Kingdom At Work
Notes from an internal Betenbough Companies leadership training.
Most Kingdom-minded CEOs do not wrestle with whether spiritual leadership matters. They wrestle with what it looks like on a Tuesday. When pressure rises, decisions get complex and people are watching, being led by the Lord can feel less like freedom and more like weight.
Once a leader says yes to leading with God, questions come quickly. What does this mean in a real company? Does it translate to pressure, conflict and business decisions?
Underneath all of it, one question often rings the loudest. Is this even for me? Many leaders have felt that same apprehension.
In our story, spiritual leadership was not always the language. It was learned over time. A turning point came in 2017 with a business-minded question. How do you know when someone is ready?
The first instinct was to measure it with frameworks, scales and even a spiritual maturity scorecard. It did not take long to see the problem. That standard is not the one Jesus used.
Jesus did not interview for readiness. He simply said, “Follow me,” and chose fishermen and a tax collector. In Jewish context, they had likely already been told they did not measure up to move forward as disciples of a rabbi.
That is where spiritual leadership begins for CEOs, not with polish but with posture.
Kingdom’s posture often feels upside down compared with how business training wires leaders.
Here are five upside-down Kingdom principles that have proven true in business, not just in a sermon.
1. Weakness wins
In business, strength is celebrated. Confidence, competency, certainty and decisiveness are rewarded. One of the first surprises of Kingdom leadership is that strength can become the very thing that destroys a leader.
Consider King Uzziah, one of the rare “good kings.” Scripture says he was marvelously helped until he became strong, and then pride led to his downfall. (2 Chronicles 26)
This is an uncomfortable truth many leaders have seen firsthand. More leaders fail because of strength than because of weakness.
Paul begged God to remove his “thorn,” and God refused. Not out of distance, but out of wisdom. “My power is made perfect in weakness.”
What this looks like for a CEO:
- Weakness is not incompetence. It is dependence.
- The strongest leader in a Kingdom culture is not the one who needs no help. It is the one who refuses to pretend.
2. Humility heals
Humility is not a nice-to-have leadership trait. In the Kingdom, it is required. Scripture says God opposes the proud and gives grace to the humble. Pride is not only a character issue. It is a leadership pitfall.
Pride is also subtle. It can hide behind noble intentions and even spiritual growth. As leaders grow, it is easy to become frustrated with those who do not grow fast enough. That drift is what Jesus confronted in the Pharisees. Being right became more important than being loving.
What this looks like for a CEO:
- Humility shapes what your team feels when they bring you bad news.
- Humility builds emotional safety, and emotional safety strengthens honesty.
3. Honesty frees
This principle challenges a common leadership reflex. Image management.
Here is the question. If we’re led to believe that spiritual leadership is based on performance, then what would that mean for every leader who still has hidden battles?
The Kingdom does not grow through image management. It grows through truth-telling.
In Genesis, God gives one instruction. Do not eat from the tree. They eat anyway, and the first response is not confession. It is hiding. They cover themselves, retreat into the trees and try to manage what is now exposed. But God does not wait at a distance for them to clean up. He comes into the garden and calls out, “Where are you?” Not to shame them, but to bring them back. Freedom begins when hiding ends.
What this looks like for a CEO:
- If you want a culture where people admit mistakes early, you must model it first.
- If the leader cannot confess, the organization will only perform.
4. Dependence empowers
CEOs are trained to be resourceful and independent. The Kingdom calls leaders to be dependent.
Scripture calls us jars of clay, ordinary containers holding something supernatural. The power is clearly from God, not us. Moses tried to disqualify himself with questions and objections. Who am I? What if they do not believe me? I am not eloquent. God’s answer was not a resume boost. It was a promise of presence. “I will be with you.” That is dependence. Leading without pretending you are enough because you trust that God is.
Spiritual authority is not self-sufficiency. It is mercy. God can work through imperfect leaders without endorsing their imperfections.
What this looks like for a CEO:
- Dependence is not passivity. It is agreement. Lord, lead me as I lead others.
- Dependence lowers pressure in the room and increases spiritual authority in the leader.
5. Calling comes first
This is where spiritual leadership becomes personal. When a leader fails, publicly or privately, an accusation often follows.
You are fake. You are not worthy. God cannot use you.
The Kingdom response is different.
You are right. I am not worthy. God knew that before he called me, and he still called me.
Spiritual leadership is not a title someone earns. It is a call someone answers, and then keeps answering.
What this looks like for a CEO:
- Calling creates courage when the metrics shake.
- Calling anchors identity when results tempt you to define yourself by performance.
The question that separates interest from surrender
If the Kingdom really works upside down, and if weakness wins, humility heals, honesty frees, dependence empowers and calling comes first, then every CEO eventually faces a decision that cannot be delegated.
Where are you still leading from strength, image and self-protection instead of weakness, humility, honesty, dependence and surrender, and what is it costing your people?
The upside-down invitation
If you feel poor in spirit, as if you do not fully belong in spiritual leadership conversations, Jesus calls that a perfect starting point. “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.”
Spiritual leadership in the marketplace does not begin when a CEO has it all together. It begins when a CEO stops pretending.
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