2.Consider the following three continuums. The right side represents David’s humility, trust and dependence. The left side represents Saul’s pride, fear and independence. Mark yourself on each of the three continuums. What steps do you need to take to move more to the right?
As you begin this journey of Leading Me, I encourage you to pray King David’s prayer: “But as for me, I am poor and needy; come quickly to me, O God. You are my help and my deliverer; LORD, do not delay” (Psalm 70:5).
Chapter 2—A Dashboard for Life
Imagine that you are already several minutes late as you head to your car. You quickly get settled into the driver’s seat, turn the key to start the engine and then shift gears to begin backing up. It’s then, from the corner of your eye, that you notice. The low-fuel light is on. You now have a decision to make. You could heed this silent but clear warning and take the time to stop for gas. Or, you could choose to temporarily ignore the warning and test the limits of your gas tank’s capacity.
Your car’s dashboard is a tremendously helpful tool. When you are driving down the highway, you can’t pop the hood and check over the engine. You can’t see inside your fuel tank from the driver’s seat. Even when parked in your driveway, the complex mix of hundreds of parts, multiple computers, various fluids and pressures are overwhelming to most people. The dashboard solves this problem.
The dashboard identifies the key functions and provides a simple overview at a glance. These few gauges can give you a fairly clear and objective overview of the car’s operating condition. Then, whatever your mechanical aptitude, you can have a more objective level of confidence or concern as you drive. If a yellow or red warning light comes on the dashboard, you can make a choice. One choice is to cover it over with duct tape and ignore it. Another choice is to take action to investigate and rectify the potential problem.
The simple concept of a car dashboard can also be applied to your life. By identifying some key indicators of health, a dashboard of gauges can be created to provide a simple, objective system of feedback. While not scientific, a dashboard can be a simple way to keep on track and to watch for emerging problems. It provides helpful feedback and perspective in the midst of everyday life. If you are a Christian leader operating at high speeds with limited feedback and time for reflection, a dashboard can be a particularly helpful tool for leading yourself.
There are many possible dashboard gauges for the Christian life, but there are four specific gauges that emerge as repeated themes from the life of Jesus and throughout Scripture. These four gauges provide a practical tool for self-evaluation, but they also paint a clear target of God’s intention for our lives.
Gauge #1—Spiritual Intimacy
In Mark 1:9–11 we are given a beautiful snapshot. It’s the story of Jesus’ baptism. It provides a unique window into the precious intimacy that Jesus shared with his heavenly Father and the Holy Spirit. Jesus was being baptized by John the Baptist, and as he came up out of the water, “he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove” (Mark 1:10). Then, Jesus heard these words from his father in heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased” (Mark 1:11).
It’s critical to note that these public words were shared before Jesus began his ministry or accomplished anything. These words were publicly shared to reinforce Jesus’ primary identity, position and value as God’s deeply loved son.
These very clear, personal and encouraging words also highlight the intimate relationship between Jesus and his Father. As Arrow Leadership’s founder Leighton Ford writes, “Like the patriarchs and prophets in the days of old, he (Jesus) was hearing a call. Yet Jesus’ call was completely different because it was the affirmation of a special intimacy and identity with God. He and his Father were one—one in nature, in love and in purpose.”1
The same can be said of Jesus and the Holy Spirit. They, too, were one—in nature, in love and in purpose. The description of the Holy Spirit descending on Jesus is a vivid reminder that Jesus’ life was lived in a dynamic, intimate and dependent relationship with the Spirit.
Beyond this one snapshot, the Gospels demonstrate that Jesus sought out, pursued and enjoyed a dynamic and intimate spiritual relationship with the Father throughout his earthly life. A few verses later, in Mark 1:35, we read that “while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.” I don’t believe that this time with the Father was simply a prerequisite for leading or having a greater impact; it was first about intimacy and relationship.
You are I are also created for an intimate spiritual relationship with God. This is the foundation and wellspring of the Christian life. Os Guinness writes, “Our primary calling as followers of Christ is by him, to him and for him. First and foremost we are called to Someone (God), not to something (such as motherhood, politics or teaching) or to somewhere (such as the inner city or Outer Mongolia).”2 Too often I’ve been reminded by this quote that I’m putting the “something” or “somewhere” ahead of my primary calling.
Since intimacy with God is central to our life and to following Christ, the first dashboard gauge is the spiritual intimacy gauge. This is the vertical or “being” dimension of our life. It’s about receiving love from God and abiding in, loving, becoming one with and having a friendship with Christ.
At its very core, the spiritual intimacy gauge starts with receiving God’s love. It’s about grasping “how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God” (Ephesians 3:18–19). Receiving God’s love transforms us from the inside out. It determines our great value and shapes our identity.
The spiritual intimacy gauge is also about nurturing this critical relationship. The spiritual disciplines are one key way to cultivate intimacy with God. Our response back to God is one of worship and love—heart, mind and soul.
As the wellspring for the Christian life, our intimacy with God shouldn’t turn us inward. Instead, it should overflow to the rest of our life. If we understand and receive God’s lavish love for us, then it impacts our character. As Scripture says, “If you love me, keep my commands” (John 14:15). In other words, our love for God will lead to godly choices and actions. Similarly, if we internalize God’s love, it will impact our relationships. As Jesus said, “My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you” (John 15:12). Finally, if we understand even a tiny fraction of the magnitude of God’s love for us and the entire world, then his love will overflow through us in service to a world in need.
The spiritual intimacy gauge helps you assess how you are doing in cultivating this critical and central area of your life and leadership. To begin to get a reading of this gauge, you can ask yourself some questions. These questions will get you started:
•Is God’s love really real for you? Is God’s love easy or hard for you to receive and internalize?
•Where do you find your worth? In Christ, in others, or in your title or accomplishments?
•Which of these words and phrases would you use to describe your intimacy with God: dry, distant, neglected, fragile, real, growing, deep, intimate, overflowing?
•Are you intentional about growing with God through disciplined spiritual exercise and rhythms?
•Are you depending on and trusting God more than yourself or other things?
Gauge #2—Character
Immediately following his baptism, Jesus was sent to the desert. In this barren setting after forty long days Jesus was tempted by Satan. This snapshot is just one example of Jesus’ ongoing experience of temptation and conflict. As Hebrews 4:15 states, “For we do not have a high priest