The Tasks of Church Revitalization May Have Changed, But Our Responsibility as Leaders Has Not
Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
Matthew 6:34 (NIV)
That’s been a tough verse to live out over these past few months through COVID-19. I have to confess, from March leading up to and past Easter, it was a frenzied time working with churches as the script was changing daily. Plans made on Monday were on the editing floor by Friday having to make the next pivot. It was absolutely exhausting.
After Easter, a different reality settled in: I simply felt a sense of loss and mild depression as the days seemed to be empty. The highlight of my week was having to run to the post office to ship a package. I’ve spent a few hundred hours on Zoom calls with church leaders as they have been struggling to find a new framework to carry out their mission. Sound familiar?
I’ve come back to this verse (and others) a bit convicted as I reflect,
“Am I being the person and leader that God has called me to in this season? Am I bringing hope and encouragement to my family, my friends and the churches we serve?”
Ask yourself: am I being the person and leader that God has called me to in this season? Am I bringing hope and encouragement to my family, my friends and the churches we serve? Click To TweetMaybe you’ve already turned this corner or never had a corner to turn, but it’s time. Hope for the future is not going to come from the media, our politicians (it seems), or even in a vaccine.
I commit to bringing hope from this day forward.
As influencers of churches, here are a five things we will need to continually remind our churches of in the weeks and months ahead:
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The mission hasn’t changed.
But your strategies have and should change. We will not be going back to what “was” in January 2020. Double and triple down on your online engagement and how it will integrate into your future discipleship development.
The mission hasn’t changed, but your strategies have and should change. Click To Tweet-
Give yourself permission to fail.
Pilot and continue to try new things. Some of these will crash and burn but each attempt will provide new learnings for your team.
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Less is more, simplify what you’re doing.
Your teams are exhausted and most likely many in your congregations are exhausted. They’ve been managing change at work, job loss, kids at home and many disruptions. Continue to prune to the core essentials. What are the 3-5 simple, continued steps people can take to grow in their faith in this season?
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People are watching.
What are we modeling to our congregation? Our city? Are we living out our faith in a way that is unique to our culture? If we believe what we believe, we can live and respond differently to the reality around us to bring hope, love and justice.
If we believe what we believe, we can live and respond differently to the reality around us to bring hope, love and justice. Click To Tweet-
We will get to the other side of this.
Focus on the next right things to do each day. Care well for those who are part of the church, find opportunities to rally and serve your community and bring hope to all you encounter.
We are praying for you all as you lead your regions in this challenging season!
