Entering into Complexity with Jesus
How do you work interdependently with other strategies and capacities to help national ministries fulfill the Great Commission with national staff team numbers ranging from 1 to more than 7,000? Each region has unique challenges, and each nation has its cultural context. You can use BANI (Brittle, Anxious, Nonlinear, Incomprehensible) or VUCA (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, Ambiguous) to describe our environments. Whichever adjectives you choose, it is easy to get overwhelmed!
Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world. John 16:33b
Jesus spoke these words of encouragement to his disciples. We need them as much today as they did as they sat around the Passover table with him for the last time. I know that all of us are experiencing enormous challenges. Some realities you face with teammates, and others are more personal and unique. How do we persevere through the challenges and trust God to use us to fulfill his Great Commission in these uncertain times? Let’s look at how Jesus taught his disciples to live and lead by faith in the midst of need and insufficient resources for the complex realities around them.
That evening the disciples came to him and said, “This is a remote place, and it’s already getting late. Send the crowds away so they can go to the villages and buy food for themselves.” But Jesus said, “That isn’t necessary—you feed them.” “But we have only five loaves of bread and two fish!” they answered. “Bring them here,” he said. Then he told the people to sit down on the grass. Jesus took the five loaves and two fish, looked up toward heaven, and blessed them. Then, breaking the loaves into pieces, he gave the bread to the disciples, who distributed it to the people. They all ate as much as they wanted, and afterward, the disciples picked up twelve baskets of leftovers. About 5,000 men were fed that day, in addition to all the women and children! Matthew 14:15-21
Jesus invited the disciples to see the need and feel the weight of it, but he didn’t expect them to solve the problem on their own. They offered the little they had (which God also provided) to Jesus. He didn’t laugh at them or ridicule them. He took it and multiplied it. He met the need and gave them the joy of participating with him in meeting that need.
It is also noteworthy that Jesus was carrying personal grief at the time. He had just gotten news that his cousin, John the Baptist, had been killed. From this miraculous moment of feeding thousands, we read that the disciples experienced a frightening storm. All of this happened as they also experienced the oppression of Rome. Jesus and the disciples knew a lot about leading in complexity!
What is God saying to you about your leadership challenges? I am encouraged by the reminder that Jesus is inviting me into his mission. He isn’t expecting me to solve problems and meet needs on my own. He also does not ask me to ignore them. That would not be good leadership! Instead, with each day’s worries, I am bringing the needs to him along with my fish and loaves, which are the teammates, insights, talents, resources, and connections he has provided. I offer them up to him and watch, expectantly, to see what miracles he will do!
He sees you.
He knows your needs.
He is faithful in fulfilling every promise.
He will never leave you.
