Jimmy Collins was Truett Cathy’s right-hand man as Chick-fil-A was launched and grew into a massive business. Collins was tasked with much of the day-to-day operational activities as the company ballooned into one of the most significant restaurant companies in the U.S.
In his recounting of the experience in the excellent book Creative Followership: In the Shadow of Greatness, Collins makes an amazing observation about working with Mr. Cathy. Essentially, he says that it was easy to follow Cathy because he knew that Cathy was following Jesus. This alignment of purpose and egos allowed many things to work efficiently because it eliminated the drama that often accompanies worldly success.
His book resonated with me because of the experiences I have had with other leaders, pastors, and people of influence. I loved his image of alignment and invoked it a good deal when I came to North Greenville University in 2017. We spent time making sure our mission was aligned with kingdom purposes. We made sure our operational models were aligned with our mission. We made sure that every aspect of the community was aligned with our operational models. And, in the end, we made sure that our own hearts were aligned with the heart of Christ Himself.
My life’s verse is 1 John 4:19, “We love because He first loved us.” These words cut me to the quick when I was in my 20s and forming my adult views on every aspect of my life. I saw that starting with Christ — being Christ-centered in every part of my heart, mind, soul, and strength — was always the correct starting point. I began a now lifelong wrestling with the need to maximize Christ and minimize myself (John 3:30).
The first way that this alignment changes us is when we realize that our salvation is Christ-centered. As humans, we love to assert the power of our own actions, our piety, our family connections, and so many other false values where our salvation is concerned. But the Scriptures make it clear that our salvation is not of ourselves (Eph. 2:8–9); our righteousness is as filthy rags (Is. 64:6); our sins are deeply-rooted and plenteous (Rom. 5:20).
First John 4:19 reminds us that our salvation does not begin with us: It is rooted in Christ’s mission for His creation. It is rooted in the humility of His descent into this world and His incredible sacrifice on our behalf. This heroic humility is the root of our faith and the focus of our worship and our lives. If we are rightly aligned with Him, then we will emulate the humility of His work.
A second way that this alignment changes us is in how we understand wisdom. In a secular world, wisdom is a pursuit that we undertake. We receive education, we collect facts and experiences, and we surround ourselves with mentors who can impart their own philosophies to us. Certainly there is value in these things, but that value only achieves truth when it is subordinate to Christ Himself. As Proverbs 9:10 tell us, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” Again, the Scriptures start with the source of wisdom, the Lord, and lead us not to arrogance but to humility, to righteous fear.
Those who are in positions of leadership understand quickly the necessity of wisdom. No matter the role, there are situations that outstrip our understanding and capabilities, so leaders seek best practices, read books, and ponder case studies that can impart information, but the clear teaching we see in the Bible is that we should start with the fear that results from our rightly aligned hearts. This means that we can participate in God’s providential care for us as He guides our work. My experience has been that sometimes this humility even means we are open to learning from unexpected sources. Among these unlikely tutors is that of hardship (2 Cor. 12:9–10). The challenges we face at church, in the marketplace, and in our personal lives often yield lessons that we otherwise might not grasp. In fact, these lessons can produce even deeper humility and a deeper commitment to cultivating a rightly aligned heart.
Our culture loves to tell us to follow our own paths and pursue our authentic identity, but the reality is that these approaches to life and leadership always crumble into the abyss of ambition and arrogance. This is always the result of misaligning our hearts — and minds and souls — in directions away from Christ.
This alignment is particularly important for leaders in churches, organizations, and even families. As leaders find themselves being pushed forward into positions of influence, it is easy to shift into a mindset that allows ego to trump everything else and shift the center of thought — and identity — to the self rather than the Lord. Humility isn’t a goal, it’s the fruit of a deeply rooted alignment of one’s heart and one’s Savior, the rightly aligned heart that seeks the glory of God rather than the pursuit of one’s own legacy.
— Gene C. Fant Jr. serves as the eighth president of North Greenville University in Tigerville S.C., one of the South Carolina Baptist Convention’s three universities.