Three crucial Elements for effective Ministry

Dear Friends,

We are ready to depart the Solomon Islands after 15 years.  I would like to leave this message to the SI church but also to the broader church before we leave.  

I want to share the three things that are crucial for effective ministry to take place.  These items are essential.  I was reminded of these again today as the Lord came to me in my devotional time.

First, it is essential that the Lord's blessing be upon you.  Actually through mechanics, a leader with a charismatic personality, and the right programs and ingenuity can build quite an empire without the Lord.  That said I am talking about building a strong spiritual ministry.  I'm not interested in building a man-made empire but rather in building the Kingdom of God.  For this to take place you have to have the anointing which comes from the Holy Spirit and following His will in your life.  Prayer is quintessential to this process.  Prayer alone if by prayer one means talking to God it is not enough.  Prayer also involves a listening component and as a result of this listening it involves doing the will of God.  I do not know God's specific will for each person, (e.g. what type of occupation God is calling you into, or who you should marry) but the Bible is full of God's general revelation that is for all those who trust in him.  It is our job to read the Bible and follow HIS general revelation like "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and your neighbor as yourself."  Then He will from time to time reveal his specific revelations and will to us through our quiet time of listening prayer.

Second component to building a strong ministry is man-power.  We need people.  People are the harvest.  Jesus said we are to pray for laborers into the harvest field.  It is God who calls, but we have a part to play.  For someone totally committed to the Lord, someone who loves the Lord with his/her total being and who loves others as oneself, for someone that much in love with God and others it makes sense that they would seek with all their heart to do the will of God.  We are not lone individuals, but we are called out from the world and in community with others of like mind and passion so that together we can accomplish the impossible.  We have many talents or parts but we are one body and together with God we can "move mountains".  Where there is disunity there is trouble.  

Third element needed is resources.  Where do the resources come from?  The harvest, or the people, for as people are committed to the Lord and they realize who the giver is and where everything they have comes from, it is all available to be used by the Lord.  The tithe is just the minimum but when God says give, we obey and give.  When God says go, we obey and go.  With those focused on God and have the proper perspective on ownership and realize that we are stewards.  Of course we have things that we claim and that have our name attached to it, but it can easily be taken away.  Jesus preached in his sermon that we should store our treasures where moth, rust, and I might add mildew, can not destroy it.  We should use whatever God has entrusted us with to build the Kingdom.  We need to enlarge our vision.  When a 5 year old child says, "Mine".  We refer to that child as being stingy, but when an adult holds onto things and refuses to allow God to use these things, what do we call that person?  Is he/her a mature Christian?  Everything must come under the Lordship of Christ.

The challenge I want to make to the Solomon Islands Church is to stop looking to the outside {Field, Global Mission, etc} for the resources.  Instead obey God and give what you have and pray the Lord of the harvest to call laborers.  Pray for God's blessing and God will build His church in the Solomon Islands.  If Jesus, God's only son, can take 5 loaves and 2 small reef fish and feed 5000 people, how can God multiply what we have?  God only knows, but we have to obey.  As pertaining to resources we have to use whatever God entrusts to us responsibly and utilize all resources with the upmost integrity.  We must maintain trust, transparency, and accountability.  

May God Bless you all

Uncle George Miller

Miller Prayer letter 3 March 2014

Dear Prayer Partner,

Thanks for your prayers.  I can't believe it has been 2 months since our last prayer letter.  Time flies by and really gets away from us.

Lots of things have happened since then but there are a couple of very exciting things that have happened and have been keeping us busy.

Transferring to the Philippines:

We have accepted a call to go to the Philippines, where we will serve until our retirement.  Pray for us as we prepare to ship our crate to the USA, where we will make our retirement home, and as we say good-bye to our friends and Solomon Island family.  We have purchased our tickets and are scheduled to depart Honiara on May 27.

You may be wondering how this change came about and why it is so near to our retirement.  Let me first assure you we believe this is from the Lord.  I (George) have felt for a couple years now a restlessness in my spirit.  I even considered an early retirement at the time of our previous home assignment, but when praying I did not have peace about that.  Then the Lord worked in our life confirming to us that we were to return.  For a few years now we have been releasing some of our leadership activities into the capable hands of local leaders.  I began to question whether our very presence was interfering with the church growth, as many still depended on me as District Superintendent.  Some people would bypass the elected leader to take their problem to me.  I would refer them back to the correct person, but just the fact that this was happening got me to thinking that for the SI church to stand on their own two feet, we should go elsewhere.

It was during this time when Harmon and Cindy Schmelzenbach (Our field Strategy Coordinator and wife) came to the Solomon Islands.  They conveyed to us that the regional and field leadership felt the same way, and there was a position opened on the Philippine field that fit us and so when they proposed it to us, we felt peace and knew this was right.  That meeting took place in mid-January, but we couldn't share it until February 15.  We were excited but at the same time were getting ready for Bible College classes and a visiting lecturer here in the Solomons.  I have been busy and am just now writing this letter to all our prayer partners.

So what will we be doing?  I (George) will be chaplain at the Philippine Nazarene College [formerly Luzon Nazarene Bible College] in Baguio, Philippines.  We will also teach English (Nancy) and Bible Classes.  Prayers are requested as we settle into another culture.  This assignment will be for 3 school semesters until our final HA (October, 2015) before retirement (Oct 2016).

Our new physical address:

George Miller

Philippine Nazarene College

Pico Road, La Trinidad

Benguet, 2601 Philippines.

Note: email address will remain the same.

I don't know how long it takes for mail to reach the Philippines, but don't send anything to the Solomons after April 1st.

 

Visiting Lecturer - Dr. Herb Ireland

This story is powerful because it demonstrates the providence of this Almighty God we serve.  One of my prayer partners Herb Ireland, felt called to come and help us.  It was a year or more ago when he wrote me inquiring about this possibility.  I told him that we retire in 2015 and would like for him to come prior to our departure.  I then sent him the dates of our scheduled classes and he selected this time.  I told him we could accommodate him and change the course to fit whatever he liked to teach.  He said that the two courses, "Doctrine of Holiness" and "New Testament Survey", we had scheduled would be fine.  When he arrived he talked about how his wife was raised in the Philippines.  He then told us Carolyn was raised at the Bible College in Baguio where her father was President.  The day after he arrived (5th March) is the day we found out for sure that we were going to transfer to the Philippines.  Waiting for that ten days until the 15th so we could share the news seemed like an eternity.  The first people I shared the news with was the Solomon Islands District Council that met 15th.  Then we called our family.  So by now many of you have already heard the news through Face Book, etc. and I apologize for this being old news. 

Herb's being here with his connections to the Philippines and Baguio was providential.  The Lord sent him at this time to help us and the district during this transition time.

Bible College Classes.

Thank you for your prayers for the following Bible College block classes that finished on February 28.  

1. Theology 3, which includes the Theology of the Holy Spirit, the Church, and Eschatology.

This was a 1-week intensive class that I taught from 5-11 February.  With all the excitement and things going on with our relocation and Harmon's visit, I certainly did not feel prepared for this class.  One of the highlights of this class was when we had a new student named Sammy.  He was saved during the first day of this class.  His decision to attend this class was like his intent desire to be close to God.  He has now been in 3-weeks of Bible College classes and it is exciting seeing him grow in the Lord.  He has a lot of potential and I envision him as one of our church leaders in the future.  Pray for Sammy.

2. New Testament Studies Class:

This has been an exciting class.  In the Solomon Islands it seems to be difficult for one to apologize and confess his/her sins and faults.  Rarely is there any confession to one another unless they have been found out and confronted.  Herb was the teacher and during this class they dealt with some major issues that have been hidden for years.  With more openness and honesty our church in the Solomon Islands will not only progress but will really grow in the Lord.  

3. Doctrine of Holiness Class:

Many of our students took all three courses.  This class was the largest class.  We welcomed visitors to this class because we want to develop Christ-like disciples and it is essential that we become a holy people.  Herb presented the lessons in such a simple and straightforward way that they understood the message of holiness, and for some it made sense for the first time in their life.  During this class four students responded to be entirely sanctified.  We're praising the Lord for the way our students grew spiritually during this class.  The students will return home as transformed individuals.  Pray that they will be able to impact their local church for Jesus when they return.

Graduation:

Saturday March 1st we held our Bible College graduation and had two students Graduate with a Certificate in Ministry from our Solomon Island Campus of the SPNTC (South Pacific Nazarene Theological College).  This was the 4th graduation of the SPNTC-SI and brings the total number of Solomon Islands graduates to 11.  Kendrick, one of the graduates, is the pastor of our Hickory Grove church in Barakoma on Vella la Vella Island.  Gibson, the other graduate, is the pastor of our Sovereign Grace church in Munda on New Georgia Island.  These are the first two graduates who are pastor of churches in the Western Province.

Pray for the SI Nazarenes and their development:

Harmon Schmelzenbach is visiting March 10 & 11 to discuss with the district leadership.  Pray for his visit along with Jeff Myers, the Field Church Development Coordinator, who will arrive in SI on March 9.

George Miller
PO Box 712
Honiara, Solomon Islands