An Open Letter to Church Leaders in 2020
I want to preface this letter by saying that I am not a pastor. I am not in a position of ministerial leadership or currently shepherding a church. That being said, not having those duties has given me an opportunity to observe and think deeply about the responsibility of the Church and its leaders in 2020. I am able to watch from the sidelines and see how the Church has responded to many tragedies this year. This letter is not intended to be a critique of churches or a referendum on pastors. I hope this letter serves as an encouragement, and those who know me and my heart will likely receive it as such. For those reading this who are a part of a local body of believers, love your pastors well. They are trying their hardest in a time when it does not seem like it is enough. They need prayer, support, and love.
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2020 was not a year you could have prepared in advance for. No amount of books read, or classes attended could have made this year breeze by. Ministry leaders with 30+ years of experience were not prepared for what this year was going to bring. Learning how to lead in times of crisis requires you to experience leadership in times of crisis. Unfortunately, you cannot prepare for something this world-changing without having lived through it. Regardless of the obstacles that you face in this new terrain, people need leaders in times like these. People need pastors and ministry leaders in the church to step up, speak out, listen well, and reorient people to seek after Christ.
If you are a pastor or leader in your local church and you were planning on “sitting this one out” or waiting for things to blow over, you are not fulfilling you calling to the people of God for the glory of God. 2020 is a time of crisis. There is no way around it. Millions of people have been directly impacted by illness, joblessness, and extreme loss due to Covid-19. Our nation and others around the world are mourning the deaths of those unjustly killed by law enforcement. There are protests that are calling for change, riots are destroying cities, and people are desperately seeking work to feed their families due to a global pandemic. There is almost too much to make sense of. This is our 2020, and we are in a time of crisis.
The real question is…how are church and ministry leaders responding to this crisis? What needs to be said from your God-given platform? Who do you need to speak on and learn from? What hope are you offering God’s children? During the past few months, I have observed 4 things that I believe are critical in this moment of Church history; hopefully, they will be a blessing to you as they have been to me.
1. In times of Crisis, People Need You to Use Your Voice
If you are in a position of leadership, you have a voice, and you need to use it. Whether you like it or not, people are looking for you to interpret culture through a biblical worldview. While it’s not the job of church leaders to sit and interpret cultural issues, it is the task of a faithful ministry leader or pastor to preach truth that often goes against the spewing of culture. Christians need to learn how to interpret culture through a Biblical worldview. Ministers of the Gospel have been entrusted with the task of speaking truth where truth is absent. What does this mean in 2020? It means that you need to use your voice to communicate truth about the world around us. Repeating what you hear from media outlets like Fox News or CNN is not how faithful ministry leaders communicate truth. A biblical worldview teaches truth and loves people well. It examines what Scripture says is good and holy, while teaching against all that is evil and against God. At the same time, truth is practical! It does not belong in the ivory towers of Christian thinking. Christ’s ministry was characterized by his service and love for those who needed it most. If you are using your voice only to communicate truth without love, then your voice is actually harmful to the church.
In times of crisis, people need you to use your voice to offer hope where none seems to be present. If you pay attention to the people around you, the needs of people have changed in the past year. There are not as many prayer requests for sick pets or petitions for safe travels on family vacations. Many people in the church are in a place where they feel hopeless. People have lost hope in their leaders to do the right thing. Many have lost hope in the ability of others to come together in unity. The reality is that we are slowly realizing that there is only one real hope that stands unshaken in this life: The hope of Jesus Christ and his kingdom. People need you to use your voice to point them to the one thing that has never changed. Christ is on the throne, and His rule cannot be contested or undone. Your voice needs to first and foremost point people to Jesus.
In times of crisis, people need you to use your voice to call out injustice where it exists. If you are leading a church or ministry and you are not speaking out against injustice in the world, ask yourself, why not? It’s not easy to speak on or about every little thing that happens in this world, it’s frankly not even possible to address every injustice that occurs in this nation. Ministry leaders are tasked with far too many responsibilities and they cannot be all things for all people. But do the great injustices of our world burden your heart? Do they need to be addressed by men and women who have been tasked with caring for souls?
2020 has exposed injustices that have been present in our world for centuries. What forms of injustice are on display in the U.S. right now? Unborn babies are being slaughtered before they can see the light of day. Racism is being exposed in political policy and social practices. Families struggle to free themselves from oppressive regimes worldwide, and thousands of young children are being trafficked all around the world; there are countless other examples. You cannot say that injustice does not exist in this world. And you should not keep your voice silent as a leader in the church. The Gospel does not shy away from injustice, and your voice cannot shy away from speaking out where injustice is present.
2. In Times of Crisis, People Need You to Spend More Time in Prayer than on Social Media.
We live in a culture where social media is our primary source of communication. We use it to consume news, communicate our thoughts and feelings, and even post pictures that depict how perfect our lives are at all times. The reality is, we spend large amounts of time utilizing social media, and some of it is for excellent reasons. Ministry leaders often use Twitter and Facebook to encourage people and communicate truth that can reach people across the globe. Regardless, people need you to spend more time in prayer and less time sharing your opinions online. Calling people to prayer is far more critical than directing them to read your latest take on the president’s hairstyle or makeup choices (1 John 5:14–15).
A call to pray in times of crisis is a good start, but what is required of leaders? To lead by example in what they proclaim to be true. If it’s true that prayer is more than a simple resource that we can pull out of our pocket like a genie, then leaders must lead in prayer. If you examine the faithful men and women in history and see what characterizes their great faith, it’s a life full of prayer. Prayer should not be the last resort when we have no options left. Leaders… lead others in prayer.
What happens when the people of God call out to Him in prayer? You start to see God working in amazing ways. The beautiful thing is that God never stops working, but we don’t often see His work or even are looking in the right direction. A prayerful people are expecting God to work around them, and it’s much easier to see that work playing out in their lives and their communities.
3. In Times of Crisis, People Need You to Listen Before You Respond
Many pastors and leaders in ministry have the uncanny ability to solve the problems of people who were not looking for a solution. It may be hard to believe, but people don’t always talk to you so that they can hear what you have to say. Sometimes people want to be heard, even if they cannot be understood. It can be really easy and tempting to develop solutions to perceived issues in people’s lives. Don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of times when people seek your advice and counsel, but we live in times when people simply need to talk to those who are willing to listen and show respect.
It’s important to understand that your perception of people’s pain is not their reality. How effective can the church be when we try to minimize or compartmentalize people’s pain and struggles based on our perspective? The way I perceive racism in the U.S. is not necessarily how someone who feels oppressed is experiencing it. The way you perceive suffering is not necessarily an accurate description of the pain that a mother feels when her child commits suicide. In times of great crisis, the church needs to listen and love well.
4. In Times of Crisis, People Need You to Point Them to the Only Solution: Jesus
Hot take: Politics will never fix earthly injustice or natural disasters. It’s just not going to happen. No amount of legislation will stop racism or abortion from being alive and active in society. No vote you cast for a democrat or republican will make our country a place where human lives are all valued equally and unapologetically. Only a deep and personal relationship with Jesus Christ can turn sinful hearts toward a holy God. There is no other solution. Does this mean that petitions and protests are of no use for the Christian? Absolutely not! We want to push our world and our country to be a better place. That being said, only Christ can change the hearts of sinful people. Only Christ can restore what has been lost. Only Christ can produce a genuine love for people in our hearts.
The main goal of the Church and church leaders going into 2021 must be to introduce people to Christ and then lead the charge against sin in this world. This can only be done by being leaders who speak up with the platform they have been given. By leading in prayer and calling people to pray alongside you. By listening to those who are hurting and feel broken and lost. And by pointing people to the only one who can heal broken hearts. Find great confidence in Jesus’ words to His disciples, “I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).
