Forget What You Preach

Do you find that you sometimes forget what you preach as a leader in ministry?  I don’t like to admit it, especially not in public, but it has happened to me.  One of these experiences happened to me just last week, when I attended the St. John Bosco conference with the rest of the CCFM staff in Steubenville, Ohio.  This was my second year of attending the conference, and although I had been telling others not to, I got caught up in comparing the two years.  My mind was so focused on the way God used the conference in the past that I ended up trying to decide how God was going to use the conference before it started.
The first time I attended the Bosco conference I was in a completely different place in regards to my knowledge of youth ministry and experience.  I was so excited about all I was learning, and I could not stop talking about each of the workshops.  The conference had come just as I had been hired, so the experience of getting to know my co-workers and developing friendships with them definitely contributed to the excitement. It was energizing to find out that I would be working with people who had a true passion for youth ministry, and their zeal fueled mine.  As soon as the conference ended I could not help but be excited for a return trip the next year, and having a second dose of that same experience.
I am not sure why I thought my experience would be the same.  After all, I was in a different place this time around. God was going to do something different with me, and He would do it in a way that I would least expect. 
After arriving and getting registered, I was already worrying that this year would not be as fruitful as last year.  I knew that I would be attending different sessions than the year before, but I could not shake the feeling that I just was not going to get as much out of the conference as the year before.  I didn’t want this to be the case, but it seamed inevitable.  Then it came, our opening general session.  As the speaker gave his talk, I encountered God in a way that reminded me how He meets us where we need Him.  Throughout the next few days, I was continually encouraged and inspired to further my knowledge and formation for ministry work.  This was more valuable to me than what I received from the conference the year before.  Its what I needed, only I just didn’t know it before hand. I was so focused on having the same experience I had last year, and didn’t realize that God actually had something better for me!

As ministry leaders, we know that God always works in us if we are open and allow Him to work the way He knows is best.  You, just like me, have probably talked and challenged others on this concept many times.  There are still times though, when we can forget.  It's in these times when we just need to thank God for knowing us better than we know ourselves.  I think Jeremiah 1:5 says it best: “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you”. 
God definitely knew what I needed more than I did.  It’s interesting how we talk about meeting others where they’re at all the time, yet for some reason I was surprised when God did that with me this past week.  I hope God surprises you in this way too.  Not because you are forgetful, but because we all need reminders sometimes.  What do you need to be reminded of?