Leading In Between

The title of a recent article in the Wall Street Journal read, “America is reopening to tension: Easing restrictions is in some ways turning out to be more divisive than shutting down.” I find this statement to be painfully accurate as I listen to pastors and other ministry leaders. The first few weeks of the covid-19 pandemic were difficult, but regathering poses even bigger challenges now and in the weeks to come.

Why? In the first days of the pandemic, most churches and ministries shifted to 100% online. It wasn’t easy, but the steps to make the transition were relatively clear. Now we’ve entered a season of “in between” where the best path to take is much less obvious and the demands on leaders will be even greater than before.

Church and ministry leaders are finding themselves in between:

• Competing pressures to fully reopen and to remain closed, with a variety of other options in the middle. The people on both ends of this spectrum are often vocal and uncompromising, making it impossible to please everyone.
• Continuing online excellence while ramping up on-site offerings. A “hybrid” model (online and on-site) may sound like a great solution. But the cost required to accomplish this both/and approach can be weighty for leaders who already feel overwhelmed.
• Short-term tactical decisions and long-term creative ones. It’s easy to get whiplash going from questions about requiring masks to imaging what ministry should look like in a year (and how to prepare for that now). Both kinds of discussions are necessary and time consuming. 
• “We’ll eventually get back to normal” and “Ministry will never be the same again.” In those moments when you try to engage a team in creative conversations about the future, you may encounter a confused look or someone asking, “Why do we need to change?” 

I don’t have an easy solution for how to lead well during this in between season. But I am certain that the path forward begins with naming the stress and fatigue that you’re feeling. It requires pausing long enough to take inventory and to stop doing things that drain your energy and produce little fruit. It means making the best decisions you can (with your team) and then extending grace (to yourself and them) if you get it wrong. And it calls for carving out moments to rest – even though you “don’t have time” – because the “new normal” may be a long season of in between. 

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