I love dogs. My favorite was an American Bulldog Guapo. He was a man’s dog. He’d go for a morning run, face all challenges head-on, and was kind and friendly to all humans. He sat beside me as I coached and slept at the foot of my bed. We were comfortable in our life together. I had to put him down 14 months ago. He was 10 and had Cancer. I was devastated. My physician and a close friend sent me an article about grief. I learned valuable information about navigating grief and how common it is. The death of a dog can be as devastating as the loss of a family member. Why did I tell you that? I believe many Pastors are grieving. Society has changed. The church has to change with it. They know they have to lean in and lead but inside they are mourning the loss of what they never thought would be in question. Some are ill-equipped and would prefer to walk away. I pray daily that we can be a resource to help them pivot in place.
Many leaders have had dreams killed in this season and are facing enormous pressure. And this is my response – We must face challenges head-on. Sit beside people. And keep moving forward.
But the first thing we need to remember is it is okay to mourn the loss of what once was. The death of a season can be devastating. It’s easy to think back on the “good ole days” instead of realizing the good ole days are the days we are in right now. One day we will look back at the days we are living in, how do you want to remember how you walked through them?
It is okay to mourn the loss of what once was. Click To Tweet
What can we do amid constant changes to keep from giving up?
Pivot in place. It’s tempting to quit when times change and think the grass might be greener on the other side. The enemy will tell us it’d be easier if we just threw in the towel, and will try to get us to doubt our calling and if we have what it takes. But the placement is not the issue. It’s the perspective in the placement. That’s where pivot comes in. Where we have to learn to lead with vision, knowing the strategy will always be changing.
The church and world is grieving and we know in our mind we have to lean in and lead but at the same time we are mourning the loss of what was and leaning into the change. And what is so important for us as leaders to lean into is we need to move from being strategic leaders to pivotal leaders, it’s time to PIVOT and guide.Here at invest leadership, we are here to come alongside you in your leadership journey. If you are anyone on your team would like the further one on one coaching, you can learn more at Investleadershipinitiative.org
LIKE THIS POST?
Sign up to receive my posts via email and get a FREE copy of The Five Enemies of Growth!
