Keeping Focus As a Leader

There is a phenomenon that is permeating our culture. It is called “quiet quitting.” In the workplace, it is experienced when employees put in the minimum amount of effort to keep their jobs. There is little meaning or joy in their work, so they quietly do as little as possible before walking away. 

In the church, it is seen when members are unhappy with some aspect of their role in the church and participate marginally before silently walking away. They too find little meaning or joy in their faith, which has been reduced to participating in pseudo-religious activities and programs. 

Uncommitted Church Members or Ineffective Leadership?

Some have raised the question, “Is quiet quitting about uncommitted church members or about ineffective leadership? The research shows that poor leadership leads to more quiet quitters than effective leadership. Although I believe the problem is deeper than leadership, I am trying to help you be the leader God has created you to be in the midst of the cultural changes we are facing today. 

You are leading in a complex time. People have been leaving the church for many years and for many reasons. It is an issue influenced by societal changes, personal beliefs, and experiences. I don’t want to focus on the negative, but let’s look at some common reasons why people leave church. You might have experienced several of these for yourself. 

Why People Leave the Church

People leave church because of: 

Busy Lifestyles 

The demands of life, such as work, family, and other commitments, have made it challenging for some people to maintain active involvement in a church community. Youth and children’s activities which are held on Sunday mornings have been a big reason for the decline in participation. 

Generational Differences

People of all ages, but younger generations in particular, have been less motivated to attend worship or participate in church programs. People have begun to look for more flexible and non-traditional forms of spirituality. The reality is the church has not adapted to some cultural changes and has for years had difficulties in relating to younger generations. 

Negative Church Experiences

Unpleasant experiences within a church, such as conflicts, scandals, or mistreatment, have led people to lose faith in the institution and its leadership. Because the church has become more of a religious club, people are opting out of club conflicts. 

Changing Beliefs

Some people have undergone personal spiritual or religious transformations, leading them to question or abandon the beliefs they learned as a child or were taught in their churches. 

Doctrinal Disagreements

Sometimes differences in interpreting doctrine or differences in understanding the teachings of Jesus have led people to look for alternative denominations or spiritual paths. These differences are usually based upon personal preferences and preconceived unchecked ideas. 

Societal and Cultural Shifts

Changing societal norms and values, particularly in more secular or diverse communities, has led some people to question the role of faith in their lives. They have found the teachings and practices of the church no longer relevant to their lives, so they disconnect from the church as an institution. 

Leading the Church in the Midst of Change

Every reason listed above is true and valid when the church is viewed as one institution among others in competition for the interest and participation of its members. When you start from the perspective that the church exists to serve its members and their preferences then you, as the leader and the church as a whole, are continually jumping from the “pinnacle of the temple” to entertain and keep the interest of the people you want to reach. 

In other words, when the church does not meet the perceived needs of individuals those people seek to have those needs met elsewhere. 

As a Christ-centered leader, how do you lead in the midst of cultural changes? What is your focus during this time of quiet quitting? 

Let’s look at the scripture to bring clarity to your focus. 

Read: John 1:1-14 

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God.  All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being  in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overtake it.

There was a man sent from God whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light. The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.  He was in the world, and the world came into being through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him.  But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God,  who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God.

And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth. 

Reflect 

As we reflect upon this scripture, let’s start with incarnation. “And the Word became flesh and lived among us…” The word translated “lived among us” is literally “he pitched his tent among us.” When John wrote his gospel, the people were wandering nomads. They didn’t just take their tents on vacation; they lived in their tents. So, John’s good news is, “God became one of us and lived among us. He pitched his tent in our midst.” Today we might translate it “And the Word became flesh and parked his RV next to ours.” Or “The Word became flesh and moved into the neighborhood.” The point is, God has decided to become a member of the human race. This is called incarnation. 

Incarnation is God’s method of evangelizing love. The method is to become a human being, to live with us, and to love us in our everyday situations. When we search the scriptures, we find that God made other attempts to evangelize his love. 

For example, one method found in the Old Testament was the revelation from Sinai. There God came down to earth in the thunder, the lightning, and the smoke on the mountain. God spoke and Moses presented God’s message on tablets of stone. We know that message to be the covenant of the Ten Commandments. 

The New Testament

The writer of the letter to the Hebrews says that God was a little disappointed in that method. The purpose of the covenant was to provide love, life, and vitality to God’s people, but the purpose was lost in the “keeping” of the covenant. So, God discarded the old covenant and wrote a new one. God did not discard the commandments. God used a different method to have the commandments come to life.    

The New Testament method is God revealing his nature of love in the human person of Jesus. This was God’s new approach to evangelism, to model his love in a human being. It is in Jesus that God confronts the world with his visible Word. It is in Jesus that God models his love for us. Jesus is the incarnation of God’s love. 

So, as a Christ-centered leader, your focus is upon the incarnation as the evidence that God has come to be with us. And that we cannot be related to God without being related to the people around us. 

God’s Dwelling Place

That is part of the good news according to Matthew. Jesus said, “… I was hungry, and you gave me food, I was thirsty, and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked, and you gave me clothing, I was sick, and you took care of me, I was in prison, and you visited me.’ Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did it to me.’” (Matthew 25:35-36, 40). 

Jesus was affirming his place in the human family. God has become one of us. The dwelling place of God is with us. In fact, we call him “God is with us.” With God’s new covenant, we can no longer deal with God without dealing with one another. 

Your Focus is Incarnational

So, part of your focus as a Christ-centered leader is incarnational. You become the love of God in human form. One way of being God’s love in human form is to love others as God in Jesus has loved you. 

The Word became flesh leads directly to the body of Christ. The church is the living, breathing body of Christ in the world. We are an extension of his life and ministry, actively participating in his ongoing work. This is the fundamental expression of our faith. This is who we are as grace-filled Jesus followers. 

Love of God in Human Form

Just as you, as a Jesus follower, are the love of God in human form, the body of Christ is the incarnation of God’s love in the world. We are the body of Christ because of the resurrection of Jesus. The resurrection is simply God’s way of saying to us, “You might reject my covenant and presence, but I’m going to have the last word. I’m going to put my son right down there in the midst of you and he is going to dwell among you.”  God raised Jesus from the dead and we are the evidence of the resurrection. We are his body, living and breathing in the world today. 

The early followers of Jesus did not say that Jesus is risen because the grave is empty. They said, “He is risen because we are alive with his spirit, and we are doing the same things that he has taught us to do. We are the evidence that he is alive; healing, feeding, caring, serving in the world today.” 

Reshaping Lives

In The Acts of the Apostles, Simon Peter essentially says that the resurrection of Jesus is the reshaping of the lives of the believers to conform to his life, the reshaping of their minds to conform to his mind, the reshaping of their style of life to conform to the love of God. 

As a Christ-centered leader, your focus is on the resurrection and upon the followers of Jesus being the evidence of the resurrection in every situation and circumstance they might find themselves. 

Your work is to equip people to be who they have been created to be. They are part of the body of Christ, the evidence of the resurrection. As the body of Christ, living and breathing in the world, we already know that God has refused to take the world’s no for an answer to his love. So, with courage and boldness, we love one another as we have been loved by God. 

Model God’s Love

The Word became flesh, and the body of Christ leads directly to establishing loving and caring relationships with people. As a Christ-centered leader, your focus is on modeling God’s love so that through healthy relationships people can and will love others as they have been loved. 

Relationships within the body of Christ are fundamental to the spiritual, emotional, and social well-being of all people. It is within the body of Christ where people connect and learn from one another. It is where they build friendships, discuss faith, grow as followers of Jesus, and develop supportive and caring people who then love and care for the community at large.  Relationships within the body of Christ focus upon God’s love which leads to the practice of forgiveness and reconciliation. 

Relationships are Primary

Our reflection upon the incarnation, the body of Christ, and healthy relationships are primary to the life and impact of the church in the world today. I am sure you have noticed we did not focus on the next best program or how to attract people back to the church. We did focus on developing relationships with God, who has taken the initiative to come be with us in Jesus, and who has empowered us to be the evidence of God’s love and care in everyday situations and circumstances. 

As a Christ-centered leader, your focus is not on what next program is available to attract people into your building. Your focus is on modeling God’s love in your life, developing relationships with the people you encounter, and inviting and equipping them to model God’s love in their lives. Your focus is on being the incarnation of God’s love in the midst of the cultural changes of today.   

Respond 

So, as you reflect upon your focus as a leader, you might discover several ways to respond to being the incarnation of God’s love, being the body of Christ, and to developing relationships with the people God sends your way each day. 

Here is a story to assist you in bringing clarity to your focus.  

Two brothers lived on adjacent plots of farmland they had inherited from their father. For years, they had farmed together, played together, shared meals together, and supported each other in good times and bad. 

Then, one day there was a disagreement and they stopped speaking to one another. In fact, there was not a word spoken between them for years. 

One day, the elder brother was at his house when there was a knock at the door. When he answered the knock, he met a carpenter who was looking for work. The carpenter said, “I would like to do some work for you. Do you have any work that I can do?” The older brother thought for a moment and then replied, “Yes. I need you to build a fence on the edge of my property.” He pointed toward the stream that separated the land. “I want you to build it down near the stream that separates my farm from my brother’s farm. 

Puzzled, the carpenter asked him to explain the purpose of the fence. The older brother told him about his brother’s use of the stream. He told the carpenter that neither he nor his brother owned the water and that for years they shared it unselfishly. But then there had been a disagreement about the use of the water and that he and his brother had not spoken in years. ­He concluded by telling the carpenter that he wanted the fence built so he didn’t have to see his brother. 

Once he and the carpenter agreed upon the work to be done, the older brother said, “I’m going into town to run some errands. I’ll settle up with you when I return.”   

When he returned that evening, he was shocked to see that the carpenter had not followed his instructions. Instead of building a fence so he could not see his brother, he had built a bridge over the stream. The older brother walked down to take a look at the bridge. While he was there his younger brother walked toward him from the other side. 

The younger brother said, “After all the terrible things I’ve done to you over the years, I can’t believe that you would build a bridge and welcome me back.” He reached out to his brother and gave him a hug. 

Confused, but pleased, the older brother received the hug with gratitude. Then he walked back up to his farmhouse to settle up with the carpenter. The carpenter was packing his tools in the back of his pickup truck. The older brother said, “I just talked with my brother. He thanked me for building the bridge.” 

Then the older brother said to the carpenter, “Even though you did not build the fence, I am grateful that you built the bridge. Your gift has already helped to heal the wounds of our disagreements. I have more work that needs to be done. Will you stay and work for me?” 

The carpenter replied, “I like your invitation, but I have to go. I have other bridges to build. Besides, you and your brother can work together to finish the work that needs to be done.” 

Return 

Give God thanks for the people you encountered today. What happened to help you gain clarity in your focus?  With whom did you incarnate God’s love? How did you invite others into the body of Christ? How did you equip them to incarnate God’s love? With whom do you need to confess your desire to build fences? With whom do you need to celebrate building bridges of God’s love?  

Prayer

O God, be my guiding light that I may have clear vision for the days in which I am living. You are my wisdom, strength and guide. In you, I find my joy and peace. You are my true goal. Only you can satisfy my soul. Help me be your love in human form. As people are quietly quitting your church, help me develop true relationships of love that bind your people together, so that the people I encounter today and tomorrow will experience your love and grace through me. I am grateful, O God, for your love and presence in Jesus. Amen.