“My Fair Lady” is a story many older people should be familiar with. In this story a woman with poor social skills and a strong Cockney accent is part of bet to see if she could be trained in a proper English way to pass off as a person of royal descent. For years I have observed people that are anointed and called of God pushed into the limelight of ministry and they bring their “prior to salvation” character and social skills with them. Often the results are disastrous. Pour character and social skills are given a pass due to an obvious anointing and call of God on their life.
Over the years I witnessed many different ministers with a call and anointing on their lives. Of these ministers there were some that moved in the Spirit with deliverance and some with prophecy, yet they were horrible ministers of the Word. One fellow would always share the most pathetic lukewarm message you ever heard but when it came to personal ministry time most everyone would be laid out under the power of the Spirit. Sorry to say but people endorsed the message because of the anointing. Two others were really anointed to break things off of lives during personal ministry but when they preached, one bored you to death with usually a not very clear message and the other was like delivering an infomercial about themselves. You can be anointed and have a place in the body of Christ, and it doesn’t have to include preaching. Again, we give people a pass when we experience some anointing.
The biblical example set before us are the apostles. When Jesus began his ministry on earth, he choose the twelve and these twelve did what I call Jesus Bible School for three and half years and even then one of them, Judas went the wrong way. Imagine for three and a half years hearing nearly every word Jesus said, watching every action he took, and observing his perfect demeanor in every situation. Think about when Jesus spoke to the eleven in Matthew 28:18-20 and he gave then the charge, the great commission, who they were and what they had experienced. It would be hard in today’s world to name a minister with anointing and integrity that would take a dozen young people under his or her wing and personally nurture them for one year let alone three and a half years. Now a days we shame people for lack of ministry action and hold the great commission over their head when most people don’t have 100th the experience or call the eleven had. The results are people with great desire and maybe anointing taking on the world with poor character and social skills often making a mockery of Christianity.
The apostle Paul spent some time in Arabia after his conversion. The exact amount of time is not known but assumed about three years and then another three years in Damascus. Galatians 1:17-18 Paul was highly trained in the Bible but still did not jump into ministry but had a time of reflecting and restoration before beginning one the biggest ministries ever, writing a large portion of the New Testament.
Often people retain “non-mainstream” lifestyles and say it’s a tool to reach others in that social layer of life, for an example, getting tattoos. I am not speaking for or against tattoos but just pointing out how many in a worldly pursuit get tattoos and once in ministry continue and often promote the practice as if it increases their anointing. If that is the case, you are trying to reach a particular group, then you can still have good character and social skills.
I know of two ministries that could be called the “burning bridges” ministries because they both always start off good and then character and social skill failures show up and cause irreparable harm, resentment, and often unforgiveness. I witnessed multiple people on a personal mission to shut down both of these ministries because of the harm caused by their reckless ministry and questionable social practices. Often these people would justify poor behavior even to the point saying God told them to do differently or the other party was out of God’s will.
The Fear of Bible College
Matthew 23:15 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves.
Especially among so called revivalist, there is the fear of going to a Bible College and getting programmed to be some “in a box” religious figure. There is some truth to this when the training promotes traditions more than real Bible. There is similar fear about secular schooling that often promote unbiblical values and standards. Often these revivalists, criticize and put down any kind of organized ministry, such as a regular church or a denomination. I see this as the same spirit as from the sixties, anti-establishment, only aimed at established ministries. They ignore that things should be done decent and orderly to create any kind of a foundation to build on as well as longevity. Like so many things in life, there must be balance.
Overzealous Christians
We all have seen and maybe even been an overzealous Christian. In my case, I was so grateful for my change in life that I wanted to do everything perfect before the Lord and the results were I became judgmental of those with a walk that I viewed as less than mine. Thankfully I have grown up in the Lord some since then. For others I have seen people almost loosing their jobs because they choose to witness to co-workers more than do their job. As important as it is to share the good news or your testimony, we are hired into positions to work not share our faith. In most cases these people are labeled in the workplace and avoided having just the opposite effect they hoped for, creating walls not doorways. This is common result of pushing ministry only and not good social skills and development of a character of love first.
There is something to be said about be faithful. Over my years in various ministries/churches, you learn to respect and count on people that are the most faithful in what ever they do. These people that are faithful are the cornerstone and foundations of local ministries. All of us remember people that were always at church, the one who locked and unlocked the doors, always in the nursery, always gave, always were at prayer, and what ever they did, they were noticed missing if they did by chance miss their task or position. If you cannot see the need to have respect for these faithful servants, it may be that you are looking for an endorsement for your lack of commitment.
The Woman at the Well
John 4:29 Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ?
The woman at the well is used as an example of immediately becoming an evangelist after an encounter with Jesus. She did share her testimony of what she experienced but she only directed people to Jesus and did not personally attempt to convert others on her own.
The great commission of Matthew 28 was to eleven extremely faithful and hand picked disciples, not to new believers or people lacking a specific call on their life. What Jesus told most people was similar to this. “Go and sin no more.” Yet we act like and teach that Jesus said and required; read your Bible every day, pray every day, be at church every time the doors are open, and even more….
John 8:11 She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.
For the average person Jesus said get on with your life and get the sin out of your life. Jesus asked for a commitment to live a better life most of all. Most were extremely grateful for their encounter with Jesus they often made declarations of how they were going to be better people. Zacchaeus was one of the best examples of this.
Luke 19:8 And Zacchaeus stood, and said unto the Lord; Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken any thing from any man by false accusation, I restore [him] fourfold.
Bible Study/Sunday School
In much of America, if you really want to grow as a believer, it almost entirely up to you to figure it out. In this area, Stockton, Central Valley, you will have to search high and low to find a regular Sunday morning Bible study. Of the largest churches in the area, not one has a regular scheduled Sunday Bible study that you can find listed on their website that you could get the time and location and just show up. Obviously with seven-day work week and 24 hour work schedules things don’t have to take place on Sunday morning but there should be something regular and consistent. Many are using groups to accomplish this which can be good but also can be confusing to newer people and possibly less convenient. A typical three-unit college class requires about 135 hours of class time plus your own homework and study time. With a common sermon time of 45 minutes, it would take almost three and a half years to get the same mount of teaching time as the college class. It is very plain that simply going to church and church with no regular Bible study is not going to grow you very much, its up to you! I am not denouncing church, it’s very important, I am just saying you can’t count on the local church, in most cases, to grow much if all you do is attend on Sunday mornings.
There was a period in history when Sunday School was the largest attended church service of the week. Sorry to say, the church moves in popular trends and not the always for the best interest in helping people be the best believer possible. Today, some entertaining music followed by a brief message, so not to bog the attendees down too much, is what is commonly provided.
I am being critical of much of what happens in the local church, but I realized that even if the local church has become a social center, it is still extremely important to be central point of connecting for believers. I just hope and pray that growing people as individuals, not just numbers will begin to happen more and more.
Summary
I had friend years ago when I was not serving the Lord and neither was, he. This person belongs to an ethnic group and was telling me how he was harassed by some of his cousins because he was going to college and choose to speak with proper English instead of street slang type language. He was accused of being too “White”. Needless to say, he went on to be successful in life and is retired now. This is like what should be happening in the church, shedding the trappings of this world and not only taking on the Bible in our lives but becoming upstanding citizens in every way, paying our bills, keeping our word, and respecting others. We then can be the epistle that is viewed by others as we live our lives.
II Corinthians 3:2 Ye are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read of all men:
Flagship Apostolic 
Posted on August 6, 2022
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