My philosophy of ministry is encapsulated in Matthew 10:16: “Behold, I am sending out as sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.”

I love the element of danger in this commission. We read right over it, but imagine tossing some sheep into the wolf cage. That is essentially what Jesus is saying. I think ministry becomes mundane when we lose the element of danger. We stop taking risks and start playing it safe and then we wonder why we’re bored.

I had a new revelation yesterday. I think “innocent as doves” speaking to our motivation for ministry. If we aren’t careful, ministry can be a form of idolatry if we do it for the wrong reasons. But I think it’s more than a loss of moral innocence. It’s the innocence of children that allows them to dream God-sized dreams. Nothing is impossible to a child. And it’s that innocence that we need to recapture as well.