Strengthening Yourself in Seasons of Disappointment and Delay
Anchoring your soul when the dream is delayed and you want to quit.
Seasons of disappointment and delay come for every leader. Pastor Chris has had many days he wanted to quit and three seasons of what felt like clinical depression in 25 years. Here's what has anchored him:
- Hebrews 10:36-39 and the reminder that God's "little while" runs on God's clock.
- In 2020 he healed by writing out new dreams, then bringing staff over one by one to build on them.
- Psalm 126: "those who dreamed." The word for "dreamed" sits close to the word for "health."
- Two practical anchors: get people in your life who won't let you quit, and be that person for others; and when you're stuck, get dreaming again.
A long view helps too. An ARC goal set 25 years ago aimed for 2,000 churches by 2020. It reached about 900 by then and is past 1,300 now. The timing was off, but it was still worth writing down. And on succession, Pastor Chris handed the church to Mark at a record high, not in decline, to sustain the future and invest in the next generation.