Brad Layland | CEO, The FOCUS Group | Author of Turning Donors into Partners
Key Takeaways
- The “athlete’s paradox” reminds us that simple measurements rarely tell the whole story.
- Jesus taught that true life is found not through self-preservation but through self-sacrifice.
- Healthy leaders focus on developing others rather than making themselves indispensable.
- The greatest strength is often found in humility, surrender, and trusting God with what we cannot control.
For most of my adult life, I’ve considered my heart one of the strongest parts of my body. I’ve run 74 marathons, completed two Ironman triathlons, and spent decades logging countless hours running, cycling, swimming, and lifting weights. Even today, at 54 years old, I average about twelve hours of training each week. Exercise has become woven into the rhythm of my life, shaping not only my physical health but also my discipline, perseverance, and faith.
That’s why I was so surprised when I sat in my doctor’s office and heard a number I never expected.
Forty-six.
That was my coronary artery calcium score.
The scan of my heart revealed measurable plaque in my coronary arteries. I remember staring at the report, trying to reconcile two realities that didn’t seem to belong together. How could someone who had devoted thousands of hours to endurance training have evidence of coronary artery disease? Had all those miles somehow failed me? Or, even more unsettling, had they somehow contributed to the very thing I was trying to avoid?
Like most people, I went looking for answers. The deeper I dug into the medical literature, the more I discovered what researchers sometimes call the “athlete’s paradox.” Although the science continues to evolve, studies have shown that some lifelong endurance athletes develop more coronary artery calcium than physicians once expected. Yet those same athletes often experience fewer cardiovascular events than less active people with similar calcium scores because exceptional cardiorespiratory fitness appears to offer significant protection. The calcium matters, but it doesn’t tell the entire story.
That realization fascinated me because it reminded me how often life refuses to fit into simple categories. We like straightforward equations: exercise equals health, hard work equals success, obedience equals blessing. Yet God’s world is often more nuanced than that. Sometimes two things that appear contradictory can both be true at the same time.
A Greater Paradox
As I kept thinking about the athlete’s paradox, my mind drifted to another paradox—one far more important than anything a heart scan could reveal. Jesus said, “Whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it” (Matthew 16:25).
At first glance, His words seem just as puzzling as the medical research. Everything in us wants to preserve our lives. We naturally try to protect our time, our reputation, our influence, and the things we’ve worked so hard to build. The world tells us that significance comes from accumulating more: more success, more security, more recognition, more control. Jesus turns that instinct upside down. He says the life we’re trying so desperately to protect is the very life we’ll lose, while the life we willingly surrender for His sake is the one we’ll ultimately find.
What This Means for Leadership
I’ve come to believe that this is one of the defining paradoxes of Christian leadership.
Healthy leaders don’t spend their lives making themselves indispensable. They spend their lives investing in others. They aren’t driven by the need to protect their position or preserve their legacy. Instead, they willingly share responsibility, develop younger leaders, celebrate other people’s successes, and quietly prepare ministries to flourish long after they’re gone. In God’s economy, true leadership isn’t measured by how many people depend on us. It’s measured by how many people we’ve equipped to serve faithfully without us.
Jesus modeled that kind of leadership perfectly. He certainly could have built a movement centered entirely on Himself, yet He chose a different path. He invested deeply in twelve ordinary men, patiently teaching, correcting, encouraging, and eventually entrusting them with the mission. Then He did something even more remarkable: He gave His life. What looked like complete defeat became the greatest victory in history because, through His willingness to surrender Himself, we find life!
Giving Ourselves Away
That pattern has profoundly shaped the way I think about ministry, leadership, and even fundraising. At its best, fundraising has never been about persuading people to part with their money. It’s about inviting them to participate in God’s work. Donors, volunteers, board members, staff, and ministry leaders each bring different gifts, but together they become partners in advancing God’s Kingdom. The goal isn’t simply to fund a budget. The goal is to see lives transformed for eternity.
A Different Kind of Strength
As I’ve reflected on my own experience, I’ve realized that my calcium score was more than a medical data point. It became an unexpected reminder that I am not in control. I can train faithfully, eat well, and make wise decisions, but I cannot eliminate every risk or guarantee tomorrow. That realization has been humbling, but perhaps humility is one of God’s greatest gifts. It reminds us that our confidence ultimately rests not in our preparation, our accomplishments, or even our health, but in Him.
I’ll continue working closely with my doctors. I’ll pay attention to my cholesterol, blood pressure, recovery, and family history. As the science develops, I’ll keep learning, and I’ll continue training because I believe caring for the body God has given me is an act of stewardship. In fact, I’m already looking forward to marathon number 75.
But I’ll run it differently than I might have a few months ago. Not with fear, but with greater humility. Despite what I am prone to believe, I’m not invincible. I am grateful for every mile. Every run has become a reminder that disciplined habits matter, even if they don’t guarantee perfect outcomes. Every finish line reminds me that perseverance is a gift. And every heartbeat reminds me that life itself is a gift from God.
Perhaps that’s why this experience has stayed with me. The athlete’s paradox taught me that two seemingly opposite things can be true at the same time. The running that may have contributed to calcium appearing on a scan also built the cardiovascular fitness that continues to strengthen my body. Likewise, the paradox of Jesus reminds me that the life we surrender becomes the life we truly find.
Strength often grows through weakness. Humility precedes honor. Leadership flourishes through service. And the fullest life is never discovered by holding on tightly to everything we’ve built.
It’s found by giving ourselves away.
About the Author
Brad Layland is CEO of The FOCUS Group, a fundraising consulting firm that serves more than 150 Christian ministries and organizations. Before acquiring the firm, Brad spent 20 years with Young Life, including serving as its Chief Development Officer.
Over the past three decades, Brad has helped ministries strengthen leadership, cultivate generous partners, and raise significant resources for Kingdom impact. He is passionate about helping Christian leaders think strategically about stewardship, generosity, succession, and long-term ministry effectiveness.
A lifelong endurance athlete, Brad has completed 74 marathons and two Ironman triathlons. He is the author of Turning Donors into Partners (InterVarsity Press), holds a B.A. in Communications from the University of Florida and an M.A. in Theology from Fuller Theological Seminary, and serves as an elder at Good News Church in St. Augustine, Florida, where he and his wife, Wendy, live and enjoy time with their four children.
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