The “Make or Break” in Ministry

1.  Internal motivation. If you “own the vision” it will not carry you when things get tough. The vision MUST OWN YOU!

2.  Believe that God is bigger than man.  No matter your circumstances or situation, have a clear picture of God as bigger than your struggles.  God-focused, and not man-focused.

3.  Be up-to-date with the stage of life you are in and the testings that are coming.  Be able to make adjustments with the new pressures and responsibilities.

4.  Pull your family into the vision.  Everyone needs the vision!

5.  Be open to change until the day you die.  This is a vital part of your lifestyle – be teachable, open to correction and rebuke.

6.  How you handle rejection determines how you will make it over the long haul.

7.  Comparison has to go!  Be a learner from everyone.

8.  Be willing to give up individuality and/or creative pride.

9.  Sharpen the saw – always be learning and staying ahead of the issues.

10.  Never get out of the local church, even through the various ups and downs.

11.  Never lose your first love.  Boredom is an indication of having lost your first love.  Stay hungry.

12.  Have an appreciation for even the mundane of life.  Find God in the mundane.  “Practice the presence of  God.” 

13.  Learn to overcome depression.  When you are unable to find God in the midst of the pressure, burnout happens.  Realize:

           a.  It will come!!

           b.  You are not a victim of the devil/flesh

           c.  You are not immobilized

           d.  Self-awareness is important.  Knowing what “pushed

                buttons” got you there

           e.  You are not pressured by God – people cause pressure.  

                You are not on a performance track.

14.  You have to find and know how you connect with God.  Realize that everyone is different and “connects” in different ways.  Some ways are:  hearing or reading something inspirational, being alone, reading apologetics or something that stirs intellectually, planning and working things out before the Lord, etc.

15.  Never, never, never, never quit!!!!!!!!  The right value system gives you the right perseverance.

16.  The five percent bad issues in you won’t resolve on their own, but will ruin/spoil the other 95 percent that is good.  The question is not, “What’s been done to me?”  but, “What’s God doing in me?”

17.  What you judge you will serve or end up doing the same thing yourself.

18.  Your response to trials determines how you make it over the long haul.  Learn to be an overcomer.  (See number 6 above)

19.  Nobody owes you anything!  Don’t blame others for your problems and situations.  Don’t expect apologies…B e sure that everyone is “debt-free” in your eyes…especially those you are helping…Don’t expect your team to give back to you…Explaining and having the others understand is OK, but it is not ok to demand that they understand and/or agree.

20.  Be concerned with internal wholeness and not external perfection.

21.  Get feedback on what you feel God is saying.  Don’t walk independently.

22.  Learn to handle failure and learn from it.

23.  Ability to encourage yourself in the Lord.  Team, family and enemy pressures come, but you must develop the ability to seek God and encourage yourself in Him.

-- From a message by Jimmy Seibert