One Year In, Twenty Years On
As I look back over my first year as CEO of Living Leadership, I am aware that I have not simply stepped into a role; I have stepped into a story. It’s a story of the grace of God, of his faithfulness, and of lives refreshed and ministries transformed by re-discovering that God delights to make his strength known in our weakness.
My own personal milestone is dwarfed by our organisational one, since this year, we celebrate twenty years of serving Christian leaders and their spouses. My hope is that the next twelve months will be marked by thankfulness, as we rejoice in all that God has done. I also hope that we’ll be filled with excitement and expectation about what the next twenty years may hold.
LOOKING BACK – INHERITING A STORY OF FAITHFULNESS
When Marcus Honeysett gathered with a handful of church leaders twenty years ago and went on to found Living Leadership, they envisioned a ministry which focused not on skills, but on spiritual health, not on competence but on character. I’m sure as they did so, they had no idea that two decades later there would be a thriving ministry with a staff team of eight, and an Associate network of forty who would serve many hundreds of leaders and spouses each year across such a wide variety of evangelical churches.
From our earliest days, Living Leadership has been a relational ministry, gathering together a like-minded group of people who are captivated by the grace of God, and long for others to be similarly captivated. We long to see God glorified and the church strengthened through the encouragement of joyful, faithful, fruitful leaders. It is striking how often the Lord has used particular relationships to open up new opportunities for ministry, and how incremental small steps of faithfulness have borne fruit over time.
LOOKING AROUND
One of the great joys of my role has been to hear stories of how God has used the people of Living Leadership to encourage weary and broken church leaders, and to point them back to the grace of God. In some ways, I am astonished by the number of times I hear these stories. However, there’s another part of me that wishes that more leaders could hear about the ministry we offer. I feel like we’re a well-kept secret, that doesn’t want to be kept secret! It is certainly true that the need for the ministry hasn’t diminished. The demands on church leaders are possibly greater than ever before, and as our annual Spiritual Health Survey repeatedly shows, although church leaders demonstrate high levels of commitment, many are weary and drained (in spite of encouragements). They often lack positive support from their denomination, and this year we discovered that sixty percent find their financial situation stretched or unsustainable. The pressures are significant and Living Leadership is uniquely placed to offer support and encouragement to these leaders.
LOOKING WITHIN – LESSONS FROM MY FIRST YEAR
In a time of transition, mission clarity matters most. So, the first part of my year involved a lot of listening. I tried to gain a better understanding of our core ministry and context. As a team, we have worked hard to bring that clarity to the work we do and to the way we do it. We are trying to ensure that we embody the values and priorities that we spend so much time talking to others about.
Like many other ministries in these challenging economic times, we have also been learning that ministry costs money. So, one of my priorities has been to try to strengthen our financial support base. We have seen some wonderful answers to prayer on this front, as God has reminded us that we depend entirely on him and serve only at his pleasure. If you, or someone you know, would like to consider partnering with us – either by praying or by giving financially - then please do visit this page www.livingleadership.org/partner
This year, I have come to see more clearly the importance of our role as advocates for the support and wellbeing of Christian leaders. Not all church cultures understand and appreciate the importance of supporting their leaders. So, while we provide a variety of ministries to encourage and strengthen leaders, those efforts can only bear fruit if leaders and their churches come to prioritise the importance of seeking and receiving such support.
LOOKING AHEAD – THE 20TH ANNIVERSARY AND ONWARDS
We will be spending much of this year giving thanks and sharing stories of the first two decades. However, a milestone like this one also encourages us to look to the future and ask what God may be calling us to become.
We remain convinced that the spiritual health of leaders is not peripheral to mission but is central to long-term fruitfulness.
We want to partner well with other ministries operating in a similar space so that we can increase our reach and serve more people.
We want to reach out beyond the ‘paid leader’ tier of leadership in churches (our main focus to date) and find new ways of encouraging and supporting lay leaders of various kinds.
We hope to launch an anniversary appeal to provide funds for leaders with limited resources to access refreshment days and conferences.
We would like to develop new kinds of retreats and resources that we pray will be a blessing for the church.
All of these goals we hold lightly, knowing that God may have other plans.
Finally, I would like to thank all those who have been part of the first two decades of Living Leadership – those who have given, prayed, served, partnered, encouraged, and participated. And I would love to hear from you if you have stories of the ways that Living Leadership has encouraged or shaped you or your ministry. Do drop us a line at: shareyourstory@livingleadership.org
This first year has been such a privilege for me. I feel thankful for what God has done; I am trusting him for what he is doing, and hopeful for what lies ahead.
One year in and twenty years on, I am deeply grateful.
And quietly expectant.
