Do you love Jesus with your whole heart? Can the people you shepherd see your passion for Christ? Is there an expectancy deep within for the Lord to move in power with every time you gather?  Even at a parent meeting?

It never fails… when I have a God moment in my quiet time, it always comes out in my preaching or when I’m having a conversation with someone. I can’t imagine doing ministry without having a close encounter with the Savior weekly if not daily. Sadly many pastors and youth pastor give of their time out of a dry well. They seek the Lord publicly in their ministry but never seek Him privately. Today, I’d like to talk through some of the core disciplines within a minister that I believe are necessary if we desire for the people we serve to experience Christ in very real and tangible way.

The truths God teaches you privately reflect publicly.

So let’s establish some good habits now as we begin our ministry that will sustain us and carry us on. When I first started in ministry 20 years ago, my youth pastor and mentor, Bryan Hall gave me a book, Intimacy With the Almighty. by Charles Swindoll. Admittedly I didn’t just pick it up immediately and read it, but several months after he gave me the book I picked it up to read it. What an impact it made on my personal life! Swindoll shared his heart as a pastor of pastors and provides some really great insight for us about how our private moments reflect publicly. I would recommend anyone to pick up this book and allow the truths found within it to encourage you and light your fire!

Let’s talk through some of the points he makes in this book about how we can establish four disciplines of our private life.

• Simplicity. The pace of ministry is tough fast… many time too fast. And to be honest most of the time its our fault. The pressure to constant fill the calendar or provide more opportunities in ministry. How is the pace of your private life? What about the pace of your family? If you’re too busy in those areas of your life, we can pretty much guarantee this is the pace as which you will do ministry. Trust me, I’ve been there done that, and no one can sustain a feverish pace in ministry… you will burn out! No matter how many interns you have working with you. Our students need to understand we serve and love a God who is not in a rush! Slow down. Be intentional with your ministry opportunities. Allow some margin within your ministries for the Lord Almighty to do His greatest work. Remember, if it doesn’t begin within the heart of me, then it will not happen within our ministry.Action step:  Look at your schedule for the week. How busy are you? You control your schedule. Make a commitment to slow down. Say No or postpone a couple of appointments.

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