Do you ever get that question? If I asked you to take out a piece of paper and write down in bullet-point form the things that identify you, what would you write? What would be at the top?

Several years ago, I was in a high-level meeting between a pastor of a large church and the head of a major Christian university. After a few minutes of visiting, the head of the university looked at the pastor and said, “Now, who are you?” Kind of awkward. In his defense, the university president had just come back from vacation and didn’t have time to get briefed on who his visitors were.

What would you have said? Most of us would have given our credentials as to our leadership role in a key church in a major city. But would that have been the most important way to identify ourselves?

A recent devotional from Lead Like Jesus reminds us of the right perspective we should have as leaders.

“It can be easy to forget, especially if we hold formal leadership positions, that being a leader is not our identity or calling. We are first children of God, called to follow Jesus.”

John Maxwell says, “Leadership is not about titles, positions or flowcharts. It is about one life influencing another.”

It is interesting to read the Facebook profiles of people and see how they describe themselves. Many, rightly, begin with their relationship with Christ, then go on to list other ways they can be identified. But not everyone does that.

Our identity is important. We need to get it right. Jesus entered into the conversation of some of his disciples as they discussed what others were saying about who Jesus was. Jesus looked at them…Peter in particular…and asked, “But who do you say I am?” (italics added)

If our identity is bound up in what we do, then we open ourselves up to failure, and, often, a spiritual spiral downward. There will be times when we fail, when our team fails, when we and our good intentions are misunderstood. We need to hide our identity in God’s grace, not in our own achievements.

In his book Transforming Grace, Jerry Bridges gives great insight on this key area for leaders.

“Living by grace instead of by works means you are free from the performance treadmill. It means God has already given you an “A” when you deserved an “F.” He has already given you a full day’s pay even though you may have worked for only one hour. It means you don’t have to perform certain spiritual disciplines to earn God’s approval. Jesus Christ has already done that for you. You are loved and accepted by God through the merit of Jesus, and you are blessed by God through the merit of Jesus. Nothing you ever do will cause Him to love you any more or any less. He loves you strictly by His grace given to you through Jesus.”

Let me ask you, what is the overarching identifying trait of your life? Who do your friends say you are? What does your family say when asked about you? What would Jesus say?

The Apostle Paul was well aware of his position. Christ was primary. He was secondary, at best. Eugene Peterson’s The Message puts it this way:

I identified myself completely with him (Christ). Indeed, I have been crucified with Christ. My ego is no longer central. It is no longer important that I appear righteous before you or have your good opinion, and I am no longer driven to impress God. Christ lives in me. The life you see me living is not “mine,” but it is lived by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

So, who are you?