Many leaders have “Uphill Dreams” but practice “Downhill Habits.”
While writing this article we are eight weeks into our national quarantine. This period of time is quite revealing. In the faith community we have moved from the majority of pastors stating this crisis will only last two weeks and we will be back in our churches. In the first two weeks 15% of pastors stated they were not confident their church would survive. That 15% if applied nationally equals just under 50,000 churches. That figure has now improved to 3% of pastors saying they will not survive – cautious optimism. The faith community in America was in a panic mode over the idea of having a digital Easter – this was “anathema” in many circles. We are now in process of re-opening our country which means that churches are now planning for a return to church in our buildings. It is interesting to see the impact of the Covid effect upon our thinking – we may not be as ready to return as we thought. There is a guarded hesitancy in people’s minds at the present. The good news is that we will eventually get there, just not in the way we imagined.
Everyone wants to know what our world will look like post pandemic. The answer is: nobody knows with clear certainty. Since everything worthwhile is uphill this is a great time to evaluate the negotiables and non-negotiables in our life. Are we attempting to take everything uphill? Can we lighten our load while going uphill? What that will look like will be different for each person and church. Jesus is our illustration on the non-negotiables. He taught eternal principles, was a servant leader, He wept-touched-held-grieved-fed-discipled-impacted religious systems-infiltrated community power structures to name a few items. Christ was human and Divine at the same time – Son of God – Son of Man! I must live in this flesh and blood body infused with the eternal Savior of the world. That is worth the uphill climb.
Shepherds Advantage provides Servant Leadership that helps people close the gap between where they are and where they want to be. Shepherds Advantage closes that gap by providing Leadership Development, Key Note Speaking, and Executive Coaching.
Please note: I reserve the right to delete comments that are offensive or off-topic.