James Watkins: Encouragement for ministers

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Encouragement for ministers

Every minister needs encouragement following a brutal board meeting, a message that went down in flames, a church furnace that died on Saturday night in January, or one of the many moments of discouragement and disillusionment. I've included some of the quotations and scriptures that I have found helpful on those days I'd rather be a greeter at Wal-Mart than a minister. (And I've included some of my own observations.)

For we speak as messengers who have been approved by God to be entrusted with the Good News. Our purpose is to please God, not people. He is the one who examines the motives of our hearts.
1 Thessalonians 2:4, NLT

Men and women are in ministry for one of only two reasons: they're 'called' or crazy.
James Watkins

I'm glad God has all the answers, 'cause I barely understand the questions.
Barbara Johnson

Not that we are competent to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God. He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant . . .
2 Corinthians 3:5-6, NIV

The goal of education and formation for the ministry is continually to recognize the Lord's voice, his face, and his touch in every person we meet
Henri Nouwen

God gave us His Word, not so we could know it, but so we could know Him.
James Watkins

Our only business is to love and delight ourselves in God.
Brother Lawrence

My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think that I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so. But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you. And I hope that I have that desire in all that I am doing. I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire. And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road though I may know nothing about it. Therefore I will trust you always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death. I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone.
Thomas Merton

The pastorate is one of the few occupations where you get paid to read good books, attend carry-in dinners, and sleep in on Mondays.
James Watkins

For the sole reason for which God must be served is that He is Who He is, and not for any other mediate ends. And thus to serve Him for other reasons than solely that He is Who He is, is to serve Him without regard from Him as the Ultimate Reason. . .
St. John of the Cross

Those who are appointed to be over others should glory in this office only as much as if they had been chosen to wash the feet of their brethren.
St. Francis of Assisi

Always do right. This will gratify some people and astonish the rest.
Mark Twain

To do great work, a man must be very idle was well as very industrious.
Samuel Butler

What is a committee? A group of the unwilling, picked from the unfit, to do the unnecessary.
Richard Long Harkness

If Columbus had an advisoty committee he would probably still be at the dock.
Justice Arthur Goldberg

A committee of one gets things done.
Joe Ryan

Praying is more important than preaching; preaching is more important than administration; family is more important than congregation; faithfulness is more important than competition; love is more important than ability.
Edwin Lutzer

God evaluates by this criterion: How much love you invest in what you do is more important than how you do. The one who loves much is actually the one who does much.
Thomas 'a Kempis, paraphrased by Donald Demaray

Excellence in my ministry can be obtained if I care more than others think wise, risk more than others think safe, dream more than others think practical, expect more than others think possible.
Richard Wynn

There is no faith without risk; no grace without cost; no love without pain.
Peter Lord

I have found a paradox that if I love until it hurts, then there is no more hurt, but only more love.
Mother Teresa

The test of a true servant is if you act like one when you're treated like one.

Jesus already died for your congregation. If that isn't good enough for them, ain't no point in you dying, too.
Tony Evans

Work places us into the stream of divine action, for it is here that we must fully express our creation in the image of God. We are 'sub-creators' . . .
Richard Foster

We make a living by what we get; we make a life by what we give.

No one can be a public person, without risk to his soul, unless first he is a private person. No one can be a speaker, without risk to his soul, unless first he is fulfilled when he says nothing.
Thomas 'a Kempis, paraphrased by Donald Demaray

A pure, single-mended, stable spirit doesn't distract easily, even when doing many things: you do all to honor God, you rest inside, you don't try to make yourself look big. What really causes inner conflicts? Trying to work for God and yourself at the same time.
Thomas 'a Kempis, paraphrased by Donald Demaray

We ought not to be weary of doing little things for the love of God, who regards not the greatness of the work, but the love with which it is performed.
Brother Lawrence

The true character of a person is seen not in momentary heroics but in the . . . humdrum of day-to-day living.
Max Lucado

You can spend your life anyway you want to, but only once.

So what if I'm not sitting in the lap of luxury? I'm happy where I am, on the bony knees of nothing.
Lucy Ricardo on I Love Lucy

It is better to be poor and godly than rich and dishonest
Proverbs 16:8, NIV

There are a lot of nuts in the Lord's fruitcake.

The church is like manure. Pile it together and it stinks up the neighborhood; spread it out and it enriches the world.

When people leave the church on Sunday morning, do they say, 'Wow, what a sermon?' or 'Wow, what a Savior?'
James Watkins

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."
Jeremiah 29:11, NIV

Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and your plans will succeed.
Proverbs 16:3, NIV

Success is not measured by the height you climb, but by the obstacles you overcome in its attainment.

You may be disappointed if you fail, but you are doomed if you don't try.
Beverly Sills

Failure changes for the better, success for the worse.
Lucius Annaeus Seneca

Nothing fails like success because we don't learn from it. We learn only from failure.
Kenneth Ewart Boulding

It is often the failure who is the pioneer in new lands, new undertakings, and new forms of expressions.
Eric Hoffer

I cannot give you the formula for success, but I can give you the formula for failure, which is—try to please everybody.
Herbert Bayard Swope

When everyone is against you, it means you are absolutely wrong—or absolutely right.
Albert Guinon

The minority is always right.
Henrik Johan Ibsen

Success is what others give you. Excellence is what you give others.
David Neff

In this detachment the spiritual soul finds its quiet and repose; for since it covets nothing, nothing wearies it when it is lifted up, and nothing oppresses in when it is cast down.
St. John of the Cross

To avoid criticism: say nothing, do nothing, be nothing.

Every truth passes through three stages before it is recognized. In the first, it is ridiculed, in the second it is opposed, in the third it is reguarded as self-evident.
Arthur Schopenhauer

Sometimes a ministers' role in the body of Christ is to be a hemorrhoid--he or she mustn't let the congregation sit too comfortably in the pews.
James Watkins

I am a great and sublime fool. But then I am God's fool and all His works must be contemplated with respect.
Mark Twain

If God is for us, who can be against us.
Romans 8:31b, NIV

'Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. . . . if you stay joined to me and my words remain in you, you may ask any request you like, and it will be granted! My true disciples produce much fruit. This brings great glory to my Father.
John 15:5, 7-8. TNLT

A river reaches places which its source never knows. And Jesus said that if we have received His fullness, 'rivers of living water' will flow out from us, reaching in blessing even 'to the end of the earth' regardless of how small the visible effects of our lives may appear to be. We have nothing to do with the outflow . . . God rarely allows a person to see how great a blessing he is to others.
Oswald Chambers

I do hope my Father will let the river of my life go flowing fully to the finish. I don't want it to end in a swamp
F. B. Meyer

The measure of life . . . is not its duration, but its donation.
Corrie ten Boom.

'Success' is loving God, loving people, and loving what we do.
James Watkins

That person is a success who has lived well, laughed often and loved much; who has gained the respect of intelligent people, and the love of children; who has filled a unique niche and accomplished his or her task; who leaves the world better than before, whether by a perfect poem or a rescued soul; who never lacked appreciation of the earth's beauty or failed to express it; who looked for the best in others and gave the best he or she had.
Adapted from Robert Louis Stevenson.

Some days you're the pigeon; some days you're the statue.
Roger Anderson

In this crazy world, there's an enormous distinction between good times and bad, between sorrow and joy. But in the eyes of God, they're never separated. Where there is pain, there is healing. Where there is mourning, there is dancing. Where there is poverty, there is the kingdom.
Henri Nouwen

The truth will set you free but first it will make you miserable.
Jamie Buckingham

Truth is always strong, no matter how weak it looks and falsehood is always weak, no matter how strong it looks.
Phillips Brooks.

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose . . . to be conformed to the likeness of his Son . . . Romans 8:28-29, NIV

Never fear shadows. They simply mean there's a light somewhere nearby.
Ruth E. Renkee

There are no hopeless situations--only people who have grown hopeless about them
Clare Bouta Lute

There are no problem people; just people with problems.

Never let a problem to be solved become more important that the person to be loved.
Barbara Johnson

I will not allow people to define my mood, method, image, or mission.
Max Lucado

For most of us, life consists of a few extraordinary dates joined together by many ordinary years. I believe one of the great challenges of the Christian life is learning how to find spiritual significance in everyday things.
Don Basham

Enjoy the little things. One day you may look back and realize . . . they were the big things.
Barbara Johnson

If you think you are too small to be effective, you have never been in bed with a mosquito.
Betty Reese

But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
John 14:26-27, NIV

When you fear God you fear nothing else; whereas if you do not fear God you fear everything else.
Oswald Chambers

May the knowledge shine is us that we may know the breadth of thy benefits, the length of thy promises, the height of thy majesty, and the depth of thy judgments.
St. Francis of Assisi

The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing.
Zephaniah 3:17

I don't have to prove anything. I am already the beloved [of God].
Henri Nouwen

If people are kicking you in the behind, at least you're in front of them.
Billy Graham

Blessed is that servant who does not think himself better when he is praised and exalted by men, than when he is despised and considered simple and good-for-nothing, for what a man is in the sight of God, this he is and no more.
St. Francis of Assisi

Who enjoys tranquility? The one who doesn't take seriously either praise or lack of it from people.
Thomas 'a Kempis, paraphrased by Donald Demaray

But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.
2 Corinthians 4:7-9, NIV

Inner treasures shine through cracked pots.
James Watkins

Any day above ground is a good one.
Barbara Johnson

. . . God never simply buries our dead and broken dreams because He'd be burying our hearts along with our dreams. [O]ne of two positive things will happen. Either the dream will become fertilizer for something even better, or the Lord will give me the gumption and oomph to bring my dream to fruition. I can't lose either way!
Noni Joy Tari

Joy comes in the morning, unless you wake up on the wrong side of bed.
Liz Curtis Higgs

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:6-7, NIV

God is a bit sparing with His miracles. If there weren't any, we'd all be goners, but if there were too many, we'd all become lazy.
Rufus Mosley

God is never late, but He sure is slow.
James Watkins

No matter what you do, people will be shooting at you. If you are afraid of being shot, you are whipped before you start.
George Patton

We live in the 'nasty now and now,' not the 'sweet by and by'.
Peter Lord

To survive in ministry, you have to have tough hide and a tender heart—and try not to get them reversed.
James Watkins

Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.
Romans 5:1-5, NIV

Hope knows that if great trials are avoided, great deeds remain undone . . . Brennan Manning

Your life is not going to be easy, and it should not be easy. It ought to be hard. It ought to be radical; it ought to be restless; it ought to lead you to places you'd rather not go.
Henri Nouwen

God is a refiner, not an arsonist.
Neva Coyle

It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, and comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.
President Theodore Roosevelt

Failure doesn't mean we have done anything wrong. It may simply be that God's time for success hasn't yet come for us. God isn't telling us to change the way we do things but to wait on him—and in time to try again.
H. Blaine Smith

I am not discouraged because every wrong attempt discarded is another step forward.
Thomas Edison

Sometimes you 'pull the pin' [on a grenade] and nothing happens . . . yet. It took Jesus three years to pull the pin. Fifty days after he left the scene it went off. Leaders are pin-pullers. But leaders also learn to wait.
Keith Drury

A river cuts through rock, not because of its power, but its persistence.
James Watkins

When you are down to nothing, God is up to something.
Unknown

God laughs at impossibilities.
John Hyde

Some things never make sense, but neither does God's love.
Patsy Engle

I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge--that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.
Ephesians 3:16-21, NIV

Additional quotations:
Christmas quotations
Encouraging quips and quotations

Additional ministry resources:
Humor from Rev. magazine
Resource list

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Encouragement for ministers

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