Well, it came and it went: Election Day 2006. I must admit, I’m glad it’s over. Yes, I’m definitely pleased with the results (at least most of the statewide results) and am looking forward to another 4 years of dad in office. God is good.

So, now that the election is over, the next big milestone is my brother’s wedding on December 2. After that, the next HUGE milestone is baby #2. No, we still don’t know if it’s a boy or a girl and we’ll find out the day of deliver…which I predict will be between December 6-13. Stephanie is due on the 21st of December.

Life is SO BUSY between now and the due date. It’s funny to think, but I’ll be glad when the new little one comes because maybe life will slow down a little bit. And I’ll just keep kidding myself.

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.

Well, it’s not that I’m too busy to blog. Don’t get me wrong…life is definitely busy, but I’ve had time to type if I really wanted to. But, the truth is I don’t really have anything to say. I don’t want to be one of those bloggers who just put down something on the screen just to say it’s done. So, just in case you’re curious, I’ll blog as soon as I have something important to say. Whew…I feel better now.

What an awesome weekend. It was crazy, but definitely fun. Mom and dad picked up Jake at church on Sunday and after that, Patrick, Judd, Stephanie and I headed to Thomasville, GA! Now, Thomasville is way down in South Georgia about 5 hours away. We left Cumming around 1:00 and needed to be in Thomasville by 6:00 for the church service. What a fun ride!

We made it to town by 5:15 or so…just enough time to change clothes, look over my notes, pray, shake some hands, sing some songs and preach the Word. Fun night. The coolest part was that I got to see some of my good friends from Thomasville, including the pastor of FBC and his wife, Dan and Tresa Spencer.

It was a great night and a fun trip. We made it back yesterday by 4:30 or so. There are few things in this world that I will travel a total of nine hours in two days to do. Two of them are: seeing great friends whom I love and respect and having an opportunity to preach! Good times…. 🙂

I’ve been in ministry for around 10 years now, doing various things. I started out at the age of 18 as a Pre-Teen Director at my home church. It was a great experience for me. After that, I was a Youth Pastor for several years through college and seminary and now I’ve been a Pastor/Church Planter for a few years.

I remember serving in different churches in various positions envisioning the day that I would be a pastor. One day, I would be the one leading the church under God’s guidance and direction. One day, I would set the agenda and calendar for the entire congregation. One day, I would be the person that people looked to for thoughts, counsel and advice. I’ve always been excited and enthused about God’s calling on my life and I thoroughly enjoy fulfilling that calling by serving as a pastor.

But one thing I never expected is the pressure that comes from being a pastor. It’s something I never thought about when I served in other ministry positions. I always had good ideas and clever thoughts about what I would do if I were the pastor, but I never imagined the kind of pressure it would place on me to be the one to whom people looked to lead the church.

Many pastors spend most of their ministry fighting to be the guy who makes the decisions for the church. Then, when they get the opportunity, they’re not quite sure what to do!