Whose Kingdom are you building?
An excerpt from the book Abiding Leadership | Coming Spring 2027
One of my favorite worship songs is called "Low." by Kory Miller. The lyrics say, "I don't want to build what you tear down. This is not an empire, it's your kingdom, and I'm sorry that I tried to be the king. I didn't even know you were missing." This song resonated with me because I had done just that in my life. All the dreams, all the plans, building systems, implementing processes, building platforms, I've seen it all fall apart. Years later, there isn't much left of all the hours I spent building. New leaders and visionaries come, teams I hired and poured myself into move on, and I'm left looking back, wondering what it was all for?
Scripture so clearly states not to store up for yourself the temporary things, but to store up treasures in heaven. In other words, what lasted from those fleeting job experiences was the person God was building, and the work he was doing in me through it: building the teams, the words I’d speak to encourage others, the prayers I prayed when I was stressed, the worries that faded when God came through, the difficult conversation with an employee that helped them grow. Work shapes us and builds us into the character of Christ. People give us opportunities to show Christ's love. This is where the work we do in this world becomes eternal.
In my career, I spent time working in government, for-profit, and nonprofit roles, and more in ministry capacities, where I worked directly furthering the gospel. But I've also had to come to terms with this: most of the career I built was building my own empire. In those seasons, I felt exhausted, like I was endlessly striving for the next level. There is no end to worldly striving; there is always something to conquer. But in the end, it was me who was conquered.
It wasn't until I reached the end of myself that the Lord so gently ushered me into his rest. His yoke is easy, his burden is light. In the reign of Jesus, He came to announce His Kingdom and His invitation was to come to him, all who were weary, and I was weary. He gives me, and you, rest for our souls.
The kingdom is not an empire or a platform I build; it's one I joined, not through work but through surrender. No more striving, only seeking the one who came, conquered, and gives life to those who believe. The greatest act an abiding leader can offer Christ is surrender, all of it.
Surrender is a very Christian word. It sounds spiritually affirming, but it rarely happens in the life of a leader until they reach the end of the rope and see no way out except God's way. Fortunately, that's exactly where I ended up, and getting to the end of my own efforts was exactly where God showed up. I was broken enough that he could mold me. My pride had been shattered, and it needed to be. The outwardly successful life I'd built started falling apart, because I couldn't keep it all together. Success was a mirage. I had been pursuing all the wrong things, and they broke down like a house made of cards.
Leadership is like a house: you build it, and it builds you. But when God builds the Leader, He builds a house that lasts. So the question every leader must finally answer is not what am I building, but whose kingdom am I building it for?
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