Signs of Great Leadership in Difficult Times 

By John E. Thomas

Who comes to mind when you think of great leaders in history? Nelson Mandela? Alexander the Great? Winston Churchill? Abraham Lincoln? Jesus Christ? 

All these men are known in part for their leadership in the midst of difficult times—war, upheaval, change. They made hard decisions and saved those entrusted to their care, leading them to victory.  

They also had at least one thing in common—they took responsibility for those they led. 

One of my friends works in law helping companies navigate risk. We’ve discussed how certain companies likely will never recover from this season because they didn’t take responsibility. Instead, they chose not to reduce the risk for their employees and customers, and due to some of these decisions, people became sick and some died.  

Businesses need to be responsible for their people. That’s part of great leadership—and I don’t think churches are any different. 

Some church leaders have responded in wonderful ways. My friends pastor a church of 400 people. When the shutdown began, they immediately made sure the people in their care were comforted and kept safe. They worked with the leaders under them to nurture the church body, pray for them, and encourage them. 

Other church leaders are discovering the benefits of technology. Some are poring over Scripture to find the right words so they can speak hope and love and impart peace to their congregations. In this time of crisis, these men and women have revealed the kind of leaders they are. 

But unfortunately, others have turned this struggle into a political battle. They’ve used their people to prove a point and, in doing so, increased the risk for those in their congregations.  

When I look at what they’re saying and doing, I can’t tell if they’re operating according to biblical conviction—it seems like their primary interests lie in preserving their political rights. 

When we have the potential to take a life or save a life, it’s time to do what is right for the people, no matter what it looks like to others. 

When things are going smoothly, any of us can appear responsible, but pressure has a way of testing us to the core. We show who we really are in times of difficulty.  

In the last few months, many leaders have revealed who they are. When things became difficult, did they do what was best for the people they’re responsible for? Or did they put them at risk to accomplish their agenda? 

Great Leaders Have Strong Faith—but in the Right Things 

Some leaders declare, “Faith says we can’t get sick!” But tell that to Paul, who dealt with at least one physical infirmity in his lifetime (Gal. 4:13). Or to Timothy, who had ongoing stomach trouble (1 Tim. 5:23).  

God can definitely give someone a gift of faith that assures them they will not get sick in certain circumstances (touching lepers, drinking poison, dealing with snakes, etc.). But that doesn’t mean they should test God in this (Luke 4:12) or turn a specific revelation meant for them into a general revelation for all. 

If someone feels like God told them they can’t get sick, then that person should live in faith and hold to this conviction with great boldness. That is a wonderful conviction to have! But they shouldn’t try to convince others, “Look, here’s what God told me, and this means none of us are going to get sick.” God does different things with different people. A word for you may not be a word for them. 

Paul addresses this principle in Romans 14. Each of us gets to live according to the faith God has given us, and we don’t judge others because they have more or less faith in a particular area.  

“How does the law of love apply in my situation?” That’s an important question for all of us to ask right now. 

Great Leaders Allow People to Be Who They Are 

As leaders, we’ll frequently find ourselves leading two kinds of people.  

Some will go out and lay hands on the sick, and they’ll have no idea why everyone isn’t out there with them. “Coronavirus? Are you kidding? This thing has no power!” 

But we’ll also lead those who want to pray from the other side of a wireless connection!  

Both kinds of people are exactly who they need to be—as long as they’re living by faith in what God’s told them and not by insecurity. Insecurity can push us to pretend we’re stronger than we are or try to make us feel weaker than we are.  

What is God speaking to us as individuals? That is the key. We just need to hear His voice. 

Great Leaders Recognize When God Is NOT Speaking  

Another realm of our responsibility directly relates to the prophetic gift.  

The other day I watched an interview with Chuck Pierce. The interviewer was asking him about the virus and Passover and was obviously trying to get him to predict when the crisis would end, but Chuck avoided the trap. He recognized he didn’t have the answer to that question and instead shared what he knew God was saying to him. That’s wisdom. 

Some prophetic voices declared that the virus was at an end when it was actually just beginning. One person stated in early March that the virus would be gone and everyone would know it in a specific period of time—which didn’t happen. Some have even said this was the plague of the horsemen from Revelation and the world was going to end. 

Nearly every time something big hits the news, people start looking to prophetic voices to see “what God is saying.” This happens with national disasters, wars, diseases, and worldwide concerns like Y2K. All of us need the voice of the Lord. It’s a beautiful thing to look for what God is saying, but as leaders—as prophetic people—we need to recognize when God is not speaking to us. 

Great Leaders Take Responsibility for Prophetic Errors 

These days it’s popular to post prophetic words given in a previous season and then point out how they were fulfilled. Obviously, this can be a good tool to build people’s faith that God really does speak and we can trust Him to know the future.  

But if we aren’t careful to manage our priorities, we can find ourselves trying to prove that we hear from God, so people will keep coming back for more. Making prophetic announcements can become just another way to build a platform.  

As leaders, part of being responsible for our people is to acknowledge the times when we prophesied something that didn’t come to pass. Unfortunately, most of the time when this happens, there’s only the sound of crickets. If we want to be trusted as prophetic voices, we need to admit our mistakes. 

Back when I was pastoring, I made a prophetic mistake. I thought God said that if we prayed for the next 90 days, He would release miracles and prophetic encounters through our kids. So I announced this to the congregation and we prayed, but 90 days later the number of miracles we saw with or through our kids wasn’t any bigger than before. Prophetic encounters hadn’t visibly increased, and I realized I hadn’t heard from God like I thought. So I got back up on a Sunday morning, thanked everyone for praying, and apologized for getting it wrong. 

 
All prophetic leaders need to take responsibility for “words gone wrong.” God gave us the platform we have. If we use that platform to announce a prophetic word that ends up falling flat, will we use the same platform to apologize for getting it wrong? Or will we fall into the demonic trap that says a leader shouldn’t show weakness?  

And if we realize that we’re “missing” prophetic words more often than not, we need to stop prophesying for a while and figure out what’s wrong, because we aren’t hearing from God. 

Great Leaders Leave the 99 for the 1 

In times of crisis, we need truly great leaders—men and women who know how to lead well. I don’t think this coronavirus outbreak will be the biggest thing to face our generation. When difficult times occur, who we are on the inside becomes obvious.  

Will we rise up and take responsibility, leading for the good of the people God has entrusted to us? Or will we manipulate the situation to position ourselves for advancement?  

Will we humble ourselves and leave the 99 for the 1, not risking anyone’s safety unnecessarily, or will we see an opportunity to make noise and draw attention to ourselves? 

 
Will we be leaders like Jesus who used His influence simply to expand God’s kingdom, or will we use the ways of the world to expand our own empire?  

There are great kingdom leaders today in the body of Christ. May all of us be able to look past the noise and see the hearts of those God has prepared for such a time as this!