New Covenant Ministry – Part 1

June 27, 2015 / Peter Mead / 1 Comment

I want to walk through 2nd Corinthians chapters 3-5 as Paul describes New Covenant ministry and share a few thoughts. This won’t be a full exposition of the passage, but rather a set of thoughts provoked by looking at the text.

1. We are called to minister Christ, not to defend ourselves in ministry. (2Cor.3:1-6) Ministry tends to create situations where we will be critiqued. Sometimes, believe it or not, we deserve the critique. Sometimes we don’t. Either way, our ministry is to preach Christ, not to proclaim ourselves or defend ourselves. Are you in a situation where you are tempted to defend yourself? We are not sufficient in ourselves, our sufficiency is entirely of God.

2. We are given New Covenant ministry by God, who gives His Spirit. (2.Cor.3:1-6) It is so easy to feel insecure in ourselves and therefore to seek to prove ourselves sufficient in life. We are not. Our sufficiency comes only from God, who himself has given us this ministry. More than a mere past calling, He gives of His Spirit – the “key ingredient” of New Covenant ministry and so infinitely better than the old ministry “of the letter.” Ours is not a ministry primarily defined by instruction and external pressure, but proclamation and internal transformation of the heart. One way is death, but the Spirit gives life.

3. We must stop celebrating a glory now faded. (2.Cor.3:7-11) There is no question that Moses’ ministry was glorious. After all, he glowed! But that ministry of death, of letters, of stones, has no glory in comparison to what has replaced it. A candle is wonderful in the dark, but walk out into the sunlight and the new glory far exceeds the old. So it is with the ministry of righteousness rather than condemnation, and the ministry of the Spirit rather than that which is now passed.

10 Listener Fatigues – part 2

June 19, 2015 / Peter Mead / 2 Comments

Continuing our list of potential preaching fatigue that we might be able to avoid for our listeners…

(Yesterday we thought about genre, key text and main point fatigue)

4. Preacher Fatigue. After a while your listeners might just get tired of hearing you. You may try to vary what you do, but you will always be you and that creates some limitations for your preaching. Don’t be afraid to share your pulpit. Develop other preachers, invite other local pastors, give yourself a break and your listeners too.

5. Illustration Fatigue. One way we can be predictable is in the use of illustrations. Do you often reference certain sports, or your own family, or the Napoleonic Wars? Beware of tiring listeners with something that doesn’t mean as much to them as it does to you. Some preachers default to the same category of illustration. Others default to a collection of specific illustrations. I’m feeling drained just describing it!

6. Vulnerability Fatigue. Some of us don’t share enough vulnerability in our preaching. But some of us share too much and too often. When listeners start to feel like they are the counsellors for your self-disclosure, they will grow tired of hearing about your constant struggles. Do be vulnerable. Don’t be constantly sharing your struggles. Remember that the spotlight in your preaching is not on you.

7. Contagious Fatigue. If you are preaching fatigued, then it will be infectious. Sometimes you can’t avoid being up all night with a child or a church member in crisis. Be careful that you don’t get into a rhythm of preaching fatigued. If your preparations are draining you, maybe you need to revisit your preparation schedule. Perhaps you don’t get enough sleep, or exercise, or your sugary snacks while you work on the sermon mean you preach in a weekly sugar low? Be careful that you don’t simply preach tired. Listeners will pick up on your lack of energy, or your extra edginess.

Tomorrow we’ll finish the list, but feel free to add any more at any time!

Christlike versus Like Christ

June 13, 2015June 12, 2015 / Peter Mead / 9 Comments

If the goal of sanctification is for people to become more like Christ, what is the best way for our preaching to help people get there? Perhaps the obvious way is not the most effective way . . .

The obvious way to nudge people toward Christlikeness is to preach about Christlikeness. You take a passage and then what do you look for? You might look to find any instructions, derive some applicational points, determine how Christ’s character is presented, identify some kind of divine demand, etc. Essentially, the obvious way to promote Christlikeness is to present Christlikeness and encourage Christlikeness in your listeners. Focus on character, focus on us. Apply, exhort, encourage.

There is a better way.

Turn the words around. Do your listeners like Christ? Do you? Christ did not come to the world merely to show us a new way to live. He came to give us life in union with Him. The life of the Trinity is given to us in Christ. This means that Christlikeness will not flow primarily from Christlikeness explained and demanded. Christlikeness will come from liking Christ, from loving Him, from knowing and worshipping Him.

Preach so as to present Christ. Offer the person of Christ rather than a programme for self-improvement. Invite people to know Him and to love Him. As the Spirit draws people to Christ, they will grow to like Him and to live like Him. As the text you are preaching presents instruction, then offer that faithfully in the context of relationship with Christ.

Christlikeness isn’t the goal of preaching for sanctification, it is the fruit. The goal must be to stir greater love for God that results in greater love for others, and love will be stirred not by demand, but by presentation of God’s love revealed in Christ. Inasmuch as we like Christ, we will grow to live Christ-like lives.

Tightly Woven? On Being Biblical

June 12, 2015 / Peter Mead / 5 Comments

Being biblical is like being a woven fabric. Woven fabric can be very strong, or it can be flimsy. Two sets of threads are woven together at right angles. When the warp and the weft threads are both numerous and tight, then the fabric will have real strength.

Warp – imagine this to be your understanding of the Bible, book by book. Each book is like a thread, and the more you know it the stronger the thread. Know the structure, the flow, the situation, the purpose, the details that make it what it is. To be biblical we need to be people who get to know Bible books. (In fact, each Bible book turns out to be like woven fabric too, but pushing the analogy to woven fabric made up of the threads of woven fabric might become too complex for non-weavers like me!)

Weft – imagine this to be your understanding of the Bible, theme by theme. Great themes are like a thread, and the more you know them, them the stronger the thread. Know the themes and where they touch down in the flow of the canon. Some touch down only periodically (think Melchizedek – Gen.14, Psa.110, Hebrews 7), while others are woven throughout almost every page (think sin and its effects, for instance).

Too many people in our churches have great gaps in the fabric of their biblical awareness. Great blocks of books are untouched. Thematic threads are unknown. Sadly, too many preachers have bare patches and weak weaving in their biblical knowledge. A collection of proof texts and favourite passages, combined with one or two key themes, will not make for biblical preaching, or even biblical living.

Three quick suggestions:

1. Be sure to be reading the whole Bible – sweep through it to get the big picture. You will find that reading good chunks will captivate in a way that close study alone never can. You will start to see how the books flow and how they flow together. You will start to become familiar with themes that may have remained hidden in close study alone.

2. Be sure to study the Bible book by book – take a book and let it get to grips with you. The building blocks, or perhaps, the warp threads of our biblical understanding has to be book by book for there to be any substance and strength to our being biblical as believers and then as preachers. Get to know the fabric of each book: the sections as they build, the themes as they weave through.

3. Be sure to enjoy the biblical themes – start to identify and follow the themes of Scripture. Some have done this exclusively, following threads without awareness of context. This is a weak approach. Others have ignored the themes and only focused on one passage at a time. This also is weak. We need both. Start to enjoy the promise theme starting in Genesis 3:15 – I loved tracing the theme of both the promise and the presence of the Promiser in Pleased to Dwell. What about holiness, or God’s heart, or themes of sonship, of marriage, of divine surprise, etc.?

Pray and ask God to show you where the fabric of your biblical awareness is threadbare. Read and weave and enjoy.

The Discouraged Preacher

June 8, 2015 / Peter Mead / 1 Comment

Preachers get discouraged. This post is not intended to offer any solutions, but sometimes identifying the issue or issues can be a start to addressing the challenge. Perhaps this list can also help you pray for other preachers, or pastors in your church.

Here are some reasons preachers get discouraged:

1. Lack of fruit – Almost every preacher will receive comments of gratitude after preaching, but most will realise this politeness is not the same as genuine fruit from their preaching. A lack of new life, or tangible growth can really get a preacher down. A lot of time and emotional energy can be invested over the long haul with very little tangible return on investment.

2. Loneliness – Preaching can be a strangely lonely ministry. It is easy to prepare in private and then process the post-preaching feelings in private. It can also feel lonely to be aware of the next two items:

3. Criticism – After preaching it is a strange feeling to know that a lot of people will be enjoying “roast preacher” for their Sunday lunch. Unless we have a big ego, most preachers don’t really want to be the subject of conversation. We try to make Christ the subject of conversation, but we aren’t naive to the conversations that go on! And then what if criticism is coming in from outside of our context? That will only add to the pressure.

4. Expectation – Preachers are not a different class of Christian. We struggle. We don’t have it all together. We can even say so in our preaching, and yet people still expect preachers to be “victorious” Christians. Therefore when we are struggling with temptation, with tiredness, with family life, with financial pressures, with personal and spiritual dry times, we feel the expectation that we won’t struggle and so tend to keep the struggle hidden. This circles us back up to number 2 again – loneliness.

5. Family Life – Preachers have real families. Our children fight and sin. Our marriages go through downs as well as ups. Churches tend to place expectations on spouses and children of preachers. Spouses of preachers tend to put expectations on themselves. The complexity of church life can take a massive toll on families, and even when preachers try to put family first, there will still be times when we question whether the ministry we do is worth it.

6. Lack of sleep / health – A cycle of not sleeping properly will really take the energy and joy out of life. This could be due to stress, to pastoral pressures, to family needs, to health challenges, etc. Whatever the reason, when our tanks are empty then life will feel tough.

7. Depression – Preachers can get depressed too. For those of us who don’t struggle with this it can be impossible to understand those that do. But they do. Famous preachers have struggled with extreme depression. And preachers do burn out. It is never a pretty sight. And this is where we should all be aware – burnout can be avoided.

That is a starter list of seven reasons preachers get discouraged. What would you add?

My Shepherd Today

June 1, 2015May 24, 2015 / Peter Mead / 1 Comment

Our church is in the midst of a season of transition. The team of leaders who committed to starting the church are leading the church through a process of recognizing its long-term leadership as we move forward into the future. Inevitably potential change creates opportunity for uncertainty.

Who should the pastoral leadership be? One fact holds us steady. The chief shepherd of the church is Christ. And he wants to be our shepherd today.

Yet how easily we can view the work of Christ only in past and future terms. In his days on earth we saw the Good Shepherd who would lay down his life for the sheep (John 10). In the future we know that the chief shepherd will appear (1Peter 5). But is Jesus our shepherd today?

The shepherd’s work is to lead the sheep to food, to care for them and protect them from harm. This forms the start of a strong list for church leadership job descriptions – we are to lead, to feed, to care and to protect. Perhaps we should add in “to equip” and we have a good grasp of the roles of church leadership in the New Testament, most of which are shepherding roles.

Jesus is our great shepherd today. He is in charge of building his church. He is the one most concerned to care for the sheep, including you and I. It is a thrilling thought that Jesus desires to feed me, lead me, care for me, protect me, and even equip me, right now!

I was speaking with a friend about a tough time of loss he experienced last year. He looked back on that time and his realization that only Jesus could really shepherd his soul through an intense season of grief and loss.

Perhaps we too easily look elsewhere and don’t spend time leaning into his loving care of our souls. Perhaps some of us are too busy leading others to stop and be quiet long enough to hear his tender care of our hearts.

The Lord is my shepherd, today.

There are other biblical images we could consider in the same way. My wife is expecting a baby and that means in a few months we will have another season of interrupted nights as the little one needs the care that only a mother can give.

In Ephesians 5, addressing the subject of marriage, Paul uses a pair of descriptive words. After telling husbands to love their wives with a self-sacrificial love, and with a washing in the Word kind of love, then he adds the need for a “as you care for your own bodies” kind of love.

At this point he uses two words – nourishing and cherishing.

Cherishing is a term Paul only uses twice. It speaks of a tender, warming kind of care. It’s a bit like the way we put on a sweater when our bodies feel cold. We cherish our bodies. He also uses it in 1Thessalonians 2:7 of how a mother takes care of her little child. There is a gentleness, an inclination to hold carefully and to protect. (And in the Old Testament, the term is used twice to translate references to mother birds warming their eggs!)

Paul also tells husbands to nourish their wives as they naturally do their own bodies. Again, the term is used twice. It speaks of providing for and helping the growth of the other. Husbands need to remember not only to put food on the table, but also to provide spiritual nutrition for their marriage. Paul uses the term in Ephesians 6:4, in reference to bringing up children.

He also uses the shorter form of the term in the same phrase in 1 Thessalonians 2:7. It is the nursing mother who takes care of her child. This is a vivid picture, the giving of yourself that only a mother can do for an infant.

So Paul urges husbands to nourish and cherish their wives, just as they naturally do their own bodies. And in his other use of the pair of ideas, as mothers nurse and care for their infants. All very poignant images for the darkness we experience in the middle of the night.

But there is one more critical link to notice here. What is he really speaking of in Ephesians 5? Even after making the connection throughout the passage, we are still surprised at the end to discover he is actually speaking of Christ and the church. Husbands, love your wives just as Christ nourishes and cherishes the church – what a thought!

I wonder if we more easily think back to the self-sacrificial love of Christ, which stands historically behind the launch of the church. We look back to Calvary and rightly so. But here Paul ties Christ’s loving of the church not to a past event, but rather to a present ongoing reality. Maybe we don’t ponder that enough. The present care of Christ for his own is such a glorious truth.

Not only did he give himself in self-sacrifice at the cross, but now he continues to tenderly give of himself to the church he loves so dearly, seeking to warm us and help us to grow.

Jesus is our bridegroom, nourishing and cherishing his bride, today.

It is no mistake that the Bible uses such relational imagery for the reality of our relationship with God. We have a devoted bridegroom, a loving Father, a faithful friend, a good shepherd. And we have them all right now.

Perhaps we need to pause for a moment in our leadership and our care for others, and thank Christ for his present care for us. Let us ask God to tune our hearts to discern what he may be doing very quietly in our lives each and every day.

Jesus is our shepherd, and our bridegroom, today – exactly when we need him.

7 Ways to Guard Hearts at Church

May 7, 2015May 5, 2015 / Peter Mead / Leave a comment

We have thought about guarding hearts at a conference/ministers gathering, and at Bible school. But what about the local church?

The church is a mixed group of people, and there will always be some who are feeling very fragile or weak. They may not show it. Nevertheless, we need to be people who guard hearts in the church environment. Good music and good preaching is not enough. Many a great church service was undermined by thoughtless comments in times of fellowship. So, here are 7 ways to guard hearts at church. You can certainly add more, and I might too!

1. Pray biblically for the church people. Take a look at the prayers in Paul’s epistles, they are not full of “be with” and “just really bless” prayers. Pray for people in your church to have the eyes of their hearts enlightened to know God more profoundly, to grow in their relationship with Christ, to grasp the richness of union with Christ, to be gripped by the hope to which God has called them, etc. Bring people to God’s throne and you will find yourself caring for them more carefully at church.

2. Look for ways to serve, don’t just be a consumer. The church is not a social club paid for by others and provided for your consumption. The church is a gathering of Christ’s people who worship together, learn together, serve together, and grow together. Consumers drain, but you can serve. There are probably several ministries in your church that feel stretched for people, ask and you will find opportunities to serve.

3. Build others up in every conversation. In one visit to church, or to home group, you might interact with 10 or 20 people. Can you imagine the impact if you built up every one you spoke to? Encourage. Thank. Smile. Ask questions. Show interest. Share resources. Share Bible highlights. Celebrate people. Value. Well-handled conversations are priceless ministry in the life of a local church.

4. Be a dead end for gossip. “Does he know you are telling me about this?” That question tends to stop an evil report in its tracks. Someone has to. Gossip is like a cancer that can ravage a church. “Please don’t talk to anyone else about this, please go to him.” This is the best follow up with someone talking about a situation rather than doing the right thing. People should forgive and bear with, or forgive and lovingly confront. Don’t let gossip be an option.

5. Trust people. Many of us are great at assuming the worst and speculating about other people. Andy Stanley nailed this issue when he preached a message about filling the gap between expectations and experience with trust. When there is a gap between expectation and experience, fill the gap with trust. If you can’t do that, then go to the person and ask them to help you fill the gap with trust. Settling on distrust is not loving for them because either you are wrong (it does happen), or they need the opportunity to grow. Settling on distrust is not healthy for you or the church, either.

6. Be sensitive to the Holy Spirit. He is very alert to interpersonal relationships and wants them to be truly united. Be sensitive to any comment that causes someone to pull back. It could be humour, or criticism, or even a misunderstanding, but handle relationships and feelings with tenderness and care. Ask God to help you love others well – the Spirit is very motivated to coach you in that.

7. Be thankful for leaders, and others, and tell them. It doesn’t take any spiritual maturity, or personal skill, to be destructively critical. You can do massive damage to your church. Since God loves the church so much, being destructive seems inherently foolish. Support and encourage leaders at every level. Be a person who communicates gratitude to leaders, and to Sunday School teachers, and to children’s workers, and to people working the sound desk, and to the setup team, etc.

This is only a start, what would you add?

Holy and Blameless Before Him

May 6, 2015May 5, 2015 / Peter Mead / 3 Comments

We have just refreshed the look of the Cor Deo website. Please click here and head over for a look around.

I just posted a new piece on sanctification called, “Holy and Blameless Before Him”

“There are lots of debates about how sanctification works. Presumably because the common views don’t work. What are the common views? In simplistic terms there are essentially two: one is that sanctification is by my personal effort, the other is some variation on the notion that it either doesn’t matter or that God will do it.

Typically we think that the solution to two extreme views will be a blending of the two. So in this case, is sanctification best understood as a cooperative effort where God does his bit, and I do my bit? I don’t think that will help us. Our flesh will corrupt that model. Instead, let’s ponder the big biblical framework for sanctification. . . ”

Please click here to go to the post.

7 Ways to Guard Hearts at Bible School

May 4, 2015May 2, 2015 / Peter Mead / 4 Comments

After the post on guarding hearts at a Christian conference (or ministers gathering), I was asked about Bible School. Here we go…

The opportunity to study in a Bible School (college, seminary, divinity school, etc.) is a real privilege. I thoroughly loved my experience at two great seminaries. To spend your best hours receiving instruction in the Bible, maybe in the original languages, in theology and church history, in personal spirituality and in pastoral equipping to better serve God in the church and in His world, this is a wonderful privilege. Add in new and sometimes lifelong friendships, numerous answered prayers, extended conversations and seeing growth in yourself and others, and it can sound like a glorious utopian experience for the man or woman who loves Christ and wants to love him even more.

Solomon was given great wisdom, and what did he say? Above everything, guard your hearts . . .

How?

1. Walking with Christ is not the same thing as academic exercise. You will be hearing and reading wonderful material. You will hopefully be expected to read your Bible and other good books. You will be required to research, read, think and write about God. You will also enjoy spiritual conversations with faculty and fellow students. And you will be tempted to let all this be your devotional life. But walking with Christ is “with Christ,” not just “about Christ.” Be sure to keep the conversation going with God in the midst of your studies. Why not talk to Him about this question: “Father, why is it that so many passionate Christians grow dry and cold in Bible School?”

2. Human glory is toxic. The academic environment is not positive, or even neutral, for maintaining devotion to God. I certainly loved being on campus and enjoyed some great times with God there. But don’t let a beautiful campus or warm atmosphere distract you from the dangers inherent in the system. Receiving grades for your work will feed the competitiveness of your flesh. Receiving speedy feedback and affirmation will feed your flesh’s desire to build its identity in itself and its own achievements. The comparative environment means that you may stand out in some class or other, and thus feed the autonomy impulse of your sinful flesh. Glory from other humans (students, teachers, and outside friends) is both toxic and addictive. Beware.

3. Pride is profoundly destructive. Jesus warned the scholars of his day that seeking glory from humans is mutually exclusive to a healthy relationship with God. (See John 5:38ff) Why? In part it is because glory feeds the prideful tendency of my flesh which thinks I am a god, and as a result push God away. God opposes the proud, even in Bible school. Beware of reinforcing the glory/pride system. Seek to pray and guard the hearts of fellow students and faculty as well as your own.

4. Keep relationally Bible saturated. Never settle for required Bible reading assignments. Make sure that you are soaking your soul in the fresh water of the Word and maintaining that conversation with Christ throughout your studies. Do a fast-paced Bible read through. Keep talking with Christ about the lure of sophisticated speculation (arms length playing with ideas that no longer stir your heart). What you need most is not successful education, or sophisticated knowledge, or academic awards. What you need most is Christ. Share your Bible highlights with others, other people will need to be re-infected with a simple love for Christ too.

5. Christ loves the church, stay connected. The people at church may not know about the things you are learning. The leaders at church may not do things the way you’ve been taught to do them. The sermons at church may feel lightweight compared to your lectures. Nevertheless, you need to stay connected at a local church. Serve where you can. Don’t be an annoying critic. Do look to love others whenever you can. (Incidentally, pursue learning from faculty who are actively loving the church, not distant destroyer-critics.)

6. Let the stresses push you up against God. There will be stress at Bible School. Deadlines. Financial strain. Impossible verb paradigms. Schedule overload. Pressure on your family. You will be tempted to grow your independence and determination muscles, as well as your ability to function on little sleep. Instead, let the pressure push you up against God. And by faith get some sleep! Remember that your stress impacts your spouse, your children, your room-mate in the dorm, your church, etc.

7. Value relationships carefully. You may think it is really just about you and God. But human relationships matter. Value every student, not just the impressive (or attractive) ones. Speaking of attractive, beware of the extra emotional electricity in a high spirituality environment – it is a great place to meet a spouse, but guard hearts, don’t damage them. Value faculty and care for them, they are real people too. And finally, know that there will be attacks from the enemy – yet another reason to stick close to Christ and draw others with you.

What would you add to this list? I know there’s plenty more . . .

7 Ways to Guard Hearts at a Christian Conference

May 1, 2015May 19, 2016 / Peter Mead / 4 Comments

Attending a Christian conference can be an incredible blessing. The opportunities to learn, to network, to take a break from normal life, to enjoy abundant food and even to sing together with a large crowd of believers, this can all be wonderful. But there are dangers too, and since I haven’t seen anybody writing about this, here is a set of points to ponder as you head for the next big event:

1. Don’t leave God out of your conversation. This may seem bizarre when every session, every song, and almost every conversation is probably going to relate to God and ministry. But I stand by the point – don’t leave God himself out of the conversation. It is easy to neglect time with Him in order to stay busy talking about His things. It is easy to stay up late, get up groggy and rush off to breakfast, conversations and plenary sessions. What about time with God? What about letting Him have a voice in your day by reading the Bible? What about pausing to pray since He is important to you? If your spouse were with you, your frantic intensity and neglect of conversation would do nothing for marital closeness. So what about Christ?

2. Lean on God to navigate the stresses of networking. If the conference is a gathering of people involved in ministries like yours, then it is tempting to buzz around like a manic worker bee trying to connect with every significant person in attendance. In the few days you have, you may not get to everyone you think you should. Instead of handling that by your own stress, talk to God about it and walk through the days with a reliance on Him. He can orchestrate the connections that He thinks you need. I have experienced both the manic version of conference networking, and the trusting God version of it. The latter version is healthier, more faith-building and more effective.

3. Don’t feed the hype of a glory festival. Probably the worst part of some Christian events is that they feed the hype of mutual glory hunting. Jesus warned the religious leaders of his day very strongly about the danger of receiving glory from one another (see John 5:38ff) and yet we still fall into that trap so easily. Christian events where leaders are gathered are often rife with the stench of human glory. Determine not to feed it. Don’t leave a conversation mid-sentence because your favourite author just entered the room. Don’t ask for autographs (what is the point?)

4. Value every brother and sister in Christ. Following on from the previous point, it is tempting to have your radar beeping for the famous or high profile people that may be at the conference. But if you are trusting God to orchestrate your informal connections, then remember that He may be more excited about you loving an “insignificant” brother or sister than your need to shake hands with someone who is in demand. The “least of these” applies at the conference, and it applies when Big Name is standing right next to you too.

5. Care for the “profile people” as people. It is easy to elevate well-known speakers and authors as if they are super-Christians. They are brothers and sisters in Christ. If you have opportunity to interact, do so lovingly and with sensitivity to them as people. Express gratitude for their ministry, but get beyond that too. Show interest in them as people, not just as fonts of knowledge about your pet subjects. If they have just spoken, recognize that they may be feeling discouraged or drained. I stood by as one “fan” missed every cue from a “profile person” who was obviously drained and heading for his room. After a while I was tempted to step in and rescue the speaker from the onslaught of questions and lack of sensitivity.

6. Don’t forget your family role too. If you are married, but attending the conference alone, then be sure not to abdicate your responsibilities at home. My wife does an amazing job at home when I am away for a few days, but it is a thankless task. That is, unless I thank her. Phone calls, texts, and notes, all show that you appreciate them. Sometimes your spouse will just need to talk. Sometimes you may need to comfort or discipline a child over the phone. It may not feel as exciting as the opportunities in front of you, but it may be the most important ministry you do all week.

7. Be a builder, not a destroyer. If you put leaders together, inevitably you are creating opportunity for constructive evaluation of everything about the conference. What did you think of his third point? Do you like the music? What was going on with the stewards for the main meeting? Ministry leaders can’t help evaluating ministry when we are participating in an event, but we can help the tone of our evaluation. The insecure will criticize and tear down. The mature in Christ will be careful to build up others in every circumstance. There will be avenues for constructive criticism – use them to help things improve. But don’t use conversation to elevate yourself and tear down beloved brothers and sisters in Christ.

Attending a Christian conference is an incredible privilege. Next time you get that opportunity, why not prayerfully go through these points before you dive in to the crazy schedule?