God Is Teaching Me To

1. Trust Him. Starting a new church has taken my faith and trust in God to a whole new level. I look back over the past 5 years, and God has really taught me to trust Him more. I'm not where I need to be, but I'm learning to totally trust God for everything.

2. Rest more. I had no idea how intense being a senior pastor of a new and growing church is. When I was a full-time evangelist, I thought I was working hard. When I became a senior pastor, I quickly learned that it is WAY more difficult and time consuming than being an evangelist. STARTING A NEW CHURCH IS JUST FLAT OUT HARD WORK, ESPECIALLY THOSE FIRST FEW YEARS. God has used mentors and His Word to teach me to rest more. I've learned to work smarter and not harder. I'm in this for the long haul. I'm not going to burn out before I reach the age of 40. My best days of ministry are ahead of me, so I'm pacing myself for the long haul.

3. Enjoy life. The older I get the more I'm learning to enjoy life. I love my wife and kids so much. I love to spend time with them. I'm going to enjoy my family. They mean the world to me. I need to do better with spending time with my friends. I talk to two friends who live out of state frequently, but I need to do a better job spending time with my closest friends who live in Oklahoma City. I'll do better because I'm going to enjoy life. I ONLY HAVE ONE LIFE TO LIVE, AND I CHOOSE TO ENJOY IT!

4. Don’t sweat the small stuff. Most things aren’t that big of a deal. Most people's complaints aren't that big of a deal. In the early days, I use to freak out about a problem that would arise in the church, a mean note that somebody would write or a complaint someone had. Now I realize 99.9 percent of stuff isn't that big of a deal. As long as I keep my heart pure and humble before the Lord and lead with the utmost integrity, everything else is small stuff.