{"id":31398,"date":"2022-09-10T15:28:46","date_gmt":"2022-09-10T20:28:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/4-requirements-for-leading-through-crisis\/"},"modified":"2022-09-10T15:28:46","modified_gmt":"2022-09-10T20:28:46","slug":"4-requirements-for-leading-through-crisis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/4-requirements-for-leading-through-crisis\/","title":{"rendered":"4 Requirements for Leading Through Crisis"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"entry-content\">Lucas Clara photo &#8211; Unsplash <\/p>\n<p><em>By Chad Spriggs<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Many leaders step into the abyss created by chaos and come out wounded soldiers. But as Brennan Manning once said, &#8220;Only wounded soldiers can serve in God&#8217;s army.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Church leadership isn&#8217;t for the faint of heart, nor is it merely a vocation or stepping stone for something greater.<\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s an aspiration to leverage all of life to express the gospel to the world and to equip others to do the same.<\/p>\n<p>Circumstances become a medium, trials a muse. Leaders grow strong through adversity and find peace amid war.<\/p>\n<p>Church leadership is difficult, no matter the circumstances. Leading through a crisis can even sideline the best.<\/p>\n<div class='code-block code-block-1' style='margin: 8px 0;clear: both'> <\/div>\n<p>Church needs, family needs, and even the survival of a local congregation aren&#8217;t problems anyone can handle on their own. Leaders must fight against allowing circumstances to determine behavior.<\/p>\n<p>Turning to Scripture as our source and our sufficient guide can sideline the temptation to give in to the pressures of life. Here&#8217;s one example we find in Scripture:<\/p>\n<p>And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Colossians 3:15 (CSB)<\/p>\n<p>With that as our guide, here are some requirements for leading during this season.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>1. Find peace<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Our frantic pace of life tends to become the special sauce that hides our deepest struggles. Now more than ever, our secrets have been exposed.<\/p>\n<p>We must take the time needed to allow God to create in us a clean spirit that comes from willfully putting on the peace of Christ.<\/p>\n<p>We find peace by trusting that Christ is the supplier and fulfillment of our deepest needs and wants. He sustains the leader and His Church. He alone brings peace.<\/p>\n<p>What do you need to do to lead from a place of peace?<\/p>\n<h3><strong>2. Focus on Christ<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>The heart is a fickle thing. It wants what it wants. Taming the heart is like domesticating a rabid dog.<\/p>\n<p>One way to ensure the heart&#8217;s focus is to remove every focal option but Christ. In other words, no more focusing on a virus, statistics, debt, or any other hardship.<\/p>\n<div style=\"clear:both;margin-top:0em;margin-bottom:1em\">\n<div class=\"centered-text-area\">\n<div class=\"centered-text\" style=\"float: left\">\n<div class=\"uc01835e061676707bd21ec5bace68616-content\">See also&nbsp; What Do Churchgoers Want to Change About Their Churches?<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ctaButton\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>If we focus on Christ&#8217;s character, our life and future actions will reflect his nature.<\/p>\n<p>Christ, as ruler of our hearts, shapes our focus. A focus shaped by Christ is worth following.<\/p>\n<p>How can you better lead through the lens of Christ?<\/p>\n<h3><strong>3. Fight together<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>When things get hard, most of us retreat to taking care of ourselves and what (we think) we can control. This isolation renders any believer useless.<\/p>\n<p>We&#8217;re designed, hardwired even, to do life together. Christ becomes more apparent and tangible when the body works together as one.<\/p>\n<p>Leading the body (believers united in service to God) can accomplish exceedingly more than leading a hand or foot can do.<\/p>\n<p>If we remain fearful and isolated, there&#8217;s no room for leadership. Together we can face any crisis.<\/p>\n<p>Who do you need to surround yourself with to find the strength to lead?<\/p>\n<h3><strong>4. Feel gratitude<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Leading through uncertainty is risky, but believing in God&#8217;s promises and walking by faith, not sight, is a risk worth taking.<\/p>\n<p>We know God has provided, delivered, sustained, healed, and restored. We can be grateful for His provisions through this season even before we receive them.<\/p>\n<p>No matter the circumstance, the truth of Christ&#8217;s sufficiency in practice will produce a thankful heart. A leader thankful for God&#8217;s provisions will be followed.<\/p>\n<p>What will it take for you to lead by being filled with gratitude and thanksgiving because God has overcome it all?<\/p>\n<p><strong>CHAD SPRIGGS<\/strong> <em>is married to Deanna. They have five children and one grandchild. Chad is the Co-Send Network Director for New Mexico, a pastor, professional coach, worshiper, and teacher.<\/em><\/p>\n<div class=\"su-box su-box-style-default\" id=\"\" style=\"border-color:#000000;border-radius:0px\">\n<div class=\"su-box-title\" style=\"background-color:#333333;color:#FFFFFF;border-top-left-radius:0px;border-top-right-radius:0px\">Dig Deeper at Lifeway.com<\/div>\n<div class=\"su-box-content su-u-clearfix su-u-trim\" style=\"border-bottom-left-radius:0px;border-bottom-right-radius:0px\">\n<div class=\"one-third first\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"two-thirds\">\n<h2>Leading Major Change in Your Ministry<\/h2>\n<p>Jeff Iorg<\/p>\n<p>  FIND OUT MORE <\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class='yarpp yarpp-related yarpp-related-website yarpp-template-thumbnails'>\n<h3>Related posts:<\/h3>\n<div class=\"yarpp-thumbnails-horizontal\">  What Do Pastors Believe About the End Times?  What Do Pastors Believe About the Book of Revelation?  3 Ways to Reach Non-Religious People in Your Community <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Lucas Clara photo &#8211; Unsplash By Chad Spriggs Many leaders step into the abyss created by chaos and come out wounded soldiers. But as Brennan Manning once said, &#8220;Only wounded soldiers can serve in God&#8217;s army.&#8221; Church leadership isn&#8217;t for the faint of heart, nor is it merely a vocation or stepping stone for something &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/4-requirements-for-leading-through-crisis\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;4 Requirements for Leading Through Crisis&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-31398","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermons"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31398","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31398"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31398\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31398"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31398"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31398"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}