Resilient Leadership

The pandemic made me interested in reading materials about resilience. What does it take for leaders and churches to bounce back from such a devastating event? Author Tod Bolsinger wrote a great book about resilience for church leaders. In his book, Tempered Resilience, he writes:

“... leadership is always about the transformation and growth of a people—starting with the leader—to develop resilience and adaptive capacity to wisely cut through resistance and accomplish the mission of the group.” (p. 4)

In the other words, leaders are made when new learning has to take place in a context of tremendous loss and uncertainty.

I am grateful for the many globalized leaders who have shown resilience in a variety of ways. I lifted up First Nations pastors who conducted funerals of people regardless of their backgrounds as the hands and feet of Jesus. I think of African American pastors shepherding multi-racial churches in the midst of health and racial strife. I am grateful for Latino leaders providing deep learning and direction to lay leaders looking to join the CRC.

These are the kind of stories that are often hidden from your purview. Thankfully, I catch small glimpses of the work of Jesus from these resilient leaders in my work. In the Diversity Newsletter I hope to share some of these compelling stories. Please see the latest edition and read about the resilient and diverse congregations found throughout our denomination. Sign up to receive the Office of Diversity Newsletter.