All churches experience seasons of storms, struggles and setbacks if they are pursing a God-sized, God-ordained vision. It is Godly leadership that helps us navigate the storms and comeback from a setback.
What’s the most current storm, struggle or setback you’ve experienced? Do you sense God is with you?
Possibilities are endless, both big and small:
- Culture shifts that are difficult to discern
- Easter is coming and the enemy is messing with you.
- A church merger that went bad
- A growing sense of anxiousness about change
- Prolonged financial pressures
- Loss of a pastor
- The process of succession is struggling
- Division within the church
Strong and stable sounds like a church we would all appreciate, one we’d like be part of its community and mission.
However, strength and stability doesn’t prevent storms and struggles from hitting your church, but it helps you make it through them.
Strength and stability are great companions and ultimately reflect the people (and leaders) more than the structure of the organization.
Strength in leadership refers to being strong-minded about the mission & vision, determined to make progress, committed to finding a way, and possessing the fortitude to stand under pressure.
Stability in leadership refers a clear sense of who you are, conviction through values, (not easily swayed by pressure) and the steadiness to pursue the vision over a very long period of time.
We all have weaknesses to overcome and seasons that lack stability, but through the power of Christ we are able to find our strength, conviction, character and resolve.
5 characteristics that help us cultivate and demonstrate strength and stability:
1) A deep and abiding commitment to prayer
There is no greater power available to the church than prayer. Jesus sent the Holy Spirit as our guide, teacher and prompter. It’s up to us to pray.
The power of prayer is unlocked by belief and unleashed through practice. Faith and faithfulness are the bookends of prayer.
You don’t have to be “good” at prayer, just consistent. In fact, its kind of hard to pray wrong. Come before God with a humble spirit, worship Him, and tell God what’s on your heart.
It’s not easy to move an entire congregation toward consistency in prayer. Don’t be discouraged in your leadership toward that end.
Prayer (and tithing) are the two most challenging biblical practices to lead your congregation to embrace. However, it can be done through one person, one message, one example, and one story at a time.
Be careful not to judge those under your care. Continue to set the example and encourage them. You are not wasting your efforts.
2) A Spirit-prompted ability to discern the culture
Discerning, anticipating and interpreting the movements of culture is the most challenging responsibility of church leaders today. Your conclusions determine how you communicate the gospel and lead your church forward.
- Discerning culture requires wisdom to understand what’s really happening in real time.
- Anticipating culture requires leadership to have a sense of what’s coming next.
- Interpreting culture requires knowledge and experience to know what to do about it.
Failure to understand the community (culture) we serve, limits the impact of our vision because we then fail to connect and communicate with those we desire to serve.
Except for the gospel, its not about the programs we have to offer, it begins with what people need.
Becoming a student of human nature and human interaction at the level of cultural movement will bring great insight to your ministry leadership.
3) The willingness and courage to change
I’ve been a runner for a very long time, and I’ve loved it, but I’ve had to change. Some poor practices and injuries have required me to adapt my exercise routines. Since I value health at a convictional level, I adapt and continue to exercise daily.
The church must do the same… adapt or lose its health.
If a church isn’t changing, adapting for the sake of winning people to Jesus, it’s dying. There is no middle ground.
The real question is change what?
Change within a local church starts with honesty. Change requires honest conversations about what is working and what is not working. Start there. Then find the courage to make those changes.
This is not meant to be a reckless exercise of bold leadership, but more a thoughtful, measured, yet nonetheless courageous decision to do whatever it takes to reach more people for Christ and help them mature in their faith.
That is a strong and stable church.
4) A strong biblical balance of grace and truth
Most of us lean toward grace or truth but Jesus came in both grace and truth.
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1:14
Out of his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. John 1:16-17
When it comes to what we personally receive, we prefer grace, but we equally need truth. Grace and truth together bring stability and strength into our lives and the lives of those we lead.
Truth helps us define biblical boundaries and guide our understanding of grace, and grace allows us to pursue the daily living of that truth without condemnation.
Grace protects us from heartless and authoritarian legalism, and truth protects us from mindless and shallow freedom.
God delivers grace within justice and truth.
We understand this biblical truth, but our humanity allows us to live in the tension caused by leaning toward one or the other rather than the fullness of both.
How do you keep a good balance of the two in your leadership of God’s people?
5) A resilient focus on faith and hope within their vision
A good vision is clear, concise and compelling, but it also must convey faith and hope, faith and hope from the heart of the leaders. Faith and hope in a better future.
We understand the reality of spiritual battle, but we don’t always remember it’s in play. If we are honest that’s tough to do. The intensity of even a mere awareness of a 7/24 battle is overwhelming and discouragement is often the outcome. That makes sense because discouragement is a top tactic of the enemy.
Discouragement leads to distraction and temptation and both erode our faith and hope in the vision of the church. Worship, prayer, unity and community restore our faith and hope.
As Jesus is the ultimate focus of Christian ministry, vision for that ministry is the focus of a strong and stable church. Don’t allow your vision to be taken hostage by the many voices and agendas that clamor for attention.
