Vote YJC For President...

With the Presidential election in still fresh in our minds... we need not forget that the Florida Baptist Convention is right around the corner. I am not sure if you are happy that Obama is our President elect or not, but there is nothing you can do to change this if you voted for McCain. Just pray for President elect Obama, and our great nation!

In less than a week the Florida Baptist Convention will be convening in Lakeland, FL. During this time many things will be discussed, many friends will see on e another, and opportunities for change will be on the table. The greatest opportunity for some positive change is voting for the right candidate to be our FBC President! A good friend of mine will be one of these candidates, and I firmly believe that he is the guy that we need! This guys name is John Cross! Some of you might be familiar with him, and some may not be.

John is the lead pastor of South Biscayne Church in North Port, FL. He has been the pastor there for close to 20 years, and has seen many great things happen in this time. Don't get me wrong... it wasn't all peaches and cream. Some people left South Biscayne because they weren't ready for this change. They were more concerned with maintaining the church than expanding it! John on the other hand is very Kingdom minded! God has used John to take South Biscayne from a small church of about 100 people with very little impact in the community, to a church of about 2500 people on the weekends that does nothing but impact the community 24/7!!! They are on the cutting edge... always evaluating what can be done to reach unchurched people more effectively! Don't think that John and South Biscayne's ministry is merely limited to South Florida! They also have a strong presence in the Ukraine, where they make frequent trips to love and reach out to the Ukrainian people.

John is the kind of person that excites people around him to reach the lost... myself included!!! His passion for loving the unlovely is contagious!!! I can say without reservation that John Cross is the man that the Florida Baptist Convention needs! We need a change for the better, and I believe that John is the guy that God wants to use to do this!!! So... in view of all this... VOTE JOHN CROSS (aka YJC) for President @ the Florida Baptist Convention this year!!! I promise you won't be disappointed!!!

Don't Try To Dominate... Listen...

Why is it so hard for us to listen to others???

Why do we feel like we are the only ones that have anything of worth to say???

Why is it that while we are "listening" to people share something with us... we are already thinking about what it is that we can say that will top their thought???

People want to be heard, and many times they can tell when we aren't really listening to them.

Yesterday my buddy James and I had the priveledge to hang out with John Cross, pastor of South Biscayne Church in North Port, FL (http://www.southbiscayne.com/). I always enjoy getting the opportunity to hang out with people like John, because there is so much that I can learn from them.

Yesterday... something else jumped out at me though. John is a really good listener. He is genuinely concerned with the lives of others. I had to check myself a couple of times to make sure that I wasn't talking too much (aka-my wife gave me the nudge). It was hard not to talk though, because John is such a good listener. If anyone should have been listening yesterday... it sould have been me!!!

In conclusion... a good listener is also a good conversationalist... so make sure you're not dominating the conversation.