Luke 17 gives the account of Jesus healing the ten lepers. One of the most convicting statements to me in that passage was Christ’s question to the man who returned to give Him thanks: “Where are the nine?”

When I was a boy, my dad would give me summer chores to accomplish while he was at work—anything from cleaning off the work bench to weeding the garden. I had all day to fulfill his requests and also had some time for my own enjoyment. But I knew that when Dad got home from work I would have to answer to him for what I had gotten done that day.

A few years ago, Amanda and I were privileged to meet some American missionaries to the Philippines, and they became very good friends of ours. They told us about an animated evangelist they saw try to communicate to a Filipino audience—through a less-than-animated translator.

One of the great blessings of being part of a local church that is reaching people with the gospel is the combined efforts that result in fruit. One plants, one waters, and God gives the increase (1 Corinthians 3:6). It is, of course, a joy to be part of any of those stages, knowing that all make a difference.

There is a God in Heaven who knows where you are, what you’re grappling with and how much longer you can take it. David cried in Psalm 119:176, “I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek thy servant; for I do not forget thy commandments.” God is coming after you dear friend!

A few weeks, ago before the Sunday evening service, we had one of the meetings that I most look forward to—a Pastor’s Prayer Partners fellowship. This is a group of people in our church who have committed to pray with a partner for me, my family, and the ministries of our church. Their commitment and faithfulness is a tremendous blessing and encouragement to me.

I am not excited because I have retired and am looking forward to a stress free life of daily golf. (Those who know me well know that there are few things more stressful to me than trying to hit a golf ball.) I am feeling great because we are following God’s plan for our life in beginning a new ministry that we believe will be every bit as busy and productive as the one we are leaving.

As preachers, our primary responsibility is to herald forth and publish God’s truth. One preacher put it this way, “The business of the prophet is to fill the pulpit, not the pews.”

If the ministry is anything, it is labor. Paul told Timothy, “This is a true saying, If a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work” (1 Timothy 3:1). And that is exactly what it is—work.

For some reason, writers and preachers who should know better have said for many years (in one way or another) that a New Testament church runs pretty much as a pure democracy