Faith Isn’t One Part of the Journey. It Gives the Journey Meaning.
I do not see faith as one category beside leadership, work, endurance, family, or purpose.
It is the lens through which I understand all of them.
Faith Is Not the Bumper Sticker. It Is the Operating System.
For me, Christianity is not a label added to the outside of an otherwise self-directed life.
It changes the questions underneath the life.
What is true?
Who am I?
What has been entrusted to me?
How do I love people well?
What does faithfulness look like when the outcome is uncertain?
I do not live those questions perfectly.
But they are the questions I keep coming back to.
Excellence Is Something I Pursue. Identity Is Something I Receive.
I believe in excellence.
Work matters. Preparation matters. Discipline matters. Following through matters.
But achievement makes a poor foundation for identity.
There will always be another goal, another person doing more, another metric that resets.
My identity cannot finally depend on what I accomplish, how fast I run, what title I hold, how many people listen, or whether the plan works.
As a Christian, I believe my deepest identity is received before it is achieved.
That changes the role of excellence.
I am free to pursue it without asking it to tell me what I am worth.
What Has Been Entrusted to Me?
Stewardship has become one of the most important ideas in the way I understand leadership and life.
Time.
Energy.
Relationships.
Influence.
Knowledge.
Pain.
Opportunity.
Resources.
None of them are things I ultimately created for myself.
They are entrusted things.
That creates responsibility.
The question is not simply, “What can I get from this?”
It is:
What has been entrusted to me, and what would it look like to use it faithfully?
For leaders, that includes another question I ask often:
Will it be healthier because I was here?
Faithful and Useful
I am increasingly less interested in appearing impressive.
Visibility is not the same as impact.
Platform is not the same as fruitfulness.
Busyness is not the same as faithfulness.
I would rather build a life that is faithful and useful than one that simply looks impressive.
That does not mean playing small.
It means remembering what the work is for.
If something I have learned can help somebody else lead better, endure longer, think more clearly, grow in faith, or walk through a difficult season, then sharing it can become an act of stewardship.
Weakness Does Not Disqualify the Journey
I used to think strength meant being able to push through almost anything.
Endurance sports will reinforce that idea for a while.
So will leadership.
Then life eventually introduces a problem grit cannot solve.
Weakness has taught me that dependence is not the opposite of strength.
Limits are not always failures.
And needing recovery does not mean the journey stopped.
Recovery is not a detour from the journey. Recovery is part of the journey.
I do not believe God promises that faith will keep us from pain, loss, disappointment, sickness, or changed plans.
I believe He is present in them.
And I believe some of our deepest formation happens in places we would never have chosen as classrooms.
What Have I Been Given to Steward?
Calling can sound like a mysterious destination we are supposed to discover.
I think about it more simply now.
What has God already placed in my hands?
Experience.
Relationships.
Skills.
Influence.
Stories.
Hard-earned lessons.
Opportunities to serve.
How can I use what I have been given to serve something larger than myself?
That question has taken me into engineering organizations, leadership rooms, endurance events, writing, FCA, local church leadership, mentoring, and conversations I never could have planned.
The settings change.
The stewardship question remains.
Most Formation Happens in Ordinary Places
We tend to look for the dramatic moment.
I have had a few.
But most of what has shaped me happened in places nobody would turn into a movie.
Morning prayer.
A difficult conversation.
A training ride.
A hospital hallway.
A quiet walk.
A meeting where telling the truth mattered.
A meal with someone I love.
Reading Scripture when nothing dramatic happened afterward.
Showing up again.
God often does important work quietly.
Faithfulness is not flashy.
That may be why it forms us so deeply.
"Dave is one of the good guys! He's determined and humble. He'll hold you accountable with care. Working alongside him within Fellowship of Christian Athletes for almost 5 years has been a real treat. I have come to appreciate his ability to juggle many large scale projects at one time—triathlon training, board chair, author, businessman, volunteer, husband and friend. He doesn't miss a beat and his ability to remain present and focused on the task at hand is quite admirable. He makes those around him better—on and off the court."
Following Jesus
At the center of all of this is Jesus.
Not a leadership philosophy with Christian language added.
Not endurance metaphors.
Not self-improvement.
Jesus.
I believe He is Savior and Lord. I believe grace is something I receive, not something I earn. I believe Scripture is true and trustworthy. I believe following Jesus changes the way we understand identity, purpose, suffering, service, leadership, and eternity.
I still have questions.
I still get things wrong.
I still have plenty of becoming left to do.
But I know where I am trying to walk.
Closing
Achievement can disappear.
Strength changes.
Plans change.
Seasons change.
God does not.
Who we become matters more than what we achieve. And for me, becoming starts with following Jesus.
Read Stories