Pastor Jim Cymbala joins us once again for the EXPECT 2013 Church Leadership Conference. The hardest thing in the world right now is to share the gospel and see new souls come to Christ. We've diluted the gospel. We've added to it. In trying to make the gospel deeper or more complex, we've actually made it weaker. It's hard to see new souls come to Jesus because we've wandered from the simplicity and purity of the Good News.

Pastor Gary Wilkerson opens the EXPECT 2013 Church Leadership Conference talking about the pains that pastors and church leaders often face. The tendency is to numb, hide or suppress the pain, but God can use pain to speak into our life. Confess the pain and walk through it with trusted brothers and sisters in Christ. As pastors and church leaders, a lot of our time is spent helping other people deal with their problems. It is good, and it is what we are called to, but we must not neglect our own vineyard.

Teresa Conlon shares at our EXPECT 2013 Church Leadership Conference about how highly valued we are by God. We must not only understand our worth in Christ, but also learn to see the value of others. In our modern world and culture we are facing an identity crisis. The church must reestablish our identity in Christ and come together in unity.

If you call yourself a Christian then you are a missionary. We are called by Christ to share the gospel, whether that be to the nations, our city, our family, etc. We must tend our own heart to make sure that we are healthy ambassadors. Most, if not all of us, have had to deal with tough situations in life. Situations that can leave wounds that may not be fully healed. We can only minister Christ's healing love to the measure by which we have received it ourselves. For many of us, the first thing we must do is seek and ask Jesus for healing in our own hearts.

We are living in a generation where the church of Jesus Christ has lost its effect on this society. It is imperative for the church at large to be awakened back to life. God promises to breathe His life in to those who are powerless and find themselves in an impossible place. The Holy Spirit will once again revive the church so God’s name will be glorified in these last days.

Most of us today have experienced hurts that cause us to shut down emotionally and pursue false intimacy. We aren't able to experience the deep relationships for which God created us. The very thing we shy away from, community, is what Jesus uses to heal our hearts. True Christ-centered community won't happen over night, but requires a commitment to a close group of friends, so that intimacy and vulnerability can develop. The healing you will receive is not only for you and your community, but is also a testimony to a lost and hurting world.

Our modern culture is one of isolation and fragmentation. Most of us are very busy and pulled in many directions. Church has become an institution that we attend on Sundays once or twice a month. Our community has become several small pockets of people with whom we have insignificant friendships. Christ is calling His church to repentance, desiring that we confess that we have not made Him a priority in our life. Jesus wants to heal our hearts from past hurts inflicted by community without character. God is calling us to something bigger than ourselves. He wants His church to demonstrate His love to one another and to the lost.

God will allow a holy desperation to come into the hearts of the people He intends use in this desperate hour. The answer comes when we realize that the life that Christ promises us is not for ourselves but for others. The answer for this generation is the life of Christ within us.

We are a Christian culture that tends to lean on the laurels of others, boasting in what God is doing in their life, but God wants to give us our own story. We can't ride the coattails of others or depend upon preaching alone for our spiritual growth. There is a self-awareness required in our faith. Is God's power at work in and through us? Are we bearing other's burdens or only looking to have our needs met? Do we have the spiritual strength to restore others in gentleness?

Do you feel like a little biscuit at a big banquet? This message reminds us that when we join Jesus with a childlike faith there is more than enough for a banquet. Today you can cast away your self-reliance and come as you are to the banquet of God’s supernatural strength.