When William McGregor was named LifeWay Christian Stores' manager of the year recently, he told of how "the day to day ministry opportunities-touching the lives of people who come in our store-cannot be overlooked. As a store manager I've done immensely more ministry in the bookstore than I ever did as a pastor."

If the ministry opportunities are this great in a chain store, how much greater and more personal can they be in a church bookstore?

We talk a lot about the retail side of what we do, and we must. If we ignore the finances, inventory, appearance or other retail basics we will not be able to do the ministry that is available to us. And yet, the ministry opportunity of a church bookstore is why most of us agreed to take on the jobs we have.

The opportunity to lead an individual to scripture that ministers, to a Christian book that answers life's questions, to a gift or card that will lift the spirits of a loved one or friend, and the ultimate opportunity of leading a lost person to the Lord, is the foundation of all that we do.

Many of you are the only paid staff in the store. Some of you have very faithful volunteers, while others have little help at all. As a result, it is so easy to get to a burnout--or what Sarah Young in her devotional book, Jesus Calling, refers to as "drainout"--point in your ministry.

So, as you are giving a cup of cold water to others in Jesus' name, I want to encourage you to be sure that your own cup is being refilled. Our pastor at Houston's First Baptist Church encouraged each staff member, as he or she entered their office in the morning to not even turn on the computer until they had spent a few moments in prayer.

Similarly, when you unlock the door of your store each morning, why don't you stop right there and recommit the ministry, yourself and your staff to His purposes.

Many stores are open during worship services because it ensures customers are served during multiple services and Bible study times. It is easy to convince yourself you need to be at the store the entire time-this is one of those "drainout" moments. Be sure you get to attend an entire worship service each week.

All of this may seem very redundant to some of you-and, if so, may God bless you in your diligence-but as I visit with many of you, I hear "tired and burned out." God can protect you and keep this from happening.

Many years ago, God gave me what I thought was my verse for the coming year-Matthew 6:33, "Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well" (NIV). The next year I waited patiently for a new verse, but it never came. Instead, my mind and heart kept going back to the verse in Matthew. I think God was saying, "When you get that one right, I will give you another one."

So, sweet brothers and sisters in Christ and fellow laborers in church retail, "Seek ye first." And, as always, I would love to hear from you at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..