Protecting Your Ministry with Pastor David Poe

**Title:** Protecting Your Ministry with Pastor David Poe

**Podcast Summary:**

Today's episode features a profound conversation with Pastor David Poe of Star City United Pentecostal Church in Arkansas, delving into the essential topic of protecting one's ministry. With years of diverse ministerial roles under his belt, Pastor Poe shares invaluable insights tailored especially for young and new ministers. 

**Key Insights:**

1. **Embracing Individuality in Ministry:**
   - Pastor Poe emphasizes the importance of authenticity in ministry. Drawing from personal experience and biblical teachings, he advocates for ministers to embrace their unique identities rather than attempting to mimic others. This authenticity not only fosters genuine connections but also aligns with biblical commands to be true to oneself in service to God.

2. **The Definition of Ministry:**
   - Ministry is defined broadly as impacting lives and aiding individuals in drawing closer to God. It transcends the pulpit, encompassing all actions aimed at nurturing spiritual growth in oneself and others.

3. **Transparency Versus Concealment:**
   - Advocating for transparency, Pastor Poe shares his belief that openness about one's life and challenges can enhance ministry effectiveness. By being transparent, ministers can forge deeper connections and offer more relatable guidance to their congregations.

4. **Respecting the Pulpit and Ministerial Boundaries:**
   - The discussion covers the importance of respecting the ministerial spaces of others. Young ministers are advised to honor the established practices and spiritual authority of the churches they visit, promoting unity and respect within the broader church community.

5. **Ministry as a Continuous Commitment:**
   - Contrasting momentary enthusiasm with the enduring nature of true ministry, Pastor Poe and his co-host discuss the continuous and all-encompassing commitment required in ministry. They stress the importance of being spiritually prepared and active daily, not just during church services or special events.

6. **The Fragility and Preciousness of Ministry:**
   - Highlighting the delicate nature of ministry, likened to treasure in earthen vessels, the speakers underscore the responsibility ministers have to safeguard their calling. They discuss the necessity of maintaining personal holiness and integrity to protect and nurture the ministry entrusted to them.

**Conclusion:**

The episode wraps up with a call to action for ministers to not only protect but also actively invest in their ministry. Listeners are encouraged to reflect on their personal ministry practices, ensuring they align with the principles of authenticity, continuous commitment, and respect for spiritual authority. This reflective practice aims to foster a healthier, more impactful ministerial journey.

Transcript

   Today we're talking about protecting your ministry with pastor david pole At the star city united pentecostal church in star city, arkansas  He currently serves as Section 2 North American Missions Director.

He previously served as Section 2 Sunday School  Superintendent for over 8 years. Before that, he served as Section 2 Youth President. He's been a youth leader, men's coordinator, been whatever the pastor has needed him. He's been pastoring here for 8 years.  He's a personal friend of mine, best friend, brother in law. 

I could not think of a better person to share this platform with and talk to about protecting your ministry  Let's get started  David you you have shared with me some of your notes. I'm going to let you Kick us off with your first point 

Okay, brother yates again. I just want to say thank you for this opportunity  To to spend a little time with you, especially on this subject it's something that I know has been a burden for you for many years You  to impact young ministers, new ministers, and share the wisdom that we've been given has been passed down to us.

So I thank you for thinking enough of me to allow me to be a part of this. And, and your ministry is one of the,  well, probably the most crucial thing outside of your, your personal relationship with God and your family. Your ministry is something that is worth, worth our. utmost respect And our utmost attention if I could say it that way when I started thinking about You know what to to kind of bring to the table tonight I just wanted to point out that that your ministry Is individualized?

And it's something that a lot of people struggle with and I just want to refer to it as kind of the the I can't be All right. I I can't be mike gates  No matter how bad I might want to be. I can't be Mike Yates. I can't be DeRay Aldridge, who was my pastor for 14 years prior to me coming to Star City.

I can't be Jeff Arnold. I can't be Joel Urshan. I have to be me. I have to be who I am. Paul said to, to study, to show thyself  approved unto God a workman that needeth not to be ashamed  Rightly dividing the work of God  to prove, to show myself, thyself, approved of God means that I need to be myself.

Right. In, in the things that I do and the things that, that I offer up to do for the kingdom of God. Those things I don't think we could, I could you know, emphasize enough. Being yourself. That's as  mixed up and twisted as some of ourselves are, as I sit with you tonight. I, I just want to encourage people to be themselves in the ministry.

And I think I'm setting aside a perfect example of somebody that is himself in spite of himself. 

You hear that, sweetheart? I get to be myself.  Yes, sir. Let's clarify, we use words,  easily, we throw them around lightly, assuming everybody knows what they mean. What's your definition of ministry? When you say your ministry is individualized, what are you 

talking about?

The way that God chooses to use me  to impact the lives of others. It's not just a pulpit ministry, it goes way beyond that, and I've heard many, and I agree with the sentiment that. Pulpit ministry is a very small portion of what ministry should be. If, if you're just  involved in ministry for preaching opportunities, for going and seeing how many states,  excuse me,  that you can preach in, or, or how many pulpits you can stand in, and, and how many times you can shout at a congregation, you're in it for the wrong reason.

Ministry to me is impacting lives and helping. Individuals draw closer to God.  

Outstanding answer and I'm glad you worded it that way. As  My regular listeners may know but they may be listening for the first time. You did give me tidbits of your thoughts So I was prepared for this ministries or individualized and I wanted to break it down to separation between the pulpit and not pulpit But I like the way you said impacting others And make sure that you do that  Every day  Individualized you don't have to live your life like someone else right make sure that you are being you When you're at work make sure now, we're assuming that the you is still holy in a good representation We're not telling you go out there  and be a bad representation, you know a bad diplomat, but I Just wanted to encourage people that we're not just talking about be your own preacher and I'm gonna talk about that in a second But be your own self.

Don't go out there and try to tell the same stories that T. F. Tenney told.  But be your own 

self as a person. That's right. Show thyself a proof of God. And a workman, not just in the pulpit, not just on Sunday and Wednesday. But a workman that needeth not to be ashamed.  

People under, they undervalue  themselves. 

Listener, they need you. Yes, sir. I don't mean to interrupt you. You called me Brother Yates, but for this podcast call me Mike. Okay, we're friends here. Yes As you mentioned individualized and be yourself and going back to the pulpit ministry I'm getting ready to I have staff meetings meetings with the people that help me and we do training sessions  Regularly, you know i'll give them tidbits I'm getting ready by the time this podcast airs.

I will have already had this training session  I'm trying to get them to understand  how to deliver their own message.  Not  to preach. You can glean inspiration, but I don't want them to preach like their favorite preacher.  I need them to find a way  to gain confidence in being who they are when they preach.

Because their ministry is individualized like you said. So I really appreciate your input. Do you understand what I'm trying to say with that? 

Yes, I do. And, and that kind of leads into the next thing I wanted to mention, and that's being transparent. Not being afraid of who you are. Right. And I know some,  not all ministers, not all pastors would necessarily jump on board with what I'm about to say, but I, it works for me.

Being transparent transparent versus being concealed. And not that anybody that would be withdrawn or try to be more private, I guess that's probably the best way to say it, is more private. I choose to be, I choose to be transparent. Not living in a glass house, well, but you do know what you're getting  when you, when, when you're transparent.

The congregation knows what they're getting. And I think for the first two or three years that I was here, and, and they know that Gil, by association that we're brother-in-laws. And, and I told them that you know, I'm not, I'm not your typical pastor. I, when they when we were elected to come to Star City they had had two pastors in the last 54 years, right?

Very rock solid, right? Very rock solid men of God that had led the this congregation.  . So when we came in and, and me being, I wasn't a young man by any stretch, but, but just being a first time pastor  and you know, there's things I'll tell you about me that they might not have told you about themselves or their deepest in most intimate things.

I, I, I want you to know where I'm in. Mm-Hmm. . And when God called me to the ministry in 2005 I was, came into the church in 2001 and you know, my background and a lot of people do, but. It was a very short time frame between September of 2001 to September of 2005 when I preached my first message.

And I my testimony is something that I've preached in every building that I've ever stepped foot in with an opportunity. But it's also probably the first thing I preach when I get two people. And I start trying to minister to people individually. And it's not to make them think that I know what they're going through.

I want them to know what I've been through and I want them to know the God  That saw past  What I had inflicted upon myself And if he would do it for me, he would do it for them. So transparency to me. It helps me to be a conductor  Of the word of god and the spirit of god because I know where i've come from And I know that that has an opportunity to connect with people  absolutely  

Reverend shane clark is a mutual friend of ours.

He just  Priest for me this past Sunday morning and he did a phenomenal job and he made a  a great point He's talking about when Jesus  When he resurrected and he came back and he saw Thomas  Now, I know that Thomas had said unless I see the scars. I won't believe  So I know that Jesus showed him the scars on the surface.

You could say that Jesus was  Addressing Thomas's words  But Jesus being God incarnate  He could have chosen a multitude of ways of proving his  Godhood. He could have chosen a multitude of ways of proving his resurrection.  But he chose his scars.  And regardless of the motivation, that is his testimony that we have in the Bible.

Jesus showed his scars. 

That's right. That's right. He showed who he was, what he had been through, and the impact that it has. That's right. And I think that's why I tend to to lean toward the transparency of not I'm not gonna say I don't care what people think. But it doesn't bother me to lay out my frailties, my inadequacies, those things like that, because I know that in myself, I am very inadequate, but with God,  with Him, all things are possible.

And I think I'm a living testimony of that, not to pump myself,  I understand. Yeah. I 

know what you mean. Yes, sir. I heard a story. Boy, I wish, I'm trying to remember his name now.  I wish I could remember that preacher's name, but he, he told an analogy of a man that fell in a hole, fell in a pit,  and a doctor walked by and said, oh, I see you're in a pit.

I want to write you a prescription to get out of it. He pulled out his prescription pad, wrote a pit,  and tossed it down there. Man's still in a pit.  Preacher walked by and said, Oh, I see you're in a pit. I'm gonna say a prayer for you. He prayed. He's still in the pit, walked away. So I'll keep praying for you. 

And then old Joel came by and says, I see you in a pit and he jumped down in there with him. Yeah, and the man said,  how's that gonna help? Joe said, I was in this pit last week. I know how to get 

out. Amen. That's it, man. That's a powerful story and a true story that we could all we could all need someone, someone else. 

As I talk about transparency, Mike, I don't want you to think that transparency, and I don't use it in this manner is an endorsement to be reckless. It's not. I don't want that to ever be conceived that, that because of who I am and where I've been and what God's done, that I can just run amok. Because we need we need holiness in our lives, and that's something that we should grow in every day and every service.

Even as ministers protecting our ministry is, is very much a part of us. Our growing in holiness is a very, very much a part of us protecting our ministry. As we do that,  that recklessness can be controlled by still listening to the spiritual authority in your life. I tell our church all the time, I've still got a pastor.

He may be in another state, but I still have a pastor. And I probably, Correspond with him more now than I did when I sat under him Every day I hear something from him. If it's nothing if it's only I don't say nothing But if it's only a good morning, how are you doing? You know, I hear from my pastor every day and I try to respond back to him He ignored my phone call just as even when we're here.

He's ignoring mine I know that  There's no telling how many David Poe's and Mike Yates as he has in Kentucky. They're probably more  More predominant there  But in that the submission to spiritual authority as a young minister and you start to grow in what God's doing in your life and you start to become confident, it's important that we, we we remain submissive.

I'm not going to get into a deep story, but I had somebody tell me one time that they that they didn't, all they had to do was answer to God.  And we do have to answer to God. But I believe that the Lord puts people in our lives to help us stay in check. Absolutely. And Hebrews 13 and 7 says, Remember them which have the rule over you, who have spoken unto you the word of God.

Right. Don't forget where you come from. Don't forget the people that have invested in you. And not only the people, but the things that they have invested in you. And if it was good enough for that season, it's good enough for this season. Absolutely. No matter what season of ministry we're in. Absolutely.

Yes, sir.  

Your note there, respect for another 

man's pulpit.  Well, that, I don't think that can ever go can ever be expressed enough. You know, you I'm not saying you're a hotshot evangelist or anything, but I'm going to use that term. You know, you may be a hotshot evangelist. You may be used all over the district, all over the country.

You may preach conferences. You may, you know, go internationally, but you still need to understand that when you step into another man's pulpit, and this was invested in us years ago, when you step into another man's pulpit, you're not just there to preach the word of God. You're there to be a representation of Jesus  and, and submissive to the man of God who is toiled there.

That is, is so imperative that, that you do your homework.  I can remember even in this church when I would come and preach here. I couldn't remember  And you know how they would tell you, you know always wear a white shirt, you know  You know don't wear a wedding band unless you know that it's not a problem and I would always wear a white shirt And I would think man, I'd rather wore blue or you know, something like that and and I'm walking but I didn't remember So to err on the side of caution I would wear a white shirt and then I'd come in and Brother Wall would have on a brown shirt, or a green shirt, or an orange shirt, or something like that.

And I would think, that's right. But, I knew by doing,  by being conservative  in what I was doing, that I wouldn't do anything to impact his ministry negatively. Right. The man that is there, service in, service out, week in, week out. You know, has been there for years and told in this community and nurturing his sheep  As young ministers as new ministers The last thing you want to do is go in there and do something to set him back or to set that congregation back and derail the work that he's Invested there.

Absolutely. Yes, sir 

when I saw these, points here I was thinking about people that get carried away and  And even if they're  They'll use truth  as an excuse.  But it's true. Yeah. But it's true. Yeah. Well, I saw a friend of mine, his name is Jeremy Castaneos. I'm going to read this quote. Okay. This is a Facebook post and it's maybe kind of lengthy, but it's worth repeating and it fits.

He said, there is a massive gulf between being a truth teller and being a bore.  Not bore as in B O R E like you're boring someone, but B O O R.  Bores presume much. Truth telling comes out of necessity. A truth teller speaks from conviction and concern for others, many times even dreading doing so because they know it won't be received well.

A bore says things that are not necessary, that are needlessly offensive, that are not well received because they do not care about the ones they criticize.  Scripture tells tells our boars tendencies to make peace, to season our speech with grace, to be quick to listen and slow to speak, to bless instead of curse.

This is a repeated theme in the New Testament to avoid being terse or ill mannered because it is not our natural tendency to reign in our tongue. Scripture tells our aversion to share the truth, to be bold, brave, concerned about the well being of others even when it isn't socially expedient or beneficial to do so.

Indeed, even when it causes harm. This is a repeated theme in the New Testament because we naturally do not want to do so.  You cannot blame your rudeness on honesty, is what I was wanting to say. You're talking about respecting people's pulpit and not using transparency as an excuse to be reckless. You cannot blame your rudeness on honesty.

You must show respect at all times.  

You know, by saying, this is who I am. That's a good way to not get invited back. Absolutely. And as you were reading that, I was thinking it just kept running through my mind. I almost lost you for a minute because my attention spans so small, but I having the right to do something is not always the right thing to do.

All things are lawful  

and lot 

things are expedient. That's right. That's right. And you definitely want to do everything within the bounds of what the man of God.  For that congregation is total to do  

That's a good  You're doing a good job, baby with these points. I appreciate you. What you got next for me.

I just want to Encourage that that ministry is not a rally and I think we hit on this a little bit earlier, right? I love youth rallies again, I was Felt the calling to the ministry in 2005 and brother aldrich, you know, we had a talk I knew that god was blessing me tremendously You And was doing things.

He had changed my life, first off, and delivered me from 28 years of ignorance and stupidity, if I can put it that way. And was blessing me financially. Had given me a new job. Taken me out of the, the pit. And sent me on a place where I could stand and I could grow and I could prosper. And,  that four years later, I went to Brother Aldridge and I, I told him, I said, God's blessed me, blessed me, blessed me, blessed me. 

I I don't know what I'm supposed to do, but I know I need to be given something back. Now, I was paying my tithes. You know, I was doing the things that I knew to do, but I just felt like there was something more. And he said, so what do you want to do? I said, man, anything you want me to do.  And I still feel that way.

Anything you want me to do. As long as I can do something to be a blessing to the kingdom. But,  he said he said or he asked me what, what did I want to do? And I said, I really don't know, but I'm having dreams.  And I said, I'm, I'm in front of people. I don't know if I'm singing, which I really didn't do in church at that point, or leading service, which I didn't really do at that point either.

I just, I just, I don't know. And he looked at me and he said, do you think you're called to preach? That had never crossed my mind. Never crossed my mind. I just, I almost shuddered. I probably did. When I tell that story, I think I shuddered anyway. I've told it so much, but Anyway he said, do you think you're called to preach?

And I said, man, I never thought that. And he said, well I'll tell you what. He said, let's figure this out. Or something along that lines. I don't remember his exact words. But, he said, I'm going to give you one month. He said, I want you to go back and pray. This was on a Wednesday night. He said, four weeks from tonight, I want you to go, I want you to go pray.

I want you to seek God for a word. And four weeks from tonight, I'm going  It's the Wednesday night crowd. They're going to get behind you no matter how good or how bad you do. They love you. They're the Wednesday night crowd. And he said, one or two things will happen. He said, you'll know.  He said, you'll know that's what you were called to do.

Or, you'll think, why in the world did I do that? And he was right. Well, that led to two years later me getting involved in youth ministry. You and I together. The other usher sits beside me tonight. And there's a good joke behind that or a good story behind that, but, but, I put on youth rallies, I said all that to say this, we put on youth rallies, we win and we, we made a difference in the section, but ministry is so much more than just a rally mentality of going in and injecting excitement or, or reigniting a fire.

It's, it's 24 7, man, it's 365 days a year, and it cannot take a back, a back seat.  Like Paul said in 2 Timothy 4 and 2, he said, Preach the word, be instant, in season, out of season, Reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long suffering and doctrine.  That's what ministry, you've got to be ready. It's not just a jolt on Sunday morning or Sunday night or a three day revival or a Wednesday night. 

Ministry is, is enduring  in, in preparation. And when you're prepared for one, you, you, you prepare for the next one. And it is, it's something that it's not just a,  well, I think I'll move out and preach this weekend. Let me call some preachers that might use me.  Ministry is so much more. It is so much more.

It's a everyday, all day, every breath we take thing, or it should be anyway.  

Earlier, you said you may, what you're about to say may be controversial or people may disagree. Well, now it's my turn. Okay. When I, when I saw your ministry is 24, 7, 365, I'm going to tell you something's been on my heart.  I had this, I had this part of the note ready to share with this podcast when the moment was right.

So, and I want you to know that you don't have to agree with what I'm about to say. You can say right here on this podcast, you disagree or respect, right?  But I believe there's a misconception of where our ministry lies in the priorities of our life. You know, whether it's.  God, family, church, or God, church, family, but along those lines, I really believe that we teach our ministers wrong.

And I'm speaking as a,  as a husband and a father. I've got three children. I've been married 24 years. This October will be 25. You know, I'm just under you. I'm just, you know, you've been married just a little younger, a little longer than me. But our kids are about the same age.  But despite what we teach our kids, despite what we teach our ministers,  I believe that I'm actually a minister before I'm a husband and a father. 

Now let me finish.  I am a husband and father before I'm a pastor.  Okay, I currently pastor and if I need to resign my church to save my marriage and my kids, yes sir, I sure will. But I am a minister  first. I cannot forsake my calling to God in the name of anything on this earth.  Right. And we don't, we don't word that right.

I've seen people throw their ministry aside.  In the name of a temporary relationship  That's good  And that's why we but that's but yes, your spouse is important and and yes, you made a commitment That's why you got to be careful who you marry, right? You got and that's why you got to protect that relationship with your wife that's why you can't let the devil come in and Mess with her.

You can't let your devil come in and mess with your kids Because it all affects your ministry, which is the ultimate priority  Does 

that make sense? It does. And I would like to add to that, I think that is a great point, and it's something that should be spoken into young ministers, and new ministers, because we can.

There's a  thin line  of being  so ministry minded, if I can say it this way, that we forget about our families. Right. And I know we would never do that intentionally, but we can become so driven. Right. It's like.  Being so consumed with the work  of God that we  neglect our relationship with God. Well, I was doing this for God.

I was doing this in the house of God. I was doing this in the house of God, but we're not praying. Sure.  Well, if we're called to be the priests of our household  as men of God and not just men of God, I don't want to alienate the female ministry. I'm not against female ministry at all. Sure. But if we're to be the priest of our homes,  We can't be dad first.

That's right. We've got to have relationship with God Ministry to be a priest for our family. That's right Whether we ever stand in a pulpit or not, I agree with you and I've never really that's a great point I've never really broke it down that way and thought of it that way, but I think you're dead on  I put a lot of thought 

into it, in 2023 specifically You I won't name his name, but I have a friend  somewhere between the two coasts. 

His wife left him.  He pastors a church.  She was tired of being married to a pastor.  She didn't give him a chance.  He still pastors.  He did not, he was not the one that we, when we preach about the church becoming a mistress, that wasn't the case. She fell out.  Okay.  This is not the one where we can preach against a man all you, you know,  You spent too much time.

This is not what happened. She fell out  But he hung on. Yes, sir.  That was a gut check for me  Can you hang up? Can I hang on if Miranda quits?  Well, I'd better yeah  Or my or my faith is in vain, right?  my faith better not be predicated on a temporary relationship  Yes  And we need to teach that to ministers that you're a 

minister first. 

I think the point that you made leading into that, that who we're married to is, is so, so vital. I can remember when we got, I got the phone call and I went in and told my wife that, that Brother Wall had resigned here and, and that they had asked for us, that were interested in us. And when I say that, there was other ministers involved. 

But I went in there and told her and, and she was like, oh my,  oh my.  See, you may think that she's just jumping in there, you know, well, I'm a preacher's wife now. No, there's so much more. That was one of my biggest fears of coming. Not necessarily just coming, but, but pastoring in general was my family.

You know, I can handle it. I can handle it. I've got broad shoulders. I might be a little fella, but I can take a lot. Mackenzie was about 12?  Yeah. She was a little older than that. Yeah, she was 15. 

Madison was about 12. Yeah.  One of your kids was 12. I've never heard of my 

youth group, so I remember. I think it was Macy.

Macy. Yeah, because we came in 2016. Macy was born in 2004. That's what it was. Yeah. I remember that time frame. Yeah, it was, it was, it was special.  Yeah, 

you're right.  I liked your point about being a priest at home.  And being a priest, you are a reflection. 

That's right. We have to, we have to  be that light to him, to our family, so. 

And that leads us to your last point, which is a perfect lead into it. 

Right. Ministry's precious. Yes, it is. It is precious. It is, it's precious, but it can also be fragile.  And I thought about this, and I actually came across this just today.  Knowing that we were going to get together tonight. And when Paul said in second Corinthians four and seven, but we have this treasure in earthen vessels that the excellency of the power may be of God and not of us.

And this jumped out to me  about earthen vessels. We are,  you think about a clay pot. It's, it's very ordinary,  you know, when you're, Decorating your house and putting flowers out and plants out. It's always got to be a cute pot It's not just a old terracotta clay pot sitting in the middle of your kitchen table nor most not But a clay pot is also very fragile  and yet  That's the container for the greatest gift given to men  The holy ghost that god gives us the ministry that he's called us to the anointing lies in  In those clay pots, this clay pot right here.

That's so ordinary and so fragile.  See, we are the chosen vessel for the lost in the dying.  And yet we are so fragile.  Our ministries are so fragile. That's why it is so imperative that we protect them. And we do the things that we know to do. We  remain prayerful. Remain, be sure to fast, you know, don't just you know, right off fasting is something we used to do.

No, fasting, leave your congregation or, or your, your, your people, your family and fasting. We're that chosen vessel for the lost and dying and I love what Jesus said. He said, you have not chosen me, but I've chosen you.  And if he chose me, he knows what my vessel, he knows what this vessel can handle.

He said, and ordained you, he ordained you that you should go and bring forth fruit.  As fragile as it is, the one that giveth strength. He's the one that called us to,  

you know, you and I,  I, I don't want to rat us out, but we've been to a lot of events.  We've gathered a lot of autographs. Yeah, we sure have. And we'll name drop, you know, if we, if we, if we see somebody we'll name drop. 

If we, if we have a side gig, you know,  if I was working on computers and I did a side gig for someone big, I want to tell you, man, I worked for so and so. Yeah.  And that's huge. If I, if I got a chance to work for NASA, I'm going to post that  name, that, that badge. Well, probably not going to post that badge.

That's a cybersecurity issue. But, you know, we're proud of who we work 

for. That's right. That's right. 

And as ministers, there is, there is no higher calling on earth  than the creator, the king of kings, to have chosen us  to bear his name and work for 

him. Yes.  I I was walking through a conference in Houston, Texas,  of all places.

And I walked past a table that had a gentleman standing there, and I'm not a big Oklahoma fan.  Oklahoma Sooner fan. If I can be carnal for a minute on your podcast. Sure.  But I walked past a table and there was a guy, he had an Oklahoma Sooner hat on and an OU polo shirt on. And I thought, man, that guy looks familiar. 

And I walked around for a minute and I walked back by.  And I just couldn't get over it. This guy looks familiar to me.  And I ended up, I went up to him and I said, man, I said,  I know you've got to be famous there. You know, you're standing here decked out like this. People are coming up to you. I said, I feel like I should know who you are. 

And he tells me, yeah, man, I'm Marcus Dupree.  I'm Marcus Dupree. And it took me back to my childhood because when I was young,  I'm from Pine Bluff, Arkansas.  Well, Oklahoma's quarterback was from Pine Bluff High School  when Marcus Dupree was there.  A guy named Danny Bradley. So I knew who Marcus Dupree was.

ESPN did a documentary not long ago on the best that never was.  And it was about him because he was supposed to be the greatest running back that ever put on pads.  And his life, and his career, and his choices changed everything.  How many of us can say that? That's a whole other message. My point of that is, is that I told everybody I knew, man I met Marcus Dupree today.

I took a picture with Marcus Dupree today. I've had those experiences with other people. Brushes with greatness. So if I'm going to do that, why not tell them about my true brush with greatness, September the 16th, 2001, when Jesus filled me with the Holy Ghost and delivered me of my habits and my afflictions.

Why not tell somebody about the goodness of God?  David, 

I actually love that Dupree story.  Because it leads me to my final point and you can I'll let you wrap up if you or closes but  The bible says there are certain things that can disqualify us from ministry  But that calling never leaves  And I know people today  That will never again be able to approach the pulpit  Because the decisions they made yes god, they'll make it to heaven  You know  You're so you know god can forgive their soul But they have forever disgraced that pulpit. 

Yes,  but they're forever haunted by that calling  It's a burning that cannot be quenched. Yes 

How precious yeah all 

the Spiritual Dupree's out there, right the best that never was the best that never 

was  

Closes out. Well, they got anything else that 

we may have missed? I just want to encourage anyone listening to this podcast  to  give everything that you've got,  but don't feel like you can't give enough.

God knows what your limitations are.  Don't, don't beat yourself up over trying to be somebody else. Protect your ministry. That also, and this is not a bullet point, it's not anything I've thought about until this moment, but invest in your ministry.  Absolutely. My pastor told me the last time I verbally talked to him on the phone.

He said, I believe that my greatest messages have yet to be preached.  This man's been in ministry for what, 40 years? At least. 40 years At least.  The greatest messages that will ever flow through me from God through me are still in my future. Protect your ministry 



thank you all for listening. I ask, when I say like and subscribe, what I'm, what I really want you to also do is find another new minister, someone new in the ministry, and mention it to them. Hey, I think you may like this. If you think it's worth sharing, you mean, don't lie.

Okay. If it's not your cup of tea,  pass it on. I mean, you know, pass it, move on. But if, if you like it, if it's been a blessing,  I would appreciate it if you would  Hey, spread the word.  That's what I'm gonna ask you 

to spread the word. Brother Gates, thank you for what you're doing. I think you're doing something is much needed in the kingdom of God. 

Well, I appreciate 

that. It's been on my heart for a long time. Yep.  This was 

fun. It was. It was great. I hope this is not the last time we get to sit down and do this. 

I'm looking forward to it. Thank you, my friend. 

Thank you, brother. God bless.