My husband, Doug, has never forgotten a sermon he heard many years ago.  In fact, he still frequently makes reference to it.  Its title was, “Words Matter.”  The illustration he’s found so memorable came in the form of a question, “Husbands, which statement do you think your wives would rather hear:  ‘You have timeless beauty!’…or…’You have a face that would stop a clock!’?   Don’t both statements say the same thing?”  

This illustration is a powerful reminder that our words do indeed matter.  The old childhood phrase, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never harm me!” is a bold-faced lie.  WHAT we say matters.  HOW we say it matters.  WHEN and WHERE we say it matters.

Over and over, THE WORD that guides our lives has something to say about our words.  In the Old Testament wisdom book of Proverbs alone, we find verse after verse:  

Proverbs 12: 18  “The words of the reckless pierce like swords, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.”

Proverbs 15: 1,2, 4  “A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.  The tongue of the wise adorns knowledge, but the mouth of the fool gushes folly… The soothing tongue is a tree of life, but a perverse tongue crushes the spirit.”

Proverbs 16: 24  “Gracious words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.”

Proverbs 21: 23  “Those who guard their mouths and their tongues keep themselves from calamity.”

Proverbs 18: 21  “The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.”

Then Jesus said in Matthew 12: 36,37:  “But I tell you that everyone will have to give account on the day of judgment for every empty word they have spoken.  For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.”

As representatives of Jesus and bearers of His gospel, how can we not take care with our words and make them count for God’ kingdom and glory?  May Psalm 19: 14 and 141: 3 be our earnest prayer:  “May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer… Set a guard over my mouth, Lord; keep watch over the door of my lips.”  I want all my words to honor You and draw people ever closer to Christ.  In Jesus’ name, Amen.

About the Author: Tammy Scheller joyfully serves as a pastor at Enon GB Church in Princeton, Indiana. She loves being a “Nana” to her own and others she’s adopted as grandkids. She enjoys reading and camping with her husband, Doug.

The young minister rises, having just been ordained. He looks around at those who laid their hands on him during that sacred and solemn ordination service. His future is bright. He is beaming with zeal, energized for service, full of dreams, and has a vision of doing great things for God.

But then, without warning, the unexpected happens. In a blink of an eye, forty years have passed. His zeal is largely zeroed out, his energy fades with each sunset, and his dreams are mostly, still dreams. As for his grandiose vision, it has faded with his eyesight. If only he had known at twenty, what he now knows at sixty. Why didn’t someone warn him?

Visions and dreams are good, but they must be anchored in the Word of God and empowered by the Spirit of God. Youthful zeal and energy will fade with age, but spiritual energy doesn’t because it comes from a close relationship with the eternal Christ and a constant consumption of His energizing Words—the Bible.

Although many are called, not all end well. The key to ending well is clarity about one’s calling. What has God called us to do and be? If we fail to correctly understand the call, we open the door to misfortune and a miserable ending. Life is all about What God Wants.

Although we have movies that tell us What Women Want and What Men Want, the Bible clearly states what God wants. God has called us to be faithful, fruitful, and focused. Above all else, He desires faithfulness, not just to Him, but to our spouses, our families, the Scriptures, and His church. If we make anything else our top priority, sooner or later, we will fail to be faithful. If we fail to be faithful to our spouses, we lose our ministry. If we fail to be faithful to our children, we lose our children. If we fail to be faithful to the Scriptures, we lose God’s blessings and the joy of the Lord.

A few months ago in my study of the Parable of the Talents, I realized that Jesus emphasizes faithfulness over fruitfulness. Although the story is about one servant who fails to invest his talents, the main focus is the faithfulness of the other two servants. Jesus didn’t compliment them for putting their talents to work and doubling them. Instead, He commented on their faithfulness. He said, “Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little, I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master” (Matthew 25:21). Faithfulness, not fruitfulness is the main thing, but fruitfulness is important.

Unfortunately, churches and ministers are not isolated from the ways and means of the world. The secular world idolizes results. A sports coach or manager can lead his team to the ultimate victory one year and be fired the next for underperforming. Companies are not satisfied with making a profit, they must make more profits each year.

The church, including ministers, often buys into the world’s standard of success, which is numbers. Although numbers are important in ministry because they represent people, numbers must not become the god we worship. We honor God most when we prioritize that which He prioritizes, which is faithfulness. We must not violate the Scriptures to gain numbers on the roll or more money in the plate. We must not trade biblical conversions for superficial confessions for the sake of impressive numbers and personal accolades. Furthermore, we can’t control the results of our evangelism, but we can control our faithfulness to evangelize. We alone are responsible for our faithfulness to God and those whom God has placed in our care. We are pastors—shepherds–not CEOs.

When it comes to being faithful in fruit-bearing, the main fruit is not the bottom line, but the Christlikeness that we radiate. “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law” (Galatians 5:22-23 ESV).

A life of faithfulness and fruitfulness is the direct result of a focused life. “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:1-2 ESV).

The word “looking” comes from the Greek word ἀφοράω, which means fixing our eyes on one thing—Jesus. If we are faithful in focusing on Jesus, we will be faithful in what He wants from us. Consequently, when our health fails us, ministry opportunities abandon us, or death comes looking for us, we will not be discouraged, disillusioned, or disheartened if we have been faithful, for a well-lived life is a life that ends well.

The apostle Paul, the greatest church planter and missionary the world has ever known, did not focus on his accomplishments or convert numbers when death came knocking. He focused on the one thing that Jesus wants most, faithfulness. “For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing” (2 Timothy 4:6-7).

If we have been faithful to God and His calling, we can rejoice over a life well lived and expect to hear the words, Well done, good and faithful servant… Enter into the joy of your master” (Matthew 25:21 ESV).

About the Author: Eddie Fleming is in his 32nd year as pastor of Concord General Baptist Church near Manitou, Kentucky. He is a graduate of Welch College. He and his wife, Laura, have two children, Elizabeth and Evan. He is a writer for Stinson Press and the author of the book “When Truth Knocks.” His website is eddiedfleming.com

When was the last time you were a beginner?

I just celebrated my first year in vocational ministry a few weeks ago. Recently, I’ve asked myself some honest questions and given some honest answers. What can I tell you or encourage you with that you haven’t heard before?

I’m sure we’re all familiar with a variety of leadership teachings, sermons, and Bible commentaries. I have found that some of the most helpful lessons are the ones you hear the second time – reminders, not revelations. 

I want to remind you of what it meant for ministry to be new to you. In just a year, I have already seen how easily the beautiful thing we get to do for God’s Church can lose its luster. We can forget what we set out to do, why we said yes, why we began. I have some questions for you to think about. I hope they remind you of why you began, and, if you need it, I hope they give you a little of that beginner’s joy back.

If that joy is not hard for you to find in this season, I hope you’re encouraged to share it with a young leader. Young people need to know that what we get to do is FUN!

So…when was the last time you were a beginner?

I became a beginner again a few weeks ago. I decided I needed a hobby, and a lot of my friends enjoy baseball. So a few of them sent me a game to watch, the game that made them baseball fans, and that’s all it took. Go Cardinals! 

They were so excited – excited not just to pass on the thing they loved, but a piece of the moment that ignited that passion in them.

What moment lit a fire in you for ministry? What made you fall in love with the Church?

I have a friend who is very far from Jesus. She and I haven’t spent time together in years, but we text occasionally. She texted me days after I watched that first game, and we got to talk about baseball. She is coming to my house for dinner to watch a game Sunday night. 

When was the last time you got to share your beginning with someone?

I’m reminded of the, “Drop your nets and follow me,” moment for Simon, Andrew, James, and John (Matthew 4). Jesus called them into discipleship and ministry, and they followed – it wasn’t overcomplicated or supernatural, although Jesus did things that certainly fit those descriptors.  

We have to raise up the next generation of church leaders – it will not happen accidentally; it must happen purposefully. God absolutely calls certain people to serve His Church, but I wonder how much fruit calling can bear without opportunity.

Maybe sharing your beginning looks like remembering what got you started in ministry and giving that chance to someone else. It could also just be telling your ministry story! No one can rise up after you if they don’t know how you got where you are. They can’t take it further than you if you don’t show them how you got this far.

Share your beginning with someone – it matters. 

God is at work in our beginnings. As I learned more about baseball, I began to talk about it more. I have never been “sporty” – I’m the girl who cheers for both teams at football games because I just want them to have fun. So as I talked about it, my dad was shocked that I suddenly knew all this baseball stuff. Transparently, our relationship has historically been rocky at best. But we’re suddenly planning a St. Louis trip to (hopefully) see my team beat his.

Only God could do something that cool. And if I had never pressed play on a twelve year old YouTube video of a baseball game that seemed to be random, I might not have gotten to see it. 

It can be hard to see how God is working in the moment, but I believe that looking back, it’s not hard to see at all. He has this way of asking us to trust His character in the moment and later revealing the evidence of where He’s been. I am willing to bet that God is at work in your church. What was the last thing God did that you wouldn’t have seen if not for your yes? When was the last time you remember seeing evidence of how your “yes” made a difference?  

I got to baptize a thirteen year old girl and see her start quoting scripture to her classmates. A lady I served coffee to as a waitress in 2021 is now in the process of reconciling with her ex-husband, and her daughter comes to our church with this rare kind of joy and a fire for Jesus. Jokes and conversations with a teenage boy who serves faithfully on our usher team led us to a conversation about him feeling called into ministry. He’s interning with us this summer and asking deep questions about theology. 

Please tell stories of how God is at work in your church. Because every story makes your yes worth it. Tell stories you wouldn’t have gotten to see if not for your yes. Every single one of them is evidence that your yes made a difference.

Remember why you said yes. Tell young leaders why they should say yes, too. 

About the Author: Diana Harrison is the Office Coordinator at Generation Church in Portland, TN. She also enjoys serving in their youth ministry. In her spare time, she like to try new coffee places and spend time with friends.