Description
“Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be as wise as
serpents and harmless as dove” (Matthew 10:16).
This book is a book for leaders and future leaders in the Body of Christ who God is
raising up to serve the greatest Church the world has ever witnessed arising in the earth. A
great reformation in the Church is upon us as God is preparing to pour out His Spirit
on “all flesh.” Great changes in ministry (and ministers) are coming as a result. It will
not be “business as usual” much longer!
The Church is not a building. It is a spiritual house built with the “living stones” of the
lives of men and women. Therefore, when we speak of “reformation in the Church,” we are
actually referring to a “re-formation” of the attitudes and actions of people who compose the
Church. Before the people who compose the Church can be “re-formed,” those who are
entrusted with leading them must be “re-formed”, changed, and transformed as well.
When God calls individuals for His purposes in the ministry, He expects them to develop
and use wisdom, discernment, and understanding. Unfortunately, many in the ministry have
never understood this truth and, as a result, have missed God’s best for their lives and
ministries. They fail to differentiate certain behaviors that produce negative or painful
consequences from those behaviors, which produce pleasing and positive consequences.
People who refuse to learn from mistakes are doomed to repeating those same mistakes. This
can be painful, expensive, and totally unnecessary! Some species of the most intellectually-challenged
of the animal world have learned over the course of their lives how to do things
that bring them what they desire and how to avoid other things that can do them harm.
Some people seem to believe that the higher their I.Q. and the greater their educational
accomplishments, the greater their effectiveness in ministry will be. The two have absolutely
nothing at all in common. Effectiveness in ministry is a matter of the heart more than the
head. Some of the most so-called “brilliant” theologians in history came to the amazing
conclusion that God was dead! What the world calls brilliant thinkers, the Bible calls “fools.”
Yet it was Jesus who told us all that except we come to Him as little children, in simple faith,
none of us would see His kingdom come in our lives. Wisdom and discernment are more
attitudes than measures of intelligence or lack thereof. They are attitudes that are willing to
see, discern, learn, grow, change, and adapt.
This a book for those who are wise enough to know that changing behaviors will
bring about change in results, and the more positive the results in ministry, the more
fruit for the Kingdom. It is for those who are willing to learn from the mistakes they
have made and, more importantly, to wisely learn from the mistakes others have made
so that they are not forced to have to repeat them themselves!
