Think of all the things you bring to your ministry. What stands out most? Are you a gifted teacher or a master administrator? Maybe you execute at a high level. You might have a heart of mercy or a gift of discernment. We all, because of God’s gracious work in us, have gifts and abilities that can be used to carry out his mission. 

That’s not the most important thing you bring to your ministry. Not your gifting. Not your work ethic. Not your personality. I want to point out to you something I first heard from Vance Pitman*: 

Think about it. When Jesus commissions the church in Matthew 28, he commissions them to “make disciples” (v. 19.) Then, empowered by the Holy Spirit, believers are gifted: “To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good” (1 Cor. 12:7.) Paul goes on to say that believers should use their gifts to “[build] up the church.” Our gifts, unique and varied as they are, help us to build up the church. But why? To strengthen her to carry out her mission: making disciples. 

Missing What Matters

Healthy discipleship requires a healthy disciple. Our gifts are a help to us as we make disciples. Period. 

One of the traps believers can fall into is to begin to function as the inverse of this principle is really what’s true. I have been guilty of believing this script more often than I’d like to admit:  “My gifts are what make healthy disciples; my spiritual health is only supplemental in our disciple-making.”

What a dangerous way to think. Or worse, to live. 

It is far more intuitive to live as though discipleship requires our spiritual gifts; and that our gifts are only aided by our spiritual health. I’m convinced Pitman is right. When leaders walk faithfully with God, they grow spiritually. 

As you grow spiritually, you are able to lead spiritually. You are able to minister out of the overflow of what God is doing in you, rather than trying to manufacture something you feel like you should be doing. Howard Hendrix, the famed Dallas Theological Seminary professor, once said: “you cannot impart what you do not possess.” Our gifts are just that: gifts. Good and gracious, given by the Father. We celebrate and rejoice in them, but our gifts cannot replace our walk with God - and the thing your people need from you most is a spiritually healthy leader.

3 Priorities in a Leader’s Walk With God

Don’t let these questions produce guilt. Satan would love to isolate you from God through these. Instead, let the grace of God wash over you and embrace the invitation to walk with him in a fresh way. His mercies are new every morning. 

Maybe you’ve heard Stephen Covey describe the importance of putting in the big rocks first. If you haven’t, check it out here. It will change the way you prioritize (for the better.) 

These are the big rocks.

1. Intimacy: Word & Prayer. 

Cultivating intimacy with God comes from knowing him through his time in his Word and in prayer. Leader: do not skip this. There is no substitute for an intimate walk with God. We need to have our hearts and minds rinsed out with the truth of God’s Word. We need, like Moses, to come down the mountain with radiant faces. When we walk with God, he’s glorified, we’re satisfied, and our people grow. 

In his powerful book on prayer, E.M. Bounds writes, “hurried devotions make weak faith, feeble convictions, questionable piety. To be little with God is to be little for God.” Power and growth in your ministry come from time in the closet. Develop a plan to read God’s Word daily and pray intentionally. 

2. Dependence: Reliance & Surrender. 

In John 15, Jesus tells his disciples to “abide,” because “apart from me, you can do nothing.” Jesus tells us that we won’t be of any spiritual use in his kingdom if we don’t depend on him as our supply of spiritual power. Our walk with God thrives most when we rely on ourselves the least.

Do all that you can to build this habit into your life: be needy. Run to God first. Run to God most. Don’t build up a reliance on your abilities or strengths to lead in his church.  

Here’s how this looks for me:

• God, I need your forgiveness. I’ve sinned and I need to turn back to you. Will you give me grace?

• God, I need your help. I’m in a situation that’s more than I can handle. Will you give me peace?

• God, I need you to turn hearts. I can open your word or lead your people but nothing will change without you. Will you move us?

It was Charles Spurgeon who wrote, “I have a great need for Christ. I have a great Christ for my need.”

3. Identity: Hope & Trust.  

The Scriptures tell us God is like a perfect Father; that he will be good to us; that the Father’s love for us isn’t dependent on us. We can run to him, delight in him, and depend on him. He provides for our needs and is a refuge for us in our fears. He is our shield. He secures our salvation and then invites us into his family, so we can be assured that he will treat us like family.

I would never deny any of these things. Intellectually, I believe them all. And yet, this is not the default posture of my heart. My default isn’t hope and trust at all. It’s cynicism and fear. I have to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ against another, lower gospel that says “work hard enough or get cast aside.” 

Maybe the default posture of your heart isn’t “work hard.” Maybe it’s “be good enough,” “say yes to enough things,” or “please people enough.” Whatever it is, you can be sure of this: when you believe a false gospel, you’ll serve a false god.

Don’t buy into the belief that God will only be happy with you if you serve enough, give enough, lead enough, or sacrifice enough. Instead, cultivate a faith that embraces a belief in what God says about you. Embrace your identity as a son or daughter of God. You’ll find that hope in God is possible, because his smile is on you. You’ll trust God in difficult seasons, knowing that he promises to work for the good of his sons and daughters.

As you embrace your identity in Christ, you’ll lead others to do the same. 

God-honoring ministry flows out of a deep walk with God. Whether you lead a group, serve on a volunteer team, or pastor a church, your walk with God is what matters most. Prioritize your time with him and invite others to do the same. 

*Vance Pitman is the founding pastor of Hope Church in Las Vegas, NV, and Senior Vice President of the North American Mission Board.