If there’s anything we’ve learned as leaders is that being a leader isn’t easy.
Usually, the most difficult part of leadership is the inner battles. Within a divided heart, internal conflicts can wage a terrible war. When the war is finally won, there still remains unsettling causalities.
Yes, we’re better for the battle…but wounding is unpleasant.
When a leader faces crisis, they usually don’t talk about it to the people they are leading. The followers wouldn’t fully understand all the complexities and it isn’t right to dump it all on them anyway. Even if we did dump it on them, they probably couldn’t offer much help anyhow. So where does this leave leaders, when they are in a crisis?
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The One Minute Bible for Students won’t replace the Bible! It will inspire your
students to take side trips into the Bible and increase their appetite for God’s Word.
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Questions abound. Loneliness magnifies. Fear arrives.
One’s calling is even challenged.
As a leader, you may feel the pressure to appear as though you have “it all together.” That is, at a minimum, you may feel the need to have it together “enough” to lead teenagers. But the deep confusion that can come from a fierce internal wrestling match will ultimately undermine your leadership confidence.
In the depth of your heart, you probably realize that you’re not alone, but it sure feels lonely. And the way you feel is very real.
Crisis can yield ugly fruit in the life of a leader, like cynicism or criticism, both of which can dismantle and destroy leaders. Unfortunately, that ugly fruit doesn’t help one overcome a crisis. Actually, cynicism and criticism keep others (who might be able to comfort and help) at a safe distance.
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The One Minute Bible for Students won’t replace the Bible! It will inspire your
students to take side trips into the Bible and increase their appetite for God’s Word.
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Fortunately, during these moments (and even seasons) of ugly fruit, GOD doesn’t leave us on our own. He may be difficult to sense thru our hardened filters of cynicism and criticism…but he’s there waiting to give us the wisdom we so desperately need. Until we pursue him, the loneliness is magnified.
For the next two weeks, we will take a candid look at a few of the common battles facing many youth workers. We will share from our experience and explore some positive ways to grow through the crucible of internal crisis. There is hope…hang on.