08/18/2026
DEAR LEADER: BUILD WITH YOUR FACE TO THE GROUND.
We are living in an hour where leaders seem to be falling from visibility almost as quickly as they ascended into prominence.
Social media has accelerated exposure. Branding has manufactured influence. Viral moments can create platforms overnight. And because visibility has become so accessible, the temptation to circumvent preparation has never been more seductive.
We are raising a generation that has been taught, erroneously, that you don’t have to be delivered from it to preach people out of it.
That you don’t have to master it before you mentor others in it.
That gifting is a substitute for government.
That charisma can compensate for character.
That followers are evidence of fruit.
But hear me:
PLATFORMS WITHOUT PROCESS PRODUCE PRIDE AND PRIDE PROPHESIES DESTRUCTION.
The wilderness is not punishment.
The wilderness is preparation.
It is where God confronts what applause would conceal. It is where motives are purified, appetites are disciplined, wounds are addressed, and character is developed strong enough to carry the weight of calling.
You need the wilderness.
Without it, you can possess the gift without the maturity to govern it. You can carry anointing without the humility to steward it. You can have a platform without the character necessary to survive it.
And if God never commanded you to build it, you may spend years asking Him to sustain something He never authorized.
The photograph attached to this post captures a sacred moment in my journey. I was being consecrated to the Bishopric and affirmed as an Apostle. Yet before I was elevated, I was given a simple instruction:
BOW.
Before elevation came surrender.
Before affirmation came abasement.
Before I could stand in another dimension of responsibility, I had to put my face toward the ground.
That image has become prophetic to me.
THIS IS THE POSTURE FROM WHICH GOD CAN TRUST YOU WITH ELEVATION.
“Humility comes before honor.” Proverbs 15:33
Dear leader, never become intoxicated by your own publicity.
Never allow applause to become confirmation.
Never confuse popularity with divine approval.
Never permit the celebration of people to become louder than the conviction of the Holy Spirit.
And please NEVER BELIEVE YOUR OWN HYPE.
Some leaders are being deceived because they have developed an exaggerated estimation of their own greatness apart from God. We have forgotten that whatever is powerful about us was first graciously deposited within us.
There is also a serious breach in the Kingdom:
LEADERS NEED LEADERS.
Not entourages.
Not admirers.
Not employees who are afraid to challenge them.
Not people impressed by their gift.
LEADERS NEED LEADERS.
We have reduced spiritual fathers and mothers to cleanup crews instead of destiny confronters.
Some people only want covering when there is a scandal to manage, a crisis to navigate, a platform to access, or credibility to borrow.
That is not submission.
And unfortunately, some leaders have surrounded themselves with what they call spiritual fathers who function more like talent scouts that celebrate the gift, promote the platform, and expand the brand while never confronting the character.
If they cannot correct you, you are not submitted.
If nobody can tell you “NO,” you are vulnerable.
If everybody around you benefits from your success, you need somebody in your life who is more concerned about your soul than your stage.
Real covering does not merely celebrate your destiny.
REAL COVERING CONFRONTS WHATEVER THREATENS IT.
Dear leader, rediscover the power of the bow.
Bow your ambition.
Bow your ego.
Bow your appetite for recognition.
Bow your need to be seen.
Bow your title.
Bow your gift.
Bow your platform.
Because the safest place for a leader is not always behind a microphone.
Sometimes it is ON YOUR FACE BEFORE GOD.
Build…but build surrendered.
Lead…but lead submitted.
Rise…but rise humble.
And when God entrusts you with influence, never forget the posture that prepared you to carry it.
BUILD WITH YOUR FACE TO THE GROUND.
Because when God is responsible for your elevation, you will never have to compromise your character to maintain your altitude.
