The Young and the Restless

Hey Everyone! It's been a minute since I've posted something personal! Well today I want to talk a little bit about how Valuable I believe young people (students, youth and children) are both to the local and Universal Church. Jesus once said something in His Word over in Mark Chapter 10 and verses #14-15, where He makes a clear and defining statement, He says... "He said to them, “Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of God belongs to those who are like these children".  I tell you the truth, anyone who doesn’t receive the Kingdom of God like a child will never enter it.”

Jesus was using the innocence, humility, teachable spirit, child-like faith, receptiveness and submissiveness of these children to show us who qualified to enter the Kingdom of God! Jesus had a heart for young people, He valued them, He understood them, He created a culture for them! I love that, because as a Pastor I try to follow Jesus' example of His Ministry to Children! I too believe that when it comes down to the things of the Kingdom young people play an intricate part in the advancement of the Kingdom Agenda!

For far too long so many churches have created a culture where young people are only to be seen and not heard! This has hurt and damaged young people, their confidence and their opportunities for serving and using their gifts and abilities to make a difference in their local churches and communities! Without a Ministry to Young People in the church they will become restless, bored, disinterested, reckless and even spiritually doubtful. I am absolutely convinced that young people have so much to offer as it relates to helping to move the local church in the direction to which God is calling it.

Next Week I'm going to give my ten personal reasons I believe young people should be used in their local churches and how great of an asset they'll be to their local church community at-large! God wants to use young people, therefore those in leadership should be creating and fostering an environment where they can use their God-given abilities to bring about life-change within the body of Christ as well as becoming a Godly influence on their friends and family that may be far from God!

Young people aren't just the Church of tomorrow, they're the Church of TODAY!

MORE NEXT WEEK.... In the meantime, Be Strong!

Pastor V.

Ministering to the Brokenhearted - Spiritled Woman

Ministering to the Brokenhearted - Spiritled Woman

WHERE DO FIGHTS COME FROM?

James, a Servant of God and the Lord Jesus Christ, posed this very question to some Christians over in James 4:1! He then answered his question to these believers in a question form by saying to them... "Don’t they come from the evil desires at war within you? Another word that's used for evil desires is "LUST"! Lust is simply "having, but wanting More and then more on top of more". More possessions, more power, more wealth, more status, more acknowledgement,  more notoriety and so forth and so on, and when more is not obtained, a person will fight another to get it.

More specifically, fights, wars, disharmony and Conflict occurs when one person differences clash with another, when different beliefs, difference desires, different impulses and different wants don't come in agreement with ours, conflict and confrontation is inevitable, because of a person's overly eager (and out of Control) desire (lust) for power and the need to be right about everything and the need to make others conform to their way of thinking and thought process.

No one person knows everything, everybody can learn from somebody it's a matter of walking in humility and facing the truth about your own inadequacies. The bottom line is this, and it must be faced, CONFLICT is always the result of our Human Imperfections!

So...."What is causing the quarrels and fights among you? Don’t they come from the evil desires at war within you?" and here's the Solution according to James 4:7 (NKJV) "Therefore submit to God, resist the devil and he will flee from you"

-- Be Strong!

Pastor V.

COURTESY: A Minute With John Maxwell, Free Coaching Video

TRANSPARENCY

I've discovered that in Leadership, whether in the corporate world or in the Church, there are very few who are transparent. I believe one of the reasons why Leaders lack transparency is because they want those around them to believe they don't have any flaws or failures. They feel that if they expose their own weaknesses then people won't depend on them as much as they would like.

This is called False advertisement and unrealistic expectations. The problem that I have with that is that when and if a leader does fall in any one particular area, those around them and under their leadership fall victim to deep (almost depressive) disappointment, because the Leader has unrealisticly portrayed an almost flawless and faultless demeanor as it pertains to their leadership and them as a person.

Leaders don't be afraid to be transparent, let your people know that you're not perfect and you're growing, maturing and learning just as they are. People want a leader who don't mind saying "I don't have it all together" let them know in what areas you fall short sometimes. Let them know that you do get frustrated, angry, mad, disappointed, weak and so forth and so on! Every leader becomes broken, every leader cries, every leader has marital or relationship problems, every leader falls short in some area of their life.

In fact, every leader has weaknesses! Even Superman was susceptible to kryptonite.So don't be so caught up in how strong you are that you're too high to come down to where people are in their own struggles and share yours.


-- BE STRONG!

Pastor V.

MINISTRY SUCCESS PART II

A few weeks ago I started a Blog entitled "MINISTRY SUCCESS". I listed some things that have kepted me from experiencing Burn-out and Failure! Here are a few MORE things that I want to share.

- STAY CONSISTENT
- STAY SPIRITUALLY HUNGRY
- STAY JOYFUL
- STAY THANKFUL
- STAY FAITHFUL
- STAY BIBLICALLY EDUCATED
- STAY CLEAR OF VISION KILLERS
- STAY IN LOVE WITH JESUS AND MY WIFE (-: 

I pray that I shared something that has inspired and helped you to experience success at level of ministry that God has you.

- STAY STRONG!

Pastor V.

GREATNESS

GREATNESS IS NOT THE RESULT OF POPULARITY, BUT THE COMBINATION OF STRENGTH, WILL AND DETERMINATION ALL WORKING HAND IN HAND!

BE STRONG!

-Pastor V.

"We do not study the Bible just to get to know the...

Awesome thought-provoking and helpful Blog by my friend and brother Pastor Mike Kelsey! Check it out and be blessed!


NO TITLE YET: "We do not study the Bible just to get to know the...: "We do not study the Bible just to get to know the Bible. We study the Bible that we might get to know God better. Too many earnest Bible st...

Donnie McClurkin: Create In Me A Clean Heart

The Heart of the Believer should be a Healthy and Grateful one!

"Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me away from Your presence,And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me"
(Psalm 51:10-11 NKJV)
--Stay Strong!
Pastor V.

MINISTRY SUCCESS - Part I

For me Ministry Success includes doing many things, here I have listed a few that have kept me from experiencing Burn-out and Failure!

- Stay Prayerful
- Stay Humble
- Stay Guarded against Outside Distractions
- Stay Vision Driven
- Stay in the Word of God
- Stay Worshipful...

Now these last three are probably where my biggest struggle lies, but I promise that I'm WORKING my HARDEST to do, lol!
- Stay Balanced
- Stay Healthy
- Stay Restful


PASTOR V.