<h1 class="text-2xl font-bold mb-4" dir="ltr">Every leader wants to finish well.</h1>Yet, sometimes the challenges and discouragements of life can feel overwhelming. We get tired and distracted. Without realizing it, we settle for less than God’s best.Whether you are just beginning your ministry journey or you’ve been serving for decades and feel weary, ineffective, or ready to quit—it may be time for a Leadership Awakening. Your life can be marked by God’s goodness all the way to the finish line.Through scriptural time-tested principles we can:<ul class="list-disc list-inside mb-2"><li value="1" class="mb-1" dir="ltr">Measure leadership success God’s way.</li><li value="2" class="mb-1" dir="ltr">Overcome the opposition godly leaders face.</li><li value="3" class="mb-1" dir="ltr">Display traits that transform your family, workplace, church, and community.</li><li value="4" class="mb-1" dir="ltr">Equip yourself and others to run the race and finish well.</li></ul>Don’t become another casualty on the battlefield of Christian leadership. You can live an impactful life and one day hear the Lord’s beautiful words:<blockquote class="border-l-4 border-gray-300 pl-4 italic text-gray-700 mb-4" dir="ltr">“Well done, good and faithful servant” (Matthew 25:23).</blockquote><h2 class="text-xl font-bold mb-3" dir="ltr">The Vacuum of Godly Leaders:</h2>General William Booth (1829 – 1912), founder of The Salvation Army, warned well over a century ago:<blockquote class="border-l-4 border-gray-300 pl-4 italic text-gray-700 mb-4" dir="ltr">“I consider that the chief dangers which confront the coming century will be religion without the Holy Ghost, Christianity without Christ, forgiveness without repentance, salvation without regeneration, politics without God, and heaven without hell.”</blockquote>We are living in that reality today. There is an erosion of moral foundations and a vacuum of courageous leaders. Education alone does not produce them. Diplomas don’t prove them. Character does.Degrees in leadership are only worth the paper they’re printed on if there’s no substance of godly character to accompany them. Jude challenges us to be spiritually fit to contend for the faith, because only those who are grounded and prepared can stand in the battle for truth.<h2 class="text-xl font-bold mb-3" dir="ltr">Commitment and Clarity:</h2>We live in a culture where commitments and agreements are often shallow and unreliable. It used to be that a handshake or a verbal promise carried weight. Now, even with a signed contract, you might still wonder if a person will follow through.Sometimes agreements—even with people we trust—need to be put in writing. Not out of suspicion, but for the sake of clarity. As God said through the prophet Habakkuk:<blockquote class="border-l-4 border-gray-300 pl-4 italic text-gray-700 mb-4" dir="ltr">“Write the vision and make it plain on tablets, that he may run who reads it” (Habakkuk 2:2).</blockquote>Clarity of vision and clarity of agreement go hand in hand. They minimize conflict and maximize unity.<h2 class="text-xl font-bold mb-3" dir="ltr">Kindred Hearts:</h2>The apostle Paul had many coworkers, but when he needed to send someone to the Philippians, he chose Timothy:<blockquote class="border-l-4 border-gray-300 pl-4 italic text-gray-700 mb-4" dir="ltr">“For I have no one else of kindred spirit who will genuinely be concerned for your welfare” (Philippians 2:20 NASB).</blockquote>True unity is more than shared doctrine or organizational structure. It’s a matter of having the same heart, spirit, and purpose. You can tie the tails of two cats together, but that won’t bring unity. They may be united, but not in unity —it will only bring chaos.God desires for His Church to awaken, especially now as we see the erosion and unraveling of so many of our moral foundations. I’m not talking about some lowest common denominator of unity, but unity in Christ. Authentic UNITY is not UNIFORMITY, but UNITY that comes from our UNIQUE diversity, yet common relationship in Christ and His Word. He desires for His Church to come together and soar above the many distractions that keep us divided.<h2 class="text-xl font-bold mb-3" dir="ltr">A New Generation:</h2>True intercession is not just hiding in the prayer closet. It’s standing in the gap between the living and the dead. Moses and Aaron provide an example of this, as they grabbed the censers of incense (symbolic of intercession) and ran to stand in front of those who were perishing, begging for God to stop the plague of sin. They cried out for mercy, for God to move on behalf of their people.Genuine unity happens when there’s a shared vision and clear leadership, where love, mutual submission, and proper alignment are present. Take time to assess your key relationships—in marriage, family, business, or ministry. Do you have unity of heart and spirit with those closest to you? If not, begin with prayer. Ask God to change your heart first, and then invite Him to restore your relationships.<h2 class="text-xl font-bold mb-3" dir="ltr">Defining the Narrative:</h2>In times of crisis, we need leaders who will speak and live the narrative of the Kingdom. Those who tell the story, define the narrative, and create the history. Our lives tell a story. What is the story we are telling by the way we live?<h2 class="text-xl font-bold mb-3" dir="ltr">The Battle for the Soul of the Nation:</h2>Isaiah 1 warns of the sins that bring God’s displeasure on a nation—shedding innocent blood, moral looseness, injustice, and spiritual compromise. Paul echoes this in 2 Thessalonians 2, warning that when people no longer love the truth, they are given over to deception and strong delusion.This battle is not just political—it’s a battle for the soul of a generation. Sacred truth, marriage, and life itself are under attack. We cannot retreat into “holy huddles” while the culture drifts further into apostasy.President Lincoln once said:<blockquote class="border-l-4 border-gray-300 pl-4 italic text-gray-700 mb-4" dir="ltr">“My concern is not whether God is on our side; my greatest concern is to be on God’s side, for God is always right.”</blockquote>We must make sure our ideology is defined by God’s character, Word, and Spirit—not our personal preferences or cultural trends.<h2 class="text-xl font-bold mb-3" dir="ltr">A Revival of Character:</h2>From preachers to politicians, from pulpits to public offices, we need a revival of character. The church needs heroes today—men and women like Joshua and Caleb who can see past the giants and hold fast to the promises of God.The prophet Zephaniah described a time when princes, judges, prophets, and priests had all become corrupt. Yet God promised to restore a “pure language” to His people so they could call on Him with one accord. We need that restoration today.Courageous leadership does not acquiesce or bow to public opinion. It holds fast to truth with compassion and conviction. As Peter E. Waldron once said:<blockquote class="border-l-4 border-gray-300 pl-4 italic text-gray-700 mb-4" dir="ltr">“Fortitude is an attribute of character glaringly missing from the pulpit and the pew.”</blockquote><h2 class="text-xl font-bold mb-3" dir="ltr">Finishing Well:</h2>Leadership success is not just starting the race—it’s finishing well. That requires spiritual, physical, and emotional health, cultivated daily.<ul class="list-disc list-inside mb-2"><li value="1" class="mb-1" dir="ltr">Guard your heart. Most leaders don’t fall suddenly—they drift slowly. Stay vigilant.</li><li value="2" class="mb-1" dir="ltr">Know your real friends. Build relationships on authenticity, not position.</li><li value="3" class="mb-1" dir="ltr">Reject flattery. It manipulates for gain. Speak truth in love instead.</li></ul>The Apostle Paul said in 2 Timothy 4:5,<blockquote class="border-l-4 border-gray-300 pl-4 italic text-gray-700 mb-4" dir="ltr">“Be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.”</blockquote><h2 class="text-xl font-bold mb-3" dir="ltr">The Call:</h2>We are at a crossroads. The Church as an institution will not survive without a fundamental awakening—a return to our spiritual moorings and biblical foundations.As Duncan Campbell said of the Hebrides Revival, “Revival is a community saturated with God.”It’s time for individual heart awakenings that lead to a corporate church awakening—before we face a rude awakening.God is looking for common men and women who will rise above comfort and convenience, who will walk in character, courage, commitment, and honor.Leaders who will love God and people more than themselves.Let us answer the call to courageous and persevering leadership—standing firm in the unshakable kingdom we have received, so that we can say with confidence at the end of our race:<blockquote class="border-l-4 border-gray-300 pl-4 italic text-gray-700 mb-4" dir="ltr">“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith” (2 Timothy 4:7).</blockquote>

The Call for Godly, Courageous and Persevering Leadership 

If there is to be a restoration of the moral laws in America, a comeback to the very foundations of faith, and belief in God as the giver of life and all rights of life, then it will only be possible if the Elijahs of our nation come out of the caves of silence and fear and return to their God-given assignment in leading the nation to justice and righteousness.If every pastor in America, every minister who believes in the authenticity of the Bible as God’s word, rises up and confronts the deception of our times and the dark forces of evil in our nation, then this nation can be saved from the deception and destruction it is being submerged into.<blockquote class="border-l-4 border-gray-300 pl-4 italic text-gray-700 mb-4" dir="ltr">God told Elijah that he was not alone, for there were still others like him who had not compromised or surrendered their integrity and convictions of truth into the hands of those who were looking to overpower their wills and control their minds.</blockquote><blockquote class="border-l-4 border-gray-300 pl-4 italic text-gray-700 mb-4" dir="ltr">Yet I have left me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him (I Kings 19:18).</blockquote>God was telling Elijah that there was a remnant, an army of men and women who were determined to not be overtaken and forced to worship or serve the gods of the culture of the time they were living.The same is true in America today, as there are many Elijahs in the land who are hiding and remain silent in despair and have lost hope as they believe there is no one else like them.The Elijahs of America are running away from their calling, away from their God-given assignments, and refusing to stand and resist the forces of evil and darkness.Fear as a strong river has overpowered their will to speak and fight for justice.As a result of fear, many Elijahs are hiding in caves today, as Elijah did until God asked him what he was doing there.<blockquote class="border-l-4 border-gray-300 pl-4 italic text-gray-700 mb-4" dir="ltr">And he came thither unto a cave, and lodged there; and, behold, the word of the Lord came to him, and he said unto him, ‘What doest thou here, Elijah?’ (I Kings 19:9)</blockquote>The Elijahs of America are the pastors of every village, every city, every state and throughout the nation who have found a cave where they feel comfortable.They are looking the other way, as if they do not see what is happening in the nation, how the immoral has absorbed the moral, how the unreal has become real, and how sin is the normal in the land.Many have become weak in their preaching and have replaced the teaching of God’s word and its application to everyday issues with words of entertainment and human reasoning based on the ideology of culture and its tolerance for evil and iniquity.They are doing nothing to bring the transforming power of God and his truth to the generations of people who are sitting every week in their church buildings.The only hope for restoration and healing of a divided nation the United States has become is that every pastor in America will stop making the pulpit a cave to hide and speak what the people want to hear, instead of preaching and teaching what God has called them to speak without fear.<blockquote class="border-l-4 border-gray-300 pl-4 italic text-gray-700 mb-4" dir="ltr">For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ (Galatians 1:10).</blockquote>God raised the church in America to be the gatekeeper of its borders and protect the nation’s spiritual condition while keeping the commandments and truth of his word.The church in America was raised as the prophet Elijah to speak to all Americans that love God and nation to no longer halt between two opinions.<blockquote class="border-l-4 border-gray-300 pl-4 italic text-gray-700 mb-4" dir="ltr">And Elijah came unto all the people, and said, ‘How long halt ye between two opinions? if the Lord be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him.’ And the people answered him not a word (I Kings 18:2).</blockquote>When the church speaks to the nation and the people do not respond a word as stated in the times of Elijah, it is up to the Elijahs to confront the false prophets of Baal.The time for confronting darkness has come, and the church is standing today at the front line of the battle for America, while giants are destroying our nation and intimidating Christians in America with threats of persecution or destruction of their character, as it commonly happens in the political arena in the pursuit of power.There is, without any doubt, a need for the like Elijahs to come out, even if they think they are alone.The church in America is in the valley of decision, at a point in history where it must decide whether to stay within the walls of its precious buildings or gatherings or come out and engage in the final war against culture that is destroying the nation.It is at the hour of its final destination where, along with the church all over the world, it is preparing for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, for it as the last trumpet will sound calling the church out before the trumpets of revelation and the great tribulation.However, the church in America is hearing the last trumpet for America these days, and it is the decisive moment in history to either save the United States of America or let it fall in the hands of a godless culture.Darkness will only prevail if the salt has lost its taste and the light remains hidden.<blockquote class="border-l-4 border-gray-300 pl-4 italic text-gray-700 mb-4" dir="ltr">The prophet Joel prophesied in Joel 3:12-14,Let the heathen be wakened, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat:For there will I sit to judge all the heathen round about.Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe:Come, get you down; for the press is full, the fats overflow;For their wickedness is great.Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision:For the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision.</blockquote>The valley of decision is where the church must not waiver between two schools of thought but make up its mind whether to obey and serve God or serve the gods of the world and their culture of deception.It is a time to call upon the Elijahs of America and decide who they will serve.

Where Are the Elijahs in America?

<h1 class="text-2xl font-bold mb-4" dir="ltr">The Ten Commandments</h1><a href="https://" rel="noreferrer" dir="ltr">The Ten Commandments were given by God to serve as the foundational code of conduct—a standard of morality for any and all civilizations that desire to be a nation under God, and therefore, blessed. The history of America is one built upon this foundation.</a><blockquote class="border-l-4 border-gray-300 pl-4 italic text-gray-700 mb-4" dir="ltr">John Adams wrote to Thomas Jefferson on November 4, 1816:“The Ten Commandments and the Sermon on the Mount contain my religion.”</blockquote><blockquote class="border-l-4 border-gray-300 pl-4 italic text-gray-700 mb-4" dir="ltr">President Harry S. Truman addressed the Attorney General's Conference in February 1950:“The fundamental basis of this nation's laws was given to Moses on the Mount ... I don't think we emphasize that enough these days… If we don't have a proper fundamental moral background, we will finally end up with a totalitarian government which does not believe in rights for anybody except for the State.”</blockquote><blockquote class="border-l-4 border-gray-300 pl-4 italic text-gray-700 mb-4" dir="ltr">“The Ten Commandments are not the laws. They are The Law,” stated Cecil B. DeMille on November 8, 1956, at the New York opening of his epic film The Ten Commandments.</blockquote>Released by Paramount Pictures, the movie starred Charlton Heston as Moses and Yul Brynner as Pharaoh Rameses II. Adjusted for inflation, it went on to become the 8th highest-grossing film of all time. While filming on-location in Egypt, Cecil B. DeMille—then 75 years old—climbed a 107-foot ladder to shoot the famous Exodus scene from atop the massive Per Rameses set. In the intense heat, DeMille suffered a near-fatal heart attack.Though doctors ordered him to rest, DeMille finished directing the movie. He never fully recovered and died of a heart condition on January 21, 1959. He had anticipated doing a film on the Book of Revelation.For almost five decades, Cecil B. DeMille produced monumental films in Hollywood, including:<ul class="list-disc list-inside mb-2"><li value="1" class="mb-1" dir="ltr">Joan the Woman (1916)</li><li value="2" class="mb-1" dir="ltr">Male and Female (1919)</li><li value="3" class="mb-1" dir="ltr">Adam’s Rib (1923)</li><li value="4" class="mb-1" dir="ltr">The Road to Yesterday (1925)</li><li value="5" class="mb-1" dir="ltr">The King of Kings (1927)</li><li value="6" class="mb-1" dir="ltr">The Sign of the Cross (1932)</li><li value="7" class="mb-1" dir="ltr">Cleopatra (1934)</li><li value="8" class="mb-1" dir="ltr">The Crusades (1935)</li><li value="9" class="mb-1" dir="ltr">Samson and Delilah (1949)</li><li value="10" class="mb-1" dir="ltr">The Greatest Show on Earth (1952), for which he won an Academy Award.</li></ul>Cecil B. DeMille was educated at Pennsylvania Military Academy and at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts.His niece, Agnes de Mille, choreographed films and musicals such as:<ul class="list-disc list-inside mb-2"><li value="1" class="mb-1" dir="ltr">Oklahoma! (1943)</li><li value="2" class="mb-1" dir="ltr">Carousel (1945)</li><li value="3" class="mb-1" dir="ltr">Rodeo (1942)</li><li value="4" class="mb-1" dir="ltr">Paint Your Wagon (1951)</li></ul><blockquote class="border-l-4 border-gray-300 pl-4 italic text-gray-700 mb-4" dir="ltr">Continuing his comments at the 1956 New York opening of The Ten Commandments, DeMille stated:“Man has made 32 million laws since the Commandments were handed down to Moses on Mount Sinai more than three thousand years ago, but he has never improved on God’s law. The Ten Commandments are the principles by which man may live with God and man may live with man. They are the expressions of the mind of God for His creatures. They are the charter and guide of human liberty, for there can be no liberty without the law... What I hope for our production of The Ten Commandments is that those who see it shall come from the theater not only entertained and filled with the sight of a big spectacle, but filled with the spirit of truth... That it will bring to its audience a better understanding of the real meaning of this pattern of life that God has set down for us to follow.”</blockquote><blockquote class="border-l-4 border-gray-300 pl-4 italic text-gray-700 mb-4" dir="ltr">President William McKinley stated in his Inaugural Address, March 4, 1897:“Our faith teaches that there is no safer reliance than upon the God of our fathers ... who will not forsake us so long as we obey His commandments.”</blockquote><blockquote class="border-l-4 border-gray-300 pl-4 italic text-gray-700 mb-4" dir="ltr">Alfred Smith, four-term Democrat Governor of New York and the first Catholic Presidential candidate, stated in May 1927:“The essence of my faith is built upon the commandments of God. The law of the land is built on the commandments of God. There can be no conflict between them.”</blockquote><blockquote class="border-l-4 border-gray-300 pl-4 italic text-gray-700 mb-4" dir="ltr">Franklin D. Roosevelt stated on December 24, 1942:“We as a nation and as individuals will please God best by showing regard for the laws of God. There is no better way of fostering good will toward man than by first fostering good will toward God. If we love Him, we will keep His commandments.”</blockquote>In 1954, President Dwight D. Eisenhower said:“The purpose of a devout and united people was set forth in the pages of the Bible:<ul class="list-disc list-inside mb-2"><li value="1" class="mb-1" dir="ltr">to live in freedom;</li><li value="2" class="mb-1" dir="ltr">to work in a prosperous land;</li><li value="3" class="mb-1" dir="ltr">to obey the commandments of God.</li></ul>This Biblical story of the Promised Land inspired the founders of America. It continues to inspire us.”<blockquote class="border-l-4 border-gray-300 pl-4 italic text-gray-700 mb-4" dir="ltr">On March 8, 1983, at the National Association of Evangelicals in Orlando, Florida, President Ronald Reagan stated:“There’s a great spiritual awakening in America... One recent survey by a Washington-based research council concluded... 95 percent of those surveyed expressed a belief in God. A huge majority believed the Ten Commandments had real meaning in their lives.”</blockquote><blockquote class="border-l-4 border-gray-300 pl-4 italic text-gray-700 mb-4" dir="ltr">Dr. Billy Graham, in accepting the Congressional Gold Medal on May 2, 1996, said:“We have lost sight of the moral and spiritual principles on which this nation was established—principles drawn largely from the Judeo-Christian tradition as found in the Bible... There is hope! Our lives can be changed... The Scripture says, ‘You must be born again’... Think how different our nation would be if we sought to follow the simple and yet profound injunctions of the Ten Commandments and the Sermon on the Mount.”</blockquote><blockquote class="border-l-4 border-gray-300 pl-4 italic text-gray-700 mb-4" dir="ltr">On February 5, 1997, Governor Fob James threatened to call out the National Guard to prevent the removal of the Ten Commandments display from a courtroom in Gadsden, Alabama:“The only way those Ten Commandments and prayer would be stripped from that courtroom is with the force of arms.”</blockquote><blockquote class="border-l-4 border-gray-300 pl-4 italic text-gray-700 mb-4" dir="ltr">In 1973, as Governor of California, Ronald Reagan stated:“With freedom goes responsibility. Sir Winston Churchill once said you can have 10,000 regulations and still not have respect for the law. We might start with the Ten Commandments. If we lived by the Golden Rule, there would be no need for other laws.”</blockquote><blockquote class="border-l-4 border-gray-300 pl-4 italic text-gray-700 mb-4" dir="ltr">As President, Reagan stated at a National Rifle Association banquet in Phoenix on May 6, 1983:“If we could just keep remembering that Moses brought down from the mountain the Ten Commandments—not ten suggestions—and if those of us who live for the Lord could remember that He wants us to love our Lord and our neighbor, then there’s no limit to the problems we could solve.”</blockquote>Our nation has a rich history—particularly when it comes to acknowledging the Ten Commandments’ place in our lives. In recent years, the Ten Commandments have been under attack by people of lawlessness.But there is a remnant Church, working to re-elevate God’s laws to their proper place in the life of this land and to remind this country that we are one nation under God. To learn more about William Federer, visit&nbsp;<a href="https://" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer" dir="ltr">https://americanminute.com/</a>

The Call for Godly, Courageous and Persevering Leadership

Where Are the Elijahs in America?

The Ten Commandments in America

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