SHAWNEE—On Thurs., Sept. 11, more than 400 Oklahoma Baptist pastors and leaders attended the Priority of Leadership Conference presented by Oklahoma Baptists.
The Conference, which took place on the campus of Oklahoma Baptist University (OBU) and was made possible by Oklahoma Baptists giving through the Cooperative Program, featured multiple recognized speakers.
SBC Leader & Author Serves as Conference Keynote Speaker
The keynote speaker for the Priority of Leadership Conference was Jeff Iorg, president and CEO of the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee.
Iorg’s first session was titled ‘Model for Christian Leadership,’ based on Matthew 22. He emphasized the importance of leadership that is based on spiritual foundations. Iorg noted that the proper motivation for one to lead is loving God and loving people.
In his second session, Iorg tackled the dilemma of loneliness in Christian leadership. He reassured pastors that loneliness is not something to be ashamed of because everyone can go through it, even in a community-based setting.
“The dilemma of loneliness in Christian leadership is really striking because we emphasize community,” said Iorg.
The reasons for Christian leaders being lonely are because they are isolated by information, isolated by obedience, isolated by job demands and isolated by emotional depletion from job performance, according to Iorg. To combat this, Iorg challenged leaders to cultivate their awareness of God’s presence by reading the Word and cultivate friendships that would sustain them through the low times.
In the third session, Iorg highlighted the importance of enhancing mission discipline. He reminded pastors that the whole reason they are in a place of leadership is to advance the mission of spreading the Gospel. Iorg listed several ways pastors could effectively lead and advance the mission of their church, including clearly articulate the mission, use the mission statement in decision making and communicate consistently.
For Iorg’s final session, he spoke on the essential quality of endurance. Here, he instructed younger church leaders to look to more experienced church leaders to be examples of endurance that others can look up to.
“Jesus is a source of hope,” said Iorg. “But so are you. Older men can demonstrate endurance, and in doing so become a source of hope for other leaders.”
Oklahoma Baptist Speakers Share Ministry Insights
Other speakers at the Conference included retired Oklahoma Baptists’ Executive Director-Treasurer Anthony Jordan; retired Oklahoma Baptist pastor Ted Kersh; and Michael Staton, who serves as Lead Pastor of Mustang, First. Each presentation related to the theme of leadership.
Jordan shared with attendees how to effectively initiate change in a church or ministry context. Kersh shared about how ministry mentors can help guide pastors during various seasons of ministry. Staton emphasized how to best handle conflict resolution in the church context.
The Priority of Leadership Conference was a new event for Oklahoma Baptists that supplements the Priority of Preaching Conference. Commenting on social media, Oklahoma Baptists’ Executive Director-Treasurer Todd Fisher expressed gratitude for pastors attending the event.
“Grateful for the 400 pastors and church leaders that came today to be encouraged and equipped in Christian leadership,” he said. “Jeff Iorg and our other speakers did a phenomenal job investing in everyone who attended today. What a joy to be an Oklahoma Baptist and be part of such wonderful people and churches cooperating together for the kingdom of God!”
For more information about pastoral leadership, download episodes of the ‘Feeding & Leading Podcast’ presented by Oklahoma Baptists at www.oklahomabaptists.org/podcast.
