What Leadership Means to Me

By Matthew O’Connell 

I once thought events like Faith and Culture stem from one person. That one person alone makes all the plans and other people help execute it. My first meeting with the Faith & Culture Writers Conference leadership team quickly changed the view that I was inculcated with.

I attended the Faith & Culture Writers Conference last year. A friend heard that I enjoyed writing and asked if I wanted to go with her. I signed up only minutes after she told me, having no idea what to expect. I remember the anxious anticipation days before Faith and Culture. The event started with worship and I turned to my friend saying, “I thought this was a writing conference?” It appeared more like church than what I envisioned a writing conference would look like.  “When are we going to get to the good stuff?” I wondered.

But, I quickly found that writing is a form of worship, and God is the only good stuff one needs.

As William Young, the Friday night keynote speaker, began his talk, my posture changed from relaxed to sitting at the edge with my hands on my chin. I don’t remember blinking for the next 45 minutes. One thing he said stuck with me, something I will always remember: “I will never again ask God to bless what I am doing, but ask to be apart of what He is doing.”

After the first night concluded, I felt like Moses coming down from Mt. Sinai. My friend and I talked the entire ride home about the experience we just had. The next day I attended the breakout sessions, absorbing every piece of information I could. This is the first time I ever saw an agent in person. I heard of them vaguely, like some mythical sea creature that didn’t exist. A whole underworld of supportive writers, agents, mentors, and publishers were at my fingertips. I sat in the front row at every workshop so I can ask more questions.

I left the conference with a new appreciation, enthusiasm, and revival in my writing. I began writing everyday and have been ever since. I am currently on my third re-write of my memoir, and actively making posts on my blog. I stayed in contact with Cornelia, the conference director, and attended one of the monthly Writers Connection meetings she leads.

At one of those meetings, I came a half hour early and saw Cornelia and remembered her. Her enthusiasm and warmness makes it impossible to forget. I began talking about a writing contest I entered and how I think they are amazing. Interestingly, she told me, “We just discussed at our last leadership meeting how great it would be to have a writing competition this year at our conference. Would you want to help organize it?”

A week went by and I was unsure how serious her request was. None-the-less I was filled with ideas. I sent her a long message of all my ideas for the contest. She asked if I could attend the planning meeting the following evening. Luckily I wasn’t working and was able to join the leadership team.

As people began trickling in they didn’t even question my presence. We opened up in prayer and fellow team member Veylnn gave a short devotional on what the words Faith and Culture mean. The night before, Cornelia had sent us the itinerary for the meeting. I thought it was just for our reference and that we weren’t going to hit every point. Nope, we were going over every last detail. I had prepared a few vague ideas regarding the proposed writing contest.

We started discussing which people were speaking. As one idea was brought up, another person would give an idea. Slowly the conference began building one piece at a time, becoming its own separate entity from anything we imagined. No idea came from one person, but everything was constructed entirely as a collective effort. Each new idea was spoken louder, with more enthusiasm than the last. We were almost jumping out of our seats; “What if we had a panel of blogger mentors?” and so on.  Slowly the conference was falling into place.

This conference no longer belonged to us. It was God’s. We were just the vehicles he chose to deliver his message. Cornelia at one point said, “I don’t know how this is going to work, I am just trusting God He will provide.” I couldn’t count the number of times she and everyone in the group said this. Trusting God’s plan for this conference was a huge a theme through every step of the process.

Each time we met as a leadership planning team, I became closer with the other members, more than I thought I could in such a short amount of time. I learned that leadership isn’t about any isolated person, or idea, it is the collective effort of every person. A machine with God at the heart of it.

I reflected on when Paul Young talked about only being a part of God’s plan. Throughout this whole process we utterly depended on God and only wanted His will to be done, that He would invite us into his grace. God delivered far more than I deserve. It was clear from the very beginning God has had (and is having) His hands on every stage of the process for this conference.

When we get to together for leadership meetings it gets progressively longer as we share our hearts with each other. I am so thankful to be surrounded by so many God-loving writers and friends. I wake up every morning thankful that God has placed so many amazing, supportive, loving people in my life.