5 Jobs of a Spiritual Leader - Week 1 - Abide in Christ

This past week, I had the privilege to speak at a Spiritual Leadership Retreat for Club Sport athletes at Liberty University. 35 competitors attended from 21 different teams.

What an honor it was to see God move and witness these gifted Competitors for Christ diligently seek the heart of God.

They not only compete hard, pursue excellence, and want to win championships, but their eyes are forward on eternity. Their sport is their tool to reach people with the love of Christ.

While there, we discussed the 5 Jobs of a Spiritual Leader. 

He alone is the Power Source. He is the Vine who produces fruit. It is not our wisdom, hard work, charisma, creativity, or giftedness that produces eternal impact, but His power at work in and through us.

There is nothing so important for us as Spiritual Leaders than this vital connection to the Vine. If we are not intimately connected to the Lord, we are lifeless branches trying to produce fruit in our own strength. We become like a lamp trying to produce light without first being plugged into the wall. 

1.   We live with Utter Dependence on the Vine. This heart posture results in an eager pursuit to be aligned with the Lord in every area of life. We need His Presence, power, wisdom, strength, love and help as much as we need to breathe to survive.

2.    We spend TIME with Jesus daily. This can look different each day, but whether it is reading God’s Word, praying, journaling, worshipping, or going for a walk with God - relational depth grows when we spend TIME with our King. Intimacy grows when we turn the noise off and put our phones away to just BE with our Good Shepherd.

3.   We maintain Intimate Heart connection with God. We do this by diligently guarding our heart from hindrances (Proverbs 4:23), obeying the Lord’s commands (John 15:10), and having authentic, honest, heart level conversations with God every day (1 Thessalonians 5:17).
We must never let anything get in between us and the Lord. Not work, family, sport, busyness, laziness, excuses, sin, fear, unprocessed emotions, bitterness, or people.

Rocky Fleming, Founder and Director of Influencers Global Ministries says it this way in his book "Beyond the Inner Chamber."


As Spiritual Leaders, abiding in Christ is our lifeblood and number one job. 

1.   Start your day on your knees declaring your utter dependence on the Lord and then sending the Holy Spirit ahead of you. Pray Zechariah 4:6 and Psalm 127:1-2 over your day.

2.   Spend TIME with Jesus before going to practice, work, school, etc.

3.   Join a Soul Care Journey Group. Our Journey groups are focused on empowering Competitors to Abide in Christ. Men meet Tuesday and Wednesday mornings 9-10 am Eastern on Zoom. Come pursue intimacy with Christ with other Coaches, Fathers, and Leaders around the country. Click HERE for more information.

4.   Invite the Lord into every part of your day. Be like Nehemiah, who when asked a question by King Artaxerxes in a time of need, immediately prayed to the God of heaven (Neh. 2:4).

5.   Take time to journal your emotions. Stress increases when change and adversity hit. Journaling helps us process our feelings, talk to God, and surrender to God’s will.

6.   Start using your spiritual weapons. To win spiritually, we must fight spiritually.

7.   Make the mindset shift to go on OFFENSIVE ATTACK to pursue intimacy with Christ instead of remaining passive.

8.   Maintain a strong DEFENSE by guarding your heart from hindrances to intimacy with Christ (Proverbs 4:23). See below for a list of some potential hindrances to Intimacy with Christ.

• Cherishing iniquity in your heart (Ps. 66:18)
• Unbelief (Mark 6:1-6, Matthew 13:58)
• Unforgiveness (Matthew 6:14-15)
• Doublemindedness or doubting (James 1:5-6)
• Dishonoring your wife (1 Pet 3:7)
• Unreconciled relationships (Matthew 5:24-25)
• Pride (James 4:6)
• Friendship with the world (James 4:3)
• Loving the world (1 John 2:15-17)
• Not asking God in prayer (Matthew 7:7)
• Doing evil (Psalm 34:15-17, Prov. 15:8)
• Rebellion (Proverbs 28:9)
• Legalism/Religious performance with a heart far from God (Isaiah 1:10-18)

9.   Pray Psalm 139:23-24 every morning.

10.   Seek to love the Lord with all your HEART first, not your strength first. One way we do this is to stop “Shoulding” on ourselves. We “Should” on ourselves when we say things like:

• “I should be better, more disciplined, stronger”
• “I should speak up and be more courageous”
• “I should read my Bible and pray more”
• “I shouldn’t act or feel that way”

Instead of “Shoulding” on ourselves and trying harder to produce fruit in our own strength, we can start having authentic, honest, heart-felt conversations with God about what is really going on inside our heart. Then, we choose to surrender in our hearts to the Lord and let His strength become our strength.

11.   Go on a soul care retreat. Whether for a morning, a day, or a weekend, set aside a dedicated time to fast, pray, and seek the heart of God.

12.   Build a lion pack of friends. Proverbs 13:20 says “Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm.” It is crucial who we decide to run with. A tremendous decision is to build a lion pack of friends seeking to abide in Christ and live on mission with Jesus. A great place to start is by getting involved in a local, Bible-believing, Bible-teaching church. Another option is to join a Pure Encouragement Confidence or Soul Care group.

Soul Care Groups: New  Journey groups start August 2023. See opportunities below.

Confidence Groups: Join other athletes from around the world training their confidence on our weekly Zoom training groups. We run off-season (May-Aug) and in-season (Oct-Mar) groups. Athletes can join anytime and catch up on past material through video recordings.

Leadership Groups: Team Captain and Spiritual Leader Groups are in development. Stay tuned for upcoming group opportunities.