Photo by Sixteen Miles Out on Unsplash
Have you ever found yourself stuck?
As a leader or pastor, do you know where you want your church or organization to be, but it isn’t moving forward? Or maybe you are married, and you have a vision for your marriage or family, but it isn’t moving towards that or at the speed that you want.
Often, we live in the in-between times of life and leadership.
The “in-between” is when you know (or at least desire something) where you are going personally, with your dreams and goals, or with your church or organization; you see the vision, the place, but you can’t go there yet. It might be timing, it might be that you need more finances, more leaders, or you need to allow people time to train or get used to the idea.
Whatever it is, the in-between time is tough to live in and lead in.
Leaders feel this when they know their church should make a change, stop a ministry or program, add a staff member they can’t afford, or change locations, but they are waiting.
The in-between.
We know this feeling when we want to complete school, start dating someone who isn’t ready yet, or get married to someone who isn’t ready.
The in-between.
It is the pain of longing to have children that never happens. It is the late nights as we wait for kids to fall asleep, start listening, or simply grow up and move out so we can get to the next season of life.
The in-between.
Many of us live our lives longing to be in the next place.
You know where you are going in the in-between, but you can only talk about it with some. You need to wait for more information for things to fall into place before you let people know and clarify things. A leader lacks influence when he says, “In eight months, this change will happen. So we’ll just wait until then, but it’s coming.”
You can get antsy and frustrated in the in-between because it isn’t getting here. The frustration also comes from seeing things as they are when you know what they will be like and must wait for it. That’s not easy. It means biting your tongue, grinning, and bearing some things until it’s time.
The in-between is also a time when your faith is stretched. You learn about your impatience and lack of belief in God’s power and control as you wonder why He is taking so long, as if His timing is not perfect.
Leadership in this time is difficult because momentum is easily lost. It can be lost because you, as the leader, have moved into the future, but you can’t talk about it yet. Consequently, you are running out of steam on where things are. You must stay mentally engaged in the present, where God has you and your church.
The in-between time is also the time that grows us the most. That’s its blessing. Without it, we can never reach the place God wants us to be. It is easy to despair in the in-between, but if we do, we miss the point.
