An Important Principle to Bear In Mind In Ministry

Here are some beautiful words from Auntie Ellen. Before any of us enter into ministry and as we go about our daily lives, it is more than essential to keep this in mind. PFY.

                                    The Spirit of Self-Sacrifice
     The great work now to be accomplished is to bring up the people of God to engage in the work, and exert a holy influence. They should act the part of laborers. With wisdom, caution, and love, they should labor for the salvation of neighbors and friends. There is too distant a feeling manifested. The cross is not laid right hold of, and borne as it should be. All should feel that they are their brother's keeper, that they are in a great degree responsible for the souls of those around them. The brethren err when they leave this work all to the ministers. The harvest is great, and the laborers are few. Those who are of good repute, whose lives are in accordance with their faith, can be workmen. They can converse with others, and urge upon them the importance of the truth. They must not wait for the ministers, and neglect a plain duty which God has left for them to perform.  

Some of our ministers feel but little disposition to take upon them the burden of the work of God, and labor with that disinterested benevolence which characterized the life of our divine Lord. The churches, as a general rule, are farther advanced than some of the ministers. They have had faith in the testimonies which God has been pleased to give, and have acted upon them, while some of the preachers are far behind. They profess to believe the testimonies borne, and some do harm by making them an iron rule for those who have had no experience in reference to them, but they fail to carry them out themselves. They have had repeated testimonies, which they have utterly disregarded. The course of such is not consistent. 

The people of God generally feel a united interest in the spread of the truth. They cheerfully contribute toward a liberal support of those who labor in word and doctrine. And I saw that it is the duty of those who have the responsibility of distributing means, to see that the liberalities of the church are not squandered. Some of these liberal brethren have been laboring for years with shattered nerves and broken-down constitutions, caused by excessive labor in the past to obtain possessions here, and now as they freely give a portion of the substance which has cost them so much, it is the duty of those who labor in word and doctrine to manifest a zeal and self-sacrifice, at least equal to that shown by these brethren.  

God's servants must go out free. They must know in whom they trust. There is power in Christ and his salvation to make them free men; and unless they are free in him, they cannot build up his church and gather in souls. Will God send out a man to rescue souls from the snare of Satan, when his own feet are entangled in the net? God's servants must not be wavering. If their feet are sliding, how can they say to those of a fearful heart, “Be strong”? God would have his servants hold up the feeble hands and strengthen the wavering. Those who are not prepared to do this, would better first labor for themselves, and pray until they are endowed with power from on high.  {GW92 54.1 - 55.2}

5 Rules to Canvassing

Now before you get started with canvassing, there are five core rules that you have to know. Remember also, this is for those who want spread the word on their off time, this isn't for those who want to build their own companies outside the conference. This is for those who are serious about God's work and want to do it selflessly for Him. With that said, lets get started.

1. Pray
1. This is essential. You should never enter into any work without the guidance of the Holy Spirit and God's blessings. Seriously, this is extremely vital. Before you go out, pray, as you walk from door to door, pray, as you canvas, pray. Its that essential. I have seen people change their decisions for the better on whether to buy a book or not just by praying in my mind, or even praying with them. If you can pray with someone at the door, do it, don't miss out on that amazing opportunity. We all need prayer, so offer prayer  =)
2. Smile
1. If you're not a happy canvasser you will not be an effective canvasser. Even when you're not feeling too great, send a prayer and remind yourself on how great God is. You smile not because of sales, though those are always nice, but you smile because you know God and you know that He loves you and has great plans for you. I understand that some days its just hard to be that chipper so to say, believe me, been there. During that times, ask God to help you be happy so that it can be sincere at the doors. People do know when you're faking it, so try to be as sincere as humanly possible. 
3. Know Canvas
1. If you don't know this then I have no idea what you're saying at the doors, and lets be honest, neither do you. So knowing this better than the back of your hand is a must. Next post will be the canvas so be excited. Also, this is essential too because say they offer you objections, which most will, if you know the canvas, you will know how to bypass those objections and have them see with more giving eyes so to say.
4. Work Hard
1. Or as we say "Fast on the grass, Slow at the door." Isn't that cute? Ok, don't walk between doors, you won't get anywhere and there'll still be like five houses that don't get witnessed to because you actually did stop to smell the roses. Don't do it. Choose life don't do drugs. And don't walk between doors. If you have to, walk fast then. Don't over exert yourself though, because it looks super bad if you just ran and (like me) have asthma and you're wheezing through your canvass. Not cool.... So, just be working hard. Also, good for health and exercise. Also, drink water--thats like the sister rule to this rule. Ask for water at the doors, more often then not people will give you some nice bottles of water. Sometimes they give you juice  ;)  sometimes food.... I'll expand on that later.
5. Never ever ever ever ever never ever Canvas Anyone without the Book in Their Hands
1. This is a sales technique. 99% of the time, people will not buy a book that is not in their hands. If you want a sale, then put the book in the hand and then canvas on that book. This way, they can flip through it, peruse so to say, and check out how awesome all these books are for themselves. There have only been a few times in my two years of doing this work that people have actually bought a book without me putting it in their hands. So just as a sales rule, don't do it laddie, just don't do it. 

If there is anything else that anyone wants to add or if you have questions, just let me know  ;)  PFY!

True/False about Literature Evangelists

So, I heard about literature evangelism through my cousins and was told about it, interviewed but never really understood what I was doing till I was there. As far as I knew, LE's (literature evangelists) were just crazy Jesus lovers who dressed very modestly and sold books I hadn't read before. But anyways, once joined I had found that they are so much more. They are truly a family dedicated to serving God and sharing Him with others. So before I get started on all my LE stories and training tips, let me first give you a list of misconceptions and truths about LE's (and I'm more than sure that there are more...):

Misconceptions:

• They're crazy
• They just want money
• They were forced to go
• They are Mormon/Jehovah's Witness (don't get me wrong, I love Mormons and JW's, they are great people, I don't agree with a lot of what they see but they are still nice people)
• You have to be Vegan
• This is the worst job ever
• You're isolated from the rest of the world
• You're shoving literature down people's throats and misrepresenting God

Now I sympathize because many of these misconceptions were some that I truly had. Now, once I actually gave this work a chance I realized that the opposite of these misconceptions were true:::

The Truth

• They are some of the most level minded people I have ever met
• Its not about the money, but about showing the world the love of God
• Everyone went on their own accord, including myself (read testimony)
• They implement a vegeterian diet because eating meat and canvassing is not a good mix
• one, it makes you feel heavier so running.walking fast between doors is harder
• two, want to keep self  healthy(Check out Daniel)
•  You're not AT ALL isolated. You met hundreds of different people everyday, at the doors, at lunch you always go out to eat, and your coworkers literally become your second family
• You do not shove literature anywhere, you present it and if people want it, awesome, if they don't then that's their right to say no and next time they'll get a book. But its a very passive work, and you do your best to meet people at their needs.
• Its one of the most rewarding jobs I have ever had.

 In all retrospect, literature evangelism is a very uncomfortable work for many people. However, it most closely resembles the walk that Jesus had when He was here on Earth. Did He have a message for the world? Yes. Did He get rejected a lot? Yes. Did people make up things about them? Yes. Were their scoffers constantly insulting their progress? Yes. Was He kicked out of certain places? Yes.....

 "One of the very best ways in which young men can obtain a fitness for the ministry is by entering the canvassing field. Let them go into towns and cities to canvass for the books which contain the truth for this time. In this work they will find opportunity to speak the words of life, and the seeds of truth they sow will spring up to bear fruit. By meeting the people and presenting to them our publications, they will gain an experience that they could not gain by preaching"  GW 96.1.

This work is humbling, but so amazing and incredibly worth it..... Enter it with prayer knowing that Jesus already experienced all the rejection out there, and He will be faithful to help you through.

If anymore come to mind, comment and let me know  ;)

"Unmasked" By Sarah Draget

This song is beautiful and amazing, and even better, has Bible awesomeness all over it. Hope everyone likes it and is blessed.... and if you know the chords, be a friend and share please  =)  

This song really inspired me to start writing songs on different doctrine. Seriously, it sparked a creative fire. I'll be posting some of my stuff up soon!