The life and work of a mentor, coach or professional supervisor, really any career in Christian leadership, comes with many different seasons. There will be beautiful warm springs full of hope and productivity, and long hot stretches of summer full of life and passion for the calling. However, there will also be chilly autumns full of uncertainty and doubts, as well as cold and harsh winters that may give in to depression, stress and burnout. Of course, the seasons of a Christian leader’s life rarely line up with the annual changes of weather, but the awareness of the good times following the bad, the difficult seasons following a happy and hopeful one, is an ongoing pattern. This is a truth that all leaders need to accept and anticipate…

It seems natural to contemplate what makes a seasoned Christian leader during this season. Easter Sunday was an excellent reminder that our leadership should always come from a humble imitation of Christ. Christ calls us to take our cross and follow him as His disciples. The seasoned Christian leader participates in understanding the wonders that God brings us and the comfort that we receive in Jesus’s ministry, in His grace, and by welcoming and including others into our community…

Being a mature disciple comes down to two primary commitments: the commitment to the Great Commandment – loving others and loving God and the Great Commission – spreading the good news of Jesus. Of course, these two commitments are linked because if you genuinely love others, you want them to experience the same blessings that you experience. If you are having a great meal, you want to share your food with them. If you read an excellent book, you want to pass that book onto them, and if you love Jesus, you want to introduce them to Him, too. However, if you try to follow the commission of spreading the news without loving the people you want to reach, you come across as arrogant, manipulative or judgmental. These two commitments should always be lived out together…