  The more we turn inward, or “incurve”, the less Christlike, even less human, we become.

Movements are the same way.  When a movement turns its focus inward and concentrates on preservation, it will become stymied and begin the death process.  Even though it may report financial or numerical gains, it is dying all the while.  It has “incurved”.

The Western church needs no more urgent message than the message of servanthood.  We share a planet with three billion people who earn less than $2 per day.  We live in a world in which 40,000 children die every day from hunger and disease.  Our inner cities are filled with millions of people who have no saving knowledge or understanding of Jesus Christ not to mention serious educational and physical needs.  All the while we are spending record amounts on ourselves and on the edifices in which we worship.  Maybe we need to listen to Pierre and be reminded that the need to serve is fundamental to Christian life and that the act of serving is the very thing that keeps us alive.  “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Recommitting to the Great Commission

by Mike Avery, posted in All Articles, Christian Living, Church, Ministry

–April of 2001

Recommitting to the Great Commission

Standing before the open door of this new millennium, the church has never faced so many challenges on so many different fronts.  Rather than moving forward as salt and light, our response has been paralyzed by uncertainty and fear.  It has been easier for the church to look inward toward developing inner piety than to look outward with the intent of sharing our faith with the world.  However, it is from this inward focus that the Holy Spirit faithfully seeks to turn the church.  Those He turns will become the missionaries of this our present day

Emerging Trends

What should the church expect to confront?  The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association has projected four major challenges or trends for the church in the 21st century.

1. Massive urbanization.  This century opens with a population of approximately six billion people, half of whom live in large cities.  Half of that number is under 25 years of age.  The holiness church has become far too comfortable in suburbia and has in all reality lost touch with the inner city.  To fulfill our calling and remain relevant, we must reconnect and re-engage the population of the world’s great cities with the gospel.

2. Aggressive secularism.  Secularism has turned former Christian nations into post-Christian countries.  Its onslaught has affected the emerging nations of Southeast Asia, and economically strong countries like South Korea, where one Korean elder said, “Materialism is eating the heart out of Korea’s prayer life.”  Secularism roots God out for economic prosperity and so-called intellectualism.  These are two fronts the church must face with answers.

3. Expanding non-Christian religions.  The expansion of Westernize has created militant and aggressive propagation of non-Christian religions.  Hinduism and the Muslim religion are enjoying significant growth even in the United States.  Though these two religions are not typically evangelistic, they have become so, due to the influence of the western world and its threat to their way of life.  The church can no longer ignore these as Eastern problems, but must prepare to evangelize those who embrace Eastern religions on Western soil.

4. The rise and fall of new political ideologies.  The fall of communism almost caught the church unprepared to move through the opening in the iron curtain to evangelize a new frontier.  China or the Middle East could be next, or it is also possible that doors that are now open may quickly close.  The church must be sensitive to the Spirit and ready to move in either direction.

 Some Things Never Change

Though these and other challenges will always confront the church, some things will remain the same.  God has not changed, nor has the need of every human heart.  The gospel is still the answer to the deepest need in all of our lives, regardless of culture or political persuasion.  God has offered no other cure than the cross of Christ and its redemptive message.

The Great Commission hasn’t changed.  We are not commanded to understand all the challenges of tomorrow, but we are commanded to confront those challenges with the gospel of Jesus Christ, and do so in every corner of the world.

 Equipping for the Task

If the church of Jesus Christ is to meet the challenges of the 21st Century, then those of us in the church must move quickly to restore the primacy of evangelism and recommit ourselves to the Great Commission.  This issue of the Revivalist unveils part of the plan we are implementing here at GBS to renew our historic commitment to world evangelism with an emphasis that permeates every aspect of campus life.

Let me challenge you and your church to re-engaged in evangelism.  The effectiveness of the church lies in her faithfulness to the commission.  The “Spirit and the Bride say come…”

Let’s add our voices to the chorus and call men and women everywhere to repent and receive the Gospel.

A Monument to Christ’s Willingness to Answer Prayer

by Mike Avery, posted in All Articles, Christian Living, Ministry

–Summer of 2000

A Monument to Christ’s Willingness to Answer Prayer

In the late 1800’s, Martin Wells Knapp, Methodist evangelist and founding editor of God’s Revivalist, felt that God was going to use him for more that just the publishing work in which he was then engaged. His diary entry for July 17, 1890, reads as follows:

A training school for gospel workers is on my heart and in my head. It seems as if God put it there. I agreed tonight that if He will give me the building for the Home, to use it for His glory and to put this or a similar statement on it: “This building is a monument of the power and willingness of the loving Christ to answer prayer.”

That prayer became a reality in 1900 when Knapp bought property at 1810 Young Street, Cincinnati. The red-brick mansion, which is still the administration center for GBS, was filled to capacity when classes began on September 27. Few if any could have envisioned what God would do on this campus in the century ahead. God’s Bible School and Missionary Training Home was to give life to a number of notable religious organizations, provide a home for the Revivalist Press, host one of the largest camp meetings in the Midwest, and send a steady line of courageous and dedicated graduates to so many places at home and abroad that the alumni motto would become “The Sun Never Sets on the Graduates of God’s Bible School.”

Throughout this century on the Hilltop, GBS and God’s Revivalist have been united in a happy marriage which has blessed the world. Knapp founded the periodical twelve years before the school and used the former to create the latter. Probably there would be no GBS without the Revivalist; and probably there would be no Revivalist now without GBS. Both are the result of Knapp’s genius and sacrifice, and both still bear his imprint. Together they have made the Mount of Blessings the vital holiness center which it has been and which it still remains. In God’s kindly providence, they will continue to do the same in the years before us.

It is therefore appropriate that this special commemorative issue for the GBS Centenary appear in the very pages which helped give birth to the school one hundred years ago. Obviously we have encapsulated the century past with only the briefest summary. We hope our readers will seek more exhaustive treatment in the two official histories now in preparation—one a rich pictorial presentation with accompanying verbal vignettes; and the other, a scholarly, interpretive narrative.

The history of this venerated institution has demonstrated that Knapp’s prayer has been answered again and again. After a century on its Mt. Auburn campus, God’s Bible School still remains a “monument of the power and willingness of the loving Christ to answer prayer.”