Okay, I may have broken the law by posting someone else's picture on my blog without their written consent, but I think that my blog is obscure enough that the photographer won't really mind.
As we all know, leadership is influence. And because a leader has influence, he or she will be out front leading the way, just like this picture depicts. However, there is something that we, as Christian leaders, often overlook in our efforts to become better, more effective leaders. Many times we fail to recognize that we are Christians before we are leaders. In other words, we often put so much focus on being a leader, or on our responsibilities, position, and ministries, that we fail to focus on the fact that we are Christians, or as the word signifies, followers of Christ. Hey, I know that I'm preaching to the choir here, because I am as guilty of this as every other John Doe. We, as leaders, tend to listen to scores of teachings on leadership, devote hours a week to reading books on leadership, and even attend leadership conferences throughout the year. Now as important as this may be, how much time do we actually focus on becoming more like Christ? I'm not saying, "How much time do we devote to becoming better Christian leaders," but "How much time do we focus on developing the characteristics of Christ in our lives." Remember, we are Christians before we are leaders. Sure, I may be the Senior Executive Pastor of a church with the average weekend attendance of 7,500 people, so you could say that I am a leader because I have an influence over a large group of people. However, if you take me out of this position I may no longer have a title or position or the influence of a leader, but I will still be a Christian. So regardless of how far I climb on the ladder of influence, or what title I may one day carry, if you took it all away, I would still be a Christian. That my friends, should be the foundation of our leadership. Our leadership should be a reflection of our relationship with Christ. As important as it is to study and learn, our ability to lead should not come from a book or a class, but come from our relationship with Christ. If we want to be a better leader, we need to spend time in prayer. If we want to be more effective, we need to spend more time in God's Word. If we want to experience breakthroughs in our leadership, then we need to spend time fasting and seeking the face of God. It is when we get back to the basics of Christianity and focus on God and glorifying Him, as opposed to trying to reach some new level of leadership, that all the things that we heard, studied, and read regarding leadership, can then truly be put into practice. We need to remember that we are Christians first before everything else.
I was traveling through the Houston airport today and decided to buy an Immune Builder Shake from Smoothie King. When I finally made it to my gate and sat down to enjoy this yummy treat, a thought came to me: This Immune Builder Shake is a lot like my devotions for my spiritual well-being. Please let me explain. There are tons of places to grab something to eat in the Houston airport, but the majority of the things they offer aren't the best for our physical well-being. So instead, I chose something that was full of vitamins and minerals, something that would help strengthen my body. So it is with our spiritual well-being as well. There are tons of things that we could do with our time, energy, and resources, but they are not all good for our spiritual immune system. (our spirit man) We could opt for things that would be fun, entertaining, or exciting, but that would ultimately leave our spiritual immune system in a weak and/or vulnerable state. Or we could choose to spend time praying or reading the Word and ultimately build our spiritual immune system. It is a simple choice that you and I have to make everyday.
Okay, I may have broken the law by posting someone else's picture on my blog without their written consent, but I think that my blog is obscure enough that the photographer won't really mind. 
Despite the rain, we had a good crowd tonight for our once-a-month, church-wide leadership meeting. Here are a few photos of Pastor Spencer leading the congregation in prayer. The photo at the bottom is Pastor Spencer's famous "blessing the people" stance. As you can see from the picture, our leadership was open and ready to receive!
Gospel by distributing salvation bracelets.
