¶ … interviewed the pastor of Grace Life Baptist Church in Ruby Michigan, USA. Would you say that your congregation (or the people within your particular department or area of ministry) is "Thinking Like Jesus" (i.e. Unity, Humility, Selflessness) as they interact, serve, and minister to/with each other? How specifically do you as a ministry leader teach, cultivate, and maintain "The Mind of Christ" in your area of ministry?

What we preach to the followers is to be like Jesus and to be like the Lord, one has to think like Him. It is not enough to know the right but also to believe that it as a way of life. Like Jesus, we preach that one should think of the heart and hence the sermon: "as he thinks in his heart, so is he." This essentially means that we should live in our hearts and think in the heart and this is the way to think like Jesus (Kirk Abner, Thinking Like Jesus: Tate Pub & Enterprises Ll, 2013).

Would you consider yourself a "Wounded Healer?" Also, would you please share an example where you have ministered to a person who is/was "wounded" in the same manner that you once were (cf. II Corinthians 1:3-5)?

The concept of wounded healer is all about the achievement of higher levels of consciousness through similar experiences of wound in one's life and gaining a balance and movement. It leads to the rebirth of the soul as prescribed by Jesus through letting go of the ties which binds one to the emotions related to physical realms. For example, Jesus was able to heal the lives of so many as He himself had experienced great pain and suffering or wounds that were inflicted upon Him. A savior or a healer has experienced a similar pain that one is going through and had overcome it to rise to a greater level of consciousness and hence is able to heal (NIGEL P. SHORT, "Psychosis And Spirituality: Consolidating The New Paradigm (2nd Edition)," Journal of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing 19, no. 3 (2012): e2-e2. For example, healing a person who has recently lost his son in an accident can be better dealt with if the healer too has had a similar losing experience and had overcome it.

3) How specifically does the Holy Spirit help guide you as you lead/serve in your ministry? Also, can you give a specific example of how you were able to clearly recognize that the Holy Spirit was helping/guiding you in dealing with a particular situation and/or decision while in your ministry? What advice would you give me that, if I obeyed, would assure me that I would be able to be guided by the Holy Spirit in my life and/or ministry?

Being a part of the ministry, it is definitely clear that he believes that the Holy Spirit has a guiding hand in every aspect of our lives. But to get His guidance one should ask for it and that is the only thing that one has to do. The Holy Spirit guides through his words and through preaching his words. While deciding on which church to join after a split up in the ministry, it was the Holy Spirit and his preaching's that helped to arrive at a decision -- one that was taken according to the preaching's of God (Bruno Mafra Ney Reinhardt, Tapping Into The Anointing (Berkeley, CA, 2013). The advice for getting guided by the Holy Spirit is very simple -- one has to follow Christ's example, lean on Him at all time and look up to Him when one does not know what is to be done.

4) Do you have a personal philosophy (i.e. an agreed upon plan of action/policy/understood protocol) of how/when/where you confront sin in the lives of 1) co-ministers/co-leaders in your ministry, and 2) people to whom you minister? If so, what is it? How did you come to this philosophy? If not, do you see a need for such a philosophy? Why or Why not?

It is best to follow the example that has been set by the Christ. It is best to approach or go directly to that person and when that person does not listen, it is also good to take a few witnesses along. However even after prolonged persuasion and reasoning, if the person does not listen then the matter becomes one that requires being decided by the church. What Christians should do in such situations is clearly defined and explained by the Bible.

5) Can I perform a little ministry...

tasks performed, people you talked to, the number of hours of service) on any individual day in your ministry approximately 6 weeks ago?
It can be recalled that about six weeks ago there was a problem with the sound system and we were dealing with it to make it work properly. It took around 6 and 8 hours which were spent on working together to trace back the wires to the source.

b) Can you recall any time in the past that you were either so moved by hearing a sermon, reading a bible verse, hearing a testimony of a someone's salvation that made such an impact upon your life that you still have a vivid recollection of the event today? How long ago did that spiritual event take place?

It was most probably around 6 months ago when a reading was going on in Psalms. It was then that I came across a verse which is there in chapter 51. It says 'Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according to the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions.' Ever since that day, it has become favorite verses for me due to its powerful phrasing. This verse often comes back into mind almost every day.

c) Could you briefly describe for me how your daily "Quiet time with God" or your "Communion time with God" or "Your Devotion time with God" usually goes?

Bible reading and a quiet prayer usually start off my day. Before the daily distractions of life begins, I take out time almost every morning. It is that time of the day that I get really close to my God and it is the favorite time of my day.

6) As a minister, are you ever tempted to become competitive with either a fellow minister or a neighboring ministry or covet the success or resources of other ministers and/or ministries? How do you overcome this temptation in your life if/when it ever comes up in your heart? What advice would you give me to make sure I remain content with what God specifically has for me in my own life and/or ministry?

I have to admit that I have on very few occasions thought about how I could become better than the others and how my Church can be made better. But it was here that the preaching's can handy and I realised that as a preacher of His glory, what would make God happy is to serve the people in the manner that God has prescribed (Mark Laing, "The Missional Church and Leadership: Helping Congregations Develop Leadership Capacity," Mission Studies 28, no. 1 (2011): 142-143.). Since then such thoughts have not crossed my mind.

7) Provide a summary of your interview.

a) If you evaluated another leader, what stood out to you the most from this interview? What did you learn that will help you develop your own philosophy of ministry? What did you learn about leadership that you feel is important when ministering to others?

From the interview the most important aspect that stood out was my realization that the pastor is definitely filled with the thoughts of the Holy Spirit. The manner in which the pastor talked about various spiritual subjects and God has made it clear that he has a very clear heart for God and his strong relationship with the Holy Spirit and God becomes evident from the way he talks about Christ. This aspect of his can however only become evident while talking with him -- his distinct passion for Christ is reflected in his beliefs and his ways of life.

I have learnt that creating a bond with God is helped by starting the day with His thoughts and spending some time with God at the beginning of the day before the daily distractions set in help in growing closer to God. I also realize that it can also be achieved by leading a life in the manner in which He wanted humans to do.

I learned that inside the body of Christ, there is a particular and a proper way to manage and to deal with sin. And as a church leader, this knowledge and realization are critical as it is specifically addressed in the same words that God wanted.

b. If you did a self-evaluation, in what areas of leadership and/or ministry do you feel you need to improve? Develop a specific plan to improve in these…