I was only in town for 23 hours but even in that brief time, I was encouraged. Sunday night David Platt, pastor of The Church at Brook Hills challenged us about the real mission of the church-evangelism and discipleship. Ergun Caner, President of Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary followed with a challenge to be consistent, authentic leaders.

If you check the website for the Pastor’s Conference- FBC-Jax-2010, you will see a list of keynote speakers that are a who’s who in local church ministry. Each day, numerous seminars covering a broad range of topics were offered in support of the general sessions. I was privileged to teach one of those seminars on daily Quiet Time.

This is a powerful conference and I am always blessed when I attend. I saw thousands of pastors who had traveled many miles and made a substantial financial investment to attend. Today, I asked myself why they would do that and here are six of my conclusions:

• We all need encouragement because the ministry is tough. I don’t mean that in a negative sense but as much as we may love ministry sometimes it take a toll on us.
• We need to fellowship with men and women from other ministries, churches and organizations as it increases our vision.
• We need to connect with someone who really has walked in our “shoes”, someone who has “been there – done that” just like us.
• We need a safe place. I am not suggesting that our churches are hostile but from time to time we need a place where we can relax and not have to function in ministry mode.
• We all need someone to remind us that what we are doing really matters. This is not for the purpose of feeding our ego; it is just good to be reminded. I don’t know about you but sometimes I second guess myself.
• We all need to be fed from the Word. In our ministries generally we are the ones doing the feeding and it is refreshing to hear others preach and teach the scriptures.

This is not as much a commercial for FBC-Jax, as it is a challenge for all of us to find an “oasis for our souls” from time to time. We need to learn about new ministry tools, methods and systems but we also share a need for healing and encouragement.

(For other blog posts on leadership, student ministry or spiritual growth, check out the archive section)