My timeline

This past Tuesday I was in Des Moines for a meeting with area pastors. For the next twelve months I will be learning about leadership and pastoring headed up by Tom Jacobs our District Superintendent. This past meeting we talking about how our past experiences affect how we lead today. This was an exercise I had already went through once with the breaking the 250 barrier group last Spring but it was good to once again see how my past affects how I lead today. I have been very blessed with a lot of good things in my life. I've had some hard times as a teenager and have had a season of lows in ministry but yet I have seen how God takes those things and molds us into the people He wants us to be. I have also learned that I hate conflict because of my past and I tend to be a people pleaser. I JUST WANT EVERYBODY TO LOVE ME! I know that is impossible in ministry and I know God calls us to do things that not everyone will agree on. For example, God called Moses into the promise land and all his followers except for two said it couldn't be done. One of things I am learning is I have to be confident in myself and my leadership and what God is calling me to do and how to lead this church. If I am confident in this and I obey what God is telling me, He will do the rest. If you have never done a life assessment, I challenge you to do so sometime. Just start with your birth and start writing in the highs in your life and the lows in your life. It will reveal a lot about why you are the way you are.