Serving without a title

How do you serve when you have no formal title, only influence?

I have been pioneering sports ministry for many decades and leading from the front since I was 18 years old! Now that I have stepped back from operational leadership, I have found myself wondering "what next?" I no longer have a title or official project, or a position in the organizational structure.

I remember turning up at a conference when a young leader asked my name and what I did in the organization – the organization I started! I felt weird with the irony and struggled to answer. I was going through a transition. All I had was the history and trust, and in the early stages of this transition, I pondered how much I seemed to have lost. But through this season God was teaching me about what I had gained, and my new sense of calling.

My leadership and identity moved from being based on a 'king' to a 'sage'. In the beginning I had been called to a position as a 'king' – the operational leader of the organization for a season, and now I was now called to a position as a 'sage' – an elder and wise counsel. What is common to both roles is ‘influence’.

A powerful question is: How can I use my influence for God’s glory in this current season of life?

Scripture to ponder–1 Corinthians 4:15

Even if you had ten thousand guardians in Christ, you do not have many fathers, for in Christ I became your father through the gospel.

Key Lesson: Our whole life is about growing influence. Becoming a 'sage' later in ministry is a high calling far beyond title or power.