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 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I started preaching at the age of 13. Growing up, I had to
learn many things about Christian life and ministry by just
journeying with God. In addition, an important habit I
developed early on was to read good Christian books. Reading
these books, along with listening to the preaching and teaching
of many ministers of God, and observing people, churches and
ministries became an extended training ground for ministry.
It has been 30 years since that small beginning, and I am still
learning. I know I owe a lot to many ministers of God through
whom I have been nurtured, even if it has been in an indirect
way, by reading their books, listening to their sermons and
observing their lives from a distance. Although I may never
meet many of them in person this side of heaven, my heart is
always grateful to them. What is shared here in this book is a
cumulative result of both my personal journey with God and
what I have learned from many ministers of God.
 DEDICATION
It is amazing to see what God is doing all over the world today.
He is raising up many young men and women, anointed by
the power of the Holy Spirit, filled with revelation knowledge
of His Word and is releasing them to affect communities,
cities and nations. There seems to be a sense of urgency, an
accelerated work of the Spirit happening everywhere. What
took previous generations a long time to learn, understand
and experience, today takes Christian young people to step
into these things a much lesser time. But along with this
arises the need to pass on godly wisdom and practical advice,
so that those being raised up do not make the same mistakes
previous generations made. This book is dedicated to new
and upcoming generations of men and women in Christian
ministry. May your lives and ministries flourish bearing
much fruit for His Kingdom without the pain, shame, delays
and detours that the previous generations experienced.
 THANK YOU, TEAM APC!
I would like to specially appreciate my team members—the
pastors, ministry leaders and volunteer teams—who serve at
All Peoples Church, Bangalore and at our outreach churches.
It is a privilege to work alongside all of you and labor together
in the Kingdom of God. It is such a delight to be among a
people who are constantly hungry for more of God, who are
pressing into God with all they have, who give their hundred
percent for His Kingdom’s cause, who pursue excellence,
integrity and purity. You are an amazing team! Thank you for
this wonderful opportunity to be on your team!
 CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

1. PERSONAL LIFE 3

2. FAMILY 31

3. PEOPLE 57

4. CONDUCT 97

5. PREACHING 113

6. ANOINTING 133

7. RESULTS 143

8. FELLOWSHIP 153

9. MONEY 167

10. WOMEN 183

11. FAME 199

 INTRODUCTION
Being a minister of the Lord Jesus Christ is exciting, very
rewarding, and yet, one of the most dangerous things to be
engaged in. The bar is set very high for our conduct in life and
ministry. The standards that we must consistently walk in are
not easy. In some cases, the consequences and repercussions
of violation can be very severe, not only to ourselves, but also
to the Body of Christ—to hundreds, perhaps millions who
may be influenced by our lives and ministry. James states that
even the Lord will hold us to a higher standard, “My brethren,
let not many of you become teachers, knowing that we shall
receive a stricter judgment.” (James 3:1).
I know that I have not been perfect in my journey thus
far. I have had my share of failures, mistakes, falls and bruises
along the way. It is only the mercy of God and the support
of God’s people that has kept me going. As I look at what is
happening in the Body of Christ worldwide, my heart aches
each time I hear of another failure, another misdoing by a
man or woman of God. Some of the mistakes I made, and
what I see others making, could have been avoided, if only we
had been forewarned on how to prevent them—if someone
had shared some godly advice, provided some wise guidance
that would have kept us away from trouble. In fact, the New
Testament is full of godly instructions for the minister of God
that we need to pay attention to. And if we do, we will save
ourselves and the thousands who are touched through our
lives. It is with this intent that this book is written—to help
myself and all of us as ministers of God.
 I know that in the Church today, where many of us are
pressing into more of the manifestation of God’s power,
anointing, signs and wonders, miracles and healings,
prophetic and the supernatural—a call to godly standards
of life and conduct may not be very popular. Preachers and
ministers are sought after more for what they can manifest
in one hour behind the pulpit than for the life that they live
off it. Although Paul preached and worked great miracles—
something we must all follow, he dared to challenge people
with statements such as “Imitate me, just as I also imitate
Christ” (1 Corinthians 11:1). He called attention not only to
the wisdom and anointing with which he ministered, but he
also dared to say, “Brethren, join in following my example,
and note those who so walk, as you have us for a pattern”
(Philippians 3:17). It is time for us as ministers of Christ to re-
establish standards of serving “God acceptably with reverence
and godly fear” (Hebrews 12:28).
2 John 1:8
Look to yourselves, that we do not lose those things we worked for, but
that we may receive a full reward.

Blessings!
Ashish Raichur
CODE OF HONOR

Personal Life
“For a bishop (a spiritual leader) must be blameless, as a steward of God, not self-
willed, not quick-tempered, not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for money,
but hospitable, a lover of what is good, sober-minded, just, holy, self-controlled,”

(Titus 1:7,8)

1 Chapter 1
 PERSONAL LIFE

2
CODE OF HONOR

1
PERSONAL LIFE
Christian ministry is more than a good show we put on during
Sunday services, prayer meetings, weekend seminars or at
crusades and conferences. It is more than an eloquent speech
or a motivational talk that we deliver to inspire and impress
people so that they keep coming back to listen to us. Ministry
is really an overflow of what God is doing in us personally.
If what we are doing in ministry is not an overflow of our
personal walk with God, then it is just another promotional
campaign, a cheap self-help motivational talk or just another
event management activity, which any unsaved person can do.
Most of us ministers tend to be very diligent in the early
days, when the scope of our ministry is still small, and we are
not well-known. We diligently read the Word, pray long, do
anything we need to do to get our ministry started. But, once
we are well-established, have gained a name and reputation,
have crowds of people coming to our services, it is so easy to
become slack, especially in the area where it matters most—
in our own personal lives.
Ethics has to do with moral code, values and principles.
While a code of conduct can be discussed and documented,
the standards of ethics itself does not provide the power
to keep them. The power to adhere to moral values and
principles comes from within each individual. Our power
to walk morally upright comes from our dependence on the
Lord Himself and through the grace He provides. No code

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 PERSONAL LIFE

of conduct, no teaching on ethics, no wise counsel or a set

of guidelines can help a Christian minister, who does not
take his or her personal walk with God seriously. This must
come from within us. The deep desire to pursue God and
hold oneself accountable in private life cannot be imposed
from the outside but must be a spontaneous response coming
from deep within, from a heart that has been gripped by God.
The standards that we discuss here are those we must hold
ourselves personally accountable to and choose to maintain
in our personal lives.

Schedule daily time in the secret place.

Matthew 6:6
But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut
your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your
Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.

True ministry is birthed in the secret place, where we

are in joyful communion with God through prayer, worship,
reading and meditating in His Word. In the secret place, it
is only you and God. There is no one else to impress, to pay
attention to or distract. It is in the secret place that God deals
with us, teaches us and does wonderful things with us. God
has promised that when we seek Him in the secret place, He
will “reward” us openly. What happens in public ministry
should really be the result of what has happened in private in
the secret place. Maintaining a consistent practice of private
communion with God inside the secret place is vital to the
minister of God. Our communion with God does not end
once we come out of the secret place. We carry our secret
place with us—in our hearts—wherever we go, all day long.
So, we continue in day-long communion with God. Ministry
is simply passing on to others what we are receiving and
experiencing in our relationship with the Lord.

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CODE OF HONOR

It takes discipline to maintain a consistent life of secret

place communion with God. While there are many forms of
discipline, true discipline is the product of pure delight. When
we delight in God and fellowship with Him, a consistent life
of secret place communion happens “naturally.”
We must always stay hungry for more of God, for more
of His Word, His Spirit and His work in our lives. This will
motivate us to continue seeking the Lord personally. Stay
hungry for more!

Continuously strengthen your character.

1 Corinthians 10:12
Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.

Once we have reached a certain level of godliness in our

life, it is quite possible that we tend to think that we will set
ourselves in cruise mode and just continue at that level. After
all, we do not commit the sins that beset the average Christian.
Moreover, God is using us for the work of His Kingdom, and
we are seeing results. So, we stop exercising ourselves in
godliness (1 Timothy 4:7). What happens in the natural when
we stop exercising a muscle? The muscle gradually weakens,
often without us even realizing it. This is also true in our
spiritual lives and character. We must regularly keep a check
on how we are faring in our character. Character is our moral
fiber. It is the level of godliness we walk in by default, in
private, when no one is watching. It is our capacity to choose
good and refuse evil. It is our ability to stay aligned to the truth
of God’s Word. Character is developed over time as we obey
God and persevere through various circumstances (Romans
5:3,4). Our character will never rise beyond the level of our
obedience to God. The challenge for us Christian ministers
is to keep a careful watch over our character and to keep
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 PERSONAL LIFE

strengthening ourselves. Rather than assuming that we will

remain steady at a certain level, we need to invite the work
of God—through His Word, His Spirit, and the influence of
godly people—to continuously help us rise to new levels of
strength in our character. We must continuously increase our
capacity in this area.
Just because we are in Christian ministry, we are in no way
exempt from temptations and invitations to sin. The reality is
that there will always be new areas where we need to raise up
defenses and be on guard. Hence, we need to continuously
strengthen character on all fronts. Paul, the apostle, even after
receiving great revelations and doing much for the Lord, said,
“Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected;
but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ
Jesus has also laid hold of me” (Philippians 3:12).

Do, then teach.

Matthew 5:19
Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments,
and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven;
but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the
kingdom of heaven.

A very important point of self-discipline that we must

maintain in our ministries is that we will not teach something
that we ourselves have not practiced first. Being a minister of
the Kingdom of God is not just about telling others what to
do and what not to do. It is about first walking with God and
aligning our own lives to the voice of His Word and Spirit. Then,
out of that experience, we share and teach others how to do
the same. This is what makes us ministers of God’s Kingdom.
The credibility of our message is greatly strengthened when
people see that we have been living it. I realize that there are

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CODE OF HONOR

times when we must preach about things that are still ahead,
which God is calling us into, and where none of us have gone
yet. These are messages to challenge all of us to press forward
into the higher realms that God has promised for us. I also
realize that sometimes we preach and teach on aspects purely
based on the truth presented in God’s Word—although we
may not have personal experience in that area. For example,
a man of God, who is not married, can preach and teach what
the Bible says about marriage. And then of course, all of us
have experiences where we have failed, learned from our
mistakes, got back on our feet and then shared the truth of the
Word, even though we know we have had moments of failure
in the past. All of these are perfectly fine since we are called
to proclaim the truth of the Word of God and not our own
experience. Yet, in areas where we ought to obey God, it is
important that we first practice the Word, have lives that are
aligned to the Word of God, and then teach.

Be a voice, not an echo.

Matthew 10:27
“Whatever I tell you in the dark, speak in the light; and what you hear
in the ear, preach on the housetops.

In the initial stages of my Christian walk, I remember

the Lord instructing me to receive the revelation that He is
releasing to the Body of Christ through different individuals
worldwide. No one individual knows it all or has all that God is
speaking to the Church. So, we need to hear, listen and receive
different parts of what God is speaking through different men
and women of God from all over the world. And I have tried
to keep doing this through the years. Learning from other men
and women of God is very important. And yet, we must be
careful not to simply recite what someone else is proclaiming

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without first making it a personal revelation. What we hear

from others, we must first let it become part of us—assimilate
it first into our own lives and our personal walk with God and
then pass it on. If we don’t do this, we will just be a hollow
echo—no life and power in what we preach and teach.
More importantly, God desires to speak and instruct each
of us personally. God desires to speak to us “in the dark”
and personally “in the ear”—in the quiet, private and secret
moments. “The Lord God has given Me the tongue of the
learned, That I should know how to speak a word in season
to him who is weary. He awakens Me morning by morning,
He awakens My ear to hear as the learned. The Lord God
has opened My ear; And I was not rebellious, Nor did I turn
away.” (Isaiah 50:4,5) What God speaks to us in secret, He
wants us to proclaim aloud in public. We preach and teach the
understanding and revelation that we have received through
personally listening to God—these are very powerful. Thus,
we are being a voice, not just an echo.

Lifestyle—keep it simple.
2 Corinthians 1:12
For our boasting is this: the testimony of our conscience that we
conducted ourselves in the world in simplicity and godly sincerity, not
with fleshly wisdom but by the grace of God, and more abundantly
toward you.

There is beauty in simplicity. The apostles lived in

simplicity and godly sincerity. We must learn to keep our
lifestyle simple. Our life is not a show that is being put on.
There is no façade, no pretense. There is to be nothing false
in the way we live. What you see is what you get.
There is liberty in simplicity. You are free to be you—

8
CODE OF HONOR

who God designed you to be, all the time. You are not bound
up in a false pretense of trying to be someone you are not.
While we are to engage the world, relate to it to influence
and reach people for Christ, we are not to get entangled with
the complexities of the world. “No one engaged in warfare
entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may
please him who enlisted him as a soldier.” (2 Timothy 2:4).
There is no need to pursue a bigger house, a bigger car, more
things, latest gadgets, lavish living and so on, if the objective
is to make a statement to people around. If your family is
growing, you would need a bigger home and there is nothing
wrong with that. If you need a bigger and better car for
smoother travel to transport more people or for the sake of
reliability and so on, there is nothing wrong in doing so. If
a latest gadget helps you perform better, improve efficiency,
makes something more convenient, then use it! But, if we get
caught up in the “rat race” and are doing things for the sake of
“showing people” something, we have fallen in the same trap
as those who do not know God.
Part of living a simple lifestyle is learning to be content
with earthly possessions. While in spiritual things we
live with a constant sense of holy discontent, our lives in
relation to the things of this world should be “godliness with
contentment.” “Now godliness with contentment is great gain.
For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we
can carry nothing out. And having food and clothing, with
these we shall be content.” (1 Timothy 6:6-8) The reason we
pursue accomplishing things in this world—success, growth,
increase in various spheres—is to further the cause of the
Kingdom. Other than this, the things of this world do not
impress us. We have set our minds on things above, not on

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things of the earth (Colossians 3:2).

Sometimes, we feel the pressure as Christian ministers
to be something we are not. If you are not an intellectual, do
not pretend to be one. If you are not wealthy, do not pretend
to be rich. If you are conventional, do not pretend to be trendy
(unless you want to change and be trendy). People see through
these pretenses easily. Do not take pride in “moving with the
elite” in society, having contacts in high places and so on.
While we do reach out and impact people in high places—
treat them as humans, we do it with simplicity. We maintain
our ability to connect with and relate to all kinds of people,
both the rich and the poor, with people in high places and with
those at the lowest rung of the ladder. “Be of the same mind
toward one another. Do not set your mind on high things,
but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own
opinion.” (Romans 12:16)

Keep your heart pure, guard your motives.

Proverbs 4:23
Keep your heart with all diligence,
For out of it spring the issues of life.

One of the big challenges in the Christian life is to

maintain a pure and clean heart. Dealing with the externals
often is easy—we do not drink, smoke, curse, swear, lose
our temper and so on. However, God not only looks at the
behavior but also at the attitudes, desires, motives and intents
of the heart. The apostle Paul tells us that “When he comes,
he will bring out in the open and place in evidence all kinds
of things we never even dreamed of—inner motives and
purposes and prayers. Only then will any one of us get to hear
the “Well done!” of God” (1 Corinthians 4:5, The Message).
As Christian ministers, we seem to be the biggest “culprits” in

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CODE OF HONOR

this area, because while we preach and proclaim the grandest

of things, there could be all kinds of evil in the inner recesses
of our hearts and minds.
If our motive is to seek glory, fame and recognition for
ourselves through the ministry we do, our hearts are wrong.
Jesus said, “He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory;
but He who seeks the glory of the One who sent Him is true,
and no unrighteousness is in Him” (John 7:18). To the extent
I seek glory for myself, to that extent there is unrighteousness
in me.
Maintaining lustful thoughts is the same as committing
the deed (Matthew 5:28). While we can hide our toying with
lustful passions from people and appear holy, God still sees
our inner-beings and we have sinned in His sight.
While we may shout “Hallelujah!” in front of a crowd,
can we do the same when we hear of another fellow minister
being used greatly by God, or blessed with a great opportunity?
Or are our hearts suddenly filled with envy and jealousy? Do
we now scheme and plan on how to compete and catch-up
with the other minister?
Do we suddenly become insecure when we hear of
another local pastor or church doing much better than us
or our own church? Are we insecure when people from our
congregation visit services in another church or attend a
meeting hosted by another pastor or preacher? Do we then, in
the name of “shepherding” and “protecting our flock,” begin
to think of direct and indirect means to prevent people from
receiving from other ministers of God? Are we afraid that one
of the ministers under our leadership will suddenly rise above
us and do better than ourselves? All these are just signs of a
heart that is insecure.
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 PERSONAL LIFE

I think all of us Christian ministers, at some point, would

have struggled in many, if not all the above areas. I know I
have. Over the years, I have attempted to always maintain a
clean and pure heart—this is the core—the center point from
where relationship with God and ministry begins. God looks
for truth and purity in the heart (Psalm 51:6) and “If I regard
iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear” (Psalm 66:18).
Personally, here is how I try to go about keeping a pure heart.
Without becoming overtly introspective and coming under
self-condemnation, I judge myself. I need to be true to myself
and to God when evaluating the inner thoughts, feelings,
motives and desires of my heart and mind. I do not want to lie
to myself or to God, about what is going on within me. Paul
taught us that “if we would judge ourselves, we would not
be judged” (1 Corinthians 11:31). I invite the Lord to help
me in this process of discerning the thoughts and intents of
my own heart. Like the Psalmist, I often pray, “Search me,
O God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxieties;
And see if there is any wicked way in me, And lead me in the
way everlasting.” (Psalm 139:23,24) As I recognize thoughts,
feelings, motives, ideas, desires that are not aligned to the heart
of God, I ask the Lord to cleanse me from these. I invite the
purifying and refining fire of God through His Word and His
Spirit to remove these from my heart and mind. Sometimes,
the release is quick and happens easily. Sometimes, I may
struggle with something over a few days, but I continue to
pray and invite God’s grace to empower me in this area.
Another thing that I also find useful is to meditate on God’s
Word regarding that specific area where I see the need to stay
clean. I take time to read and meditate on related Scriptures
and this brings about cleansing and helps me maintain a clean
and pure heart. Personally, I believe that if we can keep our

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hearts pure, guard our motives, thoughts and desires within

us, half the battle has been won.

Do not kill your own conscience.

Acts 23:1
Then Paul, looking earnestly at the council, said, “Men and brethren,
I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day.”

Acts 24:16
This being so, I myself always strive to have a conscience without offense
toward God and men.

Our conscience is a God-given built-in regulator that

has been placed within us (Romans 2:15). It tells us when we
are right and when we are wrong. Our conscience also bears
witness aligned to the witness of the Holy Spirit, essentially
reinforcing what the Holy Spirit would speak to us (Romans
9:1). Paul writing about those who serve in Christian ministry
writes “Likewise deacons must be reverent, not double-
tongued, not given to much wine, not greedy for money,
holding the mystery of the faith with a pure conscience”
(1 Timothy 3:8,9). As Christian ministers, we are to couple our
ministry with a pure conscience. For us to walk in reverence
toward God, we need a clean and pure conscience, control of
our tongues, our appetites and the ability to stay free from
the love of money. If we begin to sear our own consciences,
suppress and kill the voice of our own consciences, then soon
we end up speaking lies in hypocrisy (1 Timothy 4:2) and will
not even feel any remorse about it. This is a dangerous place
to be.
Why is it that some Christian ministers, having begun
well, end up in grievous crimes—embezzling or misusing
ministry money, outright lies, murders, scandals and so

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on? Slowly, there was a departure from keeping a clean

conscience. Slowly, the voices of their own consciences were
suppressed with well-conceived ideas, reasoning, excuses
and theological justifications until their consciences were
no longer heard. Paul warned us that we need to have faith
along with a good conscience. If we reject a conscience, we
can suffer a “shipwreck” of our faith (1 Timothy 1:19)—
essentially a major accident in our journey of faith. Can God
help us recover from a “faith wreck?” Am sure He can. But if
we ensure that we keep a clean and good conscience, we can
avoid the shipwreck of our faith in the first place.
Keep listening to your conscience, do not kill it. It is a
small thing but can make a huge difference.

Fire up your passion for purity.

2 Timothy 2:19-22
19
Nevertheless the solid foundation of God stands, having this seal:
“The Lord knows those who are His,” and, “Let everyone who names
the name of Christ depart from iniquity.”
20
But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver, but
also of wood and clay, some for honor and some for dishonor.
21
Therefore if anyone cleanses himself from the latter, he will be a
vessel for honor, sanctified and useful for the Master, prepared for
every good work.
22
Flee also youthful lusts; but pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace
with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.

Personal purity is not emphasized very much in the

Church today. Personal purity—cleansing ourselves of
whatever is impure is necessary if we are to be vessels of
honor in God’s house, set aside and ready for the Master’s
use. We live in a world where personal purity is considered
a weakness, an oddity and not a virtue. The world considers

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CODE OF HONOR

it normal to be “impure,” although “sin” and “impurity” are

not called by those names but considered as an individual’s
preference or personal lifestyle choice. Unfortunately, these
ideas and the same callousness toward sin seem to have
crept into the Church. As Christian ministers, it is easy to get
preoccupied with growing congregations, building ministries,
preaching messages that attract crowds but get lax in sin. Our
busyness in the ministry or sometimes, even the success and
fruit we see, tend to cause us to “take it easy” when it comes
to personal purity. Slowly, we stop preaching on purity
because after all, everything seems to be going well. We
begin to compromise, adjust, adapt to sins we once would not
tolerate. Soon these sins that we tolerate begin to dominate
our lives. If this does not stop, we will end up on a downward
trend that will be disastrous. The only way to guard against
this is to keep our passion for purity always fired up. We must
constantly remember that the solid foundation of God for life
and ministry requires that everyone who speaks the name
of Christ departs from sin. Anything that tolerates sin is an
unstable foundation to build on.

Set personal moral boundaries.

Psalm 101:2,3
2
I will behave wisely in a perfect way.
Oh, when will You come to me?
I will walk within my house with a perfect heart.
3
I will set nothing wicked before my eyes;
I hate the work of those who fall away;
It shall not cling to me.

We need to exercise wisdom and prudence to walk in a

perfect way before God. Some simple boundaries that we can
set for ourselves will help us from falling into unnecessary
trouble. Here are a few boundaries that I find useful that I
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had set for myself early on in life. There have been very rare
instances when I crossed these boundaries, and only with
good reason.
Do not meet with a woman alone in a closed area. If
a woman needs to talk to you, meet in an area that is open,
where there are others around. It is on purpose that our church
office is a totally open office where everything is glass—all
visible. I have seen some pastors’ offices where the rooms
are completely closed (with air conditioning). My immediate
thought is how “dangerous” this place would be if he had to
meet with a woman. It unnecessarily puts us in a place of risk.
Another boundary I set a long time ago is that I never
travel alone with another woman, other than my wife, in the
same vehicle. There have been rare exceptions, but for the
most part, I have maintained this stand, and perhaps over time
become even more firm on this.
I normally do not hug women. I just offer a simple
handshake or smile. Hugs for women are reserved only for
women in the family—wife, daughter, sister, aunts—or for
older women who are like mothers in the faith.
There are several such simple but effective boundaries
that you can set for yourself. We will discuss several other
precautions through the course of this book. It is not that we
are creating laws and putting ourselves into bondage. Rather,
these are safeguards to help us stay out of trouble. These are
preventive measures to keep sin at bay. This is walking wisely
with a perfect heart.

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CODE OF HONOR

Stay clean of all private sexual sin.

1 Corinthians 6:12,13,19,20
12
All things are lawful for me, but all things are not helpful. All things
are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any.
13
Foods for the stomach and the stomach for foods, but God will destroy
both it and them. Now the body is not for sexual immorality but for
the Lord, and the Lord for the body.
19
Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit
who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?
20
For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body
and in your spirit, which are God’s.

1 Corinthians 9:27
But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have
preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.

God designed our sexuality. It is part of who God has

made us to be. He also has clearly given us the perimeters
within which we are to express and experience our sexuality.
However, for us men, managing our sexual passions is not
easy. Just because we are Christian ministers, we do not
become angels. Our sexual passions do not disappear. They
are very much there. So, by the help of God’s empowering
grace given to us through His Word and His Holy Spirit, we
need to keep our sexual appetites under control.
The area of our sexuality is a private matter. We normally
do not discuss this in public. However, because it is a private area
of our lives, it is quite possible that many Christian ministers
can be in all kinds of bondages, sins and compromises in this
area and people in the audience will not know about this. A
little bit of pornography, a little bit of lustful thinking, a little
flirting with the opposite sex, homosexual relationships and
so on may “seem alright” and can be kept hidden from the
public but the Bible tell us that sin like “a little leaven leavens
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 PERSONAL LIFE

the whole lump” (1 Corinthians 5:6; Galatians 5:9). In most

cases, ministry will continue as usual, and if the Christian
minister does not come clean, God will deal with this one
way or another. So, it is important as Christian ministers that
we stay clean of all private sexual sins. I have had my share
of struggles in this area, and I need to continue to keep a
close watch over managing my sexuality and keep all sexual
passions under control.
Here are some things I practice, to be clean of all private
sexual sins. God may lead you differently and show you other
ways through which you can keep your body in subjection.
Practice whatever works for you, but in the end, all of us must
ensure that we, through His grace, walk holy in this area as
well.
As Christian ministers, some of us may have to travel
often and we end up staying in hotel rooms or private
apartments. As a precaution, if I am staying alone in a hotel
room, I usually do not turn on the television. It is not that I
never watch television, it is just that when I am alone, I do
not want to unnecessarily expose myself to lewd commercials
and so on. When someone else is with me, e.g., if my wife
or son travel with me, then immediately there is mutual
accountability, and we can be careful as to what we watch.
Another area that we need to be careful is in reading
newspapers and news magazines. We cannot control what is
printed in these but we can control what we read, look at and
absorb. When you turn a page and see an indecent picture in
print, your eyes may get a first glance but that is where I stop.
I refuse to allow a second glance. I read the news elsewhere
on the page but refuse to let my eyes go back and gaze on what
is indecent. We also must be careful in using the Internet. I do

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CODE OF HONOR

not purposely go to sites that contain indecent pictures and so

on. However, in case something comes up on my face, I move
away immediately and refuse to gaze on it.
Masturbation is another area where many of us struggle.
While the Bible does not speak directly on this subject and
there are differing views from both the Christian and medical
community on this, my personal stand is not to practice it. My
point of view is that I do not want my body to be a slave to
anything. “All things are lawful for me, but all things are not
helpful. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought
under the power of any” (1 Corinthians 6:12). The question is
not whether it is ok or acceptable. The question is whether it
is helpful and whether it dominates me in anyway. From this
standpoint, habitual masturbation and being enslaved to this
habit is a bondage and a sin. The best thing to do is to stop
practicing it.
I have learned to declare that my body is not for sin or
sexual immorality, but for the Lord. I have understood the
power of declaring that Jesus is Lord over my sexual desires.
I pray and consecrate the sexual part of my being to God.
I declare that all my sexual desires and sexual appetites
are holy and consecrated to God. “God wants you to live a
pure life. Keep yourselves from sexual promiscuity. Learn
to appreciate and give dignity to your body, not abusing it,
as is so common among those who know nothing of God”
(1 Thessalonians 4:3-5 The Message).

Be accountable to God—every moment.

2 Corinthians 5:9,10
9
Therefore we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well
pleasing to Him.
10
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each

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 PERSONAL LIFE

one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has
done, whether good or bad.

Make “pleasing God” your ultimate objective. People

may approve and have a high regard for you. But earthly
approval does not count for anything in the ratings of heaven
if God does not approve of our lives first.
While we respect and encourage accountability to
man—whether it be through accountability groups, leaders,
mentors, overseers and so on, ultimately, all must come to
a place where our lives are anchored and steadied by a deep
sense of moment-by-moment personal accountability to God.
The fact that one day I will stand before this awesome God
of the universe to give an account of my life on earth should
be significant enough to keep me on the straight and narrow
path. If this sense of accountability to God does not grip me,
then no other form of accountability that I surround myself
with is going to do me much good. All forms of human
accountability can be easily circumvented or cheated.
In whatever ministry you do and activity you engage in,
carry inside you a deep sense that God above is watching,
evaluating and following you. He sees beyond what people
see and examines not only the quality of our work, but the
motives with which we did them. It is not enough to do a
good work. Good work must be done out of pure motives.
Stay accountable to God every moment.

Full-time or part-time?
Acts 20:33-35
33
I have coveted no one’s silver or gold or apparel.
34
Yes, you yourselves know that these hands have provided for my
necessities, and for those who were with me.

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CODE OF HONOR
35
I have shown you in every way, by laboring like this, that you must
support the weak. And remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that
He said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”

One of the things we must understand is that we are

ministers of God all the time. Just because we do something
that may be considered “secular” (e.g., working on a job) does
not mean we momentarily stop being ministers of God. There
are no part-time believers and there are no part-time ministers
of God. We are all full-time believers and full-time ministers
of God. We are His ambassadors all the time and in every
place.
However, very often we see that when someone feels a
desire to serve God through preaching, teaching or in some
other form of Christian ministry, the first thing they think
of is quitting their job and going into full-time ministry. I
do believe God calls people to set aside the opportunity of
being employed in the marketplace so that they can devote
their time, attention and energies to specific ministries He has
called them to. This is completely true. However, here is what
I feel one should do—when they are still considering whether
God desires for them to take such a step and are waiting for
God’s directive and timing to move into such a place, one
should continue working in the marketplace in whatever job
or vocation they are skilled at and then, at the same time,
engage in areas of Christian ministry that they are called,
gifted and anointed for. There is absolutely nothing wrong in
being bi-vocational. Paul the apostle, in many places, did this.
He worked with his own hands to earn an income to take care
of himself, his team and others, while he continued planting
churches and nurturing believers. Earning his own income was
part of what Paul was called to do for the ministry. This gave
credibility to his life and the message he preached. This was

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not something “unholy” that he was doing. Rather, it was an

integral part of who he was and a highlight of his ministry so
much so that he wrote about it in several places in Scripture.
Going through such a time where one is engaged in a
regular job as well as doing Christian ministry is also a good
way to prove one’s calling, gifting and anointing. Once there
is fruit that is sustained over a few seasons, and the workload
in ministry is increasing and God’s people recognize the fact
that one has been called, gifted and anointed, then with the
leading of the Lord, it is wise to make the transition out of a
regular job to devote all of one’s time for that area of Christian
ministry.

Watch your diet and exercise regularly.

1 Corinthians 6:20
For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body
and in your spirit, which are God’s.

We have all experienced the fact that when both our

bodies and minds are doing well, it helps us in our spiritual
lives also. We can pray, read the Word and go about our
ministries unhindered. Our bodies have been purchased by
God and are God’s property, which we are stewards of. God
desires to be glorified in our bodies not only in terms of
keeping them clean and pure from sin, but also in terms of
their health and healing.
We do have a significant part to play in maintaining good
health. It is our responsibility to eat right and healthy, and to
exercise our body. Some sensible things to do would include
avoiding overeating, avoiding too much of sweet, salt and oily
/ fatty foods, eating on time and so on. A doctor will be able
to advise us on other things that we may need to do that are
specific to our personal health situation.

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CODE OF HONOR

Those who travel in ministry know that it is not possible

to regulate what food is served to you and when it is served.
Usually, you must eat whenever there is time in between
services or at the end of the service, which would be late in
the evening. These are unavoidable. Hence, when I travel, I try
to eat light and eat small quantities. There is the temptation to
overeat when we travel because our hosts want us to have the
best and taste all the delicacies of their towns. While we must
be courteous and kind to our hosts, we must also remember
that we wish to take care of our health. So, in a kind and
tactful way, we can ensure that we enjoy their food without
overloading our bodies with too much of it.
Practicing healthy eating habits and regular exercise will
help us serve God and His people better and longer. For me
personally, I envision living long should the Lord Jesus tarry,
and living a healthy life right through. I want to serve God as
long as I possibly can and stay fit and healthy right through
till the very end. Staying healthy saves us time and money
that would otherwise have been spent inside hospitals and
on medical care. We can use our time and money on more
beneficial things. And all it takes is consistently eating healthy
and exercising regularly.
My father has been a great inspiration and encourager
in this area. For the last 40 plus years, he has been exercising
regularly. He is now 80 plus years old and is still strong and
energetic. He goes for walks and to the gym regularly. He still
jogs, stretches and lifts weights. I have learned the importance
of regular exercise from him and hope to keep doing the same
till I am well into my later years. I want to be preaching and
teaching God’s Word, raising up men and women of God in
God’s Kingdom till the very end.

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 PERSONAL LIFE

Have a personal management plan.

Titus 1:7,8
7
For a bishop (a spiritual leader) must be blameless, as a steward of
God, not self-willed, not quick-tempered, not given to wine, not violent,
not greedy for money,
8
but hospitable, a lover of what is good, sober-minded, just, holy, self-
controlled,

2 Timothy 1:7
For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and
of a sound mind.

The word translated as “sound mind” literally means

“discipline” or “self-control”. The Holy Spirit fills us with
boldness, power, love and discipline or self-control. The Holy
Spirit gives us the power to keep ourselves—spirit, soul and
body—under discipline.
With the help of the Holy Spirit and given the situations
and circumstance within which you live and operate, you
need to have a plan on how you are going to order your life,
use your time and the resources given to you. You need to
determine where you will invest what God has provided for
you. If you have a predetermined personal management plan or
a predetermined set of priorities, it will help you stay focused
on what is important and keep you moving ahead with God’s
purposes. Otherwise, it becomes easy to get distracted with
several different things. Distractions result in wasted time and
energy. Distractions produce delays which further weaken you
in the pursuit of your primary purpose. The book of Proverbs
teaches us that “A person without self-control is like a house
with its doors and windows knocked out” (Proverbs 25:28,
The Message). Having a personal management plan will help
discipline the use of the resources God has given you.

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CODE OF HONOR

Here are a few things that are part of my personal management

plan.

Daily schedule
I like to have a daily schedule. This helps me know what I
must do and when. My daily schedule essentially has set times
for different things I need to do, e.g., time in the morning with
the Lord, time for working out in the gym, breakfast time
with family, time at the office and so on. When I travel, I’ll
have to adjust this schedule, but as soon as I return home, I am
back to my “default” daily routine.

Priorities
There are some things I hold more important than other things,
such as personal time with God, time with family and time to
exercise and rest. I focus on doing things that I am gifted and
called to do and let others in my ministry team engage in other
areas where they are gifted and called. I try to stay out of their
way so that they have the liberty to do what they must do,
while I provide guidance as needed.

Accepting ministry invitations

It is not humanly possible to fulfill all invitations for ministry
that come my way. I am cautious in choosing ministry
engagements. Rather than randomly accepting invitations, I
try to give my time into areas where I feel God has called
me, and where there can be strategic benefit for the Kingdom
of God. I also try to assess if people are just looking for a
speaker to fill in a slot or are genuinely eager to receive of the
gift and anointing God would release to them.

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 PERSONAL LIFE

Meeting church people

Right from the very beginning of my ministry, I made it a
practice in our church that if people wanted to meet with
me, they would need to come and meet me at the office. This
ensures that they genuinely have something to talk about and
helps save my time. Only in specific situations would I go and
meet with them in their homes. Also, in the same vein, I do
not accept all invitations to visit people’s homes for dinners,
birthdays and other special occasions. With a sizeable
congregation like ours, it is practically impossible, and our
congregation too understands this.

Solving problems, meeting needs

There will always be “needs” all around us. There will be many
worthy ministries asking you to support them. There will be
many genuine people who need assistance in different areas
of life. While we can be moved with compassion and desire
for something to be done, we must remind ourselves that we
are not God and we are not the Savior of the world. I need to
remind myself that I am not here to solve every problem and
meet every need. Only God can do that. My responsibility is
to respond to what God prompts me to do and enter only into
those situations that God has made me responsible for or stirs
me to respond to. While I may be emotionally moved by some
need or a particular situation, I must learn to follow the Lord,
and this requires spiritual discernment and restraint.

Life plan
One other thing I have done in ministry is to listen to God and
get a sense of what He would want me to focus on each ten-
year period. So, I have divided my life into different decades
or ten-year periods. Each decade has a specific objective—

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CODE OF HONOR

something I focus on and work toward in that decade and

build toward the next decade. When the next decade comes, I
transition into working toward the next objective. It has been
amazing to see how each of these decades has unfolded. What
I dreamed about in Decade Two (age 12-age 22), I saw God
preparing me for in Decade Three (age 22-age 32) and then
saw this unfold and begin to take shape in Decade Four (age
32-age 42). I am now journeying into greater things that are
up ahead. I am not suggesting that you should follow the same
decade-by-decade life plan. What I would recommend is that
you too get a sense of divine purpose for your life from the
Spirit of God, and then develop a plan to see that fulfilled.
Live life with a divine purpose!

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 PERSONAL LIFE

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CODE OF HONOR

Family
“This is a faithful saying: If a man desires the position of a bishop (a spiritual leader),
he desires a good work. A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife ...
one who rules his own house well, having his children in submission with all
reverence (for if a man does not know how to rule his own house, how will he take
care of the church of God?); not a novice, lest being puffed up with pride he fall
into the same condemnation as the devil.”
(1 Timothy 3:1,2,4-6)

29 Chapter 2
 FAMILY

30
CODE OF HONOR

2
FAMILY
For many of us in Christian ministry, we have not been
successful in balancing our call in the family with our call
in the ministry. For most of us Christian ministers, some of
our major battles have been fought behind closed doors, in
the privacy of our homes, with our spouse or children who
went astray while we were busy saving the world. This is sad
but true. What makes it even more ironic is that many of us
Christian ministers counsel and guide other marriages while
we are struggling with our own marriage, home and family
life.
The requirement of a Christian minister is stated
explicitly in no uncertain terms. The Christian minister must
be “one who rules his own house well, having his children in
submission with all reverence (for if a man does not know how
to rule his own house, how will he take care of the church of
God?)” (1 Timothy 3:4,5). My wife and I have gone through
difficult times in our marriage. It is only the mercy of God and
the support of a few people who stood by us that have seen
us to where we are today. Our marriage is not perfect, and
we do not have a perfect home. There have been some hard
lessons to learn. Hence, some of the lessons below come out
of the crucible of our personal struggles and failures. I think
it would be wise to heed to these lessons. While many of the
lessons listed below come from the perspective of a man in
Christian ministry, they can be readily adapted for women in
Christian ministry as well.

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Three postures, one life

Luke 14:26
“If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife
and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot
be My disciple.

1 Corinthians 7:29-35
29
But this I say, brethren, the time is short, so that from now on even
those who have wives should be as though they had none,
30
those who weep as though they did not weep, those who rejoice as
though they did not rejoice, those who buy as though they did not
possess,
31
and those who use this world as not misusing it. For the form of this
world is passing away.
32
But I want you to be without care. He who is unmarried cares for
the things of the Lord—how he may please the Lord.
33
But he who is married cares about the things of the world—how he
may please his wife.
34
There is a difference between a wife and a virgin. The unmarried
woman cares about the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both
in body and in spirit. But she who is married cares about the things
of the world—how she may please her husband.
35
And this I say for your own profit, not that I may put a leash on
you, but for what is proper, and that you may serve the Lord without
distraction.

1 Timothy 3:2-5
2
A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, temperate,
sober-minded, of good behavior, hospitable, able to teach;
3
not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for money, but gentle, not
quarrelsome, not covetous;
4
one who rules his own house well, having his children in submission
with all reverence
5
(for if a man does not know how to rule his own house, how will he
take care of the church of God?);

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CODE OF HONOR

There are three, seemingly contradictory postures we are

being called to maintain in relation to our family. The Lord
Jesus said that if we do not “hate” our wife and children, we
cannot be His disciple. In the book of Corinthians, the Lord
instructs us through Paul that he who is married should live
as though he is not married, so that he is not distracted. And
then again, in the book of Timothy, the Lord instructs us
through Paul that a spiritual leader must take care of his wife
and children and have his home in proper order. Sometimes,
we think that we can pick one of these postures and we are
fine. So, some of us may decide to “hate” and totally detest
our wife and children and give ourselves “fully” to the Lord’s
ministry. Some others may choose the posture that though we
are married, we live as though we are not married! And then
perhaps, some of us are constantly striving and struggling
to develop our relationship with our wife and children and
nurture our home and family life.
I believe that these three postures are something that we
fulfill simultaneously all the time.

1) Our love for the Lord Jesus supersedes our love for wife
and children or all earthly relationships. Therefore, when
the Lord calls us, we are willing to make sacrifices and not
excuse ourselves on the pretext of earthly relationships.
2) Even though we are married, we learn to keep a laser-sharp
focus on the Lord Jesus, so that while fulfilling our family
responsibilities, we are not distracted from our focus on
ministering to the Lord and pleasing Him above all else.
3) As spiritual leaders, we do our part in growing and nurturing
our family and home in a way that the Lord will be glorified.

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 FAMILY

At any given time, we are to fulfill all three requirements.

To live this kind of life takes the grace of God and much
spiritual wisdom and understanding.

Nurture your relationship with your spouse.

Ephesians 5:28,29
28
So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he
who loves his wife loves himself.
29
For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it,
just as the Lord does the church.

“He saved the world but could not save his own home!”
What a shameful remark and yet, this seems to be the case
with an increasing number of our ranks as men and women
of God in Christian ministry. A primary cause for this is that
while we are busy nurturing people in our congregations or
in other areas of ministry, we tend to neglect our own spouse.
We assume that either God will take care of our spouse, or
our spouse will automatically take care of her own needs
and will not lay upon us the additional burden of the home.
Both these assumptions are wrong. God has placed on us
the responsibility to “nourish and cherish” our spouse. Our
spouse is just as human as all the people we minister to, and
needs our time, care and affection. Nurturing our relationship
with our spouse is a command and is as important a command
as any other in the Bible. We must recognize that ministering
to our own family is as important a ministry as ministering to
the world. We are called to do both.

Nurture your relationship with your children.

Ephesians 6:4
And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring
them up in the training and admonition of the Lord.

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CODE OF HONOR

As parents, we have the responsibility of bringing up our

children in the training and ways of the Lord. What we see
happen very often is that if the man is involved in ministry, the
burden of nurturing the children falls entirely on the wife. Or
in cases where both the husband and wife are busy in ministry,
it seems as though the spiritual nurture of their children
has been abandoned to the congregation. These “ministry
parents” hope that somehow their kids would get trained up
in the ways of the Lord. None of these are right. As parents,
we must understand that we have a responsibility toward our
children to train them up in the ways of the Lord. This will
not happen by just telling them what to do. We need to have a
relationship with them, and through that relationship, we can
impart training and nurture them in spiritual things. If we are
too busy to build a relationship with our kids, we can forget
about being able to impart spiritual things into their lives.
So, take time to develop a close relationship with your
children. Do not neglect this. It is not worth seeing the world
come to listen to your sermons while your own children are
indifferent to your preaching of the Word of God. You have
only one chance to give into the lives of your own children, do
not miss it. And do not delegate the responsibility of nurturing
your children to someone else. Do it yourself. There can be no
greater joy than to see your own children walking in the ways
of the Lord and fulfilling His highest and best for their lives.

Work to provide for your family.

1 Timothy 5:8
But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of
his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.

These are very strong words made by the apostle Paul.

Failing to provide for our own household is unacceptable

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 FAMILY

before God. I realize that there may be patches of tough

financial times, especially in the early days when we start off
in Christian ministry. However, if things do not change on
the ministry front, I do not see anything wrong if the man
or woman who has dedicated himself or herself for full-
time ministry, takes up a job for a season. You can continue
working on the ministry front in parallel for it to grow, but
there can be sufficient funds through the job to take care of
the family.
Unfortunately, a lot of families—primarily, the wife
and children at home—go through undue suffering because
the husband is unwilling to go out and take up a job for a
temporary period to meet the basic needs of the family. The
husband stays very adamant on his call to full-time ministry,
while evidently, there is insufficient money coming through
the ministry to take care of the family’s needs. The husband
refuses to take up a job thinking this is a sign of unbelief,
or “looking back” after putting his hand to the plow (Luke
9:62). The husband may even say that he has no leading from
God to take up a temporary job. Personally, I think God has
already declared in His Word what He desires for the man
of the house to do—to provide for the family. I think it is a
matter of obedience to the written Word of God to get a job
to provide for the family in difficult times. This is acceptable
to God.

Pursue God’s purpose as an individual.

Matthew 10:37,38
37
He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me.
And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.
38
And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy
of Me.

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CODE OF HONOR

This point here may be a sudden shift from all the

importance we have been placing on the family and home in
the earlier sections. But the point I wish to make here is that,
while we maintain the importance due to the family and home,
we cannot, at any point, compromise on our love for God and
obedience to His call. I cannot use family as an excuse for not
pushing forward in the call of God. What we are called to do
is to be the God-kind of man or woman to our spouse, be the
God-kind of parent to our children, and while doing these,
continue to walk ahead in the plans and purposes that God has
for us in Christian ministry. All of these are interlinked and
enhance each other. My call as a husband, as a father and as
a minister of God is all interlinked. Each role strengthens the
other. Success in one area will provide strength to see success
in another area. So, continue to pursue God’s call on your life
while fulfilling His call at home as a husband and father.

Encourage your spouse to pursue God’s purpose.

Psalm 128:3
Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine
In the very heart of your house,
Your children like olive plants
All around your table.

The “fruitful vine” symbolizes several things, one

of which is the fruit of the wine that stands for “joy and
pleasure.” God has ordained that your wife be a source of
joy and pleasure to the home. However, this will not happen
automatically. In addition to nurturing your wife, you will
need to encourage her to find her life of satisfaction and
fulfillment. If your wife is dissatisfied or feels unfulfilled in
life, this will reflect in “sour grapes,” figuratively speaking,
and there will be no joy or pleasure at home. What happens
with us Christian ministers is that we get so busy pursuing

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our calling—doing the great and mighty things we feel God

has called us to do, that we forget that God has a call, plan
and purpose for our spouse too! We think her only role is to
be a support while we go out to do the great exploits. This is
wrong.
In some cases, the husband and wife are called toward the
same kind of ministry, and are therefore, able to work together
side by side. This is great and an amazing sight to behold.
However, not every married couple is made that way. There
are situations where the husband and wife may be called to
engage in things that take them to different places and areas
of involvement. This is not easy to manage, and it takes a lot
of wisdom to ensure that both spouses are encouraged to grow
in their respective callings.
What I have attempted to do is to support my wife to
fulfill what she feels God has called her to do in as much as I
receive her support for me to fulfill what God has called me to
do. This means that there are times when I adjust my schedule,
change my plans and so on, so that my wife can have the time
and space she needs to do what she feels God has graced
and called her to do. Apart from being a husband and father,
there are two main areas of involvement that I had outside the
home—I am pastor of All Peoples Church in Bangalore and I
also owned and ran a software development company that was
focused on healthcare software and services. I have had these
two roles since the beginning of 2001 to 2014. Currently, I
am serving full-time in the ministry as pastor of All Peoples
Church. Similarly, outside the home, my wife works full-time
as a medical doctor in a mission hospital in Bangalore and is
part of the prayer team of the women’s ministry at church. I
have not placed any pressure on my wife to be what people
would consider a “typical pastor’s wife”—someone taking

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care of Sunday school for children, leading women’s ministry

and so on. My objective is to give her the liberty to pursue
what she feels is God’s calling on her life, and not to live up
to people’s expectations.

Encourage your children to pursue God’s purpose.

Psalm 139:16
Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed.
And in Your book they all were written,
The days fashioned for me,
When as yet there were none of them.

God has designed each one uniquely and for the purpose
He has in mind for them. This is true about your children
also. As a parent, it is your responsibility to help your children
identify their God-given gifts and talents. You then need to
guide them in the direction where they can maximize who
God has designed them to be for the sake of the Kingdom and
for the glory of God. Children are not “photostat copies” of
their parents. Children have their own unique gifts.
We must give up the idea of molding our children into
what we want them to be, and instead, encourage them to
become what God wants them to be—whatever it might
be. Yes, it surely is wonderful when children follow in the
footsteps of their parents. When the son becomes a preacher
just like the father, it is wonderful. But remember, God is
creative and does not need duplicates. We must not pressure
our children to become like us and do what we are doing
in the ministry. This is a self-defeating effort to engage in.
Instead, recognize and nurture whatever God has placed in
them. If they are designed and called to walk in our footsteps
in life and ministry, that is wonderful. If God has designed
and called them differently, that is wonderful too, and we
must encourage them to pursue God’s purpose for their lives.
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Set a godly example at home.

1 Timothy 3:5
(for if a man does not know how to rule his own house, how will he
take care of the church of God?);

Proverbs 17:6
Children’s children are the crown of old men,
And the glory of children is their father.

Isaiah 38:19
The living, the living man, he shall praise You,
As I do this day;
The father shall make known Your truth to the children.

Our life speaks all the time, even when we are not
preaching from behind a pulpit. Our life within our home
may be noticed only by a few family members—our spouse
and children—but is nevertheless extremely important. When
God called Abraham, one of his reasons for this was, “For I
have known him, in order that he may command his children
and his household after him, that they keep the way of the
Lord, to do righteousness and justice, that the Lord may bring
to Abraham what He has spoken to him” (Genesis 18:19).
God wanted the man he chose to lead his household after
him—in the example he set, to follow in his footsteps, into
the ways of the Lord. Abraham’s calling and destiny were tied
into this role that he was to fulfill.
Imagine, even if there are thousands of people who
admire and appreciate our public ministry, if we do not set
a good example at home and hence drive our children away
from the Lord, have we really succeeded as a man or woman
of God?
I desire that the life I live within the four walls of my
home become an inspiration and a compelling draw for my

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family to walk with God. I want my children to pursue God,

not because I forced them with my words, but because the life
I lived before their eyes gave them no better option. If I live a
life that makes my children proud of me, it will be the most
natural thing for them to want to follow in my footsteps in
living a life that glorifies God.
Do not preach to your spouse.
1 Peter 3:7
Husbands, likewise, dwell with them with understanding, giving honor
to the wife, as to the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the
grace of life, that your prayers may not be hindered.

While it is great to be able to discuss and share the Word

of God, testimonies and revelations that we receive with our
spouse, it is also important to listen and talk about regular
day-to-day things of life. We must not make the mistake of
making a sermon out of every conversation. No one wants to
be preached at.
Your spouse needs you to communicate on normal,
natural terms. Have fun. Crack jokes. Laugh. Play. You do not
have to be a preacher 24/7. Your spouse is married to you as
a person, not to a preacher. If something goes wrong at home,
do not spout out a sermon to correct it. Instead, reason, share,
discuss and talk it out in a simple meaningful way. It is not
necessary to quote chapter and verse every time. The worst
time to quote chapter and verse is in the middle of a heated
argument. It will only turn someone off from what you are
saying. Avoid doing this.
Talk personal and family issues before ministry.
Proverbs 25:11 (The Message)
The right word at the right time
is like a custom-made piece of jewelry,

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One of the things I try to avoid taking back home are

church or ministry-related discussions. I like to first find out
about things that concern each one personally. When my
children were living with us—how did the children do in
school, how did things go for them on that day and so on.
I talk about things that the family is interested in and only
then talk about relevant and necessary things about church
and ministry. These would be sharing some special events
that are coming up, my upcoming schedule if I am travelling,
anecdotes that are insightful and so on. At home, I do not
discuss my personal meetings with individuals, counseling
sessions or mentoring meetings that I had that day. Through
all of this, I am ensuring that the home is a place for family.
It is a place where I leave aside the role of being a pastor of
a church and just be the husband and father in the family. It
also communicates the message that the needs of my family
members are important, and I am here at home to listen and
address those needs.

Spend time with your children.

Proverbs 22:6
Train up a child in the way he should go,
And when he is old he will not depart from it.

As the ministry grows and expands and the demands

on our time increase, one of the first areas we tend to cut
out time from is the time we spend with our children. After
all, how could playing games, reading storybooks, talking
“child talk” be important to God? What is the use of spending
time laughing and playing with our children when there are
millions who need to hear the Gospel? I realize that many
times, we use similar reasoning to take the time we spend
with our children and use it in ministry activities. However,

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God has given us the responsibility to train our children and

nurture them in the faith. This kind of training and nurturing
cannot be done without first spending time with our children
to build a relationship with them and earn their love, trust
and respect. It is only through such a relationship that we can
really impart and influence their lives.
In spending time with children, we need to just be around
them, with them and be interested in things that matter to
them. It is not that every moment that we spend with them we
are “talking spiritual stuff.” Often it is just us being around,
watching and listening that matters to them the most.

What is important to them should become important

to you.
2 Corinthians 12:14
Now for the third time I am ready to come to you. And I will not be
burdensome to you; for I do not seek yours, but you. For the children
ought not to lay up for the parents, but the parents for the children.

As parents, our interest is not in what our children can

offer us or do for us. Instead, we are here for them—to give in
to their lives, to look out for them, to invest in them and create
for their future. This means that we need to engage with them
and get interested in their lives. What is important to them
should become important to us. We must talk to them in their
language at a level that they can understand and relate to.
In the lives of my two children, I have always tried to
engage and talk about things that they are interested in. Both
are very different and have different interests. My daughter,
who was 13 years old at the time of writing this book, was
interested in spending time with her friends, doing crafts,
cooking some small things on her own in the kitchen, playing

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tennis, reading story books and so on. These may be small

things to us, but these were the things I needed to get involved
in with her to connect with her heart. My son, who was 16 at
the time of writing this book, was passionate about things he
did on the computer, reading biographies of entrepreneurs,
playing the guitar and soccer. So, these were areas I needed
to engage in so that I could connect with his heart. What is
important to him must become important to me. When our
children see that we are genuinely interested in things that
interest them, then they pay attention and interest in the things
that interest us. We have now gained the right to speak into
their lives and write upon their hearts.
One thing I really enjoyed doing was to tuck my children
into bed at night. I may get to spend a few minutes sitting
alone with each one before praying over them, hugging
them and kissing them good night. But these were priceless
moments. These are moments when we had special “heart-
to-heart” talks. I could listen to what is really on their minds,
and these were moments when I could speak into their lives—
short sentences, simple things, but things that would settle
into the core of their beings.
Use teachable moments spontaneously. When you see
something happen and you feel you can share a simple truth
surrounding that event / situation / happening, then use that
and teach God’s Word to them. Keep it simple and speak in
short sentences. Do not preach a long sermon. They will tune
out. Just make the point in about four to five sentences and
end it there. Teach your children spontaneously and yet, be
intentional about it. Any time of day, any place you are, is a
good moment to share and impart eternal truths. The Lord
taught us to do so—“Write these commandments that I’ve

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given you today on your hearts. Get them inside of you and
then get them inside your children. Talk about them wherever
you are, sitting at home or walking in the street; talk about
them from the time you get up in the morning to when you fall
into bed at night.” (Deuteronomy 6:6,7, The Message).
There were times, when I was with my children and I saw
the opportunity to share some spiritual truth. Many times,
these would be genuine prophetic moments when God was
telling me to speak something into their lives. Of course, I
did not say “Thus says the Lord!” Rather, in a simple way, I
communicated what the Lord has stirred up in my heart and
they got it.
Remember to schedule time for a family vacation once or
twice every year. I realize that it may not always be possible
due to financial constraints or other commitments, but
whenever possible, plan on taking regular family vacations
each year. Our objectives for family vacations are primarily
to rest and get away from busy schedules, but also to create
memories. One of the greatest gifts we can leave with our
children is the pleasant memories of their growing up years
at home. These are priceless and they will carry with them
long after they leave home. Every day we have opportunities
to create these memories for them. And then, there are those
special times like family vacations, birthdays and so on that
leave lasting memories.
Just a note for us busy Christian ministers—it is not a
“sin” or a worldly matter to take a break from our schedules
to rest, get away from ministry and go on family holidays. In
fact, it is very important to do this. Look at Jesus. He was
thoughtful about this matter and attempted to create moments
of rest in between busy schedules. “Then the apostles gathered

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to Jesus and told Him all things, both what they had done and
what they had taught. And He said to them, “Come aside by
yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while.” For there
were many coming and going, and they did not even have time
to eat. So they departed to a deserted place in the boat by
themselves.” (Mark 6:30-32)

Maintain your family altar.

Psalm 78:1-7
1
Give ear, O my people, to my law; Incline your ears to the words of
my mouth.
2
I will open my mouth in a parable; I will utter dark sayings of old,
3
Which we have heard and known, And our fathers have told us.
4
We will not hide them from their children, Telling to the generation
to come the praises of the Lord,
And His strength and His wonderful works that He has done.
5
For He established a testimony in Jacob, And appointed a law in Israel,
Which He commanded our fathers,
That they should make them known to their children;
6
That the generation to come might know them, The children who
would be born,
That they may arise and declare them to their children,
7
That they may set their hope in God, And not forget the works of God,
But keep His commandments;

Other than praying together before meals, which most

families do, develop the practice of coming together regularly
for a time of worship, sharing and prayer. In our home, when
our children were living with us, we kept this time in the
evenings. We did not do this every day as some days we missed
due to practical reasons. However, most days, we sat together
after dinner for our family altar. We kept this time simple,
and we kept it fun. We kept it as a time when the children
could be involved. We used this time to learn the truth from

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God’s Word. It is important to learn the truth rather than

just go through the motions of reading a devotional without
grasping anything. So, we did different things each time. For
example, there was a time when we talked about having God’s
dream and purpose in life. We then learned about who we
are in Christ. So, we laid these truths line by line, little by
little, making it relevant to their age. It is important to keep
the family time short, meaningful, flexible, spontaneous and
different from time to time. Sometimes, we would just do
prayer or pray in tongues together as a family or just have a
time of worship. But these are precious moments together.
Put family before ministry.
1 Timothy 3:4,5
4
one who rules his own house well, having his children in submission
with all reverence
5
(for if a man does not know how to rule his own house, how will he
take care of the church of God?);

While most of us Christian ministers know this

requirement that we must have our own house in order before
we go about ministering in the House of God, we often tend
to neglect this. Perhaps the demands, or sometimes the thrills
of ministry seem to grip us more than the simple joy of taking
care of our own home and family. So, we need to consciously
watch over ourselves, our families and see how we are doing
in these areas. If needed, we must slow down or change our
ministry schedules so that we minister to our family first. I do
not claim to be perfect in this area. I have tried through the
years and still try and manage a balance between ministry
engagements that I take on, and the time I spend at home.
There are some ministry engagements I say, “No” to, simply
because of wanting to spend time at home. For instance, it
might be good to keep certain times during the week or a given

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month that are meant for family only. Also, when possible, we
can take time away from ministry to rest and be with family.
There has also been at least one season of about 3-4
months when I was going through personal challenges that
I decided not to preach during that time. I took a break from
ministry and had guest speakers and some of our associate
pastors preach at our Sunday services.

Guard your family while ministering to people.

Being in Christian ministry affects not only you as a minister
but also your family. One of the big pressures that the family
(spouse and children) faces is the expectations of people.
People automatically expect your spouse to behave in a certain
way. Not only do they expect the man of God to be anointed,
but they also expect the wife to be anointed, gifted, behaving
a certain way and doing certain things. Similarly, people tend
to have all kinds of unreasonable expectations of “preachers’
kids or pastors’ kids” as though these kids are angels! So, you
need to guard your family from the unreasonable expectations
of people. Give your family the freedom to be who God made
them to be without trying to meet the expectations of people.
I do not want my children to play “church games” just to
impress the congregation. This could very well be one reason
why so many “pastors’ kids” turn out rebellious once they
grow up. Perhaps when they were kids, they were pressured by
their parents into doing and being something that they really
did not want just to appear nice in front of the congregation.
So later in life, they tend to resent the local church and do not
want to have anything to do with it.
Another area to protect is access to your home. I know
what I am about to share may not be possible for everyone—

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nonetheless, this is important to consider. I have tried to

keep my home as a “home,” and the office a place where
people can come and meet me for church or ministry-related
things. Some pastors and preachers keep their homes open
to everyone in the congregation. I do not think this is a
good idea—just my opinion. The home needs to be a place
where the husband, the wife, the children can have time to
be together and grow together. But if the home through the
day and night, seven days a week, is a meeting place for all
members of the congregation, without any personal time for
the pastor’s family, this may have its impact on the pastor’s
family itself. We do have people spend time with us at home,
and we have also had small gatherings, meetings, fellowship-
times at home, but these are scheduled events, not something
that happens all day, every day.
Do not step OUT, do not step IN.
Genesis 2:24
Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his
wife, and they shall become one flesh.

A man and woman united in marriage have become one.

We can visualize this as a marriage circle inside which only
this man and woman are permitted. No other human being
is permitted inside the marriage circle. When we honor this
marriage circle, we honor God who instituted marriage. For
us Christian ministers, we must honor God by making sure we
do not step out of our own marriage circle, and by making sure
we do not step into someone else’s marriage circle. Regardless
of what reasons or needs there may be, this boundary of the
marriage circle must not be crossed. We must learn to operate
within this boundary. This becomes important, especially
when ministering to other married couples or to single people
of the opposite gender.
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Get help as soon as you need it.

Ephesians 4:16
from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every
joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part
does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.

The fact of the matter is that even those of us in Christian

ministry struggle in our marriage and family lives. We face
challenges, pressures, temptations and stress points like
everyone else—perhaps more than others in many cases. Just
because we are in Christian ministry, it does not mean that we
do not need “ministry” ourselves. God has called, anointed
and gifted us in certain areas. But there are others whom He
has similarly called, anointed and gifted in other areas, e.g., to
help strengthen marriages, homes and families, help manage
finances, help in organization and administration, help come
out of addictive behavior and so on, and we need to learn to
receive from them. We are part of a Body, where each part
contributes to the well-being of the other so that the entire
Body can grow and edify itself. This means we must learn to
receive from one another.
The foremost challenge for us Christian ministers is to
admit that we have a need. Often, when we face problems and
challenges, whether in our marriages, finances, organizations,
addictive behaviors or character flaws, we tend to spiritualize
the problem, blame the devil and conclude that we are under
spiritual attack. While we must not ignore the reality of
spiritual interference in these areas, we must at the same time
be aware that many of the problems we face can be due to
faults and weaknesses in ourselves or in those we interact with,
which need to be corrected. It takes a great deal of humility
to come to terms with the fact that, we, though called and

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anointed of God, have our own character flaws, limitations,

erroneous behavior that need to be addressed.
The next big challenge for us as Christian ministers is
getting the help we need—we do not know where to get help
and whether the fact that we are getting help in a certain area
of life will bring our ministry to a halt. While we may be
aware of qualified people who can help us with our problem,
we hesitate in going to them because they may be our peers or
may not be as prominent as ourselves in the Christian world.
Pride comes in the way. Another reason for not disclosing our
problems to someone else is our fear—would they be able to
keep the matter confidential or would they talk about it all
over town, with the news spreading like wildfire throughout
the Christian community.
Given these challenges, we usually tend to ignore our
private problems hoping that they would just pass away, or we
simply hide them under the covers of ministry since we are
too embarrassed to ask for help. In most cases, the problem
continues to simmer under the surface, until one day, there
is a violent eruption that shocks, embarrasses and stuns
everybody. The results can be disastrous both for us and for
those looking up to our spiritual leadership, leaving many in
hurt and pain. It is important for us not to delay but get help as
soon as we see the need. We must lay aside our pride and fear,
and prayerfully go to someone who is qualified to help us, take
them into confidence and receive the help we need. Give them
the freedom to speak into our lives without holding back. We
must humble ourselves before God and before His servants to
receive the correction they may bring into our lives. Receiving
this correction could save us and many others connected to
our lives. “He who keeps instruction is in the way of life,

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But he who refuses correction goes astray” (Proverbs 10:17).

“Whoever loves instruction loves knowledge, But he who
hates correction is stupid” (Proverbs 12:1).

Your ministry is not a “family business.”

Isaiah 59:21
“As for Me,” says the LORD, “this is My covenant with them: My Spirit
who is upon you, and My words which I have put in your mouth, shall
not depart from your mouth, nor from the mouth of your descendants,
nor from the mouth of your descendants’ descendants,” says the Lord,
“from this time and forevermore.”

It is the plan and purpose of God that the faith, revelation

and anointing given to one generation be passed on to the next
generation. It is God’s purpose that each generation builds
upon the foundation of the previous generation. Therefore,
it is always wonderful to see entire families and generations
of people within a family tree serving the Lord and doing
His work. This is always an awesome sight to behold and
something to rejoice and praise God for. Each family member
may be gifted and anointed in different areas. Each one is in
their divinely appointed place and yet, they all work and flow
together as one great unit for the Body of Christ. This is truly
an awesome work of God.
However, on the other side, we do see the wrong
expression of a godly thing that God wants to do. In
some churches and ministries, we see all key positions of
responsibility filled in by family members. What is worse
is that many of these family members may be incompetent
without the required gift and grace to fulfill the role they are
occupying. However, the whole church or ministry is run as
though it were a family business. Outsiders are only given
fringe areas of responsibility. Things begin to go wrong in

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such a “family-run” ministry when family members occupy

ministry positions that God has not called them to. Much of
this happens for the wrong reasons and results in disastrous
outcomes, like the sons of Eli (1 Samuel 2:22-25) or the sons
of Samuel (1 Samuel 8:1-3).
So, in as much as we are eager to see our children and
grandchildren rise up and follow in our footsteps in serving
the Lord, we must remember that they have to follow God’s
plan for their lives and fulfill His will in their generation. Let
each one occupy their set place assigned by God, and not by
the whims and fancies of man. “But now God has set the
members, each one of them, in the body just as He pleased”
(1 Corinthians 12:18).

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People
“... you are God’s field, you are God’s building.”
(1 Corinthians 3:9)

55 Chapter 3
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3
PEOPLE
As Christian ministers, if we are not careful, we could “miss
the whole point” of ministry entirely. We could end up making
ministry an exercise in building an enterprise—a well-
organized administration with the latest of tools, equipment
and resources; or an exercise in event management—having
grand public meetings, good advertising, tactful promotions,
clever fund-raising and so on; or an exercise in networking and
public relations—connecting with the most influential people,
smooth talking the high and mighty so that they become our
chief promoters. All of this is just a fleshly, worldly expression
of “Christian ministry” that I think is an unbearable stench
before God! Eternity will tell! We miss the whole point
that Christian ministry is all about people—touching lives
with God’s love and power to see them rescued from satan
and brought into the marvelous light of God, nurtured into
Christlikeness and released to fulfill their God-given destiny
in life. Christian ministry is not about how many books we
write, whether we have the largest gatherings, whether we
have the largest following on social media sites or whether
we are on the most popular television networks, or any such
thing. Christian ministry is all about people—having them
encounter Jesus Christ and seeing them being transformed
into His image.
And yet, some of the biggest challenges we face in
Christian ministry are in dealing and working with people.
Understanding how to treat people well, to lead, manage,

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guide, correct, equip, empower and then, release people into

their destiny is among the most important learning experiences
we can have in Christian ministry.
We will make mistakes and perhaps experience some
“hard knocks” along this path, but if we do not give up on
building people, we will see rich rewards.
Ministry is all about building people.
1 Corinthians 3:9
... you are God’s field, you are God’s building.

2 Corinthians 3:2
You are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read by all men;

1 Thessalonians 2:19,20
19
For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Is it not even you
in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at His coming?
20
For you are our glory and joy.

The apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 3, when addressing

ministry issues at Corinth, especially in the context of two
ministers Apollos and himself, emphasizes that people are
“God’s field,” and are “God’s building.” At the end of it all,
both Apollos and Paul were building God’s building—people.
Both Apollos and Paul were laboring in God’s field—people.
So regardless of what kind of ministry we are doing, we are
working on God’s field and building God’s building, which is
“people.” Christian ministry is all about serving and building
people.
Unfortunately, many of us Christian ministers treat
people as “objects” to get our own agendas done. We want
crowds to come, and people become just numbers in large
crowds that we speak to. We want money, and people just
become a source for that money. We feel we are called by God

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and people are there just to serve us and help us fulfill our
calling. It is supposed to be the other way around. We are here
as God’s servants to serve people and help people (saints)
fulfill their ministry. We are here for them. We are here to lift
people up—and not for people to lift us up.
People must be written in our hearts. Only then can they
see that we are here to serve them and not use them. Our “joy
and crown of rejoicing” when we meet the Lord will not be
the books we have written, the sermons we have preached, the
places we have travelled or the buildings we have built, but
rather our joy and crown of rejoicing will be the people whose
lives we have served by bringing them to the Lord and helping
them grow into His image.

Growth happens in stages—journey together patiently.

Hebrews 5:12-14
12
For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone
to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God; and you
have come to need milk and not solid food.
13
For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of
righteousness, for he is a babe.
14
But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by
reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.

Hebrews 6:1-3
1
Therefore, leaving the discussion of the elementary principles of Christ,
let us go on to perfection, not laying again the foundation of repentance
from dead works and of faith toward God,
2
of the doctrine of baptisms, of laying on of hands, of resurrection of
the dead, and of eternal judgment.
3
And this we will do if God permits.

It is important for us, especially for those of us who

are pastors and lead local churches, to patiently journey

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with people into spiritual growth and maturity. We must

also patiently journey into the vision and destiny God has
appointed for the local church. Minister to people starting
where they are and help them take steps to move into higher
levels of growth and maturity. The Lord Jesus ministered
to His disciples this way. He spoke purposefully and spoke
things they were able to receive at that time and held back
things they were not ready to receive. “These things I have
spoken to you, that you should not be made to stumble.” “But
these things I have told you, that when the time comes, you
may remember that I told you of them.” “And these things I
did not say to you at the beginning, because I was with you.”
“I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear
them now.” (John 16:1,4,12)
This means that we must be purposeful in our preaching
and teaching. We do not preach sermons just to fill up the time
during a service. Rather, each sermon is a step in the journey
helping take the congregation forward into spiritual maturity
and into our destiny in God.
Know the spiritual level at which people are and minister
to them, starting at that level. However, your preaching and
teaching must be geared to take them to the next level. Growth
happens in stages, so take people up to new levels, stage by
stage. You may be at a much higher level, but you need to
work patiently with your congregation helping them grow into
the level you are at.
Also remember, we cannot preach what people in the
congregation like because different people would like to hear
different things. Some may feel that speaking about the “End
Times” is what we need to do. Some others may feel that we
need to talk about discipleship and fellowship. Still, some

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others feel that we should emphasize evangelism and missions

and so on. As a pastor or leader in the local church, you
cannot be moved by all these demands and perceived interests
from different people. You need to be clear on where the
congregation is spiritually and where you believe God wants
the congregation to grow into and take them there. Journey
together season by season, stage by stage. The emphasis in
each season is a stepping stone into the next season awaiting
the local body of believers.

Honor everyone.
Romans 12:10
Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor
giving preference to one another;

Matthew 10:42
And whoever gives one of these little ones only a cup of cold water in
the name of a disciple, assuredly, I say to you, he shall by no means
lose his reward.”

We must learn to treat everyone with respect regardless

of their gender, social, economic, educational, ethnic or
cultural backgrounds. We must also respect people and not
discriminate against them because of their denominational
affiliations. While there may be a myriad of shortfalls, we
must learn to see the good in each. When we give our word,
whether it is to someone small, poor or socially insignificant,
we must keep our word. Sometimes, we tend to honor people
who are socially or economically powerful and influential
while demeaning those who may not be as powerful or
influential. In God’s Kingdom, the simplest service done to
the smallest one because they are part of the family of God
will not go unnoticed.
It is easy to tell the difference when someone is relating
to people just as a cheap public relations exercise and when
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someone is relating to people because they genuinely care

for people deep down in their hearts. When you reach out to
people, do it because you really care for them.
Honor leaders, elders, fathers.
1 Timothy 5:17
Let the elders who rule well be counted worthy of double honor,
especially those who labor in the word and doctrine.

1 Thessalonians 5:12,13
12
And we urge you, brethren, to recognize those who labor among you,
and are over you in the Lord and admonish you,
13
and to esteem them very highly in love for their work’s sake. Be at
peace among yourselves.

We are called to give “double honor” to those who are our

spiritual leaders, especially those who serve by ministering
God’s Word to us. We must hold our spiritual leaders, elders
and fathers with great respect. Though times change, and with
it many other things also change, we must continue to esteem
those who are walking ahead of us in this journey of faith
with great respect. Just because we, younger ministers are
more “tech-savvy” and know how to do things quicker and
more efficiently than older ministers, does not make us better
than them. We must still respect and honor them, especially
for what they have already accomplished for the Kingdom. To
have respect is to hold someone in high esteem or high regard,
it is to honor them, it is to defer to their decisions rather than
insisting on our own way, it is to give them preference and
priority rather than making ourselves equal with them.
Show no partiality.
1 Timothy 5:21
I charge you before God and the Lord Jesus Christ and the elect angels
that you observe these things without prejudice, doing nothing with
partiality.

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James 2:1-9
1
My brethren, do not hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord
of glory, with partiality.
2
For if there should come into your assembly a man with gold rings, in
fine apparel, and there should also come in a poor man in filthy clothes,
3
and you pay attention to the one wearing the fine clothes and say to
him, “You sit here in a good place,” and say to the poor man, “You
stand there,” or, “Sit here at my footstool,”
4
have you not shown partiality among yourselves, and become judges
with evil thoughts?
5
Listen, my beloved brethren: Has God not chosen the poor of this
world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised
to those who love Him?
6
But you have dishonored the poor man. Do not the rich oppress you
and drag you into the courts?
7
Do they not blaspheme that noble name by which you are called?
8
If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall
love your neighbor as yourself,” you do well;
9
but if you show partiality, you commit sin, and are convicted by the
law as transgressors.

This is an important instruction to keep in mind when we

work with and relate to people. In all our decision making, for
and toward people, we must do it without personal prejudice
and without partiality. Paul, the apostle, was admonishing
the younger minister Timothy to lead and serve God’s people
in this manner. It is interesting that in giving Timothy this
charge, Paul reminds Timothy that God, the Lord Jesus Christ
and the elect angels are witnesses to our relating to people. In
other words, this is a solemn and important instruction that
we must not avoid, and we cannot hide our violation if any, of
how we relate to people.
This is so true for those of us who are pastors and is
important how we treat those who come into our congregations

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to worship with us. James addresses such a scenario and

warns us that if we show partiality or differential treatment
of people based on their social, cultural, ethnic or economic
status, we are committing sin. We must maintain the same
standards for all people that we work with and relate to. For
instance, at our local church, from the early days, I made it
a practice not to publicly applaud and recognize important
people if they came to worship with us. I just let them sit
in the congregation and do what they came to do—worship
God and receive the ministry of His Word. This is not that I
do not acknowledge them privately; but we do not want to do
it in the congregation, where all of us stand on level ground
before God, regardless of our earthly status. Also, in assigning
roles in our church ministry team, I have always practiced
recognizing and assigning whoever is called, gifted, with a
good heart and best suited for that area of ministry. There
is no difference or discrimination based on gender, cultural,
social or other factors. Similarly, in enforcing discipline and
correction, we treat everyone equally and fairly. All of us
stand on level ground.
Be grateful, say “Thank you!”
Romans 16:3,4
3
Greet Priscilla and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus,
4
who risked their own necks for my life, to whom not only I give thanks,
but also all the churches of the Gentiles.

1 Thessalonians 1:2
We give thanks to God always for you all, making mention of you in
our prayers,

We must learn to be grateful to the Lord for the people

who He has placed around us. Just expressing thanks to the
Lord for people is indicative that we realize we are what
we are, not because of our own great efforts but because of
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God’s grace and the assistance of those who are alongside

us. We must also be appreciative of people for what they do
alongside us. Very often, we, ministers “take for granted”
the many things that people do for us. It appears that we
almost feel it is our right to have people’s help, support and
encouragement. Learning to say a simple, “Thank you” to
someone who has served, helped or supported in some way
is so important. When someone gives you an offering, do
not forget to communicate a “Thank you!” When someone
has assisted you in some way, however small, do not forget
to thank them for it. People need to know that we genuinely
appreciate what they do.

What is shared in confidence, must stay in confidence.

Proverbs 10:19
In the multitude of words sin is not lacking,
But he who restrains his lips is wise.

2 Timothy 2:16
But shun profane and idle babblings, for they will increase to more
ungodliness.

As Christian ministers, people often come to us with

their personal problems and struggles seeking godly counsel,
prayer and encouragement. Often, they share very personal
and private matters with us in confidence. It is important
that we do not repeat these matters to others or share them
in public. We must use caution when we use that scenario as
an example or illustration in our preaching so that others can
learn lessons from real-life situations. As a rule, I do not use
my knowledge of people’s personal matters / private struggles
as illustrations in sermons. It is not good to talk about such
things in public because they have come to you for help,
trusting that you will keep things confidential. When we do
use interactions with people as examples, we ought to do it

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in very general terms, without revealing the identity of the

individuals. It is best done in settings where the individual is
not present so that they are in no way identified by others. We
must not even use it in our “gossip” or “idle chatting” with
other ministers. What is shared in confidence must stay in
confidence. This is how we earn people’s trust.

Correct people lovingly.

1 Corinthians 16:14
Let all that you do be done with love.

2 Corinthians 13:10
Therefore I write these things being absent, lest being present I should
use sharpness, according to the authority which the Lord has given me
for edification and not for destruction.

I have personally found that correcting people is one of

the most difficult things to do in ministry. On the one hand,
we try to be patient with people as they grow into the roles
and responsibilities that we have assigned to them. We try to
be kind, loving and gentle, and provide sufficient time and
space for people to attempt things, make mistakes, learn and
grow. However, if an individual is going down a wrong path,
or is not doing what is required, at some point he or she would
require correction lest what is going wrong continues to grow
and the damage becomes significant and hurts many others.
As spiritual leaders over our ministries, the Lord has given us
authority through which we use firmness, and yet, this must
be done in a way that edifies and not destroys people. I realize
that sometimes when we are all “worked up” about a situation,
we tend to handle things in a way that we regret later. We
may not have been loving and kind when bringing discipline
and correction. What I have learned to do is to take a two-
step approach—warning and correction. When I see things

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going wrong, the first step is to warn the individual that things
are not going right, things need to change and go a certain
way, explain what is expected and that they will need to take
corrective action. Then, I give the individual sufficient time
to work on what was said. After I feel that they were given
sufficient time for change and yet things have not changed, I
take the next step, which is to bring loving correction. This is
the difficult part, where we need godly wisdom.
The correction that is needed will depend on the “cause
and effect” of what is going wrong. If the “cause” (reason) for
not meeting requirements has to do with lack of skill, lack of
training, lack of proper time management skills and so on, then
I try to remedy the situation by trying to help the individual
develop these skills. On the other hand, if the “cause” has to
do with laziness, unwillingness to work hard, rebellion, pride,
conflicts with people, bad attitudes, selfish agendas, super-
spirituality or high-mindedness, then the correction I bring is
quite severe, often in releasing the individual from that area
of responsibility so that they can let God work in their lives.
In bringing correction, I also look at the “effect.” What is the
impact or effect of the individual’s failure or wrongdoing?
If the impact is very contained, on a small scale and can be
controlled so that the damage is not very much, then there is
the possibility of providing more time and being more patient
with the individual to change. However, if the impact of that
individual’s failure is on a wider scale, affecting a certain area
of ministry, setting a bad example to several people and so on,
then the correction is quite strict, immediate and will often
involve releasing the individual from that area of ministry
involvement so that they can fix things in private without
causing too much damage.

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The purpose in correction is always to bless—we desire

the blessing and well-being of the people we are trying to
safeguard, and we also desire the blessing and well-being
of the individual we are correcting, although the process of
correction itself can be painful. When bringing correction, I
try not to destroy my relationship with the individual. I protect
my heart, knowing that I am doing what is right before God,
even when bringing correction, and that I personally do not
have any ill-feeling toward the individual. I remain open to
relating to, giving and receiving from that individual in an
edifying manner.
Please note, that in discussing about correcting people, I
am not addressing personal issues, that is, we are not talking
about personal conflicts between a pastor and a congregation
member. Situations like this must be handled differently and
the process is different (Matthew 18:15-22; Mark 11:25,26).
What I am referring to, is bringing correction when people
leading in ministry fail to fulfill their role and responsibility
or when someone in the congregation is doing something
wrong that is affecting the local body of believers.

Correct in private, applaud in public.

Proverbs 17:9
He who covers a transgression seeks love,
But he who repeats a matter separates friends.

1 Timothy 5:19,20
19
Do not receive an accusation against an elder except from two or
three witnesses.
20
Those who are sinning rebuke in the presence of all, that the rest
also may fear.

Bringing correction for something that has gone wrong

is a difficult and painful process, both for those receiving
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correction and for those who are administering correction. It

is not easy. Once done, we must lay this aside and not continue
to talk about this to others, gossip and spread rumors. And
surely, we must not talk about people’s wrongdoings in public
from the pulpit. There may be some occasions, where an
action taken to correct an “elder,” that is, someone in spiritual
leadership, needs to be communicated in public. This must
be done keeping in mind the good of the individual being
corrected, with the right heart and attitude to protect the local
body. However, do this only when necessary.
On the other hand, be ready to applaud people for the
good they have done in public. Do this often. This will inspire
others to follow good examples. As a guideline, correct
people in private. Applaud people in public so that others can
be inspired.

Have a personal strategy for handling difficult situations.

Proverbs 19:20
Listen to counsel and receive instruction,
That you may be wise in your latter days.

It is important that we continually learn from the difficult

situations we face in life and ministry and grow through them.
We must learn how to work with people, improve our own
skills in dealing with difficult situations with people. Over
time, we can develop a personal strategy for dealing with and
working with people. For example, here are a few things I
follow. In day-to-day communication with our church team, I
do a lot via email. I do not call for personal meetings for every
little thing. Working via email helps me do a lot of things
quicker, faster and helps put things down in writing, so that
things are clear on what needs to be done. Things that are
important and need discussion, collective input, ideas from

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many people are best done in a team meeting when all sit and
discuss together. So, whenever this is required, I call for a
meeting only with those who are needed. This is my normal
day-to-day approach.
However, when a difficult situation arises, then as a
guideline, I would prefer to handle things in person rather
than through email or phone. Trying to handle difficult things
via emails or phone calls, can only make matters worse. It
is easy to assume emotions and feelings that are not there in
the first place when reading an email. So, it is always best to
discuss things in person. It is important to “talk things out,”
which essentially means that I do a lot of listening—listen,
listen, listen—to all sides and to God. Once this is done, I
decide and communicate that in person.
I did not know some of these simple things earlier and
hence, have made several mistakes in the way I handled people
and situations. I could have done things more wisely if I had
known the right ways to work with people. However, this is a
learning process, and I continue to keep my heart open to see,
reflect and discover better ways to handle difficult people and
situations.
Do not be a boss over God’s people.
1 Peter 5:1-4
1
The elders who are among you I exhort, I who am a fellow elder and
a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory
that will be revealed:
2
Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers,
not by compulsion but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly;
3
nor as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples
to the flock;
4
and when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of
glory that does not fade away.

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The Bible is very clear that although we are spiritual

elders or leaders, we must not be “as lords” over God’s
people. Instead, as leaders, we are to be examples to the flock
of God. Unfortunately, while giving honor and serving leaders
is good, I feel in many areas, this has been taken too far. In
the name of honoring a spiritual leader, the leader misuses
and often abuses people who serve them. They use people to
do things they should be doing themselves. I find it strange
when I see a preacher walking up to the pulpit with a band
of people escorting him, having one person carry his Bible,
another person carrying his briefcase, and another person
carrying his mobile phone. While I respect God’s anointed,
I personally think such preachers should just learn to carry
their own Bible and take care of their own belongings! I see
preachers ordering people around to do this or that for them—
things they could very easily do for themselves. This and so
much more abuse that we see in Christendom today is simply
leaders living “as lords” over God’s people and they are in
violation of the Word of God. Their lives are not a godly
example of Christlikeness and Christlike servanthood.

Do not control, do not manipulate.

2 Corinthians 1:24
Not that we have dominion over your faith, but are fellow workers for
your joy; for by faith you stand.

As pastors, there is a fine line between protecting God’s

people and controlling them. We are here to serve people and
help nurture them in the faith, not dominate their life of faith
by controlling them. In some churches, pastors demand that
people check with them and get their approval before making
personal decisions concerning their jobs, relocation, marriage,
major purchases and so on. Some pastors do not permit their

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people to even visit other churches, Christian meetings or

financially support other ministries. They demand complete
loyalty and submission in everything. They control and
manipulate people’s decisions by issuing threats, directives
and so on right from the pulpit. All of this is simply ungodly
control and manipulation of people and a form of “spiritual
witchcraft.” From the very beginning, in our church, we made
it clear that I will not make decisions for people. We can teach
them, counsel them and share the Word of the Lord with them
but each one will have to make their own decisions and take
responsibility for it. We also give people complete freedom to
visit other Bible-believing churches, attend meetings hosted by
other churches or ministries and give financially and support
other ministers. We do not ask or interfere in such matters at
all. One thing we believe and have seen is that people will
always return to the place where their heart belongs. And this
is what we desire—that people are committed to the local
church not because of being controlled and manipulated by
the pastor, but because they feel they belong here.

Overcome personal insecurities.

2 Corinthians 3:1,5,6
1
Do we begin again to commend ourselves? Or do we need, as some
others, epistles of commendation to you or letters of commendation
from you?
5
Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being
from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God,
6
who also made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant, not of
the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

Sometimes, we, ministers of God carry a lot of personal

insecurities and we operate in ministry out of these insecurities.
Our insecurities manifest in several ways.

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● If I am insecure that some other minister may get all the

attention and people may follow him, then I magnify
myself continually in the eyes of people. My sermons carry
illustrations of how anointed or how powerful I am. My
name and pictures are embellished all over so that people
will not forget me.
● If I am insecure that someone else may preach better than
me, I keep people from hearing him.
● If I am insecure that people may leave my church and go
to another church, I instruct people not to visit any other
church. Or worse still, I make sure that from the pulpit,
either directly or subtly, I tell people that the other church
is in error.
● If I am insecure about myself just being a child of God,
then I form my identity in me being a minister. I expect
to be called a “man of God,” led to the front seat in the
auditorium, given the platform and so on. I get offended if
I go unnoticed or unrecognized as a “man of God.”
● If I am insecure that someone in my ministry may do better
than me in ministry, I suppress them, keep them stifled and
hinder them from progressing into their full potential.
● If I am insecure in my identity, I talk about all the rich,
famous and powerful people I know, and how I associate
with them to impress people that I am in that league.

All these behaviors by us, ministers are birthed out

of deep-seated insecurity and we need to ask the Lord for
His grace to get rid of this from our own lives. We must
come to a place like the apostle Paul, who did not need any
recommendation or commendation from man. He knew that
his completeness in ministry came from God, who has made

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us able ministers of the New Covenant. This settles everything

and rids us of all insecurities and need for attention.

Do not provide a platform for people with a personal

agenda.
Philippians 1:15,16
15
Some indeed preach Christ even from envy and strife, and some also
from goodwill:
16
The former preach Christ from selfish ambition, not sincerely,
supposing to add affliction to my chains;

Philippians 2:3
Let nothing be done through selfish ambition...

Not everything people do in ministry is birthed out of

pure motive. Some come to church and want to serve in the
ministry to promote their personal agendas. As a leader,
your responsibility is to discern those who have a pure
heart and encourage them, and for those who come in with
improper motives, give them time to get their hearts right,
before providing them opportunities. If I am not sure about a
person’s motives, I usually walk through a period of “testing”
with them. This is a biblical thing to do. Paul told Timothy
to test people before appointing them as deacons. “But let
these also first be tested; then let them serve as deacons,
being found blameless” (1 Timothy 3:10). I look at how they
interact with others. Are they willing to serve under others?
Are they willing to work as a team along with others? Are
they comfortable with not being recognized or do they want
to be up in front speaking? Are they aligned to the vision and
direction of the leadership, or do they want to “do their own
thing” and not go in the direction that you are leading the
people in? Di-Vision will lead to division, and hence should
be corrected.

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There are all kinds of wrong motives that you need to

watch out for. People may want to serve because they enjoy
being recognized and being popular. People may want to
serve so that they get recognition and then later use it to
promote something of their own, e.g., their own ministry or
business. It is better to test people first and ensure their hearts
are right before providing them an opportunity to serve. As a
leader, both by life-example and in your teaching, continually
emphasize the need to keep our hearts and motivations pure
when serving God and His people.

Do not fight what you do not understand.

John 3:8
The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but
cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who
is born of the Spirit.”

Acts 5:34,35,38,39
34
Then one in the council stood up, a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a
teacher of the law held in respect by all the people, and commanded
them to put the apostles outside for a little while.
35
And he said to them: “Men of Israel, take heed to yourselves what
you intend to do regarding these men.
38
And now I say to you, keep away from these men and let them alone;
for if this plan or this work is of men, it will come to nothing;
39
but if it is of God, you cannot overthrow it—lest you even be found
to fight against God.”

Our God cannot be put into a box. The Bible reveals

God, but it does not set the boundaries (i.e., limits) for God.
God will never violate His Word, but He is not confined to
His Word. God is bigger than the Book that He has given to
us. His Book tells us He is infinite. So obviously, there will be
new things that God does that will surprise all of us. Often, we
expect that God will use only certain kinds of people, or God

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will manifest only in certain ways and so on. And then God
does something that is way beyond our ability to understand
or He uses someone we least expected. Our normal reaction
is to “fight it” and classify it as “erroneous” or something in
that category. This is a wrong way to react. If the unexpected
and unusual manifestation that we see does not contradict the
core fundamentals of the Word, then we must be careful not
to criticize it just because it does not fit into our way of doing
things. We must learn not to fight what the Spirit is doing
through people even when it violates the norms we have set.
Sometimes, it may not be easy to discern if some
“manifestation” we see is the Spirit at work or just people
acting out of fleshly zeal. The best thing to do is just stand
aside and watch. Give it some time. Wait for the fruit. The
fruit will tell you from where it came.
Another wrong thing to do is to start talking about the
unusual phenomena from the pulpit. For instance, if something
strange is happening at a certain Christian meeting in town and
you are not sure if that is truly of God or a fleshly man-made
manifestation or even a demonic manifestation, then stay
quiet and give it some time. Instead, if you start talking about
it from your pulpit, the most likely thing that may happen is
that because you have spoken about it, people become curious
and will go to see it for themselves. So, inadvertently, you
have given free advertisement for that strange phenomenon
and have sent many looking for it. But if that was truly of God
and you criticized it, you have found yourself in a place where
you are fighting against a true work of God! So, the best thing
to do is not to fight what you do not understand. This is God’s
business, and He knows how best to handle it.

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Some things people say and do are not worth your time.
Ecclesiastes 7:21,22
21
Also do not take to heart everything people say, Lest you hear your
servant cursing you.
22
For many times, also, your own heart has known
That even you have cursed others.

Proverbs 20:3
It is honorable for a man to stop striving, Since any fool can start a
quarrel.

We are here to serve people. However, we do not control

and are not responsible for people’s behavior. We cannot
control their choices and decisions. Sometimes, in ministry,
people easily forget how we served them. People suddenly
change their minds about us. Initially, they support and
encourage us, and then suddenly, they criticize and point out
all the flaws and shortcomings. People leave. People retaliate.
People criticize. People forget. All of this is part of ministry.
As ministers of God, we must be strong enough on the inside,
and focused on the call of God that even when such things
happen, we continue strong.
Do not let such things occupy your “thinking-time.” Do
not let them affect you. Do not retaliate and get into a quarrel
trying to defend yourself. Any fool can do that. Instead, learn
to pray and release the feelings of hurt or pain to the Lord and
keep moving forward in doing what God has called you to do.
I have heard people give me feedback about all kinds of
things—how I preach, what clothes I wear, my mannerisms,
my temperament, how I lead people and so on. I listen to
them. If what they say has something of value, I adapt it. If
it is a criticism that does not bring anything useful, I just let

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it go. In ministry, we must be strong and not easily moved by

what people say and do.

Leave offenses behind—not worth carrying them with

you.
Galatians 4:11,12
11
I am afraid for you, lest I have labored for you in vain.
12
Brethren, I urge you to become like me, for I became like you. You
have not injured me at all.

The apostle Paul could have become very disappointed

and discouraged with the believers in Galatia. After he had
labored much to get them into the faith, they were easily
swayed by some other people who insisted that some of the
Old Testament practices of the Law still had to be observed. It
seemed that Paul’s labor had gone in vain. However, in such a
situation, Paul points to himself as a model for them to follow
and he states boldly, “You have not injured me at all.” Nothing
that the Galatians did offended Paul or caused him to get hurt.
Earlier on, Paul had a situation with Barnabas and John
Mark, where because of Paul’s difference of opinion regarding
John Mark, Paul and Barnabas parted ways (Acts 15:37-39).
Later, as Paul saw John Mark grow and mature, he welcomed
him back, made him a fellow minister and promoted him in
the ministry. He did not carry any form of grudge or offense.
The thing of the past was left behind. Consider what Paul
writes about John Mark in his epistles.
2 Timothy 4:11
Only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is
useful to me for ministry.

Philemon 1:24
… as do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, Luke, my fellow laborers.

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Colossians 4:10
Aristarchus my fellow prisoner greets you, with Mark the cousin of
Barnabas (about whom you received instructions: if he comes to you,
welcome him),

As ministers of God, we must learn not to let people’s

actions offend us. And even if offenses were to come, we must
learn to leave them behind and walk in the new thing God is
doing today.

People grow, people change—so be ready to let go.

God sends people into our lives for a season. People come,
but they will also have to go. Only a few will journey with
us from start to finish. Most will come alongside us for some
duration of the journey, part of the way, for a season. Some
may come as little children or young in the faith. We will
have the privilege of seeing them grow, mature and develop
in their walk with God and ministry. And then a time will
come, when perhaps, God would want them to be launched
out, released into another area of work and ministry. Some
may have ministries that are outside the scope of the local
church. Some may go beyond us in the realm of influence.
And some may just choose to move on to something else that
interests them at that moment. Whatever the situation, we
must not hold on to people’s lives. Just as we lovingly and
readily welcomed them, we must also be willing to bless them
and let them go into what God has in store for them. If God
sent them in, He also has the right to direct them out.
Sometimes, we hold on to people and do not want to let
them go. An attachment forms and we feel that they owe their
“life” to us and hence must stay and not go anywhere else.
Sometimes, we are afraid of the “vacuum” that may be created
by their moving on. Perhaps, it may make us feel inadequate

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or somewhat insufficient that they had to go elsewhere to

further themselves in their ministry. All of these are ungodly
“soulish” attachments that have a form of spirituality but
really are hindering the purposes of God. We need to guard
ourselves against such things and learn to let people go with
joy and blessing as the Lord leads them on. And if the Lord
does lead them back, welcome them!

Flattery—do not accept it, do not give it.

Proverbs 20:19
He who goes about as a talebearer reveals secrets;
Therefore do not associate with one who flatters with his lips.

Proverbs 28:23
He who rebukes a man will find more favor afterward
Than he who flatters with the tongue.

Proverbs 20:19
A man who flatters his neighbor
Spreads a net for his feet.

It is true that there are times when people are truly

blessed through your ministry and they sincerely come and
let you know that they were touched and encouraged. This
is fine. However, it is quite common to meet people who
know how to stroke preachers just the right way. After every
sermon, they will let you know that it was just the right word,
loaded with revelation and that you were so anointed on that
day. They may tell you that you are the best preacher in town,
the best pastor, the most anointed evangelist and so on. It is
easy to fall prey to such flattery. If we are not careful, we like
to have such people all around us because they puff us up
and make us feel important. Soon, we get so accustomed to
such talk that we cannot handle anyone who questions us or
wishes to share an idea that goes against our way of thinking.

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We have become ensnared in a world of flattery. Our feet are

trapped in this net.
Whenever someone compliments you, within your heart,
turn the praise and thanks over to God. “Not unto us, O Lord,
not unto us, But to Your name give glory, Because of Your
mercy, Because of Your truth” (Psalm 115:1). Remind yourself
that you are not here to receive honor from men (John 5:41)
and for you, the applause of heaven is more important than the
praises of men (John 5:44). Be quick to discern someone who
is flattering you. When that person speaks, do not take in what
they say. Let it rub off you as water off a duck’s back. You
know that flattery is a dangerous web that can ensnare you.
Do not let it even get into you. And by the same token, never
flatter anyone. If you want to compliment them, encourage or
congratulate them for a job well done, do it with all sincerity.

You can listen to people’s ideas, but you make the final
decision.
1 Corinthians 3:13,14
13
each one’s work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because
it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one’s work, of
what sort it is.
14
If anyone’s work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a
reward.

2 Corinthians 5:10
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each
one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has
done, whether good or bad.

It is important to involve people in the ministry we are

doing and have them share their ideas and suggestions on how
to carry out the vision God has given us. On the other hand, as
a spiritual leader, it is important to know that ultimately God

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will hold you responsible for what took place through your
life and ministry. People will have many ideas. Sharing an
idea is an easy thing to do. But someone must decide which
of the ideas God wants us to pursue and how to go about
implementing those ideas and seeing them executed through
to the end. This is the responsibility of the leadership team
and eventually the main leader in a local church or ministry.
When I stand before God, I cannot say that I did something
because someone out there thought it was a good idea. Neither
can I say to the Lord that the reason I did not do something
was because someone suggested that I should not do it. I
will have to answer for myself and be accountable for what
was done and not done. So, listen to and evaluate all ideas,
suggestions, recommendations that come from people with
that perspective.

Do not permit any individual to control you.

One of the things I have learned is to be strong and secure
enough so that I do not let any “powerful” person (in the
worldly sense) dictate terms on how I do what God has called
me to do. Sometimes, powerful people—businessmen, rich
people, famous people, intellectuals—directly / indirectly try
to ask for opportunities to preach, influence the pastor or try
“in a nice way” to control the pastor or tell the pastor what he
should be doing and so on. We must learn to stand our ground.
Some of them may be sincere and mean well, however, their
approach and motivation are wrong. Unknowingly, they think
that their success in the world—along with money, influence,
position and experience—entitles them automatically to a
place behind the pulpit, or a role to control / influence the
pastor, church or ministry. They cannot be more wrong than
this!

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As pastors, while we can listen to people’s ideas /

inputs, we must know where they need to stop and where
our jurisdiction begins—an area where we will have to make
the final decision and be accountable to God for the vision,
the pulpit, church and ministry. We must also be strong and
secure enough to say “No” to let them know where the line is
drawn, beyond which they cannot cross.
On the other hand, we do want to encourage and celebrate
what God is doing through believers who have money,
position, influence and so on in the world. God has blessed
them with these. We want to empower and equip them to do
great exploits for God’s kingdom. And yet we must do this
without compromising our place—the ministry entrusted to
us, and the jurisdiction that we are responsible for. We must
also let believers know that their success in the world does not
automatically entitle them to significance in role, position or
voice in the local church and ministry.
I am not advocating leadership that is not accountable to
anyone. On the other hand, I firmly believe that as leaders, we
must remain not only accountable to God and to our families,
but also to the leaders over us, to governing and regulatory
bodies and the people we lead and serve. Our lives should
be such that anyone can examine us about anything, and we
should be able to answer them with a clear conscience. We do
not live a lie. What I am recommending here is not to permit
any person control you as a leader simply because of the
money, position, power, accomplishments or influence that
they may have in the world.
Submission to leadership and to one another is necessary
and is a godly thing. However, being under the influence

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of someone to the point where we do their bidding and

compromise the ministry, is unhealthy and detrimental.
In a similar manner, we must ensure that we are not
controlled by “super spiritual” people either. I thank God
for intercessors, prayer warriors and prophetic people. But
sometimes, even such people try to control or influence their
leaders by using visions, dreams and “words from the Lord.”
As a pastor, I listen to “words from the Lord” that people
bring me. But I am cautious to test it out myself before taking
it as a true word from God. I also am cautious not to let any
one particular “intercessor” or “prophetic person” become a
self-appointed intermediary between God and me so that I
only must listen to them and make decisions based on their
prophetic words or revelations.

Handle “spiritual” ones with caution.

Colossians 2:18,19
18
Let no one cheat you of your reward, taking delight in false humility
and worship of angels, intruding into those things which he has not
seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind,
19
and not holding fast to the Head, from whom all the body, nourished
and knit together by joints and ligaments, grows with the increase that
is from God.

You are sure to meet some “super spiritual” believers

who always want to do what the Lord is supposedly telling
them without any regard for God-appointed leadership. When
you, as a pastor, request them to do something or follow a
certain procedure you have put in place, their usual response
will be something like “I will do as the Lord leads.” They
very often prefix their decisions with “God told me ...” or
“God spoke to me …”.

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While we definitely want to encourage believers to pray

and hear from God, these super-spiritual ones also need to
understand that in the first place, the pastor or leader is also
praying, listening to God, and hence, has decided to get a
certain thing done a certain way. I realize that what we are
discussing here is not very pleasant. But I think I have seen
several examples to make some comments on this. In my
opinion and observation, it seems that many super-spiritual
people use the words “God spoke to me. …” or “I will do
as the Lord leads ...” as a cover-up for their own desire for
independence and insubordination. We must learn to handle
such super spiritual ones with caution. I usually avoid
entrusting such people with important roles because they
cannot be trusted or depended upon to stay aligned to the
vision and direction we are providing under God’s guidance.
A person who is genuinely spiritual and walking with God
does not need to impress people that he is hearing from
God by using “God spoke to me ...” and so on. He walks in
humility and submission. His life and fruit will manifest that
He is walking according to the Spirit.

Raise up leaders.
1 Corinthians 4:17
For this reason I have sent Timothy to you, who is my beloved and
faithful son in the Lord, who will remind you of my ways in Christ, as
I teach everywhere in every church.

1 Corinthians 16:10
And if Timothy comes, see that he may be with you without fear; for
he does the work of the Lord, as I also do.

Paul, the apostle, did not carry out his ministry all by
himself. He raised up many leaders around him. He called
them his coworkers or fellow laborers. Timothy is one example

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of a leader whom Paul raised in the ministry. Paul found him

as a young man in Lystra (Acts 16:1-3) and took him along
as part of the team. Over time, Paul nurtured Timothy into a
minister of God, who could do the work of the ministry the
same way that Paul did. Timothy had become one of Paul’s
coworkers.
In Christian ministry, it is important to develop leaders
around you who can work alongside you. Leaders are like
pillars in the house of God (Galatians 2:9). If you want to
build a large house, you need many pillars to support the large
structure. You cannot build too much with just one pillar. If
you want to have a strong local church, you will have to raise
many leaders around you who have been taught, trained and
authorized to carry out certain aspects of the ministry. At APC,
we constantly reiterate that “Every believer is a minister.” We
encourage everyone to serve. We work at taking new believers
to becoming disciples, disciples to becoming ministers and
ministers to becoming leaders. We emphasize that everyone
can become a leader. Leadership is not a position of status or
place of eminence among people. Leadership is simply taking
on greater responsibility and greater service.
We create opportunities in various areas of ministry for
people to be nurtured into leaders. We let them grow. We
watch their life-example and heart attitudes. When needed,
we bring correction and alignment so that we nurture people
into good leaders. We let them take their time and do not rush
them into leadership roles. We let people serve first without
a title or position. If someone can serve without a title, role
or recognition, they can serve when this is added to their
work. We do not elevate people purely based on talent, skill
or charisma. Godly life-example, right heart-attitude, good

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people relationships, alignment to vision are important things

we look for. We emphasize leadership by example.
Having good leaders around you is the key to having a
strong ministry. Of course, not all leaders will stay with you
for the rest of their lives. God may have a bigger call, a different
ministry and hence, when the time comes, lovingly release
them to move on into what God has called them to do. When
you release leaders, you are also creating opportunities for
more people to rise and become leaders to take their places.

Stand by your leaders.

1 Timothy 5:19,20
19
Do not receive an accusation against an elder except from two or
three witnesses.
20
Those who are sinning rebuke in the presence of all, that the rest
also may fear.
Being a spiritual leader is no easy task, especially if you
want to do it right. Leaders who serve alongside you and under
your leadership must know that they have your full support.
They are risking their lives and carrying responsibility
with you. So, stand by them, especially when there is any
complaint or accusation against them from the congregation.
Double-check with two or more genuine witnesses. Only after
you have verified that there was genuine wrongdoing should
you proceed with correction.
All of us make mistakes. None of us are flawless. So,
even if a leader makes a mistake that is not a moral failure
or compromise of godly standards, address it privately and
encourage them to correct themselves. Sometimes, the
leader may repeat the mistake and you need to be patient
and encourage them in their journey to get it right. However,
if after sufficient time and encouragement have been given,

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things still have not yet changed, then proceed with whatever
remedial action would be required. In the case of moral failure
or compromise of godly standards, the corrective measures
would be more serious. This should be done with the good of
everyone in mind. However, underlying all this, every member
in your team should know that you will stand by them through
difficult times and see to their restoration and furtherance in
God’s Kingdom.
Do not let inaction or negligence birth “Absalom’s”.
King David was one of the most successful kings in Israel.
However, he did not seem to be a very good father for his
own family, at least until he had his son Solomon. Among
his children, he had Absalom and Tamar who were brother
and sister, and there was Amnon who was their half-brother.
Amnon loved Tamar and very cunningly succeeded in
violating her virginity (2 Samuel 13). The Bible records,
“But when King David heard of all these things, he was very
angry” (2 Samuel 13:21). And yet, king David did not do
anything about what had happened. Understandably Absalom
was very angry with Amnon for what he had done to Tamar.
Perhaps his anger kept growing because David did not address
the issue for two full years. Then, Absalom decided to take
matters into his own hands and killed Amnon. Absalom fled
into hiding for three years. After David had mourned the loss
of Amnon, he longed for Absalom. “And King David longed
to go to Absalom. For he had been comforted concerning
Amnon, because he was dead.” (2 Samuel 13:39) Here again,
for three years, David did not do anything. He did not contact
Absalom. Imagine now, for five years, Absalom had been
carrying the pain of injustice done to his sister inside of him,
and David had done nothing as a father to reach out to him
in five years. Finally, Joab, one of David’s leaders, convinces

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David to bring Absalom to Jerusalem, where he continued

for another two years without meeting David. “And Absalom
dwelt two full years in Jerusalem, but did not see the king’s
face” (2 Samuel 14:28). Eventually, Absalom convinces
Joab to get him an appointment with his father, king David.
“So Joab went to the king and told him. And when he had
called for Absalom, he came to the king and bowed himself
on his face to the ground before the king. Then the king kissed
Absalom.” (2 Samuel 14:33) Although Absalom finally got
to meet his father, seven years after the incident of injustice,
there is no indication that David did anything to heal those
wounds. Subsequently, in this very area of handing out justice,
Absalom worked his way into the hearts of the people. “In
this manner Absalom acted toward all Israel who came to the
king for judgment. So Absalom stole the hearts of the men
of Israel.” (2 Samuel 15:6) Having done this, Absalom led a
massive rebellion against his own father king David. David
had to flee from Jerusalem and almost lost his throne.
What if David had met with Absalom at the very
beginning, when the incident of injustice had happened and
dealt with the pain and issues of Absalom’s heart? It is quite
possible that the rebellion would never have happened. For
seven years, David did nothing to resolve the pain and the
issue, and this eventually led to rebellion.
We can learn an important lesson from this about leading
a ministry team. If you find a member on your ministry team
having problems and issues, do not ignore it. Have a heart-to-
heart talk as soon as you detect this. Listen to their struggles
and reasons for discomfort. Help them understand your heart.
Resolve issues to whatever extent possible. If they are unable
to have matters resolved, then lovingly release them so that
they can move out of the ministry team into something else,

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rather than staying in the team and perhaps continue seething

on the inside. This will be detrimental both to the team as a
whole and to the individual. And of course, you do not want
to raise an Absalom who would eventually lead a “rebellion”
within your own ministry. So, deal with issues as soon as you
detect them. Do not put it off. Do not let your inaction and
negligence give rise to Absalom’s in your ministry team.

Do not be a partaker of other people’s sins.

1 Timothy 5:22
Do not lay hands on anyone hastily, nor share in other people’s sins;
keep yourself pure.

Proverbs 26:17
He who passes by and meddles in a quarrel not his own
Is like one who takes a dog by the ears.

As a Christian minister, especially if you are a pastor of a

congregation, you want to help and assist people in every way
possible. It is quite surprising that even within the context
of Christian ministry, there can be requests to involve in
what is wrong. I remember one instance when one Christian
organization was to refund a sum of money back to All Peoples
Church at the end of an event. The person who worked for
that organization asked me, “In whose name do you want
the check?” This took me completely off-guard. For me, the
answer was obvious, and I was taken aback to be asked this
question, especially from someone working for a Christian
organization. My answer was quite simple. “The money was
given by All Peoples Church and it should be returned to All
Peoples Church.” And that is what was done. However, this
left me wondering what other things could be going on where
money could be misused. There was one instance where a
young person who had been attending services at All Peoples

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Church for a few months came to me one Sunday after service

and informed me that he was applying to go study at a Bible
college in America. He wanted a letter from the church stating
that he was a staff of the church, serving in a particular area
and so on. What was amusing was that he was asking me to
write a letter that was an outright lie! My answer to that was
quite simple—“No!” He left the church promptly and was not
seen at our services ever since.
Now there are areas where right and wrong may not be
so obvious and you need to be very careful. For instance, in
a situation where you are asked for a letter whose contents
are completely true and valid, but it has been made known to
you that it is being used to support something that is wrong,
what would you do? If you did not know what the letter was
being used for, and it was taken and used by a congregation
member to support something wrong, of course this is beyond
your control. But if it was made known to you that it was
being used to support a lie, then it would be important not to
share in that sin. Similarly, as a pastor, you would be called to
make statements for members in your congregation in referral
checks—either from prospective employers, for marriage
proposals, and so on. In such cases, you may feel the pull
between giving a very good report so that the person can have
a good future versus facts. I have always made it a practice to
state the facts. I cannot do otherwise.

Saying, “No” is not a sin.

Proverbs 25:16
Have you found honey?
Eat only as much as you need,
Lest you be filled with it and vomit.

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There are many things in life and Christian ministry

that are good and harmless. However, too much of it can
be disastrous. It is good to receive invitations to minister in
different places. But you need to know to which ones to say
“Yes” and to which ones to say “No”. As a pastor, you may
have many people wanting you to preach at their church. Here
again, you need to know to which people to say “Yes” and to
whom to say “No”. People in your congregation may want
you to come and be a part of everything that happens in their
homes—every wedding, every birthday, every anniversary,
every house dedication and so on. Once again, in such things,
you need to know when to say “Yes” and when to say “No.”
As Christian ministers, we feel the pressure to say “Yes”
to everything. But this is not practically possible. We could
destroy our own lives—health, family and so on—just saying,
“Yes” to all these kinds of things. I have learned that to say
“No” is not a sin. I am admitting the fact that I cannot do
everything. When I say “No” to someone, I am not rejecting
them as an individual. I am only saying “No” to what was
proposed—the invitation or idea being considered. I can say
“No” and still love them as individuals and work with them
wholeheartedly in other things at other times. So, instead of
giving into the pressure of saying “Yes” to everything, learn to
say “No” to things that you are not able to be a part of, but do
it politely and do not feel guilty about doing so.
Do not stoop down to the level of your accusers.
Romans 12:17,18,21
17
Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight
of all men.
18
If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all
men.
21
Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

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Titus 3:10 (The Message)

Warn a quarrelsome person once or twice, but then be done with him.

We lived in Chicago for about three years, prior to our

moving back to Bangalore, to start the church and business.
During this time, we were part of a small local church with
about 20-25 people. We helped in whatever way we could at
this church. We had the privilege of spending time with the
pastor’s parents—Jim and Lorraine Nagle. Mr. Jim at that time
was in his late 60s, or thereabouts. He had worked for about
17 years in a large internationally known Christian ministry
and had seen and heard many famous Christian ministers. I
enjoyed listening to his stories and experiences in Christian
ministry. And I often keep reminding myself of two very
important things that he taught me. Both these were based
on his experiences in this Christian ministry. He had shared
how after serving for 17 years at this ministry, where he was
part of the accounting and finance department, one day he
was suddenly asked to leave his job for no valid reason. He
could not believe it. He was shocked. As he went through this
painful situation in his life, he was often tempted to retaliate
against what he felt was injustice done to him by his Christian
brethren. As he looked to the Lord for strength, the Lord
spoke to him and challenged him not to stoop down to the
level where the other brethren were operating at. God told him
to live above that and be bigger than the wrong he was dealt
with. So, Mr. Jim decided to do so. He refused to go down to
the level of the brethren who were unjust and unfair in their
dealing. He decided to walk in a higher level of forgiveness
and trust in God. So, Mr. Jim repeatedly told me, “Ashish,
whatever you face with people, never go down to their level
of wrongdoing. Always live up here, where God wants you to
live.”

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As Christian ministers, we are sure to face a lot of

accusations, criticism, gossip and rumors that will be spoken
to us or about us. We have no control over what people say
and do. What is worse is that often these things come from
other brethren. Sadly, in many ways, our opponents are those
of our own household (Matthew 10:36). But we always have
a choice not to repay evil for evil. We always have a choice to
live at a level above those offending us.

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Conduct
“This is a faithful saying: If a man desires the position of a bishop (a spirtual leader),
he desires a good work. A bishop then must be blameless, ...”
(1 Timothy 3:1,2)

95 Chapter 4
 CONDUCT

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4
CONDUCT
Unfortunately, in the Church today, people tend to evaluate
preachers by what they do in the one hour behind the pulpit
rather than by the life they live away from the pulpit. This has
given rise to preachers whose only focus is to do a “decent
job” when they are behind the pulpit, but do not bother about
how they live once away from the pulpit.
However, the standards set by God’s Word are very clear.
A Christian leader must be blameless, and his life must be an
example for other believers. This is what qualifies him to be a
Christian minister (pastor, preacher, teacher, prophet, apostle,
evangelist and so on). This chapter addresses some key issues
regarding conduct—the life we live when we are not on the
platform preaching to people.

Be an example, set the standard.

1 Corinthians 11:1
Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ.

1 Timothy 4:12
Let no one despise your youth, but be an example to the believers in
word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity.

The apostle Paul was very clear that, as a man of God,

his life example was extremely important and thus challenged
people to follow his life example. I wonder how many of
us preachers can tell people, “Follow my life example, and
imitate how I live life when I am not behind the pulpit.”

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The apostle Paul challenged young Timothy to lead the

church in Ephesus by being an example to the believers. A
Christian leader must set the standard and example in the
following areas.

● In speech—how we talk, what kind of things we talk about

● In conduct—how we live life, how we manage our time,
money, relationships
● In love—how we love and care for other people
● In spirit—in matters of the heart, the purity of our motives,
our attitudes
● In faith—in our trust and dependence on the Lord, in our
courage to obey His Word
● In purity—our life of holiness and godliness in day-to-day
things

What we must remember is that even the little things we

do get noticed, and they reflect on the Lord we represent. I
remember attending a Christian meeting where a respected
Christian leader, while sitting on the platform, was using his
mobile phone, texting messages and answering calls when the
meeting was in progress! I know we are in a busy world but
this was outrageous in the sense that he did not have respect
for the meeting in progress. What kind of an example would
this be to the rest of the people who were watching him!
This may be a trivial thing, but I think as people in ministry,
our conduct should be exemplary! “Our work as God’s
servants gets validated—or not—in the details. People are
watching us as we stay at our post, alertly, unswervingly …”
(2 Corinthians 6:4, The Message)
Writing to the Philippians, the apostle Paul said,
“Brethren, join in following my example, and note those who

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so walk, as you have us for a pattern.” “The things which

you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do,
and the God of peace will be with you.” (Philippians 3:17;
Philippians 4:9)

Your life example speaks the loudest.

Acts 20:17-19
17
From Miletus he sent to Ephesus and called for the elders of the
church.
18
And when they had come to him, he said to them: “You know, from
the first day that I came to Asia, in what manner I always lived among
you,
19
serving the Lord with all humility, with many tears and trials which
happened to me by the plotting of the Jews;

Hebrews 11:4
By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain,
through which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying
of his gifts; and through it he being dead still speaks.

In his final words of exhortation to the Ephesian leaders,

the apostle Paul points them to his life example as what they
ought to remember and follow. The teaching and preaching of
God’s Word are absolutely important. But what “sticks” in the
minds of people is the life we have lived in embodying what
the Word of God teaches. People will forget good sermons
easily, but the life they saw us live and the example we set, will
be remembered for a long time. Abel did what was accepted
in the eyes of God, and the Scripture says that though he is
dead, he still speaks—the memory of his deed continues!

Work hard.
1 Corinthians 15:10
But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me
was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not
I, but the grace of God which was with me.

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God gives us gifts and grace, but it is up to us as to how

we use the gifts and grace extended to us. To be fruitful in
Christian ministry, one must be willing to work hard, stretch
beyond what is easy and comfortable, make sacrifices and
go the extra mile. It is easy to see when a minister of God
is stretching and really working hard for the cause of the
Kingdom and when someone is doing just the bare minimum
just to keep things going. The apostle Paul made it clear that
he labored more abundantly than the other apostles. This
could very well be one of the reasons why God used him so
powerfully to expand the borders of the Early Church.
It is pathetic to see someone using Christian ministry as
means to a life of ease and laziness. Some choose Christian
ministry because they do not want to work hard in a regular
corporate job. Once in Christian ministry, they take things
easy, do the bare minimum and just get by. They have plodded
along in every task. Brethren let us not be such kind of
ministers but instead give our 100 percent and more for the
Lord.
Walk humbly.
Matthew 5:5
Blessed are the meek,
For they shall inherit the earth.

1 Peter 5:6
Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He
may exalt you in due time,

Humility is that heart attitude where we walk in

submission to God and man. It is that heart attitude that does
not allow us to think more highly of ourselves than we ought
(Romans 12:3). It enables us to relate equally to the rich and
the poor, without making a difference. It enables us to see

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ourselves as “just a man” and see that all greatness belongs

to God. It enables us to stand on level ground with all other
believers no matter what great things have been wrought in
our ministries throughout our lives.
Thus, you do not seek the most important seat in Christian
meetings. You do not desire to be recognized and applauded
in public. When you walk in such a manner, you are walking
in humility. Humility does not engage in self-promotion and
is satisfied to wait for God to bring exaltation in His time.
Humility is true strength. It is the place where God releases
even more grace.
Pursue peace.
2 Timothy 2:23,24
23
But avoid foolish and ignorant disputes, knowing that they generate
strife.
24
And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able
to teach, patient,

Romans 12:18
If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men.

Hebrews 12:14
Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will
see the Lord:

Avoid getting into arguments, contentions and strife with

people. Keep yourself strife-free. Some Christian ministers
get consumed with strife. They seem to be in strife with
believers in their congregation, in strife with other Christian
ministers, in strife with people outside the church and so on.
Strife opens the door to all kinds of evil. Strife wastes your
time and energy and robs you of doing things that are more
important. We end up behaving as carnal man and not as
ministers of God. “for you are still carnal. For where there
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are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal
and behaving like mere men?” (1 Corinthians 3:3)
When someone accuses you, criticizes you, provokes
you, harms or hurts you in any way, ask yourself if the matter
is worth your time. Do you need to clarify a misunderstanding,
apologize in any way or just simply let things pass without
paying attention? If you need to respond in anyway, do so
in a manner that will bring things to a peaceful conclusion.
Do what will promote peace. If you feel that engaging with
someone will only fan the flames of argument and strife, just
let it go. Do not even go near the matter. Nehemiah set us a
great example as he went about fulfilling the call of God on his
life, though his opponents wanted to hinder his work. “Now it
happened when Sanballat, Tobiah, Geshem the Arab, and the
rest of our enemies heard that I had rebuilt the wall, and that
there were no breaks left in it (though at that time I had not
hung the doors in the gates), that Sanballat and Geshem sent
to me, saying, “Come, let us meet together among the villages
in the plain of Ono.” But they thought to do me harm. So I sent
messengers to them, saying, “I am doing a great work, so that
I cannot come down. Why should the work cease while I leave
it and go down to you?” But they sent me this message four
times, and I answered them in the same manner.” (Nehemiah
6:1-4) Keep yourself focused on doing the great work God has
called you to do. You have no time for strife. Settle matters
quickly and peacefully, and keep going on with the work of
God. “Blessed are the peacemakers, For they shall be called
sons of God” (Matthew 5:9). Be a peacemaker!

Always be teachable.
1 Corinthians 8:2
And if anyone thinks that he knows anything, he knows nothing yet
as he ought to know.

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Always be ready to learn. Always keep learning. Keep

your spiritual eyes and ears open all the time to see what God
may be saying to you. Some of us Christian ministers pretend
that we know it all—or at least that is what our behavior shows.
We will not sit and listen to another preacher, especially if
that preacher is not as “big” as we are, or if that preacher is
younger to us in the ministry. We do not necessarily listen to
other people who may have the right word or counsel for us,
especially if they are “lay people” and do not seem to be as
“anointed” as we are. We must understand that God can use
anyone, even a little child, to speak a “word in season” into
our lives. Regardless of how young the preacher may be, if we
will sit and tune our hearts to God, He will speak to us and
teach us something. “He who disdains instruction despises
his own soul, But he who heeds rebuke gets understanding”
(Proverbs 15:32).

As far as possible, keep your word, or do not promise it.

Psalm 15:1-5
1
Lord, who may abide in Your tabernacle? Who may dwell in Your
holy hill?
2
He who walks uprightly, And works righteousness,
And speaks the truth in his heart;
3
He who does not backbite with his tongue, Nor does evil to his
neighbor,
Nor does he take up a reproach against his friend;
4
In whose eyes a vile person is despised, But he honors those who fear
the Lord;
He who swears to his own hurt and does not change;
5
He who does not put out his money at usury, Nor does he take a bribe
against the innocent.
He who does these things shall never be moved.

Psalm 15:5 (The Message)

Keep your word even when it costs you,

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Like our Heavenly Father, we must take our own words

seriously. Our word must be our bond, a promise we will
keep. I realize that there are times when we will fail since we
are human, and our best intentions may be hindered due to
practical limitations. However, to the best of our abilities, we
must be people of our word. If we promise to do something,
let us do our best to make it good. Sometimes, this is an area
that creates a lot of problems for us as Christian ministers. We
do not know how to say “No.” So we promise to do things that
we know we will not be able to do just to please people or just
to look nice before them. Eventually, we are unable to keep
our word, and then this leads to a lot of disappointment in
those who were expecting us to do what we had promised. We
then lose our credibility, and this eventually reflects on the
ministry. People lose trust, feel hurt, feel let down and may
even go away from the local church. The apostle Paul took this
seriously in his ministry. Writing to the Corinthians he states,
“Therefore, when I was planning this, did I do it lightly? Or
the things I plan, do I plan according to the flesh, that with me
there should be Yes, Yes, and No, No?” (2 Corinthians 1:17)
It is true that we may not be perfect in this area. We may
promise something and fail to keep it. In such situations, let
us be quick to apologize to people and use it as a lesson to
learn, and understand our own areas of limitations so that we
do not repeat this.
The Lord Jesus taught us, “But let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’
and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’ For whatever is more than these is from
the evil one.” (Matthew 5:37).
Respect other people’s time—be punctual, always.
Ephesians 5:15,16
15
See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise,
16
redeeming the time, because the days are evil.

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One of the big areas where I feel that we Christian

ministers need to improve is in punctuality. I remember
some years ago, reading a full-page advertisement in a local
Christian Ad magazine about a full-day prayer meeting that
was to be held in a large auditorium in our city. It said that
the prayer meeting was to start at 9 a.m. This prayer meeting
was hosted by a large church, and the name of the church and
its pastors were boldly put on display in the advertisement.
I decided that getting together with other believers to pray
was a good thing, so I set that day aside to be at that prayer
meeting. I arrived at the venue a few minutes before 9 a.m. To
my disappointment, there was no one, even the hall door was
locked. So I met the security guard and asked him if anyone
had come and so on. Then I called the church office asking
about the meeting. It was quite an embarrassing moment. The
answer I received was to kindly wait there and that the pastor
would reach there by 10 a.m. or 11 a.m. I promptly left that
place disappointed.
It is customary in India to announce that a Christian
meeting or service will start at a certain time, but the
organizers fully intend to start about 30 minutes after the
announced time. This is a very bad practice. First, we are
lying to people about the starting time. Second, we are doing
injustice to those who come on time by keeping them waiting
for 30 minutes. Third, we are inculcating a wrong habit in our
own people by announcing a time and then starting 30 minutes
later. They will also do the same thing, and so this problem
continues. We must decide that when we announce a start
time for a meeting, we do all our planning and preparation in
such a manner that we start on time. Regardless of how many
people are in the venue, our responsibility is to keep our word
and start on time. If we do this consistently for some time,

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people will understand that they need to be on time or else

they will miss out on parts of the service. Yes, there will be
rare occasions when we are delayed due to difficult situations.
In such cases, we must apologize to the people and ensure we
do what is needed to avert this in the future.
The same goes for individual meetings that we schedule.
If we have given an individual a certain time to meet with us,
then we need to be there and meet with that person at that
set time. It is unfair on our part to keep that person waiting
regardless of who that person is or how “not as busy” they
may be. If there is a situation where we are unable to keep our
time, then we need to inform that person as soon as possible
so that they can make changes to their schedule as well.

Be blameless before God and man.

2 Corinthians 6:3,4
3
We give no offense in anything, that our ministry may not be blamed.
4
But in all things we commend ourselves as ministers of God: …

2 Corinthians 8:21
providing honorable things, not only in the sight of the Lord, but also
in the sight of men.

To the best we can, we must conduct ourselves

blamelessly before God and men. Our goal is that in both
our personal lives and in the way we do things in ministry,
we should be blameless. We should live in such a way that
we have nothing to hide. Yes, we make mistakes and receive
the Lord’s forgiveness and correction, and so we put those
things behind us and move on. We choose not to continue in
wrongdoing. In all things—the way we are at home with our
spouse and children, in the way we use our time and money,
in the way we minister, and so on—we must show ourselves to

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be true ministers of the Lord. We must be right not only in the

sight of God, but as far as possible, also in the sight of man.
Enjoy life, but avoid loose talk and foolish jesting.
Ephesians 4:29
Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for
necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers.

Ephesians 5:3,4
3
But fornication and all uncleanness or covetousness, let it not even
be named among you, as is fitting for saints;
4
neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor coarse jesting, which are
not fitting, but rather giving of thanks.

Do not demand comforts or luxuries.

2 Corinthians 4:8-10
8
We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed,
but not in despair;
9
persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed—
10
always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that
the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body.

1 Thessalonians 2:6,9-12
6
Nor did we seek glory from men, either from you or from others,
when we might have made demands as apostles of Christ.
9
For you remember, brethren, our labor and toil; for laboring night
and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you, we preached to
you the gospel of God.
10
You are witnesses, and God also, how devoutly and justly and
blamelessly we behaved ourselves among you who believe;
11
as you know how we exhorted, and comforted, and charged every
one of you, as a father does his own children,
12
that you would walk worthy of God who calls you into His own
kingdom and glory.

It seems to be a common trend today, especially with

the upper echelon of “great and mighty,” “anointed” servants

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of God to demand huge offerings, spacious air-conditioned

vehicles for transport, five-star hotel accommodation and
superhero treatment, when invited to preach and minister at
a service or meeting. While I am not against large offerings,
good vehicles to travel in or staying in five-star hotels, I think it
is wrong for ministers to make such demands as a prerequisite
to go out and minister. If the host willingly provides such
things, enjoy it! If you pay for it yourself, then it is well and
good. But to demand and expect such “royal” treatment and
make this criterion by which a servant of God will accept or
reject an invitation is not anywhere close to being Christlike!
If God wants us to go and minister, we must be ready, whether
we get to stay in a five-star hotel or sleep in somebody’s home
somewhere. Our call is to obey God, not seek after luxury and
comfort.
I have also noticed that such ministers will gladly spend
someone else’s money and enjoy such comforts. But when
asked to pay for it themselves, they immediately downgrade
everything to just the basics. We ought not to do such things!
Let us value the resources God has given us, be it what is in
our hands or in someone else’s.
Now on the other side, if you are a pastor or someone
hosting a conference or meeting and wish to invite a man or
woman of God, how should you go about it? I think it is better
to know what your organization can afford to spend toward
the travel, accommodation and food for having that servant of
God come and minister at your conference. Then along with
the invitation, make it very clear what you can afford. For
example, round trip economy class air travel on such and such
airline, stay at such and such place for these number of days
and a gift of this amount for ministering and so on. If they are
fine with these arrangements, they are free to agree or else
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free to decline the invitation. This way you avoid any wrong
expectations and can also be a good steward of the finances
you have been given without pandering to the excesses and
luxuries some ministers of God may demand.
The apostle Paul did a whole lot for the Kingdom of
God and faced a lot of hardships as he went about preaching,
planting churches and strengthening believers. He did not
use the excuse of much travel or a busy schedule to demand
luxuries or special treatment from churches and believers that
he went to minister to. We need to follow this example.
Paul instructed the Philippians, “Let your gentleness
(“moderation,” KJV) be known to all men. The Lord is at hand”
(Philippians 4:5). The word “moderation” refers to restraint
on the passions, general soberness of living, being free from
all excesses. The word “properly” means that which is fit
or suitable, and then propriety, gentleness, mildness. They
were to indulge in no excess of passion, or dress, or eating, or
drinking. They were to govern their appetites, restrain their
temper, and to be examples of what was proper for people
in view of the expectation that the Lord would soon appear.
[Explanation of the word “moderation” quoted from Albert
Barnes’ Notes on the Bible, Albert Barnes (1798-1870)]

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Preaching
“in all things showing yourself to be a pattern of good works; in doctrine showing
integrity, reverence, incorruptibility, sound speech that cannot be condemned,
that one who is an opponent may be ashamed, having nothing evil to say of you.”
(Titus 2:7,8)

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5
PREACHING
God has ordained that His Word be preached so that lives
can be touched. As ministers of God, we know the impact
good preaching and teaching can have on people. People are
edified, strengthened and encouraged. We see souls saved,
sinners repent, people healed and delivered as God’s Word is
proclaimed in power. This is just so wonderful to be a part of.
On the other hand, there are areas we need to be watchful
about when it comes to preaching and teaching God’s Word.
In many churches today, the sermon is nothing more than a
boring homily, a lifeless speech, and sometimes even a political
push for some agenda that someone wants to promote from
the pulpit. In some other places, the sermon is nothing more
than a cacophony of repetitious “Hallelujah” and “Praise the
Lord,” interspersed with some disconnected stories, all geared
to whip up spiritual frenzy and emotions. At the end of it, you
wonder what the preacher was trying to convey or what it was
about God that you discovered through the preaching! In some
other places, we see the services and sermons becoming “mega
entertainment,” somewhat like a “Christianized” alternative
to a movie in a theatre. The preacher is all geared to impress
and entertain his audience, preaching in “contemporary style”
using language that would make his speech no different from
an unsaved television host or motivational speaker. The Cross
is not proclaimed. Words like “sin,” “heaven,” “hell,” “repent”
are considered outdated. Signs, healings, miracles and gifts of
the Spirit are replaced with flashing lights, talented celebrities

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and actors and decked-up stages. Whatever happened to the

preaching of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the teaching of
God’s uncompromised Word!
Being a preacher of God’s Word is no fancy position or
role. It is a response to a higher call. It is a willingness to live
by higher standards and to be judged by stricter measures.
“My brethren, let not many of you become teachers, knowing
that we shall receive a stricter judgment” (James 3:1). If we
are not ready for this, then we should not be preaching!

Establish people in God’s word.

Acts 20:32
“So now, brethren, I commend you to God and to the word of His grace,
which is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among all
those who are sanctified.

Ephesians 4:14
that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried
about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning
craftiness of deceitful plotting,

In Paul’s final admonition to the elders in the Ephesian

church, he pointed them to God and to God’s Word, which
was able to build them up. Even so today, one of our objectives
as ministers of God is to establish people in God’s Word. The
Word will build them up and enable them to come into their
inheritance. We are not here to entertain, amuse and make
people feel good or impressed by our fine speeches. We are
not here to excite minds with our illustrations and stories. All
of this will be useless if, at the end of it all, people are not
established in God’s Word. It is only when God’s people are
established in His Word that they can be firm and stable, not
driven about by every wind of deceitful doctrine that blows.

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Be pure, reverent, genuine, wholesome.

Titus 2:7,8
7
in all things showing yourself to be a pattern of good works; in doctrine
showing integrity, reverence, incorruptibility,
8
sound speech that cannot be condemned, that one who is an opponent
may be ashamed, having nothing evil to say of you.

The apostle Paul defined the standard we must maintain

in the ministry of God’s Word. He calls for …
● Integrity: Pure and without error. I must not preach and
teach lies. I must not proclaim fables and man-made stories.
Anything that contradicts the Bible is untruth.
● Reverence: Respect. The way the message is delivered must
be with respect and must elicit respect from the audience.
I cannot use cheap words or make light of what I am doing
when ministering the Word of God. I am not here to try and
“be cool,” look nice and feel accepted by my audience. I
must carry a sense of reverence and awe of God and His
Word as I minister.
● Incorruptibility: Genuineness. I cannot preach something I
do not believe in. I cannot preach something I am not living
by and have not practiced in my own life. I cannot preach
something that is only a “feel good” message, a nice idea
that is however not entirely reliable.
● Sound speech that cannot be condemned: Wholesome
words. The words I use and the way I speak must be
blameless. Something people cannot find fault with.

Preach to impart, not impress.

2 Corinthians 2:17
For we are not, as so many, peddling the word of God; but as of
sincerity, but as from God, we speak in the sight of God in Christ.

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2 Corinthians 4:2
But we have renounced the hidden things of shame, not walking
in craftiness nor handling the word of God deceitfully, but by
manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man’s
conscience in the sight of God.

Our motivation in preaching and ministering God’s Word

should be to impart truth and revelation that will result in
life transformation. If our motivation is primarily to impress
people so that they pat us on the back for a nice sermon, then
we have missed the whole purpose of ministering God’s Word.
We must refrain from “peddling the Word of God.”
The idea here is that of a wine shop owner, who would not
dilute the wine or mix other substances with the genuine
wine. Similarly, in the ministry of God’s Word, two things
are important—no dilution and no mixture. Do not dilute
the Word of God by not stating things clearly. Do not mix in
man’s ideas, philosophies, nice and popular thoughts with the
Word of God. Stay true to ministering the uncompromised,
undiluted Word of God.
Address difficult topics, do it with love.
Ephesians 4:13-15
13
till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the
Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the
fullness of Christ;
14
that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried
about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning
craftiness of deceitful plotting,
15
but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him
who is the head—Christ—

Romans 2:3,4
3
And do you think this, O man, you who judge those practicing such
things, and doing the same, that you will escape the judgment of God?

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4
Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and
longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to
repentance?

While everyone enjoys a nice, positive, uplifting message

on hope or faith or success or blessing, we also must address
other topics such as personal character, sexual purity, fidelity
in marriage, integrity in finances, forgiving others, sacrifice
and so on. Some of these may be difficult to talk about from
the pulpit. However, we must speak the truth in love so that
we can all grow up in all things to be like Jesus. The key is
to do it in love and not in a judgmental way. I have made
this mistake several times. While my intention was to teach
godly standards, the way I communicated was judgmental and
brought condemnation on people. Hence, over time, I have
learned to be careful, and have attempted to ensure that I speak
the truth concerning difficult areas but do it with the goodness
of God. Spewing fire and brimstone only drives people away.
It is the goodness of God that leads people to repentance.
Also, when addressing such topics, it is important to let
people know that we struggle with the same things and that
we ourselves are not perfect. We face the same devil, the same
temptations and the same challenges. We have not been made
perfect yet, but are striving toward perfection and encouraging
others to join us in this journey toward Christlikeness. We
must be careful not to preach in a manner that makes us
appear perfect as though we have got it all together, and we are
speaking to lesser mortals who need help. Here again, I have
made mistakes in the way I have communicated things and
have had to learn how to speak in a manner that is edifying
and not condescending. As it says in Proverbs, “… sweetness
of the lips increases learning” (Proverbs 16:21).

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Rightly divide the Word—maintain sound doctrine.

2 Timothy 1:13,14
13
Hold fast the pattern of sound words which you have heard from me,
in faith and love which are in Christ Jesus.
14
That good thing which was committed to you, keep by the Holy Spirit
who dwells in us.

2 Timothy 2:15
Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does
not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

1 Timothy 4:16
Take heed to yourself and to the doctrine. Continue in them, for in
doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear you.

Titus 2:1
But as for you, speak the things which are proper for sound doctrine:

This is an awesome responsibility we have as ministers

of the Word of God to rightly divide the Word of truth—
to correctly break things down, interpret and make it
understandable for people without diluting the truth or mixing
other things into it. It is important that we do not conjure up
ideas and things based on stories we read in Scripture and
preach our own imaginations. It is important that we follow
proper rules for biblical interpretation and look at topics in
the light of the entirety of Scripture, and not based on isolated
references. We must let Scripture interpret Scripture. We are to
constantly watch over our own lives and what we are teaching.
We need to question ourselves if what we are preaching and
teaching is indeed accurate and sound. If we continue doing
so, we will save ourselves and the people who hear us. If you
are not sure if something is sound doctrine, then discuss it
with someone who is a mature minister of God and who is
strong in the Word. Watch over the things you preach and
teach. Maintain sound doctrine.
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Build precept upon precept.

Isaiah 28:9,10
9
“Whom will he teach knowledge? And whom will he make to
understand the message?
Those just weaned from milk? Those just drawn from the breasts?
10
For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept,
Line upon line, line upon line, Here a little, there a little.”

God works with us like dealing with little children,

giving us precept upon precept, line upon line. He gives us
a little understanding of truth. And then He adds to it. And
continues to do so as our understanding and experience in that
truth grows. This is a good lesson for us to learn. We need to
impart truth line by line, little by little so that people can grow
in that truth. This is a journey we are making together into a
deeper, clearer revelation of truth.
I am sure many of us have experienced this in our
pastoral ministry. The first time we shared on a particular
subject, people may have found it hard to understand. There
were lots of questions and doubts. When we revisit that same
topic after some time and take things to the next level, people
are then able to grasp the truth a little better. And so, as you
keep coming back and studying, learning and experiencing
a certain area of truth, the light gets brighter and brighter.
Things become clearer. People can yield more to what God
wants them to do in relation to that truth. We grow in it step
by step.

Bring a word in season.

Isaiah 50:4
“The Lord God has given Me
The tongue of the learned,
That I should know how to speak

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A word in season to him who is weary.

He awakens Me morning by morning, He awakens My ear
To hear as the learned.

Proverbs 25:11 (The Message)

The right word at the right time is like a custom-made piece of jewelry,

It is important to know what “Word” God desires to

release to His people in each season. This is true if you are
an itinerant preacher and especially true if you are a pastor
of a local congregation. We need to be sensitive to the areas
God wants us to focus on and in what areas to build and
strengthen people. If we listen to God, He will empower us to
bring a Word in season. People coming to listen to you will be
expecting the Lord to speak to them. There will be something
in it for everybody.

Validate your “revelations” before you preach it.

Hebrews 13:9
Do not be carried about with various and strange doctrines. For it is
good that the heart be established by grace, not with foods which have
not profited those who have been occupied with them.

Matthew 13:52
Then He said to them, “Therefore every scribe instructed concerning
the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings out of his
treasure things new and old.”

As ministers of the Word, we find ourselves sometimes

under “pressure” to bring some “new” and “fresh” revelation.
People want to hear things they have not heard before. So,
under pressure, we work at coming up with something new—
some fresh revelation. Sometimes, we may be right and are
able to deliver fresh insight into God’s Word—treasures that
were hidden in the Word that we saw for the first time and
are able to communicate it to people. However, if we think
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we have a “revelation” and we are unsure of its doctrinal and

Scriptural accuracy, it is important that we “validate” it before
preaching it. See if other established ministers of God concur
with what you have. Test if that “revelation” holds in the light
of the entirety of Scripture. The Spirit and the Word agree
(1 John 5:7). So, the Holy Spirit will not reveal something
that goes against the revealed Word of God (the Scripture)
and against the manifest Word of God (the Person of Jesus
Christ). Hold on to that “revelation” till you feel that it is
accurate and can hence be released to God’s people. Because,
in case something is released and we find that it is incorrect,
then retracting it will be quite difficult.
On the other hand, do not be afraid to bring out “old
treasures” to preach to people. Many of the truths that I
preach today, are truths that I have been preaching since my
early teenage years—for almost 40 years. It is the same truth.
The truth has not changed. My depth of understanding, my
experience in that truth, my confidence and clarity in that
truth and my ability to communicate it has of course grown
over the years. But it is the same “old treasures” that I keep
preaching. Nothing wrong with that! These are timeless truths!
And there are always new people who need to be grounded in
these timeless truths.

Stay current but avoid theological digressions.

2 Peter 1:12
For this reason I will not be negligent to remind you always of these
things, though you know and are established in the present truth.

The understanding of truth and the application of truth

is progressive. So, as the Body of Christ keeps maturing, our
understanding of truth and our ability to see its application
in daily life keeps increasing. And as ministers of God, we

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need to stay current in “the present truth.” For example, the

truth about the baptism of the Holy Spirit was always there
in Scripture. But after the Dark Ages, it was only in the early
1900s with the Azusa Street Revival that people began to
experience the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on a large scale.
This gave birth to the Pentecostal movement and so on. In
the early days of Pentecostalism, people “tarried” hours and
sometimes even days to receive the baptism in the Holy Spirit
and pray in tongues. With time, people understood how easy
and simple it was to pray and receive the baptism in the Holy
Spirit and start praying in tongues. Today, it is a regular feature
to share God’s Word and help people receive the baptism in
the Holy Spirit within an hour. What we do observe here is
that the Body of Christ has grown in its understanding of truth
and learned how to apply that truth.
Apollos was a strong minister of the Word. However,
he only knew the truth till the baptism of John the Baptist.
So, when he met with Aquilla and Priscilla, they got him
“updated” till the finished work of Christ on the Cross.
Apollos then became a strong teacher of the New Testament
and a pillar in the church at Corinth. “Now a certain Jew
named Apollos, born at Alexandria, an eloquent man and
mighty in the Scriptures, came to Ephesus. This man had been
instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in spirit,
he spoke and taught accurately the things of the Lord, though
he knew only the baptism of John. So he began to speak boldly
in the synagogue. When Aquila and Priscilla heard him, they
took him aside and explained to him the way of God more
accurately.” (Acts 18:24-26). Paul did the same thing with the
believers at Ephesus (Acts 19:1-6).
Even so, it is important for us, as ministers of God to stay
current with the growth “in grace and in the knowledge of our

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Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:18) that is being

experienced by the Body of Christ. We must stay current and
learn from what God is releasing to the Body all over the
world.
However, in so doing, we need to avoid “theological
digressions.” Some internationally reputed and highly
esteemed preachers go off on a tangent and begin to preach and
teach things that are completely not based on the foundations
of Scripture. They deny some of the fundamental teachings
of Scripture. Such things happened even in New Testament
times when people strayed from the truth.
2 John 1:7
For many deceivers have gone out into the world who do not confess
Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist.

2 Timothy 2:17,18
17
And their message will spread like cancer. Hymenaeus and Philetus
are of this sort,
18
who have strayed concerning the truth, saying that the resurrection
is already past; and they overthrow the faith of some.

Theological digressions can come in many ways. If I

preach and teach something in an imbalanced manner, without
giving equal importance to the rest of the truths contained in
Scripture, it can lead people astray. If I overemphasize a truth
and give it more importance than what the Scripture does, that
too is dangerous. For example, if I overemphasize blessing
and prosperity without balancing it with sacrifice, giving and
contentment, I lead people astray. If I overemphasize grace
without emphasizing godly living, purity and responsibility,
I end up with a Gospel of hyper-grace and lead people astray.
If I challenge what God’s Word says and deny the existence
of a literal heaven and a literal hell, I lead people astray. If I

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dilute the Word of God and say that there are many ways to
God instead of clearly stating that salvation is only by faith in
Christ, I lead people astray.
As ministers of the Word, we need to guard against
such things and make sure we do not get caught in it. We
believe in Bible prophecy but let us never get caught up in
sign-seeking or date-setting. We believe in moral and social
responsibility in our nation yet, let us never get caught up with
some social or political cause and distracting ourselves from
primarily being ministers of God’s Word. We believe in signs
and wonders and miracles that accompany the preaching of
the Gospel, but let us never get focused on miracles and stray
away from intimacy with Him, and the salvation of souls. We
believe in the prophetic and hearing the voice of God but let us
never get carried away with various and strange “prophecies,”
rather let our hearts be established in the eternal truth of
God’s infallible Word of grace.

Amplify truth to overcome error.

John 1:5
And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not
comprehend it.

2 Timothy 4:2-4
2
Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince,
rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching.
3
For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but
according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will
heap up for themselves teachers;
4
and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside
to fables.

The best way to dispel darkness is to turn the light on.

Turn it on real bright until every trace of darkness is dispelled.

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Similarly, the best way to get rid of error is to amplify the

truth. Make the truth plain, simple, loud and clear, and all
error will be removed.
As pastors and ministers of God’s Word, it is our
responsibility to protect people entrusted to us from doctrinal
error, fables and things that turn people away from the truth.
The best way to keep people grounded in the truth and from
straying into error is to preach the Word in season and out of
season. Preach the truth. Amplify the truth. Convince people
of the truth. Rebuke, literally meaning “have arguments
presented to convince of the truth” [Albert Barnes’ Notes on
the Bible, Albert Barnes (1798-1870)]. Exhort or encourage
people to pursue the truth. Do not waste time explaining the
error. Instead, explain the truth. Truth will dispel error.

No flattery, no extortion, no self-promotion.

1 Thessalonians 2:3-6
3
For our exhortation did not come from error or uncleanness, nor was
it in deceit.
4
But as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel,
even so we speak, not as pleasing men, but God who tests our hearts.
5
For neither at any time did we use flattering words, as you know, nor
a cloak for covetousness—God is witness.
6
Nor did we seek glory from men, either from you or from others, when
we might have made demands as apostles of Christ.

2 Corinthians 10:18
For not he who commends himself is approved, but whom the Lord
commends.

One of the most disheartening things to see is a preacher

using the pulpit for such things as flattery, extortion, self-
promotion and the like. Paul was very clear about his preaching.
There would be no error, no uncleanness, no pleasing men, no

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flattery, no covetousness or extortion, no seeking glory for

self in his preaching.
Flattery: When a preacher gets behind the pulpit and starts
stroking the ego of some “bigwig” sitting in the congregation,
maybe a celebrity, politician or sports personality, talking of
how wonderful they are, all he is doing is engaging in flattery!
Do not do this. If there are some great people sitting in the
congregation, let them be. You do not have to call out their
names and puff them up. If they came to sincerely worship the
Lord, they will not get offended that you did not call out their
name from the pulpit. They did not come to get noticed. They
came to worship and pray.
Extortion: When a preacher gets behind the pulpit and pulls
money from people by announcing things like, “The Lord says
to me that 10 people here have to give 100,000 rupees each,
those 10 people stand up,” or “Take out the biggest currency
you have in your wallet,” or “Take out everything you have
in your wallet and put it in the offering,” he is engaging in
extortion! Do not force people to give money in the offering.
Just invite people to give to the Lord whatever they wish to do
out of their hearts. And have faith in God to meet your needs!
You do not have to pull money out of God’s people!
Self-promotion: When a preacher gets behind the pulpit and
brags about himself, about how many places he has travelled,
the big crowds he has preached to and so on, he does this
to impress his audience and not genuinely to give glory to
God. Thus, he is engaging in self-promotion! Do not do this.
Just share a brief report of what happened and move on to
preach and teach God’s Word and magnify the Lord. You
will get your reward in heaven. That is so much better than
the applause of men! When you are sharing a testimony or

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an incident that happened, ask yourself “why” are you doing

this? Check on how you use the personal pronouns of “I,”
“me,” “myself.” If your motivation is to make yourself look
good in the eyes of people—and God knows your heart—you
are engaging in self-promotion. If the “I” becomes the hero of
the testimony, you are engaging in self-promotion. Watch over
yourself. When sharing a testimony or incident, do it with a
pure heart to glorify God, to celebrate what God is doing, to
teach, encourage and share real-life stories with people.

Do not give the devil pulpit-time.

Nehemiah 8:4-6
4
So Ezra the scribe stood on a platform of wood which they had made
for the purpose; and beside him, at his right hand, stood Mattithiah,
Shema, Anaiah, Urijah, Hilkiah, and Maaseiah; and at his left hand
Pedaiah, Mishael, Malchijah, Hashum, Hashbadana, Zechariah, and
Meshullam.
5
And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, for he was
standing above all the people; and when he opened it, all the people
stood up.
6
And Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God.
Then all the people answered, “Amen, Amen!” while lifting up their
hands. And they bowed their heads and worshiped the Lord with their
faces to the ground.

Consider the reverence people gave to the reading of the

Book of the Law. When Ezra opened the book, all the people
stood up. They lifted their hands, bowed their heads and even
fell prostrate with their faces to the ground.
The pulpit is a sacred place from where the Word of
God is to be proclaimed. We must maintain the sanctity of
the pulpit. Do not give the devil any pulpit time! If a preacher
uses the pulpit to fight against or speak ill of another preacher,
he is desecrating the sanctity of that place. If a preacher uses
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the pulpit to promote a politician or a political agenda, he

is desecrating the sanctity of that place. If a preacher uses
the pulpit to promote a business idea (his own or someone
else he is in partnership with), he is desecrating the sanctity
of that place. And like this, there can be so many abuses or
misuses of the pulpit, a place where God’s holy Word is to
be proclaimed under the power of His Spirit. We must, as
ministers of God, stay clear of all such misuses of the pulpit
and stay focused on the primary assignment.

Do not draw people to yourself.

Acts 20:28-31
28
Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which
the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God
which He purchased with His own blood.
29
For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in
among you, not sparing the flock.
30
Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse
things, to draw away the disciples after themselves.
31
Therefore watch, and remember that for three years I did not cease
to warn everyone night and day with tears.

John 7:18
He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory; but He who seeks the
glory of the One who sent Him is true, and no unrighteousness is in Him.

Being a minister of the Word of God is not an exercise

in popularity building. It is not about how many “fans” you
have, who like your preaching style and so on. It is not about
how many hearts you can steal so that they become your
supporters and stand with you. When you preach and teach
the Word of God, keep yourself out of the picture. Yes, you
can use your life-examples and experiences to illustrate how
you have applied the Word of God, but do it in such a way
that people will not be drawn after you but will be compelled
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to go after God and His Word. Through your preaching and

teaching, let people see not you, but Jesus.
Be a true minister of God—one who desires that the
Lord alone be glorified and nothing of self to be promoted.

Do not cause division and offense in the Body.

Romans 16:17,18
17
Now I urge you, brethren, note those who cause divisions and offenses,
contrary to the doctrine which you learned, and avoid them.
18
For those who are such do not serve our Lord Jesus Christ, but
their own belly, and by smooth words and flattering speech deceive
the hearts of the simple.

1 Corinthians 10:32,33
32
Give no offense, either to the Jews or to the Greeks or to the church
of God,
33
just as I also please all men in all things, not seeking my own profit,
but the profit of many, that they may be saved.

As ministers of God’s Word, what we preach can edify

and build up the Body or cause offense and division among
God’s people. While we may not agree with another Christian
denomination’s teaching and practices, making disparaging
remarks about other denominations can often do more harm
than good. I have made these mistakes myself and must
continually watch myself not to speak light, even in an amusing
way, of other Christian denominations. I must remind myself
to stay with preaching and teaching God’s Word.

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Anointing
“Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and has anointed us is God,”
(2 Corinthians 1:21)

131 Chapter 6
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6
ANOINTING
It is the anointing of God’s Spirit upon us earthen vessels
that causes things to happen in ministry. People are saved,
healed, delivered and miracles take place because of the work
of the Holy Spirit through our lives. The work of the Spirit
is so precious. The manifestations of the gifts and the results
of seeing believers edified are amazing. And yet, in this very
area, there can be many abuses by ministers of God that bring
reproach to the name of Jesus Christ.
This chapter calls us to a place where we remain as
vessels of honor in the hands of the Holy Spirit.
Anointing and gifts are given to serve people.
1 Corinthians 12:7
But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit
of all:

1 Corinthians 14:12
Even so you, since you are zealous for spiritual gifts, let it be for the
edification of the church that you seek to excel.

2 Corinthians 4:5
For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves
your bondservants for Jesus’ sake.

The gifts of the Spirit are given for the common good
and for the building up of the body of believers. Gifts and
anointing are not given for one individual to be elevated above
others but rather as a channel through which God’s people are
served. As we move and operate in the gifts and anointing that
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God has placed on our lives, it is important to keep this fact

clear and make this our motivation—to serve God’s people.
We exercise the gifts given to us to build up God’s people and
expand His Kingdom.
The mistake most of us make is that when we start
operating under God’s anointing and gifting, we feel that we
are now special, and people must now “serve” us so that our
ministry can expand. The One who was most anointed and
most gifted, the Lord Jesus said that He “did not come to be
served, but to serve” (Matthew 20:28). Should we not follow
His example? The more anointed and gifted we are, the more
of a servant we are to be.

The real you is who you are outside your gift and
anointing.
When we are under the anointing, we look “wonderful” in the
eyes of people. When the Word comes forth powerfully, gifts
flow and miracles happen, it is all so wonderful. People think
very highly of us because of what took place when we were up
on the stage. But all that happened because of the anointing of
God. That was not us! People tend to associate us with what
they saw happen. They base our identity as ministers of God
by our gift and anointing. They are wrong. That is not us. That
was God at work.
The “real us” is who we are when we get off stage and
walk on level ground. We must learn to see ourselves for
who we really are, earthen vessels and not have a pseudo-
identity of what people see of us when we are ministering.
The real “me” is who I am when I am not up there preaching
and ministering. I must realize that no matter how God may
work through me, I am an earthen vessel. I need to walk in

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obedience to God and humbly before God and man. I need to

keep my flesh under control, guard my mind and watch over
my words. I must walk through life just like any other believer
in Jesus Christ.

Your true spiritual identity is who you are in Christ.

Ephesians 2:10
For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works,
which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

Often, as ministers of God, we base our identity on

our spiritual calling, gifting, anointing and the good works
that have been accomplished. We enjoy the “image” that has
been created because of the ministry we have. However, this
is shaky ground because all of this can change overnight.
People’s perception of us, our anointing and our ministry
can change. So, we must always form our identity on who we
are in Jesus Christ. We are His workmanship. We are God’s
handiwork created in Christ. Who we are in Christ—as blood-
bought, blood-washed saints of God—will not change! This is
our identity. See yourself not as who you are in your gifting,
calling or anointing, but as who you are in Christ Jesus. Live
life from who you are in Christ. Face challenges and overcome
obstacles as who you are in Christ.

Desire the genuine, do not tolerate imitations.

Exodus 30:31,32
31
“And you shall speak to the children of Israel, saying: ‘This shall be
a holy anointing oil to Me throughout your generations.
32
It shall not be poured on man’s flesh; nor shall you make any other
like it, according to its composition. It is holy, and it shall be holy to you.

The holy anointing oil in the Old Testament was a type

of the anointing of the Spirit in the New Testament. The holy

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anointing oil was not to be used for ordinary fleshly purposes

and no imitation of it was to be made. It was to be treated with
reverence. It was holy. So is the anointing of the Holy Spirit
in the New Testament.
The anointing is pure but is expressed through human
vessels which are not. The anointing is perfect, but the vessels
are not. Hence, it is possible that in the expression of the
anointing of God through us, human vessels, we contaminate
it with our fleshly works, or even sometimes attempt to
imitate the anointing in the flesh even when His Spirit is not
manifesting. This is where we must exercise self-restraint,
not out of fear of failure but out of reverence for the Lord.
We must cast out fear and stir up the gifts of God within us
as Paul encouraged Timothy (2 Timothy 1:6,7). On the other
hand, we must exercise self-restraint to keep our flesh and
fleshly zeal out of the way so that what manifests through us
is the pure work of the Spirit and as He wills. This requires a
heart-attitude that seeks to glorify God alone and serve God’s
people with all sincerity. It requires a willingness to do only
what we see Him do, to move with Him only when He moves
and to speak only what He declares. This is where true fruit is
borne. “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing”
(John 6:63a).

Do not run after the latest “fad” in Christendom.

John 6:63
It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that
I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.

For some reason, we observe all kinds of “fads” or

novel ways of doing things in Christian ministry that come
and go repeatedly. Some of these get “mass appeal” all over
Christendom through good marketing, media promotions

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and so on and then fade away. Even in the exercise of the

anointing, we see all kinds of “novel” ways of ministering—
from throwing one’s coat around, blowing in the mic, pushing
people on the floor and so on. If the Spirit of God is truly
there in some expression and is specifically leading you to do
it, it is well and good. However, if it is just another “novel”
thing to do in order to be considered the anointed of God,
then do not do it. Do not simply copy someone else. The real
test is in the fruit that is borne. Whatever is of the flesh—of
human invention—will not bring about genuine and lasting
transformation. Whatever is truly of the Spirit of God will
have genuine fruit—fruit that results in life-transformation,
fruit that glorifies Jesus and fruit that remains.

You cannot have something unless you receive it from

God.
John 3:27
John answered and said, “A man can receive nothing unless it has been
given to him from heaven.

The fact that anointing can be imparted from one to

another and that gifts can be activated through the laying on
of hands is without question. However, this does not happen
arbitrarily. To receive a “double portion” of anointing from a
man of God or even an impartation of the “same portion” of
anointing is no small thing. It happens under God’s directive
and in alignment to God’s calling on an individual’s life.
You can have any number of people lay hands on you for
impartation, but if you are not called and gifted by God to a
particular ministry, you are not going to be anointed for that
ministry. The anointing is in line with the call and gifting
on your life. At the end of all that is said and done, you
cannot receive anything unless it is given to you by God. So
ultimately, it depends on our intimacy with God and our walk

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with him. So, while getting hands laid on us for impartation

is useful, our focus should be to move into greater depths of
intimacy with God. That is the place of anointing.

Allow yourself to be judged.

1 Corinthians 14:29
Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others judge.

1 Thessalonians 5:20,21
20
Do not despise prophecies.
21
Test all things; hold fast what is good.

Although the Spirit of God is perfect, the instruments

He works through are imperfect. Therefore, whatever is
manifested through the imperfect vessel must be judged.
We are not judging God, but the manifestation through a
human vessel. It is biblical for believers to judge spiritual
manifestations. However, some of us, because we think we
are always accurate in our prophecies and always right in the
expressions of the gifts, feel offended when people tell us
that they need to take time to evaluate what we have delivered
under the anointing. On the contrary, we must be happy for
such believers who are now taking responsibility to seek
God about a prophetic word or spiritual manifestation that
was delivered. In fact, the sign of a mature minister of God is
that he or she encourages believers to test prophetic and other
spiritual manifestations that he or she delivers to them. It is a
sign of high spiritual stature in God.

Avoid sensationalism and hyper-emotionalism.

I realize that all of us have different temperaments, styles
and methods in ministry. We are not all the same. Some of us
have a more sedate, quiet style of ministering, while some are
on the other end of the spectrum—loud, grand, dramatic and

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full of energy. The Lord made us all different and He works

through us all.
However, it is easy to tell when a preacher is being
superficial, full of hype and simply whipping up the emotions
and excitement of people. We can tell when there are verbal
exaggerations, high drama and sensationalism. What good
will all this do for people at the end of it? Will all this really
help people experience the Lord in a genuine way and see
their lives changed? Being emotionally charged up about the
message you are preaching is good but whipping up people’s
emotions just to make yourself feel something is not good for
anybody. We do not have to do the Holy Spirit’s work for Him.
He knows how to move upon people’s hearts even without us
necessarily recognizing it!
On the other hand, we must avoid trying to be sensational
through extreme intellectualism, where no one understands
what we are saying, where our preaching is so convoluted that
people are so confused. We need to talk straight, simple and
with love. Our goal is to get people to experience Jesus and
grow in the faith.

There are no limits, so do not fall off the edge.

Isaiah 64:3
When You did awesome things for which we did not look,
You came down, The mountains shook at Your presence.

There are no limits to the power of God, the ways in which He

works, the creative new ways in which He manifests Himself.
God will do fresh and new things. The anointing of the Holy
Spirit will manifest in fresh new ways. Things we have never
seen before will happen. Things we were not even expecting
will begin to manifest as the Holy Spirit moves amongst us

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in unusual ways. There is no book, there is no sermon and

there is no human heart that has comprehended all the ways
in which He manifests His presence. He is infinite and so are
His ways of manifesting His anointing amongst us. The key is
for us to pursue Him and let these awesome things for which
we did not look for, happen at His prerogative as He moves
amongst us. Let us pursue Him and desire for His presence to
manifest. But let Him manifest Himself among us as He wills.

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Results
“I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. So then neither he who
plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase.”
(1 Corinthians 3:6,7)

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7
RESULTS
The Lord Jesus has called us and ordained us so that we will
bear fruit that remains (John 15:16). So, it is only right to look
for fruit, results, and outcomes. The Father is glorified when
we bear much fruit (John 15:8). In this chapter, we share a few
insights in relation to bearing and reporting fruit that is borne
through the work we do as Christian ministers.

Pruned or cut.
John 15:1,2
1
“I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser.
2
Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every
branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit.

God has designed us to be fruitful. It is normal to be

fruitful. God Himself looks to see if we are bearing fruit.
God teaches us how to bear fruit in our Christian walk (2
Peter 1:5-8). The Lord Jesus did make a solemn statement
that fruitlessness will result in us being cut off. The reward
for being fruitful is that He prunes us. He removes anything
unnecessary—anything that is dead, lifeless and hinders in
bearing fruit. He prunes us so that we can bear even more
fruit. So, God works in us to keep increasing our level of
fruitfulness. He takes us from one level to the next higher
level of fruitfulness.

Talents must multiply.

Matthew 25:20,21
20
“So he who had received five talents came and brought five other

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talents, saying, ‘Lord, you delivered to me five talents; look, I have

gained five more talents besides them.’
21
His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you were
faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter
into the joy of your lord.’

In this parable, the Lord Jesus illustrates to us that God

entrusts us with “talents,” which could be gifts, resources and
callings, and He expects us to see these increase or multiply.
Faithfulness in what God has given to us is not about just
maintaining those things but making every effort to see them
increase and multiply. We are “good and faithful” servants
when we work at increasing and multiplying what God has
given us.

Fruit comes in its season, wait for it.

Psalm 1:3
He shall be like a tree
Planted by the rivers of water, That brings forth its fruit in its season,
Whose leaf also shall not wither; And whatever he does shall prosper.

Different seeds take different lengths of time to grow and

bear fruit. There is no set time that is universal to all kinds of
fruit. In Christian ministry, as we labor doing what the Lord
has called us to do, we must do so with endurance. Fruit will
come in its season and we must work toward it faithfully and
patiently.
If we are not seeing fruit, then we need to examine if
we are doing the right thing—are we in the right place at the
right time where God wants us to be? Are we doing work the
way God wants it done or are we missing out on things we
are supposed to be doing, either due to lack of knowledge
or negligence? What season are we in—a time of breaking
ground, a time of sowing, a time of watering what was sown

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or a time of harvesting fruit that has been borne? Are we

looking for fruit in the right places? Are we looking for fruit
at the right time? Are there other things hindering us from
being fruitful? These are tough questions, but must be asked
because we are designed to bear fruit in our work for the Lord.
Fruit will come in its season. But we need to move toward that
season with diligence and endurance.

Do not exaggerate testimonies, just tell it like it

happened.
John 7:18 (The Message)
A person making things up tries to make himself look good. But
someone trying to honor the one who sent him sticks to the facts and
doesn’t tamper with reality.

It is disheartening to hear exaggerated reports of

testimonies and things that supposedly happened. Some years
ago, there was a large crusade held in our city by an international
ministry. It was massive in scale with huge amounts of money
that must have been spent for three days of crusade meetings.
When I watched the highlights as reported by that ministry,
it concluded with a picture of the Indian flag waving and the
words, “India, a nation changed forever.” Now it is true that
many things would have happened that were beyond what met
the eye. But if I looked at those three days objectively, here is
what I observed. A good majority of people who came to the
crusade were already believers. No one knows what happened
to the decision cards that were supposedly collected after the
crusade and how many of the new decisions were assimilated
into local churches. In comparison to the huge amounts of
money spent on that crusade, the measured outcome was quite
disappointing. I know that the very next day after the crusade
was over, there was another non-Christian religious gathering

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on the side of the grounds with people from the nearby village
/ vicinity gathering there. So not even the village around
the grounds was impacted, much less the city in which the
crusade was held, and not the nation definitely! So, for that
ministry to report to its supporters that India, as a nation, was
changed forever at the end of that three-day crusade was quite
an exaggeration to say the least! Well, I guess God overlooks
all these things, and so should we. But can we at least hold
ourselves accountable to be accurate in what we report and
state facts the way they happened?
Like this, there can be numerous stories of hype and
exaggeration, where a good work that the Lord has done has
been misrepresented. For what purpose? Does God need our
help to impress people? I do not think so. Let us resolve to
report results just as they happened and in a way that truly
glorifies the Lord. Be an honest reporter before God and
before man.

Exact or estimate, please specify.

2 Corinthians 6:3,4
3
We give no offense in anything, that our ministry may not be blamed.
4
But in all things we commend ourselves as ministers of God: in much
patience, in tribulations, in needs, in distresses,

When a preacher gets excited, even if 50 people came

forward for prayer, he can report it as “a revival broke out,”
“so many people came forward,” “there was such a mighty
move of God in the place with people weeping and crying
at the altar” and so on and leave it up to people to imagine
what happened. In worse situations, the preacher reports it as
“hundreds of people came forward” when it was just about 50
people, and the rest being helpers, volunteers, prayer teams
who came along with those who responded so that the crowd

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looks big. If we know for sure how many responded, then we

can give a specific number. If not, let us state that “we estimate
approximately so many people came forward” and stay as
close to reality as possible. Let us develop the discipline of
being accurate in our speech when reporting results.

Acknowledge another man’s labor.

2 Corinthians 10:15
not boasting of things beyond measure, that is, in other men’s labors,
but having hope, that as your faith is increased, we shall be greatly
enlarged by you in our sphere,

Galatians 6:4
But let each one examine his own work, and then he will have rejoicing
in himself alone, and not in another.

1 Corinthians 3:5,8
5
Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers through whom
you believed, as the Lord gave to each one?
8
Now he who plants and he who waters are one, and each one will
receive his own reward according to his own labor.

It is very rare that anyone does everything on their own.

Usually, we work in teams and we have many people who have
labored ahead of us, some laboring alongside us and some
laboring behind the scenes. It is important that we give honor
to whom honor is due. It is important that we recognize those
who have contributed to the fruit that we are experiencing,
rather than making it appear as though everything was
happening just because of us. Let us not rob the honor due to
someone else. To the extent of our knowledge, let us recognize
and honor those who have contributed to us bringing in the
harvest!

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Give God all the glory—it all happened because of

Him.
Psalm 115:1
Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, But to Your name give glory,
Because of Your mercy, Because of Your truth.

How we give our testimonies and report results is

important. It is amusing to see people stand up and make
an opening statement saying, “All glory to God, everything
happened because of Him!” and then spend the next 30
minutes talking about themselves—what they did, how they
moved and so on. And at the end of the testimony, you are
left very impressed with them, and you have heard very little
about God! Our motive in giving testimonies and sharing
ministry reports must be pure. If it is done to promote
ourselves as though we were “someone special,” someone
“super anointed,” then our motives are not right. The sharing
of ministry reports, and testimonies of people saved, healed
and delivered must be done to glorify God and to bring
encouragement and faith in the hearts of people.

Do not compare, do not compete.

2 Corinthians 10:12
For we dare not class ourselves or compare ourselves with those who
commend themselves. But they, measuring themselves by themselves,
and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise.

When looking at results, size, growth and scale of

ministry, do not compare yourself with others. Do not compete
with others in how many people you are reaching or how big
your local church is. These things do not matter in the eyes of
the Lord. What the Lord requires of us is faithfulness in doing
what He has called us to do. Are we giving our best? Are we
growing into what God has ordained for our lives? Are we
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staying faithful to the call? These are what really matter. Stay
focused on the fruit that God wants you to bear. Stay focused
on the kind of results God is looking for through your life and
ministry.
Matthew 20:1-16
1
“For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early
in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard.
2
Now when he had agreed with the laborers for a denarius a day, he
sent them into his vineyard.
3
And he went out about the third hour and saw others standing idle
in the marketplace,
4
and said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right
I will give you.’ So they went.
5
Again he went out about the sixth and the ninth hour, and did likewise.
6
And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing
idle, and said to them, ‘Why have you been standing here idle all day?’
7
They said to him, ‘Because no one hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You
also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right you will receive.’
8
“So when evening had come, the owner of the vineyard said to his
steward, ‘Call the laborers and give them their wages, beginning with
the last to the first.’
9
And when those came who were hired about the eleventh hour, they
each received a denarius.
10
But when the first came, they supposed that they would receive more;
and they likewise received each a denarius.
11
And when they had received it, they complained against the landowner,
12
saying, ‘These last men have worked only one hour, and you made
them equal to us who have borne the burden and the heat of the day.’
13
But he answered one of them and said, ‘Friend, I am doing you no
wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius?
14
Take what is yours and go your way. I wish to give to this last man
the same as to you.
15
Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with my own things? Or is
your eye evil because I am good?’

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16
So the last will be first, and the first last. For many are called, but
few chosen.”

God decides whom He calls, what He calls them to and how

He blesses those He calls.
Romans 14:4
Who are you to judge another’s servant? To his own master he stands
or falls. Indeed, he will be made to stand, for God is able to make him
stand.

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Fellowship
“Behold, how good and how pleasant it is For brethren to dwell together in unity!
It is like the precious oil upon the head, Running down on the beard, The beard of
Aaron, Running down on the edge of his garments. It is like the dew of Hermon,
Descending upon the mountains of Zion; For there the Lord commanded the
blessing—Life forevermore.”
Psalms 133:1-3

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8
FELLOWSHIP
As ministers of the Lord Jesus Christ, although we have our
unique gifts and calling, and our own ministries that we are
engaged in, we are all still part of one Body—the Body of
Christ. We are all washed by the same blood, saved by the same
grace of God, anointed by the same Holy Spirit, preaching
the same Word of God, part of the same Kingdom of God
and all working to build the same Body of Christ. In view of
this, we must learn to connect, fellowship, relate and work
together. I realize that we may belong to different Christian
denominations that have slight variations in perspectives, but
we all agree on the fundamental truths of God’s Word and
hence, we can have fellowship with one another around the
things we do agree on. I also realize that we are all very busy,
engaged in doing the work God has assigned to our lives. So,
taking time out purposefully to build quality relationships
with other fellow ministers is not an easy thing to do. And
yet, I believe we must do so. We need one another. And it is
only when a citywide church is united and strong can a city be
transformed. It takes a citywide church to reach a city.
Be a Kingdom builder.
Mark 3:24
If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.

In ministry, we can get so focused on what we are doing

that we forget that, ultimately, we are to see His Kingdom
come, His will be done on earth as it is in heaven. The
Kingdom of God is much bigger than the scope of our
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individual ministries. Therefore, it is important that we learn

to evaluate what we do in terms of Kingdom building.
Is the ministry I am doing resulting in the growth of the
Kingdom of God, or just the promotion of my own name and
work? Is the rule and dominion of the Lord being established
in the heart and lives of people in the communities and
cities that I am engaged in? Is what I am doing furthering
unity among God’s people so that the Kingdom of God is
strengthened, or am I working in isolation that what I do does
not strengthen other churches and ministries?
A Kingdom builder looks beyond his own individual
vision, church and ministry and seeks to bless other visions,
ministers, churches and ministries so that God’s rule and
reign are extended in the lives of people.
A Kingdom builder is willing to partner with others,
step into other people’s visions and serve without seeking
recognition or opportunities for self-promotion. For a
Kingdom builder, “What do I get out of it?” or “What is in it
for me?” are questions that are not asked and do not matter so
long as Jesus is glorified.
As ministers of God, we need to maintain a “Kingdom
mindset” where we look at things not from “What do I get out
of it?” but we think in terms of “How does the Kingdom of
God benefit from this?” If the Kingdom of God is going to be
furthered, I will gladly serve. That is being a true Kingdom
builder.

Relate to other ministers.

John 4:35-38
35
Do you not say, ‘There are still four months and then comes the
harvest’? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields,

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for they are already white for harvest!

36
And he who reaps receives wages, and gathers fruit for eternal life,
that both he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together.
37
For in this the saying is true: ‘One sows and another reaps.’
38
I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have
labored, and you have entered into their labors.”

It is very rare in ministry that we work all by ourselves

and do everything alone. The norm is that someone else has
already gone before us and has sown. God has sent us to enter
into their labors. Even when we labor in a city, it is likely that
there are churches and ministries already functioning in that
city. We must learn to connect, interact, relate and work with
other men and women of God in the city. Ideally, it would be
great if we could complement each other’s work in the city,
and possibly, even partner toward the same goals in the city.
Building friendships and relationships with other
ministers of God takes time and effort. It is important
that we gather for building relationships and not just for
ministry-related activity. When we simply share our hearts,
our successes, our struggles, our challenges and pray for
one another, amazing things will happen. We can clear our
misunderstandings if any, bring healing to broken relationships
and bless each other. “Confess your trespasses to one another,
and pray for one another, that you may be healed …” (James
5:16) Out of the strength of relationships that we have, we can
then engage in ministry. If we can do this, I believe we will
see a greater release of God’s power and anointing over our
towns and cities.

Build bridges across denominations.

1 Corinthians 10:16,17
16
The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the
blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion

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of the body of Christ?

17
For we, though many, are one bread and one body; for we all partake
of that one bread.

One of the challenges we face in Kingdom building are

denominational walls and denominational mindsets. Most of
the time, we feel comfortable relating to those who are of the
same denomination or closely related denomination. Pastors
of Spirit-filled, independent churches feel comfortable with
each other. Pastors from mainline evangelical denominations
seem to feel comfortable with each other. It is rare that we
see these lines crossed, and pastors and Christian ministers
relating across denominational lines just for fellowship and
building relationships.
I realize that there are some doctrinal differences across
denominations. However, I believe that we can find common
ground and reasons why we can fellowship and relate to one
another. As born-again believers, we have all passed through
the same Cross, have been washed by the same blood and
belong to the same Body. Instead of being fearful of each
other, let us build bridges and connect with each other.

Learn from fellow ministers.

Proverbs 27:17
As iron sharpens iron,
So a man sharpens the countenance of his friend.

As part of building relationships with other ministers, we

must be able to learn from one another. We must be willing
to listen and not want to speak all the time. Ask questions.
Listen to their ideas, thoughts and experiences. Give them the
opportunity to share their hearts. In the process, we can learn a
lot. As iron sharpens iron, our lives sharpen each other. Some
of the things we can learn in such conversations are invaluable

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and could perhaps, even save our lives and ministries from
a lot of harm and heartache. The Lord may even use such
simple conversations to guide us and direct our paths into new
areas.
Through the relationships we form with other ministers
of God, we will have some as friends, some as leaders we
model after and some who are mentors who impart into our
lives at a personal level. In turn, we may have the opportunity
to be friends to others.
We may become leaders that others see as role models.
We may have the opportunity to mentor others and see them
grow in the Kingdom of God and in their ministries.

Be comfortable being a follower—follow instructions.

Matthew 20:26,27
26
Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great
among you, let him be your servant.
27
And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave—

Most of us have the natural inclination to lead, to be

in charge, to be up in front and give instructions for others
to follow. However, when we are in a gathering of fellow
ministers, where all are leaders in their own right, we must be
willing to follow someone else.
It is quite disheartening to see that some “great” leaders
are poor followers. We begin to see a stubborn unwillingness
to cooperate and follow instructions because they are not in
charge and someone else is. The true sign of greatness does
not lie just in our ability to lead but also to follow when
someone else is leading.
We may be leaders in our own ministries, but when we
are among a group of leaders, we must wholeheartedly follow
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whoever is leading. When they tell us to stand, we stand.

When we are told to sit, we sit. That is it. We follow. When
we are asked to speak for 10 minutes, we speak for 10 minutes
and then keep quiet. We do not throw our “weight” around
and keep talking for 15, 20 or 30 minutes.

Be comfortable with being unrecognized.

2 Corinthians 3:1
Do we begin again to commend ourselves? Or do we need, as some
others, epistles of commendation to you or letters of commendation
from you?

Because we are always addressed and recognized by

our ministerial positions, having people always address us
as “pastor,” “brother,” “apostle,” “reverend” or whatever title
we carry, we suddenly feel disoriented, lost and out of place
when we are not recognized as such. We need to understand
that first, we are ordinary believers in the sight of God. When
we attend a gathering, we should be comfortable just sitting
in the crowd, worshipping God, listening to the Word and just
doing what all believers do. The problem is that most of us,
ministers are so used to being called up to the stage or being
ushered to the front row, recognized as ministers of God that
we are unable to be “in the crowd” as ordinary believers. We
get disoriented if that happens! There is something wrong in
our understanding of our identity if we become uncomfortable
when we are unrecognized.

Respect other’s gifts, anointing, ministry.

1 Corinthians 12:4-6
4
There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit.
5
There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord.
6
And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who
works all in all.

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God works through each of us, his servants, in diverse

ways. We do not all preach, pray, prophesy and sing the same
way. It is important to respect each other, even when the way
we minister is different. There are different operations of
God, but it is the same God who is working through each
one. No one way of ministry is superior to the other. Yes,
some forms of ministry may be more dramatic, louder, more
attention-getting than others. But being thus, does not imply
more power or more fruit. Let us celebrate all the variety and
diversity in ministry that God has placed in His Body. Let us
celebrate God at work in each other.

Do not judge another man’s servant.

Matthew 7:1-5
1
“Judge not, that you be not judged.
2
For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the
measure you use, it will be measured back to you.
3
And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not
consider the plank in your own eye?
4
Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from
your eye’; and look, a plank is in your own eye?
5
Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you
will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.

John 7:24
Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous
judgment.”

Romans 14:4,10-12
4
Who are you to judge another’s servant? To his own master he stands
or falls. Indeed, he will be made to stand, for God is able to make him
stand.
10
But why do you judge your brother? Or why do you show contempt for
your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.
11
For it is written:

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“As I live, says the LORD,

Every knee shall bow to Me,
And every tongue shall confess to God.”
12
So then each of us shall give account of himself to God.

We must be careful not to judge and condemn fellow

ministers for their faults and failures. While we recognize
what is right and wrong and learn lessons from another’s
failure, we are not here to pass judgment on another person.
When we see a fellow-minister make a mistake or do
something wrong, let us not pass judgment or criticize and
condemn them. We must avoid talking about them critically
in public. They are not answerable to us but to the Lord who
is their Master. We recognize the wrongdoing. We learn from
their mistakes so that we do not do the same things ourselves.
When asked about them, we acknowledge what is wrong and
yet, we speak grace and mercy on their lives with the desire
to see restoration and righteousness being established. We
must continue to see them as ministers of God and respect the
anointing that is on their lives.
Sometimes, we see the obvious flaws in a minister’s life
and wonder why God still uses him or her. The answer is quite
simple. The reason God still uses them is the same reason
God still uses us. It is His grace.

Do not gossip—be your brother’s keeper.

Proverbs 11:13
A talebearer reveals secrets,
But he who is of a faithful spirit conceals a matter.

Proverbs 17:9
He who covers a transgression seeks love,
But he who repeats a matter separates friends.

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1 Corinthians 10:24
Let no one seek his own, but each one the other’s well-being.

As fellow ministers, we must look out for each other,

both when we are with each other and when we are away
from each other. In the bonds of fellowship that we build is an
understanding of mutual trust. When we share our struggles
with one another as ministers, we expect them to be kept
confidential. We do not expect other ministers to make this a
matter of gossip and talk about it around town. If trust is lost,
it is difficult to fellowship with an open heart.
As a minister of God, we must learn not to gossip about
another’s weaknesses and failures. Talk about the good things
God has done through another man’s ministry. Celebrate that.
But keep quiet about his failures. If you must talk about it to
teach or instruct someone, do so while concealing that person’s
identity. By doing this, we are preserving our friendship and
looking out for the other’s well-being.
It is quite possible that sometimes one of our fellow
ministers has a moral failure and needs restoration. If we have
a bond of friendship and relationship with that person, we can
then step in and help get the fellow minister back on his feet
again. We do this with love and gentleness. “Brethren, if a man
is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore
such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest
you also be tempted. Bear one another’s burdens, and so
fulfill the law of Christ.” (Galatians 6:1,2)

Do not sow discord.

Proverbs 6:16-19
16
These six things the Lord hates, Yes, seven are an abomination to Him:
17
A proud look, A lying tongue, Hands that shed innocent blood,

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A heart that devises wicked plans, Feet that are swift in running to evil,
18

A false witness who speaks lies, And one who sows discord among
19

brethren.

Sowing discord among brethren is an abomination—a

totally detestable thing—in the eyes of the Lord. He hates
this. When we tell tales about other ministers, when we say or
do things that promote animosity among ministers of God, we
end up sowing discord. If I go to one servant of God and tell
him that another man or woman of God said certain negative
things about him, I am instrumental in sowing discord and
strife. If I have an issue or offense with one brother, and instead
of resolving this matter directly with him, I go and talk ill of
him with another person, I am sowing discord. The second
person’s opinion of the brother is automatically influenced by
whatever I have said. The Lord is witness to all that happens.
He is the silent listener to every conversation. And one thing
is certain, He hates it when we do such things!

Fellowship is for life transformation.

We end up going for many “Pastors’ Fellowships” or gatherings
of Christian ministers for all reasons other than for sharing life
to life. What I have noticed is that, most often, people come to
such fellowships to promote some meeting or conference that
their ministry is hosting soon. They come to hand out flyers and
solicit involvement for those meetings and so on. Fellowship
with other ministers is not a public-relations exercise. If the
motivation in fellowshipping with other ministers is just to
be in each other’s “good books,” call others for favors, use
this relationship to promote ourselves and for other political
agendas, then we have missed the entire purpose of getting
together. Genuine fellowship is “communion,” a sharing
together that brings about transformation of life. Let us learn

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to have genuine fellowship with other ministers of God. Our

own lives will be transformed for the better!

There are no superheroes.

Romans 12:16
Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not set your mind on
high things, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your
own opinion.

God is not impressed by the size of our ministry, the

significance of our achievements, our reputation or the number
of our fan-following and so on. God is not even impressed by
the titles, degrees and accolades that we may have received.
None of these impress our Lord. From the smallest to the most
famous—all of us are part of the same Body of Christ. We are
all equally important in His Body. When we fellowship with
each other, we are all on level ground. We stand by His grace
and we are here to share, give and enrich each other’s lives.
True fellowship can be fostered in such an environment where
people are all standing on level ground. When we get together
with other ministers of God for times of fellowship, we must
take off our “ministry masks”. Let us leave our titles aside.
Let us put our pretenses and ministry statuses aside. Let us be
transparent. No one is a superhero. We are all earthen vessels
through which His grace and power are flowing.

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Money
“For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed
from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many
sorrows. The Good Confession But you, O man of God, flee these things and
pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness.”
(1 Timothy 6:10,11)

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9
MONEY
Money is an important part of Christian ministry.
We must raise funds and learn how to use funds wisely.
Sometimes, as Christian ministers, we end up becoming
“money-minded,” constantly thinking about money. When
we do not have very much, we think of how we are going to
raise the small amounts we need to keep things going. Even
when our ministries are large, and we seem to have everything
going well, we are still “money-minded” and look for ways to
raise more money. It is a challenge in Christian ministry to
keep our focus on the Lord and His call and take our attention
off of money. This chapter deals with a few common struggles
we face in Christian ministry with money.

For the love of money.

1 Timothy 6:10,11
10
For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some
have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves
through with many sorrows.
11
But you, O man of God, flee these things and pursue righteousness,
godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness.

When money occupies so much of our thinking—either

because we lack money and are wondering how we are going
to get what we need, or we have so much but want more—it is
easy to slip into a place where we actually “love” money. How
can I tell if I am in “love” with money and controlled by it?

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● If I am constantly thinking about how to get money, then I

am controlled by money.
● If my decision on where I will minister is based on how
much money I will get as offering, then I am controlled by
money.
● If how much I praise and celebrate God is in proportion to
the offering I get, then I am controlled by money.
● If I give more importance to people who give bigger
offerings, but not as much importance to those who do not,
then I am controlled by money.
● If I am willing to compromise a little on integrity and do
unscrupulous things to raise money for ministry, then I am
controlled by money.
● If I feel good when I get to move around with celebrities,
rich businessmen and bigwigs because I feel they can make
large contributions to my ministry , then I am controlled by
money.

Do not be in it for the money.

1 Peter 5:1-4
1
The elders who are among you I exhort, I who am a fellow elder and
a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory
that will be revealed:
2
Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers,
not by compulsion but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly;
3
nor as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples
to the flock;
4
and when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of
glory that does not fade away.

Acts 20:33
I have coveted no one’s silver or gold or apparel.

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This might be a strange statement to make, but some

people see Christian ministry as an easy way to make money.
They think that all you must do is preach a couple of sermons
a week and visit people’s homes and you get an easy income
for yourself. This notion is wrong. We cannot be in Christian
ministry thinking that this is an easy way to make money.
This motivation is wrong. Some people set up churches to use
that to get financial support from overseas ministries.
Some are in the habit of inviting overseas speakers and
offering to organize conferences or crusades for them if they
will sponsor them. In the process, they siphon off large sums
of money that the overseas ministers are oblivious to. Some
people set up charitable Christian organizations as a reason
to collect funds and then spend most of it on themselves,
and very little on the actual charitable cause. All of these are
using the pretext of “Christian ministry” to make money. This
is dishonesty! We are not here for dishonest gain.

Sow spiritually, let people give materially.

Galatians 6:6
Let him who is taught the word share in all good things with him who
teaches.

1 Corinthians 9:11,14
11
If we have sown spiritual things for you, is it a great thing if we reap
your material things?
14
Even so the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel
should live from the gospel.

God has ordained that as we invest spiritually into the

lives of people, they in turn give back into our lives to help us
financially take care of our material needs. In this context, we
must learn to sow spiritually first, and then let people be led by
God to give back financially. Sow faithfully. Sow consistently.
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Give people some time to receive spiritually. Teach them to

give for the cause of the Kingdom. The people, to whom we
have ministered spiritually, can then help us reach others for
the Kingdom (2 Corinthians 10:15,16).
I realize that this may not be possible in all cases,
especially when working among very poor people and in
other situations, where those being served and ministered
to spiritually may not be able to give back financially to
the people who are serving them. In this case, typically, we
will need the assistance of other believers, a local church
or a ministry to take care of us financially while we invest
spiritually in others. This is Scriptural (Philippians 4:14-16;
2 Corinthians 11:8).

Keep your fund-raising clean, transparent and

honorable.
2 Corinthians 8:21
providing honorable things, not only in the sight of the Lord, but also
in the sight of men.

Raising funds should be kept clean, transparent and

honest. Share the vision that you are called to pursue and
then invite people to give. Trust the Lord to move on people’s
hearts to give. Trust the Lord to cause the release of more than
enough provision for the vision He has placed in your heart.
Keep proper accounts of what funds have been given to you,
and how this money has been used. If you start practicing this
when you and your church / ministry are small, it will be easy
to continue doing this later as you grow.
Right from the very beginning, when we had about 10
people, we kept accounts of the tithes and offerings that were
given in church and how this was being used. Today, as a

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bigger congregation, we continue the same practice of keeping

proper accounts of every amount that comes in and goes out.
We have qualified accountants who do our accounting and
advise us on what we can do and cannot do with the funds. All
our accounts are audited annually. We are open, so that any
member of the church is welcome to look at our accounts any
time they wish to do so.
Here are some things not to do.

• Do not claim to “live by faith” and then go around directly

or indirectly hinting or even compelling people to give.
• Do not use “prayer requests” as an indirect means to tell
people you need a certain amount of money.
• Do not go after big businessmen, politicians and so on
asking them for huge sums of money.
• Do not force people to give money.
• Do not emotionally manipulate people to give money.

A few more things not to do in fund-raising are addressed

below.

Do not be dependent on foreign support.

2 Corinthians 9:8
And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always
having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every
good work.

For several decades, possibly centuries now, the Church

in India has been so dependent on foreign missions and foreign
support to do ministry. Times have changed. I believe we have
more than enough wealth within our nation to accomplish the
task of reaching our nation. We just need to have the right
heart and mindset to tap into and properly channel the flow of

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funds to the right people to get the work done. Cities are power
centers and places of wealth. This is not to say that there is no
wealth in smaller towns or villages. There is. But I feel that
city churches that receive large financial contributions should
become mission stations that then support those working in
smaller towns and villages until those churches can become
self-supporting. In smaller towns and villages, we should
help Christian ministers teach their congregations to consider
several options of generating funds locally so that the local
church can become self-supporting. I believe that God has
placed resources and opportunities everywhere, and it is our
responsibility to tap into this intelligently and honorably so
that we will receive His provision to abound in every good
work.
While it is not wrong to receive foreign support, I think
one should not become dependent on it. If you have friends
and donors overseas who wish to contribute to your ministry
and you can receive those funds legally, then do so. There is
nothing wrong in it. However, develop your ministry in such a
way that should those contributions stop for any reason, your
ministry should continue.
From the time we started All Peoples Church here in
Bangalore, we purposed in our hearts not to be dependent
on any overseas support financially. Ninety-nine percent of
all that we are doing today as a local church in our city and
across our nation is financed through the tithes and offerings
we receive within India. A very negligible amount comes
from Indians residing overseas.

Do not “double bill” your projects.

A real serious problem going on in Christian ministry is that
some Christian ministers are having multiple affiliations,
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collecting support from multiple organizations, double billing

their projects and doing all this in a very deceitful way. There
is nothing wrong in having multiple affiliations or multiple
donors to give into your ministry. The problem happens
when this is done deceitfully and without the knowledge
of the donors. So, for instance, a preacher may contact
an organization and indicate to them that he would like to
affiliate his ministry with that organization and receive their
financial and spiritual support. What he may not tell them
is that he is already affiliated with another organization and
is also receiving financial and spiritual support from them
for the work he is doing. So, he then ends up leaving the
impression with two different organizations that he is “fully
sponsored” by them and is part of their organization when
he is in fact playing with two organizations. Similarly, it is
deceitful if a preacher collects support from an organization,
and at the same time, is working or doing some business to
raise additional income but does not let his donor know that
he is doing so. The key here is to be clean, transparent and
honest with those who are providing financial support.

Do not divert funds from one project to another

without donor’s permission.
Another area of abuse when it comes to the use of money
in Christian ministry is to raise funds for one “project” or
cause, and then to use that for something else. For example, a
preacher may raise funds to help orphaned children, but then
divert some of the money to hold an evangelistic crusade.
Now he may justify this action in various ways saying, “The
Lord told me to do this,” “Our children’s choir sang in the
crusade and so it is still part of our children’s ministry,” and
so on. This is wrong. If the preacher wanted to use part of the
funds for an evangelistic crusade, then he should first inform

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the donors that part of their funds will be used toward such
purpose, and secondly, it should be permissible legally to take
funds received for one project and use it for something else
(which will depend on the constitution of the organization
and the law of the land).

Do not rob overseas ministries.

Proverbs 20:17
Bread gained by deceit is sweet to a man,
But afterward his mouth will be filled with gravel.

Another common problem we have noticed is some local

Christian ministers “robbing” gullible overseas ministers who
wish to minister in India. Preachers and ministers coming
into India from other countries do not necessarily know the
actual costs of getting things done. Hence local organizers
can collect stupendous amounts three or four times the actual
costs and siphon off these funds for personal use. The local
organizer becomes both a liar and a thief, in the guise of
being a Christian minister! The apostle Paul warned, “For
many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you
even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ:
whose end is destruction, whose god is their belly, and whose
glory is in their shame—who set their mind on earthly things”
(Philippians 3:18,19).

Do not mix ministry and business.

2 Corinthians 6:3
We give no offense in anything, that our ministry may not be blamed.

Mr. James Nagel about whom I have mentioned at the end

of Chapter 3, had served as part of the accounting department
for a large Christian ministry in the United States for about 17
years. When I mentioned to him that I plan to go back to India

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to plant a church in Bangalore, and to work in business, he

immediately gave me this advice. He said, “Ashish, never mix
ministry and business funds. Always, keep them separate.”
He then gave me several examples of financial misdoings that
he had seen where local churches and Christian ministries
used ministry funds in business deals and different forms of
investments, to “grow” these funds. Many of these suffered
huge losses, and not only did the ministry lose funds that
were given sacrificially by many people, but also the trust and
confidence of many.
As a pastor and Christian minister, you need to be careful
not to use ministry funds in business dealings to fund private
business ventures and investments that are not permitted
by your organization’s constitution. If your spouse or some
family member wishes to enter into some business venture,
do not “Christianize” it and use ministry funds as “seed”
money to fund their interests.
Another area where one needs to be careful about is
entering into business ventures with church members. I
cannot say this is wrong, but I would say this is risky. If things
go wrong, you have not only lost money in business, but it is
likely that your relationship with those church members goes
sour, and consequently, your ministry / church will also be
affected. So, it is best to be very cautious, and if in doubt, stay
out.
If as a Christian minister, you feel the Lord leading you to
start a business venture which could use donors’ money, e.g., a
school, a college/university, some professional non-ministry-
related Training Institute, then these need to be identified as
such and, management and finances handled separately from
the church or ministry.

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In my personal experience, I started a software company

in January 2001, and in February 2001, we started All Peoples
Church, both based in Bangalore. From the very beginning,
the finances for these two organizations were kept separate.
The business can contribute into the church, but no church
funds go toward the business.

God’s House is not for “merchandising”—do not be

a “temple thief.”
Matthew 21:12-14
12
Then Jesus went into the temple of God and drove out all those who
bought and sold in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money
changers and the seats of those who sold doves.
13
And He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house
of prayer,’ but you have made it a ‘den of thieves.’”
14
Then the blind and the lame came to Him in the temple, and He
healed them.

I realize that the church or ministry is an organization

and needs finances to operate. Hence, we cannot give
everything for free and so most ministries will sell their
DVDs, books, sermon recordings, and other resources. All
this is fine because there is a cost involved in producing these
resources. Hence to cover these costs and to make a little
extra for ongoing operations is perfectly fine. However, when
things go beyond this and ministries begin to run a “religious
business” of “Christian retailing” selling all kinds of things
with huge margins, or even for a “suggested donation”
naming a number that is many times the value of the product,
then that is bordering on abuse! This seems so similar to
those who bought and sold in the temple. They were doing
something that was legitimate, exchanging currency, selling
sacrificial birds and animals and so on for people who were
from out of town. This made it convenient, so that those who

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travelled long distances did not have to carry their offerings

and sacrifices with them all the way. However, these temple
businessmen typically sold their goods and services at huge
margins, taking advantage of the worshippers. Hence the
Lord called them thieves! I wonder how the Lord Jesus would
react to all the “merchandising” going on by some servants of
God today! Let us be true servants of the Lord, not “temple
thieves!”

Guard against greed, you slide into it slowly.

Proverbs 1:19
So are the ways of everyone who is greedy for gain;
It takes away the life of its owners.

Numbers 22:18
Then Balaam answered and said to the servants of Balak, “Though
Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not go
beyond the word of the Lord my God, to do less or more.

Jude 1:11
Woe to them! For they have gone in the way of Cain, have run greedily
in the error of Balaam for profit, and perished in the rebellion of Korah.

Normally, all of us do not start with greed in our hearts.

In the early stages of Christian ministry, most of us begin by
being very sincere, have our defenses up, guard our motives,
are satisfied with whatever offering is given to us, guard our
hearts from the love of money, and so on. But as time passes
and ministry begins to grow, there are pressures from every
side and slowly we seem to lose our “innocence” as ministers
of God. Money is one of those areas where innocence is
lost very easily. We go from being satisfied with whatever is
given to us in the offering to demanding and expecting huge
offerings. We go from not being concerned about money to
constantly thinking about how we can get more. We go from

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being happy with what we have, to wanting opulent and lavish

things. We go from the resolve that Balaam initially had of
not permitting any amount of silver and gold influencing us,
to running greedily after profit. This change of heart usually
happens very subtly, very slowly, without us even knowing
that we are sliding into this. The only way to prevent this slow
slide is to keep a check on our hearts daily. Do simple things
that will guard against greed.
Every now and then, when people give me an offering,
especially when I know it is a large amount, I choose to give
the entire amount away to some servant of God who would
be blessed with it. Sometimes, when people bring me an
offering, I refuse to take it and request them to put the entire
amount in the church offering. Not that I do not have use for
money. But I do these things from time to time for my own
good, to guard my own heart. If I sense any wrong motive,
intent, attitude, or affection developing in my heart—whether
toward money or anything else, I immediately confess it to
God, receive cleansing and remind myself of what the Word
of God says, and if necessary I also do something to counter
that attitude.
Guard your heart! “Keep vigilant watch over your heart;
that’s where life starts” (Proverbs 4:23, The Message).

Give financially into other ministries.

2 Corinthians 9:6
But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he
who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.

Ecclesiastes 11:1
Cast your bread upon the waters,
For you will find it after many days.

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One of the best ways to keep our hearts pure and free from the
love of money and from being controlled by it is to give into
other lives, other local churches, and Christian ministries.
Most of the time, as Christian ministers and local churches,
we are in the “collections” mode, busy inviting people to give.
But if money only flows in and we become a lake, soon we
risk becoming contaminated and a breeding ground for all
kinds of wrong. The best way then is not to be a lake, but to be
a river. Just as there is an inflow, let there be an outflow. Give
to other ministers of God. Right from the very beginning, we
have tried to practice this. Till date, we do not have our own
land or building, but we have sown into many churches and
ministries to help them acquire their own land and property.
We have given to help others start new churches, sometimes
in the same place where we were also serving! We have tried
to invest in other people’s visions to help them either get
started in their ministries or help them along the way as they
progress in their journey. Of course, we cannot do this for
everyone, but to whatever extent God has blessed us, we do
our part to give away. And at a personal level, I sow from
my own personal finances. It is easy to write a check from
church funds to another ministry since it does not affect me
personally. But I want to personally be a generous giver and so
I give from my own personal finances into the lives of people.

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Women
“For she has cast down many wounded, And all who were slain by her were strong
men.”
(Proverbs 7:26)

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10
WOMEN
This chapter is addressed to Christian men in ministry. Aside
from money, “women” seems to be a major challenge to us
Christian ministers. We frequently hear of casualties in this
area, and there may be many casualties that we do not hear
about. Attraction to women happens to all—whether it is the
pastor of a big church in a big city or even a simple ordinary
preacher in a village, we are all tempted in this area. I have met
with pastors from very simple backgrounds, who seemingly
did not have much in life, and anyone would assume that their
major area of struggle would be in finances and making ends
meet. To my utter surprise, the problems they shared had to
do with women, and their moral failures and mistakes, as
they ministered to women. So, I suppose this area of struggle
and temptation spares no man—rich or poor, in the city or
in the village, the deeply prayerful, however much anointed,
whatever the area of calling in ministry or living in a monastery
or in a penthouse. Some of us may already have had failures
in this area. We need to arise, get restored and keep pressing
on while being on double guard. This chapter deals with how
we as Christian ministers can prevail in this area.

Do not sleep in Delilah’s lap.

Judges 16:19,20 (The Message)
19
When she got him to sleep, his head on her lap, she motioned to a
man to cut off the seven braids of his hair. Immediately he began to
grow weak. His strength drained from him.
20
Then she said, “The Philistines are on you, Samson!” He woke up,

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thinking, “I’ll go out, like always, and shake free.” He didn’t realize
that GOD had abandoned him.

Samson was called and anointed by God to be a leader

and deliverer for God’s people. God had taught him how to
live in such a way that he could walk in the calling, anointing,
and gifting of God. He was a Nazarene. Yet his love for women
was his major downfall. Samson’s indulgence in his weakness
caused him to compromise and give away the very thing that
empowered him to walk in the call of God. While he slept in
the lap of Delilah, his strength drained from him. This did not
happen in one night. It happened over a period, little by little,
slowly, Delilah succeeded in getting to the very core of who
Samson was and then cut off the very source of his strength.
Samson was blinded even before the Philistines blinded him.
He was blinded by his indulgence for women. He thought his
strength would last forever, even as he continued toying with
what he knew he should not do. Until one day, God withdrew
from him.
Most moral failures happen because of weakness that
has developed over a period, and in many cases, without the
knowledge that this is happening. It is a slow slide into a trap
that can be devastating. It begins with deceptions in the mind.
The enemy plants thoughts that are seemingly harmless, but
we begin to embrace them and act on them. Passing glances on
women, brief indulgences of pornography, casual flirting with
the “sisters,” and so on. Soon the thoughts and suggestions of
the enemy become stronger, and we are defeated in the mind,
by an argument or reasoning that seems very convincing. We
begin to “sleep in the lap of Delilah.” Slowly our thoughts,
imaginations, and reasoning are taken captive. We are blinded
to the truth we knew and, perhaps even stood for and preached
about. And then comes the fatal blow and we fall.
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Ecclesiastes 7:26
And I find more bitter than death
The woman whose heart is snares and nets,
Whose hands are fetters.
He who pleases God shall escape from her,
But the sinner shall be trapped by her.

Psalm 90:8
You have set our iniquities before You,
Our secret sins in the light of Your countenance.

Be careful little eyes how you see.

Matthew 5:27-30
27
“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not commit
adultery.’
28
But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has
already committed adultery with her in his heart.
29
If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you;
for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than
for your whole body to be cast into hell.
30
And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from
you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish,
than for your whole body to be cast into hell.

Proverbs 6:25
Do not lust after her beauty in your heart,
Nor let her allure you with her eyelids.

Looking at a beautiful woman is not sin. How we look at

a woman is what is important. If we look at her with lust in our
eyes—a desire to possess—then we are sinning. Very often we
cannot prevent “what” we see. We may be walking down the
street and a pretty woman passes by. Or our eyes accidentally
fall on a huge billboard with a scantily clothed woman. We
did not see it intentionally. However, what we do in the next
second is in our hands. We can choose to immediately take
our eyes away from the billboard, or we can continue staring

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at it and let the mind wander into lustful thoughts. It is true

that it is not a sin to admire and appreciate beauty. However,
with the excuse of admiring and appreciating beauty, most
fall into lust—a desire to possess—and then fall into sin. It is
very important that at the very moment our emotions seem to
be aroused or our thoughts begin to go in the wrong way, we
ought to take control of our emotions and thoughts right then.
Remind yourself of God’s Word. Rebuke the thought
from your heart. Speak to and take control of your emotions
right then, from your heart.
Here are a few Scriptures that we must be armed with:
Job 31:1
“I have made a covenant with my eyes;
Why then should I look upon a young woman?

Psalm 101:3
I will set nothing wicked before my eyes; …

1 Thessalonians 5:22
Abstain from every form of evil.

Treat younger women as sisters with all purity.

1 Timothy 5:1,2
1
Do not rebuke an older man, but exhort him as a father, younger men
as brothers,
2
older women as mothers, younger women as sisters, with all purity.

Timothy was overseeing and leading the church at

Ephesus, and Paul in his letters to Timothy addressed several
areas of importance in pastoring a local church. One of the
important instructions Paul gave Timothy is to treat older
women as mothers and younger women as sisters, with all
purity. It is inevitable, that as a pastor or minister of God, you
will have to interact with younger women in the congregation.

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You may have to pray for their needs, listen to their problems,
encourage them, counsel them, and so on. However, we need
to guard our hearts and keep our motivations, thoughts, and
emotions pure through the process.
Be honest with yourself. If you sense that the young
woman approaching you is doing so with wrong intentions
or with affection for you—take a step back. If you sense that
your own emotions are being aroused for a young woman
who comes to you for help, step back. It is always better to
guard and protect yourself and them. As we have mentioned
in earlier chapters, have a self-defense strategy. Keep up your
moral fences that you refuse to cross, to protect yourself.
Guard your heart and mind from being captured with wrong
thoughts and emotions.

Impart from a distance, but leave mentoring women

to women.
Titus 2:3-5
3
the older women likewise, that they be reverent in behavior, not
slanderers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things—
4
that they admonish the young women to love their husbands, to love
their children,
5
to be discreet, chaste, homemakers, good, obedient to their own
husbands, that the word of God may not be blasphemed.

One of the ways many pastors and men of God get

emotionally involved with women is by the idea that they
need to “mentor” women in their congregation or ministry.
The thought of nurturing and mentoring younger women in
ministry seems to be very noble and the motivation seems to
be pure. However, this is an area that can be very dangerous if
not handled with wisdom. As a man, when you start spending
a lot of time with a young woman in the “mentoring” process,

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there is a high probability that emotional affections will begin

to develop. These emotions soon dull the reasoning, weaken
the will, and blind the mind. Subsequently, the two individuals
can fall into sexual sin.
Paul wrote to Titus, stating that “older women” should
be teachers of good things and should engage in teaching
younger women. So, we are instructed to leave mentoring
younger women in the hands of the older women. As men,
we can impart from a distance. Guide, teach, encourage, and
create opportunities, but maintain a healthy distance. Let
women mentor women.

Lead women ministers correctly.

As a pastor or leader of your local church or ministry, God
will raise up women who are serving and providing leadership
under you, to various aspects of ministry. For example, your
children’s church pastor may be a woman. Your worship
pastor may be a woman. You may have a woman heading
up prayer and intercession for your ministry, and so on. God
would have nurtured and raised these women up under your
leadership. As they emerge as leaders with their gifts, calling,
and anointing, you will need to acknowledge them, honor
them as well as lead them correctly.
If a woman minister is married, remember that her
husband is her head, and you are not her head. So as a pastor,
know your boundaries and do not try to step into areas that are
under her husband’s jurisdiction. You can give her instructions
and guidance in her area of ministry, but in all other areas, her
husband is responsible for her. When pastors are not careful in
this area and start doing things and interfering in things where
the woman’s husband is supposed to provide guidance, the
woman will be confused as to who to listen to—her husband
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or the pastor. The Bible however is very clear: “Wives, submit

to your own husbands, as to the Lord” (Ephesians 5:22).
If a woman minister or woman leader in your ministry
is not married, then as we said earlier, provide leadership
and guidance from a distance. Guard your own emotions. Let
other women come alongside her for emotional support and
companionship.
Treat them equal, yet be gentle.
Galatians 3:28
There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there
is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

We must remember that God’s gifts, grace, blessings, and

empowering are given to men and women equally. God does
not prefer men over women when He dispenses His anointing,
gifts, and grace. Both men and women are heirs together of
the grace of life (1 Peter 3:7). So, we need to treat both men
and women as equal when providing opportunities to serve,
lead, carry responsibility, and so on, in the local church and
ministry. We expect them to adhere to the same standards of
conduct and accountability. However, with all this, we also
understand that we need to be gentle when dealing with
women, recognizing both their strengths and weaknesses.
Their weakness is your landmine—stay away.
Both men and women have emotional needs. For example, here
are some common emotional needs: affection, appreciation,
admiration, conversation, companionship and trust. Each
individual may find some of these more important than the
others. When unmet or unfulfilled, our emotional needs
often become our areas of weakness. We then get “attracted”
toward anyone who seems to “fill” or meet one or more of
those needs in some way.

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As a married man who is a pastor or Christian leader,

here are some things you should avoid doing for any woman
other than your wife and children. Leave these things to a
woman’s husband or for other women to do.

• Avoid complimenting a woman about her looks. Let her

husband or other women do this for her.
• Avoid complimenting a woman about her attire. Let her
husband or other women do this for her.
• Avoid engaging in too much conversation with a woman.
Let her husband or other women do this for her.
• Avoid trying to be a close companion or emotional support
for a woman. Let her husband or other women do this for
her.

The point here is that never step into a role where you
try to fill the emotional needs of another woman. Leave that
for that woman’s husband or for other women to do. Over
the years, I have intentionally maintained a healthy distance
from women, although sometimes people may complain that
I seem to be “unfriendly” or have an invisible wall. It is not
that I do not have genuine love or compassion. But I know
enough and care enough about the call of God on my life, to
know where to draw the line.

Have a personal self-defense plan.

Proverbs 2:10,11
10
When wisdom enters your heart,
And knowledge is pleasant to your soul,
11
Discretion will preserve you;
Understanding will keep you,

You need to establish certain guidelines for yourself

in how you would minister to women, so that you protect
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yourself and them. Here are some things I do for myself:

• When praying for women, if I feel the need to lay hands, I

only lay hands on their head. If there is a need to lay hands
on any other part of their body, I will have them lay their
own hand there or get another woman to do so.
• If I must counsel a woman, I may meet her once or twice and
if further counseling is needed, I will direct her to another
woman who is able to minister to her.
• If I need to meet individually with a woman for discussions,
I always do so in a setting where others are present in
proximity and visibility.
• I keep a healthy distance and do not engage in too much
“casual,” “friendly” conversations with women.
• I avoid hugging young women and only do a formal
handshake. I reserve hugs for family members, and for older
women whom I treat with motherly affection.
• I avoid traveling with another woman (other than a family
member) alone in my car, as far as possible. There may be
some rare exceptions in case of emergencies or genuine
need.

I do not claim to have a perfect “bullet-proof” self-

defense plan. I realize that some may not agree with some of
the things I have listed above. I am not presenting these as a
golden rule for everyone. I just do what I know I need to do to
protect myself, to the best I know how, and would only like to
share these so that you can adopt whatever you find useful for
your own life and ministry.

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Goodbye holy kiss!

Romans 16:16
Greet one another with a holy kiss. The churches of Christ greet you.

1 Corinthians 16:20
All the brethren greet you.
Greet one another with a holy kiss.

2 Corinthians 13:12
Greet one another with a holy kiss.

1 Thessalonians 5:26
Greet all the brethren with a holy kiss.

“In those early times the kiss, as a token of peace,

friendship, and brotherly love, was frequent among all
people; and the Christians used it in their public assemblies,
as well as in their occasional meetings. This was at last laid
aside, not because it was abused, but because the Church
becoming very numerous, the thing was impossible. In some
countries, the kiss of friendship is still common; and in such
countries it is scarcely ever abused, nor is it an incentive to
evil, because it is customary and common. Shaking of hands
is now substituted for it in almost all Christian congregations”
(Adam Clarke’s Commentary on the Bible, Adam Clarke,
LL.D., F.S.A.,1715-1832).
I realize that some churches use the Scriptures to continue
the practice of greeting one another with a kiss. While I will
not judge another person’s practice or preference for method
of greeting, we do not do so in our churches, because of the
possibility of abuse and emotional ties that this could lead
to. My personal persuasion is that it is best to greet women,
when necessary, with a simple handshake. We do not follow
the “holy kiss” practice.

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Be on double guard during moments of great triumph

or crisis.
1 Corinthians 10:12
Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.

1 Peter 5:8
Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about
like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.

As men, we must be aware of our moments of weakness.

As men, we are most vulnerable in times of great triumphs and
in times of great crisis. When we have just completed a great
conference or a powerful service or a fruitful time of ministry,
we tend to let our guards down a little. We want to “relax” a bit.
We want to rest. We have a sense of exhilaration, celebration,
and success. It is in these moments that we are very vulnerable
since we tend to let our guard down. Similarly, when we are
going through a crisis where our emotions are “overworked,”
when we are strained, emotionally hurt, wounded, and weary,
we are also very vulnerable. In such moments, we need
understanding, love, encouragement, support, and we tend to
go anywhere we can find it. Our reasoning and judgment are
not at its best. We make poor decisions and wrong choices.
The enemy will usually make his moves, attacks, and
inroads when he recognizes moments of weakness, when we
are most vulnerable. In times of great success, you tell yourself,
“After all, I have worked very hard for God’s Kingdom, so a
little bit of indulgence is ok.” So, if the enemy were to plant
a young woman who is “awed” by you, in great admiration of
your success, and strokes your pride, you will fall very easily.
Similarly, when you are going through a great crisis and pain,
if the enemy were to plant a young woman who empathizes
with you, listens to you, speaks comforting, soothing, and

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encouraging words, it is very easy to fall into an emotional

trap at that moment. Hence, in moments of great triumph or
great crisis, recognize that these could be times when you
are very vulnerable. Be on double guard. Avoid making very
important decisions in those moments. Wait till things have
“calmed down.” Wait till you have rested. Stay around people
you know well and can trust.

Guard your affections.

Proverbs 4:23
Keep (guard) your heart with all diligence,
For out of it spring the issues of life.

Philippians 3:3
For we are the circumcision, who worship God in the Spirit, rejoice in
Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh,

You may be a very righteous man, very gifted, and very

anointed. But regardless of who or what you are, your flesh
is poor and miserable. You can have no confidence in your
flesh. So never trust your flesh. The flesh is faithful to do the
devil’s job, even when the devil is not around. James tells us
so clearly that “each one is tempted when he is drawn away
by his own desires and enticed” (James 1:14). It is our own
fleshly desires that draw us away, weaken our will, and lead us
into temptation. The devil’s job is to simply work at stirring
up our fleshly desires.
While we love, honor, and admire what God is doing
in and through women, we must remember, our own
weaknesses as men. We cannot trust ourselves in this area.
Our only option is to watch over our affections and guard
ourselves continuously. Temptations will come, but we will
have to continuously watch and pray that we do not fall into
temptation in this area.
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Discern and destroy “soulish” bridges.

2 Corinthians 2:11
lest Satan should take advantage of us; for we are not ignorant of his
devices.

2 Corinthians 10:4-6
4
For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for
pulling down strongholds,
5
casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against
the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the
obedience of Christ,
6
and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is
fulfilled.

The enemy’s primary area of attack is the mind. He plants

thoughts, ideas, and imaginations that are ungodly and
opposed to the knowledge of God. If we yield to fleshly lust and
ungodly thoughts, we can forfeit the blessings of God on our
lives. The enemy knows that women are an area of weakness
for us men. The enemy will try and set you up with “soulish”
(emotional) attractions, attachments, and connections
(bridges) with women. Be aware of what the enemy’s tactics
are. Do not go on foolishly. Be sober. Be vigilant. If you find
the enemy attempting to do something, discern and destroy
any such thing using the God-given weapons you have. Tackle
it from your heart. Guard your heart and mind with the Word
of God. Rebuke and tear down any work of the enemy that
comes against you in this area. Fight the good fight of faith.
Lay hold of eternal life and do not let go of it. There is too
much at stake. The fight of faith is a fight worth fighting. Fight
to win!

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Fame
“How can you believe, who receive honor from one another, and do not seek the
honor that comes from the only God?”
(John 5:44)

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11
FAME
In this chapter, we deal with the issue of fame, reputation,
and popularity—another big area of struggle for most of us
Christian ministers. We “feel good” when we are recognized,
affirmed, applauded, and invited. Some of us “feel depressed”
and not favored by the Lord, when we do not get the recognition
and applause from men that we think we should. Our Master
lived above what people thought and said about Him. He said,
“I do not receive honor from men” (John 5:41).
Somewhere along the way, we have strayed from focusing
on Jesus, and Christendom today has taken on an affinity to
slick marketing, promotions, and publicity campaigns. We
have become so unlike our Master and the apostles who did
not care about fame or defamation. Today, we have preachers
showing off their “friendship” with politicians or celebrities
on stage to promote their own ministry. Ministry websites,
newsletters, magazines are splashed shamefully with pictures
of “their man of God.” Everything is about him, his anointing,
his fame, his worldwide ministry. Larger-than-life posters and
cut-outs of the man of God line the crusade grounds, venues,
and even church buildings. Unthinking believers follow the
man of God and almost worship him as a demi-god, a “hero”
of the Christian faith. You wonder where Jesus is in all of
this. The apostles said: “For we do not preach ourselves, but
Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your bondservants for
Jesus’ sake” (2 Corinthians 4:5). It is time to get back to our
Master’s example. Follow Him and the apostles.

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A good name is important, but not fame.

Proverbs 22:1
A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches,
Loving favor rather than silver and gold.

Ecclesiastes 7:1
A good name is better than precious ointment,
And the day of death than the day of one’s birth;

It is important to have a good name. A good name

comes because of the life one lives. Great fame can be gained
through slick marketing and free social media techniques. A
good name comes only through consistent character. A good
name is given to you. Fame is what you pursue for yourself.
Fame disappears. A good name stays. “The memory of the
righteous is blessed” (Proverbs 10:7).
Our focus must be to pursue Christlikeness and live
as Jesus lived. In the process, we may face ridicule, false
accusations, and persecutions. We should not fear defamation,
insult, and ridicule. Jesus warned us, “If they have called the
master of the house Beelzebub, how much more will they call
those of his household!” (Matthew 10:25b). With time, those
who see the life we live, will see Jesus in us. A good name
will come in its time.
Be a shining star, not a shooting star—here today, gone and
forgotten tomorrow.

Do not be a man-pleaser.
Galatians 1:10
For do I now persuade men, or God? Or do I seek to please men? For
if I still pleased men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ.

One of the things we must settle within ourselves, and

it is best to do this when we begin our ministry, is that our

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only desire is to please God. We live for the applause of

heaven, and not for the accolades of men. If this is settled in
our hearts, we will not struggle with preaching messages that
tickle people’s ears. We will not preach to impress but impart.
We will not deliver messages that make people want to follow
us but will move people to follow Jesus. We will not get easily
offended if people leave us, criticize us, leave our church, or
stop supporting our ministry. We will not get hurt if no one
appreciates, supports, or applauds us. None of these things
will affect us seriously, because our heart is set on pleasing
the Lord and not men.
Not being a man-pleaser does not mean that we will not
listen to people, especially those who care about us, when
they correct us, or point out our errors. We pay attention to
feedback, correction, and genuine criticism and consider
these to improve ourselves. We receive this as one of the ways
the Lord corrects us.

Do not engage in self-promotion, let God give the

increase.
Proverbs 25:27
It is not good to eat much honey;
So to seek one’s own glory is not glory.

1 Corinthians 3:6,7
6
I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase.
7
So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but
God who gives the increase.

Psalm 127:1
Unless the Lord builds the house,
They labor in vain who build it;
Unless the Lord guards the city,
The watchman stays awake in vain.

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Another component of self-restraint that we must exercise

as ministers of God is never to engage in self-promotion. Do
not promote yourself. Do not try to promote your own ministry.
Do not do anything motivated from wanting to become “more
well-known,” “more famous” or “more recognized.” Ask
yourself, “Why am I doing this?” Give yourself an honest
answer. If it is to seek my own glory, to promote myself as a
great anointed servant and so on, STOP. Do not do it!
Purpose in your heart that you will only have the growth
and increase that God brings to you. Let the Lord build the
house (ministry, church). Let the increase be an overflow
of what God does in and through you, and not promoting
yourself. When you announce your meetings or conferences,
do it with a pure motive—to simply let people know of the
event and not to promote yourself. When you do what you do
in ministry, let your motives be pure. Do it to bless lives and
not to become more popular.

Popularity is no indication of fruitfulness.

Revelation 3:1
“And to the angel of the church in Sardis write,
‘These things says He who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven
stars: “I know your works, that you have a name that you are alive,
but you are dead.

It really does not matter how many fans and followers we

have on Twitter or Facebook. None of this is any indication of
our stature in heaven. It does not matter how many “Likes” we
have collected for our sermon. The real questions are—Did
we preach the truth and glorify Jesus Christ? How did God
rate our sermon? God’s opinion about us could be directly
opposite to our Christian popularity rating. We may have a
reputation in Christendom that we are alive, but God could

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call us “dead!” So being popular does not mean we are being

useful or fruitful for the Kingdom of God. It is likely that there
are many who have never written a book, never made it to the
best-sellers’ list, never been seen on Christian TV, never been
seen or heard outside their hometown and yet, these people
may get rewards in heaven that will leave many of the famous
Christian personalities of today standing way behind them.
The fact is that we should never look at our popularity
index as an indicator of how we are doing before God. The
one question we should be asking continually is, “Are we
doing the Father’s will?”

Separate yourself from what people think about you.

2 Corinthians 6:4,8,9
4
But in all things we commend ourselves as ministers of God: in much
patience, in tribulations, in needs, in distresses,
8
by honor and dishonor, by evil report and good report; as deceivers,
and yet true;
9
as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold we live; as
chastened, and yet not killed;

One of the strengths we must develop as ministers of God

is to not let what people say—the good or the bad—affect us.
There will be those who give us honor. And there will be
those who dishonor us. There will be those who give a good
report of us. And there will be those who make an evil report.
As ministers, we must remember who we truly are and where
we truly stand before God personally.
When people applaud you, honor you, speak highly of
you, do not let it get to your head. Guard against pride. When
people dishonor you, speak evil of you, malign you, do not let
it get to your heart. Guard against getting wounded and hurt.

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We cannot afford to minister either out of pride or out of pain

(hurt). You must learn to separate yourself from what people
say about you.

Your stature before God is more important than your

stature before men.
Ultimately, who you are before God is more important than
who you are before man. Your stature before God is more
important than your stature before men. It is so much better
to be regarded as a man “dearly beloved of the Lord” than
to be endeared by millions of men. It is so much better to be
someone for whom the Lord will stand up than to have the
respect of millions of men here on earth. It is so much better
to be welcomed into heaven with the words, “Well done, good
and faithful servant” than to have the cheers and praises of
millions of men.
If our stature before God also causes men on earth to
recognize and honor us, that is fine. We are not moved by
this nor are we living for this. Our hearts will always remain
focused on who we are before our God. That is all that matters.

Teach people not to “idolize” you or “promote” you.

2 Corinthians 4:7
But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the
power may be of God and not of us.

From the time we began our ministry, we attempted

to just be “normal” and not create or build up an “aura”
of being a servant of God that so many do. We let people
around us, including those in our congregation, see that we
are just normal human beings, just earthen vessels that God is
working through. There is nothing “super special” about us. It
is the gift, grace and anointing of God at work, nothing about
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us. We work hard at keeping things this way. We intentionally

instruct our media team and others involved in the ministry,
not to splash our pictures or names on media materials and
so on. We purposely instruct our ministry team to keep the
attention away from ourselves so that people are not drawn
to us.
If we are not careful, our magazines, TV programs,
meetings, conferences, buildings can be so “full of ourselves”
that people begin idolizing us instead of following the Lord
Jesus Christ. People who work in our churches / ministries
must be instructed not to fill our magazines, TV programs
and so on with pictures or life-size cut-outs that promote us
as individuals. Our promotional materials must be designed
to point people to the Lord, His Word, His Spirit and not draw
people to us as individuals.

Regardless of how “big” you become, always walk on

level ground.
Philippians 2:5-7
5
Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus,
6
who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal
with God,
7
but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant,
and coming in the likeness of men.

Regardless of what heights of reputation and fame we

may ascend in Christendom, regardless of how powerful we
may become as Christian leaders regardless of the influence
we may gain, we must always walk on “level ground.” We
must keep our feet on the ground. Be like our Lord, who made
Himself of no reputation and stepped in to be one among man.
Let this same attitude pervade our hearts and minds.

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Always stay simple. Always stay approachable. Always

remain humble. Always remember that you are just an earthen
vessel.

The more I have been given, the more accountable I

must be.
Luke 12:47,48
47
And that servant who knew his master’s will, and did not prepare
himself or do according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes.
48
But he who did not know, yet committed things deserving of stripes,
shall be beaten with few. For everyone to whom much is given, from
him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed,
of him they will ask the more.

There is a simple, yet profound truth concerning God’s

Kingdom. In God’s Kingdom, the more we have been given,
the more will be required of us. The level of accountability
increases when more is given. Responsibility increases with
stature. With increase comes a greater level of accountability.
This means that the measure of diligence with which I attend
to things must increase as God increases what He is doing in
and through me. Generally, people tend to become lax, more
careless, pay less attention to detail as things begin to grow
and increase. This then becomes their downfall. We must
never forget that the more we are given, the more accountable
we must become. That is required of us in the Kingdom.

The higher He takes me, the lower I must step down.

1 Peter 5:6
Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He
may exalt you in due time,

Exaltation comes when we humble ourselves. This

means that whenever God lifts us up to a new level, we must
move to a new level of humility. Only then can He take us

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further to higher levels. So, each time God exalts us and takes
us to a new level of honor, it becomes time for us to step down
further. It is time for us to humble ourselves even more before
God and man.

The lesser I am known, the better it is.

Die to every desire for fame, recognition, applause and
appreciation. If it comes, then it is fine. If it does not come,
you are not affected in any way. Here is one important key to
preserving yourself when God promotes you. Every time God
brings increase, recognition, and exaltation in your life, you
take a step lower down and humble yourself before God and
man. Every time God takes you up one rung, you step down
one rung. The higher God takes you, the lower you choose
to walk. The more visible God makes you, the more discreet
you choose to become. The more recognition God brings in
your life, the more you hide yourself in Him. I have purposed
that I will not pursue honor from man. My only desire will be
to please His heart. Whatever honor on earth God sends my
way that is fine. I will know that He did it for me and I did not
pursue fame for myself.

Beware of the “God-complex.”

Isaiah 14:12-14
12
“How you are fallen from heaven,
O Lucifer, son of the morning!
How you are cut down to the ground,
You who weakened the nations!
13
For you have said in your heart:
‘I will ascend into heaven,
I will exalt my throne above the stars of God;
I will also sit on the mount of the congregation
On the farthest sides of the north;

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14
I will ascend above the heights of the clouds,
I will be like the Most High.’

Somewhere along the line, as we evolve and grow as a

man or woman of God, and rise in stature as a servant of God,
there slowly creeps in very subtly and very unconsciously a
“God-complex.” Very subtly, we put ourselves in a certain
standing above the Word that we preach, above the standards
God has set for His people. We feel that the Word is for
others, but we are above that. Slowly, we excuse our personal
private violations of God’s Word since we see ourselves above
the Word. We make ourselves a “god” unto ourselves. We are
answerable to no one in the pretext of being answerable to
God only. When we reach this state, God has already left
our conscience, and so now we are really answerable to no
one, although we think we are answering only to God! We
have made a “god” of ourselves. We will fall into the same
condemnation as the devil.
Our constant safeguard is to walk in humility. “Submitting
to one another in the fear of God” (Ephesians 5:21). If I am
in a place where I can submit to others, I know I am keeping
myself free from the “god-complex.” Always walk in the spirit
of meekness, in a spirit of true humility. Always walk in a
manner where God can use even those “below” you, those
you lead to speak into your life.

Conclusion
The call of God and Christian ministry is no small matter. We
must walk with godly wisdom as we carry out what God has
called us to do. Yet, our confidence does not lie in our strength
or ability. Our confidence lies completely in Him.

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Jude 1:24,25
24
Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling,
And to present you faultless
Before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy,
25
To God our Savior,
Who alone is wise,
Be glory and majesty,
Dominion and power,
Both now and forever.
Amen.

It will all be worth it, when we stand before His glorious

majesty and hear Him say, “Well Done!”

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DO YOU KNOW THE GOD WHO LOVES YOU?
About 2000 years ago, God came into this world as a man. His name
is Jesus. He lived a perfectly sinless life. Since Jesus was God in flesh,
everything He said and did revealed God to us. The words He spoke
were the very words of God. The things He did were the actions of God.
Jesus did many miracles on the earth. He healed the sick and suffering.
He opened blind eyes, unstopped deaf ears, made the lame to walk
and healed every kind of sickness and disease. He fed the hungry by
miraculously multiplying a few loaves of bread, calmed the storm and
did many other wonderful things.
All these actions reveal to us that God is a good God who
wants people to be well, whole, healthy and happy. God wants to
meet the needs of people.
So why then would God decide to become a man and step into
our world? Why did Jesus come?
All of us have sinned and done things that are unacceptable before
the God who created us. Sin has its consequences. Sin is like a great
unsurpassable wall between God and us. Sin separates us from God. It
prevents us from knowing and having a meaningful relationship with
the One who created us. Therefore, many of us try to fill this void with
other things.
Another consequence of our sins is eternal separation from God.
In God’s court, the penalty for sin is death. Death is eternal separation
from God in hell.
But the good news is that we can be free from sin and be restored
to God. The Bible says, “For the wages [payment] of sin is death,
but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans
6:23). Jesus paid for the sins of the whole world when He died on the
cross. Then, three days later He rose again, showed Himself alive to
many and then went back into heaven.
God is a God of love and mercy. He does not wish that any person
be lost in hell. And so, He came to provide a way for the entire human
race to be free from sin and its lasting consequences. He came to save
sinners—to rescue people like you and me from sin and eternal death.
To receive this free forgiveness of sins, the Bible tells us that we
have to do just one thing—accept what the Lord Jesus Christ did on
the cross and to believe in Him wholeheartedly.
“… through His name, whoever believes in Him will receive
forgiveness of sins” (Acts 10:43).
“that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in
your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved”
(Romans 10:9).
You too can receive forgiveness and cleansing for your sins if you
will believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.
The following is a simple prayer to help you decide to believe in
the Lord Jesus Christ and what He has done for you on the cross. This
prayer will help you express your acceptance of what Jesus has done
for you and receive forgiveness and cleansing for your sins. This prayer
is only a guideline. You can also pray in your own words.
Dear Lord Jesus, today, I have understood what You did for me
on the cross. You died for me, you shed Your precious blood and paid
the penalty for my sins so that I could be forgiven. The Bible tells me
that whoever believes in You will receive forgiveness for their sins.
Today, I decide to believe in You and to accept what You did for
me by dying for me on the cross and rising again from the dead. I know
I cannot save myself by my own good works, neither can any other
human save me. I cannot earn forgiveness for my sins.
Today, I believe in my heart and say with my mouth that You died
for me, You paid the penalty for my sins, You rose again from the dead,
and by faith in You, I receive forgiveness and cleansing for my sins.
Thank You Jesus. Help me to love You, to know You more and to be
faithful to You.
Amen.
 ABOUT ALL PEOPLES CHURCH
Our vision at All Peoples Church is to be salt and light in the city of
Bangalore, a voice to the nation and to the nations.
All Peoples Church is a Jesus loving, Word focused, Spirit filled,
family church, an equipping center, a missions base and a world outreach.

• As a family church, we grow together as a community in

Christ-centered fellowship, caring and serving each other in love
as the assembly of God.
• As an equipping center, we empower and equip every believer
to live victoriously, mature into Christlikeness and fulfill God’s
purposes for their lives.
• As a missions base, we engage in meaningful ministry to bless
our city, nation and the nations with the full Gospel of Jesus Christ
through the Word of God and supernatural demonstrations of the
power of the Holy Spirit.
• As a world outreach, we serve locally and globally by nurturing
godly leaders and Spirit-filled churches who can impact their regions
for the Kingdom of God.
At APC, we are committed to presenting the complete,
uncompromised Word of God in the anointing and demonstration of His
Holy Spirit. We believe that good music, creative presentations, brilliant
apologetics, contemporary ministry techniques, latest technology and
so on, can never substitute the God-ordained approach of proclaiming
the Word in the power of the Holy Spirit with signs, wonders, miracles
and gifts of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 2:4,5; Hebrews 2:3,4). Our
theme is Jesus, our content is the Word, our method is the Holy Spirit’s
power, our passion is people and our goal is Christ-like maturity.

With our main base in Bangalore, All Peoples Church has several
other church locations in India. To get a current listing and contact
information of All Peoples Church locations, please visit our website
at [Link]/locations or send an email to contact@[Link].
 FREE PUBLICATIONS
A Church in Revival Offenses-Don’t Take Them
A Real Place Called Heaven Open Heavens
A Time for Every Purpose Our Redemption
Ancient Landmarks Receiving God’s Guidance
Baptism in the Holy Spirit Revivals, Visitations and Moves of God
Being Spiritually Minded and Earthly Wise Shhh! No Gossip!
Biblical Attitude Towards Work Speak Your Faith
Breaking Personal and Generational Bondages The Conquest of the Mind
Change The Father’s Love
Code of Honor The House of God
Divine Favor The Kingdom of God
Divine Order in the Citywide Church The Mighty Name of Jesus
Don’t Compromise Your Calling The Night Seasons of Life
Don’t Lose Hope The Power of Commitment
Equipping the Saints The Presence of God
Foundations (Track 1) The Redemptive Heart of God
Fulfilling God’s Purpose for Your Life The Refiner’s Fire
Gifts of the Holy Spirit The Spirit of Wisdom, Revelation and
Giving Birth to the Purposes of God Power
God Is a Good God The Wonderful Benefits of Speaking in
Tongues
God’s Word—The Miracle Seed
Timeless Principles for the Workplace
How to Help Your Pastor
Understanding the Prophetic
Integrity
Water Baptism
Kingdom Builders
We Are Different
Laying the Axe to the Root
Who We Are in Christ
Living Life Without Strife
Women in the Workplace
Marriage and Family
Work Its Original Design
Ministering Healing and Deliverance

New books are released regularly. Please visit [Link]/books to

download free APC Christian books in PDF, audio and other formats.
Many of these books are also available in other languages. Also visit
[Link]/sermons for free audio and video sermons, sermon notes
and many free other resources.
 ALL PEOPLES CHURCH BIBLE COLLEGE
[Link]

All Peoples Church Bible College and Ministry Training Center in

Bangalore, India, provides Spirit-filled, anointed, hands-on training
and equipping for ministering in the supernatural power of the Holy
Spirit along with a doctrinally sound and intellectually stimulating
study of God’s Word. We believe in developing the whole person
for ministry emphasizing godly character, deep roots in the Word of
God and powerful demonstrations of signs, wonders and miracles, all
flowing out of an intimate relationship with the Lord.

At All Peoples Church Bible College (APC-BC), in addition to

sound teaching, we emphasize the love of God in demonstration, the
anointing and presence of the Holy Spirit and the supernatural work of
God. Several young men and women have been trained and sent out to
fulfill God’s call over their lives.

We offer three programs.

• One-year Certificate in Theology and Christian Ministry ([Link].)

• Two-year Diploma in Theology and Christian Ministry ([Link].)
• Three-year Bachelor’s in Theology and Christian Ministry ([Link].)

Classes are held each weekday, Monday to Friday from

9:00 a.m.-12 noon, Indian Time (UTC+5:30). We offer three learning
options.
• On-Campus: Attend in-person classes at the campus
• Online: Attend live lectures online
• E-Learning: Self-paced learning through the online portal
[Link]/elearn
To apply online, and for more information about the college,
curriculum, eligibility criteria, tuition costs and to download the
application form, please visit [Link].
 CHRYSALIS COUNSELING
Chrysalis Counseling offers personal counseling to help people face
and overcome life’s challenges. Chrysalis Counseling is a team of
professionally trained and experienced Christian counselors.

Our Services are for all age groups and address a wide range of life’s
challenges.

Adolescents Behavioral Disorders

Personal Adjustments Personality Disorders
Relational Challenges Psychological / Emotional
Academic Underachievement Problems
Work-related Issues Stress / Trauma
Family / Couples: Premarital, Alcohol / Drug Abuse
Marital Spiritual Issues
Parents / Children / Sibling / Life Coaching
Peer
Fees for Chrysalis Counseling services are affordable and accessible.
To schedule an appointment with one of our trained counselors:
Website: [Link]
Phone: +91-80-25452617 or toll-free (within India) 1-800-300-00998
Email: counselor@[Link]
Chrysalis Counseling is a ministry of All Peoples Church & World
Outreach.
 PARTNER WITH ALL PEOPLES CHURCH
All Peoples Church ministers beyond its own borders as a local church
by reaching out across India, especially North India, with a special focus
on (A) Strengthening Leaders, (B) Equipping young people for ministry
and (C) Building up the Body of Christ. Several training seminars for
young people and ‘Christian Leaders’ Conference’ are held throughout
the year. In addition, several thousands of copies of publications are
distributed free of cost in English and other Indian languages with the
purpose of equipping believers in the Word and in the Spirit.
We invite you to partner with us financially by sending either a
one-time gift or a monthly financial gift. Any amount that you can send
to help us in this work across our nation will be greatly appreciated.

You can send your gift by cheque / bank draft payable to “All
Peoples Church” to our office address. Else, you can remit your
contribution directly by bank transfer using our bank account details.

Account Name: All Peoples Church

Account Number: 50200068829058
IFSC Code: HDFC0004367
Bank: HDFC Bank, 7M/308 80 Ft Rd, HRBR Layout, Kalyan Nagar,
Bengaluru, Karnataka 560043

Kindly note: All Peoples Church can only accept bank contributions
from an India based bank account. When making your contribution,
if desired, you can indicate the specific APC ministry area where you
would like your contribution to be used. For additional details, please
visit [Link]/give.

Also, please remember to pray for us and our ministry whenever you can.
Thank You and God Bless!