Your Priorities

Well, as promised, here is what I feel should be the “priorities” of every Christian. But before I give you my list, I wanted to share with you my heart. I was reading Ephesians 4 this morning which reminded me of my true ministry priorities. In vs. 11, Paul gives a listing of church leaders, and in vs. 12, he gives their responsibilities. What he says is that God has given to the church apostles, prophets, evangelists, and pastor/teachers for the purpose of equipping the saints to do the work of the ministry and to edify the body of Christ. I was reminded by a dear friend this week that in the Book of Acts, the apostles refused to allow anything to distract from their two tasks: prayer and the ministry of the Word. In essence, my responsibility as pastor/teacher is to teach you the Word and train you to minister. Don’t panic. I’m not going to quit visiting, ministering, and evangelizing. I believe the best teaching method is demonstration. I teach you by modeling ministry. With that said, here is what I think your priorities should be:

1. Personal relationship with God – First and foremost in this priority is Prayer and Bible Study. I don’t believe one is effective without the other, and I know that we cannot be effective without both of these. Please understand that this priority includes every aspect of your personal relationship with God including your call to ministry, to meet the needs of others, and your responsibility to share the gospel. After all, Jesus said that “loving God completely and loving others as myself” summed up who we are as Christians and what we are supposed to be.
2. Your family – The Bible says that a man who neglects his family is worse than an infidel, so I believe that we must spend time with our families.
3. Leadership in church programs – We all need to be involved in making our programs the best that they can be. Your church staff cannot do it by themselves. Take your positions seriously whether it is teaching a class, leading a program, serving on a committee, or whatever it may be. Our church will only be what we allow God to make us.
4. Ministry to Southside – Please understand that ministry includes visiting the sick and shut-ins, ministry to members in need, and counseling/comforting those who hurt. Neither you nor I can do it all. But each one of us has been gifted spiritually to do certain tasks. Let’s discover our gifts and use them to do what God wants us to do.
5. Fellowship with church members – Fellowship is one of the five purposes of the church. We can’t be a “family” without getting together on a regular basis.
6. Community Involvement – I don’t believe it’s possible to be “the salt” and “the light” that Jesus called us to be if we are not involved in our community.

You may have noticed this list is very similar to what I believe are my own priorities. My friends, we are in this ministry together.