Category: Weekly Thought

By Rick James

How are we leading in this crisis? Who are we depending on?

I was so impressed by how the Ethiopian President, Abiy Ahmed, responded. In the face of COVID-19 he gave his public blessing to a call for a national month of prayer. He attended the launch day entitled ‘Ethiopia will submit herself to God’. The Speaker of the House and various Government Ministers were also there. They took this verse from Psalm 68:31 as a challenge, inspiration and prophesy – “Ethiopia will quickly stretch out her hands to God”.

Perhaps with such leadership, it is no surprise President Abiy was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize last year. His wife, Zinash, released a beautiful and haunting worship song last month, pleading for God’s mercy. She sings about God not abandoning us during this time when the world is terrorised by bad news.

As you listen to Zinash’s song, called Maren (God’s mercy)

• Take time to be still, stretch out your hands towards God;
• Imagine sitting with Jesus, what would he be asking you? What would he be saying?
• Allow the Holy Spirit to breathe life, energy and direction into your leadership.

By Elaine Vitikainen

We are all faced by the great uncertainty of the future. A colleague told me that planning has now been reduced to what can be done in the next three days, instead of planning for the months to come. In the past, a fully booked schedule was something to be proud of. Now, it felt like we are all starting from scratch.

The verses from James 4: 13 – 15 have spoken clearly to me in this present situation: Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, ‘If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.’”

These verses reminded me that everything is in God’s hand. My life and my future can never be separated from God. Yes, I can plan but surely, it is God who directs my steps. It is God’s will that prevails in the end. Therefore, I cannot boast about tomorrow for I do not know what a day may bring. (Proverbs 27:1)

This week:

• Spend some time reflecting on how God has directed your steps in your life? How was God present at some of the big turning points?
• As you look ahead, how can you make yourself more aware of God’s presence on your journey? 

By Rick James

None of us likes waiting. Unfortunately the Bible is littered with examples of waiting, whether we look at Moses and his calling, the people of Israel in the wilderness, and even Jesus before his ministry.

Waiting is not much fun, but it seems to be a crucial part of our necessary development. It forces us to confront who we really are. Last week I was feeling that I was slipping further behind on my work. Then suddenly my hard drive failed and I lost a number of files and a number of days work. It was a small thing, but quite disturbing. I realised how much I need to feel on top of my work. I tried hard to be calm and peaceful. While I felt my efforts had worked, my family said otherwise!

In the midst of this COVID crisis, we are all waiting – for the threat to be gone, for the restrictions to be lifted, for ‘normal’ life and work to resume.

Psalm 27: 13-14 says:
I remain confident of this:
 I will see the goodness of the Lord
 in the land of the living.
Wait for the Lord;
 be strong and take heart
 and wait for the Lord.

This week consider:
What are you learning about yourself in the waiting?
How are you being shaped by this waiting?

By Rick James

All our certainties and even assumptions about the world are in the air. Everything is unsettled and in a state of flux. It’s deeply uncomfortable, distressing and threatening in so many ways.

Yet these are also opportunities in this crisis. Usually, our organisations are highly resistant to change. They change as little as they have to. But now, everything is more fluid and flexible. It may be possible to shape our organisations in directions we have only aspired to before. In the wilderness, we need to head in the direction of the Promised Land.

I work part-time at a University and finally we are taking the leap towards online learning, having spoken about it for years. I am also apart of a consultancy charity in the UK. We are now putting into practice our previous intentions to work through local consultants in Asia and Africa. My local church has said for years “Church is not a building – it is about who we are and what we do in community” – but now we are making that a reality.

This week, think about the organisations you are a part of:
Where is their ‘promised land’?
How can this crisis help them move in that direction?

By Rick James

People follow leaders they trust. I believe that trust is the most valuable, but fragile, asset of any leader. But what does it actually mean and how do we build trust? Most researchers on trust emphasise that we trust people who we think are:

• Competent – they are good at what they do
• On our side – they support us and want the best for us. They are not ego-driven. It is not all about them.
• Full of integrity – their actions match their words. They are honest and admit when things go wrong.

It is fairly simple to know what makes people trust us. It is fairly difficult to put into practice!

This week with the teams I work in, what can I do to:

• Improve my competence, knowledge and skills?
• Show people that I am on their side?
• Demonstrate my integrity and honesty?

By Elaine Vitikainen

By Rick James

A psychologist friend of mine set us an exercise yesterday. He said, “Look around the room you are in and notice five objects”. As I let my eyes wander, I saw a family photo on my daughter’s 18th birthday; a picture of a beautiful malachite kingfisher from Malawi; clothing we’d bought at a World Music festival we’d been to with friends; a lampshade from a trip to Marrakesh… As I noticed these objects, I was filled with gratitude for so many wonderful experiences.

I heard on a Bridgetown Church podcast this morning that “anxiety is a kind of grasping of control of what we do not have in the future, gratitude is giving thanks for what we do have in the present” – and I would add ‘giving thanks for what we have enjoyed in the past’.

Gratitude is an antidote to anxiety. Colossians 3:15-17 talks about letting the peace of Christ rule in our hearts… singing songs with gratitude in our hearts…

How do we do this? I found the simple exercise of looking around my room a useful way to fight anxiety with gratitude.

By Elaine Vitikainen

By Rick James

These really are unprecedented times we are living through. In the midst of so much uncertainty I really appreciated Elaine’s reminder from Philippians that we should not be anxious about anything – even at a time of global crisis. It reminded me of a story that a good friend of mine, Mick Miller writes about in his forthcoming book ‘Choose how you travel’:

Three people travel on a plane from London to the USA. One is an elderly lady visiting her sister in New York; next there’s a middle aged man who’s heading off on holiday with his wife and kids; and finally there’s a businesswoman. She frequently flies to America.

The elderly lady has never been on a plane and she’s terrified. She worries her way through every minute of the journey, tightly gripping her armrests as if she might be sucked out of her seat at any moment.

The middle aged man has flown a few times before but doesn’t enjoy it. To take his mind off the whole experience he downs several large vodka tonics and a few beers. He ends up shouting at his kids (because they’re stressing him out) and gets into a row with his wife when she objects to the amount of alcohol he’s consumed.

The businesswoman remains calm and relaxed the whole way. She has a meal, watches a movie, then sleeps soundly for the rest of the flight.

All these people fly on the same plane and they all reach the same destination at the same time. But how they travel is completely different.

We can choose how we travel. Jesus said: ‘Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me.’ John 14:1 NLT

This week:

• What areas of our lives do we need to entrust again to God?
• What would it look like to be a peaceful, non-anxious presence in our workplaces, our communities and our families?