There’s a secret many leaders won’t readily tell you. One of the most difficult aspects of Christian leadership is keeping your relationship with God fresh and alive. It’s amazing to me that a frequent casualty of Christian leadership is a leaders personal walk with God.
I have had to regularly engage this battle for two decades now. So have so many leaders I’ve talked to. I realize if I don’t engage the battle, I’ll lose it. How does it happen?
The Struggle Starts Innocently Enough
Drifting away from the God who loves you happens innocently enough:
- You start out in ministry with enthusiasm and passion.
- You get burned a few times by people and the challenges of leadership. Your heart grows a little hard.
- You confuse what you do (your work) with who you are (a follower of Jesus). The line between what is personal and what is vocational become blurry.
- You end up cheating your personal devotions by reading the passage you’re working on for Sunday. Or not reading much scripture at all.
- You end up so focused on strategy and execution that the mystery and supernatural aspect of Christian leadership gets lost.
- The services you lead become technical and clinical rather than life-giving and awe-inspiring because you’re focused on executing them well.
- You find yourself singing words that used to mean something and preaching words that once sounded more personal and alive than they currently do.
- You still believe in your head, but you’ve lost your heart.
I have drifted into or close to that territory in seasons, and as soon as I do I realize its a terrible and unsustainable place to be in, let alone stay in.
A Searing Question
I have tried to keep this issue front and center in my life because I dont want to be that guy who gains the world (or even a small slice of it) and loses his soul. A few years ago I landed on a question that forces me to be 100% honest about where I am with God.
The question: If I wasn’t in ministry tomorrow, what would be left of my faith?
In other words, if ministry came to a dead halt:
- Would I still passionately love God?
- Would I have lots left to pray about?
- Would I want to lead people to Jesus?
- Would I wake up grateful?
- Would I still confess my sin?
- Would I live out of an overflow of my relationship with God?
If the answer to these questions is I’m not sure or no, I have a problem.
And so, I try to foster a personal relationship with God that runs independently of anything I do in Christian leadership. I try to remember that God loves me, not what I produce. That in the end who I am matters so much more than what I do.
So What Helps?
There are several components to staying healthy spiritually over the long term. You need a close circle of friends for support and accountability.
- You need to pray.
- But heres what I find. Its so simple you might dismiss it, but I cant. Its just always true:
- The more I engage the Scriptures, the more I engage God.
- When I read the Bible personally, I grow closer to God. When I skip or skim, I dont.
- And this is also the area in which I find many leaders and so many Christians struggle.
Whatever you do, keeping your relationship with your Saviour fresh and alive is critical. After all, if your relationship with God dies, you lose your authority to lead, not to mention your passion and joy.
What has helped you? What would you add?
Reposted with permission. This article originally appeared here.
Carey Nieuwhof is founding pastor of Connexus Church and is author of several bestselling books. Carey blogs, podcasts, writes and speaks to church leaders around the world about leadership, change and personal growth.
