Great time of prayer and strategic planning with our Middle East leaders in Dubai this week. God is doing amazing things in this region, but for security reasons, I can’t blog about them, and I can’t post pictures.
But I can blog about Jim Laffoon’s message to our leaders. Here are my quick notes. . .
Every leader, every pastor, every minister must deal with the work, the weight, and the war of the ministry.
1. The WORK of the ministry includes making disciples, equipping ministers, empowering leaders, and teaching the Word. This is the easy part.
2. The WEIGHT of the ministry includes vision, provision, and decisions. While we can take a vacation from the work of the ministry, the weight of the ministry tends to stay with us and weigh us down. As ministry grows, the weight gets heavier.
3. The WAR of the ministry is the supernatural demonic side of things. The devil is real and he prowls around looking for those he can devour through temptation, accusation, and deception.
Most ministry training covers the first two. But most ministry failures are because of number 3. Like it or not, we are all in a spiritual battle, all the time. Therefore, we must not only master strategic leadership principles, we must put on the armor of God and learn to fight and win spiritual battles through prayer, fasting, and (the shield of) faith.