by Mark Smith

Chris Hodges, senior pastor of Church of the Highlands, and Billy Hornsby’s son in law, was our third speaker of the day, addressing “internal motivations” for making ministry work.  Church of the Highlands began on February 4, 2001, with 350 people attending services at a local school.  Hodges and his team began reaching out to the non-churched community with the message of Jesus Christ.  In the first year, the church grew to 600 in weekly attendance, with 371 people committing their lives to Christ.  The church has now planted six other churches and gives nearly a quarter of its income to missions.  It has become a model for many local churches.
Hodges noted three internal motivations for making ministry work:
1.    Love life.  Referring to II Corinthians 6:10, he said it was a verse “to change your attitude.”  Warning that “too many pastors love the crowd, but don’t love the people,” Hodges urged pastors to find joy in life so that they can be joyful in ministry.
2.    Love people.
3.    Love God.  Hodges asked pastors attending the conference, “Is there passion for God in your ministry?”  He advised, “You may serve God, you may be committed to God, but do you really love Him?”  He utilized the well-known musical “Fiddler on the Roof,” when Tevye, who has been working with a matchmaker to find husbands for his daughters, begins to wonder if his own wife—who married him through a matchmaker—really loves him.  He then sings to his wife, Golde, “Do you love me?”  And Golde replies with a list of things she has done for Tevye through the years to prove her love.  “Yes, but do you really love me?” he asks again, until finally Golde realizes that it is not a list that Tevye seeks, rather the confirmation that his wife truly loves him.  Hodges concluded by stating, “God is singing out to you today: ‘Do you really love me?’”