Running the Good Race of an Associate Minister

By ISRAEL DUKE-ACKON

Running the Good Race of an Associate Minister is timely book for the contemporary Christian Ministry. It's a must read for all Christian leaders, especially those serving as associate to a senior minister.

In the kingdom of God, we have two levels of calling; the called and the commissioned.
The called and the commissioned have different levels of mandate and authority. The commissioned is someone God has raised and given a specific mandate and
assignment to accomplish. The called are those who God has called, but have not been given any specific mandate or assignment.

• Language: English
• Publisher: EZRA PUBLISHING LLC
• Release date: Mar 27, 2018
• ISBN: 9781386671404

Book preview

RUNNING THE GOOD RACE OF AN ASSOCIATE MINISTER

Copyright © 2018 Bishop Israel Duke-Ackon

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or  by means of any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. The use of short quotations or occasional page copying for personal or group study is permitted and encouraged. Permission will be granted upon request.

Please note that the publishing style of Ezra Publishing, Inc capitalizes certain pronouns in Scripture that refer to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and may differ from some publishers’ styles.

Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are from the King James Version of the Bible, copyright © 1979, 1980, 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc., Nashville, Tennessee.

Cover & Interior: Ernest A. Darkwah

Publisher: Ezra Publishing®, Inc

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ISBN: 978–9988–2–6483–3

First Printing: 2018 – 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2

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Content

FOREWORD       

Acknowledgement      

Dedication       

Introduction       

1  The Good Race

2  The Principle of the Called and the   Commissioned

3  The Gold in You

4  Laying Aside the Weights and the Sin

6   Running with Patience

Foreword

This book is very real and the contents are a true reflection of the life and ministry of the author, Rev. Israel Duke-Ackon who run the race of an associate pastor with distinction. As I read though the book I could feel not only the letter of the book which is excellently presented but also the genuine spirit behind it which I believe will impact the life and ministry of everyone who will lay his hand on it and read it prayerfully.

In this book one can find the treasured spirit of meekness, humility, loyalty and respect for leadership irrespective of leadership shortcomings and weaknesses. Rev. Ackon has made it explicitly clear and I agree with him that the ingrained aspiration of every man to be somebody does not lie only in being the ultimate leader but can also be formed in being a help suitable to the main leader.

A good associate leader can also successfully become what God uniquely destined him to be as the author depicts. I humbly recommend this book to every leader, every associate and even aspiring minister, because it will be an excellent training manual which will help all and sundry. Wrong mindsets will be corrected, effective team work will be ensured, and peaceful coexistence will be guaranteed for leaders and associates.

May every individual who serves as an associate run the good race of an associate and also finish same course according to God’s purpose for their life in accordance with the contents of this one of a kind book.

BISHOP EMMANUEL BOTWE

GENERAL OVERSEER

CHRISTIAN FAITH CHURCH INTERNATIONAL

TAKORADI, GHANA

Acknowledgement

Special thanks to the following generals in ministry: Dr. Paul Henry Dzane, Bishop James Holder, Bishop Reginald Ofori Twumasi, Apostle Noel Asante Mensah, Apostle Samuel Appiah Badu, Rev. Robert Andoh, Rev. Kwesi Newman, Rev. Jesse Sackey, Rev. Bob Asare, Rev. Boamah Agyekum.

To my fellow labourers in the vineyard who continue to inspire me: Bishop Clive Mould (Christian Action Faith Ministry), Rev. Ekow Insaidoo, Rev. Bright Karikari, Rev. Dave Ofosu, Rev. John Divine Ansah, Rev. Oliver Gening, Rev. Osei Kwasi, Rev. James Quartey, Rev. Daniel Akuoku, Rev. Jake Oppong Acquah, Rev. Oppong Ankomah.

To all the Pastors of Living Praise Chapel International, who have acted as Aaron and Hur in my life and ministry.

To Elder B.K Sam who did the scribbling and writing and my dear wife who stayed all night with me while this book was being made. To Mrs. Miriam Entsua-Mensah for editing and proof reading the materials.

Lastly to Ernest A. Darkwah (Founder and Executive Director, Ezra Publishing™) and his team for putting the manuscript together and publishing it as a timeless piece.

Dedication

This book is dedicated to the following people

The late Rev. Dr. George Ferguson-Laing

My mentor and father in the Lord, under whose feet this volume was born, and his wife

Mrs. Celia Ferguson-Laing

and

Rev. Oswald Nunoo

(Tears of Jesus Evangelistic Ministry, Takoradi)

Introduction

As I studied the lives of Joseph, Joshua, David and other characters which are mentioned in this book, the Lord allowed me to see and to understand the noble role, life and ministry of an associate and how the associate must be appreciated and given the proper place in ministry.

In the kingdom of God, we have two levels of calling. We have the called and the commissioned. The called and the commissioned have different levels of mandate and authority. The commissioned is someone God has raised and given a specific mandate and assignment to accomplish. The called are those who God has called, but have not been given any specific mandate or assignment.

I believe that the ministry of an associate has been ordained by God to be supporting pillars to all His commissioned (visionaries) to enable them to bring to pass what God has intended for humanity. For that matter, it is a delicate, crucial  and vital call which the associate minister must understand and know what to do and how to do it in the right sense. Because his unique role gives the senior pastor an upward thrust or downward push which can serve as a great force of encouragement or limitation to God’s agenda and assignments that affect the destinies of many generations.

The information given will serve as an eye opener to many a senior minister to see how crucial it is, to deliberately create the needed environment to father, mentor and seek God’s mind for all associates who serve under them. senior ministers will also learn how not to use associate ministers as