Insights on Being an Armor Bearer in Church Leadership

I first want to touch on Terry Nance's statement in his book God’s Armor Bearer: Volumes I & II  that whenever something is going on in the church, we are not to hide it from the pastor because it will eventually be brought to light. I’m all for this concept. When we allow the wool to be pulled over the pastor’s eyes, then we are opening a door for Satan to run God’s house.

 

Mr. Nance also talked about not making the pastor look unholy or like a dictator in the eyes of the congregants by playing mind games. He said that anyone would only do this to cause strife in the church and to look good in other people's eyes. 

 

Mr. Nance also discussed the leadership allowing God to send good people with their vision. The paragraph also discussed the leadership not trying to keep the ministry in the family if that was not God’s will. I recently asked the pastor if keeping the church in the family was okay, and he said yes. He asked if I had a problem, and I said no. I asked that question because I don’t like people playing with God, and I think too many people keep it in the family for the wrong reasons and don’t allow God’s will to be done in that church. I didn’t mean any disrespect with the question, but I had to ask it since it was on my mind.

 

I liked some of the questions listed for a loyal armor bearer: Are they tithers? Are you at ease in their presence? Do they avoid murmuring and complaining? Do they submit to authority? These are good questions to ask about the people in leadership yearly. 

 

I liked the self-examination the author provided to see if something was hindering our growth as armor-bearers.

 

I smiled when I read about how people open their gift from God and immediately run to see what someone else got, and then they want what they have. People do that a lot in churches. If they reject the gift that He gave them, they’ll reject the blessings He gives them; they’ll reject a godly man or woman that He has sent to be their spouse and a host of other things. They’ll just never be happy.

 

Mr. Nance talked about people needing to be planted in one spot like a tree. He said, “If a tree is continually uprooted and replanted, eventually the roots will die. Many Christians have experienced this. Because of rebellion and sin in their hearts, they constantly jump from one church to another. They refuse to submit to authority or feel they have special gifts for the church which the pastor is unwilling to recognize.”

 

Mr. Nance talked about people who volunteer for projects within the church, but when it gets a little tricky, they bail out. He said God is preparing us for leadership, but we must overcome pride, selfishness, and bitterness.

 

The author also discussed people receiving chastisement. He said we should not get our feelings hurt, get defensive, or hold grudges when rebuked. One scripture I have stood on for years is Hebrews 12:6, which says, “For whom the Lord loves He chastens.” 

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. It was helpful and gave an excellent 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.

Are You Supporting Your Church Vision?

I first want to touch on Chapter Two of  Proper Attitudes Toward Leadership by Robyn Gool, who asked if we were in the right church. He said that we may be in the wrong church if we can’t connect to the ministry's vision or receive from the pastor. I will tell you that I have been in churches where I knew immediately that I would not fit in. Others took me time to realize that. 

 

Another thing is that when we are not connected to the vision or receiving from the pastor, our blessings are held up. I read recently in another book that when God is ready to unleash His divine blessings on us, and we have moved out of position (or are disobedient), then the ministering angel has to return the blessings to the sender! What a feeling that must be. I don’t ever want to be in that position.

 

Another thing I want to touch on is when Mr. Gool talked about receiving the word from pastors. We, as Christians, have to make sure that what we are hearing and running with is correct. He talked about people who could quote scripture and don’t even know what it means or if it’s correct; they only know that someone in leadership said it.

 

The author also discussed people being led by false leaders. He used Jim Jones, who led millions to their deaths. Mr. Gool said that people also needed to take responsibility for their actions. Like Mr. Gool said, when Judgment Day comes, we can point the finger at the person who told us it was okay, but we’re also going to explain why we did it, knowing what the word said and with the Holy Spirit checking us. 

 

The last thing I want to touch on is when the author talks about Christians supporting the ministry and uses the scripture Haggai 1:7-12. I love that scripture because it makes me understand why people suffer when they do not have to. It also keeps my mind clear that I do not want to be one of those people. I also meditate on Malachi 3:8-10. While typing this, I realized something. In Haggai, the people “have sown much, and bring in little,” and the heavens withheld dew and the earth withheld its fruit, and in Malachi, the people robbed God and had a curse placed on them when they could have had the windows of heaven opened to them, and they would have had more than another. Wow! God is just looking for us to be about His business. 

The Value of Servanthood in the Workplace

The first chapter I read, How to be the Greatest in God's Kingdom/ Understanding the Value of Servanthood by Byron D. August, was about serving in the workplace. I thought it would discuss reaching lost coworkers, but it didn’t. It talked about how I should behave while at work! I was glad to know I’m a good worker and positive Christian role model.

One paragraph that I have meditated on for weeks since reading the book is when Mr. August says, “They should not have to look after the company when you are around. When you are on the job, the boss or owner should be able to sleep at night. They should know that you will do your job and take care of the company as well or better than they would. They should be able to leave at a moment’s notice without the company missing a beat. The company should stay on course of success with you at the helm.”

 

I also had to ponder what Mr. August said about people being more willing to give up their money than their time. I try to give both, but I give more of my time. It’s not because I don’t have money, but because I allow the Holy Spirit to minister to me on what a person needs.

 

The second thing I meditated on was the statement that many people serve in the ministry because they want to be seen by everyone. I thought about that because the Bible tells us to check ourselves against the scriptures.  I’ve always been meek and humble when it came to the things of God, and I know I’m more of a behind-the-scenes person, so I know that my motive for serving in the kingdom is not to win a popularity contest.

 

The last thing I want to discuss is Mr. August's statement that many people do not realize that those in ministry may also have another career. We assume pastors spend all 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. And that maybe both are to be used for God’s purpose.

 

A librarian can be a Sunday school teacher for the kingdom by day, an author/journalist can be the church announcement writer by day, or a librarian can also be the church housekeeper, or an author/journalist can be a demon chaser by day.

 

I read that 5 percent of church members do 90 percent of the work. It shouldn’t be like this. When I decided to get involved in the church and stop being a bench warmer, I put my hands on whatever was needed. Why aren’t we, as Christians, willing to get more involved in the ministry? Why aren’t we willing to help hold up the pastor’s hands? One reason is that we don’t know how much help is needed.

 

In closing, I enjoyed the book, and Mr. August provided much insight into what I need to do to be a godly servant.

The Power of Church Involvement For Spiritual Growth

While reading 12 Ways To Be A Blessing To Your Church, I jumped all over it. My subconscious told me what was more important and what I needed to work on, but I’ll start at the beginning.

When I come to church, the only thing I want the church to do for me is to be my spiritual family and help me grow in the Word. I come to church looking to fellowship with my spiritual family, grow in the Word, and be open to the Holy Spirit to see where I can be a blessing. I’m not looking for a handout, favoritism, etc. I’m there to be a blessing.

I remember talking to someone at my church in Florida who said that people always look up to you—whether you know it or not. I’m also a cheerful giver. I tend to only give monetary gifts or a birthday card, but I’ve never considered that I could bless the pastor on special occasions by doing other things.

When I decided to get involved in the church and stop being a bench warmer, I put my hands on whatever was needed. At first, I was overwhelmed by the number of openings and then saddened by the fact that there were so many openings. Why aren’t we, as Christians, willing to get more involved in the ministry? Why aren’t we willing to help hold up the pastor’s hands? One reason is that we don’t know how much help is needed. We know that help is needed, but we aren’t made aware of where it’s needed.

I remember one time recently when I came to the church early to clean, and when I finished, I went into the sanctuary and began to pray. And I was deep in prayer when I felt a tap on my shoulder. Someone told me that the pastor had set his garbage outside his door and needed to be emptied. Did I tell them to “Wait a minute, let me get this last prayer request in?” Of course not. I jumped up and emptied the garbage. As Kate McVeigh wrote in the book, we must “Be Part of the Solution” and not the problem. There was a problem, and it needed to be solved. And I did it.

One thing that McVeigh addressed that I’m trying hard not to do is to become too familiar with the pastor or anyone in leadership. The Holy Spirit has checked me on that recently. I want to be helpful and more talkative, but I’m realizing that I’m saying things that could be taken out of context or seen as disrespectful. That’s one thing that I do not want to do. I don’t want to give place to the devil and let strife or offense come into play.  

The last thing that the author touched on was being ready for people who are in need. There are times when more qualified people can help. I always hear people say, “Unless you’ve walked in someone else’s shoes, then you don’t know…” and that’s the reason why I always feel like I’m not the person to turn to because I don’t know what they have been through. I may not have personally been in that situation, but I know the word of God and that it can solve any problem.