In the past seven days I’ve had occasion to speak with three pastors leading major change in their churches and to attend services in two of those churches. The difference between the first time I met these congregations and now is striking. In each instance, combative, argumentative and resistant cultures have been replaced with happy, open, confident and welcoming cultures that are now having a startling effect on their respective communities.
And as much as I’d enjoy talking about those congregations and the changes they’re experiencing, it’s the leaders who are on my mind today. Difficult, usually dying and most always disobedient congregations don’t usually attract healthy leaders. Healthy leaders don’t go to those places. Yet God graced each with a healthy leader who is making a huge difference . . . who is restoring life where life wasn’t evident not long ago.
What sets these leaders apart? First, it’s their brokenness before God. No matter the difficulty of their assignment, they somehow sense the grace of God in it; that He has entrusted them with something special and undeserved. And they clearly understand who they are in relationship to Him and the assignment. Secondly, you quickly sense their passion for those things God is passionate about – seeking and saving those who are lost. They’re about getting the results the Lord commissioned them to get. Third, no risk seems too large when it comes to pursuing and accomplishing the mission that has captured their passion. They are willing to die for that mission which in our culture means potentially putting their job, health, security, status and reputation on the line.
To see unfruitful congregations change typically requires a change in who controls the church. Such changes require tremendous courage, a fourth characteristic, on the part of leadership. Many of the best of these leaders have spiritual scar tissue surrounding their souls as a result of leading reluctant people to freedom in Christ and His mission. And lastly, they are deeply committed to Christ’s mission . . . they are missionaries at their core . . . missionaries who lead their congregations in becoming missionaries.
So how do I feel about those three men mentioned above that God has used so powerfully as well as all of those like them? They’re my heroes. If there was such a thing as a purple heart for performance in the face of ministry danger, I’d like to pin one on each of them. And by the way, may their tribe increase. | 
