READ: Isaiah 43:18-21
“Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it?” – Isaiah 43:19
I have not been in the ministry for so long, but even in the few years of my ministry, I have seen people who started out very powerfully but after a while could not keep up with what God was doing. Some pastors, who were involved in the work of ministry at the early stages of our church, simply could not transition when God was doing a new thing. Somehow, they fell behind and became offended by new things and by the appearance of new people in the ministry.
My best people are always my oldest people. The longer I have known someone, the more relaxed I become with the person. I would always prefer to work with those who have stayed around longest but unfortunately that was not to be the case. As I moved on to different phases of the ministry, some of the older people felt the good old ways were the best ways.
Dear pastor, the good old ways are not always the best ways. Perhaps, you feel that way because you are stuck in your ways. And being full of the knowledge of what is right and what is wrong, you are unable to transition and rise to the next level of your calling.
There are many things that I did in the early part of my ministry which were good and biblical. Surprisingly, God does not want me to do some of these good and biblical things anymore. The fact is, these good and biblical things do not work anymore today as they did yesterday.
Your church may have been independent for years, but becoming part of a denomination may be God’s will for you today. Perhaps being a lay person worked very well for years, but now it is important to be full-time in the ministry. Perhaps insisting on your rights may have brought you far in your marriage and in your life, but now yielding and obeying may be the key.