An Interview with Robby Angle: Embracing Your True Identity

Talking Leadership with Robby Angle

Christian Leadership Alliance President and CEO Tami Heim recently interviewed Robby Angle, President and CEO of Trueface.

Meet Robby

Trueface provides content, relational experiences, and leader development to help people and teams live authentically and experience freedom. Robby loves Trueface because he believes Trueface has created a unique and effective way of teaching complex biblical principles of truth and grace and moving people from pleasing God to trusting God with their new identity.

Before serving at Trueface, Robby served over seven years at North Point Community Church in Atlanta, Georgia, founded by Andy Stanley. In his role, Robby utilized Trueface resources through his various positions as Director of Adult Ministry Environments and Director of Men’s Groups.

Before joining North Point, Robby and his wife, Emily, both worked in professional counseling and aid work, where they served with Samaritan’s Purse in Pakistan and Myanmar, overseeing international disaster response teams.

Robby and Emily each received a Master’s in Community Counseling from Appalachian State University. Angle also holds a business degree from the University of Florida and a Bible/Biblical studies certificate from Dallas Theological Seminary. Robby and Emily live with their eight wonderful children in Dawsonville, Georgia.

Trueface seeks to help Christians live into their “true identity.” What does that mean?

Identity means how we see ourselves. This is highly consequential because it encompasses thinking about ourselves and seeing God. This has big implications for leaders because it affects every relationship we are a part of, and relationships are central to leadership. As sad as it is, many of us view ourselves through a lens of shame instead of a lens of grace, and this has devastating effects on our own lives and how we lead others. We experience shame as the voice in our heads that says:

• “You’ll never be enough.”
• “Do more to deserve their love.”
• And, “If they knew, they would never follow you.”

Our true identity is rooted in how Jesus sees us instead of how we see us.

Imposter syndrome is rooted in this shame and wants to derail us from achieving our potential as leaders. However, 2 Corinthians 5:17 reminds us that in Christ, we are new creations, now sons and daughters of God. Our true identity is rooted in how Jesus sees us instead of how we see us. He says we are saints who occasionally sin, not sinners striving to be saints. Living out of this true identity and trusting Jesus with who we are frees us to love and lead others out of our authentic selves.

Trueface often talks about “living beyond the mask.” Can you unpack that concept for us?

So many of us feel unloved and unlovable at our core. Because of this, we put on masks. In other words, we hide. We twist ourselves into a person we think others will accept and love. We present ourselves more favorably to experience, receive, and earn love. Unfortunately, with our masks on, we remain isolated and alone because people receive, affirm, and love the mask instead of the person hiding behind it.

For leaders seeking to grow, living beyond the mask is vitally important. It allows us to live out of our authentic selves. When we remove the mask, we lead with a greater vulnerability because we’re not afraid of being “found out.” I believe this raw vulnerability is one of the greatest leadership attributes because it creates an environment of trust. Without the mask, we let others see the real us. Without the mask, we can finally experience love.

Are you intentional and consistent with others?

There are two attributes of building high-trust relationships around that principle, and they’re pretty simple. The first is intentionality, and the second is consistency. Are you intentional and consistent with others?

For our purposes, intentional means being purposeful when you spend time with others. Consistent standards: Is it on your calendar? Are you showing up for others over and over again? These two attributes are the building blocks of our relationships.

Now, you may be wondering how we can be intentional with others. One of the greatest discipleship and leadership skills that Jesus modeled was the power of asking a good question. A great benchmark of our intentionality and consistency is whether we are present, patient, and able to ask good questions to those we are in fellowship with. To be strong leaders and disciple-makers, we must develop the art of investing in others by asking questions.

Some great questions that have helped me reflect on how I am engaging in discipleship are:

• Who am I investing in with intentionality and consistency?
• Do I love them by walking with them?
• Am I asking good questions?
• Am I praying for them?

What has helped you grow in your leadership journey?

The first thing that comes to mind is not what has helped but who. I have been blessed to serve with some amazing men and women over the years. Their humility is the chief hallmark of those who have impacted me most. Their humility is rooted in their trust in God as a good and loving father and their security as sons and daughters of the King. Watching and learning from them has been my most significant growth factor.

There are a couple of attributes my mentors have modeled, which have provided a framework that I have tried to model. The three attributes that stand out the most are:

• A teachable and curious spirit consistently seeks to learn, be stretched, and grow.
• An ongoing prioritization of experiencing a loving relationship with God.
• The prioritization of being fully known in an authentic community. They have people in their lives who are consistent and intentional with and who fully know them.

I have been blessed with mentors who have invested in me, and these attributes consistently show up in the men and women I admire most.

My wife, these mentors, and a few close friends have made all the difference in my leadership journey. They have helped me see when I am off track, where I am missing the mark, and where I am not living to my potential, and they have helped me process the dynamic struggles of leadership as they arise. They have protected me from my weaknesses and supported me in my strengths.

What are you most excited about at Trueface as you help leaders grow?

There is a rich opportunity to share Jesus as our culture shifts into a post-Christian society.

There is a rich opportunity to share Jesus as our culture shifts into a post-Christian society. There’s a deep, raw hunger for discipleship. In the past, many Christian institutions have focused on knowledge acquisition, thinking this would lead to spiritual growth. However, individuals from this new generation, who are inundated with limitless content, aren’t saying, “Teach me.” They’re saying, “Show me.” They’re hungry to experience something. I think that is making our Father in heaven smile.

We have the opportunity as Christian leaders to create a framework for helping them experience truth applied in the community context. At Trueface, we develop grace-based relational discipleship resources for people to pour their cups into others and share deep relationships with both God and each other. I believe this is what the next generation is looking for.

Our central offering for relational discipleship is called the Trueface Journey, and that’s probably what I’m most excited about right now. It is a nine-month group initiative that dives deep into how we see ourselves as God and how this affects every area of our lives. Churches, parachurches, and individuals have been using it to develop healthy, grace-based leaders, and we love supporting and partnering with them in that process.

Learn more at trueface.org

Listen to Robby Angle on The Flourishing Culture Podcast as he discusses “5 Components That Create High Trust and High-Performing Groups“

This Post is adapted from the Summer Edition of Outcomes Magazine.

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