Trustworthy?

I was reading this morning in Genesis how Abraham sent his servant to get a wife for his son Isaac. In Genesis 24:10 it says that all the goods of Abraham were in the hands of his servant.

I was amazed to see the loyalty that Abraham had in his servant. First of all he trusted him to pick out a wife for his son and then he trusted him with all his goods.

I can remember when I was 21 years old and was living in Peru, Jefe and the whole family left for three months to attend his daughter Stephanie's wedding. During those three months I was put in charge of handling all the bills and finances of both Jefe and his son Chris.

I can remember as a 21 year old student how neat it was for two successful missionaries to trust me enough to handle the money for both of their ministries. I am not sure I deserved that kind of trust but it was definitely very honoring.

Are you a person that your 1st man can trust with everything he has? Could he give you a key to his house or all his credit cards and not have to worry about you spending one single dime that he wouldn’t approve of.

Make sure you keep a testimony where people can trust in you. Never do anything that will cause doubt. Be above reproach and take better care of the possessions of your 1st man than you would your own possessions.

In His Absence

Is there someone that you can count on to do anything you need done they way you need it done. It there someone that knows you well enough that can represent you the right way.

Philippians 2: 20-21- For I have no man likeminded, who will naturally care for your state.

Paul could count on Timothy to fill in for him and care about the people as much as he did.

Being a 2nd man means that you will learn the way the 1st man likes it to be done and do it that way.

If the 1st man goes out of town he shouldn’t have to worry about how people from your church that are in the hospital are going to be treated. He shouldn’t have to worry about if people that need visiting are going to be visited or not. He shouldn’t have to worry about something being said from the pulpit that wouldn’t be in accordance with the way he usually teaches and preaches.

I know a lot of pastors that are nervous to let visiting evangelist and missionaries preach in their pulpits because they are afraid of how they will treat their church people. They are afraid they will be too harsh or mean spirited. The pastor should never have to worry about his 2nd man being that way. The 2nd man should know what is acceptable and what is out of line.

Make sure you learn your 1st man so that you will be able to represent him correctly when he is absent.

Work Hard

For me it has always been a challenge to put in as many hours as Jefe does. If he is awake he is usually working. If he stays at home to rest he ends up working at home. If he goes on a getaway he only gets away where he can work some more. He has definitely raised the bar for our entire team when it comes to hard work.

A lot of times when a person isn’t in charge or doesn’t want a promotion he may not put as much effort into his job like he should. Whether you’re a 2nd man to gain experience or a 2nd man for life, this should never be your attitude

The 2nd man should work at least as hard as the 1st man if not harder. He should make sure that every job the 1st man gives out is taken care of, plus he should be working on his own to come up with ways to make sure the 1st man is more effective.

Colossians 3:22 Servants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh; not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but in singleness of heart, fearing God:
Colossians 3:23 And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men;

We have to understand we work for the Lord and not for man. We should put in no less than 50 to 60 hours a week. Remember that should be our minimum not our maximum. With driving time and work time, the people in our congregation are easily putting in that many hours.

The ministry should never be considered a place where we can get away with doing less work. Make sure you work enough where God’s people don’t think you just took up a ministry job to have an easy life.