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Karl J ForehandFamily
I live in rural Nebraska with my
wife and 3 children. I was raised in Oklahoma and my wife in upstate New York.
We met in Dallas, TX where I had begun my career as a computer programmer.
After work took us to Omaha, Nebraska we answered the call to ministry. I
served in several churches and youth groups before accepting the call to
Grace Bible Fellowship as their pastor. Writing One of my passions is writing. Some of my articles can be found in the writing archives. I also send out a weekly article. You can receive it by email by subscribing
below. Philosophy of Ministry The Supremacy of Love. Jesus boiled all the law and the prophets into a simple summary
of the commandments, “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart,
and with all your soul, and with all your mind.' "This is the great and foremost commandment. "The second is like it, 'You shall
love your neighbor as yourself.'
"On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the
Prophets.” Love becomes the standard for every action and every
decision. It is the foundation for
our ethics and the motivation behind God’s Word and work. The Centrality of the Word of God. God’s Word can never be compromised in
ministry. Sermons, whether topical or
expositional, should be exegeted from the Word of God. All programs and activities should
originate and flow from our hearing and understanding what God says through
His Word. The Scripture is not just a
document we admire -- it must be the one we can’t live without. The Need for Transparency. Although this may be painful, effective
ministers of the Gospel must communicate the message “I am a fellow
sinner.” He should be able to admit
mistakes, identify with those that struggle and encourage those that are
hurting. Hypocritical lifestyle
equals ineffective ministry and further separation between the minister and
the ministry. Ministers of the Gospel. We are all diakanos, which means that we all are called to be
“servers/servants” of Jesus Christ.
The pastor is not be worshipped but to be respected as one who has
been called for a specific purpose.
An overseer, or elder, is another person that God calls for a specific
purpose. Minister, deacon and servant
are usually translated from the same word, diakanos (servant), which tells me
that our primary duty is to serve others. Nickels, noses and notoriety. If a ministry exists to count nickels (money) or noses
(attendance) or notoriety, the ministry will either be superficial or
short-lived. Ministry is about
serving and loving people, and not accumulating them or their money. For the pastor, he must refuse to gain his
self-worth from the attendance, the offering or the recognition. He must expect his reward from the Lord,
because often the physical rewards are limited even though he must give his
whole self to do the job. Lifiting
up Christ. Jesus said in John 12:32 “And I, if I be
lifted up from the earth, I will draw all men
unto me.” One primary function of
the church is to lift up the name of Jesus, our churches will benefit
dramatically. If He is exalted in our
service, more people will come and be blessed. If He is proclaimed in our programs, then they will have an
impact. This links to my next
point. Joining God in His Work. Jesus said that He will draw men all to Him and…John 6:44 says,
“No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him.” As Henry Blackaby says, “Intead of praying
‘God bless what I’m doing’, we should say ‘God help me do what you are
blessing.’” In other words, we have
to join God in His work. By the
Spirit of God, we must recognize the Spirit’s work and simply join Him. The Grace of God. When we realize we are all sinners saved by grace we operate
from the same reference point. When
any one of us begins to assume supremacy over others we miss the joys and
effectiveness of ministry. We are
ministers by grace and are
ministers of grace. Grace does not leave us unrestrained;
rather it leaves with a freedom and responsibility to serve God diligently
and enthusiastically. A Purpose for Ministry With a Great Commitment (Rom. 12:1-2) to the Great Commission (Mt. 28:19-20) and the Great Commandments
(Mt. 22:37-40) God will grow a Great
Church! Although,
this little phrase has been used a lot, I believe it embodies what ministry
should be about. Out
of this statement grows the five areas of ministry: Worship * Evangelism *
Fellowship * Discipleship * Personal Ministry Contact Information Pastor Karl Forehand P.O. Box 34 Stella, NE 68442 Ministry of Plainly
Speaking Books by Karl Forehand Writing Archives Grace Bible
Fellowship HOME
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