"I SHALL NOT BE MOVED" THE EXPERIENCES vs THE EMOTIONS
Part Two

HOW SHOULD YOU RESPOND THEN TO THE NEWS THAT YOU HAVE BEEN RELEASED FROM YOUR JOB ON THE STAFF?

WHAT HAS THE EXPERIENCE TAUGHT ME ABOUT THIS MATTER OF MINISTRY?

experience:
1: the accumulation of knowledge or skill that results from direct participation in events or activities; "a man of experience"; "experience is the best teacher" [ant: inexperience] 2: the content of direct observation or participation in an event; "he had a religious experience"; "he recalled the experience vividly" 3: an event as apprehended; "a surprising experience"; "that painful experience certainly got our attention" v 1: go or live through; "We had many trials to go through"; [syn: undergo, see, go through] 2: have firsthand knowledge of states, situations, emotions, or sensations; "I know the feeling!"; "have you ever known what it means to have lost a dad?"; "I lived through ministry" [syn: know, live] The feeling of emotions and sensations as opposed to thinking; involvement in what is happening rather than abstract reflection on an event.
Another definition
Active participation in events or activities, leading to the accumulation of knowledge or skill: a lesson taught by experience; a minister with experience in youth ministry . The knowledge or skill so derived. An event or a series of events participated in or lived through. The totality of such events in the past of an individual or group

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Experience is a great teacher of wisdom. Someone said, "you can pray for wisdom, but God doesn’t give it under your sheets." Oh, that must have been me. Wisdom is received one way by experience. When you have lived through a series of events as I have you gain wisdom about ministry. I have participated in many events that have provided me with knowledge about ministry.

I have never stayed inactive in the search for knowledge about the Bible, about preaching/teaching, about the how to of ministry, about how to stay fit for the work that you believe the Lord has called you to do. I have never been satisfied that I know enough to stop learning.

Experiencing getting dismissed from your position on the church staff, whatever the position is, be it a Senior Pastor, or a Youth Pastor, or even a Building Supervisor, you are not to panic or become paralyzed by this experience, but to let the experience teach you. What I have learned, you will wake up the next day, and discover that the Lord will strengthen you and you will discover that the Lord is already planning your next place of ministry.

What can get me into trouble is the belief I know how to do "God’s Work in God’s Way." (Reading John MacArthur’s book will give you that information)

In all these years of ministry, how is it that you can still say, "I shall not be moved?" That is, give up! Retire from! So many good men and women, will decide that they need to find another line of work. This year alone there will be 1000 good people who will find another line of work.

When you have had such a great history in ministry as I have, and you sense the Lord has truly given you the ability to do the work He has called you to do, you sense He still has His hand upon you.

I am sure if I were writing a sermon I could easily put scripture to my thinking, but I am not writing a sermon today.

It’s the emotions that will drive you out of ministry. Don’t you think? Out of control feelings will cause you to want to quit, some experiences will cause you to question your calling. You do get physically shaken sometimes when you have these events happen to you. When do you allow your emotions to play the bigger role in your life than it should? Every experience has its toll. Experience or emotion.

But in those early years, the idea of getting out of ministry never occurred to me. I just said, "Well, where is the Lord going to take us now." Why did I have that kind of mindset?

Experience of ministry was not usually from an emotional, temperamental, focus. (There were times though that the experiences of ministry were emotional.) (Victory Baptist) I just accepted the fact and made plans to move to the next place of service. I sometimes felt like Paul, he was not always welcome in town, and was asked to leave town, because he was doing what the Lord had directed him to do. Paul never quit. He didn’t even change his methods. I don’t think he ever changed his message, or his way of ministry. Paul really believed he was doing God’s Work in the way God had directed him to do it.

Paul wasn’t trying to find better methods of doing his work. I really have not talked to Paul about this matter. The principles that Paul used in his day are still effective today. Methods may change today, and they should, but principles should not.

So with the mindset that the principles of ministry do not change, I am inclined to think that how I developed the work of the ministry in any church I worked in were okay. And when the outcome was good, I was indebted.

How the church or pastor thought was generally secondary. What made me resign was generally personality rather than the principle I was using for ministry. Thus I knew I could still preach, teach, and work with youth so I was not discouraged. I believed they were wrong and stupid., sorry I mean misinformed.

I believe it’s because men do not have the priority in my thinking. In every place, no matter how short the time, the Lord, has shown His blessing upon us. I can’t view any place of ministry as a failure. From my own point of view, I have seen the hand of the Lord upon what He was doing in that place of service.

EMOTIONS:
An intense mental state that arises subjectively rather than through conscious effort and is often accompanied by physiological changes.
a psychic and physical reaction (as anger or fear) subjectively experienced as feeling and physiologically involving changes that prepare the body for action
an affective state of consciousness in which joy, sorrow, fear, hate, or the like, is experienced, as distinguished from cognitive and volitional states of consciousness.
Any of the feelings of joy, sorrow, fear, hate, love, etc .and usually accompanied by certain physiological changes, as increased heartbeat or respiration, and often overt manifestation, as crying or shaking.

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Jack Hyles, preached: "Never make a decision at midnight." Good emotions or even bad emotions can damage you if you don’t think cognitively about the issue before you. Someone else said, "Don’t quit your job on Monday"You can get caught up in the moment, or the experience and make decisions that you shouldn’t.

• It’s been my experience, {before reading John Piper} the emotions that I feel in all of life’s experiences are present at the moment of the experience. First there is the human emotion that is expressed with hurt and disappointment. Some emotions are automatic responses I have no control over at first. I think these are normal. But the emotions that follow are important. Generally, the Holy Spirit gives in my spirit the comfort and assurance that I need to continue in ministry. I might be crying and shaking and my heartbeat might be increased, but within my spirit there is a joy and peace that passes all understanding.

"It is very difficult to put emotional experiences into words." John Piper says.
How can it be possible that when you have an emotionally shocking experiences, not to be shocked? You can’t for sure.
Every time I walked away from a church ministry, I already had in mind the next place I would be serving the Lord. Why? A reasoning ability to think back at the greatness of the Lord and His capability to fulfill His purposes. The Scriptures are filled with this principle.

There you have this long post. But it’s not as long as one of my sermons.
Drafted by Charles E. Whisnant September 27, 2006.
Read by Charity Whisnant at 9:20 p.m. after working 10 hours. Thanks Sweet Heart.