Today I'm going to preach on humility. This is the topic assigned to me for this conference. Let's start by looking at 1 Corinthians 8:1-3:

Now concerning food offered to idols, we know that all of us possess knowledge. This knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. If anyone imagines that he knows something, he does not yet know as he ought to know, but if anyone loves God, he is known by God.

I'm so glad I was given this topic, because as I've prepared for this message, this idea of staying humble has really affected me. This passage alone has affected my actions, because I have a tendency to be self-centered. I have a tendency to wake up and think, What do I want? What do I feel? What would I like other people to do for me? But this passage is so much about love, and it convicted me about how often I speak without actually loving the person who's right in front of me. I'm not thinking about that person or those people; I'm not thinking about loving them; I'm just saying things. I've started to pray, "God, I want care about every person I face, to look them in the eyes. I want to love them like this passage calls me to."

One time when I had first started speaking at conferences, another speaker asked me how I got ready to get in front of a crowd. He asked how I prepared my heart to speak. I told him, "I think about God himself being in the room. I think about the Almighty, holy God being in the room and that I'm going to face him. I pray, 'God, I want to speak in a way that pleases you. I don't want to be scared of anyone else; I just want to have the boldness to say whatever it is you want me to say.'" Then I asked the guy how he prepared to speak. He said this: "Sometimes I'll be backstage, and I'll just peek out and look ...

Francis Chan is former pastor of Cornerstone Church in Simi Valley, California, and author of Crazy Love and Forgotten God.