Leaders develop blind spots the longer they lead people. And it can be very easy to try and blame outside factors for that tall in your leadership growth, or the growth of the organization. But it is rarely an outside factor that stalls out the leader. Nearly always, it is internal blocks that exist in the belief system of the leader that impacts growth both inwardly and outwardly.

Have you hit a wall? Has progress ground to a halt? Is your team stuck? Mired in an inability to make decisions? Maybe it isn’t them. It’s you. Leaders, especially ones that experience a level of success, often unknowingly began to hold themselves back with beliefs, operational methods, or task orientation. These things might have worked at a second, or third, tier of leadership but have stopped working as more responsibility has come to the leader. The worst thing a leader can do is to stop learning. You never “arrive” at an apex of leadership ability. There is no mountaintop.

People are leaving the church at an alarming rate. Quietly. Not with grandiose actions. Just the quiet patter of feet heading out the door. They leave because they can’t find the real Jesus in that church, or no one has ever done the work to show them what being “in Christ” really means. Is your church pushing a misplaced emphasis for spiritual growth? The mission is really about people, and not anything else.

Jesus told us that it isn’t the healthy that need a doctor but the sick. Churches are filled with people that have learned, and been taught, to keep their broken areas to themselves. But the entire Gospel of Matthew is geared towards showing that Jesus sought after the broken. The despised. The “unclean.” The outcasts. That is who Matthew was. A tax collector. We still don’t really like the tax collectors. Matthew was cut off from everything in his Jewish faith. He was rejected. He was broken. But Jesus called him to follow. And he did. Time and again Jesus stopped to interact with the broken of society. They were special to Him. They should be special to us today.

The things, the leaders, and the people of this world will fail us. If not now, eventually. Our hope rightly placed in Christ will sustain us through all of it. It isn’t that we all just want grace. Without it, we can be and do nothing in the world.

A more liturgical in nature background likely means you are familiar with the history and practice of Lent. More evangelical? Maybe you are curious about adding some of the rhythmic liturgical elements into your spiritual life. Lent provides a unique and special opportunity to grow closer to the Lord spiritually.

Change is an inevitable part of life and creation. God knit together an incredible creation that can adapt and grow throughout its life. It is amazing to see it in action. We don’t have to be afraid of change, but we should have an idea about how to handle it well.