Many Want to Lead. Few Are Ready to Serve.
Weekly Baseline | Week 3
What is The Weekly Baseline?
A Weekly, Members-only reset for people carrying leadership, family, and life
One anchor truth, a grounded reflection, and a 7-day baseline plan
Written prayerfully and curated with care, the way a pastor would prepare something meant to steady people, not impress them
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One quick note
My faith shapes how I think and lead. These baselines draw from Scripture, but the practices are designed to strengthen anyone leading under real pressure.
The Anchor for the Week
“The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” Psalm 34:18 (NIV)
The tension between wanting to lead… and being called to serve is where a lot of leadership maturity is quietly formed.
Most leaders want to make an impact… want to build, influence outcomes, and move things forward.
There is nothing inherently wrong with that, but the real test of our posture often shows up in moments that are small, inconvenient, and completely unnoticeable most of the time… and most powerful when the moment holds no true value for ourselves.
The Baseline
Years ago we had an encounter with a young homeless man named Matthew. He was probably in his early twenties. He was dressed in multiple layers of dirty clothes, his hair was disheveled, and there was a deep hopelessness in his eyes.
He approached me in front of the Union Gospel Mission where my family, a friend, and I had just handed out our care packages to people experiencing homelessness on Valentine’s Day. He asked if we had any more. Sadly, we had already passed them all out to the crowd. He looked so desperate and lost.
I started talking with him and asked about his life. He told me he was from the Burbank, California area and had been in Seattle for about five years, homeless the entire time. He admitted he had struggled with substance abuse, but the phrase he kept repeating was this: “I have let so many people down”. I could discern this was not a sales pitch or emotional manipulation, but a deep routed pain from his soul.
I told him I understood more than he probably realized. I shared that I too had let many people down in my life, had made numerous bad decisions, had been homeless for a period of time, had battled addiction, and had experienced seasons where hope felt very far away. But I also told him that every day is an opportunity for something new. A new beginning. A new measure of hope.
We talked briefly about the Lord, and I asked if he had received Jesus. He said that he had. I asked whether he had any family back in Burbank he could reconnect with while getting back on his feet. He mentioned an aunt he might be able to live with and that he could try to find work.
I encouraged him not to be ashamed of where he had been and not to be afraid to ask for help. We have all fallen short. Tomorrow can look very different from today.
As he stared directly into my eyes while we talked, I had the distinct sense that he wanted to hope again. He wanted to be rescued. He wanted to be loved. He wanted to not only be safe, but to be useful again.
Even though we were out of care packages, I gave him a couple of dollars that was in my pocket and my half-finished coffee and said goodbye.
I do not know what happened to Matthew that night. I do not know what happened in the months or years that followed. But I know that for a brief moment in time, I was able to speak encouragement and hope into someone who desperately needed it.
That evening was a powerful opportunity to serve people in need and to teach my girls who were quite young at the time about the privilege of helping others.
I will never forget Matthew.. not the impact he made on me, that people are looking for a lighthouse to shine the way away from danger and into safety.
Leadership often looks much quieter than we expect. It is not always the visible win, the clean metric, or the moment that gets recognized. Sometimes it is simply being willing to stop, listen, and serve when there is nothing obvious in it for you.
I have had these types of moments at work, in the grocery store, and some of the most random places… just by making myself available.
The Reset: Choose Service First
Being willing to serve others and speak to place in their lives does not diminish leadership. It strengthens it.
There is a version of leadership that is driven primarily by visibility, scale, and recognition. And there is another version that is grounded in presence, humility, and responsiveness to the person in front of you. The best leaders know it is a mixture of both.
This week is an opportunity to examine your posture honestly.
Not whether you are effective.
But whether you are still interruptible.
Because many of the moments that matter most in leadership will never show up on a dashboard or in a meeting.
Some of the most powerful moments happen at work when the laptops are closed, at home when the television is off, and out in public when the phones are put away
The 7-Day Baseline Plan
Once per day this week, take one minute and do this.
Day 1: Check your posture
Question: Where am I more focused on being seen than being helpful?
Baseline: Identify one situation where your first instinct is recognition instead of service. Simply being aware of it, often changes the dynamic.
Truth: “Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant…” Matthew 20:26 (NIV)
Day 2: Notice the interruptions
Question: Where have I been too busy to be interruptible?
Baseline: Pay attention to one moment today where someone needs your attention. Slow down enough to see it.
Truth: “The LORD is close to the brokenhearted…” Psalm 34:18 (NIV)
Day 3: Serve without the spotlight
Question: What is one small act of service I can do that no one will track?
Baseline: Do one helpful thing quietly today. Do not announce it. Do not optimize it. Just do it well.
Truth: “Your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.” Matthew 6:4 (NIV)
Day 4: Stay present
Question: Am I fully listening when people speak to me?
Baseline: In your next conversation, resist the urge to rush. Give the person your full attention, don’t allow yourself to be distracted by other thoughts or electronics. One effective way is to turn them over, off, or turn off notifications.
Truth: “Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak…” James 1:19 (NIV)
Day 5: Remember your own story
Question: Where has grace met me in my past?
Baseline: Reflect briefly on a time when someone extended patience or kindness to you. Let that shape how you show up today.
Truth: “Be kind and compassionate to one another…” Ephesians 4:32 (NIV)
Day 6: Release the need for credit
Question: Where am I subtly looking for acknowledgment?
Baseline: Do the right thing today without checking whether anyone noticed.
Truth: “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart…” Colossians 3:23 (NIV)
Day 7: Recommit
Question: What would it look like for me to lead by serving this week?
Baseline: Choose one area of responsibility where you will intentionally lead with humility and presence.
Truth: “The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve…” Matthew 20:28 (NIV)
If this helped you recalibrate your leadership posture, consider sharing it with someone who is carrying weight quietly right now.
Thank you Chris for this reminder for all of us to make ourselves available to speak and/or listen to others, as others have done for us.
I am reminded of a mentor I had who made himself available to me. By God's grace, let me be available to those whom God would have me be to, and Lord, open my eyes and heart to see it.
I love how you reframed leadership around interruptibility—that question alone exposes so much of our posture. The story of Matthew captures what real leadership often looks like: unplanned, unseen, and deeply human. Your 7-day baseline is practical without being performative, which fits the heart of service you’re calling people back to. I’ve been writing about a similar theme—how love and presence in the ordinary moments shape who we become—if it resonates, I’d be honored for you to read this: https://theeternalnowmm.substack.com/p/eternal-love?r=71z4jh