What I really appreciated about this book was how brutally honest Fields was about his first two years in youth ministry. They were not easy, and it could be considered an act of God that he survived in ministry for this long. For example, he took a group of “underage students in an over-21 club” in his first two years, and now he helps new leaders understand how to avoid doing this (Fields 13). While many people will shy away from their failures, Fields is very forthcoming about his own personal downfalls, accepting the full and comical blame for his shortcomings early in his career. This is admirable, because this book transforms itself from a “how-to manual…[to] a heart-to-heart talk,” which is how people should approach student ministry …show more content…
Going to a Christian college, and eventually seminary calls for moral uprightness, but that does not always translate into doing God’s will. For example, I can pray every day for at least ten minutes, but when that becomes a chore rather than a joy, I am no longer fulfilling my own calling. Fields calls this “being a spiritual loser,” because one is doing all the right things for all the wrong reasons, which is the opposite of how God originally intended us to be (Fields 71)! One good measure of how successful one will be in student ministry is to allow God to work in people’s lives instead of micromanaging them. God can do amazing things through us, but by ourselves we can only do so much; without Jesus in the picture, ministry is just a dead end job with low pay, stressful work, and a whole lot of problems. By doing this, Fields has allowed me to see that developing my ministry is of vital importance, and this helps the book by allowing the reader to understand that God does have a plan for my life, as long as I submit to His …show more content…
There are very few books nowadays that will openly talk about this topic, because it is seen as taboo. He states that by investing in students now, while some will fall away from the ministry, others will run toward God because, allowing students to “invest in eternity” (Fields 210). Many people do not believe in spiritual rewards in heaven either because they have not read their bible, their pastor never talks about it, or they have not studied scripture enough to see the intended meaning of the Bible. In the Parable of the Talents in Matthew 24:14-30, there is little to no evidence that this passage is talking about anything other than spiritual rewards in heaven. While Fields does not flesh this out, I enjoyed the fact that he mentioned this, because it shows that he has done his research, allowing his readers to understand the great impact that they will have on the lives of the students that they
N.T. Wright: During my first semester at Northwestern College, I was assigned the book, “The Challenge of Jesus” by N.T. Wright for one of my Biblical Studies courses. This book and every other book Tom Wright has written has dramatically impacted my Christian faith. Dr. Wright has not only defended the basic tenants of the Christian faith, but also has shown how an academically-minded pastor ought to love and care for his or her congregants. N.T. Wright was previously the Bishop of Durham and pastored some of the poorest in the United Kingdom. His pastoral ministry has helped shape his understanding of God’s kingdom-vision which he is diagramming within his magnum opus “Christian Origins and the Question of God”. This series has instructed myself and countless other pastors to be for God’s kingdom as we eagerly await Christ’s return. Additionally, I have had the privilege of meeting with N.T. Wright one-on-one on numerous occasions to discuss faith, the Church, and his research. I firmly believe Tom Wright is the greatest New Testament scholar of our generation and he is the primary reason why I feel called into ministry.
To say the least, I felt like a failure and that I had wasted people’s time and money. Reading this chapter helped me realize that it is important to learn through a failure (Fagerstrom 126). Failures happen in ministry often, and the way you respond to the failure is important. Chapter fifteen, “Developing a plan for lifelong learning”, is essential for effective leaders. Per Fagerstrom, there are four areas that need constant attention: skill (competency), wisdom and knowledge (learning and thinking), spiritual formation (godliness), and personal development (focus on the word personally)
Stuff and money is becoming more important in people’s lives. They forget how much more important the Holy Spirit is in their lives. Forgetting how powerful the Lord is, they begin relying on material items. In eternity, material items will not be of any value! Like the Li family in Safely Home, the Lord wants His followers to rely on Him to provide, instead a sundry of Christ followers begin to depend considerably on money, jobs, and people for providence. In Safely Home, the story illustrates how Christians are to live with God as their provider because when a Christian lives a life in dependence on God, they rightfully focus on the Lord as their provider. God can direct a person’s path in a way no one else is able to. Just like Li Quan, Ming, Shen and all the other Christians in the story accepted, God’s thoughts will become one’s own thoughts and His words will become one’s own words. However, without fully realizing, Ben Fielding was living to serve himself. He was dedicated to his job, being successful, and well-off, but he was still empty inside. This particular successful businessman was always searching for something to fill the hole in his heart until he truly experienced the Lord and His presence. In short, Christians can be challenged by this story to rely on God more and live a lifestyle that pleases
...t the church will stop shuffling her hurting and broken members to the “experts” who lack the power and perspective of the Word of God, that pastors will instead seize the opportunities to teach, rebuke, correct, and train in righteousness a people fit for service to King Jesus” (27). Unfortunately, in the twenty years since the book was published the church has a long way to go before realizing Dr. Gantz’s hope.
Philosophy of Ministry: God's desires come first, I must always live my ministry God's way. I must live as a Christian (1 Corinthians 9:27) I must have a proper relationship of surrender to the Leader. In my personal life or in the Church I must understand that Christ is Head and Chief Shepherd (Ephesians 1:22, Hebrews 13:20). The “management” of Church is about relationships with God and Man, not just maintaining a social organization.
Psychology Applied to Modern Life; Adjustment in the 21st Century. (9th ed). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning. Youth Ministry is Holistic |.
Through this course I have come to learn that my personal tendencies are ones that have not been learned but that they are ones that have been placed within me by Him. By His Grace, He has made each of us unique and He has placed us in this world to work together without sin and without mal intent. Just as I have faith in Him, I cannot be a good leader for my team and employees if I do not have trust and faith that the organization strives to support a positive and healthy culture. Dr. Fischer’s (2006) insight into human nature and our natural tendency to sin is insightful to me. His article encourages me to continue to believe in God’s plan and to continue to develop my faith in God that, through Him, He will help to fight the negative influences and sins that exist in the world
As with any ministry, it takes a person who to be selfless and willing to make the sacrifices that have to be made daily as Ms. Lamb does. For example, she quit a f...
...ne woman stopped me, as I thought I was finally able to catch my breath, and she said “We need young people.” Then it dawned on me, I am the preacher. I am the one to whom others look to find peace, comfort, and solace while going through their current situation. I am the one pointing “out the details to those who come to” (page 185) me. . As I reflect on Willimon’s role of preacher this ordeal enabled me to truly reflect on this role. Again, Willimon’s assertion for the proclamation of a “new life” comes to mind. We have to be engaged in “creative service and rich fellowship.” (Page 181) This is paramount if the church wishes to continue to thrive in an ever growing and ever changing world. I am committed to helping the church reach that plateau and transform their way of being into a new way of living. (Just to note, the pastor was released and is doing well)
A main theme in this Sunday’s gospel is bravery and authority. Jesus was a major authority figure for all of his followers, and sometimes, his people had to be brave and stand by Jesus even in times of petrifying fear. This gospel also taught the remarkable power of Jesus. Unfortunately, the homily did not relate to the gospel. Instead, Father Ed gave a brief speech about the importance of donating any amount a person can to the school and Church community. If I were giving this homily, I would speak about how authority figures are not always eerie and intimidating, they can sometimes be the only person wise and understanding enough to help us with issues that can seem impossible to solve. Jesus, for example, is one of these immensely
I want to say what Philosophy of Ministry means to me, this is my first time attending college, as like so many others this ministry thing hit you at a young age and you began to go through life wanting to know more about Adam and Eve, Noah and Jesus, everyone else in the Bible really don’t count to you or not that important to you as a child, as a child, growing up without a father my mother had to work so we had less time with her too. Now, my mother was working a lot back then so me and my brothers and sisters had to either stay with our grandmother or stay home in the house. At “Granny’s” nothing but church on TV or Radio, so that was I knew I wanted to be a Minister. The way that I am preparing for Ministry is I went back to school to
...ied Moody to also set a spark in us. Moody was so passionate about the Lord and I think we need to like Moody and go out and share to others. Nowadays they might not be as accepting as they were in the 19th century, but for a Christian that should never stop you from trying. Even though this is not irrelevant, I think that we also studied our individuals to show that there is so much more to the person than the book will ever describe to us. I would have just thought of Moody as an evangelist who created the Student Volunteer Movement if I hadnt picked him as my person. After researching, I was dumbfounded to see all these things that Moody had done other than the movement. In the end, I think the main point was to learn that were more than just one person and if we put our mind and our hearts to it, we can impact the world around us, just like Dwight Lyman Moody.
This semester has proved to be a real awakening to what direction I need to be pursuing in my spiritual walk. I have learned so much through this course. Some of the things that I have learned that have become more important than they were in the past are; the need for silence, the need for community, the need for direction, and above all how utterly helpless we are when we try to “do” everything, including ministry without seeking God first.
Chung, Y. (2011). Why servant leadership? Its uniqueness and principles in the life of Jesus. Journal Of Asia Adventist Seminary, 14(2), 159-170.
A pastor is a man who is a shepherd to their flock, someone who loves and cares for their congregation. A pastor is wise and is above reproach, and is not easily swayed by popular opinion. He is a man of one wife, and he loves his wife dearly, making time for her and for their kids in his daily routine. A pastor is not a drunkard, and while he does have the ability to drink, he is not unwise in how he handles his alcohol and he always takes a wise approach to social events. He is a man who has many tasks, and most of the time he is very busy. As many people demand much of his time, he often does not have time to do everything that he feels called to do, and has to make tough choices as to what good things to do and