Nearly all the institutions that affect our lives are dealing with uncertainty. Although businesses, higher education and governments are facing unique challenges, churches have not been spared the effects of a rapidly changing social and political landscape. Despite this sense of uncertainty, leaders need to be clear that remaining true to one’s purpose is one of the most important guidelines for leaders who want their organizations to flourish in difficult times.
Robert Bolt’s play “A Man for All Seasons” focuses on Sir Thomas More, a scholar and statesman who refused to endorse King Henry VIII’s decision to divorce and remarry to conceive a male heir. The king imprisoned More with hopes of getting him to change his mind. More’s daughter, Meg, visited him in prison and begged him to withdraw his objection to the king’s divorce. More was disappointed but, in the end, unmoved by prison or his daughter’s pleas, he stayed true to a purpose that did not change when circumstances changed. He was a man for all seasons.
When society becomes less stable and more uncertain, our organizations may be tempted to be less bold, less courageous or less sacrificial. However, boldness, courage and sacrifice are not optional for the church. They’re how God calls us to live. If a congregation isn’t organizing around a collective purpose, now is a good time for its leaders to imagine what that purpose might be — because having a sense of purpose enables us to thrive under unfavorable conditions.
Demographics are changing. Giving patterns are changing. The economy is changing. The world is changing. Yet it is also true that God gave the church a purpose, and the more we stay grounded in and committed to our purpose, the more we will see there are still opportunities to be “the salt of the earth” and “the light of the world.”
