Friends in Ministry – John Markum

Preacher Mistakes

Posted on January 23, 2013 by johnmarkum

Unfortunately, this is a subject that causes a certain amount of regret on my part, as I’m certainly guilty of many of these from time to time. There are statistics out there about the rate of pastors and church leaders who fall out of ministry due to immorality or discouragement. I’m not talking about those mistakes, per se. Rather, what are some of the more root mistakes that lead to pastors and church leaders getting frustrated, fruitless, discouraged, or even disqualified? You may not find this list mentioned by any leadership stats. But the things that make a lot of preachers become a statistic often begin with some of these. And even if you don’t work for a church, these are probably common traps we all have tendencies to step into. Continue reading “Preacher Mistakes”

Stop the Hop (Steven Furtick)

Posted on August 23, 2011 by johnmarkum

Pastor Steven Furtick, of Elevation Church is a voice of leadership and empowering to my generation of church leaders. The move of God through Elevation in the Charlotte area is simply phenomenal. I’m reposting a blog entry he made last January as it relates to something that many have asked me recently about being a part of multiple churches. I know these people have good intentions, but here are some things you should consider…

One of the things that really troubles me about the church today is the phenomenon of church hopping and church shopping. It’s a consumeristic mindset towards the body of Christ that grieves the heart of God.

It’s time for us to stop the hop. This isn’t Christianity. Jesus didn’t die so we could sample different churches like varieties of meat on a party platter. Jesus died to establish His church as the most powerful entity on the planet.

We are alive at the greatest time in history for the advance of the gospel. We have so much going for us.

We have the ability.
We have the resources.
We have the people.

What we don’t have is them committed to a place where they can actually be used for their God-ordained purpose.

If this generation doesn’t make the impact it should, it won’t be because it didn’t have the resources. Or even the passion. It will be because it was too busy hopping to different churches to stop and commit to one where its resources and passion could actually find an outlet.

The church is the change the world is waiting for. God help us if we keep the world waiting for us while we try to find the perfect church for us.

If you’ve fallen into the trap of church hopping, let me encourage you: embrace your place somewhere where God can use you. At the end of your life, God’s not going to be impressed or pleased that you saw what He was doing at ten different churches. He’s going be more pleased that you were a part of what He was doing at one church.

And you’re never going to find the perfect one, so give up looking. If the church you’re visiting doesn’t have what you’re looking for, it might be because God wants you to provide it.

Let’s all commit together to begin a campaign to stop the hop.
Find a place to get planted. Embrace it. And start changing the world.

The question of our day isn’t if God wants to do incredible things through the church. The question is will we be in place to experience it?

“A 13:13 Moment”

Posted on June 23, 2011 by johnmarkum

Below is a post made by Pastor Steven Furtick of Elevation Church, Charlotte, NC. I read this today and couldn’t help but pass it along to my blog viewers. I hope everyone in my church would embrace the principle of this post.

“You acted foolishly,” Samuel said. “You have not kept the command the LORD your God gave you; if only you had, he would have established your kingdom over Israel for all time.”
1 Samuel 13:13

It’s a moment you never want to have.
A 13:13 moment.
The moment you realize just what you could have had, if only you had…

What a scary verse this is. Besides the fact that you have a double instance of a bad number (13:13), the thought expressed in it should rattle us to our core. When most people talk about the consequences of sin or disobeying a specific instruction of God, they usually focus on the negative consequences that actively happen to us as a result.

You sleep around, you could get an STD or get pregnant.
You cut a corner at work, you could lose your job.
You ignore God’s calling, you could end up in the wrong career.

Those are definitely bad, but there’s an even scarier thought to consider. And that’s the unprecedented blessing of God you missed out on because you weren’t willing to obey.

The levels of influence you could have had.
The marriage you could have had.
The life you could have had.

I never want to have a 13:13 moment. I never want to hear God say:
If you had been generous, I would have…
If you had not settled, I would have…
If you had stepped out in faith, I would have…
If you had…I would have…

And you don’t either. The last thing you want your life to become is a cautionary tale of what could have been. Whatever God is asking of you, believe me, it’s not about what He wants from you. It’s what He wants for you.

And you can have it, if only you will…