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Is there something wrong with these as priorities? - 7/20/2008 1:33:53 AM
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pezekiel
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Hi. I decided to set my priorities straight and have the following in order:
1. God
2. Spouse
3. Children
4. Work
5. Ministry
My problem now is, i feel that we're spending too much time in the ministry. Me and wife are heads 2 different ministries and we spend nearly all our weekends in the church and couple of hours on week days too.
I can simply quit, but how should I tell it to my leaders?
Is there something wrong or unbiblical in my priorities? What are your priorities?
Thanks!
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RE: Is there something wrong with these as priorities? - 7/20/2008 6:21:29 AM
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mvic
Posts: 1540
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Your first five priorities should be:
1 God
2 God
3 God
4 God
5 God
and the others come afterward in whatever order you feel is correct for your circumstances.
Having established your first 5 priorities; now talk to God about them. Tell Him where and how you cannot cope. Ask His advice.
Then discuss the matter with your church leaders. Seek their guidance.
If you're in ministry ... the rest should come naturally.
God bless.
_____________________________
Christian words of comfort at http://www.holyvisions.co.uk
Welcome to my Blog
MEI VITA INDICO CHRISTUS
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RE: Is there something wrong with these as priorities? - 7/20/2008 10:28:02 AM
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timf
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Is there something wrong with these as priorities?
Matthew 6:33
But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
Mark 12:30
And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.
Sometimes people confuse church activity with ministry. The word minister (servant) might be considered more applicable in the relation of one person to another. Serving a group or collective might be helpful but it may not be "ministry".
We often do not reflect on if we are "doing church" the right way. Sometimes we are only driven to this consideration when family or others suffer.
Frequently church work is done by the power of the flesh and quenches the Holy Spirit. This makes us less able to discern truth. Some of the indicators of fleshly function are frustration and lack of peace and joy.
If a person travels too far down the road of the flesh, they can become like the Pharisees and become blind to their condition and almost a prisoner or of their own willful blindness. This is what Jesus warned his disciples about the "leaven" of the Pharisees. It was addressed early on in the letter to the Galatians.
Your first relationship should be with Jesus. If your church is helping you grow into the image of Christ, to raise a godly family, and relate to brothers and sisters in Christ as individuals, then it is fulfilling its role. If you church has you relating to and through an organization, then it may be getting in the way of the life to which the Bible calls you.
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RE: Is there something wrong with these as priorities? - 7/20/2008 10:32:57 AM
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earthless
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Many people today are duped into thinking God being first = church/ministry time. Nope.
God being first = one's personal relationship with God. Church/family time for the layman is to be, according to my humble opinion, fourth on our list.
1) God (one's personal living daily relationship with our Savior, Jesus Christ)
2) Family
3) Work (the jobs God allows you to have so that you can provide for your family)
4) Church (time for church, ministry, bible classes, etc)
5) Friends
And 4/5 are interchangeable if need be.
The only reason I say this is because I have known way too many people who are duped into thinking putting God first equals being at church or involved at church all of the time they can (giving the pastor free time to do nothing while being paid for full time ministry), some every night of the week, and their homes, their families are in ruins.
Kids hungry and with no stability, sitting in church way after 9:00 PM still in their school uniform, dozing off in the pews, and not being cared for, homework not being done, kids running the streets, husbands not attended to, house is all dirty and in shambles, laundry not done because there is no time, bills stacking up, etc etc.. all because they have to be involved in any and every ministry.
Our family, our home is to be our number one ministry. Not giving a class on Thursday night for the youth and your home is not in order.
_____________________________
Probing Today's Religious Movements | Promoting Doctrinal Discernment & Critical Thinking | Providing Reasons for Christian Faith & Ethics
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RE: Is there something wrong with these as priorities? - 7/20/2008 11:09:27 AM
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Phulish
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"in him we live and move and have our being." Why compartmentalize? God doesn't suddenly disappear when we exit our prayer closets or leave the church building. Attention toward God can be practiced in everything we do. We received our very breath from Him including our earthly functions. All that's needed is a different perspective.
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RE: Is there something wrong with these as priorities? - 7/20/2008 11:40:57 AM
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earthless
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quote:
ORIGINAL: Phulish
"in him we live and move and have our being." Why compartmentalize? God doesn't suddenly disappear when we exit our prayer closets or leave the church building. Attention toward God can be practiced in everything we do. We received our very breath from Him including our earthly functions. All that's needed is a different perspective.
Yes, but that doesn't address the real problem the OP stated and that is epidemic in a lot of church circles today.
_____________________________
Probing Today's Religious Movements | Promoting Doctrinal Discernment & Critical Thinking | Providing Reasons for Christian Faith & Ethics
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RE: Is there something wrong with these as priorities? - 7/20/2008 11:58:48 AM
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Prairiehiker
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If our ministry, church attendance and other things we do does not make us have closer personal walk with God, I think we shouldn't be there. Honestly, ask yourself, when you are alone, away from all the ministry, from the glare of the public whom you have to make an impression with, do you find yourself communing with God? Praising Him? Talking to Him? Do you find a hunger to just pray to God when you are alone? If the answer is no, then perhaps, all your church activities are just nothing but social activities.
Having God as your priority in life means He is with you whether you're in the "ministry" or not. The way I see it, the moment you wake up, you're in the ministry. There's people around you all the time that you can minister to in a genuine way, with no agenda but to show them the love of Christ.
_____________________________
The heavens declare the glory of God;
And the firmament shows His handiwork. Psalm 19: 1
____________________________________
To everything there is a season, A time for every purpose under heaven. King Solomon
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RE: Is there something wrong with these as priorities? - 7/20/2008 1:44:41 PM
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delete123
Posts: 936
Joined: 6/1/2005
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quote:
ORIGINAL: earthless
Many people today are duped into thinking God being first = church/ministry time. Nope.
God being first = one's personal relationship with God. Church/family time for the layman is to be, according to my humble opinion, fourth on our list.
1) God (one's personal living daily relationship with our Savior, Jesus Christ)
2) Family
3) Work (the jobs God allows you to have so that you can provide for your family)
4) Church (time for church, ministry, bible classes, etc)
5) Friends
And 4/5 are interchangeable if need be.
The only reason I say this is because I have known way too many people who are duped into thinking putting God first equals being at church or involved at church all of the time they can (giving the pastor free time to do nothing while being paid for full time ministry), some every night of the week, and their homes, their families are in ruins.
Kids hungry and with no stability, sitting in church way after 9:00 PM still in their school uniform, dozing off in the pews, and not being cared for, homework not being done, kids running the streets, husbands not attended to, house is all dirty and in shambles, laundry not done because there is no time, bills stacking up, etc etc.. all because they have to be involved in any and every ministry.
Our family, our home is to be our number one ministry. Not giving a class on Thursday night for the youth and your home is not in order.
I agree with Timz & Earthless...
If you can not manage and care for your own household then you are neglecting what God has given you to minister. I believe it says in the bible that a man needs to have his house in order, before outside ministry.
Too many believe that if you are not in an outside ministry that you are not serving God. This is sooo not true.
About a week or so ago I was listening to a pasto on fof about forgiveness, who himself stated he felt remorseful for neglecting his family during his ministry, because he did not put his family first. He didn't recognize that God intended for him to minister first to his family, so they took a back burner and he missed many blessings because of it.
I went through a situation where a good intention person claimed that I was not giving to God. The only reason why they didn't believe that, was because it wasn't to their standards.
#1 not continually yelling: Praise God
#2 not working in a church
#3 not living my life for God according to their stds.
#4 not going to "their" church (that they didn't even believe in)
Oh in the list of rules go on.....
CRH
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RE: Is there something wrong with these as priorities? - 7/20/2008 9:01:51 PM
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pezekiel
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Thank you for sharing your experiences.
To some, from the list above, what are your priorities. God is no question the number one, how about the rest?
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RE: Is there something wrong with these as priorities? - 7/20/2008 9:13:31 PM
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armydude
Posts: 16847
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From: NC
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quote:
ORIGINAL: earthless
Many people today are duped into thinking God being first = church/ministry time. Nope.
God being first = one's personal relationship with God. Church/family time for the layman is to be, according to my humble opinion, fourth on our list.
1) God (one's personal living daily relationship with our Savior, Jesus Christ)
2) Family
3) Work (the jobs God allows you to have so that you can provide for your family)
4) Church (time for church, ministry, bible classes, etc)
5) Friends
And 4/5 are interchangeable if need be.
The only reason I say this is because I have known way too many people who are duped into thinking putting God first equals being at church or involved at church all of the time they can (giving the pastor free time to do nothing while being paid for full time ministry), some every night of the week, and their homes, their families are in ruins.
Kids hungry and with no stability, sitting in church way after 9:00 PM still in their school uniform, dozing off in the pews, and not being cared for, homework not being done, kids running the streets, husbands not attended to, house is all dirty and in shambles, laundry not done because there is no time, bills stacking up, etc etc.. all because they have to be involved in any and every ministry.
Our family, our home is to be our number one ministry. Not giving a class on Thursday night for the youth and your home is not in order.
I agree with this completely.
_____________________________
You can choose to be pitiful. Or you can choose to be powerful. But you cannot choose to be both.
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RE: Is there something wrong with these as priorities? - 7/20/2008 11:10:39 PM
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Liveloved
Posts: 1824
Status: offline
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I agree. If God is the center of your life, all will be in harmony. Seek His will for whatever you and your family are involved in.
It differs according to your stage of life. In some seasons you may be very involved. At other seasons, not so involved. And the timing is His. I'm at a less involved season right now. It's not necessarily 'comfortable' but it is where He has me for now. And there are things for me to learn being in the place I am in.
So my counsel is for you to relax, seek the Lord's counsel and be patient to make any changes. God usually gives us plenty of lead time---His pace is usually slower than our fast pace. Waiting on Him means waiting. He will lead you and guide you. Bless you!
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RE: Is there something wrong with these as priorities? - 7/21/2008 10:31:29 AM
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URForgiven
Posts: 1075
Joined: 3/22/2008
Status: offline
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quote:
ORIGINAL: pezekiel
Hi. I decided to set my priorities straight and have the following in order:
1. God
2. Spouse
3. Children
4. Work
5. Ministry
My problem now is, i feel that we're spending too much time in the ministry. Me and wife are heads 2 different ministries and we spend nearly all our weekends in the church and couple of hours on week days too.
I can simply quit, but how should I tell it to my leaders?
Is there something wrong or unbiblical in my priorities? What are your priorities?
Thanks!
Yes, there is something wrong with those priorities. God is not on a list, He is not a priority...He is our life. If God is number one, what happens when we have to move on to number two? Do we leave God in that number one slot, while we now deal with number two?
God is involved in every aspect of our life, because God is our life. There is no one activity that is more Godly, or more spiritual than another, when we are depending on Him. When we are depending on Him, we are in His will, and whatever we are doing will be spiritual.
If you are abiding in Christ, depending upon His sufficiency, then whether you are with your wife, or your children, whether at work or in your ministry...it is all of God and for God...and one activity is just as spiritual as the other, because Christ is in all of it. Our priority is to abide in Christ, for this is the will of God.
Peace
_____________________________
"Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit,
are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort?" Galatians 3:3
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RE: Is there something wrong with these as priorities? - 7/21/2008 12:31:17 PM
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earthless
Posts: 6089
Joined: 4/11/2005
From: where pigeons are wearing sweaters....
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URForgiven,
I don't think anyone was saying anything other than what you just did. Of course God is are all when we are His children. The point is that many do not know how to make a distinction between our personal relationship with the Lord and being active in ministry.
Did you disagree with what I noted in my first post in this thread?
_____________________________
Probing Today's Religious Movements | Promoting Doctrinal Discernment & Critical Thinking | Providing Reasons for Christian Faith & Ethics
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RE: Is there something wrong with these as priorities? - 7/21/2008 12:49:40 PM
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pezekiel
Posts: 12
Joined: 2/29/2008
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As I've said and earthless said, there's no question that God is number one and should ALWAYS be part whatever we're doing.
What I'm interested to know is how you prioritize things in your life based on the listed above.
Let's say you only have 24 hours to do something for those listed above, how are you going to divide the time based on your priorities.
We may have different answers, and so, what's the reason behind your priorities.
Are there any supporting bible verses on what should be our priorities?
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RE: Is there something wrong with these as priorities? - 7/21/2008 1:05:29 PM
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URForgiven
Posts: 1075
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quote:
ORIGINAL: earthless
URForgiven,
I don't think anyone was saying anything other than what you just did. Of course God is are all when we are His children. The point is that many do not know how to make a distinction between our personal relationship with the Lord and being active in ministry.
Did you disagree with what I noted in my first post in this thread?
quote:
Christian
If Jesus IS our life, how can there be any distinction between our personal relationship with Him and everything else? We are not called to anything, we are called to the person of Jesus Christ. He then sends us.
Peace
_____________________________
"Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit,
are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort?" Galatians 3:3
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RE: Is there something wrong with these as priorities? - 7/21/2008 7:21:03 PM
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earthless
Posts: 6089
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From: where pigeons are wearing sweaters....
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quote:
ORIGINAL: URForgiven
If Jesus IS our life, how can there be any distinction between our personal relationship with Him and everything else? We are not called to anything, we are called to the person of Jesus Christ. He then sends us.
Peace
The distinction is between someone being a Christian - and someone thinking that being in church 24/7 is the right thing to do when their family, job, etc.. all suffer because of it.
Sincerely asking - did you read my initial post in this thread?
_____________________________
Probing Today's Religious Movements | Promoting Doctrinal Discernment & Critical Thinking | Providing Reasons for Christian Faith & Ethics
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RE: Is there something wrong with these as priorities? - 7/21/2008 7:58:29 PM
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URForgiven
Posts: 1075
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quote:
ORIGINAL: earthless
quote:
ORIGINAL: URForgiven
If Jesus IS our life, how can there be any distinction between our personal relationship with Him and everything else? We are not called to anything, we are called to the person of Jesus Christ. He then sends us.
Peace
The distinction is between someone being a Christian - and someone thinking that being in church 24/7 is the right thing to do when their family, job, etc.. all suffer because of it.
Sincerely asking - did you read my initial post in this thread?
With all due respect, I was responding to the OP, not your post.
Peace
_____________________________
"Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit,
are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort?" Galatians 3:3
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RE: Is there something wrong with these as priorities? - 7/21/2008 8:11:31 PM
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earthless
Posts: 6089
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From: where pigeons are wearing sweaters....
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quote:
ORIGINAL: URForgiven
quote:
ORIGINAL: earthless
quote:
ORIGINAL: URForgiven
If Jesus IS our life, how can there be any distinction between our personal relationship with Him and everything else? We are not called to anything, we are called to the person of Jesus Christ. He then sends us.
Peace
The distinction is between someone being a Christian - and someone thinking that being in church 24/7 is the right thing to do when their family, job, etc.. all suffer because of it.
Sincerely asking - did you read my initial post in this thread?
With all due respect, I was responding to the OP, not your post.
Peace
So that's a no? I was responding to your response to the OP.
_____________________________
Probing Today's Religious Movements | Promoting Doctrinal Discernment & Critical Thinking | Providing Reasons for Christian Faith & Ethics
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RE: Is there something wrong with these as priorities? - 7/21/2008 10:24:44 PM
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aquilusone
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pezekiel
I like the line up of your priorities, but it seems like your priorities have slowly changed.
If you are feeling like you and your wife are spending to much time at church, you probably are. I find that most women notice first how much time is being spent away from the family. If you are noticing it (being the man) you probably have unconsciously changed your priorities. It is easy for it to happen.
Maybe what is bothering you is time management related. You might need to evaluate your and your wife's abilities to get things done in timely manner. Maybe you need to write down all the things that you think you have to do and go over it with your wife (and possibly your children if they are old enough) Sometimes when you write it all down, you realize how much of one thing you are doing.
I hope I am not insulting you with my response. I just thought that this might have been more of what you were looking for.
I hope this has been helpful. If it is not what you are looking for please ignore it. 
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RE: Is there something wrong with these as priorities? - 7/22/2008 1:32:38 PM
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Bridgitt
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God doesn't want our busyness, He wants our hearts.
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RE: Is there something wrong with these as priorities? - 7/22/2008 2:22:12 PM
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doinkdom
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From: The higher lowcountry
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Imagine life as a pie divided with our priorities, duties, etc.
God is the pie plate, because He is the foundation for all of our life.
_____________________________
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RE: Is there something wrong with these as priorities? - 7/22/2008 4:12:51 PM
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SallyGee
Posts: 37
Joined: 3/19/2007
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I put God first in my life by giving him the first fruits, as in, I give him the first part of my
day when I wake up before getting out of bed. I turn the day over to Him, I surrender it to Him.
We give him the first of our money before we pay our bills.
I make sure that I do the best in my job as if working for Him,
I take care of His vessel by taking care of it and eating right,
I take care of everything He has given me like I am just taking care of it for Him.
It is all done for Him. I think it is more important "How" we live our life rather than in what
order.
But the only way any of those "I"'s can do anything is with the HELP from the Holy Spirit.
Then before I go to sleep at night I Thank Him!
sally
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RE: Is there something wrong with these as priorities? - 7/22/2008 6:12:01 PM
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vahunter70
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From: Columbus, GA
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quote:
ORIGINAL: doinkdom
Imagine life as a pie divided with our priorities, duties, etc.
God is the pie plate, because He is the foundation for all of our life.
Great point.
_____________________________
Build a solid house; don't use imitation nails!
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RE: Is there something wrong with these as priorities? - 7/22/2008 9:09:10 PM
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Phulish
Posts: 39
Joined: 4/4/2008
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quote:
ORIGINAL: earthless
quote:
ORIGINAL: Phulish
"in him we live and move and have our being." Why compartmentalize? God doesn't suddenly disappear when we exit our prayer closets or leave the church building. Attention toward God can be practiced in everything we do. We received our very breath from Him including our earthly functions. All that's needed is a different perspective.
Yes, but that doesn't address the real problem the OP stated and that is epidemic in a lot of church circles today.
It addesses it. I think the OP could be off track with the list alltogether and a more harmoneous view of spirituality would certainly address the real problem. I thought we were trying to answer the OP's question not what we think is epidemic in a lot of church circles. I didn't see anything in the opening post other than the question concerning his or her own priorities.
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RE: Is there something wrong with these as priorities? - 7/22/2008 11:22:56 PM
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OneJohn410
Posts: 1168
Joined: 6/1/2008
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Look at that. Pezekiel invited any responders to share their priorities with him. It's right at the end of his post. He's graciously waited while everyone debated a lot, and then asked again, and all I see is everyone agreeing that God should be the most important. No one else has listed anything about their own priorities. I've seen thanks for starting the thread, but what's the rush to be critical of his and not share your own?
I'm guessing you and your wife have talked about this, and that she likely shares your priorities. Hopefully, the two of you are close to matching on these.
I'd graciously thank your church through its leadership for the opportunity to be sole ministry leaders for two church ministries, and that as of such and so a date, you would appreciate being able to share this leadership with others, with plans to become those being led by such and so date. This gives them some time to help the church in the transitioning, and also helps the new leaders by receiving some mentoring from you both. You've got a lot to share about accomplishing what you've been able to for the Lord, and this gives you a time to celebrate in how much these ministries have accomplished/grown while you've led them.
I don't see anything wrong with your priority list.
Mine is not much different.
1. my daily walk with Christ
2. applying my prayer life to my own
3. developing my quiet times to have a little less talk and a lot more listen
4. thanksgiving for what I do have
5. prayer for a new job to continue to testify His love in
6. family and friendships and the essential quality time with my dog
7. whatever comes before eight
8. whatever should be before ten but definitely after seven
9. thing one
10. thing two
of course, I sometimes swap 9 and 10 
Blessings on your decision to step back, regroup, and plunge back into it all again. I hope all goes well with your church decisions.
OneJohn410
quote:
ORIGINAL: pezekiel
Hi. I decided to set my priorities straight and have the following in order:
1. God
2. Spouse
3. Children
4. Work
5. Ministry
My problem now is, i feel that we're spending too much time in the ministry. Me and wife are heads 2 different ministries and we spend nearly all our weekends in the church and couple of hours on week days too.
I can simply quit, but how should I tell it to my leaders?
Is there something wrong or unbiblical in my priorities? What are your priorities?
Thanks!
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