Secure & Sent: Leadership for Church PlantersSample

Who’s In Your Corner?

Life is a team sport. No one is able to do it alone. This begs the question: do we have the right people around us?

If we want to succeed in being who Jesus created us to be and accomplish the good works he has planned for us, then we will need the best team of people we can get in our corner.

But how do we know we’ve got the right people? That’s a great question. We know we have the right people if they are the kind of friends who pair together the same two things Jesus does: truth and grace. This means we will need some Nathan’s in our corner.

In this story, we’d all rather be Nathan than David. But if we want to become self-aware and grow increasingly secure in who we are in Christ, then there’s no alternative. We cannot only wish we had a Nathan or two in our lives. We have to actively recruit them.

This won’t be easy, but in itself, it is actually a sign of growing security. It will take some grit, and a strong stomach for tough news, but in the end will be worth it. Because if we want to be like Jesus, we have to open up our hearts to those who love us most. First to Jesus, but then also to those he has put by our side. Whether this is our spouses, best friends, or our co-workers we will need them all.

If we want to live and lead like Jesus. We must become self-aware and secure. It’s the only way. But the path that leads to this is far from certain. Many never take it. God still uses us when we lack self-awareness and security, but there is more pain, broken relationships, and burnt-out teams than there could have been had we taken the road less traveled.