The following is a guest blog post from Greg Burdine, Pastor of Faith Baptist Church in Adrian, Michigan. You can find the original post here.

Church leadership is more complicated and more diverse than ever before. Working together, honoring Jesus, and moving forward are three aspects of church leadership that are vital and much needed in today’s world – Unity, Jesus, & Goals.

Three preachers spoke Tuesday morning at Baptist Bible College Fellowship Week 2015: Ben Feldott, D. L. Moody, and Eddie Lyons.

This is We

Ben Feldott took his message from Exodus 17:8-13. Sometimes we are good at celebrating ‘me’ but not ‘we.’ The pulpit has a tendency to celebrate the preacher. Fellowship Week celebrates the ‘we’ of the BBF. This is a good reminder for a group that celebrates independence.

1. Focus on your strength honestly. Joshua fought, but Moses held up the staff. Don’t compare yourself with someone else (Gal. 6:4). Though Ben has used many ‘progressive’ methods, he recognizes the strengths & gifts given to him by the BBF. These include a love for the Bible, love for evangelism, and love for the local church. Do things new but hold to things that might be unpopular.

2. Admit weaknesses quickly. Moses got tired and was helped by others. There is a part of us that doesn’t want to admit we need help (1 Cor. 12:14-15). We can’t do everything. It’s hard to admit weakness when we compare with others. But there is something strong about a group of people that can admit weaknesses.

3. Celebrate others unselfishly. The story recognizes Joshua won the battle. not Moses. Don’t be selfish (Phil. 2:3). Selfishness is birthed from insecurity. We think ‘If I celebrate you, who will celebrate me?’ When we gather together, we should celebrate one another. The young and ambition celebrate with the old and wise.

Bragging on Jesus

D. L. Moody took his message from Revelation 1:4-7. The book of Revelation reminds us that Jesus is on His throne.I brag on Jesus because none can compare to Him, control Him, conniveagainst him, condemn him, conquer Him. Even socome, Lord Jesus. Revelation 1:4-7 gives a snapshot of Jesus:

1. Who He is. ‘the faithful witness’ – the real deal (Prophet). ‘the first begotten from the dead’ – the resurrection of Jesus (Priest). ‘prince of the kings of the earth’ – the reign of Jesus (King).

2. What He has done. ‘loved us’ – in spite of faults & failures (eternal love). ‘washed us in His own blood’ – cleansing (eternal life). ‘made us kings and priests unto God’ – raised us to incredible position in the family of God (eternal liberty).

3. What He will do. ‘he cometh with clouds; every eye shall see Him.’ He will come again.

Leaders Must Be Dreamers

Eddie Lyons took his message from Hebrews 11. Some of the best ministries and churches in the world were dreamed by students (who became pastors & missionaries) at Baptist Bible College. It’s easier to dream than do the work. Keeping the ‘dream’ alive is one of the hardest things to do. Are you still dreaming?

Abraham’s dream was to be the father of many nations. His dream was lost, then found again. Joseph’s dream was that God would use him and play a significant role in his family. His dream carried him through hardships. Moses’ dream was that he would deliver his people from Egypt. After long years, his dream came true.

It’s time the BBF dream again. Dreams don’t drive us, they draw us – like a magnet. Dreams don’t originate in us, they are given to us by God and He empowers us to do them. The problem isn’t that we have too many dreams. The problem is we stop dreaming. The day we stop dreaming is the day we start dying.

1. Ask God for the dream. Marjorie Browning had a dream to go to Brazil and change lives as a single missionary. She went into the interior and lived very humbly. She was killed last year by a burglar. She left many leaders of churches and gave over $400,000 to the Missions Office to pay for first time missionaries’ travel to their field.

2. Pay attention to your gifts. We’re all different. Be happy with yourself.

3. Redeem your past. We lose the dream because we whine and complain.

4. Identify what is unhelpful. Don’t be distracted. Technology is great but can hurt us reach the dream.

5. Write it down. The problem about writing your goal down is people can see them and hold you accountable. Now you have a benchmark to see if you’re succeeding or failing. But writing down energizes our dreams.

The BBF is not a top-down group. It won’t be great when we get a great leader. It will be great when each of us dream and fulfill the dream and we gather together to celebrate our dreams – together.

Ben Feldott founded Cape Cod Church with his wife, Tammy, less than a year after getting married in 1991. He graduated from Boston Baptist College. He recently led the church to build an $8 million, 40,000 sq. ft. facility. They had over 3,000 Easter 2015.

D. L. Moody is President of Arlington Baptist College (Texas), the primary college for World Baptist Fellowship. He has degrees from Arlington Baptist College (BA Pastoral Ministries), Moody Graduate School (MaMin), and Covington Theological Seminary (DMin). He has pastored two churches in Texas.

Eddie Lyons and his wife, Cindy, both grew up in the Philippines as children of missionaries. Eddie is currently the pastor of High Street Baptist Church (Springfield, MO) and President of Baptist Bible Fellowship International.

Baptist Bible College celebrates 65 years of ministry in 2015. As a 1982 alumnus, I am pleased to celebrate this event at my alma mater. These have been some of my thoughts of the Tuesday, May 5 morning session. Also see #fellowshipweek15

Greg has been senior pastor of Faith Baptist Church since 1994. He has been married to Judy, a preschool teacher in Tecumseh, since 1981. They have four children. Jennifer and her husband, Grant Felbaum, live outside Columbus, Ohio, and have a daughter, Savannah. Joshua and his wife, Haley, live in Manitou Beach. Jill and her husband, Chris Henderson, live north of Dayton, Ohio, and have children Ellie & Evan. Justin graduated from the University of Toledo, majoring in Environmental Science. Greg’s passion is teaching the Word of God. He received his Bachelor’s degree from Baptist Bible College in Springfield, Missouri and his Masters and Doctorate degree from Louisiana Baptist University in Shreveport, Louisiana. He has been in full-time ministry since 1982, serving churches in Iowa, Ohio and Michigan.

To read more posts by Greg, please visit his blog.