1953 PlymouthThese new-fangled automobiles are computerized, can you imagine that? When I purchased my first car for $200, a 1953 Plymouth, the diagnostics were done the old-fashioned way, by the neighborhood mechanic. These days, your mechanic must own a computerized diagnostic thing-a-ma-jiggy. He plugs it into your car’s chip and the next thing you know you have a $3,000 estimate.

It’s a shame that diagnosing your ministry situation is not quite that easy. For one thing, you can’t just drive everything you are doing down to the dealership and plug it into a computerized ministry diagnostic machine. Worse than that, there are probably no mechanics in your town, your denomination, or for that matter in your state who can truly be trusted to make a proper estimate.

Beyond that, you are the mechanic and in the final analysis, you will be the diagnostician. Stay tuned, and tomorrow we will discuss how to get started.