Ministry of Help Insights from Robyn Gool's Powerful Book

 

First, Every Ministry Needs Help by Robyn Gool is my favorite book. I marked almost every page, and I borrowed the book (I hope they don’t mind). Sheeps, Goats, and Wolves is my second favorite.

 

I loved the way Mr. Gool wrote the book. He talked to us, not at us.

 

The first thing that caught my attention was when he said that Oral Roberts told the incoming freshman class they were expected to be an asset and a blessing. He said that if they became problems, they could leave the way they came. Mr. Gool then said that there are a lot of people in churches who need to find their way to another church. They are too much of a problem. I believe it, but I don’t think I would ever have the guts to say it.

 

I also loved when Mr. Gool talked about the ministry of help needing to hear and know God's voice.

 

I loved the chapter on Help That Serves As Unto The Lord. He listed some reasons why people get into ministry: They want to impress the pastor, they want to brag about their family, they want to get close to the pastor and/or his wife, they serve out of tradition, etc.  

 

Mr. Gool said we must be above average while serving in the ministry. In the world and workplace, many people are average or below average. They don’t have the drive or hunger to serve the Lord with all of their heart.

 

I enjoyed the six steps that the author listed, especially the fifth one, which tells those in leadership to keep their house in order, whether married or single. I totally agree with that statement.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. It was helpful and gave a wonderful insight into the ministry of help.

The Ministry of Help: Lessons on Serving God & Others

 

While reading this book, I had to mark the first page of The Ministry of Helps Handbooks by Dr. Buddy Bell, asking, “Have you ever argued with God when He asked you to do something?”

 

And my answer…Yeah, and who hasn’t? Why do we always want to hear from the Lord when we make a petition, but when He comes to us with something, we have to question whether or not we have heard from the Lord.

 

The Lord asked me to give $100 to a particular lady in the ministry, but I didn’t. I was disobedient. Finally, two years later, I gave her that money and told her that God had told me to give it to her. She was so touched by that jester that she gave me a card. Not long after that, the Lord told me to give another person the same amount. I was obedient then. 

She got it within a week.

 

I also liked when Mr. Bell talked about how people get a “drip” of the anointing and raise their hands to volunteer in the ministry but then have second thoughts. 

I had to ponder some questions Mr. Bell asked regarding serving and ministering to sinners: Would you take food and clothing to a family that does not yet know Jesus? Yeah. We do it every day with relatives. Sometimes, it’s not always about bashing people over the head with Jesus; people listen to what you say and how you act. When situations arise that show the love of God in us, we are to show it. We are not to second-guess the Holy Spirit's probing. 

 

I also considered what Mr. Bell said regarding people placing higher honors on one ministry office over another. Like no one wants to work behind the scenes with the children, but they wouldn’t mind being upfront ushering. Churches sometimes have to beg people to help clean the church, but it would be stampeded if they said they needed someone to fill in for the pastor while he’s gone on vacation. Some people are just eye-pleasers and don’t even realize it (or maybe they do and don’t care).

 

I also thought about some people in ministry when Mr. Bell said, “There are some in leadership who are so good at hiding among the sheep that they could skip a service and the sheep not even know they were not there. And, often, even the shepherds don’t know the elders are not there!”

 

The last thing I want to talk about is Mr. Bell's talk about answering the call. He said that God will “honor your obedience by giving you the love, ability, and lack of fear to do it.” He said we would be uncertain at first, but then it seemed like we were always doing it.

 

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. It was helpful and gave an excellent insight into the ministry of help.

Understanding the Ministry of Helps in Church Leadership

 

I’ll start at the beginning.

 

I love how Mr. John Eckhardt explained the difference between natural and spiritual gifts in his book Ministry Anointing of Helps. People think that ministries of help only do natural things, such as cleaning the church, receiving tithes and offerings, leading people to their seats, etc., but the ministry also needs people to pray for spiritual protection, singers to bring the people before the throne of God, etc.

 

Page 14 deals with deacon-possessed churches and how the deacons are not called to run the churches, control the pastor, or tell the pastor what to do or say. Mr. Eckhardt calls this a form of witchcraft. I had to pause and ponder that. They are using manipulation to control the pastor and get their way…..I would be terrified to touch God’s anointed.  Deacons are called to be members of the help teams and to help hold up the leader’s hands.

 

I then flipped to page 16 and read about Elijah and Elisha. It talked about how, after confronting the prophets of Baal, Elijah took off running when Jezebel threatened to kill him if she caught him. I always wondered why Elijah ran for his life when he knew God was on his side. But Mr. Eckhardt broke it down for me….Elijah was spiritually drained. 

 

It opened my eyes to how much we, as the ministry of help, are needed. A leader can’t do everything. I always thought that Elijah picked Elisha to train him to take over. I didn’t realize Elijah was grooming Elisha for takeover and using him for help.

 

I then flipped to page 21 and read about being a financial blessing to the ministry. Mr. Eckhardt stated, "The motive must be pure, from a generous heart. People are not to help ministries financially with impure motives. The motive must never be to control or get the ministry's favor.”

 

In the last chapter, Mr. Eckhardt discussed laying down our life as a ministry gift. He said, “The Lord will divinely connect people to a ministry to help bring the vision to pass. He will cause intercessors to give their lives in prayer for you. The Lord will join psalmists and minstrels to you. The Lord will join prophets to you. These are divine relationships that can be established for a lifetime.” So many people say they are sent by God to hook up with a leader, but when something goes down, they bail out. I wish people stop lying to God and start seeing the truth about themselves; their motives are wrong.

 

This book basically dealt with how we, as the Ministry of Helps team, should not try to step out of place. We are there to help the leadership, not to run things and throw tantrums when we can’t get our way.

From Calling to Separation: Lessons from Bob Yandian’s 'You Have A Ministry'

I love the way Mr. Yandian defines calling and separation in his book You Have A Ministry.

A long time ago, I was told by the pastor’s wife that I was to marry a ministry gift (I'm unsure what kind). She said that I needed to start spending time with her so that I could prepare (she, of course, was married to a ministry gift and was willing to share with me what I needed to know). I needed to be separated. So I started attending preparation classes for marriage, but I was so anxious, and when he didn’t come right away (or at least me knowing who it was), I grew weary, gave up, and moved away.

I doubt that the calling can go where I go (out of God’s will), and I’ll always wonder what my life would have been like. That’s why the answer can be yes when asked if we know our calling. But the question should be, are we able to fulfill it? I think most people with a calling are so anxious for it to be fulfilled that they don’t want to wait and prepare for it so that they can serve God’s kingdom to the fullest.  

That may be why the body of Christ is in the shape it is now - we don’t want to wait. How many men have been legitimately called by God to be pastors of churches but decided to go ahead of God and start their own churches? How many women have been married to ministry gifts and left them while they went through seminary school, and now another woman is reaping the benefits? 

I also loved when Bob Yandian said that you are not promoted if God doesn’t promote you. I can’t promote myself, and you can’t promote yourself. Only God can. That’s why whenever something good happens to us, we praise God.  The only thing that man can do for us is have favor on us. I don’t know about anyone else, but God is my increase. 

I loved the way Mr. Yandian defined qualification and faithfulness. Many people seem to think that because they have been to seminary school, are called by God (or their daddy), or have been saved for 30 years, they should be first in line to get a promotion.

I looked at the type of personality that a faithful person has according Bob Yandian I realized that my personality fits that, meek or teachable. I was told that along time ago by the pastor’s wife from my Florida church. She said I’m teachable because I don’t have all of the junk from being in a traditional church. Unlike others in the church, they didn’t have to spend years getting out what someone else had put in. I have a teachable spirit.

When I first started attending church, I was a bench warmer (there’s no need for me to lie), but when people love the Lord, they show it by being faithful, doing things for Him, and spending time with Him. It’s just like when a man likes a woman. He’ll do things for her. Sometimes, it’s for no particular reason at all. He may have seen something, and he knew that she would like it. The point is that she was on his mind. That’s how we should be with God: wanting to spend time with Him. 

Mr. Yandian gave some reasons for not getting into ministry full-time. One reason was that it looked glamorous. One in 10 people in ministry are in it for that reason. But God will deal with those people when the time comes. The point is that those of us in this ministry should be about God’s business. 

Overall, the book opened my eyes to what my calling was. 

Higher Calling (Video)

Many people do not realize that those in ministry may also have another career. We automatically assume that pastors spend all of their time studying the Word and praying in the spirit. 

We don't stop to think that they may have two callings - one natural and one spiritual. 

God Will Honor Your Obedience

 

God will honor your obedience by giving you the love, ability, and lack of fear to do it. We will be uncertain at first, but then it will seem like we always do it.

 

That’s how I felt when I started cleaning the church. Thoughts ran through my mind like,

“Am I cleaning everything?”

“Are we cleaning the pastor’s office this week?”

“Did I forget something?” 

“Did we get the children’s room or the finance room?” 

“Let me see if I can get someone else to clean the men’s room.”

 

But after a while, cleaning the church became second nature.  

Amongst the Sheep

 

Some in leadership are so good at hiding among the sheep that they could skip service, and the sheep do not even know they were not there. And often, even the shepherds don’t know the elders are not there.

 

I think about some people in leadership who scream and holler on Sunday mornings, but they are nowhere to be found for bible study.

 

I remember when I worked the second shift, and I was always able to make it to church on Sundays, but I would crave the teachings and fellowship of bible study during the week. My manager usually gave me a day off in the middle of the week twice a month, and you better believe I was at church.

 

And that was when I was still, a visitor, long before I even became a member.

 

I noticed that then and I notice it now.

Are You an Eye Pleaser?

 

Some people place a higher honor on one office of ministry over another. 

It’s like no one wants to work behind the scenes with the children, but they wouldn’t mind being upfront ushering.

 

Churches sometimes have to beg people to help clean the church, but I bet if they said that needed someone to fill in for the pastor while he’s gone on vacation it’ll be a stampede.

Some people are just eye pleasers and don’t realize it (or they do and they do not care).

The Needs in the Ministry

 

Sometimes, people will get a “drip” of the anointing, raise their hands to volunteer in the ministry, begin having second thoughts, and then back out.  

I remember when I volunteered to clean the church partly to stay busy while looking for another job, partly because there was a need in the church and partly because it was time for me to stop being a benchwarmer.

And it was the greatest decision that I ever made. I started receiving blessings from God and favors from man.

I also caught a glimpse of the needs in the ministry. It broke my heart at the gaps and made me realize that God's will and plans were being carried out by me being obedient, and I was apart of it.