Gospel Ministry is Spiritual Warfare

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A prayer I wrote using quotes from chapter 6 - War -  of Paul Tripp's Lead:12 Gospel Principles for Leadership In the Church

Lord, the victorious one,

Remind me that I need to battle for theological faithfulness, gospel purity, and methodological integrity but even more than that I need to remember that Gospel ministry is a war for leaders' hearts.

Help me and the leadership community I am part of to be always watchful and alert to the spiritual dangers of life in a fallen world and life as a church or ministry leader.  Don't allow pride in ministry achievements to put me in danger.

Thank you for suffering for our victory and for caring more about the health, safety, and success of his church than we ever will.

Help me not be satisfied with a certain level of spiritual growth in the people you have brought into my life.  I pray that I, and those I lead to long for more people to come into the kingdom.

God, I pray that you would help me stand against a leader whom we have regularly stood with when needed to protect the gospel, the church, and the leader.  I also pray you would bring people into my life who would be willing to do the same.  

Finally, I pray that my desire for good things will not morph to become dangerous things because they have become ruling things.

Amen.

"Leadership in the church of Jesus Christ is not just a battle for theological faithfulness, gospel purity, and methodological integrity; it is also a war for the heart of every leader."  (116)

A spiritually healthy leadership community is always watchful and alert to the spiritual dangers of life in a fallen world and life as a church or ministry leader."  (122)

"Pride in ministry achievements puts you in battle danger."  (123)

"Any failure in a leader to live in a way that is humble and alert leads that leader nowhere good."  (123)

"We have been called to lead by a victorious Savior, who suffered for our victory and who cares more about the health, safety, and success of his church than we ever will."  (123)

"Gospel dissatisfaction - not satisfied with a certain level of spiritual growth in the people God has called us to lead, longing for more people to come into the kingdom, and working to see more churches planted."  (124)

"There are moments when, because of what we have heard and learned, we need to lovingly stand against a leader whom we have regularly stood with.  With the goal of protection, we must stand in his way, refusing to endorse or support something that is either spiritually dangerous or evidence that the enemy has already won a victory in this leader's heart."  (125)

"Spiritual warfare, if it's as normal as the Bible presents it, must always be on our ministry agenda."  (125)

"Desires for good things morph to become dangerous things because they have become ruling things."  (126)

What Is Important to God

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A prayer I wrote using quotes from chapter 5 - Character - of Paul Tripp's Lead  

Lord God, may what is important to you be important to me.  Help us find a ministry that is functioning with you as the most important goal and audience.  We are very thankful to be at Trinity, where this is the case and help us in making decisions about the future.

I pray the church you would have us at would be shaped by Gospel values not merely the gifts of its leaders or their strategic plans but by you.

Help me and your church regularly ask "Is what's important to God still important to us?"  May we not only ask the question but also take the time to honestly evaluate life and ministry with this question and the Bible.

God make me into a leader who is more concerned with godly character rather than results production.  God, my hope is not in me getting it right but in you, who never forsakes your sanctifying work.

Amen.

Quotes from Chapter 5

"The values of a leadership community shape the way the community thinks about and approaches its work, and, more importantly, the way each member views and relates to all the other members."  (101)

"A leadership community is spiritually safe and prepared for a long term and productive life of ministry only when what is important to God is not just theologically important to them but also functionally important."  (102)

"The life and work of a leadership community is shaped not just by the gifts of its leaders, their vast experience, the force of their public personalities, entrepreneurial skill, or vision and strategic planning, but most importantly by their values."  (101)

"It is important for a ministry leadership community to keep asking the question, "Is what's important to God still important to us?"  (101)

"There are times when we are more attracted to big personality, powerful communicating, and result-producing leaders than to persons of beautiful character."  (104)

"No matter your ministry, your leadership position, the daily tasks that have been assigned to you, or you, or the leaders who stand and work with you, it is this gospel that must be in your mind and fill your heart moment by moment as you do your work."  (107)

"Leaders can't think of themselves first as ambassadors of the church or ministry they lead or as ambassadors of a particular strategic plan or as ambassadors of personal ministry career goals.  They must lead with the knowledge that the thing God values most in a leader is that he or she represents him well.  In every task, in every relationship, in public or in private, we are called to an ambassadorial mentality, to ambassadorial values, and to ambassadorial functioning."  (107)

"All our attitudes and actions must be measured by our call to faithfully represent the character of the one who sent us."  (108)

"Every leadership community needs to recognize that ministry is an intersection of many competing and conflicting motivations."  (109)

"A leader whose heart has been captured by other things doesn't forsake ministry to pursue those other things; he uses ministry position, power, authority, and trust to get those things." (110)

"The reason we are often way too passive in the face of troubling evidence in the attitudes and actions of a leader is that way too often, performance trumps character."  (111)

"No leader should be permitted to drive away fellow leaders who have godly concerns."  (112)

"Our hope is not that we will always get it right but that God will never forsake his sanctifying work."  (113)