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We all have found ourselves in the position of wondering why our ministry hasn’t gone forward in the way that we thought it aught…
Many of us have gotten some training only to find that the door we wanted to be open was as closed as before we made such efforts.
You may have ministered faithfully as a lay leader for many years…only to find that that didn’t open the door either….
And perhaps you have given up in despair and have come close to give up ministry….or maybe you have…
Why doesn’t that door open….the door that we wanted to go in?
There are many reasons why….here are five to consider before giving up that ministry that God has given to you….
1) Maybe you ain’t ready for it. you got some learning to do.
Maybe you need to go to school…. Believe it or not….Bible School and then Seminary does have some valuable things to teach you. Learning the languages is important and can be valuable….We all have seen members and even some preachers making mistakes based on a just a rather poorly translated passage of scripture in only one translation…
Theology….Bible…..Hermeneutics…..Languages…..History…..Devotional life…..Ministry….leadership….etc….
All are important…..
Then again…maybe you need to learn some skills like the differences between all the prayers in a church service….Some folks don’t know the difference between an invocation at the start of the service…a benediction at the end…or the morning prayer in the middle….They pray them all the same….
Maybe you need to learn skills like how to comfort a family who just lost a loved one…maybe you need to see an older seasoned minister do it before you can do it….
Perhaps that door is closed because you need to grow into a place where that door can be opened to you…
2) Maybe you running from your call to it.
Ahh….yeah….maybe that door you want to go through just ain’t your call…
Some of us who have gone to seminary ain’t called to pastor a church…we may want it..but it ain’t our call…
A ministry that might not be senior pastor…
Maybe somebody’s chaplaincy…maybe that is your calling…
Maybe some other kind of ministry…social advocacy…maybe your calling is to be somebody’s assistant…
When you really want to go through one door..sometimes it is hard to see the open door standing right next to the closed one
Yep…I hear it often from my sisters and brother preachers. We have felt a call…and we prepared ourselves for that call..and then
nothing…
nothing…
and after a little bit more time….
Nothing….
I enoruage you…
Lick your wounds…
Take a moment…
but don’t give up on that call….
You went to seminary because we felt the call of God on your life…
Don’t get mad at the closed door….
Pray that when the Master comes back…
He will find us going through the open door…
That God has set before us…
Maranatha…
Brother Sherman
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