Diane McBeth begins her appointment as CBWOQ’s executive director on August 1, 2014. Here’s a bit of what she shares in the July/August 2014 issue of live.

Usually when God leads me onto a new life path, He impresses a particular Scripture on my heart.  That Scripture then becomes something I pray through or work toward. Often, the Scripture may contain promises to claim from Him.  When I was appointed to CBWOQ, God gave me Ephesians 3:14-21 from the New Living Translation. Verse 19 says: “May you experience the love of Christ.” I like that wording. Experience points to more than simply agreeing that God loves us. We are to experience His love . . . deep down where our hurts and insecurities live and where our sins and flaws hide too. The rest of the passage tells us that such an authentic experience of Christ’s love matures us. It gives us a full, abundant life. It also gives us the spiritual power we need for effective ministry.  That’s what I am praying for Baptist women.

In fact, I think the essence of Christian life and ministry can be summed up like this: Love God.  Love others.

(PS. . . Have you subscribed to live yet? It’s only $20 for a yearly subscription. Subscribe online if you want to get the online version of the magazine.)