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Waiting vs. Working

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Living in the tension that transforms leadership

There are many mind-blowing verses in the Bible, but this promise from Jesus grabs me by the throat every time I read it:

“Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.” (John 14:12)

Wait—did Jesus really mean what He said? That we would do greater things than Him?

Since 2013, I’ve had the privilege of being part of The Message Trust. Our founder and now global leader, Andy Hawthorne, consistently reminds us that we are ordinary people in the hands of an extraordinary God. And when we recognise that and depend on Him, remarkable things can happen. Since joining The Message, I’ve witnessed God move incredibly, transforming lives in urban centres worldwide and restoring dignity to the poor and brokenhearted. Andy often points us to Ephesians 3:20, where we’re reminded that God can do “immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine.”

And yet, we still long for more. We long to see God’s name and renown honoured across the world, especially in marginalised, impoverished, and systemically broken urban communities.

This raises a profound question: How is this possible? Can we expect to do greater things than the Lord Jesus Christ?

Many leaders operate under the paradigm that success is proportional to effort. We naturally assume that productivity directly correlates with reward. This seems to be a fundamental law of leadership. But what if biblical leadership operates from a completely different paradigm?

It’s time to rethink our success-driven worldview, especially in approaching leadership as Christians. Scripture teaches that we are called to lead with exponential impact that is disproportionate to our efforts. Scripture doesn’t speak in terms of success, but in terms of fruitfulness. The source of fruitfulness isn’t our effort, but our reliance on the Holy Spirit. In this paradigm, the goal isn’t popularity or praise, but Spirit-inspired, God-exalting worship.

This approach to life and leadership is woven throughout the entire Bible. It starts in Genesis, with God’s command to Adam and Eve to be fruitful and increase in number (Gen. 1:28), and continues with His promise to Abraham that his descendants would be countless and a blessing to the world (Gen. 12:2–3). In Genesis 26:12, we see a physical example of this principle when the Lord blesses Isaac with a hundredfold harvest—an abundant result that went far beyond his effort.

This account of Isaac’s extraordinary harvest provides context for Jesus’ promise that those who receive the good seed of the gospel will produce “a crop—some thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times what was sown” (Mark 4:20). Jesus wasn’t talking about personal prosperity, but about kingdom fruitfulness. The fruit is disproportionate to the effort because it comes from receiving and believing the Word!

“Every good seed that falls on good soil has great potential for multiplication.”
— Bekele Shanko

However, the path to this kind of impact can feel counterintuitive. Don’t get me wrong—the Bible clearly endorses hard work (e.g., Col. 3:23). But it also consistently calls us to depend on God. Throughout Scripture, we’re encouraged to wait on the Lord.

It’s in that sacred tension between working hard and waiting on God that true fruitfulness can happen.

That tension has challenged and shaped me as a leader. It’s why I’ve written Waiting vs. Working: A Christian Leader’s Tension, which explores what I’ve learned about leading from a posture of dependence rather than drive alone. This shift, done for His glory, can unlock fruit far beyond any human effort. I know, because I’ve seen it.

Maybe that’s what Jesus meant when He said we’d do even greater things.

Please click here to download your free copy of Waiting vs. Working, published by biblicalleadership.com. This is the first in a series of short leadership eBooks I’ll be releasing in the coming months.

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Grab a Towel: Luganda version launched in Uganda

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We are excited to announce the launch of the Luganda version of Grab a Towel, which took place in May 2025. The launch was held during a special training event for Anglican priests and lay readers, organised by The Message Uganda. In Luganda, Grab a Towel is translated as Weesibe Ekimyu, and we are grateful that the book is now accessible to a new audience in Uganda. The Luganda version will soon be available on this website.. Contact us for more information.

Godfrey E.N. Nsubuga was the chief translator for this project, and he submitted this review of Grab a Towel

I’m grateful to God for the opportunity to serve as the lead translator of Grab a Towel, a book by Tim Tucker, from English into Luganda. This translation journey allowed me to deeply engage with the content of the book. As a result, my longstanding knowledge and experience, as a Bible school teacher and church leader in various capacities for over 35 years, were profoundly challenged, paragraph by paragraph.

Right from the start, I was struck by the words of Pastor Anthony Liebenberg, who, in his endorsement at the beginning of the book, offered this caution to readers: “Get ready for adjustment after adjustment, because that’s what this book is all about. Grab a towel and enjoy the journey.”

The author presents Christian leadership through what can only be described as an “upside-down” approach—radically different from traditional concepts and practices. First and foremost, he emphasises that you are not truly a leader unless you are first a servant. Moreover, this leader must not only be rooted in Christ, but must also fully embody Christlikeness—inside and out.

A Christ-centred servant leader, according to the book, should consistently work with a heart focused on raising others up, ultimately phasing themselves out to make room for new, Christlike leaders they have mentored. The essence of this model is a leader who is always willing to “give away power” to those they have groomed, mentored, and discipled—to see them not only reach their level of leadership, but surpass it.

This message deeply challenged me. I found myself sitting down with my fellow ministry associates to reflect on our own efforts. We had to confront the reality: if, after several years, we have not yet raised up capable servant leaders to take over from us, we are doing too little. We have since adjusted our discipleship process in our church to ensure that our followers are empowered to reach their God-given potential as servant leaders as quickly and effectively as possible.

At the heart of Grab a Towel is the powerful idea that all the activities, programs, and projects of a ministry or church must revolve around a passion for people, not the other way around. Too often, ministries can become so focused on programs and activities that they lose sight of the people they are meant to serve. This leads to a “people for programs” model, instead of “programs for people.” In other words, everything we do should prioritise people, not treat them as appendages to our church or ministry calendar.

I’m deeply thankful to the author, Tim Tucker, for writing Grab a Towel. I truly believe this book will create ripple effects wherever it is read and used for training.

Godfrey E.N.Nsubuga is a trained journalist, theologian and teacher. For the last 30 years, he has written course books for the ministries of Education for Uganda, Zambia, Rwanda and Kenya. He has taught in several Bible Colleges in Uganda and currently he is managing Nissi Publishers (U) Ltd.

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Leading with Exponential Impact

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Leading with Exponential Impact was the workshop I presented at the recent Exponential Global Conference* in Orlando, Florida. Exponential gathers 6,000 church planters, church leaders and ministry leaders from across the U.S., together with a scattering of participants from other countries (like me). The theme for this year’s conference was Good, Great, Greater, based upon Jesus’ words in John 14:12:

‘Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.‘

The plenary sessions applied the theme to leadership, church planting and urban mission. A couple of hundred workshops helped delegates explore various aspects of the theme. I attended diverse workshops relating to spiritual growth, developing diverse teams and event management. One of the highlights for me was being part of the ministry team that prayed for hundreds of people on the final morning, commissioning them for greater impact in their lives and ministry.

In my workshop, I built upon the Effortless theme (which I’ve previously written about on this blog – click here for the articles) and considered our biblical mandate to lead with exponential impact, meaning fruitfulness beyond our efforts. The mainstream view of leadership suggests that rewards are directly proportional to our efforts. However, as Christ-centered servant leaders, I believe the Bible teaches us to expect greater fruit, not in the form of personal rewards, but in the impact we have for the Kingdom.

For this to happen, we need to have a paradigm shift in how we lead. In my workshop, I proposed that this shift has three key elements, as illustrated in the image below.


I will unpack each of these shifts in upcoming articles. However, to pique your interest, you can view my slides from the presentation by clicking the download link below.

Effortless workshop slidesDownload

The worship, the opportunity to engage with passionate believers, and the pursuit of the Holy Spirit made this conference an incredibly valuable experience. My biggest takeaway can be summed up by this quote from Andrew Murray:

‘God’s children, in the first place, require a revival – a new revelation by the Holy Spirit of what is the hope of their calling, of what God does indeed expect from them, and of the life of power and consecration, of joy and fruitfulness, which God has prepared for them in Christ.’**

*For more information on Exponential, please see https://exponential.org/

**Leona Choy, Andrew Murray, the Authorised Biography.

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We Need New Leaders!

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Earlier this year I was asked to contribute an article to the Lausanne Movement as they prepare for their global congress in South Korea later this year. It was a privilege to have my article published in July.

The Lausanne Movement has been at the cutting edge of global missions since the 1970s. Their website states,

With a rich history spanning over five decades, the Lausanne Movement has been at the forefront of global mission through fostering Christian collaboration, platforming missional strategy, and equipping leaders and influencers to fulfil the Great Commission.

I have greatly admired the Lausanne Movement – though largely as a consumer of their content rather than an active participant. It was, therefore, an incredible privilege to be invited to attend the African and Middle East regional conference in Ethiopia in November 2023. I’m really looking forward to participating in the fourth global congress in September 2024.

Michael Oh, the Global Executive Director of the Lausanne Movement says:

Lausanne 4 is a multi-year, global, polycentric process facilitated by the platform of Lausanne, towards catalytic collaboration of the global church, for the discipling of all nations and the shaping of the world in 2050.

I feel this is a compelling vision and one that requires a high commitment to partnership and collaboration. The movement’s fourfold vision is to see ‘the gospel for every person, disciple-making churches for every people and place, Christ-like leaders for every church and sector, and kingdom impact in every sphere of society‘. It is encouraging that Christ-like leadership lies at the heart of Lausanne’s vision. So, although my article is just one contribution to a larger body of work that has been developed over many years, it was wonderful to have the opportunity to encourage everyone within the Lausanne movement to grab a towel and follow Christ’s example.

It was also great to have my article translated into multiple languages. Well, hopefully I’ve whet your appetite. Please click here to read the article: We Need New Leaders: Responding the cry of the 21st Century.

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Leadership Insights from Jossy Chacko’s Book: Madness

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I was leaving the auditorium feeling inspired. I was at the Exponential conference in Orlando and had just heard Jossy Chacko speak. He shared about a movement of transformational leaders that are planting churches all across India and beyond. While reflecting on what had been shared, some volunteers thrust a book into my hand. It was Jossy’s autobiography – Madness. I’ve just finished reading the book and loved reading about his journey. As he shares about his faith, his move to Australia, establishing the ministry of Empart, and his vision to plant thousands upon thousands of churches, he weaves leadership lessons that have equipped him to grow such a fruitful ministry.

Whenever I finish a book, I go through it and copy out quotes and sections that have made an impression on me. As I reviewed Madness, I was struck by the alignment between what Jossy was sharing and the eight hallmarks of Christ-centred servant leadership that are the foundation of Grab a Towel. Therefore, I thought it a great opportunity to recap these hallmarks and emphasise them through relevant quotes from Jossy’s book.

Grab a Towel Hallmark 1: Christ-centred servant leaders increasingly display the character of Christ.

Jossy writes, “Leaders don’t fail because of lack of information, they fail because they lack character.”

Jossy Chacko, 2008:127

Grab a Towel Hallmark 2: Christ-centred servant leaders have a Gospel-focused vision that continues God’s work on earth.

Jossy writes, “Cast a big enough vision. A big-enough vision is one that makes you wonder, ‘is this too big?!’ It’s one that keeps you awake at night and energised during the day. A big-enough vision has ample space for others to join you and it requires ongoing miracles to continue.”

Jossy Chacko, 2008:92

Grab a Towel Hallmark 3: Christ-centred servant leaders are faithful stewards of the Gospel and their gifts in their generation.

Jossy writes, “Faithfulness involves multiplying what you have been given. Faithfulness and fruitfulness are two sides of the same coin. In God’s eyes, you cannot be faithful without being fruitful.”

Jossy Chacko 2008:65

Grab a Towel Hallmark 4: Christ-centred servant leaders catalyse other leaders through growing in maturity.

Jossy writes, “The level to which God can use you is directly proportional to the level of your surrender to him.”

and

“Don’t let the little things you don’t know hold you back from the big things you know to be true… To live a lifestyle of significance is to give yourself away… Our challenge is to discover and align all that we are and all that we have to that which God has already prepared.”

Jossy Chacko, 2008:55,113

Grab a Towel Hallmark 5: Christ-centred servant leaders put people before programmes, projects and profit.

Jossy writes, “Most of the time we are so self-focused that we miss the things that God put around us… To be less self-aware and more others-aware is to become like Jesus.”

and

“Invest in people not projects. It is easy to become too invested in a project close to your heart. Instead, invest in the people leading the projects.”

Jossy Chacko 2008:80, 221

Grab a Towel Hallmark 6: Christ-centred servant leaders empower others to fulfil their potential.

Jossy writes, “I came to believe that the quality and success of missionaries should not be determined by how long they stayed on the field, but by how briefly they stayed, and how strategic they were in developing national leaders and sustainable infrastructure… Missionaries and outside workers must be like a scaffolding: once the building is done, it must be removed and relocated to the next site.”

and

“As a leader, my job is to create an atmosphere where good ideas can flourish.”

Jossy Chacko 2008:96, 185

Grab a Towel Hallmark 7: Christ-centred servant leaders are motivated by compassionate love for others.

Jossy writes, “It is not either just about preaching nor is it just about meeting a need; we need to do both social and spiritual transformation. Jesus never separated the Good Commandment and the Great Commission; to him these were two sides of the same coin.”

and

“Christ-like compassion compels us to care for the lost and the needy, giving people the answer to both problems.”

Jossy Chacko 2009:121, 122

Grab a Towel Hallmark 8: Christ-centred servant leaders have the steely resolve to persevere.

Jossy writes, “I strongly believe that a person’s leadership capacity is determined by their capacity to bear pain” (Chacko 2008:204).

and

“Let struggle refine you. Character is rarely developed in comfort; it is tested and refined by struggles. Hardship and trials are the most fertile ground for character formation and leadership development” (Chacko 2008:41).

Jossy Chacko 2008:204, 41

I hope you have been inspired by this sample of quotes. Leaders like Jossy raise the bar as they themselves seek to follow the example of Jesus. Find out more about Jossy Chacko here: https://jossychacko.org/.

All quotes are taken from the 2008 edition of Madness.

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Effortless Part 4: Struggle and Security

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One of the greatest temptations a leader faces is to live for the applause of people. We long for recognition and seek affirmation. Leadership can easily descend into a popularity contest. Particularly in a digitally connected world, increasing followers on social media seems to preoccupy many a would-be leader (now termed influencer). This often comes at the expense of truly leading. Perhaps this is a contributing factor to the epidemic of leadership bankruptcy seen in the world today.

I have observed that the struggle for popularity often comes from a place of insecurity. Leaders can find their sense of self-worth in their position, title and influence over others. Many leaders, therefore, exert effort in the struggle to maintain power to feel secure in themselves, their vocation and their prosperity.

Christian leaders are not immune to these temptations. Unless our leadership is framed and formed by the cross of Christ, we can operate from a place of insecurity. And insecure leaders can be dangerous to themselves and their followers. They may exert a huge effort to maintain power, not for the good of others, but to fulfil their own lofty goals and ambitions.

In other words, insecure leaders struggle for security.

In this series of articles, I’ve been espousing a counter-cultural approach to Christian leadership that I call the effortless paradigm. In previous articles, we’ve seen that biblically-focused leaders can experience exponential impact as they work while waiting and strive from a posture of surrender.

Effortless leadership does not mean there is no effort. Rather, the effort is applied in a spiritual and biblical direction, enabling the Lord to bring about an abundant harvest which is disproportionate to our effort.

However, that does not mean there is no struggle, but the struggles that Christian leaders face emanate from a position of security, rather than insecurity. The security of Christian leaders is in the knowledge that God so loved them that he sent his Son to die on their behalf and, through believing in Jesus, they are eternally secure. This does not mean that life will be a bed of roses. Struggles will still come. Just because we are Christians doesn’t mean we are immune from the trials of life. The differentiating factor is that the struggles we face are not to maintain power or influence over others. Rather, the struggles are what form us to become more like Christ. And as Christ’s character is formed, then we become more fruitful in our life and leadership.

The best that insecure leaders can hope for is fruit proportional to their effort. They can struggle and toil and perhaps see some fruit for their labours. But at what personal and relational cost?

On the other hand, effortless leaders, secure in their salvation, struggle in a godly manner with things that have immediate and eternal consequences. They are therefore positioned to see fruit that is disproportionate to their efforts which brings much glory to God.

I want to close this mini-series of articles by looking at Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith (Hebrews 12:1) and the prime example for Christian leaders. There is no person in history who has had a greater impact on the world than Jesus Christ. His life, death and resurrection continue to have exponential fruitfulness around the world.

So, what was Jesus’ secret? Remember, he had made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant (Php. 2:7). He was like us in every way… but one. The struggles Jesus faced in his life eclipse anything that we face. From the temptations of the devil, the persecution of religious authorities, the betrayal of his friends, and his death on the cross, Jesus’ life was not free from struggle. Indeed, the bible tells us that he “endured the cross” (Heb. 12:2). This was no walk in the park.

As we consider him, I feel that the key to Jesus’ endurance was that he was perfectly secure in his Father’s love. This security meant he could face and overcome the struggles. Take some time to read John 10:25–30. Jesus concludes that section by stating, “I and the Father are one”. Jesus did not have an identity crisis. Nor did he suffer from an insecurity complex.

One of the greatest demonstrations of servant leadership (and on the eve of his crucifixion) was when Jesus washed the disciple’s feet (this story is the basis of my book, Grab a Towel). John introduces that amazing story by stating:

“Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist” (John 13:3–4).

Jesus’ assurance that his Father was with him and that he was returning to the Father meant he had the strength to serve his disciples, and the resilience to face the ensuing events from Gethsemane to Golgotha.

Jesus also had a perspective beyond the struggles. He anticipated the exponential fruit that would be the result of his endurance. Listen to his words in John 12:24: “Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.” As the author of Hebrews stated, it was for the joy set before him, that he endured the cross.

As followers of Jesus, do we lead from that same sense of security? Do we lead as secure children of God not swayed by the opinion and opposition of men and women?

I believe this is make or break for us in terms of our effectiveness as leaders. Insecure leaders will constantly fight the wrong battle and struggle for the wrong things. Secure leaders will be able to follow Christ’s example and have a perspective that looks beyond our immediate struggles and sees the fruit that can come through faithful endurance. That perspective enables us to perceive our efforts and struggles as insignificant in comparison to the fruit that will result in our own lives and in the lives of others.

Very specifically, there are three struggles that all Christian leaders will face. We will struggle with sin. We will struggle with spiritual opposition. And we will struggle with self-centredness. The only way we can hope to survive and thrive in our leadership is if we are secure in our identity as new creations in Jesus (2 Cor. 5:17).  Then we will find we do not need to succumb to sin for our loving Father will always provide a way out (1 Cor. 10:13). In our struggle against spiritual attack, we can stand firm and resist evil (Eph. 6:13). And in our struggle with selfish ambition, we will find that we are able to put others first (Php. 2:13).

This is counter-cultural leadership. And the beauty of it is that it’s effortless. When we truly find our security in Christ, it radically shifts our view of success. When the struggles come, our task is primarily to be faithful and obedient to him. We depend on his grace and can leave the results to him. If our struggle results in us dying to ourselves (Gal. 2:20), then we are truly able to see exponential fruit in our lives and leadership. And, with Paul, we’ll be able to say, “For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all” (2 Cor. 4:17).

I hope you have enjoyed the Effortless series. I hope to explore this topic further so I would welcome any comments or feedback. To make it an effortless experience, click here to send me a message.

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Effortless Part 3: Strive and Surrender

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I believe that Christian leaders can live with impact beyond their human effort because of the power of God working in and through them. When their focus is on glorifying God, Christian leaders can experience exponential fruit. As we are seeing in this series of articles, it is often in the tension of seeming paradoxes that we find the key to leading with exponential impact.

Luis Palau (1934-2021) was an Argentinian evangelist who shared the Gospel with more than 25 million people in over 70 nations.[1] He embodied the effortless paradigm: he had an exponential impact beyond his human effort which brought much glory to God. In his 2019 book, effectively a memoir written in conversation with Paul J Pastor after he had been diagnosed with terminal cancer, Palau speaks of a point early in his ministry when he had almost burned out and was seeing his labours no longer bear fruit. He shares:

“I had reached the end of my efforts, knowing that for all my trying, I was not really pleasing God. He wanted more than just my natural gifting or commitment. He wanted me. For the first time in my life, I thought that I knew what it might mean to surrender to Him.”[2]

The point where Luis Palau’s ministry began to have an exponential impact was when he reached the end of his own efforts and completely surrendered to God. Surrendering is not normally an image associated with leadership. Surrender is usually seen as a sign of defeat. Modern leadership gurus are reluctant to speak about defeat. This would be seen as a weakness. However, within the effortless paradigm of leadership, we see that surrendering is the key that unlocks true spiritual strength.

Another Christian leader who has a global ministry is Nick Vujicic. Uninhibited by having no arms or legs, Vujicic’s ministry, Life without Limbs, estimates that they have shared the gospel with more than 733 million people since 2005. In his book, Unstoppable, Vujicic helps us understand why surrendering is so critical for Christian leaders who seek to operate in the effortless paradigm:

“Surrendering is about giving up the illusion that you are in the driver’s seat…it is an illusion to think you can determine what happens to you and around you… I believe that when you surrender your life in full, with complete trust and patience, there is another great reward that comes your way: God’s strength… surrender brings strength.”[3]

Therefore, a biblical view of surrendering is that it’s not a passive act of defeat. Rather, it is an active choice to commit oneself fully to Christ. The decision to surrender fully to Jesus is the means through which we receive spiritual strength. As Jesus said, “For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it” (Mt. 16:25).

It is in Paul’s example of leadership that we learn what it means to truly live a surrendered life. Paul was totally surrendered to Jesus. He wrote, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me” (Gal. 2:20). Yet in surrendering, he was far from passive. In fact, we could argue that he was the most active Christian who ever lived. From this platform of surrender, Paul was 100% committed to the cause of the gospel. He was driven by the mission God had given him to see the church established and grow in cities across the world, no matter the extreme personal cost.

In Colossians 1:29 Paul says, “To this end I also labor, striving according to His working which works in me mightily” (NKJV). The word translated “striving” is ἀγωνιζόμενος (agōnizomenos) and means to contend and struggle. It is a word denoting competitiveness, taken from the Greek gymnasium and is a root of the English word agonize. This is effort on steroids as Paul contends for the emerging church to come to maturity in the faith.

The harmonising of surrendering and striving fully comes to bear when we understand that Christian striving is not for self-gain but for the cause of the Gospel. Christian leaders’ lives are surrendered to a cause beyond themselves, and they strenuously pursue this mission. Heidi Baker, a missionary to Mozambique who has had an exponential global impact through her ministry, says,

“None of us should want to build our own ministries – that is the opposite of what God called us to. We are called in love and meekness to establish God’s kingdom on Earth.”[4]

Contemporary secular leaders may strive for personal success or even a worthy cause. They may make tremendous sacrifices for the noble cause they choose to live for. But what should set Christian leaders apart is that our striving flows from a surrendered life. And when we strive for the glory of God, then, just like Palau, Vujicic and Paul (and countless other women and men throughout history), we can experience exponential fruit for Christ. When we see that fruit, we will realise that our role has been effortless because it has been the “energy of Christ so powerfully working in and through me” (Col. 1:29b NIV) that has accomplished fruit for the kingdom of God.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luis_Palau

[2] Palau: A Life on Fire with Paul J Pastor. 2019, Zondervan, Grand Rapids: MI.

[3] Unstoppable: The Incredible Power of Faith in Action. Nick Vujicic. 2012. WaterBrook Press, Colorado Springs CO.

[4] Compelled by Love. Heidi Baker. 2008. Charisma House Book Group. Florida.

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Effortless Part 2: Working While Waiting

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In the first article of this series, I introduced the effortless paradigm. This is the sweet spot of effective leadership, where God’s abundant blessing ensures that the fruit of our labours is exponentially disproportionate to the effort. This is a counter-cultural approach to leadership because it causes us to recognise that leadership is not about me.

Rather, fruitful leadership is proportionate to our dependence on God. However, that does not mean we are idle. We are called to partner with God and play the part he is calling us to play within his cosmic mandate. Therefore, I concluded the first article by proposing that the key to having an exponential impact through our life and leadership is learning to live in the biblical paradoxes of waiting and working; striving and surrender; struggle and security. We start by considering how Christian leadership requires both waiting on God while working for God.

I remember the night with absolute clarity. I lay in my bed somewhat panic-stricken. Anxiety was crippling my mind as I came to terms with the long-term impact of the diagnosis I’d received. Although not life-threatening, chronic fatigue syndrome meant I was facing an uncertain future. I had been quite severely debilitated and in pain for some months. As a 19-year-old young man, hard-wired to be an activist-achiever, I struggled to understand God’s purpose in allowing me to have a prolonged illness when I should be entering the prime of life. In my confusion, I cried out to God.

It’s always hard to describe the deepest spiritual encounters with God. Sometimes words are insufficient and I’ve always found it almost impossible to explain how God met with me on my bed of illness and anxiety that night. It literally felt like a blanket of love was placed around me to comfort me. And I experienced absolute peace that God was in control. He assured me that this was part of his plan and purpose for me. Through this encounter, he transformed my perspective. I realised that God’s love for me was not conditional on what I could do for him. Even if I spent the rest of my life unable to do things for him (e.g., run the youth group, lead the sports ministry I’d started, even attend church), that didn’t change how he felt about me.

Over the next couple of years, as I began to recover from the illness, I recognised that my activity for God needed to emanate from this revelation that God loved me unconditionally. My doing was not to earn his favour, rather it was an act of worshipful gratitude for his love and all he had done for me. It’s a lesson God has had to remind me of countless times since.

For so many leaders, our identity is wrapped up in our work and activity. We find our value and sense of worth in the work of leadership. The danger in this is that there is a very fine line between working for God out of love for him and working for God to earn his approval. When seeking to earn his approval, we will operate from our own efforts rather than dependence on the Holy Spirit. We may experience some short-term success but it is unlikely that we will see lasting fruit or experience exponential impact beyond our labour (see 1 Cor. 3:12–15).

Effortless leadership, on the other hand, starts from the position of obeying the biblical instruction to wait on God (given consistently to leaders throughout scripture e.g., Ex. 14:14, Ps. 37:9, Ps. 40:1, Hab. 2:3, Mt. 14:23, 2 Pet. 3:8–10). Our identity and sense of self-worth should not be wrapped up in our work and accomplishments. It is rather intrinsically connected to our position as sons and daughters of God (Rom. 8:15–17). The posture of waiting on God is consistently presented in scripture as the appropriate starting point for all effective and fruitful ministry. Waiting on God is essential to counteract the temptation to focus on success, numbers, profit or any other metrics related to our work for him.

However, the biblical counsel to wait on God does not call us to a life of disengagement from the world. Instead, waiting on God provides the impetus for our work, recognising there is a biblical mandate upon us to work hard for the cause of the Gospel. Jesus himself instructs us; “As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me” (John 9:4).

The nineteenth-century South African pastor and church statesman, Andrew Murray, oversaw a spiritual renewal which started in the small town of Wellington and went on to have a global impact. Murray worked tirelessly with incredible zeal and passion as a pastor and evangelist. Through his example and his writings, there has been exponential fruit far beyond his effort by which God continues to receive much glory. I feel that the secret to his fruitfulness was that he understood how to live in the tension between waiting and working. Among his many writings, he wrote two small devotional guides. The first was called, Waiting on God and the second, Working for God. In the introduction to the second volume, he harmonises the states of waiting and working by stating the following:

“Waiting on God has its value in that it makes us strong in work for God… as waiting on God lies at the root of all true working for God, so working for God must be the fruit of all true waiting on Him.” (Andrew Murray, Working for God, p. 1–2).[1]

The apostle Paul was another man of action. Following his dramatic conversion, he worked tirelessly to extend the Gospel around the world. However, he didn’t define his success by virtue of his hard work. Rather, he defined it as follows: “But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them – yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me”. (1 Cor. 15:10).

Paul’s work for God flowed out of God’s work in him. Paul’s dependence on God’s grace came as he waited on God and discovered that God’s grace alone was sufficient for him (2 Cor. 12:9). However, that led him to work tirelessly, instructing us to do the same (e.g., 1 Cor. 15:58).

Waiting on God in order to work for God is the antidote to seeking salvation by merit. It is also the antidote for leaders whose self-worth is tied up in their productivity. By grace, God has chosen us for “good works which he has prepared in advance for us to do” (Eph. 2:10).

It’s not a choice between waiting or working. The Christian life is an inextricable combination of these two states of being: we wait and work; we work while waiting. Sometimes there are seasons where the emphasis is on waiting on God. There are other seasons of incredibly productive work. The temptation for leaders is to keep working without ever waiting. Therefore, in this area, I advise we need to afford ourselves extra accountability in order that we can see God work mightily through us, meaning that we’ll see our work is effortless in comparison to the exponential fruit harvested for the kingdom.

[1] See www.grabatowel.site/2023/07/26/working-while-waiting-leadership-gems-from-andrew-murray/ for more helpful quotes from these books.