Recently, Kenny Luck, founder of Every Man Ministries joined Trent on the Decisions podcast to share leadership insight around vision and purpose. We hope this conversation encourages you as you gain clarity around your calling and make more impact for Christ.
Many leaders in our day lack one thing: Clarity.
Have you stopped recently to ask God what He wants from you? What ‘center’ are you living out of today? Have you asked, ‘Lord, what is the vision that you want to embed in me?’
If you’ve lost sight of your purpose, it may be that you need a more solid grasp on your identity.
Because when you know who you are, you know what to do.
Take the Lion King for example…
If anyone had a solid, strong identity, it was Simba! He was the son of the king.
But trauma entered his life and fear grabbed hold of his heart. Then, that fear was exploited and manipulated by his enemy. (Is this sounding familiar yet?)
So he ran. He ran from who he was and tried to become something that he wasn’t. Until that is, he was whacked on the head by a baboon, (Aka: The Holy Spirit) who said:
“I know who you are. You’re Mufasa’s boy.”
And all of a sudden, a transformation took place. Simba realized that he had abandoned his responsibility to his identity, his energy was misplaced, and people were suffering because of it.
So finally, he ran in his truest identity to confront evil and do good.
The same is true for you. When you don’t know who you are, your energy is misplaced and your God-given responsibility is neglected. And here’s the harsh reality: We have an epidemic in our culture of anxiety, depression, leader failure, marriage failure, and church failure.
Our souls have been atomized. We’ve lost our purpose. We so desperately need to come back to our foundation. The more we stand on what we know is true from God’s Word, the more peace we project on to the people we lead.
Claiming these promises regarding identity requires us to shift what we value and prize in our culture.
Because God doesn’t measure quantity. He measures faithfulness.
And guess what? At the end of your life, you won’t be assessed on whether your company outperformed budget by 30% in the third quarter of 2022.
If your worth is in your title, product, or what’s printed on your business card, you’re a lost leader. And you’ll be on that journey forever.
But if your worth is found in the fact that you are created and loved by God, watch out. You’ll no longer feel the need to pursue worth that is rooted in the things of the world, but rather in eternal things. And those things will last and go with you.
It’s time to reframe leadership the way Jesus framed it in Luke 22. He said, “Benefactors and leaders sit at the table and are served. And people say they are great. Yet, who is greater? The one who sits at the table or the one who serves? Yet, I am among you as one who serves.”
Jesus recast leadership in the form of service to other people. Talk about purpose!
Your purpose must transcend your public and professional identity to the point that it drives you and fills your soul. It not only tells you who you are, it tells you what to do and helps you fight against your fear.
The only way to be secure on the inside is to know that you are fully loved, accepted, and defined by the God who created you. And only then will you be free to take risks, focus on others, and be free of distractions.
What did Jesus say to the woman distracted in Luke 10? “Martha, Martha, few things are necessary, really only one. And your sister, Mary, has chosen what is better.”
It’s a question we should all ponder on a regular basis: As a leader in your unique context, what center are you living out of today?
Cease striving. Know that He is God. Spend time with Him in the quiet as He speaks over you as a strong, loving Father.
Then move out from that place and into the purposes He has for you.
For more insight on how to discover your purpose and experience lasting peace, listen to the Decisions podcast episode, “Redeeming Masculinity” with Kenny Luck.
+ More Insights from Dunham+Company: “Executing Your Vision, Part One“