It’s NOT about you.
An excerpt from Abiding Leadership | Coming Spring 2027
It's not about you.
Four words that are still sinking into my head, after being brainwashed by culture to seek out leadership roles for validation, status, feelings of accomplishment, and a big paycheck.
In my twenties, I really thought I was something. I was as ambitious as they come. In my thirties and forties, I was pushing the limits of work, personal business pursuits, and ministries, and chasing athlete status in races. Now I'm in my early fifties, and life has changed dramatically. I've returned to doing the things I once loved as a child. Singing. Writing. Exploring God’s creation. I'm settled, content, and at peace, with God and with myself. And for the first time in my life, I'm okay with saying it's not about me, when every decade before, it was.
It's humbling to admit that. But admitting where I've gone wrong is the first step in getting life and leadership right.
The voices of our culture are loud, promoting a hedonistic lifestyle, the personal pursuit of platforms and pleasure. Now, I'm not saying God doesn't want us to enjoy life and care for ourselves. He's given us everything we need on this earth to do exactly that. But we are at our greatest when we become a servant to our fellow man; to love, to speak into, to encourage, to lift others up. Jesus said it plainly: "But he who is greatest among you shall be your servant" (Matthew 23:11, NKJV).
God knew what the world didn't. He created us in His image, and He is the very image of love and service to mankind. So He knew we would find our greatest joys in life in loving and serving others. It's not a burden He assigned us; it's the design He built into us.
We are to be the light of the world, "a city that is set on a hill" that cannot be hidden (Matthew 5:14, NKJV). We are to use our voices to testify of Him and what He's done for us.
And in turn? It's God who lifts us up to places and positions that only He could place us in. He can give us favor in business deals and relationships. He can build church bodies and ministries that proclaim Him in word and in deed. He makes everything about us, so we don't need to make this life about ourselves.
Sit with that one for a minute. The God of the universe attends to you, provides for you, positions you, and delights in you. You don't have to grasp for what He freely gives. When He's already made it about you, you're free to make it about Him and about others.
It's through us that He works to reach the nations. It's through us that He's building leaders who will make other leaders; leaders who lead as servants, not masters.
Culture hands you a mirror. God hands you a towel. Pick up the towel.
Abide and Reflect
Look back at your own decades. When was leadership most about you, the validation, the status, the paycheck? What was driving that, and what did it cost you?
Where is God inviting you to pick up the towel right now? Name one person on your team or in your life you could love, speak into, encourage, or lift up this week. Write down what you'll do.