Here are 11 ways to “be a good minister of Christ Jesus” (1 Timothy 4:6)—
- Know the Scripture well enough to point out false doctrines (vv. 1-6a)
- Be a good teacher (v. 6b)
- Train myself to be godly (v. 7)
- Take care of my physical health (v. 8)
- Put my hope solidly in God (vv. 9, 10)
- Set an example worth following (vv. 11, 12)
- Use the Scriptures in everything I preach (v. 13)
- Turn my God-given gifts into strengths (v. 14)
- Have a good work ethic (v. 15a)
- Be consistently growing (v. 15b)
- Carefully and prayerfully evaluate my doctrine (v. 16)
Craig T. Owens 
May 24, 2016 at 10:51 am
Wow, Craig. Lightning bolt of reality for me. Recently I’ve gotten comments, emails, and messages about me being a minister. I always thank the person for their words but gently remind them I’m not a minister. Then I read this…and now I fear they might’ve been right.
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May 24, 2016 at 11:05 am
But remember this: The Bible calls all Christians to be ministers. According to Ephesians 4, God gives apostles, pastors, evangelists, prophets and teachers to prepare God’s people to be ministers. Maybe in this list of 11 things I shared, I shouldn’t have used words like “preach” that make it sound like something exclusive to those serving as pastors. But the bottom line: If God has been speaking to your heart about what you need to pursue, pay more attention to His voice than to the voices of others.
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