I’m a reader. A prolific reader. It’s in no way an exaggeration when I tell you I haven’t read a book in years that captivated me like Ministry Monday Handbook by Rev. Brian Labat. The subtitle of the work is 52 BIBLICAL PRINCIPLES FOR PASTORS, PREACHERS, AND KINGDOM BUILDERS. I’d like to focus on the last people group, Kingdom Builders, just in case your eyes read the words Pastors and Preachers, and decided this book can’t be for you. If you want to be more than saved and that’s all, if you want to draw closer to God than you currently are or have ever been, if you want to be rooted and grounded solidly in your Christian walk, if you want to be effective and beneficial to the Kingdom of God, this book is for you!

As the subtitle suggests, there are 52 chapters. Don’t panic because each one is only a few pages in length. You could easily read one a day, or even one a week to spend a full year mastering and applying these principles in your life. That was my initial thinking, anyway. However, I will warn you that I couldn’t put it down. Every single principle, page and chapter kept me glued and connected. I would finish one, think I should move on to a daily task, and then find myself turning the page to read just one more…and then one more.

MINISTRY MONDAY HANDBOOK is also very easy to read. The writing is without fluff and to the point. Each principle is delivered in the most practical way possible. Here’s another warning…Once you read each one, you will see it and know it, and you won’t be able to unsee or unknow it. That being said, you’ll have to make a choice of whether to apply it to your life, or not.

I read it with a highlighter, and had to make myself not highlight everything. Here are a few of my favorite points:

CHAPTER 20: LET THAT BE YOUR PRAYER

”If you expect the Lord to do anything about it, then it must concern you enough to pray about it. If it doesn’t concern you enough to pray, then don’t expect anything to change or shift in your life.”

***This one changed my life…my prayer life, which affects my whole life. It answers the question of, “If God knows what I need, why do I have to ask? If He’s a good God, why doesn’t He just do or give what we need?” Could it be He’s waiting to see if it’s important enough for us to actually pray about?

CHAPTER 21: GET UP AND GO ON

“You don’t have to be perfect to be a “just man,” you just have to have as many get ups as you do fall downs.”

***This one made me giggle a little bit over its simplicity, and absolute truth. Just get back up!

CHAPTER 35: THE MINISTRY OF ENCOURAGEMENT

”Notice, Jonathan didn’t wait for David to come to him. Instead, he went and found David. He was deliberate, purposeful, thoughtful, calculated, and determined to help David get through this trial.

Jonathan didn’t wait for an open door or for the time to be just right. He saw David in his struggle and went and found him for the sole purpose of encouraging him.”

***People all around us are discouraged to the point of giving up. Don’t make it any more complicated than it has to be. Say the words. Send the card. Run the errand. Pat the back. Give the hug. Just go be salt and light for goodness sake.

CHAPTER 43: THE CENTER OF IT ALL

”In generations past, the church was their life. Everything revolved around it.

You didn’t miss church. You didn’t lay out of church. You didn’t pick which church services you were going to miss. You didn’t move somewhere if there wasn’t a church.

We have a generation today that sees church as the circumference and not the center, the perimeter but not the epicenter, and the fringe but not the core.”

Also…

”And the reason we need to stay close to the church is because the church is the only thing going to heaven.”

***The church isn’t a side hustle…It’s the only thing going…Mic Drop.

CHAPTER 48: STAY THERE

”We have to know the difference between God redirecting us and the enemy trying to remove us.”

***This is one of those lessons we usually learn the hard way after we’ve allowed the enemy to move us from our god-ordained place, purpose or ministry.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR (as described on the book cover)

Brian Labat is the husband of Ginger Labat and the Father of Brielle Lewis and Ashlyn Matthews. He is a pastor, musician, singer, song writer, and author.He has a passion for leadership and church growth and desires to empower the next generation of leaders.

IN SUMMARY

MINISTRY MONDAY HANDBOOK has my highest recommendation. There are 238 pages, and every single one will bless, instruct, encourage and empower you. I can only hope the author has the next volume in the works.

ORDER YOUR OWN COPY OF MINISTRY MONDAY HANDBOOK HERE.