Today is the 5th Day of New Life Covenant’s 21-Day Fast. We are fasting and praying for many things…one of them is self-control and discipline in our financial lives. To that end, members of the church and its pastors are writing daily encouragements. Thought we’d share them with you. Be blessed!
CARE FOR MINISTERS
Let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honour. especially they who labour in the word and doctrine. For the scripture saith, Thou shalt not muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn. And, The labourer is worthy of his reward. 1 Timothy 5:17-18 KJV
Elders who do their work well should be respected and paid well, especially those who work hard at both preaching and teaching. For the Scripture says, “You must not muzzle an ox to keep it from eating as it treads out the grain.” And in another place, “Those who work deserve their pay!” 1 Timothy 5:17-18 (NLT)
What soldier has to pay his own expenses? What farmer plants a vineyard and doesn’t have the right to eat some of its fruit? What shepherd cares for a flock of sheep and isn’t allowed to drink some of it’s milk?…In the same way, the Lord ordered that those who preach the Good News should be supported by those who benefit from it. 1 Corinthians 9:7, 14 (READ WHOLE CHAPTER NLT)
The last couple of days have been crazy…in a great way. At the Cincinnati Mosaix meeting of pastors who are planting or interested in becoming multi-ethnic churches, the Lord used me to prophetically speak on race, and God’s heart for the poor in the City, who are disproportionately African-American. Tears ran down my face as I plead that we would live out the Gospel, put off the political speech, consider the poor in our territory, and start by loving and helping ONE ANOTHER.
I expressed how difficult it has been for Sherman, as a native of Cincinnati and me, to plant a multi-ethnic church in a racially polarized City. Oneya Okuwobi shared statistics from her PhD research about the resistance of Caucasians to follow African-American leadership. So I asked them for help. Something broke in the atmosphere and people began to offer their assistance. They said, “Sherman and Sadell can be our prototype that we’re committed to helping see this vision come to pass.” Glory to God! I then went to visit one of our pastors recovering from surgery. It turned into a pastors meeting! We all care so much for those God has entrusted to us!
Overnight the thoughts of what our needs were and what I’d write swirled in my head. I had little sleep -Sherman had a meeting with a donor in the morning. So at 4am I crafted a list of Spiritual, Physical, and Personnel needs for him to present along with a year in review Keynote presentation I’d made. Then I sent out the daily encouragements, the Wednesday’s Word, and more teaching on Fasting through social media. God told me not to just be a pastor in the City, but a pastor TO the City.
Then I went to the hospital and prayed with another parishioner before surgery, and returned home for my first meal on the Daniel portion of the fast. I sent out 1099 tax forms to our contractors, and then took a break, whew! I cooked for Sherman, straitened the house, and interacted via email with a visitor to our service who was thinking of coming to our Bible Study. She said her daughter thought our service was AWESOME! and that she really liked seeing a woman preacher. 😉 Then I had a music meeting with our Worship Leader and a brief Lead Team meeting before Bible Study.
I was very nervous about this week’s Bible Study from Emotional Healthy Spirituality – Peter Scarzerro. My legs were shaking. The Lord wanted me to dig deeply and Biblically into the issue of receiving full resurrection, restoration and recovery from grief and loss. To do that I would have to be really vulnerable on the birthday of one of my closest friends who’d passed a few years ago, and share on how Sherman and I had grieved poorly in various situations. There needed to be a strong compassion for the hurt of those gathered, a Holy Spirit flow, and a precise use of Scripture that would cut like surgeon into the deepest recesses of pain that had been there for years. Glory to God! He did it! and it was beautiful! The peace and relief that was in that room you could physically feel…then I was knocked out.
I am called as a 5-Fold minister to shepherd and care for God’s people, to teach and preach His Word, and to equip others for ministry. It is what God created me for and I take it seriously. I work hard at it in the same way a teacher, lawyer or doctor does. There is not another job I want to do, though like Paul, I have to tent-make (work bi-vocationally) sometimes. The result of what I do brings significant life change for those who receive that my gift comes from God. It is amazing to watch as He literally removes shackles and burdens off of people through what He gives me to share.
I’m not sure what you think we do…but it’s very significant to me and it’s even more significant to God! If you have an elder who rules well, I hope you will consider them worthy of double honor!
Sadell
