Enthusiasm!
Enthusiasm is necessary in any worldly endeavor whether it be sports, sales, etc. God's workers must show enthusiasm or they will not attract others to Christ. Romans 12:11 tells us to "be fervent in spirit." Fervent means boiling, aglow. Ira North once said, "Enthusiasm is as powerful as dynamite and contagious as measles." Gus Nichols stated the following...
"Good preaching, soul-stirring singing, earnest prayers, all the members faithfully attending the services and abounding in good works, contribute to the making of elders and deacons (1 cor. 15:58). Some congregations are mere cemeteries in which to bury valuable talents (Matt. 25:14-30). In some places about 10% of the members are doing about 90% of the Lord's work. All Christians must work or die. It will not be easy to develop elders and deacons in a church which is filled with lukewarmness and indifference (Rev. 3:13-19). Churches need to get excited about religion, and stir one another up to good works (Heb. 10:24). The church cannot produce great men upon a diet of cold, intellectual sermons, formal prayers and songs. Such churches need to wake up and live (Eph. 5:14). The only thing many churches have learned to do effectively is to 'Quench the Spirit' (1 Thess. 5:19). Nothing will grow well in an ice house! Elders and deacons, gospel preachers, song leaders, and Bible class teachers, are best produced in the hot house of a church 'fervent in spirit.'" (from North's book "At Work for the Master" p. 65).
May we provide an atmosphere of enthusiasm in the Lord's Church so that young leaders may grow.
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