Are We Successful?

One of the many jobs of a pastor is to continually evaluate your ministry to make sure it is staying on course and is balanced. One of the questions I often ask myself is, "Are we being successful?" I do not mean by the world's standards of course. But are we a success by God's standards. Last Saturday, we had a Men's Prayer Breakfast and we had a great time of fellowship and prayer. Bro. Mickey Gaines brought a great devotional and spoke to us from Joshua 1:8 where we find the only mention of "success" in the Bible. Joshua 1:8 saysm "This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success. " I can think of 101 things we need at our church, but none are more important than to be a success in God's eyes and I believe that cannot come apart from the Word of God. When the Word of God is preached then I believe we free the Holy Spirit up to work and move as He desires. On Sunday nights we have started taking time out of the service to pair up with one another and pray for each other. That has done more for the spirit of our services than anything else. Prayer works! God has begun to move. In the last month, we have seen eight people trust Christ as their Savior as a result of our church and ministries! If we will keep on doing our part, then God will surely do His. And that, my friend, is the secret to success.

The Million Dollar Pastor

On Wednesday nights, I have been preaching a series on "Witnessing As A Lifestyle." We have been talking about looking for those divine appointments God gives us to be a witness whether it is simply giving someone a gospel tract or actually being able to present the gospel with someone. Sunday night after church, our family went out for something to eat. A lot of people from our church were at a local fast-food restaurant and we were going to go there but as I turned in, I noticed the parking lot was packed. So, I went to plan "B" which was to go across the street to another restaurant. There was hardly anyone there so we went in to eat. As we ordered, I talked with the cashier and she was telling me how hard she had been working all day so I handed her a gospel tract that looks just like a $1,000,000 bill. I said, "Maybe this will help." She turned around to the other workers and said, "Look what he just gave me!" Another worker came up and wanted one, too. I gave her one and then gave them both another tract from our church and told them I was a pastor. Our fries were not ready so she said she would bring them out to us. In a few minutes she came around the corner and said, "Where's that million-dollar pastor at?" She stood there and talked with me and I began to talk to her about the Lord and the importance of being in church. She had to go back to work but I told her to read the tract because it would tell her how she could go to heaven and that was worth MORE than a million dollars! I told my wife that I believe that was the reason the Lord did not want us at the other restaurant. Maybe God is preparing some circumstances for you to be a witness, too. Look for them everyday. You just might be surprised at the opportunities you will find.