Four Landmines in Ministry

While waiting to listen to John Piper at the Resurgence Conference, I am currently listening to a message from the Dallas Theological Seminary podcast by Robert Jeffress on The Four Landmines of Ministry.

These landmines, with some insights from the sermon, are:

1. Silver (= money) -- "Money is like salt water, the more you take in thirstier you get."
2. Sloth (= laziness) -- "We all have a little bit of laziness in us, and you can go a long time before laziness will catch up with you, but it will catch up with you. Expect to work hard, the lack there of will destroy your ministry!
   
3. Sex -- Most people know someone who has had to step down from ministry for sexual immorality; the dark shadow of your immorality will accompany you always and forever as the heartache you cause will be inestimable as "the way of the transgressor is hard"
   
4. Self -- My life is either God-focused or self-focused and the most basic issue we have to settle is who's kingdom are you building: God's or yours! It's one or the other. It can't be both!
   

Along these lines, if you have more time on your hands, go to this website, search for the name Donald Whitney and listen to his message "The Almost Inevitable Ruin of Every Minister...and How to Avoid It"--one of the best I've ever heard!