Covid-19: Exceptional Leadership Matters Now More Than Ever
I was in the kitchen making dinner. My parents had visited for the day, and my mum was sitting on the floor with the kids playing Rummikub while my dad was at the table quietly reading the latest information on the BBC News app.
I was waiting for the press conference to start – something that was going to become a regular feature in our lives in the days ahead. The usual sounds and smells of a roast dinner tried to convince us that everything was still ‘life as normal’ but were interrupted by the Prime Minister’s words speaking from my iPad perched on the window sill. This was the first call for ‘Everyone to play their part,’ for people to take action rather than think Covid-19 wasn't relevant to them. We ate, got the kids down and sat with mum and dad and prayed together before they made their way home. Just before they left, dad read out Psalm 91. These words read by someone sitting in all the high risk categories suddenly took on a different significance.
Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust.”
That evening was just the beginning of a now more familiar road for us all – a road of news announcements and ever-increasing restriction. A new normal had been created overnight. How we respond now will define the next few years – for individuals, families, churches, organisations, businesses, and charities.
So what for Onelife in this season?
In the team briefing before our Distinct Conference in February, we shared the ‘markers’ of our culture – the things we were running after as a team to create a space for young people to grow in their relationship with Jesus and each other. What was true then, just a few weeks ago, is still just as true now.
We are not in a time of finished, polished, foolproof ideas. It’s a time of innovation, permission to fail and a brave reaching for the things of the Kingdom of God despite the hurdles that lie in our way.
So this is our blueprint. In a few months’ time, if we can look back on this season and see that we carried these markers at part of our DNA, then we’ll know that Onelife is staying true to who God has called us to be.
Our markers for Covid-19
1) ‘FIRST TO BE...’
Like a runner ready to sprint we want to have the posture to reach for the things God has set before us and not wait for someone else to tell us to act. We want to be ready to see who he is calling us to and how we can serve.
2) ‘...TO BE FAMILY…’ – LOOKING TO CHEER EACH OTHER ON
As a team we realise we have to fight for this like never before. In a world lived out on Zoom, things get lost. We are committed to stand with each other and our Onelife family, to pray for and cheer on in both the seen platforms and the unseen.
3) ‘...TO BE LEARNING…’ – LEADERS ARE LEARNERS
Right now is a time for learning in a whole new way. As a team we we are exploring how we lead with character and integrity, following Jesus to usher in his kingdom when we are in totally unknown territory. My blog on healthy teams was written at the end of the first week of social distancing. As I wrote I realised my muscles for this way of leading are underdeveloped at best and, like the rest of us, we learn as we go.
4) ‘...TO BE LEADING’ – FIRST ON THE BATTLE FIELD AND LAST OFF
We want to lead with creativity. ‘Creativity comes out of restriction’ was a comment dropped into a team discussion over Zoom. There is a sense of something new being birthed in us that otherwise might not have happened, an interruption which has forced us to drop our agenda and think outside the box to the whispers of the Spirit.
Before Covid-19 we were having conversations with a church in Singapore who had a team of 13 wanting to be trained to deliver the Onelife Sessions. We were looking to digitalise our content to prevent a bottleneck with our international friends who want to see character-first young leaders released into every sphere. We were beginning to innovate new ideas around our Youthworker Learning Communities and our schools work. None of that stops – in fact there has been an injection of new ideas and a renewed a sense of urgency and creativity to overcome barriers that stand in our way. How we are adapting now will shape what is to come for Onelife.
5) WE WANT TO LEAD WITH GENEROSITY
We want to continue to ask how we can give away in this season, when the natural tendency is to hold on tight because we don't know what tomorrow will hold. Since January we have been having conversations with leaders, churches and organisations as to how we can partner with them to back what they are running after. We want this to be the hallmark of how Onelife leads in this season and how we can equip others to do the same.
The Onelife trustees and staff team met together the day before the first government restrictions were put in place. We met to talk about our manifesto moving forwards and the ‘why’ behind what we do. As we explored the journey of the past 10 years I was struck by the urgency of the original vision set out by Pete: ‘We all have one life, how are we going to lead it?’ What was set up more than a decade ago as a call to young people to be equipped to lead is now a battle cry to all followers of Jesus in this unprecedented season. We have never been more committed to this vision.
Thank you for your support and prayers,
Liz