Hey pastor, church leader…
So, your ministry hasn’t exactly been what you thought it would be?
You have pain, regrets, frustrations and disappointments…and…the problem is that IF we are not careful we will allow our past ministry mistakes and shortcomings to define us rather than propel us to a greater understanding of Christ and the call that He placed on our lives.
Our past only defines us when we lose sight of the future Christ has for us.
Reality is this…if He called you into ministry then He has greater plans for you than you could ever imagine…and THE calling on our lives is to NOT GIVE UP (See Galatians 6:9!)
As I look back on a 20 year history of doing ministry in the context I really can see lots and lots of mistakes I made…but rather than allowing them to define and defeat me I use them to DELIVER me into the reality that HE KNEW every stupid, foolish and sinful mistake I would ever make…and yet He still called me, equipped me and chose me for this task!
He told Peter that he knew denial was coming…and yet restored him…and Peter’s biggest failure paved the way to a ministry that is STILL impacting us to this day!
Today is the first day of the rest of your ministry…HE who called you is with you and will complete in you and through you what He began (Philippians 1:6) - so fix your eyes on Him, because life is too short to allow regrets that Christ paid for to dominate our lives!