Recruit, Commit, Coach

The general mission of the church is recorded in the last chapter of Matthew; to actively make disciples, to baptize them into the universal church, and to educate them in total surrender of Jesus’ teachings.great commission 1

In addition to the main mission, we each have our personal ministry. Depending on the season of our life and God’s Plan, it may change over time.  For most of us, our personal ministry is first with the immediate family and then to the building up of the church. The Church, of course, is not necessary the local faith community but the universal body of believers.  It would include the people from the local church that we attend on a regular basis and also the other churches in our community.  It would also include God’s work in the marketplace.  Again, our mission is to make disciples and to buildup fellow saints of God.

Since most of us are only a little, baby toe in the body of Christ without a visible, publicly noticed ministry, our work is done only visibly to our Lord who we serve.  This toe only touches the people who it comes into contact with.  It doesn’t seek public recognition, but believes that privacy has its greatest benefits in serving the body of Christ.

Now some of our brethren believe their mission is to win souls to the Lord.  We have a problem with that approach since the soul is a difficult portion of the body to evaluate.  The making of disciples is an easier concept to manage.  It is something that we have a greater control over to make happen than changing a person’s soul.  We believe conversion and sanctification is God’s department.  Our part is simply to recruit people who want to follow Jesus, coach them to acknowledge their commit to follow Christ, and then to teach them the Word.  The process of regeneration and salvation is the Lord’s.  That depends on the person’s relationship with God.  It depends on a person’s personal commitment.  We could recruit one hundred people who desire to become Christ-followers.  That doesn’t mean that all one hundred are going to faithfully endure to the end.  We are sure most will.  But there are always a few that would rather surrender their soul to this temporary world and its leader than to the Lord of eternity.

great commission 2

We likewise have great difficulty believing that all those people who have lived the past six thousand years without hearing about the gospel of Jesus are doomed for eternity.  That doesn’t sound like the loving God we have come to know.  Because someone hasn’t been told, how can they be held accountable?

No, we believe the Son is the only way of salvation.  However winning souls is our Heavenly Dad’s responsibility who calls us to a relationship with Jesus (Jn6: 44) and the Holy Spirit that works in us today.  Our mission is clear: Recruit (Seek + Disciple), Commit (Baptize), and Coach (Teach).

OUR PRAYER

PRAYER 1

Dear Merciful Dad, your plan from the beginning of creation was to reconcile all people to you.  You selected the nation of Israel as your initial people to work with and to reveal your ways.  Eventually. you sent us Jesus to open the door for all people from any nation, culture, ethnic group to become one with you.  Your plan is simple and straight forward.  Help us to be a part of it.

Help us to share the gospel of Jesus with others.  Help us to reveal you as we have come to know you.  Help us to teach your ways of abundant living to others.  Help us to direct others to a deep, personal relationship with you.

You are the source of our strength.  You are the passion of our life.  You are the desire of our dreams.  You are the hope of our future.  Let your life be revealed through our thoughts, actions, and deeds.  Let all we do be done for your glory.  Let others come to see your awesomeness as you have revealed yourself to us.

Everything is yours.  Thank you for sharing everything with us.  Help us share everything with others.  In Jesus we thank you and always pray in His name and authority.  Amen.

Yours In Christ,

Dr. Mike

Coach, Consultant, and Speaker

Author of Great Business Emulates a Good God

Lord, Help Us Follow Your Lead

holy spirit lead

Who do you depend on in times of trouble?  Who do you turn to when you are unsure of a pending decision?  Who always proves faithful to you in good times and bad?  The theoretical answer is the Holy Spirit.  But is that your truthful answer?  Are you honestly following the lead of the Holy Spirit through life, or do you just think you are?  Have you totally surrendered your personal agenda and are willing to follow the lead of the Counselor of God?  If you are like most of us, the honest answer is no.  We probably have failed miserably.  Yes, He is always reliable.  Yes, He is always faithful.  Yes, He is always dependable.  But, we are not.

We may want to follow His lead in our life.  We, like many of our brothers, seek through prayer and meditation and in the Word for direction in our life, but slowly end-up pursuing the dreams and desires of our heart that we think are good for us.  And of course, over time we discover that we are off the trail again and need help to refocus in the direction that is best for us.

Our Guide is reliable, but we are not.  Our Guide is dependable, but we are not.  Our Guide is faithful, but we are not.  Our problem is to learn how to focus on His lead in our life every single moment.  It’s to be walking with Him in a single line following the path that He is making.  It’s to listen to His instructions and commands.  When you hire yourself a guide to lead you through the jungles of Africa, you seek out the best.  After you find the best, you place your trust in that person to lead you through the appropriate paths.  You don’t deviate off the paths because you have been warned of the dangerous animals and terrain that could severely harm you.  You stay close to your guide and follow all his advice.  Isn’t it the same with the jungle of life?  Our Guide is there to help us make it through the jungle of life.  He has proven Himself over time in assisting many people.  We have now learned to pray regularly, asking help to follow the Counselor’s lead in our life; help to focus on His route; help to be a real disciple of His.

OUR PRAYER

PRAY 8

Our Heavenly Dad and Holy Spirit, thank you for giving us a Counselor, Guide, and Trainer in your Spirit.  Thank you, Holy Spirit, for making yourself available to us in leading us to Jesus and to the things of God.  Thank you for being patient with us and for having our needs in good hands.

Help us to learn how to follow your lead in our life.  Help us to see your work in our life.  Help us to submit to your lead in all we do, in all we seek, in all we think.  Help us to surrender our life to you and always to ask you to fill us with the seeds of your character.  Let us abound with your abundance.  Let us live as your servant and as your ambassador.  Show us how you communicate with us and help us to listen to your nudges.  Give us the faith to act on your instructions.  Help us in our unbelief.  Reaffirm your direction in our life in mercy and in compassion.

Let this life be your success story.  Thank you, Jesus, for caring.

Yours In Christ,

Dr. Mike

Coach, Consultant, and Speaker

Author of Great Business Emulates a Good God

Our Most Intimate Companion

 

“…but I have called you friends,…”

John 15:15

companion 5

When you walk with God, you have the ultimate companion.  You have someone who is always there when you need them.  Someone you always are able to depend on. Someone you know is your friend independent of the situation.

When you follow Christ though, you quickly come to realize that you are not the most popular person in the world.  You are not a rock star, or basketball superstar, or a famous Hollywood movie star.  You are unique.  And your uniqueness turns many people away from you because you are not acceptable to world standards.  Yes, the righteous will find you uncomfortable to walk with.  The rich will find you a stumbling block.  The powerful will find you threatening the status quo.  The experts will question your credentials.  The elders will find you rebellious.  The sinner will accept you as one of them until they realize your abhorrence to sin.  The naive will consider you their messiah until they find that you preach acceptance of personal responsibility for your actions.  The minority will push their agendas on you until they realize you have no distinction between races, sexes, or political affiliations.  The right wing will consider you a liberal while the left wing insists you’re a conservative.  Your pastor thinks you are uncommitted.  Your family says you’re a little strange.  Your neighbors love you but can’t seem to accept you as you are.  Your coworkers respect you but wonder when you are going to become normal.  Your children honor you and accept your eccentricities as part of the aging process.  And you wonder how come your companions are few?

Jesus selected twelve disciples that where the closest to him.  Of the twelve, three where the most intimate with him, Peter, John and James.  Jesus didn’t have a physical wife or children of His own.  His companions consisted of those who walked with Him on Kingdom’s mission.  He ministered to them while they ministered to Him.  His companions came to Him by His Dad to start the work that He was prophesied to complete.  Not everyone was excited about the Kingdom of God.  Only those people whose passion towards the Kingdom came alive did Jesus bring close to His bosom. and one of them was going to betray Him.  Many of them didn’t even capture the real vision of the Kingdom during His ministry.  Yet Jesus chose them, ministered to them, taught them, loved them, played with them, and worked with them, giving them the best years of His life including the ultimate, life itself.

The best companion we all have is Jesus and the friends He brings to us while sharing the gospel of the Kingdom.  Our companions are few, but true.

OUR PRAYER

PRAYER 1

Oh Loving Dad, thank you for bringing Jesus into our life!  He was God from the beginning of time.  He emptied himself to become a human person, and humbly died on the cross.  Yet today, you raised Him up and glorified Him.  You made Him King of Kings, Lord of Lords, Savior of Saviors, and Friend of Friends.

Jesus, you are our King, Lord, Savior, and Friend.  Thank you for loving us from the beginning of time and revealing to us your love now when we most need it.  Help us to learn from you.  Help us to live with you.  Help us to love you.

Live in us as the Father lived in you while you walked this planet.  Let your love abound in us.  Let your peace surround us.  Let your majesty precede us.

Thank you for hearing and interceding in our prayers.  Thank you for all your help.  Thank you for always being with us as a true friend.  Help us be a friend for others as you are for us.  Thank you, Jesus.

Yours In Christ,

Dr. Mike

Coach, Consultant, and Encourager

Author of Great Business Emulates a Good God