About My Father's Business

By Apostle Michael Mangum

This book is a compilation of materials, training and experience he has learned during his forty years of church work, leadership and pastoring in the local church that will help a person who is in all level of church leadership become greater leaders and be able to inspire and motivate others to become better at what they do. It also gives a simple guide and training for those desiring to participate in serving in the local assembly.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Oct 23, 2020
• ISBN: 9781098047504

Book preview

Chapter 1

Introduction

At the age of twelve, it was obvious Jesus had spent time learning and understanding scripture. I say this because Jesus was left behind in Jerusalem after the Feast of the Passover sitting among the doctors (rabbis, teachers) in the temple, listening and asking questions concerning scriptures. He was also answering questions as well. All that heard him were astonished at his understanding and answers. Of course, his parents were upset because of his absence for three days from their group. They asked him why he stayed behind without their knowledge of it. He replied, Don’t you know it’s time I be about my father’s business? So Jesus returned home and submitted to his parents and increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man. This is the perfect setting to begin to look at Jesus’s leadership training, qualities and leadership style. Jesus spent time searching scriptures preparing to be in a position to be about his Father’s business. He spent three days among the rabbis listening and asking question. The rabbis were astonished at His answers. I believe he was bouncing things off of them to see what they thought. Next Jesus declared that He knew what His father’s business was and that He should be about it. Then He went home and submitted to Joseph and Mary and grew in wisdom, stature and favor with God and man.

We have all heard the saying, Preparation is never lost time. Growth in the scriptures and trying to really understand the things of God is a major key for any person desiring to lead. To be a great leader, a person must be committed to the process and all processes take time. Jesus began his ministry at thirty when he was ready to step out into the plan and purpose of God for his life, until then he was submitted to Joseph and Mary his parents. Whatever Joseph required him to do he did. No one grows up overnight, it takes time. If you stick with the process, you will get into your destiny on schedule. Simply put, it is hard for a leader to lead if that leader has not prepared to lead and it is hard for a leader to lead if the leader had not been a good follower. My belief is that a person has to study the word of God to have a working knowledge of the kingdom of God. That includes and is not limited to submission to someone else’s pastoral mentorship. He also needs to hear God’s word on a consistent basis so that his faith will continue to grow and increase. All assignments that a leader is delegated requires faith. A person cannot accomplish much of anything without the assistance of the Lord. The church and every room is a supernatural build. The more faith a person has, the more God gets involved with his assignee and assignment. Before we get deep into what areas I believe a person should develop in, I want to talk a little bit about Jesus’s growth in wisdom and favor with God and man.

The question came to me in my spirit by the Holy Spirit saying, why did God assign Joseph of the house of David to raise His son? What was His motivate or objective? Then the word of the Lord came to me saying, because of the assignment. God chose Joseph and entrusted him with His Son though he was not a rabbi or priest, he had no religious power nor influence in Nazareth, he had no experience raising children, and yet, with all of this going against him, God chose him to be the father and first mentor of Jesus His Son. What were the qualities that God saw in Joseph to be entrusted with his son to care for and mentor? Joseph was a just man, kind, merciful, humble, and respectful of God and His commands and finally he was a carpenter, a builder. He understood building principles, like the first thing that you build in a house.

His mentorship began at birth and lasted until His thirtieth birthday. Joseph was a carpenter. Matthew 13:55–56 (KJVS) say, Is not this the carpenter’s son? is not his mother called Mary? and his brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas? And his sisters, are they not all with us? Whence then hath this man all these things? God chose a carpenter to raise His Son so that he could teach Him how to be a great builder. In Matthew 16:18 (KJVS) Jesus said, And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. Notice Jesus said, I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. Who would be a better mentor and teacher to teach and mentor Jesus than a principled man who is just, kind, merciful, humble and obedient to God that knows, understand and practice the principles of construction than Joseph? God wanted His church to be built to last till He came. Jesus’ assignment was to build his church and make it so strong that even the gates of hell could not prevail against it. A builder such as Joseph understood what it would take to build a structure that would withstand all the forces of nature from destroying it.

A builder knows how to build a strong structure that will last. In the same above verse, Jesus said, Upon this rock I will build my church. A builder understands that if a building is to stand it must be founded on a rock, a foundation, rather than on dirt that shifts. A carpenter understands that a structure that is sustained over long periods of time must be built and must first have a strong foundation. There is a process, steps that must be taken to construct a structure that would last. These are things that Jesus learned from Joseph his mentor. Joseph taught and lived out before Him how to be just, kind, merciful, humble, and respectful of God and His commands as well as the principles of construction (Matthews 1:18–20, 24). These principles governed the life of Jesus.

Jesus was a just man that practice what God defined as true justice. He understood that justice flowed from the heart of God and His character. Jesus did not respect the rich nor did He look down on the poor. Jesus sort to renew God’s people, by making them whole. The justice that Jesus proclaimed and referred to was restorative justice, in which those who are unrightfully hurt or wronged are restored and given back what was taken from them. The combination of righteousness and justice that God dictates means a selfless way of life in which people do everything they can to ensure that others are treated well and injustices are fixed. Jesus was the key in that He took the punishment for the sins of the guilty and made it so that all people could stand righteous before God (2 Corinthians 5:21, Mark 6:34).

You have heard the saying Preparation is never lost time. Without committing to preparation a person will never become a great leader. Even Jesus spent time preparing for the calling that was upon His life. The scripture advises that we should never put a novice in the office of a bishop because he or she will get lifted up in pride and help shipwreck others faith. Growth is a process and God will not release a person for leadership unless that person goes through the process.

Finding the church you are assigned to is your first priority before you find your place in a local church. When you know that you are assigned to a local church, it will be easier to stand when the devil rears his ugly head to try to deceive and move you from that church. There is no perfect church, no perfect people and no perfect pastor. God leaves it up to the leader to incorporate his operational style. When you know you are assigned to a particular place, you can easily adjust to a pastor’s operational style. When people come against you, they want be able to force you out over petty stuff because you are at the place of your assignment. After you find the place of your assignment, it will be easier to find your place. Finding your place in a church is very important to your spiritual growth.

I am a huge basketball fan and my favorite team is the Golden State Warriors. Most teams have key all stars that bare 90 percent of the club’s heavy lifting. The reason why I love the warriors is because of their basketball philosophy. Their motto is better together. Yes, they do have all stars who can dominate if necessary. However, their style of play is to share the ball with everyone and whoever is open takes the short. They accumulate an average of 30 assists per game which is far more than any other team in the NBA. They are not selfish nor is it about a single player. They make basketball fun for their players. Because of their style of play they have won three NBA championships. They exhibited the epitome of teamwork. Someone once said that team work is what makes the dream work.

It is very true with this team. Teamwork is very important to the local church as well and without it the dream (vision) will not work. Sadly, among the majority of the church in North America only a very few churches fully utilizes the gifts, talents, and abilities that God has placed in their church. When people are not utilized they become disgruntled, jealous, envious and many times covetous of positions that are not suitable for their skill set. Every person in the local church is unique and has a special set of skills, talents and abilities that make a ministry run smoothly. Without these gifts participating, the body shifts the load to other parts that are not equipped to handle the load for long periods of time. I can feel it when a joint, a lime, or an eye is not functioning properly and I don’t like it. Pain runs throughout my entire body when a joint is in pain. Jesus had a team around Him. Every pastor and church leader desires a team around them that is in step with him or her and is sharing the load of the ministry assignment.

If a person doesn’t build their faith it is impossible for him or her to be faithful to God or to a local church leadership. Faith is what pleases God and anything that is not of faith is sin. The things you will be asked to do and endure in the local church will require a big faith because the resources are not always available and it requires faith in God to believe for the finances and the people to help carry out the assignment. I would say developing your faith is your number one priority if you desire to be a leader in a local church.

I put love and laughter as a high priority in this teaching because love makes faith work and learning to laugh makes job assignments that are not easy, bearable. Laughter will keep a person from becoming angry, and all bent out of shape. Love will help a person be long suffering and kind. These two coupled together will make hard times and times of disappointment bearable and will cause a person to quickly bounce back from distressing situation and to remember that this adventure or assignment is about God and not about self. They will help a person keep their focus and do it as unto the Lord those times they will want to quit and give up.

Prayer is so important to a leader overall well-being. It’s in prayer that a person gets a sense that they are not alone, that God is in this with them and helping them to carry the load. I cannot tell you how many times I felt alone, abandoned, and disappointed. I can’t voice to you the many times I felt like quitting or completely giving up, but when I got into the secret place alone with just me and God, He comforted my weary soul. He made me whole and special in His sight. He made me feel invincible. He let me know that I was not alone and He was with me. He made me believe that I could trust Him and He would not let me down. He also gave me direction and understanding and insight from the secret place that I never thought of and would not have known accept I got alone in His presence. If your prayer life isn’t there, you just simply will not make it as a leader in the body of Christ.

God doesn’t change! He doesn’t have to change, what He does has always worked and will always work. My job is to tap into the flow of God’s presence, what God is doing and how He is doing it and just imitate Him. What we sometimes don’t realize about God is He is not stuck in time but He transcends time. He has no beginning or end. He is everywhere at the same time. He is in the past, present, and future at the same time. He sees the past, present, and future at the same time. He is never confused, never frustrated, and never baffled. He knows everything about everything. He can do everything and all things. He is faithful and can be trusted. His word never fails. He stands watch over it to make sure it comes to past just like He said it would and there is nothing anyone can do about it. The secret to walking in the supernatural and doing things beyond your natural abilities is the anointing, getting into the flow of His anointing and riding the anointing to accomplishing all that God has put in your heart to accomplish. It is through the anointing that you can see and hear like God. It is through the anointing that you can know and understand things beyond your educational knowledge. It is through the anointing that souls can come under conviction and repent of their sins. It is the anointing that will open up the past, present and future for you so you can do what needs to get done. It is the anointing that will give you the supernatural power to heal, deliver, and restore. Without the anointing, you won’t accomplish much in God that will please Him.

Pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall but God exalt and honors the humble. Simply put don’t expect God to do much in and through you until you humble yourself under His mighty hand. Promotion comes from Him and not from man. Nobody can hold you down if God exalts you. Humility is a big key to leadership. Without humility, you will not be submissive, you will not be corporative, and you cannot be part of a team neither can you get corporation from a team. Neither people nor God like selfish, self-centered people. No one wants to be around and on the team of a braggart, neither does God.

The heart of an armor-bearer is to serve. He sees and understands the heart of the one he is submitted to and cares about bringing his leader’s assignment to pass. He is willing to handle even the smallest assignment in order to see the vision of his leader comes to pass if necessary.

God is always speaking but most are not always tuned in. Mostly, because they have a lack of understanding of how to hear, receive, believe, and understand the prophetic word. This teaching will teach the leader how to discern and act on the prophetic word.

When a person steps into leadership in the church, he is stepping into a position of influence. He is partnering with the leadership to carry out the vision and purpose of that Church as that leadership is following God. That person is saying that he is willing to submit to the leadership and help carry out a designated portion of that ministry. The portion that you are assigned is very important to the overall success of the church’s mission assignment. Therefore, if a person wants to be a leader in the church, he or she must be a person who is full of integrity. He or she must be a person who will keep his word and swear to his own hurt and change not.

The pastor has the primary responsibilities to complete the general visionary assignment. He needs to always be aware of any problems, hindrances, strategies, and accomplishments. He needs to be aware of areas that need resources including people, finances, and prayer. We need to be accountable to our leader so that our leader can cover us and give us the assistance and direction we need to win in life and in the particular area we are assigned. No one is perfect. I am not perfect and you are not perfect. This is a big reason we all need to be accountable to someone who has already experienced what we will experience in ministry and/or by someone who relies on the counsel of God. 

One scripture says, How can two walk together except they be agreed. Understanding the ministry gifts are very important if you are going to walk with these ministry leaders in the church. You need to know and understand their function, and how they fit together with the church and how they operate according to scriptures.

Chapter 2

Preparation Is Never Lost Time

Have you ever found yourself in an awkward situation because you weren’t adequately prepared? That is what it is like as a leader when he or she is not prepared to lead. A leader has an opportunity to do something special for the people they lead but only if the leader is prepared.

If we are going to be a people that are about my Father’s business, we must be a people who values preparation. Jesus didn’t wait until He was call to the ministry to begin his journey in the word. He understood if he were to be the best at what he would do he had to know God’s word. By the time He was twelve he had spent a lot of time in the scriptures, especially the scriptures that referred to the coming of Messiah as they related to His calling and purpose. At the age of twelve, he still had questions and was so hungry to know more he was found after four days among the Jewish doctors (rabbis, teachers) listening, asked questions, and giving input into the conversation. The rabbis asked him questions and they were astonished at His answers. Imagine four days straight among them. They never experienced a person so young and so hungry for knowledge, so hungry to know the word. They had never experienced a person so young who could give such intelligent answers. I learned several things from the rabbis about Jesus. Jesus treated His quest seriously even at that age. He wasn’t about to be satisfied with the knowledge he possessed. He milked as much knowledge as He could from those four days among the teachers. He understood that this quest was about His father and not about Himself and He more than anyone else wanted to please His Father in heaven. If you are going to be an effective church leader you need to know and understand the word of God above those that