Motivating with inner vision is an art and is accomplished as much by what we don't do as it is by what we do.
—Wayne Jacobsen

The phone shatters the Monday morning quiet. "Pastor, I'm sorry to bother you on your day off, but I won't be teaching my children's class anymore. I know it's only been a month, but it just hasn't been as much fun as I thought. It's a lot of work, and I'm sure God has something better for me."

Once again, ministry succumbs to cost.

How often has this happened not only in service but in discipleship as well? I actually had a young lady try to convince me there was no contradiction between her claim to be a Christian and her promiscuous lifestyle. "With all the sexual temptations of our day, God certainly can't expect a single person to be celibate."

Who is teaching this crossless gospel—full of fun and glitter but devoid of personal cost? Not the one who said, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me" (Luke 9:23). ...