This document contains seven tips for thriving and surviving in ministry: 1. Be careful of people who are overly friendly or critical of you. 2. Focus on preaching about Christ rather than arguments over doctrine. 3. Minister to those on the margins, such as second-generation immigrants. 4. Only preach if you have a clear call to ministry. 5. Invest intentionally in mentors, friends, and students to help you grow. 6. Expect criticism if your ministry is blessed, but don't waste time defending yourself. 7. Have God as your defender; those who oppose you are wasting their time.

1. EYES WIDE OPEN
YOUR CALL TO MINISTRY: THRIVING AND SURVIVING IN IT

2. SEVEN EYE OPENING
TIPS

3. 2 Kings 6:16 “Don’t be afraid!” Elisha told
him. “For there are more on our side than
on theirs!” 17 Then Elisha prayed, “O
LORD, open his eyes and let him see!”
The LORD opened the young man’s
eyes, and when he looked up, he saw
that the hillside around Elisha was filled
with horses and chariots of fire.

4. 1. Be extra careful
with the following
people:

5. 1. Person who talks to you first.
2. Person who never has
anything bad to say about you.
3. Person who never has
anything good to say about you.

6. 2. Preaching about sin
produces sinners.
Preaching about Christ
produces Christians.

7. The first word,
from the first
sermon from
Jesus was…

8. "Of all professed Christians,
Seventh-day Adventists should
be foremost in uplifting CHRIST
before the world.“
Ellen G. White, Gospel Workers,
p.156

9. "There need to be far more lessons in the
ministry of the Word of true conversion than
of the arguments of the doctrines. For it is far
easier and more natural for the heart that is
not under the control of the Spirit of Christ to
choose doctrinal subjects rather than the
practical. There are many Christ-less
discourses given no more acceptable to God
than was the offering of Cain. They are not in
harmony with God."{VSS - The Voice in
Speech and Song pg 342.3}

10. 3. Remember the people
in the “hyphen”.

11. 2nd Generation are “exiles in their
own country. Choice is between a
church from their country of origin
where they don’t understand the
language and an anglo church
where they feel outnumbered and
out of place” Samuel Rodriguez

12. 4. Preaching without a
call, is wasting your
time.

13. Be less concerned about
your reputation if nobody
responds, than the people
in church that day that
need to make a decision.

14. What has helped me:
1.Preaching with points.
2.Preaching expositive
sermons.
3.Preaching in series.

15. 5. Mind the
margins.

16. The greatest damage to ministry
from a margin-less life, is heart
shrinkage. You start
resenting/avoiding/dismissing
the people you are supposed to
be helping.

17. 6. Invest
intentionally in
relationships that
grow you.

18. You need three people
*A mentor you can learn from.
*A friend you can lean on.
*A student that can learn from
you.

19. 7. If you don’t want
to be attacked, ask
God not to bless you.

20. Haters don’t
set agendas.

21. Don’t waste time
defending yourself.
Your friends don’t care
and neither do your
enemies.

22. If God is for me,
those who are against
me, are wasting their
time.