{"id":515,"date":"2014-09-16T17:15:06","date_gmt":"2014-09-16T17:15:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/?p=515"},"modified":"2014-10-28T21:05:26","modified_gmt":"2014-10-28T21:05:26","slug":"dry-bones-a-leadership-devotional-by-hunter-pearce","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/2014\/09\/16\/dry-bones-a-leadership-devotional-by-hunter-pearce\/","title":{"rendered":"Dry Bones- a leadership devotional by Hunter Pearce"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2014\/09\/dry-bones-copy.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-516\" src=\"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2014\/09\/dry-bones-copy.jpg\" alt=\"dry bones copy\" width=\"727\" height=\"392\" srcset=\"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2014\/09\/dry-bones-copy.jpg 727w, https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2014\/09\/dry-bones-copy-300x161.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 727px) 100vw, 727px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>My wife Kristen and I have been in full-time youth ministry now for a whopping six months. It took us all of the first week to realize that we had no idea what we were doing. Even now, six months later, there still remain feelings of inadequacy and ignorance that are not always easy to shake off. We feel incompetent for such a high and important task. What I feel I\u2019ve come to understand, however, is that whether you\u2019re starting fresh in ministry or you\u2019ve got years of experience under your belt, these feelings were never meant to completely go away. Jesus himself told us that \u201capart from [him we] can do nothing\u201d (John 15:5). Somewhere along the way we have been deceived into thinking that whether a person will accept Christ or not is based on our own competence and ability. What it really comes down to, however, is our God\u2019s competence to raise the dead to life.<\/p>\n<p>This is a lesson that I believe God was teaching the prophet Ezekiel when he brought him to the valley of dry bones. \u201cSon of Man, can these bones live?\u201d asked the Lord. The prophet looked around at all the dry bones, the remains of those long dead. Ezekiel saw, like us, that he was incapable of bringing back those bones from the dead. \u201cSovereign Lord, you alone know,\u201d was all he knew to say. The Lord then instructed the prophet to speak to the bones and to prophesy over them that they would live. Even as the words came out of Ezekiel\u2019s mouth he heard a rattling sound all around him. The bones were coming and fitting together. Flesh and sinews were taking hold. Skin and organs were materializing. Before Ezekiel knew it, a living breathing army of God stood before him.<\/p>\n<p>I find it interesting that the bones didn\u2019t come to life <em>as<\/em> God was giving Ezekiel the words he was supposed to prophesy. It wasn\u2019t until Ezekiel himself went and <em>spoke<\/em> the Words of God <em>to<\/em> the bones that they were brought to life. Even though it was ultimately the Word of God and the Spirit of God that raised them, it was through Ezekiel that those powerful words were spoken. Whenever you or I speak and share the Gospel we have an opportunity to do the same thing. By ourselves, like Ezekiel, there\u2019s nothing we can do to fix the broken condition of death and sin in people\u2019s lives. We\u2019re not competent to do so, and that\u2019s okay. We can\u2019t, but God can. What we can do is to faithfully prepare and speak the Word of God to our listeners. They don\u2019t need a super-talented, flashy, or \u201ccool\u201d speaker. They need to hear the grace and truth of God\u2019s Word. As you enter this new season, don\u2019t let your confidence rest in yourself. Be faithful to your part, but put your confidence and dependence on God for the results. The Word of God is not spoken in vain. It will achieve the desire and purpose for which God sends it (Isa. 55:11). We may not see the full results at first. We may hear but just a rattling of bones to begin with, but before we know it we\u2019ll see the power of God as he raises the dead right in front of us.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2014\/09\/hunter-pearce.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-thumbnail wp-image-517\" src=\"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2014\/09\/hunter-pearce-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"hunter pearce\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><em>Hunter and Kristen Pearce are the Student Pastors of Stedman Pentecostal Holiness Church. Hunter graduated from Emmanuel College and interned at New Hope Church before moving to Stedman PHC. <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"excerpt","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","slim_seo":{"title":"Dry Bones- a leadership devotional by Hunter Pearce - IPHC Discipleship Ministries","description":"My wife Kristen and I have been in full-time youth ministry now for a whopping six months. It took us all of the first week to realize that we had no idea what"},"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"_slim_seo_primary_term_category":0,"_slim_seo_primary_term_post_tag":0,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[4,171,33,3],"tags":[125,127,39,46,126],"class_list":["post-515","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-discipleship-ministries","category-leadership-2","category-small-groups","category-youth-ministries","tag-leadership","tag-resources-2","tag-small-groups-2","tag-youth-ministries-2","tag-youth-pastors","entry"],"title_es":"","content_es":"","author_name":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4T9u2-8j","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2301,"url":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/2016\/03\/28\/building-the-team-concept-part-2-students\/","url_meta":{"origin":515,"position":0},"title":"Building the Team Concept Part 2- Students","author":"Kaleigh","date":"March 28, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Discipleship Ministries has created a series of articles on building a ministry team. Read Bishop McGhee\u2019s Four Team Concepts here. The next few articles in the series will focus on the various ministry portfolios under Discipleship Ministries (Adults, Students, and Children) and the goals for each of these teams over\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Boys Ministries&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Boys Ministries","link":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/category\/boys-ministries\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2016\/03\/team-concept-2-students-3.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2016\/03\/team-concept-2-students-3.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2016\/03\/team-concept-2-students-3.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2016\/03\/team-concept-2-students-3.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1380,"url":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/2015\/04\/16\/discipleship-ministries-announces-new-student-ministries-advisory-team\/","url_meta":{"origin":515,"position":1},"title":"Discipleship Ministries announces new Student Ministries Advisory Team","author":"Kaleigh","date":"April 16, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"To meet the ever-changing needs of our churches and\u00a0for the purpose of creating lifelong Christ-followers, Discipleship Ministries is implementing a Student Ministries Advisory Team (SMAT). This team will\u00a0equip, network, and resource Discipleship Directors and youth workers in the IPHC. The team will focus specifically on current developments, resources, and trends\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Boys Ministries&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Boys Ministries","link":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/category\/boys-ministries\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"ym logo copy","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2015\/04\/ym-logo-copy-300x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2181,"url":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/2016\/02\/10\/discipleship-ministries-announces-family-ministry-tour-for-2016\/","url_meta":{"origin":515,"position":2},"title":"Discipleship Ministries Announces Family Ministry Tour for 2016","author":"Kaleigh","date":"February 10, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Discipleship Ministries is pleased to announce their Family Discipleship Conference dates for 2016! Dr. Michelle Anthony, Family Ministry Consultant, says, \u201cLeading families has become one of the greatest challenges of our time. As a church, we must awaken our parents to their God-given role. Parents today need the church to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Boys Ministries&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Boys Ministries","link":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/category\/boys-ministries\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2015\/11\/Fam-Min-Event-graphic-web-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2015\/11\/Fam-Min-Event-graphic-web-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2015\/11\/Fam-Min-Event-graphic-web-1.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2015\/11\/Fam-Min-Event-graphic-web-1.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2015\/11\/Fam-Min-Event-graphic-web-1.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2015\/11\/Fam-Min-Event-graphic-web-1.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3240,"url":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/2017\/08\/08\/state-ministry-student-ministries\/","url_meta":{"origin":515,"position":3},"title":"State of the Ministry- Student Ministries","author":"Lindsey","date":"August 8, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"A lot has changed since the last General Conference in 2013. \u00a0 In December of 2014, after a long tenure of service to National Student Ministries and the IPHC, Pastor Charles Boyd accepted a position as the Director of Student Ministries at First Pentecostal Holiness Church in Goldsboro, NC, and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Youth Quest&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Youth Quest","link":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/category\/youth-quest\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2017\/08\/Student-Ministry-STATE-OF-THE-MIN.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2017\/08\/Student-Ministry-STATE-OF-THE-MIN.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2017\/08\/Student-Ministry-STATE-OF-THE-MIN.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2017\/08\/Student-Ministry-STATE-OF-THE-MIN.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":10468,"url":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/2024\/04\/11\/youthquest-pivots-in-2024\/","url_meta":{"origin":515,"position":4},"title":"YouthQuest Pivots in 2024","author":"sdavidson","date":"April 11, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Have you ever felt the nervous excitement and anticipation for an idea you\u2019d never tried before? Do you know that feeling? That uncertain, but hopeful possibility that a new and fresh approach might be exactly what you were looking for? If so, then you might understand how we feel about\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Discipleship Ministries&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Discipleship Ministries","link":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/category\/discipleship-ministries\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2024\/03\/Students-Q124.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2024\/03\/Students-Q124.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2024\/03\/Students-Q124.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2024\/03\/Students-Q124.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2024\/03\/Students-Q124.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2024\/03\/Students-Q124.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":6429,"url":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/2020\/03\/25\/student-ministries-hosts-record-breaking-leadership-huddle\/","url_meta":{"origin":515,"position":5},"title":"Student Ministries Hosts Record Breaking Leadership Huddle","author":"mlight","date":"March 25, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"On March 5-7th, the Student Ministries Advisory Team invited leaders from all across the nation to gather for the third annual Student Ministries Huddle at the Marriot City Center in Charlotte, North Carolina. This was the largest gathering of its\u2019 kind to date, with 75 registrations. \u00a0The attendee list was\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Discipleship Ministries&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Discipleship Ministries","link":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/category\/discipleship-ministries\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/03\/huddle-featured-imaged-01.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/03\/huddle-featured-imaged-01.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/03\/huddle-featured-imaged-01.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/03\/huddle-featured-imaged-01.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/03\/huddle-featured-imaged-01.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/03\/huddle-featured-imaged-01.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/515","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=515"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/515\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=515"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=515"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=515"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}