4 Ways to Successfully Lead Through Adversity

Change is never easy, but when it comes to an institution such as the church, it can be hard to shift from how things always have been done to doing them anew. Many leaders resist the temptation to change because they fear the consequences of change. Change in a church can lead to members leaving, tithes withheld, disgruntled comments shared publicly and privately, negative social media posts, and outright warfare between the pastor and a layperson in the church. 

Suppose you have been in leadership for some time. In that case, you have faced the headwinds of negativity, which cause the burnout, stress and anxiety that lead many pastors to walk away from ministry or at least their current ministry assignment. Instead of the leader giving into the temptation to give up, what if God can use the adverse circumstances to help strengthen the spiritual fortitude of the pastor and church?

1. Pray Your Heart Out.

In a world constantly calling into question the motives of leaders, it is no wonder that the authority of the pastor’s office has been maligned by those who disagree with the leader. Disagreements in years past would have been kept inside the church, but with the advent of social media, negative feelings spread like wildfire to a broader audience. While leaders cannot control what others say, they can control how they react. 

The battle for the heart and soul of the local church is one against darkness and principalities, and cannot be conquered through personalities but through prayer. Prayer must be the driving force behind everything accomplished inside the local church. Every meeting, conversation and interaction should be bathed in prayer, as the Evil One will use any opening to widen the gap between disagreeing partners. Do not fall prey to a lack of praying, but pray as if your spiritual life depends on it, because it does. 

2. Prepare as if the Ministry Depends on It.

People will look to you as a leader for direction and insight how to move forward. If you overact positively or negatively, it will sway how they react. As you analyze a situation, see the problem from all sides, seek counsel and move forward only when you know God is in it. 

You can do much in your power, but when you are battling adversity, your giftings will not be enough to overcome the problem. God must be the anchor and the lens that you hold fast to as you view the situation through his eyes. While you do not have to be the most intelligent person in the room, be the most open to hearing arguments from both sides, process what each person is saying, value the words shared even if you disagree with them, find commonality amid the confusion, and lead the conversation to a conclusion.

In moving a church from decline to rebound, many hurdles have to be tackled, and as a leader, you must know what you do not know and be humble enough to allow stronger voices to speak into the process. It is then that, as a leader, you can help guide the process to a conclusion that honors all sides. Do not be afraid of not having all the answers but be frightened if you think you do. Be willing to listen to opposing views and decipher the other person’s feelings and what is meaningful to the discussion to move the situation forward. It will take discernment and removing ego on the leader’s part to hear opposing views in a bid to move forward into the future together. 

3. Partner with Others, and Never Serve Alone.

Partnering in ministry can be twofold, as seen through Jesus’ example of discipleship and dependency. Since the beginning of time, God saw that humans need a helper to work alongside each other. So, too, in the local church, the pastoral leader cannot lead alone. The church leadership team (board, elders, deacons, influential members) should be a diverse group of people that support the forward momentum of the church and are permitted to speak into the pastor’s decision-making in a way that respects the pastor and provides clarity through insight that the pastor might not see.

As a leader, do not isolate yourself from the general congregation, but be proactive in inviting people who can speak truth to power to help you delineate if you are on the right or wrong path. Jesus taught his converts through large and small group discipleship models, empowering them to ask questions and allowing them to learn from their mistakes and observe from his example. Even though he could have handled all the problems alone, he constantly sought God’s counsel in prayer. 

As a leader, model the Jesus behavior you want others to gain. If a leader is not reading the Word on Sunday mornings, the people will not see the value in the Word during the week. If a leader is not praying like Jesus, do not expect your people to pray regularly. Leading is knowing that others are watching. Discipleship and dependency principles were not just for Jesus’ day, but also today. These foundational principles can help a leader lead through adversity and come out the other side better for it.

4. Participate with God to Be Jesus to Others.

You would think that in the church everyone would get along. Yet, each person who enters the church weekly brings a lifetime of experiences that have shaped their reaction to how things should be handled. Instead of placing your way of handling things on someone, lean into the conversation and listen for cues to help you find a middle ground to build a foundation to move forward. Disagreements happen in all facets of life, but instead of giving in to the temptation of placing blame, find a way forward by being Jesus to the other person. 

Jesus’ example in Scripture showed he was a man of compassion, conviction and care. He led with a heart of love, stayed firm to biblical principles, and cared for the person he interacted with. Adversity advertises that the church is moving forward and that the Devil wants to distract the church and its leadership. Do not be caught fighting with church members, be seen fighting the Evil One through prayer and positive conversation.

 

Desmond Barrett
Desmond Barrett
Desmond Barrett is the lead pastor at Winter Haven First Church of the Nazarene in Winter Haven, Florida. He is the author of several books and most recently the co-author with Charlotte P. Holter of Missional Reset: Capturing the Heart for Local Missions in the Established Church (Resource Publications) and has done extensive research in the area of church revitalization and serves as church revitalizer, consultant, coach, podcast host and mentor to revitalizing pastors and churches.

Truly Local: Church as the ‘Soul’ of the City

Belonging means different things to different people. My personal homecoming is bustling into a bar, keyboard under my arm, for a jazz gig with local musicians.

14 Revelatory Questions to Ask a Prospective Church Leader

Getting to the heart of the matter

Mark Glanville

Jazz by its nature as a traditioned, improvised, nuanced, intelligent, conversational art form, is an evocative metaphor for the church in post-Christendom.