Interestingly fun evening planned!

I (Jon) am currently in Lexington, SC.  Tonight I speak in a Presbyterian youth group, and then hop in a car to go to a non-denominational church to speak to their youth group.  This is a first for me.  I'm used to doing one church on Sun. morning, and another on Sun. evening, but back-to-back will be something new!

The wildest part is that God has put two different messages on my heart.  For the first one, I'll talk about discovering God's purpose for your life. ("Why are you here?")  For the 2nd one, I'll be talking about our expectations... how God conform to our preconceived ideas. ("What are you looking for?")

I'm really excited to see what God will do in both groups!

Leaders show up

image source: waystofocus.com

Does this picture describe you in meetings?

One of the greatest requirements of a spiritual leader is that they are present while they lead.  So many people are satisfied to live on autopilot. But leaders can't afford to do this... there's too much at stake!

We can never afford to give less than our all.  God has entrusted us with people that are so precious to Him that He was willing to give His only son for them.  And Jesus sacrificed His very life for them!
We have to do whatever it takes to lead authentically -- from our hearts.  We have to engage the people we are serving.

One of the foundations of leadership is credibility.  And credibility comes through believability.  In order for us to be believable we have to connect with the hearts of those we lead.

Jesus had the amazing ability to connect with His audiences.  He was fully present in everything He did.  He even engaged while he was on the cross.  His statement, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing" is proof of this.  He could have checked out and simply paid the price, but He chose to be present.

We have to do the same!  It is the one of the marks of a true leader.

US Trip

I (Jon) leave on Wednesday for a three week trip to the USA.  I'll be traveling to both coasts and the Midwest.  It'll be a lot of traveling, but a lot of fun.

Now it's the mad dash to get everything finished before I leave(ministry taxes, mentoring phone calls and emails, newsletter, etc).

If you're in the area, come see me at one of the following places:

• Sept 17-21: Father's Family Church (Exeter, NH)
• Sept 24: Invasion Youth Group of The Harvest Church (Columbia, SC)
• Sept 28: Shiloh Faith Fellowship (Chinook, WA)
• Oct 1: Harvest Bible Church (Stockton, CA)
• Oct 3-5: Depot Youth Ministry of Word of Life Church (Sand Springs, OK)

For up-to-date schedule information or available ministry dates, please check out our website calendar.