Bishop Coulter: Word to TMCI for this next year (September 2015 – September 2016)

Word to TMCI for the next year (Sept. To Sept) Bishop Coulter released at annual conference September 24, 2015

Make a joyful noise into the Lord for he is worthy to be praised!

Open the doors with shouts of joy
Break through every gate with boldness and power
See the road set before you and press steady onward. Not hesitating or turning back.

Decisions will come at nano-second speed
Your ears have been tuned to hear me as never before… Not only in minutest detail but in the lowest or highest range you will hear me and recognize and know it is me. You have come into a place of true understanding and experiencing of “that still small voice” … Be swift to hear; swift to obey

The days ahead are full of adventure filled with delight.

Be strong in the Lord and the power of his word (mandate, declaration, a new anointing)

Take every chance I give you and seize the moment that my glory will explode and fill the earth

You are the leader for this hour and are leading my people into “the promised land.”

Trust and obey

Bishop Coulter: Just a Thought – Are You a Grasshopper?

Dear Friends,

Several days ago during our morning devotions in the office, Judy Covington read excerpts from Numbers 13 about the spies’ report after they had spied out the Promised Land. We all know the story of how Joshua and Caleb said, “we can take the land,” but ten spies said “no we can’t”, and the people believed them and not God.

But the verse that struck me was verse 33 which says.
Numbers 13:33 There we saw the giants (the descendants of Anak came from the giants); and we were like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight.”

Notice they were like grasshoppers in their own sight!  So the enemy viewed them the same way.
They did not go up to spy the land in faith, but in fear. They let fear guide their thoughts. They let fear dictate who they were.  Proverbs 23:7 For as he thinks within himself, so he is.

The 10 spies defeated themselves with their negative thinking. They were thinking, “we cannot do that” but they forgot that God could do it through them.   Remember, the enemy will always reinforce your negative thinking. When you say,” I can’t do that”, the enemy is quick to agree with you. He will send you well-meaning friends who will reinforce the negative with words like, “that will cost you too much, you do not have the experience, or what happens if you fail”?

Remember the battle is always for the mind. If Satan can get you into negative thinking, he will be able to stop you in all your endeavors. I will remind you of 2 Tim 1:7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.  So when fear or negative thinking comes to you, know that it is an attack from the evil one.

In these situations I always like to remind myself of two verses;
Luke 1:37 For with God nothing will be impossible.
Phil 4:13 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

What is God calling you to do today? This is a season where God is moving quickly and powerfully. He is calling his people to new exploits. He is moving us out of our comfort zones. The question is, “Are you going to allow Him to work through you and gain new ground or are you going to stay and think that is impossible?”

I encourage you today to let God move you into that new territory He has for you. The Israelites did not understand that God would go before them and the victory was assured because God was with them.  Joshua and Caleb understood that with God’s help nothing is impossible.

Today I encourage you to let God stretch you once again. To believe in the God who has called you and believe in yourself. God does not make mistakes. He called you because He has a great victory for you and your ministry.

Let us move forward to all that God has in store for us,
Bishop Bob Coulter

A Little Kneeology…… John 1:50 (NLT) “…. You will see greater things than this.”

A Little Kneeology……  John 1:50 (NLT) “…. You will see greater things than this.”           

A couple of weeks ago while attending the TMCI annual conference in Lancaster, SC, I was listening to some folks discuss Bishop Ben Covington and as they did I began to be reminded of my experiences with him.  Later that same day, Sister Judy Covington spoke of some founding events as TMCI was being birthed and subsequent years of development.  I was reminded of the above words of Jesus and the promise He was making for those who would just believe and obey.  Certainly, Bishop Ben and Sister Judy believed and obeyed the words and leading of Jesus as they began and guided TMCI into the ministry that it is today.  They knew through the promise of Jesus that they would provide for others to see greater things with and through TMCI than they themselves have seen and, praise God, we have seen that continue on through Bishop Bob and others within the leadership of TMCI.

In the days and years to come we must perpetuate the promise and continue to follow the leading of Jesus and move in the directions which the Holy Spirit moves us with the same goal and provision.  In fact, we as individual ministries must focus on the same.  I firmly believe that if God called us to a certain ministry, we should do everything in obedience and with the desire to provide its continuance beyond our years and time on this side of the Kingdom.

I don’t know where I heard the saying that “no man is an island” but it is true.  As our ministries have an effect on the lives and souls of folks today, should they not be continued for the future?  I have spoken to several folks that seem to have had very little concern for their ministry beyond themselves.  Is that being a good steward of God’s blessings?  I had one mention that he wanted to keep the ministry going until he could retire.  What about beyond?  It seems that we sometimes take the worldly view of ministry being a job or profession instead of a calling to establish a foothold for the work of God.  Jesus cursed the fig tree that failed to bear fruit, to continue beyond the seasons past.  I know that God does not waste His blessings, nor should we. 

It is my prayer that everyone who left the conference will not only realize the need to perpetuate their ministry beyond themselves but will also persuade others to do the same.  TMCI is such an awesome tool for that purpose as we encourage people to submit themselves to the ministry or for current membership to broaden their areas of ministry as God leads. I recently talked to a brother who was retiring from ministry and found him to be delighted as he said, “Praise God it is all over now. No more sermons, no more counseling, just doing what I want to.”  Not only did my heart break for him, wondering just how long he had been so miserable, but also hurting for all the folks that his ministry touched and praying that they don’t feel abandoned.

The Word speaks of us not thinking of ourselves better than we really are and to be honest in our evaluation of ourselves, so then, should our ministry calling solely rest or end with us.  It is most important that we take the attitude of Bishop Ben, Sister Judy, Bishop Bob and the leadership team of TMCI and seek to be constantly renewing the workers preparing the harvest.  We are all called to complete submission to service to the Kingdom and a great part of that is the act of making new disciples and developing new workers for the vineyard.  Let us not get so self-focused that we fail to provide for the next season.  

NOTW…Bro. Mike

Ministry Tips and Tools: Making Disciples

Matt 28:18-20 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen. NKJV

This Scripture is very familiar to all of us. Unfortunately the church as a whole is not fulfilling the great commission. The church is good at making converts, but lacking skill in making disciples of Jesus Christ. Some are good at making members of the church by entertaining them every Sunday with the hope they come back next week. One of the reasons the American church is so spiritually weak is that we stopped making disciples and instead chose to operate entertainment centers.

But the church is required to make disciples of Jesus Christ. We are required by Christ to teach them to observe all things that I have commanded you. You could say “I was not there with the disciples so I did not observe what Christ did.” But in fact we have 20-20 hindsight through the Bible. The Holy Spirit has inspired men of God to write the Scripture through His guidance. Even today, the Holy Spirit speaks to our spirits to give us the revelation we need for each new day.

So how do we make a convert a disciple? By taking time with them. We must become their friend. One interesting statistic is that a new convert must meet at least 5-10 new Christian friends, in order to keep them in your church or ministry. If this does not happen, they will gravitate back to their old friends and eventually into their old life style. So to put it simply, we must truly love them.

Next, we need to get them into the Word of God. I suggest that you give them a Bible that is easy to read. I remember when I accepted Christ I went to an adult Sunday School Class and shared with the teacher that I had a King James Bible that I could not understand. He blew me away by saying, “Here Bob take my Bible.” That Bible is still being used in my family today. What a blessing.

Next they got me involved in a weekly Bible study where I grew steadily. The key to bringing a convert to maturity is getting them into the Word of God. So if you do not have a Bible study to bring them to, start studying the Bible with them. If the new convert does not learn the promises from the Word of God, when tribulation comes, he will be discouraged and may give up. We need to teach him to stand on the Word of God.

It takes time to make a disciple so we might be inconvenienced to help them grow; i.e., lay down our lives. Why make disciples? Christ modeled it; commanded us to do it; and the New Testament disciples applied it as we see in:

Acts 2:42-47 And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers. 43 Then fear came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles. 44 Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common, 45 and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need.

46 So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, 47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved. NKJV

The apostle taught the Word, they fellowshipped and prayed with each other. They were in awe of what God was doing in their midst and signs and wonders followed them. They broke bread together, went house to; they had the gift of hospitality and praised God together as the Lord added to their numbers.

Next, in making disciples, you must find them meaningful ministry. The interesting thing is that people come out of a need. But within six months they need to feel needed. The baby busters and millenniums want to make a difference with their lives. Interestingly they are very like the people who went through the great depression and World War II. They are workers. They do not want to throw money at the problem; they want to be part of the solution.

So they are attracted to churches or ministries that are doing social outreach. They do not want to just sit in church; they want to be active making changes in their community or the world.

Part of discipling is to help them find and exercise their spiritual gift in ministry. The best way is to put them with a mature Christian that is operating in that gift. But the important thing is that we allow them to practice their gifting so they can grow and mature in that gift.

Lastly, we must release them for ministry so they can influence other in their sphere of influence. Remember for churches and ministries to grow we must encourage our people to minister outside our walls. Remember sheep beget sheep, not shepherds. So to increase the kingdom of God in your area you need to release your people to go outside the wall and reach the lost for Christ and have them in turn disciple their new converts.

Making disciples fundamentally means making friends, taking time to know the person. It seems that the gift of hospitality has left the church; but I encourage you to reignite it in your ministry and church. Take the time to fellowship with new converts; invite them to your home along with other members of your ministry or church so that they get to know others as well. As I said earlier, new converts need to meet 5-10 new Christian friends in order for them to feel accepted.

So discipling simply means taking a believer and moving him on in faith, so he begins to mature and employ his gifts in the body of Christ.

As Bill Hull said in his book The Disciple Making Church, Christ was the ultimate disciple maker. Christ employed a six-step method.

  1. Tell them what.

  2. Tell them why.

  3. Show them how.

  4. Do it with them.

  5. Let them do it.

  6. Deploy them.

Many years ago, I saw a street ministry led by Randy White making disciples. Randy was getting people saved and asking the local churches to work with them. Because it was an affluent area, the pastors were reluctant to allow street people to attend their church. So Randy started his own church and started to make disciples. His ministry fed the street people so one method he used was he use a simple Bible study. What he did was to assign one chapter at a time with an answer sheet that they had to bring back filled out in order to participate in the meal that week. Out of that group he raised up leaders. A physician who was an alcoholic got saved and delivered from alcohol, and became the pastor of that church. It took Randy about two years to raise up the leadership. Making disciples takes time, but to the glory of God, Randy was successful in making disciples for Christ.

So I encourage you not just to make converts, but to fulfill the great commission, by making converts into disciples of Jesus Christ.

Be Blessed,

Bishop Bob Coulter

The book I recommend is: The Disciple Making Church by Bill Hull

Bro Mike: A Little Kneeology – Proverbs 20:12 12   “ Ears to hear and eyes to see—both are gifts from the Lord.”

Many of us attended the TMCI Annual Conference in Lancaster, SC last week and received some awesome teachings about cultivating our spiritual gifts.  Great fellowship was had and awesome, Spirit-led preaching was certainly the call of the day.  Not only did we experience the presence of the Holy Spirit with our ears in hearing His direction for each of us but we were able to experience with our eyes the working of the Spirit in the people around us and within us.

By Saturday morning the majority had left for home or their next assignment from God.  As He had gifted us to experience the mighty presence of the movement of the Holy Spirit with our eyes, ears, and heart, as I was driving home I was thinking what would be the very best thing that could result from such a witnessing of the movement of the Holy Spirit and what would be the very worst thing that could result.

Of course, the very best thing would be for us to return to our ministries on fire for the gospel and be used to bring many others to know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.  The very best thing would be to set our ministries, our churches, and the lives of others on fire for God and to see the manifestations of the Holy Spirit take over the lives of the people with which we would come in contact.  I continued to think of things such as revival, our nation being taken over by Holy fire, churches actually becoming temples of the Lord instead of cold mausoleums for the frozen chosen, missions blossoming all over the world, and the list just continued to flow and God showing me that there would be no end to the movement of His Holy Spirit upon the world.  It was truly exciting .  I found myself anxious for God to use me and for the Holy Spirit to get anything within me  that was in the way of His moving completely out of the way regardless of the pain.

But then, I began to think about what would be the most negative thing that could happen now that the conference was over and we were all leaving the awesome presence that we had experienced.  All  I could see in my mind was a big empty and blank square, indicating that nothing was happening, nothing was within the square.  I realized that vision was revealing what would happen if we did not take back to our ministries and churches, to the people, what we had seen and heard at the TMCI Annual Conference.  The most horrible possible thing that could occur is “nothing”. 

“Nothing” is happening right now throughout the world because we are not allowing our mouths to witness to what we have seen and heard and know what is true.  Jesus Christ, forgiveness, and the power of transformation through the Holy Spirit are still among the best kept secrets in the universe.   God has given us the gifts of hearing and seeing and the gifts of speech.  We must use these gifts to tell others about the power and gifts of the Holy Spirit to change lives.  We seem to feel that because the church has been silent for so long that it should be the norm.  What has become the norm is a crippled and lifeless group of people who are content for nothing to happen. In fact, when something happens it disrupts the norm so badly that chaos takes hold.  We have to allow our mouths and our lives to bear witness to that which our ears have heard and our very own eyes have seen.

I pray that we go forth with nothing not being an option as nothing produces nothing.  Just a thought.

NOTW…Bro. Mike

Ministry Tips and Tools: Cultivating Your Giftings in the Spirit

VIDEO: 

Lev 26:7-8 You will pursue your enemies, and they will fall by the sword before you. 8 Five of you will chase a hundred, and a hundred of you will chase ten thousand, and your enemies will fall by the sword before you. NIV

This year’s Annual Conference theme is Cultivating your giftings in the Spirit.  It is also the challenge for TMCI around the world for this year. God has gifted all of us with special gifts to further God’s Kingdom. Please note that we are not gifted so that we can build our reputation or increase our ministry but to increase the Kingdom of God.

The above scripture challenges me. Our society gives great honor to what they call a self-made man: the person who through much effort on his part singlehandedly reaches his goal.  But if you look at the lives of “self-made men”, you will find that they had people around them who helped them along the way. God’s will is that people not be lone Rangers. Jesus sent his disciples out two by two.

 We need each other as Paul outlines in 1 Cor 12:14-20

14 Now the body is not made up of one part but of many. 15 If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. 16 And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? 18 But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. 19 If they were all one part, where would the body be? 20 As it is, there are many parts, but one body.  NIV

We all have various gifts but no one person has all the gifts. Jesus is the only one who operated in all the gifts.

One of the mistakes people make is that instead of looking at the gifts God has given them, they look at the gifts they do not have. I remember complaining to God, (now I know you would never do that) about my becoming interim pastor at my church – replacing a pastor who was a dynamic preacher and operated in the gifts of the Spirit with power. He could paint a picture on the wall with his words. So there I was early Sunday morning praying, but reality I was complaining that I did not have the gifts that former pastor had. Then the Holy Spirit spoke to my spirit and asked who preached on the day of Pentecost and 3000 got saved.

 I said Peter, of course, but the Spirit said no, I did through Peter and the same Holy Spirit that preached through Peter is in you, so stop your complaining and do what you are called to do and let me operate through you.

The other mistake we make is try to” work on” the gifts we do not have, and neglect the one we have. We should always try to refine; to perfect the gifts God has put in us by reading the Bible to see how they are used in Scripture. We should join with mature Christians who operate in the Same Gifts becoming an Elisha to that person. Remember, Elisha did not start his ministry; he let Elijah train and speak into his life.

So when you need a gift you do not have, reach out to those who have the gift and join with them so your gifts will bless them and their gifts will bless you.  When Barnabas was sent to Antioch (Acts 11) he saw that they needed more than encouraging, they needed a strong teacher so he went and got Paul and together they ministered to the people.  It is like TMCI’s partnership with Live School in Africa. Live School helps train church people to plant other churches:  they have the people and curriculum so we help them and they help us in training our TMCI-Liberia churches and the kingdom is advanced.

This coming year is a year of Divine appointments. Last year, God called us out as His “no name army”. This year, I believe he wants to unite us together in force that will attack and take back territory from the enemy. I believe that there are areas in this country and throughout the world that God want to use you and other TMCI ministers to take ground and overcome the enemy by helping each other with our giftings.

My pledge to you is that, if you are interested in doing something special in your geographic area of ministry, I will put you in touch with other TMCI ministries in your area and help organize your event with these TMCI ministries. If you want to do something international, let me know what area of the world, and we will put you in touch with the TMCI missionaries in that area.

It is time for us to not only look to our ministry, but also look to see how we can work with others to make a bigger difference for Christ in our geographic area.  We need to help  each other solidify the victory by making disciples of new converts and  making sure the territory gain is solidified before moving on to gain more ground. What do I mean by that? Too many times we think we won the victory only to lose it because we did not follow through and solidify the gains.

Let look at David and Goliath, David threw the stone that felled Goliath, He had knocked Goliath out but had not defeated him completely until he took Goliath’s sword and cut off his head. Then he had complete victory.

Too many Christians throw a knockout punch and walk away thinking they have the victory when they only won a battle and not the victory.  We need to follow through, solidify the gains and only then move on.

How do we do that? By making converts into disciples for Christ and then releasing them for ministry to help us take more ground from the enemy.

So I encourage you today to have a shift in your ministry thinking. To ask yourself, whom can I connect with to make a bigger difference in my ministry area. I do not feel God has called us to be lone rangers, but to unite our ministries with others in our area of ministry to make a bigger impact in the world.

That is my prayer for you. Go forth united and build the Kingdom of God with your other brothers and sisters in Christ.

Let us move forward together,

Bishop Bob Coulter

Please remember the Annual conference September 23 -25 in Lancaster, SC; I pray that you will join us either in person or via the web.

This month’s recommended book is The Coming Shift by Larry Randolph

Ministry Tips and Tools – Spiritual Gifts – Part 2

Today we continue our look at Spiritual Gifts found in Romans 12: 4-8. These gifts have variously been called Grace Gifts, Motivational Gifts or Foundation Gifts.

Romans 12: 4-8

For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, 5 so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. 6 Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith; 7 or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching; 8 he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness. NKJV

God has given each believer one or more of these gifts.   Many believers exhibit more than one gift, but almost always one is dominant. Each gift affects the way that a person views all ministries. Because we all view ministry through our gifting, we find that some gifted saints can offend differently gifted folks if they do not take time to understand each other’s giftings.

Therefore, I am not going to teach these gifts in the order given, but will compare the gifts that tend to offend each other.

In our last Tips and Tools, we learned about:

Gift of Prophecy compared to the Gift of Mercy:

Gift of Ministry (Serving) compared to the Gift of Leadership (Administration)

Today we will look at the gifts of Teaching compared to Exhortation; and finish with the gift of Giving.

Gift of Teaching: The Teaching gifted derives great joy from studying the Word and doing Biblical research.

Characteristics of the Teaching Motivated:

  1. They want everyone else to be excited by the Scriptures
  2. They enjoy studying the word as much or more than presenting their findings to others.
  3. They prefer to use Biblical examples and rarely use personal experiences.
  4. They are watchful that others who teach the Word do not deviate from the truth.
  5. They present truth systematically.
  6. They use Biblical foundations to test new truths. They know that the Bible is not self-contradictory; it always flows together, and if a new teaching contradicts foundational biblical truth, it is false teaching and should be ignored

Guidelines for teaching motivated people:

  1. Be careful to present material in an interesting fashion.
  2. Make sure the lessons have practical applications.
  3. Teach with humility and compassion: because teachers love to spend time in the Word, they often become very knowledgeable about it. This may lead to a prideful attitude.

Gift of Exhortation very strongly life-related; drawing upon the practical applications of life experiences to produce abundant living in others.

Characteristic of the Exhortation Motivated:

  1. They like to give others “Steps of Activity” to follow to bring them out of their misery, trials and tribulations.
  2. They like for teaching from God’s Word to be applicable to everyday living.
  3. They give practical applications.
  4. They want you to relate to the subject matter and incorporate it into your daily life.
  5. They are very perceptive to others’ reactions.
  6. They like to relate personal examples to Biblical truths.
  7. They love to counsel others and give others new insights into the Word so they can practice it and see changes in their lives.

Guidelines for exhortation motivated people:

  1. Be sensitive to the Lord’s Exhorters may tend to emphasize their action steps more than stressing depending on the Lord who gives the steps.
  2. Have faith in God. If the people to whom exhorters minister do not follow their advice, the exhorters may feel that they have failed God.
  3. Be careful not to take Scripture out of context. Sometimes exhorters want so badly to prove their points that they may twist Scripture to fit the example they are giving.

Teachers are very protective of God’s word. They will be the first ones to point out to a preacher if he misquotes a Scripture or takes a Scripture out of context. So if an exhorter takes a scripture out of context, it can bother and upset a teacher. One of my gifts is exhortation so I will give a personal example of how an exhorter can offend a teacher. Recently I was preparing one of my teachings and was tired and could not get the word for the point I was trying to make, so I got sloppy and just threw in a word. Now Judy Covington (the teacher) reviews all my teachings. When she saw what I wrote she immediately challenged me saying that’s not what the Scripture says and suggested another word. And of course she was right. Teachers will protect the word of God; exhorters must not take the Word of God out of context.

Gift of Giving: Means to share spiritual gifts, finances, oneself and the gospel.

Characteristics of the Giving motivated:

  1. They not only offer their money, but also their time and themselves to the Lord’s work.
  2. They feel they are part of any ministry into which they give. They may not be involved with the day-to day activities of all the ministries to which they give, but they feel they are knit together spiritually with those ministries
  3. They are very burdened that the church or ministry’ financial needs are met.
  4. They do not like to be pressured into giving. They are often offended when they receive an appeal letter from ministers or ministries.
  5. They give high quality gifts, often giving the best and keeping lesser quality items for themselves.

Guideline for giving motivated people:

  1. Remember that God is your source and do not use your gifts for manipulation.
  2. Remember that others may need encouragement to give.
  3. Maintain balance in your giving. Do not go to extremes – do not neglect your family’s needs.
  4. Be careful not to help someone who God is trying to discipline in the area of finances. Pray before you give to individuals or organizations to make sure God want you to do so. Do not give because it makes your flesh feel good; make sure it is where God wants to sow His resources through you.

I pray that these teachings will give you some food for thought as you “cultivate your giftings in the Spirit”. This is the theme for this year’s annual conference. We will be teaching and discussing more about cultivating your giftings at the annual conference. On Friday afternoon, we have scheduled a time for small groups so you can give your wisdom on this important subject.

I look forward to seeing you at the Annual Conference which is September 23-25 in Lancaster, South Carolina. Please go to our website www.tmciworld.com for more information.

Be Blessed,

Bishop Bob Coulter

Recommended book: Know Your Ministry by Marilyn Hickey

 

 

Ministry Tips and Tools – Spiritual Gifts – Part 1

Let’s take a look at the spiritual gifts found in Romans 12: 4-8. These gifts have variously been called Grace Gifts, Motivational Gifts or Foundation Gifts.

Rom 12:4-8

For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, 5 so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. 6 Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith; 7 or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching; 8 he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness. NKJV

God has given each believer one or more of these gifts. Many believers exhibit more than one gift, but almost always one is dominant. Each gift affects the way that a person views all ministries. Because we all view ministry through our gifting, we find that some gifted saints can offend differently gifted folks if they do not take time to understand each other giftings.

Therefore, I am not going to teach these gifts in the order given but will compare those gifts that tend to offend specific others. Some of the teaching is from Know Your Ministry by Marilyn Hickey.

Gift of Prophecy: Prophecy means speaking forth the Word of God.

Characteristic of the Prophecy Motivated People:

  1. They are very frank and direct verbally. They are not afraid to point out weakness in others and are very eager to have their own weakness exposed as well.
  2. They have the ability to discern others’ true motives.
  3. They want to see outward evidence of change in those who say they repented. They do not simply accept the word of the “changer” but want to see fruit in action as well.

Guidelines for Prophecy Motivated People:

1.Be certain to speak the truth in love. Watch the tone of your voice.

2.Guard against rigidity. God may have more than one way to accomplish his goals.

  1. Do not become legalistic.

Gift of Mercy: is the outward manifestation of pity

Characteristics of the Mercy Motivated People:

1 They are eager to show mercy.

2 They rebuke others only when it is absolutely necessary.

  1. They have the ability to discern others’ true motives.
  2. They prefer to minister to emotional needs rather than physical needs.

5 They are sensitive to others’ reactions to spiritual events.

Guidelines for Mercy Motivated people:

  1. Allow God to deal with others’ offenses. Do not assume others ‘offenses . 2. Make decisions based on the Word of God, not on emotions.
  2. Exercise caution when ministering to members of the opposite sex. You may become too involved and cause further injury or problems or your deep concern may be misunderstood.
  3. Make an effort to fellowship with a variety of people. Mercy motivated people are inclined only to fellowship with others who are also mercy-motivated.

Those with prophecy and mercy motivated gifts tend to offended each other because to their very different approaches to ministry. Prophecy people tend to be very vocal and blunt in dealing with people, whereas the mercy motivated want to coax people into repentance and tend to be much more mild mannered when ministering to people. A mercy motivated person can be offended by the harsh way the prophecy motivated person speaks to a person: the prophecy motivated can be offended because they think the Mercy motivated person is coddling the person. Both have the ability to discern others’ true motives, but their approach in dealing with the person differs. The kingdom needs both approaches. Sometimes some need a “kick in the pants” and sometimes they just need a hug.

Gift of Ministry (Serving): is the gift which motivates the gifted to meet the practical needs in the church.

Characteristics of the Serving Motivated People:

  1. They are willing to work physically almost to the point of exhaustion.
  2. They will accept any challenge and stick with it to completion even if it means forfeiting hours of their personal time.
  3. They prefer to work on projects that yield immediate results.

Guidelines for Serving Motivated People

  1. Guard against taking on too many projects – you may be taking away someone else’s opportunity for ministry. Make certain God has called you to do the task that you are performing.
  2. Do your work for the Lord and not for man’s approval.
  3. Keep your priorities straight. Sometimes severs become so task-oriented that they neglect their personal relationship with God.
  4. Be careful not to interfere with God’s dealings with others. Sometimes a server will leap in to help someone whom God is trying to teach a lesson.

Gift of Leadership (Administration) is the ability to lead and direct others. Through their God-given leadership ability, the leadership motivates and facilitates tasks for the rest of the body of Christ.

Characteristics of the Leadership Motivated People:

  1. They can visualize long range goals.
  2. They love challenge and know what steps are needed to meet the challenge.
  3. They love to implement steps needed to meet goals.
  4. They gain satisfaction from achieving goals and involving other to help meet them.
  5. They are aware of the available resources to complete a task.
  6. They are not overly sensitive to criticism; they are concerned with achieving goals, not pleasing people.

Guidelines for Leadership Motivated people:

  1. Watch your people skills. Remember people are more important than projects.
  2. Remember to be sensitive to others. Leaders like to complete tasks swiftly and may at times appear to be insensitive to others’ schedules and priorities.
  3. Explain why certain tasks are necessary. Not everyone can see the long term goals
  4. Use your giftings. Leaders will often wait until asked to get involved in projects.
  5. In the beginning supervise your projects closely. Leaders tend to delegate their responsibilities too quickly

Leadership and serving gifts tend to offend each other. The server sometime thinks the leader is lazy because he’s not doing the physical labor. If possible, the leader should get involved in some of the physical work to set an example. Because servers do not visualize the long term goals, they may get discouraged. Therefore it is good for the leader to set short term goals and celebrate each as it is reached to encourage the servers.

My next Tips and Tools will complete the teaching on gifts and will include the gifts of Teaching, Exhortation and Giving.

Be Blessed,

Bishop Bob Coulter

Recommended book: Know Your Ministry by Marilyn Hickey

 

 

 

Ministry Tips and Tools-Thoughts on Spiritual Leadership

Kenneth Gangel writes, “The Christian leader understands that he functions to facilitate the ministry of others. He does what he must do in order that they may do what God has called them to do.”

Eph 4:11-12 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ,

The main call on leadership is found in Ephesian 4: 11 and 12. The fivefold ministry is to equip believers to do the work of the ministry. We, as leaders, are called not to make converts only, but more importantly to make disciples of Jesus Christ. Not to make members for our church or ministry but to make disciples for Christ and release them for ministry. The church as a whole has emphasized making converts, but too many of these saved persons are being left on their own and, when tribulation comes, they falter because they have not been discipled. That is why the American church is so weak. We stopped making disciples and moved into entertainment and “feel good” teaching. We need to go back and train people and release them for ministry so that the kingdom of God is advanced: not just our church or ministry but the Kingdom of God!

Leith Anderson writes “The Church is caught in tensions. Our society is changing, economic, business and political realities are in constant flux. As a people, we feel this pressure ceaselessly. Yet as individuals, we resist change, feeling more secure with a stable environment. This constant pressure from society to change and the tendency for individuals to resist change create tension.

Matt 28:19-20 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.

There is no doubt that we live in a time of great chaos. We sometimes wish we could go back to the time when things seemed more stable in our lives. Because of that we sometimes resist change of any kind in our church. We would like to be like a ship moored in the harbor. It is safe, nothing can affect it. But in reality, ships were not made for harbors, but for the open sea where there are strong winds and large waves that bring danger. As Christians, we must do what Jesus told us. “Go”. Not to sit and wait. But to go and preach the gospel to all. We must go outside our church and comfort zone and share boldly the love of God by our actions and words.

 

Kennon Callahan writes “The watershed question for many people in many congregations is….Do we believe that our best years are behind us, or do we believe that our best years are before us. Either way, it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.

1 Cor 2:9 But as it is written: “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.”

As leaders, we must believe in what God called us to do. We must have a passion for the call on our lives. If we do not believe in what we are doing, no one else will. It is our leadership and enthusiasm that people will follow. Too many times, leaders let past success hold them back as they try to stay in an old anointing. God is on the move and we must move with him. We must act on the revelation God gives us today.

Leith Anderson: “Great leaders excel amid adversity. Do not resent tough times. Do not mark off the days until problems will be over. It is in hardship that we learn endurance. It is in adversity that we have our greatest opportunities to lead.”

I remember when I first read James 1:2 My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials. I thought I had misread that! It is in adversity that we grow as we learn to trust God for our solutions. Every successful ministry has had some failures. But we learn from our mistakes and move on with God. Ministry will have highs and lows. At one time God is blessing and things are flowing smoothly, at other times things slow down and problems are everywhere. Where we grow most is during the difficult times as God continue to mold us into the persons He needs for the next upward move in our lives. As leaders, we must remain positive as God moves us to new ministries. Many people ask God to make things easy for them. A better prayer would be to ask God to make you a better person.

I am reminded of 2 Thess 1:3-4 as Paul wrote about the Thessalonians: We ought always to thank God for you, brothers, and rightly so, because your faith is growing more and more, and the love every one of you has for each other is increasing. 4 Therefore, among God’s churches we boast about your perseverance and faith in all the persecutions and trials you are enduring.

As the Thessalonians we must have a good report as we go through difficult times in our ministry.

Peter Drucker: “There is no correlation between potential and performance. There are lots of people with potential that do nothing with it. What counts is performance. Great leaders do something.

James 1:22-25 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; 24 for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. 25 But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.

As leaders, God has called us to be doers, not triers. We are called to be steadfast in our calling. One religious way that I have seen leaders avoid taking action on a problem is this phrase. “Let pray about it” Yes, I say, “Let pray about it” As you know I am in favor of prayer, but most of the time what they are really saying is “let us hope the problem goes away before we meet again”. Yes, pray about it, but act on the problem. Problems do not go away on their own. One must act under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, but act we must.

In the next Tips and Tools, I will start a two part teaching on the Spiritual Gifts found in Roman12:4-8. I will be sharing on the positives and negatives of these gifts and how someone with one gift might offend another with a different gift.

Keep your thoughts on Christ and the promises he has for you,

Bishop Bob Coulter

The book I recommend this month is The Richest Man who ever lived by Steven K. Scott

Cultivating Your Giftings in the Spirit ~ 9/23-25/2015 TMCI Annual Conference

2015 Conference Dates – September 23rd, 24th, and 25th


REGISTER HERE: BOGO http://www.tfaforms.com/378856

LOCATION
Christian Assembly Worship Center (Marvin Tennant, Host Pastor)
542 Lancaster Bypass East,
Lancaster, SC 29720 | MAP
HOTEL
CONFERENCE HOTEL: Ask for TMCI Conference Rate
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114 Commerce Blvd  Lancaster, SC 29720
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KNOW and Cultivate your Purpose and Benefits as Believers and Servant Leaders
And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
Why does He give these special abilities to certain people to excel in certain things?
It is so that God’s people will be equipped to best work for him, building up the Church, the body of Christ, in strength and maturity;  until finally we all believe as He does about our salvation and about our Savior, God’s Son, and all become full-grown in the Lord—yes, filled full with Christ.
(Ephesians 4:11-13)
CULTIVATE the Gifts of the Spirit
Word of wisdom (1 Cor. 12:8; Luke 6:9) Word of knowledge (1 Cor. 12:8; Luke 18:22) Faith (1 Cor. 12:9; Acts 3:6) Gifts of healing (1 Cor. 12:9, 28; Acts 28:1-10) Working of miracles (1 Cor. 12:10; Acts 6:8) Prophecy (1 Cor. 12:10; 1 Thess. 5:20-21; Eph. 4:11) Discerning of spirits (1 Cor. 12:10; Luke 8:29) Tongues (1 Cor. 12:10; Acts 19:6) Interpretation of tongues (1 Cor. 12:10; 14:13-33) Helping (1 Cor. 12:28) Administration (1 Cor. 12:28; Acts 6:2-3) Ministry/service (Rom. 12:7; 2 Tim. 1:16-18) Teaching (Rom. 12:7; Eph. 4:11-14) Encouragement (Rom. 12:8; Heb. 10:24-25) Giving (Rom. 12:8; 1 Cor. 13:3; Acts 4:32-35) Leadership (Rom. 12:8; Acts 13:12) Mercy (Rom. 12:8; Luke 5:12-13) Apostleship (Eph. 4:11) Evangelism (Eph. 4:11; 2 Tim. 4:5)  Pastoral guidance (Eph. 4:11) Grace (Rom. 12:6; Eph. 3:7; 4:7; 1 Pet. 4:10-11) Willingness to face martyrdom (1 Cor. 13:3) Intercession (Rom. 8:26-27) Hospitality (1 Pet. 4:9) Celibacy (1 Cor. 7:8)
HEART-itude
I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.