Brothers

I believe one of the greatest blessings in life is siblings. For me, I grew up with three brothers and consider them my closest and best friends. Proverbs 18:24 says, "A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother." My older brother Jeff was always the one I looked up to and wanted to emulate. We had many wrestling matches, backyard basketball games and boxing matches to compete. Although we competed a lot, it helped build me into a stronger person. He has been a great example of Christ to me and I thank God for him. Jeff has always been a great student and is continually challenging himself to grow in apologetics, preaching and teaching. He is now serving as a pastor in Virginia and is also beginning his PhD work at Liberty Theological Seminary.

Jordan is my brother who has left a huge impact on my life. He went to be with Jesus on August 20, 2008 (you can read more of my Mom's blog here). Jordan was humble, patient and gentle at heart. He is a lot of what I am not. He fought a battle with cancer for over one year. He was a college basketball athlete (just like me!) and used his platform to reach others with the gospel. He was brave and encouraging. One of my most cherished pictures is this one of Jordan praying for me on the night I was ordained into the ministry. I miss him terribly and try to remind myself everyday of this verse, "For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain" (Philippians 1:21 esv).

Justin is my youngest brother who is the center of attention! He had to put up with a lot with three older brothers. He is tough as nails now due to being wrestled and knocked down a lot growing up (haha). God has blessed him with a great deal of creativity. He is passionate about living for Christ and using media to illustrate the gospel. I know God has great plans ahead for his life. I hope I can pass auditions to be in one of his movies! ; ) Check out his website and youtube page!

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Encouraging Quality Student Leaders

People need encouragement in life. The essence of leadership is to help people achieve greatness in life. Amidst today's degrading and discouraging culture, encouragement is needed more than ever. One of the most important aspects is the internal and external need for motivation. Motivation is much more than telling people to keep moving forward. It is to see ahead and visualize achievement for the people and express it in way that they can understand. People are easily discouraged and every leader must learn to express and reveal positive encouragement. A leader must learn to verbalize achievement for others if people are going to be motivated. People not only need to hear it, but they need to feel it in the body language and expressions of the leader. Non-verbal communication is what most people notice long before they hear someone speak. The leader must be willing to put the encouragement on paper so that people can adequately understand the goals. People are looking for tangible ways to jump aboard the vision. It is the task of the leader to help people see themselves as a vital part of the vision. If people do not feel a part of the vision, they will begin to lose interest. God has called leaders to be champions and coaches for people to be all they can be in Christ. It is vital for leaders to motivate and encourage people to see their potential in their walk with God.

Keeping Quality Student Leaders

Vision is the most important aspect of leading people. If workers do not know where a leader is headed, it is hard for them to know how to serve. People have to understand how important their input and investment is in the ministry. Training must be a priority on a regular basis in order to provide encouragement and evaluation of the team. It is wise for leaders to build relationships with each worker. People need to know how much a leader cares so that they can have the internal motivation to continue serving. Relationships are important to form trust and loyalty into workers. The leader must set the example of being consistent and committed to the ministry. One of the biggest struggles of churches is the rapid turnover of the leadership. The rapid turnover is one of the keys to the lack of commitment and longevity of lay workers. If a leader will commit to standing by their workers by continually encouraging and investing time in their life, it will lead to a healthy team. The quality of the workers will also attract more committed leaders. It is a priority for the leader to set an example that attracts people who are committed to excellence. When excellence is revealed, people want to join it. It begins with the example of the leader and will eventually become a part of the culture of the workers. Retaining workers is a key ingredient to building a strong and long-lasting ministry.