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10 Power Principles for Christian Service
New and seasoned pastors alike will find this a welcome source of inspiration and instruction on how they can relate and minister to people of all ages.
144 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 1, 1997
44 people are currently reading
166 people want to read
About the author
Warren W. Wiersbe
662 books408 followersWarren W. Wiersbe, former pastor of the Moody Church and general director of Back to the Bible, has traveled widely as a Bible teacher and conference speaker. Because of his encouragement to those in ministry, Dr. Wiersbe is often referred to as 'the pastor's pastor.' He has ministered in churches and conferences throughout the United States as well as in Canada, Central and South America, and Europe. Dr. Wiersbe has written over 150 books, including the popular BE series of commentaries on every book of the Bible, which has sold more than four million copies. At the 2002 Christian Booksellers Convention, he was awarded the Gold Medallion Lifetime Achievement Award by the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association. Dr. Wiersbe and his wife, Betty, live in Lincoln, Nebraska.
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
November 20, 2012
Seems old-fashion from today's eyes, but it is eternally true that character of a Christian is the foundation of any ministry or life. This will be a constant and long-time good book and reminder for me and I am kind of glad that I got this in paper format instead of Kindle...
April 15, 2022
Warren and David Weirsbe frame this book with a charming little couplet: "Methods are many, principles are few; / Methods always change, principles never do." They then set out to explore 10 principles which apply to all manners of Christian service. This book explores 10 principles related to: (1) character, (2) service, (3) love, (4) sacrifice, (5) submission, (6) Glory of God, (7) Word of God & Prayer, (8) Growth, (9) the Holy Spirit, and (10) Jesus Christ. Though intended for pastors, I found this book widely applicable as a Christian school teacher.
4.4
“Methods are the changing local applications of unchanging universal principles, and no method should be given the status that belongs only to a principle. When the methods we use are true to the principles of Scripture, our ministry will be successful.” (pg. 16)
“The erosion of character usually begins with neglect: we stop reading the Word, or worshipping with God’s people, or taking time to meditate and pray. We stop hungering for holiness and exercising spiritual discipline and discernment. We stop making those sacrifices that show our special love for Christ and his people. We do our job mechanically because our heart isn’t in it… The process is deadly: first the drifting, then the secret sinning, then the hidden eroding of character that ultimately leads to the embarrassing public fall.” (pg. 26)
“Christian love is an act of the will as much as an expression of the heart. We choose to treat others the way God treats us. God listens to us, so we listen to others. God forgives us, so we forgive others. Whether we feel like it or not, we act toward others as Jesus would have acted.” (pg. 46)
“In hell, there is suffering but no glory; in heaven, there is glory but no suffering. It’s while we’re here on earth that we experience both suffering and glory if we suffer in the will of God and seek to honor him.” (pg. 55). [My own thought added: It is also here on earth that we experience neither true suffering nor true glory if we choose not to suffer in the will of God and do not seek to honor him.]
“In matters of leadership, gentleness is not weakness; it’s power under control, power directed toward healing people and not harming them.” (pg. 62)
“When we submit to the Lord and make ourselves available for him to use us as he wishes, the burden of the ministry then rests upon him, and we can trust him with ourselves and our future.” (pg. 63)
“Doing the will of God from our hearts (Eph. 6:6) involves doing the right thing, in the right way, at the right time, and for the right reason. That reason, of course, is the glory of God.” (pg. 73)
“Since God is the highest being in the universe, he is worthy of our worship and praise. In fact, the highest privilege we have as his children is to worship and serve him and do everything for his glory alone. God created the universe to glorify him, so when we glorify the Lord, we cooperate with his creation and it cooperates with us. The great plan of salvation has as its goal ‘the praise of his glory’, not just the rescuing of sinners from hell.” (pg. 74)
“‘The glory of God’ isn’t so much a single attribute of God as the sum total of all that God is and does, which means that everything about God is glorious.” (pg. 75)
"God has ways of keeping his servants weak so they’ll get their strength from him alone. Rarely do their congregations know the pain that pastors feel, the burdens they bear, and the battles they wage in private; but the Lord knows and supplies the needed grace.” (pg. 78)
“When ministry becomes performance, then the sanctuary becomes a theater, the congregation becomes an audience, worship becomes entertainment, and man’s applause and approval become the measure of success.” (pg. 79)
“The better we understand God’s Word, the better we’re able to pray; the more we pray, the more the Holy Spirit can teach us from the Word and help us obey it.” (pg. 86)
“Our speaking into the air may seem like a futile activity because the sounds vanish so quickly, but God’s promise is, ‘I am watching to see that my word is fulfilled’ (Jer. 1:12). No word of God is ever lost or fails to fulfill its divine purpose.” (pg. 86)
“The most dangerous man in the world is the contemplative who is guided by nobody. He trusts his own visions. He obeys the attractions of an interior voice but will not listen to other men. He identifies the will of God with anything that makes him feel, within his own heart, a big, warm, sweet interior glow. The sweeter and the warmer the feeling is the more he is, convinced of his own infallibility… [S]uch a man can wreck a whole city or religious order or even a nation. The world is covered with scars that have been left in its flesh by visionaries like these.” (pg. 99)
“One of the remarkable paradoxes of Christian service is that we nourish ourselves s we take care of others. In bearing the burdens of others, we gain new strength to bear our own burdens; in weeping with others, our own vision is cleared and focused.” (pg. 118)
“Following the example of Jesus Christ involves much more than mere imitation; it involves incarnation. In our own strength, we can’t begin to live as he lived and serve as he served… Through the power of the Holy Spirit, however, we can begin to manifest the character and conduct of our Lord and share his compassion with others.” (pg. 120)
4.4
“Methods are the changing local applications of unchanging universal principles, and no method should be given the status that belongs only to a principle. When the methods we use are true to the principles of Scripture, our ministry will be successful.” (pg. 16)
“The erosion of character usually begins with neglect: we stop reading the Word, or worshipping with God’s people, or taking time to meditate and pray. We stop hungering for holiness and exercising spiritual discipline and discernment. We stop making those sacrifices that show our special love for Christ and his people. We do our job mechanically because our heart isn’t in it… The process is deadly: first the drifting, then the secret sinning, then the hidden eroding of character that ultimately leads to the embarrassing public fall.” (pg. 26)
“Christian love is an act of the will as much as an expression of the heart. We choose to treat others the way God treats us. God listens to us, so we listen to others. God forgives us, so we forgive others. Whether we feel like it or not, we act toward others as Jesus would have acted.” (pg. 46)
“In hell, there is suffering but no glory; in heaven, there is glory but no suffering. It’s while we’re here on earth that we experience both suffering and glory if we suffer in the will of God and seek to honor him.” (pg. 55). [My own thought added: It is also here on earth that we experience neither true suffering nor true glory if we choose not to suffer in the will of God and do not seek to honor him.]
“In matters of leadership, gentleness is not weakness; it’s power under control, power directed toward healing people and not harming them.” (pg. 62)
“When we submit to the Lord and make ourselves available for him to use us as he wishes, the burden of the ministry then rests upon him, and we can trust him with ourselves and our future.” (pg. 63)
“Doing the will of God from our hearts (Eph. 6:6) involves doing the right thing, in the right way, at the right time, and for the right reason. That reason, of course, is the glory of God.” (pg. 73)
“Since God is the highest being in the universe, he is worthy of our worship and praise. In fact, the highest privilege we have as his children is to worship and serve him and do everything for his glory alone. God created the universe to glorify him, so when we glorify the Lord, we cooperate with his creation and it cooperates with us. The great plan of salvation has as its goal ‘the praise of his glory’, not just the rescuing of sinners from hell.” (pg. 74)
“‘The glory of God’ isn’t so much a single attribute of God as the sum total of all that God is and does, which means that everything about God is glorious.” (pg. 75)
"God has ways of keeping his servants weak so they’ll get their strength from him alone. Rarely do their congregations know the pain that pastors feel, the burdens they bear, and the battles they wage in private; but the Lord knows and supplies the needed grace.” (pg. 78)
“When ministry becomes performance, then the sanctuary becomes a theater, the congregation becomes an audience, worship becomes entertainment, and man’s applause and approval become the measure of success.” (pg. 79)
“The better we understand God’s Word, the better we’re able to pray; the more we pray, the more the Holy Spirit can teach us from the Word and help us obey it.” (pg. 86)
“Our speaking into the air may seem like a futile activity because the sounds vanish so quickly, but God’s promise is, ‘I am watching to see that my word is fulfilled’ (Jer. 1:12). No word of God is ever lost or fails to fulfill its divine purpose.” (pg. 86)
“The most dangerous man in the world is the contemplative who is guided by nobody. He trusts his own visions. He obeys the attractions of an interior voice but will not listen to other men. He identifies the will of God with anything that makes him feel, within his own heart, a big, warm, sweet interior glow. The sweeter and the warmer the feeling is the more he is, convinced of his own infallibility… [S]uch a man can wreck a whole city or religious order or even a nation. The world is covered with scars that have been left in its flesh by visionaries like these.” (pg. 99)
“One of the remarkable paradoxes of Christian service is that we nourish ourselves s we take care of others. In bearing the burdens of others, we gain new strength to bear our own burdens; in weeping with others, our own vision is cleared and focused.” (pg. 118)
“Following the example of Jesus Christ involves much more than mere imitation; it involves incarnation. In our own strength, we can’t begin to live as he lived and serve as he served… Through the power of the Holy Spirit, however, we can begin to manifest the character and conduct of our Lord and share his compassion with others.” (pg. 120)
August 2, 2007
What sounds like one of the most boring books ever written is the most powerful book on how to do ministry that I have ever read. The principles I learned still stay with me to this day. It was required reading when entering Talbot Seminary and it was the best $12 I ever spent.
July 4, 2015
Really concise, really clear, really intelligent...
Two generations of pastors develop important principles for ministry grounded in the Word, the Spirit, the character of the Father and the love and work of the Son.
I recommend it to anyone in, or going into, pastoral ministry.
Two generations of pastors develop important principles for ministry grounded in the Word, the Spirit, the character of the Father and the love and work of the Son.
I recommend it to anyone in, or going into, pastoral ministry.
May 17, 2007
Talbot Course: Field Education
Solid, to the point, book on ministry! Good read for pastors, small group leaders, worship leaders, etc...
Solid, to the point, book on ministry! Good read for pastors, small group leaders, worship leaders, etc...
February 25, 2014
Fantastice book. This is one of those books, I would pick and read a few years down the road.
February 21, 2015
10 power principles that are basic and fundamental for ministry today and sad that they are completely ignored by the present day ministers.
May 3, 2015
This book had some very good insight into the life of ministry.
A must read for all!!!
A must read for all!!!
April 27, 2015
It's a useful guide book for leaders and pastors.
This is indeed a very worth while book to read and for learning. Practical and applicable teaching materials for reference.
This is indeed a very worth while book to read and for learning. Practical and applicable teaching materials for reference.
December 31, 2015
Good basic reminders of our ever present need and God's ever present supply of grace and power.
April 13, 2021
I read this book for a Pastoral Leadership class, and it was full of solid truth. This book holds the truth of the Gospel in the highest regard, and God is glorified within it. I am typically wary of list books that offer "10 ways to ...," but I was pleasantly surprised by this one. I'd recommend this to anyone in ministry.
December 11, 2018
practical ideas for how to be of service in your community, your family, and your church. Starts with attitude
January 12, 2020
Excellent! You must read it!
April 22, 2025
Well worth the time spent reading. Very insightful with stories that introduce the principle. A great reminder for anyone who serves Jesus in any capacity.
January 30, 2022
Ministry changer!
Whether you’ve been doing ministry for 6 months or 40 years, I bet you will convicted, challenged, and humbled by this book!
Whether you’ve been doing ministry for 6 months or 40 years, I bet you will convicted, challenged, and humbled by this book!
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews