The Future

Last night our board members had a discussion about the future and how ministry can be effective. It was a great conversation. The world situation was discussed, the fact that we are sort of all in limbo---waiting to see what will happen----feeling some hesitation to buy, go or do a lot of things we have been doing in the past. The economy of our country is especially unstable and that causes a lot of anxieties about our families, jobs, gas prices, food prices and a myriad of other personal things. If we probe deeper into these thoughts, we see the nations of the world in turmoil, revolt, fear, and danger. A study of prophecy would probably shed some light on our position in God's view too. What is the best thing for us to do? Rest and wait on the Lord.

"Therefore do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." Matthew 6:34

Leadership of the Church and Women's Ministries

Women's Ministries is always a topic of conversation where I go. Questions about how to set it up, how to get women involved and how to get the leadership to show interest and give the ministry value. Today I am pondering the leadership element. It can be discouraging when the ministry is not recognized as viable. It is frustrating when new ideas for growing the church eliminate specific ministry to women. How do you feel about this topic and what ways do you use to communicate with the leadership?

Mission Trips for Women to Women

“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” Matthew 28:19 (NKJ)

This last two months there have been opportunities for mission trips to Romania, Mexico, and French Guiana. When these came up I was excited and eager to participate in encouraging women in the Lord. It is a great adventure to take a team of women to the mission field to teach and share.

Before I arrived in Lexington, Kentucky in 1997, I had never been on a mission trip. Furthermore, I was “not called to missions”! Oh, pride is a terrible thing. The Matthew passage doesn’t say I will call you when I need you, it simply says “Go”. It became apparent that God was pushing me to take short term mission trips to speak to the women in different countries and He was relentless. My first mission trip was to Northwest Haiti Mission where there were five days of women’s retreats in different churches, five nights of Bible study at the mission church and many service opportunities with women of all ages. Three months later I was off to Jamaica for the same type of activity with women there. The next year, it was Nigeria. These experiences were life-changing and I have had repeat visits.The first and foremost fear for me was the culture; would it be dangerous, would I be sick, would they like me, would we be kidnapped? As you will notice, it was the typical “all about me” questions. So I said, “Ok God, I will do this” and began planning and packing. Curious what the women would be like and what the differences between us would be, I studied every book and web site I could find to gain knowledge. Lo and behold! We arrived and they were all just like me! That was the case in every area that I went. Developing countries have more hardships, hunger, and poverty, but their personal needs are the same. We are all striving to find the answers to our life situations and build a relationship with the Lord. It was a delight to study the Word together with these women and to exchange our personal life experiences and how God walked through them with us. I would like to challenge you to seek God about your involvement in mission trips with your Women's Ministries.Jesus taught the disciples while He was on earth how to be the church and how to reach how to share the gospel with others. The focus was not just on making disciples out of the church attendees, but disciples of the unchurched on a global plane. “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring the good news” Romans 10:15b (NIV)

Calling

In solitary silence we listen with great attentiveness to the voice that calls us the beloved God speaks to the deepest strata of our souls.

.....Brennan Manning

In all the years I was growing up I woulld hear pastors say they were "called" to the ministry and it was always a vocational call. I never heard anyone say that they were to called to do ministry. I'm so glad that there is now more discussion and teaching on being called into an area of ministry. God wants us all to find our place of fulfillment and that doesn't mean, that we have to stay in one place of service for our entire life or in one location. Part of my joy in Women's Ministries is watching women as they grow and as God calls them to new and bigger ministries. Then the thrill of seeing their apprentices move right into leadership of the area that was vacated. There a some steps of identification to a call that I gleaned from Henry Blackaby's teaching that clarifies a calling:

*Call comes from another person
*Call becomes confirmed by the Holy Spirit
*Call requires action following confirmation
*Call will bring disbelief--"who me?" or "I couldn't do that"
*Call will separate you from someone people who discourage and also provide some encouragers, but the peace of God will be powerful when it is His call.

It takes solitude to be aware of God's leading. When we begin to sense that He wants us to do something, a restlessness begins and grows into a burning desire. This is the critical time of the calling. At this point you are to wait for the next set of instructions! Don't try to open the doors or move the obstacles that will allow you to "do" something. Henry Blackaby in "Experiencing God" states: "God always will give you enough specific directions to ddo now what He wants you to do. When you need more directions, He gives you more in His timing....don't try to skip over the relationship (with God) to get on with the doing". In the above steps, action is only taken when the calling becomes confirmed by the Holy Spirit. God can open doors for us, but we can't open them for ourselves.

"I will wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in His word I put my hope. My soul waits for the Lord more thatn watchmen wait for the morning." Ps 130:5-6

Remain In Him

“I am the vine, you are the branches. If a man remains in Me and I in him, he will bear much fruit, apart from Me you can do nothing”. John 15:5

How simple life would be if we didn’t struggle with releasing ourselves to remain in Him and realize we can do nothing apart from Him. If often is a struggle to release because we don’t see God for who He is, and we put characteristics on Him from our experiences in life.

When we are asked, “Who are you?” our response is usually something like, I’m a wife, a mother, a nurse, a teacher or some other description of what we do. We seem to base our worth in possessions, achievements or jobs. Others see us the way they think we should be based on their opinion of our successes or appearance. Both views are loaded with misconceptions because of our own personal life experience. The person God sees is totally different from the way we see ourselves or others see us.

To God we are uniquely fashioned…made in His Image with His potential in us. Validate this truth about yourself: God says you are precious in His sight. The thoughts you have about your self develop into words and then behavior which will either build up or destroy your self-image.

I encourage you today to put the greatest weight into determining self-worth in what God says about you. Release yourself from “who you are in terms of success” and abide in the vine to begin bearing fruit of God’s spirit asyou remain in Him.

How Do I Find My Destiny

"He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths. Isaiah 2:3 (NIV)

In childhood,, most women begin seeking their destiny with Prince Charming, their careers, their homes, and their dreams of success. Our society leads us to believe that destiny's pathway can be carved out, and if we do all the right things we will reach our destiny. As adulthood settles in, we find that our destiny does not always have the fulfillment even though we may have accomplished all of the dreams we aspired toward. Our dreams in reality may leave us with a hollow feeling. On the other hand, we may not have achieved succes in our minds and are unfulfilled.

So, that brings us to the question: "How Do I Find My Destiny?" Destiny does not come through tea leaves or horoscope readings. It comes by following the spiritual pathway that God has set out for us. We were uniquely created to be who we are and where we are today, at this time.

The spiritual pathway is found by first, seeking God and asking for direction and guidance in our lives. Secondly, we surrender everything to Him. When we ask and surrender, God will give us the road map to our Destiny in Him, the life that He created for us to have and the peace that comes in that life. However, the big stumbling block with this road map is that it requires obedience. Some of the crossroad markers on the map this year will be Bible study and prayer, learning to know God as a friend and stepping out in faith to stay on the road.

I made a move to Kentucky in 1997, in direct obedience to God's call. It was such a big step to move so far rom home and familiar surroundings in the western part of the country. I didn't have any idea what would happen, how it would work or how we would survive, but God said to move and we did.

It took a long time for me to come to the point where I could just up-and-move on that kind of a call from God--years of pulling off the spiritual pathway, trying to turn around and go back, kicking and screaming, and trying to hold my own destiny tightly in my hands. There was such a sense of freedom for me in the release of my own ideas and moving into the flow of following those road markers.

This can be an exciting New Year for us and for the women we mentor and lead to learn to recognize the call of God on our lives, leading toward what He has planned for us.

What are your desires?

"My son, if you accept my words and store up my commands within you, turning your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding, and if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding, and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, then you will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God. For the LORD gives wisdom and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding. He holds victory in store for the upright, he is a shield to those whose wak is blameles, for he guards the course of the just and protects the way of his faithful ones. Then you will understand what is right and just and fair--every good path." Proverbs 2:1-9

In our pursuit to know God better we can see four directives in these verses that we should use to evaluate out lives. First, we must take in God's Word daily (verse 1). It is imperative to study and absorb God's word if we truly seek to know Him better.

Secondly, in verse 2, we see the need to give God our heqarts, accepting the correction,, teaching or direction Scripture gives us. Prayer is the third directive in verse 3--not quickly worded or repetitive prayer, but sincere conversation with God.

Conversation is a talking and listening activity. This may be the most difficult one of the directives to intensely pursue, but it will be the most rewarding and valuable aspect of our relationship with God. Passionate seeking is the fourth (verse 4).

What are you passionately desiring today? It could be a relationship with someone, a new house, or a dream vacation. Our first desire however, should be to know God, and to follow these directives until we have an intimate relationship with Him. There are provmises for us from these four guidelines: wisdom, knowledge, understanding, protection, righteousness, justice and euity. I encourage you to diligently seek Him as the Wise Men did!

Preparing for the Holiday Season

As leaders, we give the example of handling life and ministry in the pattern of Jesus. The holiday season puts a lot of pressure on women as they see to the myriad of details in preparation and family activities. Take the opportunity in early November to give the women in your ministry the ability to move through the holidays with the Peace of the Lord.

The main focus for us does not change because the seasons change--we must meet the Lord daily in His Word and in prayer to continue the process of receiving our daily bread. There is a visual that I love to use. When you place rice (representing the details of the season) and put walnuts (prayer, bible study, family relationships, friend relationships) on top they just don't all fit in the jar. However, when the walnuts go in first and the rice is poured over them, it all fits nicely in the jar.

That is a picture of our daily lives and the details will flow around us. It is also important to know that we do not have to be the Martha Stewart of Thanksgiving and Christmas, we just need to love our families and share the memories of holiday food and fun together. When I think back on my childhood, it isn't that my mother's mashed potatoes weren't lumpy or that the table centerpieces were elaborate or that we had an artistic wreath on our door; it was how sweet it was to be with my family and the time we spent playing games, baking together and having friends in our home.

"But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own". Matthew 5:33-34

Leaders Pray

Nehemiah is a wonderful character study for leaders of ministy. The story begins with him being born in exile and working his way up to the cupbearer for King Artaxerxes. One day his brother visits him to tell him the walls of Jersalem are broken down and the people are discouraged. Nehemiah begins to feel a burden from the Lord about what he is to do.....he is being called to return to Jerusalem. His first response is to pray about the situation. He uses the ACTS method of prayer and also prayers Scripture in the prayer in Chapter 1:5-11. Then he goes to the meeting with King Artaxerxes and was afraid (v. 2) so he sent up an "arrow prayer" (v. 4). God honors his prayer as the King not only grants him permission to go to Jerusalem to rebuild the wall, but he appoints him the governor. The people rally under the motivational power of Nehemiah and they begin to build the wall. Opposition comes in the form of taunters and the enemies of the surrounding territories. Nehemiah agin prays (Chapter 5:4-5). He also helps the people understand the power of Spiritual Warfare. It takes only 52 days to complete the building of the wall around the city of Jerusalem.

This example of a leader who prays consistently, experiences all the same emotions and fears that others do, but continues to be obedient to God and communicate with Him all the time. Is this not how we as women leaders should model prayer?

Discipleship

Matthew 28:18-20 Jesus came and told His disciples, "I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age." (LAB)


This is a clear directive to us that we are to bring people to the Lord and grow them up as disciples. So many churches miss the mark here and as women in leadership, we want to make sure that the women we lead and serve learn the pathway to discipleship.

Looking at Jesus' example is always the best way to try to understand His instructions to us. He found his 12 men and began to spend time with them, teaching and modeling the life of a disciple. He was really with them more than we can possibly be as leaders with our own families and busy lives, but we want to follow the example the best we can without guilt.

So in a day with Jesus we see that he woke up and went right to talk to God to get the instructions for the day and then came out to meet with the "team". Immediately, in most cases, there were crowds of people looking to touch, hear, be healed, be prayed for, be encouraged, or just to look at this wonderful man. He did not lose patience, He was there for those that needed him and he served them.

When the time ws right for a rest or a teaching time, Jesus withdrew (usually quietly). My, how I would love to have this trait. He would again seek God and He would also teach the "team" about what they could have learned about the experiences of the day together. He taught them in parables, stories that they would understand and relate to with examples from everyday life. There was no concern with philosophy or latest techniques. Jesus desired that the "team" would be like Him.

Now, how do we accomplish that with our teams? Our prayer life is the major tool for this and all aspects of our lives and ministry. Do you follow Jesus' example each day and are you open for His agenda or do you tell Him what your agenda is and ask Him to work that out well for you?

Secondly, do you pray with your team? It is easy to tell someone what the steps are, but the practice of doing this together is more impactful. Do you pray for your team, knowing what their needs are or what concerns them? All of us learn by example more than by any other method.

Thirdly, do you speak with your team frequently and invite them to joinyou in business or ministry related activities? Debriefing and conversations after meetings or events...listening at all times for unspoken messages as well....is very important. This is how you know if the process is working positively.

When Jesus says to "make disciples" we are to respond and obey in order that those disciples will live the abundant life and be able to discern God's will for their lives also.

Communicating

"This prophetic power, never trusted to the undeserving, was given to her because she loved God with all her heart." Edith Deen

Who was this woman who heard the voice of God? It was Huldah, a Hebrew prophetess who lived during the time of Josiah, the King. Women who hear God's voice are women who love God with their whole heart. We can evaluate that in our live by asking the following questions:

*Do I take every plan or though to God first before making a decision?
*Do I know His word so well, I can know what is going to please Him?
*Are we so intimate in our prayer life that He truly is our most loved friend?

Huldah's story can be found in II Kings 22 and II Chronicles 34. King Josiah sent his people to her to inquire about the validity of the Book of Law found in the Temple during repairs. He had to have had faith in her ability to communicate with God in order to seek a woman's answer on this issue.

Her Spiritual authenticity must have been obvious to the king and to the people of the city and it is also apparent to us in these passages because she said, "thus saith the Lord" four times during her prophecy.

This woman was not one of the women we hear a lot about, but she had in her life the thing that mattered most and that was an intimacy with God and she heard Him communicate with her.

Change

Change…is a constant!

The one thing that I have learned over the years is that change is always part of my life. No matter what we try to do to create a “status quo”, it won’t last. Change can cause us to experience emotions like anger, fear, frustration and depression. WOW! I don’t like things to change, so I can identify with some of these emotions. Perhaps God put this element of constant change in our lives to allow us to see Him more clearly as the one who never changes. “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever” Hebrews 13:8 tells us. The time of change is a time to refocus on the face of Jesus!

I look around each day and see changes in Women’s Ministry and wonder what the future will be? I asked my friend what the “future of Women’s Ministries was?—after she finished giggling she felt like it wouldn’t be changing much in 1000 years. What I see is that women don’t really change much; they have the same sort of need for relationships with other women and for an intimate and growing relationship with Jesus. What changes the most is the method we use and the attitude we have toward the changes themselves. The basic truth we can stand firm on is that Jesus loves us unconditionally as His daughters, He will never change. Our calling is to share that hope with other women in the way that they understand and in environments that are safe for them. It is our responsibility to find the best way to minister to the women with which we are involved.

Mentoring Girls

One of the areas that is sadly overlooked in many of our churches is the intentional mentoring of middle and senior high school girls. The Youth and Student Ministries departments do not all find this to be an area where they can spend the time and energy and yet it is a vital aspect of a young girl's life. Women's Ministries can help fill the gap in this area. There are numerous resources and of course many women who are willing to work out an arrangement with the Youth/Student Ministry departments to develop a Girl's Ministry.

It is important and valuable to network within departments of a church and I would suggest that as a leader in ministry, this is a good area to begin the networking process. Approaching the youth leaders with the idea and just getting their thoughts is step number one.

Other ideas include:
*finding resources on line for girl's ministries
*talking with women who might be interested in organizing or mentoring
*research mentoring resources
*begin a program of mentor training

Some fantastic programs have been set up for girl's and if you know of one, please send a note about it. You can get information from Mallory at mrohach@southlandchristian.org on starting a ministry for girl's, setting up a mentoring ministry, finding resources, training sessions, and materials for Bible study.

Take this to your prayer team and see if God is leading you to work in this area with the girls of your church. We are called to mentor the younger women, should this not also be a call to mentor the girls who will be tomorrow's women.

Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderes or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. Then they can train the younger women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, tobe kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God. Titus 2:3-5

Apathy

Apathy is a state of indifference — where an individual has an absence of interest or concern to certain aspects of emotional, social, or physical life.

Apathy is dangerous and detrimental to the individual and sometimes to the people around them. I look at the religions of our world that are building buildings and moving their beliefs into the lives of everyone they contact. There are strategies and plans to reach people and draw them into the same belief systems, even those that aren't necessarily healthy. Some of the strategy is loving and creating a welcoming environment like a big family; some use intimidation and force; some use false teaching or subltely incorrect teaching.

The reason we need to think about apathy as leaders of women is that our purpose should be to grow them spiritually. We need to have a purpose and a strategy to evangelize, teach, disciple and empower women to be strong in the Lord and able to follow His leading in their lives.

It is a great responsibility and we need to plan and strategize for the future, not just this spring we will have a fun event and maybe in the fall we will do a Bible study. What is the plan? We cannot be apathetic in this area of our leadership. As the world changes and more generations are being brought up without a biblical worldview, family values, or even knowledge of the Word of God, we must be more intentional than ever with ministy. Those of you in parachurch ministries have a purpose statement and if you are in a ministry in the church, you should have a purpose statement. However, this statement should not be on paper only, it is up to us as leaders to live it out and produce results of changed lives and grow disciples for the future.
Be energized, check yourself on the apathy scale and ask God to move you into the His army!

Follow The Leader

It is often said that the people can only go as far as their leader has gone. That presents quite a challenge for women in ministry. Our responsibility is to lead women into spiritual growth and new adventures of faith and that is all limited by our personal spiritual position. Taking time to be alone with the Lord and develop our own relationship is vital to our leadership ability. As the year begins, it is a good time to evaluate where you were with the Lord this time a year ago and what you have learned about Him. This is a daily process of Bible reading, meditation and prayer. We should constantly be seeking His will for our lives and our ministry and calling on Him for wisdom. Leadership calls for a higher standard of living and that can only be accomplished through an understanding of Christ-likeness on our part. One of my favority tools is the Leadership Bible which has a study plan for leaders through the Scriptures. Also, journaling our prayers and the answers God gives us is helpful. Let's refuel so that we can be godly leaders.

Then There Was Covenant

Each year it is good to choose a theme for your Women's Ministries that will lead to spiritual growth. This year I have chosen Covenant and teaching the principles of the eternal and everlasting Covenant God has made with us.

In the beginning God created Adam and Eve and a paradise for them. He walked with them in the evening and had sweet fellowship. When sin entered the garden, man broke that fellowship. God who remains faithful yesterday, today and forever had a plan. In Genesis 3:15, He speaks of Jesus as the seed who will crush Satan. God then established covenant with Abraham, Noah, Moses, and David and in all those relationships we see the promise of the New Covenant that Jesus brings to us.

The only requirement for this present and eternal relationship with God is to believe who He is ane believe Jesus was His son sent for our salvation. Then we can become friends with God. WOW! That just thrills my heart.

To develop a friendship we must spend time together, talk together, listen to each other, study eac other's character. We can compare this to our dating before marriage. We couldn't wait to be together and to listen to every detail of each other's day, to sit together, talk together, walk together and plan together for our future. This is God's desire for us in relationshp with Him. We must get to know Him personally. He is not a faraway being who is distant from His creation. He has every emotion that we have and loves and grieves for us. He wants to be our Father, our Daddy.

The Covenant with Abraham is still alive for us today. It is important to study the basics of this Covenant and to realize that only we can break it, God will not break it, He is faithful to keep His promises. Kay Arthur has a precepts study on the Covenant, which would be a good place to begin to teach this vital concept.

Women's Minsitries Mission Trips

“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” Matthew 28:19 (NKJ)


Before I arrived in Lexington, Kentucky in 1997, I had never been on a mission trip. Furthermore, I was “not called to missions”! Oh, pride is a terrible thing. The Matthew passage doesn’t say I will call you when I need you, it simply says “Go”. It became apparent that God was pushing me to take short term mission trips to speak to the women in different countries and He was relentless. My first mission trip was to Northwest Haiti Mission where there were five days of women’s retreats in different churches, five nights of Bible study at the mission church and many service opportunities with women of all ages. Three months later I was off to Jamaica for the same type of activity with women there. The next year, it was Nigeria. These experiences were life-changing and I have had repeat visits.

The first and foremost fear for me was the culture; would it be dangerous, would I be sick, would they like me, would we be kidnapped? As you will notice, it was the typical “all about me” questions. So I said, “Ok God, I will do this” and began planning and packing. Curious what the women would be like and what the differences between us would be, I studied every book and web site I could find to gain knowledge. Lo and behold! We arrived and they were all just like me! That was the case in every area that I went. Developing countries have more hardships, hunger, and poverty, but their personal needs are the same. We are all striving to find the answers to our life situations and build a relationship with the Lord. It was a delight to study the Word together with these women and to exchange our personal life experiences and how God walked through them with us. I would like to challenge you to seek God about your involvement in mission trips with your Women's Ministries.

Jesus taught the disciples while He was on earth how to be the church and how to reach how to share the gospel with others. The focus was not just on making disciples out of the church attendees, but disciples of the unchurched on a global plane.



“How beautiful are the feet of those who bring the good news” Romans 10:15b (NIV)

Authentencity

Last week I was talking to a young woman, married and in her late 20's. She was talking about being a Christian woman in the church. Every week she has the same struggles we all have had, rushing to get ready, dress the kids, feed the family, get them to the car, trying not to scream and yell, but not always successful and occasionally angry with her husband. Arriving at the church, everyone is all smiles and gives the appearance of the "perfect" Christian family. We are in the age of competition and appearance of "perfect".

It most women come to church like that, what does it say for authentic Christianity? Not good things, that's for sure. What is the women's leader responsibility to help this situation disappear? The symptoms indicate that women in the church do not understand their value in the Lord and the freedom that comes in learning that identity as His child.

Teaching is the key to correct this problem of living a life of bondage to ideas of perfection. Mentoring is critical and the spiritually mature women should ask the Lord where they fit in this situation. Training of mentors and leaders about this problem is the first step. There are various resources for setting up a Mentoring Ministry and those can be helpful in building the one that suits the church you are in and the women of your church.

Secondly, evaluate the Bible Studies and themes that are used for Women's Ministries in the church. What will bring them into the understanding of their position in the Lord. Biblical principles and a knowledge of the Word and its personal application is most important. Planning the year ahead for a purpose is a possible solution for this thematic teaching.

Third, is to live by example, let women know that you as a leader are like them in everyway and that you struggle with the same issues. Share how you have overcome some of these things with the help of the Holy Spirit--write and speak your testimonies and incorporate the testimonies of other women.

We as women are created in God's image, we are His children, we are daughters of the King--Princessess. We should live in that confidence and know our value and identity in order to be able to live authentic and healthy Christian lives.

Friendships

“Friend—we say it so casually, so loosely. How far we have digressed from the
original meaning of the word! Friend was the term used to describe those who
had become partners through a blood covenant, and it was really quite a costly
title.” …….Kay Arthur from How Can I Live.

Women need friends and relationships, but so often they are disappointed in them. As a leader of women, we should mentor and instruct about the value of true friendship.

Well, who are your friends and what are your expectations of them? What kind of a friend are you? These are difficult questions that we don’t often ask ourselves. It is easier to just expect our needs to be met and continue on in our own world. To really find out what a friend is we can study the Covenant and reading articles about it. God is truly our Covenant God and our best friend. It is much more than going to the mall together however.

In studying Abraham and his covenant with God, there was a blood covenant made in Genesis 15. The meaning of friend meant that there was a willingness to give their lives for each other and to share their possessions with each other. In God’s case, it was sharing Jesus, His son for us.

If we talk in discipleship or spiritual growth terms, we would be surrendering ourselves totally to God…..our lives, our families, our money and our possessions. It would all be His and He would be our faithful protector and provider. Now when we ask those two questions: Who is our friend and what are our expectations? or What kind of a friend are you?…………How is your answer transforming because of the difference in the modern definition and the Biblical definition?

God desires to be our friend….we are created with a need for this faithful friend. Until we can develop this friendship with Him, we are missing out on the blessing He has planned for our lives. Are you totally surrendered to God? When you come into this understanding of the Covenant relationship of friends, there will be less disappointment from our relationships with God and friends.

Should I Stay in Leadership?

There comes a time when a leader is being urged by the Holy Spirit to move out a position and is not sure how to tell what that looks like or how to go about the change. God will speak clearly to you if you are to move into another place. The bigger issue is the listening and obeying of that directive. Time with Him alone in prayer is the only way that this can be understood. If there is no longer an excitement about the ministry or the work, that usually indicates there is a burn out or that there is a new calling coming into your life.

The response to this is to check for burn out. Are you trying to do everything yourself? Do you share your responsibility and decision making with a team of helpers and leaders. What does your prayer life look like? Are you following God's lead or are you on your own.

If burn out is not the cause of the unrest, then God is probably asking you to prepare for the next level of ministry that He has planned for you. As a leader grows and matures, the call becomes more intense and the area of ministry is created for your unique gifts. Journal about all your thoughts and leadings. Consult a spiritual mentor and discuss the results of the writing. Prayer consistently for direction and listen intently. God will reveal the next step. (Warning: there may be times of silence and waiting while He works out the details).

A leader should always have an apprentice or women in training to move into the position if the need should arise. Teach and train other women for leadership. There will be times when women have to move, illness comes, parents or children need care. Time Outs like this come for everyone and the ministry should never have to suffer. If you are in the "perfect" place of ministry for yourself at this time, this is the time to prepare your leadership. Consistent traning and mentoring is imperative to have a ministry team that will provide for the needs of the participants regardless of circumstances in one person's life.

Suggestions for preparation are:
---Regular meetings and prayer with leaders
---Training sessions with all leaders quarterly
---Plan seminars once or twice a year bringing in someone who has experience in your area
---Take time for mini-retreats or individual time with the leaders

Remember that the main reason for your life is what God calls you do do with your life for His purposes and be always ready to follow Him. Sometimes His plan calls for a time or rest and refreshment as well as a bigger work.