Our home church, Life Center Foursquare, is a satellite host of the Willow Creek Leadership Summit. Every year, this conference provides fresh, meaningful, and relevant teaching on Christian leadership. David and I spent all day today at the Summit, and will be there all day tomorrow as well. It always feels like such a hassle to fit these two days into our busy summer schedule, but I am so blessed when we decide to go. This kind of teaching is critical to God's kingdom work, and yet rarely is it done with such excellence.I cannot begin to convey the vast wealth of wisdom that was shared today. I am just so thankful that my God, who knows the limits of my wretched heart and my puny mind, somehow seems to highlight the insights that He really wants me to grasp. Two things resonate in my spirit from today's messages:
1.) Leaders need to be authentic. Transparent. i.e. I gotta be me! But not because I want to be seen or recognized. I gotta be me, because in being the Jenn that God created, I am best suited to reveal His Spirit that lives in me. What it really means is that if I am transparent...others will see Jesus. When I try to be anyone else or do things I am not called to, then I put a mask on, and His light can't shine through me. He made me to be a unique beacon for His light, and He shines through the brightest when I am content with who I am in Him.
2.) Jesus did not come to make us safe, He came to make us BRAVE. Why do we always pray, "Lord, keep us safe"? Jesus never said, "Follow me, and I will keep you safe." In fact, He promised us quite the opposite:
"All men will hate you because of me...." Matt. 13:13
"In this world you will have trouble..." John 16:33
"Consider it pure joy when you face trials..." James 1:2
From now on, I am going to ask God to make me brave. I am done with safe.
I have always considered you brave my friend. Sounds like a great conference I am glad you and DR were able to attend.
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