Faith and Life

In The Force of Focus part 1, I highlighted the need and priority to be able to focus. This is my theme for the year and I’m addressing one of the primary challenges that I face: the challenge of how I keep my focus on what matters most when there are so many things that can distract me. I’m seeking to address the following challenges that I/we face as leaders:

• How do we keep our focus in a world where there are so many things vying for our attention?
• How do we focus when there are so many good things we could be doing as there are so many needs we could be addressing?
• How do we avoid the pitfalls that so many leaders seem to stumble into, the more nefarious distractions that can compromise our integrity and derail our growth and impact?
• And how, as Christ-centred servant leaders, do we follow the example of Jesus so that we can remain focused on Him for the long haul, committing our lives to fulfilling the tasks that He has set out for us to accomplish (Eph. 2:10)?

In this article, I want to provide some practical steps we can take to maintain our focus in a world of distractions. This is by no means an exhaustive list, but some principles I’m seeking to apply in my life and leadership.

1. Run from Danger
   I think this is perhaps the best piece of advice we can give anyone in leadership. It seems that so many leaders want to live on the edge of what is morally, acceptable. And when you live on the edge, you’ll eventually fall off. The Bible is clear. Don’t court temptations. Paul instructs us to flee sexual immorality (2 Cor. 6:8) and advises his protege, Timothy, to flee youthful lusts (2 Tim. 2:22). If you are approaching a potentially morally compromising situation then turn around 180° and run away.
   This may seem a negative instruction. But it demonstrates the urgency of the situation. One single compromise in the area of sex, money, or the misuse of power can completely disintegrate our reputation as leaders, permanently derail our ministry, and ultimately undermine the cause of the Gospel. We cannot even flirt with danger in this area. No! Don’t get distracted. Run from danger as fast as you can. Perhaps the best way to do this is to confess any moral challenges you are facing to a trusted friend and ask them to stand with you in prayer as you courageously maintain your focus on maintaining a godly lifestyle.
   
2. Recover Spiritual Practices
   A lot is being written about emotional and spiritual health for leaders. There are some great resources available. This is more than just having a so-called “quiet time”. Rather, it’s building spiritual disciplines in our lives to help us focus on what matters most, namely our relationship with Jesus. There isn’t a one-size-fits-all recipe for spiritual disciplines. It’s worth experimenting with different suggestions and models. What is clear is that this is a counter-cultural necessity to avoid getting caught up in what has been famously called the tyranny of the urgent (the title of Charles Hummel’s 1967 booklet, showing that this is not just a 21st-century problem).
   I particularly find the practices of journaling, listening to worship music, and prayer-walking extremely helpful. I enjoy occasional silence retreats and my wife and I have a daily reflective practice that we follow before going to bed. These spiritual rhythms help keep me focused on the Lord in the various stages of my day. What are the spiritual practices that you have found most helpful? Do you need to recover some of them into your daily rhythm of life, work, and leadership?
   
3. Establish a Digital Rule of Life
   Managing our online activity is a massive challenge for 21st-century leaders. Author and speaker John Mark Comer is a strong advocate for a digital rule of life. This is a way of taking control of our devices and online activity rather than being controlled by them. Again, this could be different for everyone, but a digital rule of life will determine when and how you access the internet, communications, social media etc. It may involve putting your phone to bed at a certain time, ensuring accountability with a trusted friend about your internet usage, or having a regular sabbath from all devices. No one seems to like living by rules, however, having a digital rule of life can be life-giving and ensure we are free from enslavement and addiction to our phones and laptops. Take some time to write some guidelines down for yourself. Revisit them regularly and prayerfully consider if you are in control of your devices or are they controlling and distracting you?
   
4. Consistent Reminders of our Calling
   I make no apologies for including this quote again as I feel it is key to maintaining our focus on what matters. Richard Blackaby has written:
   
   “One of the keys to effective leadership today is staying focused on what God has called you to do. It’s easy to become so fixated on what others are doing (or not doing) that you fail to complete the assignment God has given you. As you get older, you may find that God reduces your commitments and activities so you have time to focus on your priorities. We need to invest not in what we can do but in what we must do.”
   
   As leaders, we need to be able to clearly define our calling and to consistently remind ourselves of the assignment that God has given to us. It sounds so simple: we serve people best when we are serving within the things God has called us to do rather than the things we are not called to do. However, particularly for entrepreneurial Christian leaders, it’s easy to see so many gaps and opportunities. But before we pursue them, we need to be certain that it is something God is calling us into, otherwise it could be a costly distraction.
   
5. Care for your Soul
   My final piece of advice is to make sure you’re having fun. If life is getting too serious, then it might be that you are focusing on the wrong things or taking too much responsibility on your own shoulders. Jesus promised that his burden is easy and his yolk is light (Mt. 11:28-30). At The Message (the organisation I’m part of) we actively seek to not take ourselves too seriously. There needs to be space and room in our lives for fun and laughter. If it’s a long time since you belly-laughed or simply engaged in some frivolous fun, then perhaps it’s time to reconsider your priorities. To maintain a healthy perspective on life and stay focused for the long haul, we need to care for our souls.

The force of focus is critical if we are to be effective as servant leaders. Our ultimate focus is on loving God and loving others. However, even as we seek to do that, we can find that we get distracted by the tasks of leadership and our daily responsibilities. I hope this article has helped provoke thought and action that will enable you to focus on what matters most.

In 2016 my wife died suddenly and unexpectedly from a brain aneurysm aged 38 years of age. I was left with three children and a gaping hole in my heart. I have written about my journey through deep grief in my book Grief and Grace, Facing the Future I Didn’t Choose.

In reflecting on my journey, I have become surprised by how few Christian leaders write, speak, and preach on death, dying and grieving?

Other than at funerals, how many sermons do we hear on death? Just consider it. How many Bible studies, conferences, retreats, or concerts have you attended that have had death as their central theme? Yes, there are resources for those going through grief, but should we be waiting for disaster to happen before addressing the subject? Surely, as leaders, we need to be more proactive. Death is part of life which means it’s part of our discipleship. Therefore, we need to talk about death!

In particular, I believe that as Christian leaders we need to be equipping ourselves in this area. After all, this is a primary way in which our biblical perspective should stand out in a world of questions about suffering and death.

It seems to me that Christians give mixed messages when talking about death. We either super-spiritualise it and focus on the eternal hope we have at the expense of recognising the trauma that death does bring. Ultimately this can be an avoidance mechanism that prevents us from dealing with the grief of losing a loved one. Or we slump into despair, even to the extent of questioning our faith and the goodness of God.

The biblical perspective is not an either/or, but far more nuanced, holding these two extremes, super-spiritualisation and despair, in tension. The biblical perspective lies somewhere in the murkier space of balancing the hope we have that Jesus has conquered death, with the reality that death is a brutal invasion into our lives, one that God never intended for us.

If you are a Christian leader, then it is inevitable that there are two challenges you are going to face at some point in your leadership.

Firstly, the challenge of leading the grieving.

Whether the death of a loved one or another form of deep loss, the people we lead are grieving. As biblical leaders we cannot bury our heads in the sand and ignore the brokenness that people carry. The Bible is not reticent to speak about death. God has no issue with addressing the subject of death. In fact, one might argue that the Bible is given to us as God’s response to the challenge of death. The task at hand is to develop a robust biblical perspective so that we can compassionately care for those under our care who are grieving while sensitively directing people to the redeeming purposes of God. The bible gives us many examples of how not to do this (e.g. Job’s friends) as well as providing guidance on how to mourn with those who mourn (e.g. Jesus with Martha and Mary). Exploring scripture through the lens of uncovering how to lead the grieving is an important journey I encourage all leaders to take.

The second challenge is leading while grieving.

In 1 Peter 1:3, Peter glories in the living hope we have through Christ’s resurrection. In verses 4 and 5 he goes on to underline the promise of this new life, that it is an inheritance that can never spoil or fade and one that is protected by God himself. Nothing and no one can take it from us. Verse 6 starts with rejoicing, before giving us a reality check: ‘Though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials.’ Oh, Peter! Please can we skip that part? Wouldn’t it be nice if we could jump straight from salvation into glory? The implication is clear. No one is immune. As leaders who trust in God’s word, we must prepare ourselves that we too will face griefs of many kinds. This is where the rubber hits the road. How do we continue to lead when we are feeling the sting of death?

Clearly, there is a time when we need to step back and allow God to bring us a measure of healing. I took an extended break from my daily leadership responsibilities when my wife died. However, this phase quickly came to an end, and I needed to learn to lead even with a heavy heart.

George Matheson was a 19th-century pastor and hymn writer. Blind from his youth and having faced grief, loss, and disappointments of many kinds, he was a man who was familiar with the challenges of suffering. He wrote:

‘Many of us would tearlessly deal with our grief if only we were allowed to do it in private, yet what is so difficult is that most of us are called to exercise patience, not in a bed, but in the open street for all to see. We are called upon to bury our sorrows not in restful inactivity but in active service; in our workplace, while shopping and doing social events… No other way of bearing sorrow is as difficult as this, for it is truly what is meant by running with patience.’

Matheson is highlighting the challenge of navigating public and private grief. The only way we can manage this as leaders is to acknowledge that this is a challenge too difficult to bear and learn the same lesson that Jesus taught Paul, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Cor. 12:9). From this perspective we can boldly state that the world needs to see grieving Christian leaders still lead! Grief does not disqualify us from leadership. Rather, persevering through grief can often result in Christian leaders having a greater impact because they lead from a place of weakness and full reliance on the grace of Jesus. This is counter-cultural, and entirely scriptural.

Having said that, a biblical perspective on grief leads me to understand that we are not meant to carry these burdens alone. The only way I could lead with a heavy heart was through the love and support of close friends who helped me practically and spiritually in numerous ways. As leaders we carry many burdens, including our grief, loss, and failings, therefore it’s imperative that we do not hide these away from others but have a community of praying believers who are standing with us and continually pointing us to Jesus. This is the only way we can still lead while we grieve.

This article has been written to help stimulate thought and conversation around the subject of death and grief. It is not intended to be exhaustive. However, I’d like to point you to my new book, Finding Life After Death: a biblical survivor’s guide which offers a hope-filled view on loss framed by the biblical themes of perspective, pain and purpose.

Please see my website www.griefandgrace.org for more resources and information.

This article was previously published on Biblicalleadership.com

I find one of my most frustrating attributes is how easily distractable I am.

Whether it’s scrolling social media when I’ve set time aside for prayer and to read God’s Word. Or due to having multiple windows open on my PC and flitting from one thing to the next as I manage the various people/initiatives/projects that I’m involved with. Or just an over-active mind mulling over my to-do list so disturbing my family time and keeping me from restful sleep.

In trying to multi-task (something I’ve written about elsewhere) I can compromise my effectiveness and run the risk of doing multiple things badly.

These are fairly superficial examples. There are more nefarious distractions that each of us faces. We can pursue a business opportunity that “seemed too good to be true” because it was! We’re asked to join a board or committee for something that seems a worthy cause but begins to pull us into multiple meetings that don’t fuel our passion. Even some relationships can be distractive as they absorb an inordinate amount of our emotional energy. We get distracted as we pursue multiple good things at the expense of relentlessly pursuing what we’re called to do.

This is something I constantly need to be reminded of. In a world of so much need and opportunity, I can’t be the answer to every problem. The danger is that if I try and accomplish too much, I won’t end up accomplishing anything effectively. As I’ve entered 2024 which promises to be one of my busiest years in quite some time, I’ve been reminded of the powerful force which is focus. And that I need to force myself to focus. That’s why focus is my word for the year.

This is primarily true in my Christian discipleship. I simply have to keep the main thing the main thing. My key Bible verse for 2024 is 2 Corinthians 4:2:

…we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God

The distractions we face as Christian leaders include a propensity to self-indulgence, the pursuit of popularity, and empire-building. These are very real threats that all Christian leaders face. And we’re not going to combat them by engaging in mind-over-matter, positive thinking, or pop-psychology. Our human psyche is far too weak and susceptible to sin. Rather, we need to focus on the truth of God’s word which reveals to us Jesus Christ, the perfect example of what godly leadership looks like. As we focus on him, then we are transformed into leaders who can reflect his glory (see 2 Corinthians 3:18).

And inasmuch as we focus on Jesus, so we become clear on what our calling and mandate is. As servant leaders, we serve our teams and our organisations by ensuring we don’t become distracted from our specific purpose. Father Gregory Boyle, founder of Homeboy Industries in Los Angeles, says: narrowness is the way… our choice is not to focus on the narrow, but to narrow our focus.¹

These are the thoughts I’ve started 2024 with. To manage this busy year, I need to keep my focus. As you can imagine, the following words of Richard Blackaby struck me between the eyes when I read them on the Biblical Leadership website early in January:

“One of the keys to effective leadership today is staying focused on what God has called you to do. It’s easy to become so fixated on what others are doing (or not doing) that you fail to complete the assignment God has given you. As you get older, you may find that God reduces your commitments and activities so you have time to focus on your priorities. We need to invest not in what we can do but in what we must do.”²

I’m sure we all read this and agree with these sentiments. In a complex and busy world, we need to focus. But how do we put this into practice? How do we avoid the nefarious distractions that will cause us to invest our time, effort, and resources in the wrong things?

I’m open to suggestions!

But I’ll try and give some practical input on this in part 2 so watch this space!

1. Gregory Boyle, Tattoos on the Heart, page 31. ↩︎
2. https://www.biblicalleadership.com/blogs/how-are-distractions-impacting-your-life-and-leadership/ ↩︎

I’ve recently read two books by Andrew Murray: Waiting on God and Working for God.

Christ-centered servant leaders live in the paradox of these two biblical truths. We know that having a posture of waiting on God is essential if we are to be empowered to lead as Jesus did. After all, Jesus often retreated to lonely places to pray and actively waited on God. However, we also recognise that we are called to work and to be fruitful in our service to God. Jesus himself exemplified the balance between waiting on God and working for God: “My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I too am working… Very truly I tell you, The Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does.” (see John 5:16-19).

And then Jesus counsels us in John 15:7-8: “If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.”

To follow Jesus’ example we have to wait, rely and remain in intimate relationship with him in order that we can partner with the Godhead in their work on earth. This is the key to bearing much fruit for the Kingdom. In his two books, Murray manages the tension of this paradox with great practical wisdom. As he says, “Our great need is to hold the two sides of the truth in perfect conjunction and harmony.” (Murray 2018:2).

I hope that these quotes inspire you to consider more deeply how you can be a leader who works while waiting.

Quotes from Waiting on God

“If salvation indeed comes from God, and is entirely His work, just as creation was, it follows, as a matter of course, that our first and highest duty is to wait on Him to do the work that pleases Him” (location 41).

“waiting on God is just as indispensable, and must be just as continuous and unbroken, as the breathing that maintains his natural life” (location 59).

“In waiting upon God, the first thought is of the God upon whom we wait. We enter His presence, and feel we need just to be quiet. So that He, as God, can overshadow us with Himself” (location155).

“A soul cannot seek close fellowship with God, or attain the abiding consciousness of waiting on Him all the day, without a very honest and entire surrender to all His will” (location 257).

“All the exercises of the spiritual life, our reading and praying, our willing and doing, have their very great value. But they can go no farther than this, that they point the way and prepare us in humility to look to and to depend alone upon God Himself, and in patience to wait His good time and mercy” (location 401).

“Patience then becomes our highest blessedness and our highest grace. It honours God, and gives Him time to have His way with us. It is the highest expression of our faith in His goodness and faithfulness” (location 503).

“In our church worship, in our prayer meetings, in our conventions, in all our gatherings as managers, or directors, or committees, or helpers in any part of the work for God, our first object ought ever to be to ascertain the mind of God” (location 544).

“If you want to fully know the goodness of God, give yourself more than ever to a life of waiting on Him” (location 861).

“What our faith needs is – more of God” (location 879).

“The more work, the more need of waiting upon God” (location 881).

“A holy, joyful expectancy is of the very essence of true waiting” (location 934).

Quotes from Working for God

“Waiting on God has its value in that it makes us strong in work for God” (p. 1).

“waiting has working as its objective” (p. 2).

“Christ’s church and the world suffer terribly today, not only because many of its members are not working for God, but also because so much working for God is done without waiting on God” (p. 3).

“Every believer is to live wholly for God’s service and work” (p. 12).

“The true Christian is one who knows God’s power working in him and finds his true joy when the life of God flows into him, and through him, and out from him to those around him” (p. 20).

“Work is the great factor by which the hidden beauty and the divine possibilities of the Christian life are brought out” (p. 28).

“As worthless as our works are in procuring salvation, so infinite is their worth for what God has created and prepared for us” (p. 41).

“Obey the command to be filled with the Holy Spirit. Believe in His indwelling. Wait for His teaching. Yield to His leading. Pray for His might working. Live in the Spirit” (p. 48).

“Humility and love – these are the two great virtues of the saint; they are the two great powers for the work of ministry” (p. 69).

“Humility makes us willing to serve; love makes us wise to know how to do it” (p. 69).

“The secret of true work involves a personal relationship with Christ, an entire surrender to His disposal, a dependent waiting to be used by Him, and a joyful confidence that He will use us” (p. 88).

“Doing is the very essence of blessedness, the highest expression, and therefore, the fullest enjoyment of the life of God” (p. 125).

“Praying and working are inseparable. Let all who work learn to pray well. Let all who pray learn to work well” (p. 136).

“The more you depend on God alone for your strength, the more He will be glorified. The more you seek to make God’s purpose your purpose, the more you will be led to submit to His working and His strength and love” (p. 146).

Andrew Murray: Working for God. Aneko Press Christian Classics. 2018.

Andrew Murray, Waiting on God. Andrew Murray Books. 2018 Kindle edition.

Each of these books is a 31 days devotional study and ideal to work through in a month. I highly recommend digging into some of Andrew Murray’s writing. I’ve found it very relevant to many of the challenges of leadership we face in the 21st century.

Almost 60 years ago, the UK rock band, The Who, wrote an era-defining song called My Generation. The track is famous for the line “I hope I die before I get old.” Pete Townsend, who wrote the lyrics (and is now quite elderly), said, “My Generation was very much about trying to find a place in society. I was very, very lost.” (https://genius.com/The-who-my-generation-lyrics)

It seems that every generation of young people needs to find themselves and their place in society. The challenge is, how do we create an environment for young people to discover their place in society without them falling prey to desperation and negative life choices? Perhaps the challenge is even greater now than it was 60 years ago. The so-called generation gap continues to grow and non-profit organisations face some very real challenges to effectively empower young people in this globalised world.

Given the scale and scope of challenges that young people face around the world, it is impossible to address every issue within the confines of these articles on youth development. However, I want to draw from my own experience of working with young people and leading organisations focused on empowering youth. In the next few editions, I want to highlight some principles and approaches that could help unlock potential in young people. In this edition, I want to set the scene by sharing my own background in youth development and some key lessons I’ve learned along the way.

I’ve been involved in youth work for most of my adult life. In 1997 I became an employed youth worker at my local church in the UK. The following year I had an opportunity to do a youth work placement at a church in Cape Town. I’ve been based in South Africa ever since! When I arrived, the country was emerging from apartheid and transitioning from the presidency of Nelson Mandela. However, at grassroots level, it was clear that the legacy of institutionalised racism had had a devastating impact on the prospects for young people in Cape Town’s underprivileged communities. It was in gang-infested communities and through working with incarcerated young people that my passion to provide an environment for young people to flourish was first forged.

As a foreigner, I recognised that I needed a vehicle to build bridges with young people. Sport, in particular football, provided me with that bridge. Football was a sub-culture that helped me overcome other cultural barriers and enabled me to connect with, and learn from, the young people that I was engaging with. And this is the first principle I want to highlight; that youth development is all about bridge-building. A former colleague of mine said, “we give them what they love in order to give them what they need”. People who work with young people are essentially bridge builders. We need to find creative avenues through which we can build meaningful relationships. Those years were a fast learning curve for me as I sought to integrate the young men from underprivileged communities who I was playing football with, into a youth group that was in a historically white and privileged suburb. At times, it was quite messy. Yet it set me on a pathway that was committed to developing organisations that prioritise integration, equality, and diversity across socio-economic and cultural divides.

In 2001 I started a South African branch of the international organisation, Ambassadors in Sport (now Ambassadors Football). This afforded me the opportunity to not only engage young people in Cape Town but took me to other parts of the country and into Africa. Within a few years I was invited to take international teams of Christian football players to far flung countries such as Nigeria, Mali, Kenya and Sudan. My horizons were broadened, both on and off the field. As I engaged with young people across the Continent, I was struck by their tenacity and positivity, even in adversity. I recognised that my privileged background meant I had a responsibility to create opportunities for young people who didn’t have the privilege of resources and relationships to provide them with a step up in life. This shaped my personal mission to invest in emerging leaders and to seek to provide environments where they can flourish in faith and in life. This is a further principle; those engaged in working with young people need to recognise it’s not about you! Your job is to provide a platform for young people to fulfil their potential.

In 2014, I changed jobs and began the first international hub of a UK youth-focused organisation called The Message Trust. For the past nine years, we’ve sought to apply the principles of bridge-building and creating a platform for young people in tough neighbourhoods in order that they can fulfil their potential. Our goal is to raise up transformational leaders from the margins. We call these emerging leaders Urban Heroes. (see www.message.org.za).

My work with The Message Trust has brought home to me the importance of a third principle for working with young people which is that we must have faith in young people. The challenges that young people face are compounded when we speak negatively about them or write them off as being troublemakers or a lost cause. Rather, I’ve found that young people often rise to the level of our expectations. Having faith in young people enables us to remain positive and full of hope that even the most troubled or broken life can still be restored and find their God-given purpose. I often say that Cape Town, beautiful city as it is, is more often known for the bad-news stories that emanate out of our troubled communities. These bad news stories are often associated with youth crime, gangsterism and youth unemployment. However, those of us who have faith in young people start believing for a different story to emerge; that the bad news stories can become good news stories as Urban Heroes arise who are committed to becoming the change they want to see in society (to quote Gandhi).

Having started with a song from a bygone era, let me close by quoting Taylor Swift. Feeling disenchanted by politics, Swift released the song “Only the young” in 2020. She writes the song to help inspire disillusioned youth recognise that they do have the potential to change the status quo. The chorus has the refrain,  

But only the young
Only the young
Only the young
Only the young can run
Can run, so run
And run, and run.

For those of us involved in youth development, this provides us with a horizon to look towards. We are bridge-builders, providing a platform for young people to flourish, because we have faith in young people. And with these principles in place, we believe that young people can find their feet and run the race ahead of them – a race that leads them to a better destination where boundless possibilities are available to them.

Through doing this, we are serving young people and providing them with an environment to flourish in faith and life.

This article was previously published in NGO Whisperer magazine.

The NGO Whisperer™ Magazine, along with The NGO Whisperer™ Show are online platforms for the nonprofit sector that bring you industry best practice on key trending topics, as well as celebrate men and women who are positively impacting the lives of people in their communities and across the globe.

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In 2018, Siya Kolisi became the first black person to captain the South African rugby men’s team, the Springboks. It was not only a defining moment in his career, but also a defining moment for the country. Kolisi was entirely aware of the significance of his appointment given the racialism associated with rugby in South Africa. Beyond winning trophies and personal accolades, he stated his goal as follows:

 “I wanted to change their perception of what is possible”.

Siya Kolisi, Rise, page 46.

This is a simple but powerful statement. Kolisi understands the power of perception. How we perceive the world significantly influences our attitudes and actions. A root of racism is a false perception about oneself and others. If Kolilsi, through his role as Springbok captain, can change perceptions about race and identity, then this could positively impact the attitudes and actions of countless people.

Perception is powerful! In particular, as Christian leaders, how we perceive what God is doing in the world will critically shape our approach to life and ministry.

In Isaiah 43:19, God promises that his activity in the world is continuously working for the good of his people. He states, “See, I am doing a new thing”. But then he asks the pointed question, “Do you not perceive it?”.

The challenge we face is that there are many ungodly perceptions of what is happening in the world that invade our minds and hearts on a daily basis. Whether it’s the 24/7 news cycle, the radio chat show we listen to, the prevalent secular humanist academic worldview, or our social media feed, we can quickly get the perception that God has a diminished role in the world. If unchecked, this can fuel our doubts and extinguish our faith.

However, if we are to retain our effectiveness as leaders, then we need to consistently renew our perspective on God’s present activity in the world.

Henry and Melvin Blackaby write,

“Whether you see him at work is irrelevant to the fact of God’s presence in our world. He is actively and intimately involved in both the affairs of this world and the details of your life”.

Henry and Melvin Blackaby, Experiencing the Spirit, page 26.

I would propose that a primary role as spiritual leaders is to perceive what God is doing in the world and communicate that effectively to others. To perceive means to recognise, discern, envision, and understand (Dictionary.com). I struggle to think of a more powerful way to serve people than to help give them a fresh perspective on what God is doing in the world. This can help motivate, encourage, and empower people to serve God. This is where servant leadership becomes prophetic leadership – the kind of leadership that we sorely need in the 21^st century.

There is no doubt that we’re living in difficult times. Yet, as followers of Christ, we need not succumb to the narratives of our culture. Rather, we should endeavour to comprehend what God is doing by engaging our physical and spiritual senses.

 I find a simple prayer helps me to engage my spiritual senses:

“Father, give me eyes to see what you are doing,

Ears to hear your voice,

a mind to understand your Word

and a heart to obey” Amen.

As we pray this prayer, I believe we will receive the same blessing that Jesus gave his disciples:

“…blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear” Matthew 13:16).

Regularly praying this prayer (or one like it), can help us perceive God’s activity. We then have the exciting opportunity to join him, and lead others, in the incredible things he is doing in this generation.

I shared some of this at a talk I recently gave at Jubilee Community Church. You can watch the whole talk by clicking here.

*Image by rawpixel.com on Freepik

It was 1944. The Germans were losing the battle on the Russian front. My grandfather (Opa in German) was a recent recruit to the front… but his physical war didn’t last long. Within a few months, he had been captured and taken as a prisoner of war. Now a new battle began. Injured from shrapnel wounds – it was a battle of survival as they undertook a long and harsh trek as captives from the front-line, to the prisoner-of-war camp. In pain, tired, malnourished, and cuffed to another prisoner, Opa and his comrade could not take another step. They stumbled to a halt. A Russian soldier barked orders to them to continue. The two German prisoners simply couldn’t move. Bang! In an instant, Opa’s comrade was dead at his feet. The Russian soldier turned his pistol upon Opa and once more ordered him to start walking. “You’ll have to shoot” he managed to mutter, “For I can’t take another step forward…”

At one of the leadership mentoring groups I facilitate, we were discussing how God uses important events from our past, to shape our futures. In my first book, The Pace Setter, I call them Memorial Stones. One of the participants coined a more up to date… techno-friendly term… that God “bookmarks” certain events in our past that we need to recall in order to find the strength to persevere for our future. We discussed that, with hindsight, we are able to see a thread of grace that God, in His wisdom, weaves through all the events of our lives. In the discussion, I recalled the story above about Opa, and how the thread of grace can actually be discerned in events that even preceded my birth! I’ve often thought of this story and the factors that may have prevented the Russian soldier from shooting. Obviously, if he had shot, then I wouldn’t be here writing this blog…

In my view, leaders should not lurch from crisis to crisis, or even from glory to glory, without seeking to recognise the specific thread of grace that God is weaving through their lives. If we believe in a Sovereign, all-wise, and all-knowing God, who is personally interested in us as individuals, then we should be seeking to discern and be cognisant of His perfect plan for our lives. We should take time to reflect on God’s work in our lives in order that, when we face challenges in our future, we can draw strength from the lessons God has taught us in our past. And in recognising the thread of grace we can remain confident that God is at work even when the current evidence is to the contrary. This is the essence of faith. But it is not blind faith because it is faith that is intrinsically attached to the thread of grace.

Leaders are not those who become stuck in the past. These bookmarks are not past glories that we use to justify our positions of authority. In fact, there’s a lovely paradox in Paul’s writings. He often reminds those he’s writing to of their past (e.g. his second letter of 2 Timothy is full of such reminders). But when speaking of himself he says… “But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead…” (Philippians 3:13). Paul definitely does not want us to get stuck in the past… which will certainly result in us plateauing in our spiritual life and leadership effectiveness. Rather, our bookmarked events should be motivational reminders that enable us to “keep on track”… keeping us accountable to the trajectory God has for our lives… and enabling us to find encouragement to push on into the future knowing that God will work all things for good for those who love him (Romans 8:28).

So consider the thread of grace in your own life… which began even before you were born. And find encouragement as a leader that God has you on a certain trajectory which can be discerned through the various “bookmarks” along the way. Then, in faith, persevere!

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