Healthy Christian Leaders Prioritize Their Relationship with God Justin Irving
Self-leadership does not begin with oneself . Foundationally , it begins with God . As one leader put it in the survey , “ My leadership must grow out of my walk with Christ .” Another leader wrote , “ Fruitfulness is not the result of hard work , but of abiding in Christ ( The True Vine ). The first priority of the leader is to draw his / her life from a vital relationship with Jesus .” Still other leaders remind fellow leaders to “ pay attention to your soul ” and to “ remember that God has called you and is equipping you for this work ; build a team ; be as committed to rhythms of soul care as you are to the other things [ for which ] you ’ re responsible .” But , while effectiveness and fruitfulness find their source in abiding in Christ , the True Vine , leaders must be careful to never confuse the ends and the means in their spiritual life .
God is not simply a means to greater organizational ends . He is the ultimate end and the true joy that will satisfy our deepest longings . He is the end , not merely the means to some other end . One author I turn to frequently is C . S . Lewis . A common thread in his writing relates to this theme of seeing and embracing God not merely as the means but as the end and goal . For instance , in The Screwtape Letters , Lewis writes , “[ God ] will not be used as a convenience . Men or nations who think they can revive the Faith in order to make a good society might just as well
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