Paul Benger

A conversation for pastors, leaders, creators, entrepreneurs, cultural architects

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Pastor, Creator, Leader, Author, Entrepreneur, Cultural Architect, Leadership Coach

  • Finding Your Muse, 5 Ways To Fuel Creativity

    Finding Your Muse,
    5 Ways to Fuel Your Creativity

    Creativity is a governing force in humanity – a function of the mind. It is, at its essence, your outward expression of an inward thought or emotion. YOU ARE CREATIVE.

    This means that there are two hindrances that can limit your creativity: an internal barrier that limits your imagination and inspiration, and an external barrier that limits your expression or presentation of your creativity.

    muse

    Finding your source of inspiration (or “muse”) is the doorway to your creativity. This seems like an obvious factor, but I am constantly surprised in how few people can specifically say what inspires them. I have been surprised at how I might stumble over that question myself.

    Your muse (inspiration) can be found in nature, in people, in books, in music, in a memory, or in a particular situation. When you find it, you don’t have to wait for those moments of inspiration to come around, you can activate your creativity on demand.

    Search out and take note of anything that makes you say, “I want to do that!” “What if?” or “I have an idea!”.

    What’s your source?
    Here are 5 ways to FUEL your Creativity:

    1. Surround Yourself With Excellence

    I have discovered my most favorite music by not just listening to talented musicians, but by finding out who they listen to. Without fail, good artists observe great artists, and great artists observe extraordinary artists.

    You should always study and surround yourself with things and people you consider to be great. This builds in you a template of quality and standard of excellence that can take your creativity forward.

    There is absolutely nothing wrong with studying and even copying aspects of the greats of your industry. As Pablo Picasso once said, “Good artists copy, great artists steal.” While I agree with Picasso, it goes without saying that you should steal their methods and not their products.

    2. Just Create

    What was the factor that changed Edgar Allen Poe from a depressing houseguest to an inspirational figure? He wrote. “If you do not use your creativity you will not improve your creativity.” Try something original, and try something new, put yourself in positions that require creativity, and practice your art continuously.


    (Image Source: Stephen Wiltshire)

    This is where creativity flourishes or dies. When you first start off, your end result is rarely your desired result. This is okay and absolutely normal. For every great painting you see in an art gallery, there are a dozen sketches, rough drafts, and discarded concepts that you don’t see.

    Every single one of history’s most creative heroes, from Da Vinci to Edison, started off with a failed attempt. What sets them apart is that they worked until their finished product finally matched their mental image.

    3. Cross Creative Borders

    Have you ever noticed that people get nearly all of their inspiration from a few select victories in life? The athlete uses sports metaphors and principles to build a great company. The soldier uses military principals to raise a family. The biologist uses the principles of nature to improve their photography.

    Use your confidence in one area and apply it to a something new – you will find that both skill and creativity are transferable to any new challenge.

    4. Limit Amusement

    Your creative source is known as your “muse”. This is an ancient Greek word meaning to be absorbed in thought or inspired. Amusement is the absence of thought or inspiration.

    While being amused can be healthy in small doses, over saturating yourself with it can be detrimental to your creativity. Use things like television or movies as ways to expand your imagination – not replace it.

    Television for example, requires little creativity or thought. If you don’t believe me, find someone watching TV and observe their facial expressions. Most of the time you will find that their eyes are open and their mind is off. This is because most shows do the imagining for you. Again, this can be a good thing, so long as you use it as a creative trigger rather than an imagination killer.

    A fantastic way to exercise your creativity is to use literature, audiobooks, or good storytelling songs as a form of entertainment. Since there is generally no imagery to go along with the story, it forces you to use your imagination – something desperately needed in a graphic-filled world.

    5. Ignore The Scoffers

    Creativity must be expressed. However, this leaves the artist in a vulnerable state, open to scrutiny and judgment. In business athletics, the arts, and in life in general you will come across those discouraging critics who feel that they can build themselves up by pushing you down (you yourself may even be your own worst critic).

    Keep yourself open to suggestion and improvement from those who have your best interest at heart, but refuse to give any space in your mind to a spiteful comment.

    Ignore the scoffers, or better yet, use their negativity as motivation. Every great creative figure has had critics say they were inadequate, but history doesn’t remember the reviews, it remembers innovation, inspiration, imagination, and creativity.

    Adapted from a post by hongkiat.com

  • 10 Reasons I Love Having Visiting Speakers

    Image

    This past Sunday we had Ps Kirk Bowman from The Rock Church in North Carolina with us. After making sure he was settled into his hotel I reflected on why I love having visiting speakers. Here’s my top 10.

    1. We Immediately Get Along: Despite my introversion in regards to first-time meetings, once the introductions are over and we being to talk, we usually get along. There’s an affinity, we understand each others world’s and this helps to fast track the developing relationship.

    2. There’s A Unique Work Of The Spirit Going On Within Their Lives: Paul in Ephesians talks of the “manifold wisdom of God” (3:10) and I always love seeing this at work through different lives and ministries. Although we work in the same fields and face the same issues, joys and challenges there’s a unique grace, a unique calling a unique work of the Spirit going on in every person. If you’re open you can receive from that work and it can benefit you greatly.

    3. The People Fall In Love With Them: I have a friend called Duane White and he has this incredible saying, “I love it when my friends meet my friends.” I love it when the church meets my friends. I find our church has such a generous spirit that they usually fall in love with them and as a result I often hear, “When is ______ coming back?” I don’t feel threatened by that, why would I? I’m encouraged by it. I’m encouraged that the people in Church have discovered a new relationship and want to receive more from it.

    4. Their Ministry Raises Expectation: A spirit of faith is the rocket fuel for living a successful christian life and that more than anything is what I want for our church. I want our people to know that God is for them and I want them to be aspirational in life, service and ministry. I have found over the years that there’s an impartation that can happen as we receive from our guests.

    5. It’s An Opportunity For Generosity: Every time we have guests it’s an opportunity for us to serve them well, to bless them and then bless the ministry they are involved in. It’s a chance for the church as a whole to live out this value of being a generous people.

    6. You Get Some New Ideas: Pastors are not lazy people. Usually, they’ve got a plan, a strategy, something they are working on, a way in which they feel God is leading them. Many Pastors though are blinkered. In my experience, many are still trying to reinvent the wheel. I’m not. If you’ve got a good idea that works for us, that fits our style, our culture and philosophy as a church, I’m stealing it! Unashamedly. Kirk had some great ideas around leadership development that might well get a run out at Christian Life Church sometime and who knows where else…

    7. People Are Interesting And Energising: The thought of meeting people for the first time fills me with dread. I don’t why, it just does, but the minute I’ve met them I’m energised, I’m having fun and I’m interested because people are interesting, their story is usually compelling and that gives us energy.

    8. There’s Exposure To A Bigger World: Think about it. Guests are involved in things you are not, they know people you do not, they are doing things you are not and sometimes they are doing things that you’d like to. Just these few facts show how we gain exposure to a world beyond our own and that can only be good for us. It means we are not confined to our world but through friendship and connection we get to live in and enjoy a world much larger and our horizon is thereby lifted.

    9. It’s An Opportunity To Finally Move The Magazines: For me, this could have been number 1. Kirk used an illustration in one of his messages how we can be blind to things we have been meaning to fix. He talked about the pile of papers/magazines that we put to one side with the intention of clearing them away but we forget, then we overlook them and then we don’t see them. As he was speaking I am thinking of all the things I’m noticing in our church building that we should have fixed but we’re overlooking. I wouldn’t have noticed had Kirk not been with us. The job list gets produced Monday… 🙂

    10. They Give An Objective Third-Person Viewpoint: During their visit you will usually talk about your church’s vision and plans. It’s in those conversation that their observations are given and prove really helpful. I think I’ve been saved from many mistakes as well as been encouraged to stretch as a result of hearing someone else give a view or share their experience in a particular area. This is invaluable.

    Paul

  • Planning for People who Hate to Plan

    Here it is late March, and lots of folks haven’t yet gotten around to doing their personal planning for 2014 – despite all good intentions. The start of a new year is our trigger to consider new goals, and to take into consideration the wealth of advice out there for how to keep them. If you haven’t yet come up with your own goals by this time, it may seem like you might as well wait until next year and try again. But don’t get sidetracked by the early year hype – right now is always a good time to plan. And for those out there who hate to plan, it can even be (dare I say) fun if you play by your own rules.

    We know that what gets imagined, written down, and described is more likely to get done. A person can say I want to grow my business, but if they can think through the types of activities they want to do, the amount of revenue they need to bring in, and their ultimate clients then they are more likely to succeed. It’s a virtuous cycle because planning focusses your attention.

    Many times we don’t want to plan because it’s hard work to come up with the answers to such big questions. It’s hard to take time from our routines to figure out what kind of work we really want to do or what will make us happy.

    Any planning is better than no planning at all. You can plan for a period of two months or two years. You can write it in a formal document or scratch it out on a napkin. Do it your way; just do something. Use what you know about yourself, and you can find a way to plan that works for you.  Here are some suggestions that might inspire you to get started.

    Use a guide/coach
    This isn’t necessarily a person, although you’re sure to find plenty of advisors out there.
    But even simpler is to find a tool or system that asks the big questions for you. There’s planning ideas and software available via the internet.

    Go someplace that makes you happy. Location matters.
    Find a place you like to go, and head there to do your planning.  This could be a hotel, the coast, a coffee shop or your patio. Feeling happy and at ease might be just what you need to give you that extra push to make the time. Plus, positive, relaxed surroundings help us think more expansively.

    It’s almost impossible to do any thinking work at your desk, so if that’s where you’re parked to plan it’s going to be heavy lifting. Treat planning as a gift to yourself, and use your environment to your benefit.

    Create an environment where you can focus.
    Experts say that concretely planning how to achieve a goal, rather than vaguely considering it, works because it helps us to focus.  How important is focus when it comes to accomplishing what you want?  According to psychologist and bestselling author Dan Goleman, it’s vital. “While the link between attention and excellence remains hidden most of the time,” he writes, “it ripples through almost everything we seek to accomplish.”

    Goleman’s latest book, Focus: The Hidden Driver of Excellence, says it all.  By setting aside time to plan how we’re going to achieve our goals, we can visualize and strategize, which will make them that much more tangible and attainable.

    Be specific.
    It’s easy to plan squishy goals like “I’m going to get in shape this year,” but by not being specific, we’re planning for failure. Nutritional author Dr. Josh Axe shows the difference in a compelling example here.

    Whether it’s about weight or exercise or a major business venture – any goal written down in specific terms is more likely to be achieved. However, you don’t have to go over the top on details. As Peter Bregman discusses in Harvard Business Review, setting areas of focus rather than time-bound goals can be an effective strategy.

    Give yourself an A to start.
    Benjamin Zander, renowned conductor of the Boston Philharmonic, talks about the importance of starting by giving everyone an A. What he means is that we will be our most creative and risk-taking if we stop worrying about being successful, and focus on our contribution. If we already assume we’re great, what’s possible then?

    In planning, assume you’re doing it perfectly. Your goals are just right for you. Whenever, and however, it’s still the right way to go. By taking the pressure off goal setting as a big ticket, must-do, January 1 endeavour, we allow ourselves to benefit from it all year long. 

     

    Adapted from an article on Forbes.com

  • VISION and MISSION

    This last Sunday we had our Vision Sunday across all of our services. The atmosphere was electric as we celebrated all that God has done in Christian Life Church in 2013. As we looked towards the year ahead, 2014, I explained that we have an overarching mission that guides everything we do. This mission, we believe, is our articulation of the work of the Holy Spirit amongst us. Here’s our mission statement:

    “Building relevant contemporary Churches, reaching people with the message of Jesus and equipping them to live successful Christian Lives.”

    This mission: Building, Reaching, Equipping guides everything we do. It’s the work of the Spirit, its our true north, our evaluation plumb line, but on its own it’s incomplete. “The river of mission requires the banks of vision.” as Amanda White, one of our Church family put it after one of the services. Vision is the detail that keeps the mission on course to its final destination.

    We have all seen that when a river bursts its banks the result is devastation. I have observed many churches with great dreams and mission ideas (often called vision), but also observed how many have not seen these accomplished, often because there was no process, no step by step movement, no incremental tweaks.Image

    At Christian Life Church our mission doesn’t change but the riverbanks of vision are changing constantly to help us achieve greater effectiveness. Each year our Vision is simply the focus for the following 12 months and what will be the specific steps taken to keep the mission on track.

  • Salvation is a …

    Salvation is a community forming event

  • The Power of Vision

    This graph shows the correlation between the hours of practice that Children were putting in to learn a musical instrument after they had answered the following question. “How long do you see yourself playing your musical instrument for?” The options were, this school year (short-term commitment), throughout school years (medium-term commitment) or for the rest of my life (Long-term commitment).

    Then their average hours of weekly practice were recorded. 20 minutes per week (low), 45 minutes per week (medium), and 90 minutes per week (high). Children who saw themselves playing their musical instrument for life were 4 times more likely to practice at a high level than those who only thought they would play for the current school year.

    Their vision of doing something for life motivated them to work harder at perfecting the skill.

    20120303-183919.jpg

    What vision is driving you to grow personally?

  • How to Survive the Ministry Part Two

    Carrying on from my previous blog here’s part 2.

    DO MINISTRY WITH THE RIGHT PEOPLE

    Finding the right people to do ministry with, to be on team with, to invest in can be one of the most difficult things for any leader. The difficulty is compounded in volunteer organisations. Some time ago I came across the 3C’s required of potential employees, colleagues etc. They are:

    1. CHARACTER: In the ministry we want to work alongside people who just live and act like Christians. This might sound simple but my experience across many churches has been that some people in some scenarios are short on the right stuff. We’re not talking about perfection but we are talking about honesty, integrity, loyalty etc.. The truth is at the start of any relationship you don’t always know the character of a person but you can look at how they are living right now. Do they exhibit Christ-like qualities of submission, repentance, faithfulness, faith, hope, love etc.

    2. COMPETENCY: Again this is not rocket science but can the person do the task, are they competent? I love it when someone over-achieves, when a person excels the capabilities I thought they possessed, our belief in people can overlook a simple fact however, that there are some things that some people cannot do and are unwilling to learn. Ask the question!

    3. CHEMISTRY: This is so important. Competency can be gained, Character can mature through repentance and submission to God but can you get along and work together. We spend a lot of time working and serving together so we need to get along. This should be a given in Christian ministry but isn’t always. The dream scenario is a person who is friendly, faithful and fruitful. Oh yes and fun, enjoyable to be around!

    AXIOMS:
    – Value the Praise of a Friend over that of a Fan or even a Peer: ‘Faithful,’ the Bible says, ‘are the wounds of a friend.’
    – Have a Long-Term view of Ministry: Most of us overestimate what we can achieve in 1 year but underestimate what we can achieve in 5.
    – Keep Prophesying: Keep speaking God’s word over your life and relationships.
    – Make it Yours and Pass it on: Be a receiver of truth and revelation and pass it on!

  • HOW TO SURVIVE THE MINISTRY Part One

    Was really privileged to speak today to some Pastors on the subject of how to survive the ministry. I was unsure how to approach the subject but decided to base the talk on 2 Timothy 2:1-7 a very familiar leadership passage and then finish each section with some AXIOMS that are helpful tweet-sized, memorable proverbs. I am going to blog the talk in three parts.

    INTRO: This is Paul’s last letter, written to his spiritual son Timothy. Paul is in prison, literally weeks away from being beheaded. Timothy has been in the ministry for 15yrs, he’s in his mid-thirties, burned out, labouring at a difficult time in difficult circumstances. Basically he’s weary… Paul reminds him that his life matters, that what he’s doing is significant and that he’s on a mission from God to bring God’s love to people. This is a Father speaking to a son, “You then my Son,” he begins, this is how you’re going to make it!

    BE STRONG: “You then my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.” v1.
    People who wilt, crumble, give up, give in don’t make it. To make it, you are going to have to find strength from somewhere. If you’re weak, you are going to have to discover strength. Leaders need strength to deal with sin, with sin in their own lives and the sins that are performed against them. Paul speaks to Timothy about the only way to find the strength necessary for this task, it’s “in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.”

    Grace comes in a number of forms, there is saving grace, the unmerited favour and kindness of God. People often think that we are saved by grace and then we must work like mad to pursue and accomplish all that God desires. What we need though is empowering Grace. Paul knew this because he had the revelation from God that, “My grace is sufficient for you.” 2 Corinthians 12:9. Faith requires action but action empowered by the grace of Jesus Christ. Our relationship with Jesus is the key, its the knowing, loving, serving, worshipping and submitting to Jesus that imparts grace and empowers us to lead and serve. There’s enough grace for you and there’s enough grace for me to do what God has called us to do.

    AXIOMS:
    – Back Yourself: God has called you by his grace he will equip you. if you’re backing anything back yourself empowered by the grace of Jesus Christ.
    – Forgive Every Person Everything Everyday:
    – Remember the Word of the Lord: Remind yourself of what God has said, what he has promised to do.
    – Find Your Rhythm: Don’t let the rhythm of your life be dictated by others, know your rhythm. I love Rick Warren’s Divert Daily, Withdraw Weekly, Abandon Annually.

  • Game Day

    Here’s a picture of two of the girls that come with Mum & Dad to watch my son Nathan play football.This is how they dress on Game Day.

    Just the other day I spoke about Sunday being Game Day for Staff, Leadership and Key volunteers in the life of the Church. It’s obvious that we are not saying that other days don’t matter but rather that the day we gather together as the Church is of great importance.

    Here is one of my thoughts on Game day Sunday:

    Understanding the Word Church (Ekklesia).
    When explaining this word many times we hear people talk about how the etymology of the word means to be ‘called out’. Ek being ‘out of’ and Klesia from Kaleo which means ‘to call’. They will often conclude that the primary idea of the word Church is therefore a called out people and though its is not wrong to say the Church is a called out people this would not be the primary usage. The usage of the word ‘Church’ in New Testament times gives us a more accurate picture. Ekklesia would be synonymous with the Hebrew ‘Kahal’, both words simply meaning an assembly, a gathering. Therefore, anytime the Church is mentioned in the New Testament, the initial image people would have within their minds would be of a gathered people.

    When Jesus said, ‘blessed are you Simon for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you but my Father in heaven, and upon this rock I will build my Church.’ In effect he was saying people will gather around this revelation of who I am and I will build an assembly around this revelation of who I am. Sunday is Game day because it’s when the Church gathers!

  • Miracles for Sale – A response to Derren Brown

    20110426-162319.jpg Last Night I watched with interest Derren Brown’s TV programme entitled Miracles for Sale in which Derren and his team train Nathan, a Scuba Diving Instructor, to become a faith healer. Brown and his team spent six months putting this show together which culminated with a trip to Texas to hold a faith healing meeting and expose, in the process, healing as a scam. These thoughts are not meant to be exhaustive but I hope they are helpful around some of the topics raised.

    1. Teachers are Reminded that we shall be Judged more severely:
    James 3:1 Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly. The show highlighted a couple of evangelists/faith healers who are well know for their deceptions. Everyone I know would counsel people away from these two men who were highlighted and some of my friends have even written about the errors of miracle water and healing cloths sent to people at a cost. This information from Brown is nothing new although it may well be new for his audience and therefore good expose. Unfortunately, Brown collated together alongside these men some ministers of high reputation, high integrity and high regard. I think particularly of Reinhard Bonnke and so I felt a little saddened that he was included.

    Here’s my point, anyone who preaches the good news of Jesus Christ should do so from the foundation of honesty, integrity and purity. Any minister of the gospel must be a person who has the interests of God and God’s people foremost in their thoughts. The Church is all about God and people as we say at CLC.

    2. People want to Believe:
    Several writers and commentators have today chided people saying, ‘How can they be so gullible?’ etc.. The Bible instructs believers to test the spirits to see whether they are of God and instructs us to look for character and not just gifting. Having said that, we are hardwired to believe, to hope, to trust. Those characteristics often diminish within us as we experience life. Betrayals, lies, disappointments etc. all do their bit to destroy our belief but it still exist within us. At times when people are searching for hope, they want to believe, all they have is faith. This is why teachers are to be judged more severely because people will believe what they say!

    3. People can know pain relief through Adrenaline and Emotional highs:
    This was a major point in the programme and once again nothing new. That’s why it is important not just to hear the instant testimony in the euphoria of the arena/crowd or service, but the week old testimony, the testimony a month later, the testimony of healing that has stood the test of time. Brown is right to draw this to our attention, not to cause us to have a heightened propensity for doubt but so that we have a heightened expectancy in faith. If God is working the result will last.

    4. The Real Does Exist:
    God is alive and well and still heals today. What a sweeping statement that there has never been any proof of a recorded miracle. That is such a mind boggling statement that comes from his personal philosophical and scientific position which leaves no room for mystery or the miraculous. If it can’t be explained then it doesn’t exist. Would that we all carried the same measure of faith towards God as Derren does toward his belief. Had Derren taken the time he could of dug a little deeper and found real stories of God healing.

    Throughout my life I have witnessed several notable miracles. I can’t said loads, I wished I could say more. I have seen lots of healings, but miracles just a few. I can’t deny them or explain them other than the supernatural intervention of God. Like the healing of Arthritis after suffering for 20 years and the Doctors giving the all clear. The boy in a coma who came out after several weeks and when he saw me months later said it was your voice I heard telling me to live and not die, the exact words I had prayed over him once in his presence then for about the next five days away from him. The improved hearing of an elderly man in the church I attended as a teenager, who didn’t use his hearing aid afterwards.

    Recently, I have witnessed two notable miracles of healing. The first following the visit of Dr William Kumuyi to New Life Christian Fellowship in Lincoln. Dr Kumuyi prayed a simple prayer at the end of his sermon for people to know healing. The following day a man was due to the hospital for a check up on his eyes. The consultant as he checked the man’s eyes stepped back and said, ‘Oh, I’ve never seen that before.’ The man thought he was going to give him some bad news but the reverse was true. A cataract that had been present on previous visits had totally disappeared. The consultant said, ‘That just doesn’t happen, cataracts just don’t disappear.’

    Below I have included the testimony from Sue Jackson a member of our church who has recently experienced a notable healing. This extract is from the report she sent to the minister who prayed over her.

    About 8 years ago I had a back injury which resulted 4 years later in loss of sensation down my right leg. Weeks later I underwent major back surgery and had most of one disc removed and disection of the spongey stuff between another disc. Thankfully the op was a great success. I believe that this in inself was a miracle as God provided the means for me to have this done privately which meant I could return to work within 3 months.
    At the time of my op the Surgeon told me that due to the incision I would lose the curve at the base of my back. Some people find it comes back days or within 4 weeks of surgery. Mine didn’t and I was told that it wouldn’t. I didn’t mind too much, it didn’t impact the use of my back, it just left me with a ‘manly’ straight back!
    Over the last 6 months or so I have found myself in pain and impaired movement again, to the extent where I have had to roll out of bed and have struggled to bend down with ease.
    On the evening of the Healing meeting I struggled to reach down to my handbag while I was sitting down. I’m on the Welcome Team and had no thought that I would be there for God’s plan that night for ME to be healed. I had come to make others feel welcome! I love that God is always one step ahead and His plans are far bigger than ours!
    I felt immense peace during the worship and then moreso when I was standing at the front of church. You said that we didn’t need to ask God as He already had it to give. That spoke right into my heart so clearly. I prayed that God would touch me in whatever way He knew best and that I was ready to take hold of whatever He had to give me. I found myself standing evenly on both feet, usually to ease the pain and pressure I balance my weight by leaning more on one foot or the other. I then felt a sensation like warm water running down my lower back. I knew that God had touched me. I was far less stiff and was painfree.
    As I was driving home I played Dave Bell’s CD and thanked God as the words “Heal me and I shall be healed” hit me hard. Father God you say the word and it is! You are awesome! As I drove the 10 mins home I felt myself sitting up very straight. I ran a bath when I got home and again I found myself sitting up very straight. No pain. Amazing!
    Even better……next morning I was getting dressed and as I stood in front of the mirror I turned and saw a curve, yes, a womanly back!!! The curve has no relation to back function except it looks better! God cares about the detail and He knew that it had bothered me post-op. He gave me my healing AND the curve because His love is complete and immense!
    Weeks on and I’m very good. Two weeks ago I completed a 9 mile walk and could have done it again right after.
    Next week I’m walking 45 miles over 5 days for the A21 Campaign and City Hearts, Sheffield.
    In July I’m off on a walking holiday….90 miles in 5 days!

    I’m so grateful for God’s grace and faithfulness in my life…

    Sue has since completed the 45 miles in 5 days something she would not have been able to do 3 months ago. When I spoke to her about including this testimony in the blog and I talked about how some people can know pain relief in the moment through adrenaline etc. she said, “I would have had to have had a lot of adrenaline for it to last this long.”

    5. Airplanes Crash:
    Air travel, so I’m told, is the safest form of travel in the world. That said, Airplanes crash and you hear about the ones that do. I think the same is true of ministers. The vast, 99.9%, majority of Pastors and Ministers live has pure, godly men who seek little more than the blessing of God’s people and the purposes of God to be fulfilled. Few are doing what they do for financial gain, although the Bible does say they should be well looked after financially, they are doing it with a sense of purpose and call. That said, some crash and its often those we hear of. Airplanes crash but I’m planning to fly on 10 this year.

    In summary, lets heighten our expectation for the miraculous. Let’s believe God for more of the real and live in honesty, integrity and purity. Let’s test the Spirits but refuse cynicism and negativity in the process.