When being a ministry workaholic goes too far…

How the Holy Spirit can use you to restrain evil in the workplace

An observation of the world we live in.

Sometimes when I tell a lost person, “I’m praying for you” it is almost viewed as a “holier than thou” thing to say. And that is of course not how I mean it.

It is usually not recommended to argue with a conspiracy theorist about these things, but Kay suggests that if you must, go small… That seems counter-intuitive. It is.

What they evaluate most, is usually the pastor, the one speaking publicly, the “face” of the ministry. They’re deciding if they can place themselves under the care and authority of someone like you. This is why it hurts any time someone leaves. They’re saying, I can be led by many different people in my life, just not you.

Medical people like talking to other medical people because you don’t have to translate. So, the staff talks to me like a regular person. And then sometimes the person I’m visiting outs me with something like, “This is my pastor. He’s a medical person too.” Then they change how they speak to me. For some reason, it's more fun if they just don’t know.

I’m full-time in the ministry. That confuses some people when I tell them that I also work around thirty hours per month as a Diagnostic Imaging Technologist (this is not a type of nurse). They say something like, “So, you’re part-time in the ministry then?” No. I’m full-time in the ministry.

Sure, someone can learn some wisdom later in life. But after looking verse by verse through the entire book of wisdom, namely Proverbs, I can’t help but notice the emphasis being on starting young, pursuing hard after wisdom during that time, and then enjoying the benefits of it for life.

Has the fear of being misunderstood become obsessive for Independent Baptists, like a mental tick? Has it forced us into utter silence among our peers and others? Is there a point at which the wisdom of being careful with words turns into selfishness because we’re afraid of looking bad or ignorant?

I have unsaved friends and acquaintances all over the place. I work with them, do business with them, help them when they need it. They almost all still just know me as “Pastor Tom” no matter what my relation is to them.

This celebrate-everything idea has become a major part of modern parenting philosophy. Undoubtedly, many of the millennial generation (not all) presently trying to fundamentally change our culture were likely raised this way. Now, these people are adults, at least by legal designations.

While the people of the world are certainly concerned about their reputations, I believe it is the people of God, in particular pastors, whose testimony must be guarded more than others. What if "Deep Fake" technology were to be used in destroying the credibility of spiritual leaders?

With Social Media, there was always the sense that things are happening….elsewhere. The FOMO factor (fear of missing out) is subtle but real.

I like podcasts. I like them so much that a friend and I started one! I still like to listen to them because I can learn things on-the-go. I’ll give you eight of my favorites, but I’ll break them down into three categories…

That process of ordination was precious to me. It’s kind of like my credential since I don’t have the Bible College diploma on the wall, which is arguably not as important. The approval and moral support of all the preachers means the world to me because I respect each of them highly. It would crush my spirit to not have them behind me.

It just seems that no matter how much society tries to normalize adult men who are gamers, society still doesn’t respect adult men who are gamers.

You may have heard the notion that in America, we can have equal opportunities, but that does not guarantee equal outcomes. That notion is what Scripture drives at - each person is a free agent under God who can either make wise choices and prosper or make foolish choices and end up with regrets- the wisest choice of all being to receive the books assertions.

People don’t have the right to say where the needs are or are not. Only God does, because He knows things we don’t. As Lord of the harvest, He moves laborers as He sees fit. Don’t speak like the Foreman of the job-site if you’re only a laborer.

The author uses this term and I’m not sure who get’s to decide what “third-level” matters are. Does he? Did God?