Replenish: Leading from a Healthy Soul

by Lance Witt

When it comes to the church, you can’t separate leadership from the leader. You can’t divorce the message from the messenger. Yet we can become quite adept at projecting an image that does not accurately reflect what’s going on inside of us. Godly leadership is always inside out. God always has and always will choose to smile on men and women who are healthy, holy, and humble.

It is possible to gain the world of ministry success and lose your own soul in the midst of it all.[8] . . .

My ministry became my identity. My ministry became my first love. My ministry consumed all my spiritual passion. My ministry (not Jesus) was my life.

Never lose sight of the fact that the box (your ministry) is not as valuable as the gift (Jesus). And the only reason the box exists is to deliver the gift. You have dedicated your life to the gift, not to the box.

“The older I get, the less concern I have with what I have or have not done and the more concern I have for what I have or have not become.”

I have a growing conviction that it’s dangerous to equip young leaders with vision, leadership, strategy, and church growth principles without equipping them to have healthy souls.

A reporter once asked an insightful question when interviewing a woman from the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra: “How does it feel to get a standing ovation from the crowd at the end of your performance and then wake up in the morning to a negative review in the newspaper?” Her response was even more insightful. She said over time she has learned not to pay attention to the applause of the crowd or the disapproval of the critics. She was only after the approval of her conductor. After all, he was the only person who really knew how she was supposed to perform.

At the end of the day, he will evaluate my life not on the world’s definition of success but on his definition of faithfulness.

When the spotlight is gone, what you have left is the relationship. That’s why paying attention to your soul is so important. Someday the trappings of ministry will fade away, and all you’ll have will be Jesus. Will that be enough?

has not forgotten you. Even though you might be hidden from the world, you are not hidden from him. Allow this anonymous season to deepen rather than discourage you. Don’t chase after the spotlight; chase after the relationship.

Today I still long so much for honour, I am so pleased with myself, so rooted in my nature. I am pleased when others ask for my opinion, when I am made to feel I am needed, when people know that I am clever, talented and popular. I am glad when I am friends with everyone, when I can share what is in my heart, when I can shine. But Lord Jesus, you were a servant of all. Today I surrender all desire to be great; I renounce all pleasure I take in being important.[61]

There’s a huge difference between being a son/daughter and being an employee. A company has a transactional relationship with the employee. You produce . . . you’re in. You don’t produce . . . you’re out. Your compensation is connected to your contribution. But it’s different being a son or daughter. You are family. Your place is not dependent on your performance. As a son, my value is intrinsic, not transactional. For many years I did ministry as an employee rather than as a son. My value and acceptance were dependent on how well I performed. I’m not quite sure where I picked up this script, but it definitely guided my approach to ministry.