The Spiritual Bridge Gets Built in Ordinary Places

Sometime after June 16, 2021, the day I was removed as Managing Partner, the boxes showed up at my house.

My former company had hired professional movers to clean out my old office. They packed up everything, taped the boxes shut, and dropped them at my front door.

I left them sitting there for a while.

When I finally opened them, I expected to feel nostalgia. Maybe anger. What I felt instead was an overwhelming sense of discontent.

Books.

Plaques.

Certificates and awards.

Everything in those boxes said I was credible, professional, and successful. And every bit of it only meant something to me.

There wasn't a single thing in those boxes I couldn't do without.

There wasn't a single thing in those boxes that could go with me to Heaven.

I had spent the majority of my adult life chasing goals, money, and professional accolades. The company, my position, my accolades, and money had become idols. I had put them in front of God, and I didn't even notice I was doing it.

How do I know this happens to good, driven people? Because I've been guilty of this very thing.

Those boxes started a season of hard questions. And out of those questions came the first of the Five Bridges.

If I'm not right with God, who has given me life on this earth, then nothing else matters.

Spirituality has to come FIRST.

The Spiritual Bridge comes first because everything else rests on it

The Five Bridges run in a specific order. Spiritual. Internal. Relationships. Environment. Legacy.

The order matters.

Now, you may not believe what I believe, and I'm not here to preach to you. But I'm certain you've been to a visitation or a funeral. You know that while the body is there, the soul and the spirit are gone.

We are spiritual beings. So we have to guard and tend our spiritual life first, above everything else.

Here is where I see leaders get stuck. They agree with that in principle. They nod along. Then Monday comes, the inbox fills up, and the Spiritual Bridge becomes the thing they will get to once things calm down.

Things never calm down.

So the question I want to answer today is a practical one. If the Spiritual Bridge comes first, what does building it actually look like on a normal Tuesday?

For some of you reading this, you are further along in your spiritual journey than I am. For others, you are just getting started. Wherever you are, there is more growth ahead. I'm still growing too.

What follows is simply what I have done, and what I'm still doing. Take what resonates.

Your mentors are already pointing you somewhere

Who do you look up to?

The people we look up to have a lot to teach us, and the lesson isn't always the one they are trying to teach.

When I was younger, I took a hard look at the people I admired. The ones whose wisdom and success I respected most. I noticed one thing almost all of them had in common.

They believed in and followed Jesus.

That didn't make my decision for me. But it was a telling sign, and I paid attention to it.

So here is a question for you this week. What do the people you look up to believe about God? Have you ever asked them? Have you ever asked them why?

Their answer might line up with what you believe.

It might challenge you to think differently.

Either way, you will learn something about the foundation under the life you admire.

What you feed your mind becomes the spiritual life you live

I'm an avid reader of non-fiction. I listen to over four hundred podcasts a year. I have watched countless spiritual debates.

All three have challenged how I see the world.

Reading opens new doors in the mind. Nothing you read should be taken as gospel, unless it's the Word of God. And you shouldn't agree with everything you read, including my book. But you should pull specific lessons from what you read and apply them to your life. That is one of the ways we grow.

One of the most powerful habits you can form is reading ten pages a day of a non-fiction book. Depending on how fast you read, that is ten to thirty minutes.

All of us can find ten to thirty minutes.

Wake up a little earlier.

Cut out an episode of Netflix.

Trade the scroll for a chapter.

Then there is the Word of God itself.

If you are a Christian, or you are considering what it's all about, you have to know the Word. I'll be honest with you. This is an area where I'm still growing. I am not good (yet) at memorizing scripture.

But I know where to go.

If you have deep emotions you can't seem to get control of, go to the Word of God.

If you're doubting yourself or your worth, go to the Word of God.

If you're questioning right from wrong, go to the Word of God.

I will go on record and say the book of Proverbs is the best book on leadership in the history of mankind. Even if you are not a believer, the wisdom on leadership in that book will blow you away.

My favorite version is John Maxwell's Leadership Bible. I love the practical context he provides, because too many people pull verses out of context. The Bible was written to our ancestors, in a different time, so we could learn how to live a righteous life that pleases God.

Church and a small group keep the bridge from washing out

I have had a lot of friends walk away from church. When I listened to their reasons, almost none of them had anything to do with their belief in God. It was usually a pastor or a culture that turned them away.

If that's you, hear me out for a moment.

I believe church deserves a second chance.

Find a church where you connect with both the leader and the culture. For me, that rules out the prosperity gospel, and it rules out a culture of guilt and shame. God's church is His people.

Going to church is like watering a garden. You hear God's Word in different ways, through different messages, around other believers. It all adds up to a healthy spiritual life.

And where else are you going to randomly run into people who believe what you believe?

Then, if you want to go deeper, find a Bible study that fits your season.

When Jenna and I were first married, we joined a Bible study for young married couples. We all took turns hosting and leading. Over time, some couples moved away, some of us had kids, and our needs changed.

Today I'm part of a group of about fifty entrepreneurial men from around the country, led by Pastor Anthony Hart out of Virginia. We call ourselves Warriors for Christ. We meet weekly and talk about all of it . . . life, marriage, parenting, grief, successes, failures, and of course, the Bible.

We have a spoken rule in that group.

If one of us sees someone slipping in his walk with God, it's on us to call him out. Not with guilt. Not with shame. With an "I love you and respect you too much to watch you go down this path."

That kind of accountability is what keeps the Spiritual Bridge standing when the storms come.

You can have great friends to go deep with. You can have a great Bible study. I believe the pinnacle is both.

Lesson: The Spiritual Bridge gets built in ordinary places, one habit at a time.

So let me ask you. If the movers showed up at your office tomorrow and boxed up everything you have earned, what would be left that actually matters?

## Action Items From Today 1. Ask two people you look up to what they believe about God and why they believe it. 2. Read ten pages of a non-fiction book every day this week, and write down one lesson you will apply. 3. Read one chapter of Proverbs each morning for the next seven days. 4. If you have walked away from church, pick one church to visit this month and give it a real second chance. 5. Find or start a small group with at least one person who has permission to call you out.

## Five Bridges Challenges Spiritual Bridge: Write down the idols that have crept in front of God in your life, whether that's a title, a number, or an accolade, and pray over that list this week.

Internal Bridge: Protect ten to thirty minutes on tomorrow's calendar for reading and the Word, before you open your inbox.

Relationships Bridge: Ask your spouse or a close friend to join you in a Bible study or a weekly conversation about faith.

If you want brothers and sisters in leadership who will hold you to a higher standard, learn about the Bridge Builder Mastermind. For a clear read on where each of your bridges stands today, take the LQ Assessment. And for the full story of the boxes, the fire pit, and how the Five Bridges were born, read The Kairos Code.

Inspire & Impact,

Josh