I am definitely loving the Bonfire Conference here at First Baptist Woodstock. Here’s one of the main reasons: anytime I attend or participate in anything that FBCW does, I am always encouraged to go deeper in my relationship with Christ. I’ve been to plenty of conferences where you can be pumped up, encouraged and excited; but each time I attend a conference with Johnny Hunt I am always reminded to remember the most important thing: my daily walk with Christ. (And, for those of you who know me, you’ll know that it’s a privilege for me to hang out with a couple of my heroes and mentors in the ministry: Johnny Hunt and Jerry Vines.)

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that it is someone else’s responsibility to remind me to be faithful in my walk with Christ. But I am saying that it’s nice to hear someone say something as simple as this: “your security as a leader in God’s church is in direct proportion to the level of discipleship in your personal life.” Very good stuff.

Honestly, as a new pastor who is trying to grow as a leader I’m surprised and somewhat frustrated that I don’t hear more of that. This teaching gets to the heart of leadership. It’s simple: be who God has called you to be, do what God has called you to do and leave the results up to God.