When I started my career in leadership, my burning desire was to be liked by others. During my first two years of ministry, nearly everything I did was motivated by my goal to please people and win them over to me personally.

But then God dealt with me on that issue. I began visiting a man in the hospital who was the brother of a woman in my church. Each day for a week we’d chat about the Cincinnati Reds or some other unimportant topic. He was a nice guy, and I enjoyed talking to him. I think he really liked me.

Then one day a few hours after I had visited him, I got the call that he had died. And I realized that he had gone to the grave without ever hearing me share my faith. I was devastated. I had cared more about his opinion of me than about the condition of his soul.

For months I wrestled with the memory of my indifference to that man. It was one the lowest points of my life. It truly broke me, and God was able to deal with me and turn my heart toward him.

That incident changed my life forever. I decided that I would dedicate myself to what was truly important. Just as it had for Deborah, God’s mission became my mission. I dedicated the remainder of my life to building God’s kingdom, not my reputation.

It has been nearly three decades since I made that decision. And during that time God has made it clear to me that my particular mission isn’t to be raised up by others, it’s to raise up leaders for His kingdom’s sake. And because I’ve aligned myself with God’s priorities for me, life has been an incredible journey.