13 C. Principles of the Ministy

Appendix C Principles Of The Ministry Compiled by David Roper

1. Establish and maintain the proper priorities (Php 1:1-9). A ministry is analogous to building a tower. It rests on a series of underlying foundations. If the foundations are weak then the whole structure will totter. If we weaken at any level, we must stop building above until that level is strengthened.

#4 Priority---Ministry #3 Priority---Relationship With Society (1 Timothy 3:7) #2 Priority---Relationship With Family (1 Timothy 3:4-5) #1 Priority--- Relationship With God (Ezra 7:10; 1 Timothy 4:16; Acts 20:28)

2. Our authority as leaders is derived from our obedience to the truth (1 Timothy 4:12; John 10:37; Hebrews 13:17; Judges 6:1-40).

3. The basis of any ministry is faith. It is "by faith" that God’s work is accomplished (Hebrews 11:1-40). It is not by planning, by organization or by self-effort. while these have their place, we must be flexible and easily led by the Holy Spirit. The direc-tion of our ministry and the speed with which that ministry grows is the prerogative of the Holy Spirit alone (John 6:28-29; 2 Corinthians 3:4-6; Colossians 1:29).

4. The strongest ministries are team ministries. Since God’s way is to operate through a body, rather than venture into a ministry alone we must let God develop a team relationship first (Deuteronomy 32:30; Matthew 18:19-20; John 1:35-51). Note that Jesus spent an entire year with four to six men before he began his public ministry.

5. Life-related biblical instruction must underlie all our efforts to bring men to maturity. Teach the Scriptures methodically and expository. Teach the "whole counsel of God." Teach repetitively the great liberating principles of Scripture (2 Timothy 3:14-17; 2 Timothy 4:1-2; Acts 20:17-32; John 21:15-17; 2 Corinthians 4:1-6; Ephesians 4:15-16).

6. The goal of our ministry is to "present every man mature in Christ" (CoI. 1:28). Every activity must be evaluated in the light of that goal.

7. As we teach, we must look for "faithful men who can teach others" and invest the bulk of our time in the lives of these men. The Lord established the pattern in his ministry. He taught the crowds, but his training ministry was concentrated in the Twelve. Note John 17:6; John 17:9; John 17:17.

8. We are a body! (1 Corinthians 12:1-31; Romans 12:~8). Therefore we need to recognize the distinctiveness of that body.

Distinctives a. Every member has a unique function. He cannot de-preciate his place in the body. b. No member carries on all the functions of the body. c. The members of a body are interdependent.

Implications a. We need one another! The best ministries are team ministries composed of men who possess varying gifts. b. It is wrong to insist that anyone follow one man alone. Men need an exposure to many members of the body. c. One major thrust of our ministry must be to help others find and develop their Spiritual gifts and exercise them with all their heart in their appointed place.

9. The key to effective evangelism is to get the body to function correctly (John 17:20-21; Ephesians 4:16; John 13:34-35).

10. Gifted men are given to the body to equip the saints to do the work of the ministry (Ephesians 4:11-16). Spiritual leaders in any group are like player-coaches who have as their primary aim the training and engagement in the ministry of individual believers.

11. The leadership shortage is always with us. When we look for leaders, let’s start where the Lord did. (See Matthew 9:37-38.)

12. The Body of Christ is not a hierarchy. We have only one Lord, and all others are brothers (Matthew 23:1-39). Note these verses for characteristics of a spiritual leader: Hebrews 13:7; Hebrews 13:17; 1 Thessalonians 2:1-20; Acts 20:17-38.

13. Magnify the ministry of others. Are we as excited about others’ ministry as about our own?

14. Leadership is not lordship but servanthood. The measure of our spiritual leadership is not how many we rule over, but rather how many we serve (Mark 9:3~37; 10:35-45).

15. People are God’s most important product. They take precedence over any program (Mark 5:21-36; Mark 6:30-37).

16. Hit men hard. God’s men will bounce when the truth is spoken in love (2 Corinthians 2:15-16).

17. Look for men like the Gerasene demoniac (Mark 5:1-20). This man evangelized that entire countryside. As far as we know, Jesus spent only a few hours in that region.

18. Size does not equal success. God always perpetuates faith through a remnant. Don’t count noses. Operate on the basis of biblical principles and God will bring enlargement (Acts 2:47). When we feed our people, we won’t need to waste time on promotional gimmicks.

19.2 Timothy 2:24-26 is S.O.P. (standard operating procedure).

20. The harvest is at the end of the age, not the end of the meeting. Discouragement grows out of unrealistic expectations. The seed doesn’t spring up immediately after it’s sown. Let God bring it to maturity in his time and he will go beyond our expectations (Mark 4:2~32; 1 Corinthians 3:5-9; Isaiah 55:11).