NOTE:  The post is significantly different from most of my articles.  This a personal letter of encouragement I wrote to a young pastor I was mentoring (He and his wife have now been pastoring that same church for much longer than I did).  I

wrote the letter to him in December 2006, some 13 years ago.  I find it is still good information. It is worth the read for anyone in the ministry – or who wants to to be in the ministry.  Please feel free to insert your name into the letter – for I would say the same thing to your today. I trust it impacts your life and ministry in a powerful way.  Be Blessed,  Steve.

December 2006

Dear J—-,

Greetings in the Most Holy and precious name of Jesus.  I used to think that phrases like that were silly sentiments, but the older I get the more I understand how truly precious, holy, and powerful His name really is.  It is the name abo

ve every other name.  It is the name to which we have the privilege of worshiping, bowing to, and calling on in a time of need.  Jesus has lent us His name to call for the resources of heaven, to run into in a time of trouble, to use as a definitive weapon against all the powers of hell. Above all things – honor the name, love the name, learn the name and use the name of Jesus.  God has placed more in that NAME than we really know.

I have genuinely enjoyed watching you grow in grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ over the past 1 ½ years.  I know you have walked with the Lord for a long time, but God takes us to places for special seasons in our lives.  I believe [our town] is a divine appointment for you; a season of growth and fruitfulness; a place where God could take you to the next level in your life and ministry.  One thing for sure is that you will never forget your time at [our town]. It has been an awesome time of faith, obedience, grace, learning and usefulness.  I appreciate you more than you know.  Your faithfulness to me, the church and the call placed on your life by the Holy Spirit has been encouraging to me as well as inspirational.

I wanted to write to you to encourage you as you move into a new year.  God does not wear a wristwatch.  He is unmoved by the tiny elements of time which control our lives – seconds, minutes, and hours. He never gets in a hurry.  Time is a man-made concept.  A day with the Lord is as 1000 years and 1000 years as a day.  Learn to wait.  They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength.  God’s plans are so grand they can not be accomplished in a day, week, month or sometimes even a year.  God, as the master strategist, moves satan around like a pawn to accomplish His own agenda.  We too are pieces on God’s chessboard … not pawns though, we’re kings and queens, knights and rooks and bishops.  We’re the power pieces that get the job done.  You might notice that a chess set has 8 pawns of limited power (like the devil), however, the Rook, knight, and bishop only have two each; and each one of those moves and acts and functions in a different way.

How much like the gifts and callings of God these are?  God uses different people in different ways, moving us around the chessboard of this world, forming a strategy of ultimate defeat for the devil.  God, knowing the power and ability of each piece, knows just where to place us in relation to the other playing pieces to affect strategic victory.  The grand checkmate comes when the King Himself returns to finish the devil off once and for all.  We will be a part of that glorious victory if we do not become weary in well-doing.

The Bible tells us that Jesus will descend from heaven with a shout.  It doesn’t say for sure, but it just might be “CHECKMATE!”  I long to hear, “well done my good and faithful servants.”  I hope I am standing close to you when that happens.

Of all the pieces I think you are a Bishop.  The bishop in the Bible is an overseer, one who watches over God’s heritage.  Paul said that he has espoused the church to Jesus as a chaste virgin.  He saw his role as the “best man.”  One in whom the groom trusted to take care of the bride; to protect her and prepare her.  Paul claimed he never touched the bride of Christ for his own pleasure.  Always remember this one thing – as leaders, pastors, bishops and shepherds – the church belongs to Jesus Christ. He is a jealous God.  Too many people today claiming to be pastors, prophets, teachers, evangelists and apostles are using the Bride of Christ for their own gratification.  They lust after her affections and money.  They long for the power to control her, to use her and to make a profit from her.  They prepare the church for their own glory, not for Jesus’.  But I trust we are not like that – you and me.  I trust that I have demonstrated for you (although imperfectly many times) the role of a pastor: Faithfulness to the Bridegroom to prepare a Bride for His glory.

Like chess, no single piece can defeat the enemy alone.  It takes at least two pieces to win. The best one can do alone is a stalemate.  Too many of God’s people settle for a stalemate; rather than a win.  God created the Body of Christ to work together in unity, we need each other – always have and always will: God made it so.

When Jesus returned to heaven, He gave gifts to men.  He literally broke his perfect divine ministry into parts we now call the 5-fold ministry.  Remember that it is not “your ministry,” but rather His ministry through you.

Successful strategies on the chessboard take each piece’s unique strength into consideration and use them in conjunction with each other to back the devil into a corner and defeat him.  So goes the kingdom of God.  As you progress in leadership remember to always allow God to build a team around you, no matter if you are a leader or a team member.  Refuse the urge to collect or group with people just like yourself.  Allow God to build diversity in the long run, it will take a combination of each gift, personality, and ministry to get the job done.

It is so much easier (we think) to get talented, like-minded people.   But if we look at the example of Jesus, he collected an eclectic, ragtag group that was diverse in personality, philosophy and education.  For the most part they were “ignorant and unlearned fishermen.”  But it was noted that they had “been with Jesus.” There is always the tendency to discount those that God puts in your care and ultimately on your team.  Try not to “judge in the flesh,” but “judge righteous judgment.”  God is a better judge of potential then we are (since he knows the beginning from the end.)

One of the greatest things you can do for a person is to believe in them, even when they can’t believe in themselves.  I had someone do that for me.  It makes all the difference.  In order to do that we must see the overwhelming ability of God to impact and change a person.  God can change anyone – look at you and me.  Pray for people until they can pray for themselves.

I hear one scripture ringing in my spirit for you as I write.

“For you have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise.”  Heb 10:36

There are several key thoughts here.  Of course, the main one is “patience”.  Not our most favorite word.  Patience is probably one of the most difficult virtues to develop (right after humility).  As you become more and more a leader, patience is an absolute necessity. As leaders our impatience can destroy people; impatience will slow personal growth in people; impatience that our grand plans and schemes aren’t moving faster.  Be an example to the flock in all things, especially patience. “Don’t let anyone think less of you because you are young. Be an example to all believers in what you teach, in the way you live, in your love, your faith, and your purity.”  I Tim. 4:12

Impatience causes us to take short cuts and make compromises.  It can also cause us to overlook people that might be a significant part of God’s plan.  It can create offenses in us and others. Always remember that in, general, God’s people are more important than our goals and plans.

The second important concept in this verse is “after”.  We usually must do something first.  That is where faith comes in. You will often have to step out on faith.  You’ll find yourself convinced of things that you (and others) can’t see and it will require risk.  We often want to know new ventures, radical ideas and new directions will work out before we start.  Therefore it is so much easier to stay with tradition because even if it is not really working as well as we like, it is at least familiar and predictable.  God is raising up people who can not take “church as is” anymore.  But keep in mind, if we rush ahead without bringing people along with us, we still won’t have much when we get there.

We’ll have to step out, take risks, and be willing to be more spontaneous. Religion requires following a predictable order.  Discipleship requires following the Spirit.  Be willing to “do” before you get to the “receive” part.  But never forget about the receiving part.  Hebrews tells us that “He that comes to God must believe…that He is a REWARDER of those that diligently seek Him.”  I believe God is pleased when we believe in the reward as much as we believe anything else in His word.

You will find there will be sometimes you won’t know what to do.  That’s okay.  Don’t panic.  God will come through.  David Wilkerson preached a message I heard a long time ago titled, The Making of a Man of God.  It was about the things God takes us through in our journey to usefulness.  One part particularly stood out: God will take you through your Night of Confusion.  Sir John of the Cross called it “The Dark Night of the Soul.”

Thankfully they seem to be limited, but when you enter one it can be excruciating to your flesh.  There are two things to keep in mind here.  The first is that the purpose of these periods is to totally separate us to God.  All the things that define us seem to disappear and we are left with a raw dependency on God.  This is not a bad thing, regardless of what your flesh seems to think.

When Mary left and I moved from Oberlin to LeCompton, everything that had defined my life for several years was gone.  My marriage, my ministry, my career was all non- existent. I didn’t even have a house to live in.  I was reduced to being “a child of God.”

Too often we let external things define us.  God wants us to remember that our most important role among all the others we have (husband, minister, employee, manager, father, son, brother, etc) is that of a Son (or Daughter) of God.  That is the thing that must define everything else we do.  It is these “dark” times that bring us back to that.

The second thing to remember about the “Dark Night of the Soul” is that “joy comes in the morning.”  The night never lasts.  God is light.  He will not leave us in darkness.  He will bring us into the light again.  I pray you never have to go through “the night of confusion,” but, with David Wilkerson, I am more realistic than that.  It is just part of the package. Since I can’t stop it from happening, I wanted to give you some insight on how to handle it and come through it a better Son of God.

One last thing: I think we can determine how long our “night” might be by how we respond.  Faith, obedience, and yielding shorten those times dramatically it seems.  Good luck!

Here are a few things to remember.  An eclectic collection of saying from me and others:

• Learn to please people without being a “people pleaser.”
• Have devotion, not just devotions.
• Don’t just serve, be a servant.
• God would rather have servants who lead than leaders who serve.
• Find a good sheepdog!  They are a big help.
• Everyone needs three basic relationships:  A couple of Pauls to mentor us, no matter how old and wise we get; A larger group of Barnabus’ to walk with us as friends and peers, A few Timothys to pour ourselves into.
• Worship passionately, pray fervently, serve faithfully, and believe completely.
• Our job is to preach the Kingdom, Jesus said He’d build His Church
• If you are going to be used by God, you are going to be used by people.
• If your disciples never outgrow you, when you die the church goes backward.
• “Onward and upward, further up and further in.”  C.S. Lewis
• “Spiritual warfare starts with the name of Jesus on your lips and ends with the nature of Jesus in your heart.”  Frances Frangipane
• If you can’t run, walk.  If you can’t walk, crawl.  If you can’t crawl, drag yourself along on your bleeding elbows.  Just don’t stop and you’ll get there.
• “Every earthly plan, that be known to man, He is unconcerned, because he has plans of His own, to set up His throne when He returns.”  When He Returns, Bob Dillon  (Never forget, Jesus wins and so do we if we endure to the end.)

Well J—-, I pray with all my heart that somewhere in this missive you will have found a few things that will make a difference, a few things that will change you, and a few things that will radically transform your life and ministry.  Our ministries are pretty much worthless if we don’t aim at transforming others.

I encourage you to pull this letter out from time to time and reread it.  You will find at different times in your life different things will stand out to you as your life progresses through various stages.  I trust the Lord to have provided encouragement and a few answers in advance, even if you are not sure of all the questions yet.

And now I finish with a prayer and a blessing.

Dear Jesus, I bring my brother J—– to you right now.  I ask that you protect him, body, soul, and spirit.  I pray that you will perfect that which concerns him.  I pray that you will work everything in his life according to the counsel of your own will.  I place a blessing on him as one ordained by God to do so.  I pronounce peace!  I speak spiritual authority to him.  I pray the spirit of wisdom and revelation you’ve given me be imparted to him.  Open the Word of God to him as never before.  Grant him patience, love and faith.  Give Him favor with God and man.  I pray that, as John the Baptist, he “prepares the way of the Lord” in the lives of those he ministers to.  But most of all Father, I ask that you walk with him as a friend and that he comes to know you in a greater way than ever before.  That he learns to hear your heartbeat and know your thoughts.  AMEN!

My Bother J—- be blessed with all spiritual blessing in the heavenlies in Christ Jesus.

Another grape on the vine,

Bro. Steve