Mike 
I’m looking forward to watching the Houston Texas in the first round of the NFL playoffs this weekend. Two months ago, that’s a sentence that would have seemed ludicrous. At that time, the Texans record was 2-5, and many in the city and in the press were calling for owner Bob McNair to fire the general manager or coach or both. It would have been easy for the coaches and players to give up at that point, but they didn’t. Over the remainder of the season, they won seven of nine games and finished first in their division.
Almost anyone in leadership will have moments when the odds seem impossible and when they feel like giving up. So what are you to do in those moments? Should you take a page from the Texans playbook, and any number of other rags-to-riches stories, and keep trying?
I wrestle with this question. Too many churches and ministries are hanging on by a thread when they should probably call it quits. Doing so would free up resources that could be used elsewhere. As I heard a speaker once say, “If the horse is dead, it’s time to dismount.” At the same time, I recognize that all things are possible with God. He does some of his most amazing work when it seems obvious that all hope is lost.
So what are the leadership lessons? I see three principles to keep in mind when your dreams seem impossible:
- The decision of whether to keep pursuing the dream needs to consider the facts, but it needs to go beyond simple human logic. We need to pray for God’s wisdom in these uncertain moments.
- There will always be critics on the outside who will say that you’re dreams are ridiculous or that you’re not even qualified to lead. Armchair quarterbacks aren’t qualified to make your decisions.
- Whatever you do, you’re always called to give your best effort.
