Feel like quitting? You are not alone. Cut yourself some slack. Have you ever been through a pandemic before? None of us have. You possess more resilience than you imagine.

You faced,

Disruption.

Discouragement.

Disappointment.

Uncertainty.

Anxiety.

Loneliness.

Pivoting.

Weariness.

Fatigue.

Sickness.

Loss.

And that was just by May 2020.

Here you are in January 2021.

Domestic violence is up.

Child abuse is up.

Overdose deaths are up 300%.

Death by overdose outnumbers death by COVID.

Sales of alcohol are up 52%

One of out every seven Canadian businesses may not make it in 2021.

Anxiety levels and panic attacks are up in adults, teen and children.

Pastoral ministry in your community is needed now. You are needed now. Resilience is persistence through resistance. “Hard pressed on every side but not crushed.” (2 Corinthians 4:8)

3 Unexpected Sources of Resilience

1. Keep not quitting. Sometimes it takes all of our energy to just keep not quitting. 

   Don’t underestimate the power of faithfulness or stubbornness.  

   Even if there are days when you feel like the only success was that you didn’t quit, you are still there – call that a victory of its own.

   Keep putting one foot in front of the other. Keep showing up. Keep praying, keep standing, keep working. 

   You are working the muscles of perseverance and dogged hopefulness.

   You are a sticker. You’re not someone who shows up when it’s easy and leaves when it’s time to dig in. You are committed to seeing mountains move. You are not undone by powers and principalities. You are choosing life.

   You are declaring in a defiant act of faith. In God’s economy not even our failures, our discouragement, and our disillusionment is wasted. Small acts of faith are still acts of faith.

2. Build up a church culture that breed’s high morale and motivation. That kind of culture requires leadership – wise, empathetic, discerning, thoughtful, strategic, and caring leadership. And it’s a leadership you can’t fake. It has to flow from the ethos of who you are as a person.

   A lead pastor’s job description is “…to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up...” (Ephesians 4:12). That means, being a lead pastor is not about being in charge but about taking care of the people in your charge.

   Great lead pastors are not responsible for the job. They are responsible for the people who are responsible for the job. They are not even responsible for the results.

   A leader’s most important question: How do I help my team be at their God-given best?

3. Practice empathy.  Lead from a place of love. Be a human leader. Catch people doing something right. Celebrate them.

   When responsible people are underperforming there are three things they need to hear:

   “Are you OK?”
   “I’m worried about you.”
   “What’s going on?”

   A vulnerable environment means any one feels safe enough to put up their hand and say,

   “I don’t know what I’m doing.”
   “I need help.”
   “I screwed up.”
   “I’m scared.”
   “I’m worried.” 

   The absence of that kind of culture creates people who lie, hide and fake.

   Ask your staff and volunteer leaders how you as their leader are doing with the above practises. Assure them that gracious honesty will not be held against them.

   Be brave. Know that in your soul you may have to reconnect with confidence but it’s there. It never left.

Resilience is keeping moving on, not quitting, persistence through resistance.

Resilience is building a healthy, vulnerable, safe culture.

Resilience is practising empathy.

Lead on from a place of love.

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