Author Archives: escalanteministries.com
Friday Focus: Serve holding your own.
You have to serve regardless of what others may think or say. Would you know that the number one killer in volunteering in ministry is peer pressure? Friends could make it hard for the new volunteer to get serving for many different reasons. They could hinder the team by giving them the “inside scoop” and personal opinion of their ministry. They could also improve a ministry team by esteeming or encouraging one another to do great exploits. How are your ministry teams Pastor? Are they conducive to church growth? Are they draining on YOU or are they drawing the sick, lost, or hurting; The same could be asked of those in business?
And the sons of the prophets that were at Beth–el came forth to Elisha, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the Lord will take away thy master from thy head to day? And he said, Yea, I know it; hold ye your peace. (2 Kings 2:3 KJV)
What is your commitment like to your field of ministry or business? Are you in it for the paycheck or are you there to make an impact. Do you go the extra mile or do the bare minimum? Elisha had asked these questions of himself, not only when they teased him. no no long ago when he told his mama and daddy goodbye. When he was pulling the “escalade”of plow teams he was committed when he dismantled his livelihood and surrendered it as a burnt offering on the field and with every hardship endured he was assured that God was calling him and he would continue the legacy of his mentor.
And Elijah said unto him, Tarry, I pray thee, here; for the Lord hath sent me to Jordan. And he said, As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. And they two went on. (2 Kings 2:6 KJV)
There was a resolve in Elisha. People need that commitment from you! We need you doing what you do, for we will die together for its lack. I want to encourage you this weekend as fellow ministers to posses this resolve within yourselves.
Serve holding your own, not listening to others opinions and have that resolve for your ministry like Elisha.
We want to see you grow. We are believing for your harvest Teresa and I are praying for you. God bless you!
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Moving Forward
Thank you , for reading our post. this was on my mind . i hope you enjoy it.
After putting my son down for the night, and i look at his toys and as my wife is getting ready to shower i look back and think to myself. It has been a good three years. I tell my self that as we make our preparations for our move to the east coast. Yes friends, my career has taken another monumental step. -i moving forward!!
I was praying one night and i felt the Lord was really wanting me to evaluate how much i truly trusted him to take control of my life. i had entrusted everything to Jesus except my career. that was mine. i loved my church family in Oak Harbor WA. i also enjoyed my location. so for me it was win-win.
so fast forward to that night while on deployment in 2011 when i was praying i felt his Holy Spirit impress upon me if i would trust him with my career? i said yes but i was reluctant, for i knew that meant that i did not have a say in where i would want to go. rather, he would direct ( which is another topic altogether). He sent us to Ridgecrest CA. Here we learned several things and met some inspirational people. many of whom we will treasure the rest of our days. T and I felt that this season of our lives was more of God allowing us to “gel” as a family. to develop our family dynamic and to rest for we were non-stop for about nine years straight.
we are rested and have been refreshed. i am now ready to move forward and to fulfill what i believe God has called me to do.
i declare this not out of arrogance but out of humility. so that i may come boldly before the throne of grace rejoicing that the Lord is on my side encouraging us as a family to continue to venture out beyond our level of comfort. to impart to those we impact. Pray for the hurting. reaching the world.
i want you to make it every day. celebrate the wins NO MATTER HOW SMALL. Get rest needed to function. love the unlovable and help the misfits fit.
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Friday Focus: moving from rent to own.
hey thanks for reading, i was inspired by one of the chapters our small group had read. the name of the curriculum is titled FREWAY. It is about re- discovery of the way our Heavenly father would want us to live. This chapter was talking about how we need to own our responses to situations. I would use this principal to apply in my ministry.
I am convinced that the level of our service is contingent upon our perception of belonging in the ministry or loyalty to the vision of the church. That means my ministry will grow only if I take ownership.
What if our attitude of ministry was likened to living in a home.
What if you don’t own? Then your renting.
Rent is due a certain time every month. It can be defined with a date and time. We pay rent because we live there, that is our base of operations and where we keep our possessions, it provides shelter for our family. but we don’t own it, we are just renting. If there is a leaky faucet? Not my problem, it belongs to someone else. I don’t own it. The landlord does. I’m just owning the home part time.
It is not our house, we are just renting. When a problem happens in the home, you call the land Lord to correct it. after all, he owns the property, he has invested his resources into the area you are only in possession of for a time and if you dont like it? you can move. Think about this: the owner chooses you to be in his property in exchange for your money that you pay regularly. Physically, money cannot keep you protected from the elements. Nor could it have kept you fed in short, it is a resource that you exchange for something tangible.
Did you notice the mindset for both the owner and the renter? What type of person are you in ministry? Are you an owner or a renter? Just like home owners, those who lead have a sense of ownership they have vision and purpose for their ministry. They have expectations. They meet The Lord while in motion not sitting on the side lines. Now being an owner does not mean you’re the pastor. It takes all of us as leaders to develop that ownership. I am reminded of when I was in Washington and I was in my spiritual Dad’s church. he is a great man of God! I wanted to be like him so I did what he did. When I saw him clean the church I knew I cleaned the church if there was papers or trash underneath the seats I would pick it up helping keep my church clean and neat. Then when I helped in the Sound booth I did my best. I immersed myself into it. I had no clue how to run a sound system but I had a heart to do it. I did it and God met me while i was in motion, it was a blessing.
I moved from just renting; checking in, checking out of ministry to taking ownership of it!
The benefits of owning far outweigh any benefit of renting. I hope you take ownership of your ministry. Ask the hard questions. When you find it’s you’re fault? Don’t beat yourself up. Own it and rejoice in the fact that you have something to do with the turnaround. Have a great week. Teresa & I are praying for you, be encouraged…
– Mike
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