Five Smooth Stones

I found the reading of this book to be both encouraging and challenging. I appreciate how McQuilkin outlines the five smooth stones, or essential principles, for Christ-centered ministry. Each of the five- the Bible, the church, the Holy Spirit, the plan of redemption, and the Lordship of Christ are crucial principles in order to have fruitful, effective ministry. The most important principle of all is the Lordship of Christ. Every Christian must submit to the Lordship of Christ at salvation, but also in the process of sanctification. Christ is the one who reigns and rules in our lives and failure to do so as individuals and as the body of Christ will lead to failure in ministry.  In order to lead well, we must first become good followers. "To the extent that he is Lord in their lives and ministry, to that extent will the church be united and pure, bringing about the fulfillment of all the purposes God has for the congregation" (p. XIV).  It is hard at times to bow in surrender to the Lordship of Christ and I must evaluate my walk with the Lord in light of his Lordship and his Word. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 says, "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God can be thoroughly equipped for every good work."

I appreciate how McQuilkin shared illustrations from his own life and ministry to highlight the five smooth stones. It is encouraging to hear how the Lord works in others lives and it challenges me to my walk with Jesus. God uses our brothers and sisters in Christ to sharpen us and help us grow in our relationship with him.
I need to be willing to allow others to speak in my life for the purpose of my growth; and I have the same responsibility to look out for them. We are not islands unto ourselves; we need each other to carry out the tasks God has called us to and also to encourage the body to keep pressing on to know the Lord and serve those around us.

The first part of the book deals with making the Bible the functioning authority for our lives and ministry. In an age where "anything goes", we must guard our time in the Word even more jealously! We have a responsibility to make sure that any ministry we do is aligned with Biblical truth. We must carefully study the Scriptures and seek the Holy Spirit's guidance as we work in ministry. The Gospel has the power to change lives and we are responsible to be good stewards. We have a hope filled message to share and we need to be bold in our lives and in our ministries. In our postmodern age, we must share Biblical truth in such a way that people can grasp it. This does not mean that we water down truth for the sake of relevancy. Jesus has some hard things to say in his Word and we do the world a disservice when we gloss over difficult concepts, commands, and principles. I really enjoyed reading this book and plan on using it as a ministry resource.