#Like. Corinthian can do a lot with dreamers' minds but he's still in THEIR minds.

[nightmarecountry-a]

something something. the lack of agency that the Endless and all of their creations have, because they're there to serve humanity and not the other way around.

[practically-an-x-man]

Ship asks 3, 4, 5, 6, 13, 15, 34, 48 for Prometheus & Corinthian and Rae & Warren?

Thank you bestie!!! <3

Ship Ask Game - The Basics

3. What was their first impression of each other?

Promethian: Prometheus was wary, since they were worried the Corinthian would try to go after the dreamer they were trying to protect. Their dreamers are their first priority, of course. The Corinthian was mostly curious - he'd heard of Gault, but had never seen a nightmare-turned-dream in person before, and he wondered about who Prometheus really was.

ArchAegis (they have a ship name now!): Rae thought Warren was cocky, irresponsible, and... okay, admittedly very handsome when she first saw him fight. She was generally just annoyed with him at first, but could see that he was a good person beneath that exterior when he agreed to help Frostbite. Warren at first just saw her as another pretty face in the crowd, maybe someone he'd try to chat up and take home after the fight like he'd done in the past, then thought she was lowkey out of her mind when she dove into the fight to save Frostbite, then developed a bit of respect and intrigue for her when she proved to be devout about saving him.

4. Who initiates affection? Why does the other not initiate affection as much?

Promethian: The Corinthian definitely initiates more affection, it just comes naturally to him. Prometheus still does initiate affection, though it takes a more conscious effort since they're not used to romance, or even just allowing themself to slow down and take those soft moments.

ArchAegis: It depends on the situation. Rae is much more likely to initiate subtle affection in public, like holding his hand or kissing his cheek or things like that, but Warren is the more affectionate in private. He still tends to put up a bit of a shell in public, just out of habit, but in private he's just a very affectionate and tactile person.

5. Do they argue often? If so, what do they argue about?

Promethian: I wouldn't say they argue - the Corinthian is pretty cool-headed, and Prometheus has had a lot of practice diffusing conflict - but they definitely have disagreements from time to time. Most of these were about Corinthian's little "disappearances", until Prometheus learned where he was really going (they're not uncomfortable with the violence of it, in fact they're glad Jed is safe and have sometimes sent Corinthian to take care of other abusive homes the same way, they just didn't like the secrecy of it)

ArchAegis: Sometimes but not often, and mostly about the others' recklessness or lack of self-preservation instincts. They both have this complete disregard for their own safety, and most of the time they're just aware of this and make it a point to protect or rescue the other one, but sometimes close calls can lead to an argument about personal safety.

6. How do they make up/apologize after an argument?

Promethian: They tend to just go their separate ways for a little bit and cool off. Either they'll meet back up at Mary Hospitality's house when they're both ready, or the Corinthian will just find Prometheus in a dream somewhere, like he used to. Sometimes they apologize, otherwise they just let it go.

ArchAegis: They're pretty good about talking things through, usually the argument is started and put to bed in just a few minutes. Rae grew up with a very communicative and supportive household so it's just natural for her, and above everything else, Warren doesn't want to end up like his dad, so communication is a big thing in their relationship.

13. How do they keep in contact when they’re apart? Do they write letters, talk on the phone, or simply wait out the time?

Promethian: They don't, really? It's kind of hard to communicate across the Dreaming, especially when they don't want to be discovered by Morpheus. Usually they just wait it out, it's never too long before they meet back up again.

ArchAegis: When one of them is out on a mission, they make a point to call the other one every night from the hotel - mostly so they know they made it through another day safely, when the missions can get so dangerous, but also just so they stay in touch. It also helps wind down a bit of the adrenaline before bed.

15. What songs remind you of their relationship?

Promethian: Like Real People Do and NFWMB by Hozier, I Like the Way by lovelytheband, Secret Worlds by the Amazing Devil, and Hell to Have You by Our Last Night

ArchAegis: April Come She Will by Simon and Garfunkel (literally the title of the fic lol), I'm Still Standing by Elton John, As Long As You're Mine from Wicked, and Love of My Life by Queen.

34. Do they have any inside jokes?

Promethian: Sometimes Corinthian will call Prometheus by their full titles ("Torchbearer", "Bearer of Light", etc.) as an echo of their first meeting, mostly in situations that really don't require it as a way to affectionately annoy them. And when they're not sure what nightmare they'll be up against, they have a running joke about running into "Spooky-Man" again XD

ArchAegis: Many, and they change around a lot. They've got a new inside joke practically every week, but some of the consistent ones are about Warren being "bird-brained" (especially when he's molting, or does some like... bird-related behavior), Rae being willing to jump into any fight she sees, or things about Rae's job as a translator.

48. Do they talk about their future together? Why or why not?

Promethian: Not really. For one thing, their existence tends to me more day-by-day, since they don't exactly age and there's not many ways their relationship or life together would really evolve from this point. And for another, they don't if or when Morpheus will discover them and/or rewrite them, and they don't want to set plans that will end up dissolving.

ArchAegis: They used to avoid that, since it was too much of a painful subject when they were still finding to have even a semi-normal life, but now they're comfortable talking about what might come next.

[korinthiakos]

📂 give me some hcs about corinth + the endless !

Send “📂“ for a random yet completely useless headcanon I have. ( accepting !! )

Dream of the Endless. Of course, The Corinthian had the upmost loyalty towards their creator until it slowly but surely went downhill. It's just resentfulness now. To be rarely called upon, and when they are called upon, to walk up all those steps. Depending on Dream's mood. But if he's not happy/disappointed, etc, then those stairs can get awfully long. It's both some kind of dread and yet welcoming, because it leaves room for them to be prepared for what's to come.

Despair of the Endless. Now this might be a little difficult, but I do have an idea? The Corinthian barely sees her, yes. Because The Corinthian rarely gets to see Dream's siblings. But mirrors are a rarity in dreams. Like how even clocks are something that you might never see. And let's just say that somewhere along the line, Corinthian didn't see her peering through a mirror in a Dreamer's dream, but she surely saw him. But he doesn't have much of an opinion on Despair?

Desire of the Endless. You could say that his resentment towards Dream has turned around his initial thoughts on Desire. And maybe, during the years. During his time in The Dreaming, he has seen them. An unwelcoming sight to Dream but a refreshing one to the Corinthian. And maybe a few things have happened. Who knows.

Death of the Endless. A common occurrence, really. You kill a few people, Death is bound to come and wait. Because she knows deep down when someone's life is about to end. The reaping is there to take, but not as how the Corinthian takes. Death doesn't like him, and the Corinthian isn't fond of her. Mainly because of certain discussions. But he has certainly met her a lot of times during the years. Even if he's just passing by. Death is everywhere. And her stares can burrow themselves into him, send him a little chill. The chill of Death. ( It's almost unsettling to the Corinthian. )

Destiny of the Endless. The Corinthian simply wonders what would happen if Destiny dies. Will fate clash and fight? Will the End happen to the Endless? Who knows. But the Corinthian also doesn't have much of an opinion about the oldest sibling.

Delirium of the Endless. Honestly? I think the Corinthian would be intrigued with Delirium. How she is. How she acts. She is someone that even the Corinthian can't read. She's quite unpredictable. Also amusing when she does make someone mad. And not just angry-mad. Insane-mad.

Destruction of the Endless. The only ever sighting/experience the Corinthian had been in Paris. When Dream was convinced or had allowed his Masterpiece to go with him to The Waking World. And you know certain ideas or/and thoughts had gone through his mind. Though, I suppose in some ways. Corinthian might still refer him as Olethros. Because that's something he remembers. That name back in Ancient Greece.

[dailyaudiobible]

03/08/2020 DAB Transcript

Numbers 10:1-11:23, Mark 14:1-21, Psalms 51:1-19, Proverbs 10:31-32

Today is the 8th day of March, welcome to the Daily Audio Bible I’m Brian it’s great to be here with you as we collectively, like we do at the beginning of each week, mark the fact that everything is new, everything is out in front of us, we’re walking into this new week and we have the opportunity to walk into this new week with God. So, we step through the threshold together into a brand-new week. We’ll read from the Contemporary English Version this week and continue our journeys through the book of…the book of numbers in the Old Testament the book of Mark, the gospel of Mark in the New Testament. So, today numbers chapters 10 verse 1 through 11 verse 23.

Prayer:

Father, thank You for Your word once again and thank You for bringing us here into this new week. And we offer our gratitude. We are truly humbled and grateful that You've allowed us to be together in community and that we together in community can hear from Your word. We are so grateful because Your word does give us the advice for our next step. Your word does give us a context for how to be in this world and we are so grateful for that and it is changing us and we continue to open ourselves completely to You and invite You to continue to lead us forward on the narrow path that leads to life. And we thank You for this. And may we have eyes to see Your guidance we ask in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Announcements:

dailyaudiobible.com is the website, its home base, its where you find out what’s going on around here. So, stay tuned and stay connected.

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And, as always, if you have a prayer request or comment you can hit the Hotline button in the app, the little red button at the top or you can dial 877-942-4253.

And that's it for today. I'm Brian I love you and I'll be waiting for you here tomorrow.

Community Prayer and Praise:

Hi DAB family this is Missy from the Midwest I’m calling in response today to Lori’s call. She talked about how she went on the pilgrimage in 2019 and was baptized by Brian, how she overcame addiction through Jesus Christ and she’s now been six years sober. The story she gave was amazing. So, Lori I just wanted to tell you thank you for calling that in. I have someone in my family that is also very bogged down by demonic oppression along with addiction and I was convicted today to really seek God in prayer for that person and hearing your call really confirmed that. Thank you so much. God bless all.

Hi this is Travis I want to thank Grace who showed me this app. It’s been wonderful and I want to ask everybody who’s…who’s listening to pray for my son Brady. He suffers from absolute epilepsy and it’s a bad case. He has many as 20 seizures a day and he…he really suffers with it and at times he’s questioned God’s love for him in this…doesn’t know…doesn’t understand why this is happening to him and as many of you know seizures and when you have multiple of them they do affect your cognitive ability at some point and Brady has suffered with some of that. So, please pray for my son Brady. And also pray for his brother and mother who suffer with him and for me suffers with him. And one specific prayer request for me is that I not allow the stress of…of all this to cloud my vision and to see that God has so richly blessed us even in the midst of this trial and to help me rule my spirit and to control my spirit when anger and things, resentment bubble up and stress. It’s just a prayer request for…for all of us but most particularly for my son Brady. So, thank you all. Thank you for this broadcast it’s so richly blessed me just in a few days I’ve been listening and I’m spreading the word. Thank you all and thank you for your time in prayer for me and my son and my family.

Hi Daily Audio Bible this is Sierra from Florida I am 24 years old this is like my 18th recording because I keep stumbling over what I’m trying to say. But overall, I just wanted to say how blessed I am, or I feel that I found Daily Audio Bible. I’ve been looking, I been searching for something that I can listen to on the way to work…  have an hour drive to work every day…that goes to the Bible and is engaging and relatable and I just really appreciated Brian’s commentary, but I find especially encouraging the end of each episode when people pray for each other. It makes me cry and I just love it so much. It’s very uplifting and I just wanted to pray blessings for you guys. If I could ask you guys around the community to pray for me. I just became a Christian about a year and half ago maybe. It was October 2018 and God has just been exploding in my life and I feel such a calling. And, so, I felt the call to go into the mission field and I’ve never been out of the country before and in one month I will…I’ve…God pulled through and the funding and everything. In one month, I’ll be going to a missionary school in Mexico and I’ll be three months there through YWAM and three months doing outreach and I have no idea where I’ll be, I’ll be somewhere else in the world, but I’ll be doing missions work for six months. So, I really just wanted some prayer, or I was just wondering if someone would pray for me for just spiritual courage. And I’m just walking totally in faith and I just everyday could use prayer. So, if you guys could pray for me, I would absolutely love that. I would be very blessed. And I just want to bless all of you. Thank you very much for just being there and existing. Have a good day.

Greetings DAB family today is Monday 2 March 2020 this is Daddy’s Dreamer from Tampa or DDFT for short. I’m going through a lot with my preteen children and would appreciate your general prayers regarding me and my kids, but I thought I would give my family greater insight into my callsign. In this season of my life I have taken one Corinthians 2:9 as my life verse – “what no lie is seen no ear has heard and no human heart conceived, God has prepared these things for those who love Him.” I have meditated on this verse and it has brought me such joy. One day we will not have to endure the scientific rules of this world perhaps. As Pink Paint has suggested the Lord may introduce us to new colors, new musical notes and maybe even emotions and a state of mind that would’ve been impossible to experience here on earth. I have a military background and often suggest to my coworkers and compare heaven to possibly be the ultimate mission. It all may sound simple and stupid, but it really does excite me to the core. I love this family and tell everybody that will listen about this community. Keep pressing play new DABbers. This is DDFT. Stay positive and always let His light shine through you. Bye-bye.

Hi this is Tammy in Kentucky and I wanted to call and ask for prayer for everything going on in my life. I have an adopted son from foster care. We’ve ha d him for about 3 ½ years and he’s 17 ½ and this morning we woke up at six something and he had left to go visit his girlfriend who lives an hour and a halfway. I mean, he’s only known her like two weeks. He just constantly finds new girlfriends. And she was diagnosed yesterday with flu and strep. And just…these are the things he does. He’s very impulsive and just never even tells us. Then I get so torn up about because these are not things you should do, and I worry about his actions and what he’s doing. My husband and I stress and fight over this and we have such marital issues. I just don’t know where to turn sometimes and I usually talk to my dad, but my parents died within the past eight months. So, I don’t have that rock to turn to. So, I just feel so alone at times. So, I just need prayer. We need prayer for our adopted son. I want him to follow Jesus and we’ve tried the past three years that he’s been with us but it’s…it’s…I’m hoping we planted a seed for down the road. You know, we want him gone in six months when he turns 18. It’s just not a good situation. So, please pray for us. Thank you. My time is running out.

Good morning DABber family this is Wala the Burning Bush that will not be Devoured for the Glory of our God and King. I just heard a prayer from truly thankful Taylor, and she was praying for stay at home parents. And Taylor as you were praying, my heart is lifted because my mom was a stay-at-home parent and I swear she’s the best mom in the world. And one of the best things in my life was coming home just always knowing that she was always there. And up until now, being a mother myself, my mom is my hero and she is my favorite person in the world. And she passed a couple years ago but she’s still my favorite person in the world. So, I just want to encourage you and let you know that what you’re doing right now, it is a blessing and it is an investment that will not go in vain. And I just want to encourage all to stay at home parents out there, I honestly wish I could afford to stay at home, but I can’t. And, so, I am really like just…kudos to you parents that are stay-at-home and loving your babies and being there for them and offering them what they would not be able…you can’t pay for it…you cannot buy it. Anyway, that’s it. May the Lord bless and keep you. May He cause His face to shine upon you, give you peace. And that prayer is for all my DABber family. Give you peace. May His favor be upon you for a  thousand generations - your children and your children’s children. Love you.

[blessedarticles-blog]

Principles for Church Growth

The following are principles that I have discovered for building successful and large churches. I advise you to carefully consider them and allow the Lord to give you a deeper understanding of what I am teaching in this chapter.

14 Principles for Church Growth

1.The principle of the multiplied senior pastor

I have discovered that if you could multiply the senior pastor by twelve, it would mean that you had twelve pastors at work. Logically, you could do twelve times as much work. I taught my assistant pastors to do whatever I do. If I meet people after church, they should also meet people after church. If I am able to counsel ten people and twelve other pastors are able to counsel ten people, that makes it one hundred and thirty people who are being attended to.

There are some churches in which the senior pastor is a “superman”. He is the only one who does anything important – and that is a sure recipe to keep your church small. One person can only attend to a certain number of people. If you try to visit, counsel and help everybody, you will go crazy! There is a limit to what you can do. That is why I have many branches and many pastors. I believe that many of the people I preach to can also preach. I believe that many of the people who are receiving the Word now, are capable of rising up into the ministry.

Do not be an insecure senior pastor. Don’t be afraid to trust people. It is true that many people will betray your trust, but if you live in fear, Satan will have access to your life and ministry. I have been hurt by some people, but I have decided to still trust others to help me. If they betray me one day, I will take it in stride and keep on trusting some others.

One of the reasons why some people cannot trust is because they do not believe that people can do a good enough job. In the medical field, young doctors are being trained all the time. Some people are always attended to by inexperienced student doctors under supervision. As the young doctors are allowed to have a go, they learn and soon they are just as good. It is the same thing in the ministry. People must be trusted with responsibilities under supervision. They must be allowed to do important things. This will multiply the number of capable pastors in the ministry.

2. The principle of maximized Sunday usage

This principle has been stretched to its fullest at the Lighthouse Cathedral in Accra. The principle of using Sunday to its fullest is effective because traditionally, people have dedicated Sunday to both resting and going to church. Since so many of the church members are available on Sunday, it is only wise to use Sunday to its fullest. Sunday is a full working day for me. Jesus worked on Sundays and I would like to follow His example.

And therefore did the Jews persecute Jesus, and sought to slay him, because he had done these things on the sabbath day. But Jesus answered them, My father worketh hitherto, and I work.

John 5:16, 17

Sunday is a full working day for all lay pastors in our church. We work hard from Sunday morning until late Sunday evening. We are able to accomplish a lot of counselling because people are free on Sundays. Visitation is also very effective on Sundays because many people are at home on Sunday afternoons. We conduct Bible schools for lay people on Sunday afternoons. Many people are able to attend because they don’t have much to do on Sundays.

Decide to utilize your Sundays. I don’t know what pastors are doing in their homes at two o’clock on Sunday afternoon when most of the church members are available to be ministered to. Take advantage of this opportunity. Lay pastors and shepherds will be able to do more work for the Lord.

Although some people find it difficult to accept, I emphasize to all the people I work with, that Sunday is a full working day for me and my church. I am not an accountant or a computer programmer. My working hours are not Monday to Friday from nine to five. I work on Sundays and I rest on Mondays. We do not start work at eight o’clock in the morning. I see no reason to go to work at eight o’clock in the morning. We stay late in the evenings because that is when many lay people are available for us to minister to them.

Our office is usually closed on Mondays, and all of our staff, except the security officers, have a day off. Pastors and churches must not allow the world to impose its schedule on us. When airplane pilots go to work at odd hours no one complains. Everyone accepts that their work demands a different type of work schedule. Pastors and non-pastoral people must realize that the work of the ministry is peculiar and goes with its own special working hours.

Begin to consider what you can do with your Sundays. Think of how many more people you can attend to if your Sundays are used for ministry instead of being used for sleeping and having lunches in the afternoon.

3.The principle of smaller sub-divisions

Smaller sub-divisions within the church allow for better pastoral care, which eventually leads to church growth. Questions that cannot be asked in a large Sunday service can be addressed in the small groups. The small groups become the family units to which church members belong.

I have several smaller groups within the church. I have always believed that every Christian can and should actively serve the Lord. These smaller groups allow for all Christians to get involved.

As your church becomes mega, it will remain small enough to meet the needs of all the people. As it is said, “Large enough to include you, and small enough to know you.”

Some people’s churches are like large convention centres. People come in, hear the Word, and go away. No human being likes to feel that he is not known. People are not numbers they are human beings. Nobody wants to be reduced to a numbered article or a countable commodity. People want to feel important. People want to feel necessary. People want to feel loved. You may preach a powerful sermon but, they still need to belong to a little family.

Your church can be broken into cells, divisions or departments. Our church has chapels, ministries and fellowships. I am always encouraging my members to get involved in one ministry or the other. How can I know all the people who come to church? How can I know what they think or feel? How can I know their problems and how can I help them?

If you think that God is going to give you a word of knowledge about these people everyday, you are making a mistake. God expects you to break up your church into smaller divisions so that the people can receive adequate pastoral care.

4.The principle of the Person X oriented church

What on earth is a “person x” oriented church? I define “person x” as a new convert or a new member. Most churches are oriented towards established members. A “person x” oriented church is very concerned about new people and visitors.

Treat your visitors well. We make song sheets so that the new people can get involved during the praise and worship. After the service, we host a reception to allow our new members to feel at home. We also give gifts to new converts.

Recently, the Lord directed me to direct my most senior associates to handle all new converts. God told me that if new converts were important to me, then I should allow senior ministers to take care of them rather than junior leaders. This has helped tremendously to establish many new people in the church. When a church is “person x” oriented, it is on the road towards increase because, growth will come through new members and converts.

And those members of the body, which we think to be less honourable, upon these we bestow more abundant honour…

1 Corinthians 12:23

Most people think that growth comes because more people visit the church. This is not necessarily the case. Some people also think that growth takes place because more converts are won. History has shown that the population of this world has increased because people are being kept alive and not because more people are being born. If we want our churches to grow, we have to sustain and maintain our new members and converts.

5.The principle of catering for group A and group B members

Every church can be divided into group A and group B members. Group A members are the more reliable people; they attend church twice or more a week. They are often involved in other small group activities in the church life. Thank God for Group A members. We really appreciate their input.

Group B members on the other hand, are the once-a-weekers, non-small group members, early service lovers, short sermon lovers, mind drifters, day dreamers, Bible forgetters, non note-takers, non tithe payers, clock-watchers and the church-near-me attendees.

These group B members will form an important segment of your church, as it becomes a larger entity. You will have to accept them as part of the family. You can choose your friends, but you cannot choose your brothers. Not everybody is going to be a prayer warrior.

In fact, in a large church many of the people fall into group B. Love them anyway. Preach sermons that they can also appreciate. Pray for them. The Spirit of the Lord will work on them. Sometimes when you organize a social event like a beach party, the group B members will flood the place. Use such opportunities to minister to them.

If you try to filter out your group B members, you may be left with nothing at the end of the day. Jesus said that the harvest is plenteous but the laborers are few. Jesus didn’t say that there were few members, He said that there were few labourers (Group A members).

6.The principle of multiple services

Nobody ever told me that multiple services lead to church growth. I discovered it almost by accident. Well, now I am telling you that multiple services lead to church growth.

We have seven different services every Sunday morning. It is very tiring and draining, but our church attendance is better because of these multiple services. As the church grows, people with all sorts of needs come into the church.

Some pastors give the impression that they conduct multiple services because they have such a large crowd. This is true to some extent. But I do not have multiple services because the building can be filled four times over. Not all the services are full. Each service has a different level of attendance. I have never seen multiple services where all the services have the same attendance. I conduct multiple services primarily to make a variety of convenient services available to my members.

I am always amazed at why people will want to come to church at 6 o’clock in the morning. I always ask myself, “Can’t they come to church a little later?” Human beings are so varied. Once you are dealing with a large number of people you are dealing with variety. If you don’t make variety available, you will lose those for whom you have nothing to offer.

Accept the reality of variety and flow with it. You will notice that different types of people come to each service. Some of the services are more formal whilst others are more relaxed. The type of people who attend each service determines the type of atmosphere you get. We have services for the youth and for the children. We have services for different languages. We have several services for English speaking members. Each of these services is different and there are people to fit into all of these services. God will bless your church as you provide variety for more people.

7.The principle of dynamic church services

You must have a goal for each service you conduct. When determining the goal of the service, you must ask yourself, “What am I trying to achieve with this service?” Are you planning to raise the dead, to heal the sick, or to preach and teach? In the Lighthouse Cathedral, our Sunday morning services are teaching and worship services. We do not usually pray for the sick on Sunday mornings. We pray for the sick on other days.

How much time have you allotted for each service? How long should the service be? Our services are one and a half hours and two hours each. Within two hours, you can do everything that you need to do for a church service.

Many years ago, I attended a church whose services began around eight o’clock in the morning and ended at about three o’clock in the afternoon. After attending twice, I decided that the service was too long. Today, that church is non-existent. When your Sunday services are too long, you will drive away all of your members. You cannot achieve everything on a Sunday morning. We conduct miracle services which can last for several hours. We have camp meetings at which I can preach for more than twelve hours in a day. At the last Shepherd’s Camp Meeting of my church. I preached from 6:30 a.m. to 12:30 a.m. on one of the days with only two short breaks. I know how to have long meetings, but I’d advise you not to use your Sunday services for such things.

What type of meeting place do you have? Man looks on the outward appearance, so it is important to decorate your church nicely. Even if you do not own a church building, let your place of meeting attain a certain standard. Remember that you have only one chance to give a first impression. Make use of flowers, baskets, curtains or anything that would improve the physical appearance.

Sometimes the pastor does not have very good taste. How can you know if you do not have good taste? He would have to rely on others in the church to help in enhancing and brightening his corner.

It is important that every church tries to acquire its own place of meeting. Owning your own facility introduces more stability to the church.

How do you present yourself? God looks on the heart, but man looks on the outward appearance. Man cannot see your heart. Man can only see your outward appearance. That is why your outward appearance is also important. We must seek to put up a good outward appearance in addition to preparing the right heart for the Lord. Everyone who plays a part in the service must be well dressed. Male pastors must be formally dressed and neatly shaved. Female pastors must be properly dressed and must not wear suggestive or indecent clothing.

In some churches the musicians look like agents from the world who have been temporarily contracted to help God. These instrumentalists often come in with the attitude and culture of secular pop groups. That is why I insist on all my musicians dressing like pastors. If they cannot afford it, we buy clothes for them!

Altar calls should be made at every service. This important and good habit must be maintained at all costs. New converts and visitors must receive a warm welcome. Remember these are the “person x” members. The assisting pastor should take over and briefly emphasize the message of the senior pastor. He should also encourage the congregation to buy tapes.

Pastors must not run off after church. They must stay and mingle with the congregation for some time after the service. I question the call of someone who says he’s a pastor but does not want to mingle with his congregation after the service. The shepherd’s place is in the field amongst the sheep. A true shepherd smells of sheep. I remember meeting a frustrated congregant in a church. This man had travelled many miles to attend a conference. He wanted to have a chance to say hello to the great man of God. He was so frustrated that he became bitter. I met him in a lift and he said to me bitterly, “Is this man a prime minister or a pastor?”

But I have been to other conferences where the men of God made the effort to stay around and mingle with the sheep. Some people just want to shake your hand. Give them the opportunity to get near if you can. A pastor’s wife must help with the interaction and must be seen to be a warm and friendly person. All these things contribute to building the mega church we all desire.

8. The principle of using technology and research

As the number of passengers on different airlines has increased, their efficiency has improved. This is because air line industries have used technology to help them in their work. Whilst the membership of most churches has increased over the past few years, the pastor’s ability for handling larger crowds has not been developed.

In our church, we try to keep an accurate data and statistics department. We maintain accurate counts and figures of everything. We have developed our own pastoral care monitoring system which we call the “Pastoshep”.

In spite of the limitations due to limited addresses and telephone numbers in Ghana, our Pastoshep has become a reliable and technological method of assessing the work of all pastors and shepherds alike. Without being there to physically see what people are doing, my computer tells me what everybody is doing. I decided long ago to allow technology to help me to do the work of God.

Too many pastors say things like, “The whole of the outside was full.” They say things like, “Thousands of people were here today.” Whereas in reality, just a few hundred were present. Let’s have real numbers!

We sometimes do surveys in the church to find out different interesting things. For instance, we did a survey to find out how many members of the church had ever been visited by a pastor. The results of that study were certainly revealing!

9.The 80-20 principle

This rule teaches us that eighty percent of your increase comes from twenty percent of the people. This means that eighty percent of church growth is as a direct result of the work of twenty percent of your members. Therefore, it is important for every pastor to spend more time with the twenty percent who will bring church growth.

Often the leaders, teachers and pastors make up this twenty-percent. They are the most important people in the church. More time, personal interaction and prayer with this twenty percent will give you amazing results that you never expected. Some pastors spend most of their time with the rich and influential. They do not know that they are spending time with the wrong group. Spending time with rich people does not make your church grow. It rather makes the rich people more important than they really are. It can make the rich people stubborn and difficult to pastor!

A church with a future will identify potential leaders and put them to work. When you do

this, you are looking out for the twenty percent who can bring about sustained church development.

When I visit our churches outside the headquarters, I spend more time with the leaders and pastors than with the rest of the church. Often I just minister in one service. Afterwards, I have various meetings, spending several hours with the pastors and shepherds. This style of activity does not come naturally. It is born out of the knowledge of the 80-20 Principle.

When you implement the 80-20 Principle, you may initially think that you are doing the wrong thing, but that is not the case. You will soon discover that this simple principle is a secret of church growth.

10. The principle of the scholarly pastor

By this, I simply mean that pastors should develop themselves academically. I have never been to Bible school; I only attended medical school. Yet, I have learnt so much about the ministry by reading.

I always have several books that I am reading at the same time. I believe in reading, studying and acquiring knowledge. How could I rise above the handicap of having no formal pastoral training? Only by reading!

There is a difference between ministers who read books and those who do not. Those who do not read are no better than those who cannot read! Those who do not read are doomed to be ruled by those who do read. Paul the apostle was a reader of books and parchments. He deemed his books so important that he asked Timothy to bring them to him.

…when thou comest, bring with thee, and the books, but especially the parchments.

2 Timothy 4:13

Prophet Daniel read the books that Jeremiah wrote

In the first year of his reign, I Daniel understood by books the number of the years, whereof the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the prophet, that he would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem.

Daniel 9:2

People like Daniel and Paul read books. It is no surprise that they went far in ministry. There are many ministers who also need some secular education. They would do well to educate themselves in important subjects like administration, law, medicine and history. Administration is important in a church because many aspects of the church have to be run in a secular way. Things have to be managed properly. Accounts have to be prepared. Salaries have to be determined and paid. People have to be employed and dismissed. Things simply have to be done properly. A good study of administration and management will do the church of God a lot of good.

The study of law is also important for pastors and churches. Churches enter into contracts and the law of contract becomes important. There are laws that affect property acquisition. The law of property then becomes important to the pastor. There are laws that concern marriage. Pastors have to be well versed in the laws that exist. God does not want His ministers to be ignoramuses. I am not a lawyer, but I know quite a bit about law because I have taken an interest in it for my own sake.

A good understanding of medicine is also important. A pastor, like a doctor, often deals with terminally ill people. There is no use in a pastor not appreciating the conditions of their members. It is important to have a basic understanding of what is going on around you. I have seen pastors declaring healing based on ridiculous and presumptuous premises. How absurd we sometimes look to the professionals of this world! They know we are completely unlearned in certain areas.

Another area that pastors need a bit of education in is history and politics. History shows the rise and the fall of tyrants. It shows trends which keep repeating themselves. The Bible says that there is nothing new under the sun. In fact, the Bible predicts that the past will repeat itself over and over again. For those of you who want to know the future – it is basically the past repeated.

The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun. Is there anything whereof it may be said, See, this is new? it hath been already of old time, which was before us.

Ecclesiastes 1:9, 10

11.The principle of having a power ministry

If you cut out all the Scriptures on healing and miracles from your Bible, you will discover that your Bible is totally destroyed! You will be destroying the Word of God. When you take out the Scriptures concerning the power of God, you are left with a book on philosophy.

 It is not only the teaching and preaching which helps God’s people. God’s children also want to receive a touch of His power. It is important to add on the power dimension of miracles, healings and deliverance. The Holy Spirit wants to manifest Himself and bless the people of God. You will discover that your people love to be prayed for. It is important for you to pray for your sheep and minister God’s power to them.

12.The principle of pastoral individuality: fulfil your call.

It is very important for every pastor to fulfil his individual call. Don’t look to the crowd. Don’t think about what others are doing.

Many years ago when I started out in ministry, many people laughed at me. One pastor ridiculed me as I encouraged my members to go out and witness door-to-door. He sneered at me and said, “What is witnessing? What is door-to-door witnessing? We have moved on into higher realms of ministry!”

I answered, “It is an important Christian activity.”

I stressed, “No matter how big you become in the ministry, it is important to preach the gospel from house-to-house.”

Today, that pastor who scoffed at me is struggling at the bottom of the ministerial ladder. Please do not allow anyone to drown your convictions. Be a man of conviction. Follow the plan that God has given to you. Comparison is one of the dangerous practices of certain ministers. Please do not compare yourself with anyone else, it is too dangerous.

For we dare not make ourselves of the number, or compare ourselves with some that commend themselves: but they, measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise.

2 Corinthians 10:12

God told me not to compare myself with anybody. He showed me how certain ministers were uneducated and that His expectations of different people varied. He also showed me that my background of prolonged education made Him give me a different standard. He told me that I would be wrong to compare myself with anyone else. The Lord also showed me that if I used other ministers as a standard, I may do far less for Him than I am supposed to. The Lord showed me that I would mistakenly think that I had “arrived” because I had used certain low standards that had been set by others. It is indeed a dangerous thing to compare yourselves with others. Paul said that he dared not compare himself with others

13.The principle of massive organized prayer

Massive organized prayer involves gathering all of your leaders and/or members for intensive prayer. I do massive organized prayer on three levels. At the highest level, I frequently organize the senior ministers away from the city to pray for a few days.

At the level of cell leaders, we often decree what we call prayer sentences. Sometimes we “sentence” the shepherds to twenty hours of prayer within a three-week period. This means that they have to meet as a group and pray for twenty hours spread over three weeks. This is massive organized prayer – organizing prayer on a massive scale.

Finally, we involve the whole church in prayer. There are times we have all-night prayer and fasting meetings everyday for an entire week. I am always surprised when on a weekday the church is full at 2 a.m. Working people gather to pray intensively for church growth and breakthroughs.

There is no other way to make any progress in the ministry than to work in the realm of the spirit. The Bible says, “Epaphras was always labouring in prayer.” The principle of massive organized prayer is what you need to bring about a breakthrough in your ministry.

Epaphras…always labouring fervently for you in prayers, that ye may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God.

Colossians 4:12

There are some people who see me as an administrator and a strategist. Anyone who knows me closely knows that as I write this book, I do not even have a desk or an office. But I do have a study where I pray and I do have places where I spend time praying. There is no shortcut in the ministry. There is no other way than that which has been set by the Lord. There is no other example than that which has been set by Jesus. Peter said that he wanted to give himself to prayer and the Word. Prayer and the Word are more important than administration and strategies!

But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word.

Acts 6:4

14.The principle of using lay people to do the work

One of the great secrets of a large church is in the use of lay people or voluntary church workers. These volunteer workers can do most of the church work.

I have several pastors who are not paid a dime for all of their hard work. The Lord pays them Himself. They work very hard on Sundays and other evenings. They make huge sacrifices in their private lives in order to be pastors and shepherds. Many very big churches use this principle and are succeeding. May the Lord give you understanding and revelation concerning this vital principle.

I am always saddened when I see a small church of one hundred people employing seven full-time pastors. I often ask myself, “How much will one pastor be paid? Do the wives of these pastors work? Do they make enough money to survive?” Such environments are the breeding grounds for discontent and rebellious elements! Many church rebellions are related to money. When money is left out of the ministry, people are able to concentrate on the work of the Lord because they love God.

Many pastors in my church are doing well as lay pastors. If some of them were to come into full-time ministry, things may change. The church may be able to pay them enough money, but they may not be at the stage where they are ready for full-time ministry. New problems relating to salaries and income levels may arise. These problems have the potential to disrupt the work of ministry.

I suggest this to every senior pastor: analyze the church conflicts you have ever had. Aren’t most of them related to money? Make use of unpaid people. They are the key to a peaceful and stable church environment!

I see a ministry growing! I see your ministry growing! I see you rising up in the Kingdom of God! I see you taking your place! I know the Lord is going to use you! He has determined to use you! The mega church is for you! The anointing is yours! Rise up with wisdom and possess what the Lord has placed before you!

by Dag Heward-Mills