I was reading a book written by John Maxwell today entitled "The 360 Degree Leader." In a part of the book he talks about leading down and lists all these principles on how to lead down in order to be an effective 360 degree leader. One of the principles he instructed was to "walk slowly down the hall." The point of this chapter was that relationships are the foundation of leadership like they are for so many other areas of life. He said in the book that many leaders replace relationships with more tasks and competence. If they are more competent they could get more done than if they take time out for people, etc. This was a great reminder about leadership as I read this chapter today but I was also reminded about my walk with God right in the middle of this lesson. I do this same thing a lot when it comes to my relationship with Jesus. I replace my daily devo's for more tasks and competence. Instead of picking up my Bible to get to the know God's Word better I open up a Relevant Magazine in the name of ministry. Instead of talking to God, I get on Facebook to talk to friends and students in the name of ministry. I was challenged today to be a better leader but also more challenged to become a better follower, a close follower of Christ. In the end better leaders know how to follow.

I heard my Pastor say many years ago, "next level living requires present day abandonment." Remembering those words I have been asking myself, "what in my life do I need to abandon to take my relationship with God to the next level?" "What do I need to give up in order to pray more? What can I sacrifice to give more? What do I need to forgive to love more?"
To go to the next level in youth ministry, "what is not working that is holding us back? What do I let go of in order to grab on to?" I am not content with where I am. It is so critical to to always remember that if you are not growing daily you are dying gradually. I am ready to go to the next level but I know it requires some abandoning. "Jesus tell me where."