15 But God had special plans for me even before I was born. So he chose me through his grace.
16 It pleased him to let me see and know his Son so THAT I COULD TELL THE GOOD NEWS about him to the non-Jewish people. I IMMEDIATELY PREPARED TO DO THIS WORK WITHOUT ASKING FOR ADVICE OR HELP FROM ANYONE.
17 I did not go to Jerusalem to see those who were apostles before I was. But, without waiting, I went away to Arabia. Later, I went back to the city of Damascus."
Galatians 1:15-17 (Easy-to-Read Version)
• A number of people had the notion that if the work you do in the ministry is not a pastoral work, you are not working, or you should not be considered as someone who is working in the ministry.
- Whoever has such a mindset, is shallow in understanding—the person is myopic.
- As important as the pastoral work is, in the ministerial work, it is a fragment of the work—a part of the work. Ministry work is not all about pastoral work, It is broader than the pastoral work alone.
• In the part of the world where such a thinking or mentality is prevalent, they tend to look down on whoever claims to be working in the ministry, but not pastoring a church.
- This has made some whose assignment or ministry is not pastoral, to sit in a church, pastoring a Church; even when their actual calling or assignment is to work in the field Ministry.
THEY are to be itinerant Ministers: evangelists, missionaries, itinerant teachers, and other field workers. - If you are not assigned to be a pastor, you are to be a field worker; but because of sentiment and what to eat, you decided to be in the pastoral work, you are under a disobedience.
- You are not the one to define your assignment or ministry, what to do, for God. In other words, you are not the one to choose what to do or assign yourself on what to do, but God:
14 YOU ARE MY [Jesus] FRIENDS IF YOU DO WHATEVER I COMMAND YOU. 15 No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you. 16 You did not choose Me, BUT I CHOSE YOU AND APPOINTED YOU THAT YOU SHOULD GO AND BEAR FRUIT, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you" (John 15:14,16).
• God designed you for a purpose. He had an intention before He did call you. YOU have to do whatever He intended you to do—the reason for your calling has to be fulfilled.
- Also, some of those who have been in the ministry for a number of years, and God has blessed their works—do not help the matter.
SOME of those who are just coming up in the ministry are submitting their lives and ministries to such leaders, to be mentored, BUT they are not counseling them aright. - A good number of such older Ministers, have the notion or the idea, or have a template which they set, about how a ministry should look like and what a ministry should BE.
- Thus, if anyone who is up-and-coming in the work, who is trying to find his or her bearings shared a vision of an assignment that would not be church based with any of such, they would want to discourage or dissuade the person from pursuing such a call—an assignment.
ALL because it is not a church based work—and that does not align or agree with the pattern or template which they have set for the ministry work. - Although some of them with such a mindset or notion are well-meant, well-intentioned, and sincere; but sorry to say, they are sincerely wrong.
- I do strongly believe with all my heart that the calling of some are not pastoral and they do not have any business is pastoring a church at all.
- A number of people that would have been a Blessing to the body of Christ, have been caged, box in, in a system—pastoring a church that is neither growing nor dying.
- The older minister who does not have a broader mind or who is myopic, would want to dissuade a younger person who is trying to find his or her bearings in the ministry work, from doing what God has assigned them to do.
MOST especially, if what the person wanted to do or claimed to have heard God told him or her to do, is not in line or agreement with what the older minister believes the ministry should be or look like.
• If you are young in the ministry work, looking for where your giftedness actually lies, I would advise you and encourage you to seek God's face; know what He wanted you to do and be thoroughly convinced about it, and stick to it.
- If you do allow someone to derail you, mislead you, talk you out of what God has instructed or commanded you to do, you will bear the blame—the consequences. And it may be calamitous!
- The old prophet who misled the young prophet sent from Judah to Samaria was the same person who prophesied the doom, the death and the destruction of the young prophet (I Kings 13:1-22).
• I want to use this medium to ask the older ministers who had the privilege of counseling and tutoring the young, the up-and-coming ministers, to always counsel them aright.
- Encourage them to do whatever God may have instructed them to do. You should not because of your own agenda or plans, mislead the person who submitted to you and trusted in your counsel.
- Remember, God will hold you responsible for the mistakes of those whom He assigned to do a particular thing, but you caused to derail—counseled to do a wrong thing, what is contrary to God's intended purpose and plan for them.
- A wise mature minister would want to counsel and encourage any young person who comes to him for counseling, who is finding his or her bearings, to seek God and know what God wanted them to do and stick to it.
• Spiritual fathering and mentoring is not about TELLING those who submitted to you, what they should do; BUT, It is about guiding them to discover God's plans and purposes for their lives and encourage them to pursue them.
- Whoever comes to you, asking you to tell him or her what to do in the ministry should be directed to God. WHOEVER is not mature enough to know what God is asking them to do, is not mature enough to be a minister, to begin with.
- Even if you, as an older minister, is a prophet, you have a prophetic gift operating in your life, you are not meant to direct people's lives with the gifted. If the gift was given you truly by God!
- You are not mainly to direct people's lives with the gift; but to confirm, clarify, and amplify whatever God may have spoken to those who come to you. The Scripture says: "FOR as many as ARE LED BY THE SPIRIT OF GOD, THESE ARE SONS [daughters] OF GOD" (Romans 8:14 NKJV).
- Let whoever come to you see God, point and direct them to meet with God personally, and allow them to do whatever He may want them to do.
• Ministry work should be done in God's way, and not in a way which a supposed mentor or spiritual father says it should be done.
• You will not fail in Jesus' name.
- In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, you are healed of that ailment in your body.
- The hold of enemy is broken in Jesus' name.
Peace!