Stay The Course

As a minister of the gospel, It is always encouraging to see people surrounding you and standing by you when you wake up every day. One of the worst things a minister of the gospel can experience is to be deserted or forsaken by those the Lord has called him to lead. I have seen many men of God fall into depression, and some even died, when the ministry God gave unto them collapsed, and those whom the Lord has called them to lead deserted them for one reason or another. Jesus experienced this after feeding the five thousand; John the Baptist experienced this after Jesus started his ministry. John took it in good faith because his ministry dwindled for the right reason. Jesus asked the disciples if they would also not leave after the crowd left, to which Peter replied, “Where shall we go, you have the word of life.” The same word was why those who left Jesus did so. They said his teachings were too hard.

One of the reasons people leave is because someone like Judas, who has been with a minister and tried hard to push himself into a place of prominence or visibility, would suddenly take offence and start besmirching the reputation of the minister and his ministry. People usually depend on the recommendation of others (word of mouth) in order to buy a product, trust a service provider, or stay in a ministry. When those who are supposed to be close to the minister begin to say bad things about the minister, it shakes the faith of many, and without giving the minister the benefit of the doubt, he or she will see some people departing.

There is no successful minister of the gospel in the world who has not experienced this in one form or another. What you must learn is this: in order to be healthy as a tree of life, you must be pruned constantly. Pruning is the selective removal of a plant’s parts (branches, buds, roots) to improve its health, shape, safety, and productivity. It is done by cutting away dead, diseased, damaged, or unwanted material to encourage vigorous growth, better structure, and more blooms or fruit. If your ministry is not pruned constantly, it will have too many unproductive branches drawing from the resources of the tree, and this will affect the growth of all the other branches and the productivity of the ministry as a whole.

You should look forward to being pruned, especially if you are preaching and teaching the gospel of grace and not the gospel of self or popularity. Jesus didn’t preach in order to keep the crowd; he preached in order to transform lives. (He chose quality over quantity) Many ministers would rather have quantity, many people, or a crowd in their ministries to prove to the world that they are successful. All over the world, the number of followers you have is an indication of how successful or influential you are in life. This shouldn’t be so, but sadly it is. It is, however, better to have members who know the word of God for themselves and are growing in grace than members who are in your ministry because they like you, admire you, or want you to elevate them or endorse them or marry you, or see you as their meal ticket. If you raise members who are fed with the Word of life, the best character assassination campaign will not shake you. If you raise members who surround you because you are handsome or speak good English or have money, etc., you are sitting on a keg of gunpowder on a raging sea.

Remember that those who left Jesus ate bread and then decided to make him King. As long as you gather those whose agenda for being with you is for their own welfare, you truly do not have anyone. They will leave when you refuse to give them free bread. Beware of those who, out of nowhere, force themselves into positions of prominence around you. Those who understand the theory of Prominence by Association. They want to be seen as your right-hand man or woman, and they buy their way or force their way into that space overnight. They will be your Brutus one day, with a sharpened knife, they will stab you in the back, and tell those around you that you deserve it. Those who have fed on the word of life will not be moved by their wickedness, but the superficial ones will follow such a person out of the door Keep away from people’s money.

One of the worst things to ever depend on as a minister of the gospel is the purse of your followers. You have a duty to fill their purses, not to deplete them. If you depend on their purses, the richest ones become an easy target for those who desire to destroy you. You must choose those who will be in your inner circle. Do not allow anyone to choose himself or volunteer or buy his or her way in, or tell you, “God told him to serve in your ministry or in your council.” If you are single, it is best to get married for your own safety. Being single as a minister, especially if you become quite prominent, will make all sorts of ladies who are looking to get married flock to your ministry with the hope of marrying you. Many of them will begin to see visions, hear from the lord, receive prophecies, and dream dreams simply because they see the void and desire to fill it. “Hell hath no fury as a woman scorned.” Live your life to please the Lord. Do not cave in to the demands of any man or woman who says, “This is how it is done, or this is the tradition we know.” Follow the Holy Spirit’s guidance alone. Stick to your Audience of One.

Finally, Jesus said it is normal for people to drag you on Social media, revile you, persecute you, disdain you, insult you, mock you, and say all manner of evil things about you as long as it is for the sake of the gospel. This is nothing new, so grow some thick skin and welcome to the party. We are not in this to be popular; we are in this to change the world.