Confident, But Not Arrogant, In Christ

I was at a conference and the main speaker was preaching eloquently about how the gospel gives you humble confidence. You get this by going down low in repentance and bouncing up into confidence. 
He said if we accept our depravity and let God’s grace cover us, we’d be set free from our idols (idols like: comfort, being liked, perfectionism, or being respected).
 
It sounded amazing and clever. It sounded nice to be set free. I believed him. 
Some years later, he killed himself. 
Did this mean he had been wrong? No, I don’t think he was wrong.
But how could the guy who knew so much about the truth be unable to apply it to himself?
There is a difference between valuing a concept and “getting it.” 
This brings me to our leadership quality for the day: Number 8 Confident in Christ, but not arrogant. 

1. Trusting God for outcomes. Fearing God. 
2. Loving the truth above all things.
3. In love with the vision (to some degree).
4. Having a reverence for other individuals.
5. Able to disillusion followers (about leader him or herself).
6. Open to criticism and questions.
7. If possible, a life that is a concrete embodiment of the vision. 
8. Confident in Christ, but not arrogant.
9. Pretty good at communicating. 
10. Nerve to move forward, though some will disagree. 

Being confident in Christ is a thing, an important thing. 
But the longer I’ve been in ministry, I see very few concrete examples of it. It is as if knowledge about this humble confidence in Christ substitutes for actual confidence in Christ. 
Sometimes it feels as though Christianity is a bunch of people who have heard there is freedom to be had, but don’t feel this freedom. 
They feel burdened by a never-ending sense of duty to perform, but they believe they should feel freedom, and the fact they don’t, causes them great shame and anxiety. 
But the consolation prize is going to church to hear about this freedom through the Word preached. We go to church, and the hope feels good. Only we leave and may or may not realize we still don’t feel freedom. 
As a Christian, we’d say the only way to true humble confidence is through the acceptance of grace that comes by believing in Jesus’ death and resurrection for us. 
We humble ourselves by admitting we’ve sinned and need a Savior. We emerge confident after being made new and set free indeed. 
Unless we don’t. 
And if we don’t, because something was lost in the application of said gospel, we need to keep chasing idols. One of those idols could be the appearance of humble confidence. 
Also known as arrogance. 
It is the arrogance that comes from knowing you should feel confident, but you don’t, so you act like you do. It is a feeling of inferioritythat manifests and superiority complex. 
I’m going to need two days on this one. 
For now, think about this: Do you feel free? Or do you feel like you should feel free? Being honest about this will put us on the road to true confidence. 
And when it comes to leaders, true confidence is crucial. More about that tomorrow.