Did you hear the story of the pastor who wanted to illustrate the Acts 2 story of tongues of fire?  He placed a small propane canister in his inner suit coat pocket, from which he ran a small pipe that went to the back of his neck and up toward the top back of his head.  He walked out in front of the children as to carefully not reveal the piping.  As he was telling the Bible story, he casually reached inside his pocket and turned the valve to the open position.  When he could smell the propane, he pressed the trigger which ignited the gas at the end of the pipe.  There was an instantaneous burst of flame.  The children’s eyes almost popped out of their sockets as they saw their pastor standing before them with all his hair and eyebrows singed away.  Naturally, the kids responded by chanting, “Do it again! Do it again!”

All of us have found ourselves in situations where we truly experienced the classic phrase, “Hind sight is 20/20!”  In today’s challenge, let us consider the “8 T’s of Ministry.”  Every Ministry Leader should make the 8 T’s an integral part of his or her daily life.  Are you ready?  The 8 T’s are…”Take The Time To Thoroughly Think Things Through.”

This was a quality I personally saw in the life and ministry of the late Robert Schmidgall when I was pastoring on staff with him in the 1990’s.  It is one that I have become more diligent in carrying out in my life and ministry as well.

The foundational strength that you discover from taking the time to thoroughly think things through is that it allows you the marvelous opportunity to hear what God has to say on the subject.  All of us would agree that God’s insight for how we should act, react, plan, and implement every detail in our life and ministry is the true key for living and ministering in power and authority.

Take a moment to jot the 8 T’s onto a slip of paper or a post-it note and put it on your desk or pc monitor where you will be reminded of it.  Make it a more than a habit.  Make it a part of your lifestyle.

Rev. Gary R. Linn