Game Changer Leaders

Today the Church of Jesus Christ needs game changing leaders….Game Changer Leaders are those persons God sets apart to lead His Church. The battle is upon us in America in this titanic struggle for Life and Liberty. There is a raging tsunami between Good and Evil being played out in the Here and Now on the stage of history. Unfortunately, I am watching church leaders “bail” on their Christian calling while churches close their doors. The situation in the world, and in the church, must not lead us to dismay. Instead, let us look to the God who still calms storms! Game Changer Leaders are people of faith who inspire faith in others.One of the best-known stories in the Bible is the story of Jesus calming the raging sea. It is included in three of the four gospels, testifying to its significance. Jesus was in a small boat with his disciples on that day when the storm blew in suddenly. The Sea of Galilee is known to produce violent storms quickly. The disciples were anxious, as this storm was beyond anything they had experienced. Several of these young men had spent their lifetime on the sea as fishermen, yet they had never experienced anything like the storm they faced that day. The image of a group of tough young men, career fishermen, in a state of panic is not pleasant to imagine. It appears that they lost all confidence and peace of mind. The gospel writers, at least one of which was there on the occasion, reveal that Jesus’ disciples were crying out for God’s help. The story recounting our Lord’s response to their cries is telling. First, Jesus rebuked the storm, giving an early window into the divine status that he shared with God the Father. The second thing Jesus did was to rebuke the disciples for their lack of faith.It seems that our country is in a storm unlike we have ever seen. Before us there is a divided nation, racial strife, a brewing spirit of insurrection, a “pandemic,” and other recent events that cause many Americans to question the objectivity and legitimacy of both governmental and private institutions. Confidence in government, the media, and even in public health institutions is at an unusually low ebb. Surely, many people are experiencing anxiety and even desperation about their futures. Into this morass, the church is called to represent Jesus Christ. We are reminded that He is divine and has authority over all things, from raging seas to a divided body politic. From the story of Jesus calming the seas, we are reminded of the importance of having faith in the storms of life. Jesus expects us to have faith. He is not enraged or even disrespectful when we don’t have faith. He did, however, express disappointment in his disciples for their lack of faith. In fact, he rebuked them for it. Surely Jesus calls us to have faith in the crises of our time, just as he did to his disciples on the raging sea on that fateful day long ago.The great thing about having faith, as it may be, is knowing the One in whom our faith rests. Our faith is in the creator of heaven and earth. “Is there anything too hard for Him,” the Scripture asks? If we can believe that God created the earth and all that is in it, the battle for faith is largely won. One has to marvel at the overall design, as well as the intricacies of the universe: the purposeful functionality of human anatomy, the cardio-vascular system, the use of our senses, our sustainability from our human reproductive system, to the hydrologic cycle of watering the earth for fruitfulness, the complexities of the eco-system and its continual production of our food for nourishment, the arrangement of the solar system warming and cooling the earth for our survival. Wow! How can we not have faith in a God like this?