Luke 3;21-22 says, “When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too… and a voice came from heaven: “You are My Son, whom I love; with You I am well-pleased.” Pastor, if you want to lead better, lead longer, and enjoy it more, three foundational items must be present in growing measure: Identity, Affection, and Affirmation

Identity

• “You are my Son.”
• The healthiest pastors work from their identity vs for their identity.
• Your calling is not your core identity, it is your peripheral identity (Dick Brogden).

Affection

• “Whom I love”
• Living and leading out of the experiential knowledge that we are perfectly loved by our Heavenly Father.
• Almost every Christian believes in their head that God loves them. But not many are convinced in their heart that God loves them.
• Ephesians 3:17-19: “And I pray that you, rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.” “Know” comes from the Greek word, “ginosko” – and it means to know experientially.
• When we live and lead out of experientially being convinced of the love of the Father, we live and lead with a full tank. People pleasing loses its grip.

Affirmation

• “In whom I am well-pleased.”
• Working from approval vs. for
• Chip Judd: “Why do we work for what we already have?”
• God’s affirmation addresses our insecurity, our shame.