Posts Tagged ‘ministry’

What’s Your Type?

Posted in All Posts, Discipleship Tools, tagged , , , , , , , on February 1, 2013 | 2 Comments »

A simple question:

You are almost never late for your appointments
YES                          NO

A question that reveals a great deal about you and how you relate to the world and others!  Marry someone, work with someone, or parent someone with a different personality type – a different take on the world – and the simple things can be so frustrating!

We first encountered Myers-Briggs and other personality tests in our premarital counselling.  I have continued to use temperament testing in ministry and work settings (and refer to it on our marriage) because so much about us is revealed in a few short questions.

What are you great at?  What do you do naturally that others struggle to achieve?  What environment will drive you crazy?  What are your areas of weakness in relationships and life?  How can you best go about maximizing your strengths and moderating (or fixing!) your weaknesses?

You can take a simple, free test in about 3 minutes here.

Then go to www.personalitypage.com and type in your letters.

If you want a more in-depth look, I would recommend the book Please Understand Me by David Kiersey.

There is also another, non-Myers-Briggs temperament testing system that uses the categories Choleric, Sanguine, Phlegmatic, and Melancholy.  Beverly LaHaye wrote The New Spirit Controlled Woman, a Christian book using these temperament types to look at types, marriage, communication styles, anger & depression (most of us struggle with one or the other!), and ministry roles.  Those are also great tools!ESTJ

So me?  I am an ESTJ – the Organizer and Administrator.  I am 80% Choleric and 20% Sanguine, just so we don’t forget to have some fun while we are out conquering and organizing the world!

How about you? Have you ever used temperament testing in ministry or your marriage?

* Special thanks to Tom Fuerst at http://thefuerstshallbelast.wordpress.com/ for bringing up temperaments and reminding me about this ministry tool we often overlook!

** I’ll put the link my Resources page so you can find it later.

Read Full Post »

Are You Ready?

Posted in All Posts, Devotional Thoughts, tagged , , , , , on April 23, 2012 | 4 Comments »

Every morning I holler and wait on my daughter, who is never ready when it’s time to go.  Regardless of whether she got out of bed 5 minutes ago or an hour ago, she’s just not ready.  She brushes her hair, puts on her earrings, ties her shoes, and eats breakfast in the car…  She comes when I call, but she’s not ready.  It feels like I spend half the day waiting on that girl to get ready.

When God called to Moses in Exodus 3:4 Moses said “Here I am” and he was ready.  Even after 40 years of tending sheep in the wilderness, Moses had not lost his readiness.

Oswald Chambers wrote about this last week (4/18).  “When God speaks, many of us are like people in a fog, and we give no answer. Moses’ reply to God revealed that he knew where he was and that he was ready. Readiness means having a right relationship to God and having the knowledge of where we are. We are so busy telling God where we would like to go.”

That’s me, always telling God where I’d like to go, what I’d like to do.  It’s hard to listen to Him when I’m always talking!

“Yet the man or woman who is ready for God and His work is the one who receives the prize when the summons comes. We wait with the idea that some great opportunity or something sensational will be coming our way, and when it does come we are quick to cry out, “Here I am.”

That’s me again, I’m looking to do something big, important for God.  Let’s go storm the castle!

“Whenever we sense that Jesus Christ is rising up to take authority over some great task, we are there, but we are not ready for some obscure duty.  Readiness for God means that we are prepared to do the smallest thing or the largest thing— it makes no difference.”

Obscure duty, small things.  Hmm.  Not so glamorous.  Be he who is faithful in the small things, will be given even greater responsibility.  The small things do matter, I just don’t like the fact that they are obscure.  Not noticed.  But still important.

“It means we have no choice in what we want to do, but that whatever God’s plans may be, we are there and ready. Be ready for the sudden surprise visits of God. A ready person never needs to get ready— he is ready. Think of the time we waste trying to get ready once God has called!”

Oh Lord Jesus, help me to BE ready to do WHATEVER you call me to do.

* My Utmost for His Highest, free online at http://utmost.org

 

Read Full Post »

The Restless on Sabbatical

Posted in All Posts, Devotional Thoughts, tagged , , , , , , , , on March 6, 2012 | 4 Comments »

I can’t sit still. I have always been that way. I am busy, I am Tigger, I am always working on something, I am the original hyperactive child. Fidget, fidget, fidget.

Restless – I am restless. The heading in my commentary for James 5:7-12 is “Reminders to the Restless”. The farmer waits for the precious produce of the soil, being patient about it, until it gets the early and late rains. You too be patient, strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is near.”

I do well under pressure, when I am busy. I have been reflecting on coming out of a busy season of ministry – when so much was required of me, when I met the Lord at 5 am every morning because there were so many things to pray about and seek guidance on, when it was “game on” all the time.

When I left Stuttgart, the Lord impressed upon me that the next thing was a Sabbatical Season. Sabbatical meaning rest, quietness, study. I needed it, but I didn’t like it. The Lord gave me four clear priorities for my sabbatical season:

1. NO new projects (oh, how hard that would be!),
2. Support and encourage my husband in this time of transition,
3. Support and encourage my kids in this time of transition, and
4. Work hard at getting back into good physical shape.

So here I am – I’m dying for a project like some people are dying for a drink… But I am on sabbatical. I am trying to be appreciative of my period of resting, but I just find it difficult. (But I do like having time for sports!) I am still meeting with the Lord, and He still speaks to me (usually it’s “Be patient, child.”), and I am loving reading and playing with my kids.

I like the farmer image in James 5:8 – he is waiting for precious produce, something valuable, that will only come in due time. I cannot, and should not, hurry it along. (This is much better than the “Moses tending sheep” image I have stuck in my head – Moses was out there 40 years! Plus, thanks to West Africa, I know a lot about sheep and there’s nothing good that comes out of that…)

Pray for me and my sabbatical – that I wouldn’t run ahead of God, nor waste my free time.

Also, when I started this blog I promised myself that I would only write when God laid something on my heart… that I wouldn’t post every week just to hear myself talk. (There’s plenty of that around!) So don’t worry if I don’t write… I am resting.

Read Full Post »

What Defines You?

Posted in All Posts, Book Reviews, tagged , , , , , , , , on February 28, 2012 | 1 Comment »

Today’s guest blog is written by Jimmie Davis, girls’ minister and author.  She’s also one of the most humble women of God you’ll ever meet. http://blogs.lifeway.com/blog/girlsministry/

While I was at LifeWay for a conference two years ago, Pam Gibbs handed me the book Strengthening the Soul of Your Leadership by Ruth Haley Barton, and told me it was a “must read” for anyone in ministry. I read a few chapters and it was extremely convicting, so I politely put it away not to pick it up again until a few months ago. Since that time, the Lord has used this book to remind me that who I am personally is intricately interwoven into my ministry with teenage girls, but my ministry does not define me.

In the book, Ruth uses the life of Moses as a prime example. She points out that growing up Moses didn’t really know if he was an Egyptian or a Hebrew. He didn’t really know who his mama was and certainly was confused at the deep compassion he felt for the injustices shown to the Hebrew people even though he was raised as an Egyptian, the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. Moses’ built-up anger over his life’s circumstances came out when he saw an Egyptian being cruel to a Hebrew and his rage turned into murder. Moses fled to the desert and had to spend forty years in solitude with God to let the dust settle so he could clearly see and settle his identity crisis. Finally when Moses had spent enough time in silence, God called and he was ready to listen. Moses’ personality, his handicap, his upbringing, his heritage, and his very own story equipped him to go and face Pharaoh, lead the Hebrew children out of bondage, survive in the dessert for forty more years, and fulfill God’s plan for his life.

I’m not saying you have to spend forty years in silence; what person can do that, really? However, I have learned that spending time in solitude before God will allow the dust to settle and you will be able to see who you are and hear God’s call of leadership. In times of solitude, God will remind you that you are not defined by your ministry, but you are defined by His presence in your life. Solitude in the presence of God on your leadership journey will keep you close to Him and that is completely satisfying.

The book also points out that God led Moses to the top of Mount Nebo and showed him the Promised Land. God told him that he could see it, but he would never go there. No argument, no response; Moses was completely satisfied. Barton says, “He no longer needed a role, a task, or responsibility to define him. For him, the presence of God was his promised land.”

This is a painful reality in ministry. We might have a great vision for girls’ ministry and serve long and hard, but for some reason God removes us from our place of service. Like Moses, maybe someone else will come in and take your vision to a new and different level. When the presence of God defines you, there will be no argument, no response; you will be completely at peace with whatever circumstance comes your way. I encourage you to seek Him in solitude today—for that is the place where the peace comes.

Read Full Post »

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 125 other followers

%d bloggers like this: