MINISTRYPHOBIA (Part One)
FEMI A. Falade
Ministryphobia is what birthed the fear and terror of a life of zero impact among the generation of young men and women it arrested. It is, by definition, an irrational or obsessive fear or anxiety for the work of God and to take up ministerial assignment or duties. Many people whom God has called to make unspeakable impact on their generation have acted like Jeremiah who said, he cannot speak because he was a lad. Many do not even appear on the stage of relevance because of the fear of failure. Other who should have break the chains are afraid of what people will say about them. I understand. How does it sounds when Jesus suddenly became and claim the Son of God and not of Joseph his supposed to be father. To the Pharisee, that is the greatest heresy ever existed.
CAUSES OF MINISTRYPHOBIA
Obviously, there are many causes of Ministryphobia and these causes are around us and many have been dominated by these. We shall check them one after the other.
FEAR OF FAILURE
Many of our people fear failure that, they cannot take a risk to try something new. The inability to try something new is equivalent to the ability to remain obsolete. Let me also say that, to dare the kingdom of hell and respond to God is not a risk. It is a certainty and cannot be doubted or restricted. Fear has a spirit of bondage and of torment that worked with it. The bible told us that, we have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but we have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father, Rom. 8:15. Fear itself, is a spirit and has caused and will cause many people to remain as nonentity as for the rest of their lives. Also, Elder John told us that, there is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear. He specifically pointed that the reason for “lovelessness” in fear is because fear has torment.
Friends, I like you to know that the reason you still fear is that, you have not grows in the love for the Father. If you are passionate in love for something, you can cut your head for it because the force of love will move you. Love, in short, is the antidote for fear for the work of the Father. Joseph when faced with such great a temptation from his master’s wife, Mrs. Potiphar, would not say, “I have faith like muster seed, oh woman be cast out!”. He said, what would not make me do this is love. I love God than this. If you would be privilege to ask him, the scene was a scene of fear but he demonstrated and employed love instrument within him.
For this reason, God gave in exchange for the spirit of fear, the Spirit of Love, of power and of a sound mind, 2Tim. 1:7. If you want to avoid Ministryphobia, stir up your love for God. Move your attention from the terrors in ministry, those who have failed or those who said ministry is hell. The father to our ministry, Pastor Femi James (founder of World Youth Christian Movement) would always say, I have enjoyed serving God since I respond to His call. I remember he told me how Daddy E.O Adeboye told him that, if after five years he did not see the hand of the Lord….. (can’t remember). The whole truth is that, no man can respond to God’s call and fail if he follows Him.
I will not stop using this scripture to make those people God called into the ministry or an assignment to realise that God is the work, the owner of the work and the one who will do the work. This is in alignment with the scripture that assures us that, faithful is he that called you, for He also will do it, 1Theas. 5:24. Your fear to fail should be your decision to fail to fear. If God want you to fail, he will not call you. The experiences of those who failed in the service were not evidence that everybody would fail. Many have succeeded too and many are on their way to succeed.
Fear makes people feeble but love makes people able.
THE RUGGEDNESS OF MINISTRY
One of the things that cause Ministryphobia is the ruggedness and doggedness in ministry. Some people have once said to me, “ministry is not for people like us”. Their views are, they cannot go through those hard times in ministry. Times of fasting, of prayer, of leaving their business to attend to others, and so on are not bread and butter. How can I go for days without eating? I will die. Many expression of the high standard of the ministers of God also scares them away. They say, as a minister, you cannot go to anywhere; you cannot do this or that. Funny enough, many of them are on the part to what they consider “a no go area” for themselves.
…..To be continued
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