OUT OF THE BOX

Dear Pastoral and Ministerial Friend I am sending this email out to a limited audience, mainly to pastors and friends who are involved in ministry. I pulled this message from a file I wrote a couple years ago. The article is not comprehensive, but rather is just the "tip of an iceberg" of material that could and may follow. It deals with the issues of control versus allowing ministries and spiritual gifts in individuals and the church body to mature and grow. Billy Long Control vs Releasing Ministries Excessive control by leaders can be rooted in wrong motives, not trusting people, and not trusting God with people. It can stem from a leader’s inflated opinion of himself, from a desire for power, or even from insecurity. Often it is used to hide flaws and lack of integrity within the organization or in the leadership itself. The need to control is often manifested in the fear of delegating responsibility. When a leader is reluctant to release people to their various areas o...

This post is worth reading. It is written to encourage you to stand in faith trusting God’s ability to perform His will in your life as you surrender to Him in faith and obedience.-- -Billy Long   Facing discouragement us and seeing the failures of God's people we are often tempted to lose heart and faith. We have seen what we thought were the wrong people succeeding and the wrong people failing. Like John the Baptist we have seen the glory and said, "Behold! The Lamb of God!" Then we have sat in our "prison cells" and said, "Are you the one or do we look for another? Did I miss it?" We have stood on the mountain top and cried out, "This is it!" And we have crawled on the valley floor crying, "Where did it go?" We have said, "Lord, I'll never leave you nor forsake you" and later denied Him before the rooster crowed. We have slept while others were in their Gethsemanes. We have had friends walk into our Gethse...