00:55 Just a quick recap of what we talked about from our previous episodes in this series:

• Episode 32: Being Out of Season and Choosing Isolation
• Episode 33: Bitterness, Avoiding Confrontation, and Losing Trusted Friendships
• Episode 34: Forgetting Fun and Serving the Schedule

01:31 For this episode, we will talk about another two warning signs, Perpetuating an Artificial Image and Building a Third World.

02:40 Dean: We hope that this would allow us to have a conversation with other leaders to process, so that we would become better leaders.

JV: This is what our episodes and podcasts are all about ⏤ for us leaders to improve and help each other grow in our leadership.

03:29 Dean: How would you want to be remembered as a leader?

03:38 JV: If there is something that I would want to be remembered for as a leader who is dependent on the grace of the Lord. ‘Yun yung parati kong pinanghahawakan sa buong buhay ko. Apart from the Lord, I am really nothing. When there are days in my life ⏤ in my leadership or in my personal life na challenged ako or merong hindi ko maintindihan about the Gospel, I would always go back na apart from God’s grace, I am really nothing. Doon ako naha-humble. So, if there would be something that I would want to be remembered for, it’s how I lived out the grace of the Lord in my life.

Dean: Siguro ako, kung may bio ako… a leader who listens and I am way far from being one. Lahat naman tayo learning and growing leaders, but personally, I want to be remembered as a kind of leader who listens.

05:26 Warning Sign: Perpetuating an Artificial Image

Dean: May challenges yung leadership and one of them is trying to save our faces.

JV: As leaders, we are not exempted from this. Everyone of us has the tendency to have an artificial image that we portray. Maybe because we are afraid to be judged or lose our leadership responsibility… At the end of the day, the heart behind it will always be exposed. One way or another ‘pag na-expose yung laman ng puso mo, mapapagod ka.

Dean: Lahat tayo, we are capable of making mistakes… Most of the time, because we want to hold on to the responsibility, position, or how people see us, we try to preserve our artificial image. Tayo yung okay lang lagi, but in reality, hindi naman.

08:40 Dean: How will you recognize if you are promoting your passion or you are already promoting yourself? What is the thin line between promoting your passion and promoting yourself?

JV: For me, it’s really the issue of the heart ⏤ the foundation of your heart. Why do you do what you do? With all the things that you are doing as a leader, is it worth it? At the end of the day, mayroon kang time sa buhay mo na mapapagod ka. Pero pag napagod ka, alam mo lang kung saan ka babalik… For me, the way I see this question on how I will recognize it, is to know how my walk with God is… Kumusta ba kayo ni Lord? How is your devotion, your prayer life, and the community that you are in? If these things are aligned, then you just know that you are promoting your passion and it’s never about promoting yourself… Don’t get me wrong, I guess everyone of us as Christians, we want to have a platform wherein people will be curious about who Jesus is in your life… Walang masama na makita ng mga tao na nagbabago ka, pero kailangan as leaders, I believe, solid yung foundation natin pagdating sa walk natin kay God.

Dean: If our heart is unhealthy, it would produce unhealthy stuff or lifestyle in our lives… Siguro para sa ‘kin, knowing between promoting yourself and promoting your passion is actually recognizing kanino mo ba gusto nakatapat ‘yung spotlight ⏤ kay Jesus ba or sa sarili mo? Whenever I post something or say something, sino ba gusto ko ma-honor?… Jesus, although the crowd was following Him, He would always point the crowd to His Father in Heaven… He was not preserving His image, He was actually sharing and giving the spotlight to His Father in Heaven, so that people would believe Him that they might be saved. He did that by serving the people…

JV: Jesus’ foundation was going to the source of everything, that’s why He was able to establish that kind of leadership… It was just a natural thing that happened to him that people were really drawn to him because He started with the Father. For us to be guarded, for us not to go to that thin line between promoting your passion and promoting yourself, is to really establish ourselves with the Source. Mahihirapan talaga tayo bilang isang Kristiyano or leaders kung bigay lang tayo ng bigay pero hindi tayo nakaka-experience ng personal at private moment natin kay Lord…

Dean: God would definitely put us in positions… not to serve ourselves or para pasikatin natin sarili natin, pero para mas makilala nila si Jesus. At the end of the day, what we want to happen is that they would trust Jesus, find salvation in Him, find their purpose in Him, and I think that’s leadership… What is your intention? Let’s go back to the heart. Is it servanthood? Is it leadership that leads to knowing Jesus? Kaya kung meron akong summary sa pinag-usapan natin na ‘to… servanthood matters because leadership is servanthood. What we want to portray to people is not a pretentious kind that pleases others, but a kind of image that pleases God and is secured with it. 

22:22 Warning Sign: Building a Third World

JV: What is a ‘third world’? Why do you think people build a ‘third world’?

Dean: According to the article, “One sign of a crisis is building a ‘third world’ outside of your home and your office ⏤ or your school or the things that you do. For many, it’s a bar. An apartment in the city. A casino. The author (Stephen Mansfield) says it’s the place we’ve created “so we can avoid the discomfort and the unhappiness of home, work, or school, or whatever you are doing…”

Many times, yung ginagawa natin in leading, nakakapagod… and sometimes iniisip natin na, “Ako naman! I’ve been serving others left and right, pwede bang ako naman?!” And that’s a dangerous thing. Pupunta tayo sa third world n’yan na bubuuin mismo natin… It would come to a point of us wanting to be alone. But there is a big difference between isolation and solitude… The danger of isolation, iniisip na natin to a point of compromise leading to temptations or even embracing these things, just to satisfy ourselves. Thinking that, “I deserve this pleasure, this sin, this compromise because I have given my all to others.” On the other hand, Jesus needed solitude. He recognized that He needed rest, but also needed His Father in Heaven… There were many times in the Bible that Jesus withdrew from the crowd because He would go to His Father. Going back to the Source is solitude… Building a ‘third world’ happens in isolation, but getting energized again for what you are passionate about is going to God even if you are alone.

JV: We need to identify what kind of ‘third world’ we are building because it’s dangerous… The same way with our family ⏤ what you build in your home is important as leaders… Who we are in public and who we are in private should be the same…

32:00 Dean: Integrity matters… This means, isa lang tayo ⏤ with the crowd, at home, or even when we are alone.

Hopefully, makita talaga natin na if we are in these temptations na bubuo tayo ng ‘third world’ natin for the sake of pleasure, satisfaction to a point of sin. I hope that we will get convicted by the Holy Spirit about that… What truly satisfies is the peace that comes from God, our relationship with God, and the love that God lavishly gave us.

34:26 JV: As leaders, how can we be secure in the reality that we have?

35:19 Dean: Accountability matters… People around you matter because God gave them to you and these people are going to help you… I hope you have people around you na okay lang ikwento sa kanila kung nagkamali ka… Those people who will not judge you and whom you can run to anytime… These are the people na talagang nagiging extension ng love ni God sa atin…

JV: To add to that is teachability… To accept that at some point we have neglected our leadership and have failed… But at the same time, you will never be a failure. Yes, you may have failed, but you are not a failure as a leader. That’s why, doon papasok yung grace ni Lord…

38:45 Dean: How can we recover if we find ourselves perpetuating an artificial image and the temptation of building a sinful ‘third world’?

In summary, I hope that we remember that:

1. Servanthood matters. If we want to be a leader, our hope is that our desire is what the Bible teaches us that we become leaders who are known to serve. We are servant leaders.
2. Integrity matters. There are times when we would want to be alone, but being alone does not equate to being out of God’s presence. Let us welcome the presence of God and His love in our time of solitude, and not compromise. Solitude not isolation.
3. Accountability matters. People around us matter. Let us learn to trust others, so that we can all grow in God together.

The ENC Leadership Podcast is hosted by Dean Pasaba and JV Puno.

Processing Questions: 

1. Have you been tempted to project a certain image because you are a leader? What are the things you can start doing this week to help you avoid the pressure of a false branding?
2. What ‘third world’ have you built or do you find yourself starting to build? List 3-5 people you can run to in case of spiritual and leadership emergencies.