ministry
Who Does the Work of the Ministry in the Church? (Ephesians 4:12)
Note: This study is from my book, God’s Blueprints for Church Growth. … for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ.Ephesians 4:12 John F. Kennedy once told our nation, “Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country.” And for a while, we followed his advice. But consumerism’s viselike grip upon our lives has us once more asking, “What will the government do for me?” According to the Christian philosopher Francis Schaeffer, this me-first, entitlement mentality is the type of thinking that led to the downfall of the Roman Empire.[1] If things continue as they are, this attitude will lead to our downfall as well. But before that happens, this same mindset will lead to the downfall of the church. Most C...
Finding Your Purpose
Do you wonder what you’re supposed to be doing with your life? Do you wonder if you’re in the right job or following the right career path? You’re not alone when you think about things like that. Many people wonder about the purpose of their life and their vocation. But it can get a little disheartening if you start entangling your life purpose with the job where you work each day. Because while jobs come and go, your life purpose is set inside of God’s specific and beautiful design for your life. It’s easy to mix your life purpose—or identity—with your vocation. For many people, myself included, the two get so intertwined that they seem like one big thing. But they’re not. One is about your God-gifted value, and that has nothing to do with work. It has to do with your personality, your pa...
