Every leader wants to finish well.

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:

• Measure leadership success God’s way.
• Overcome the opposition godly leaders face.
• Display traits that transform your family, workplace, church, and community.
• Equip yourself and others to run the race and finish well.

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:

“Well done, good and faithful servant” (Matthew 25:23).

The Vacuum of Godly Leaders:

General William Booth (1829 – 1912), founder of The Salvation Army, warned well over a century ago:

“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.”

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.

Commitment and Clarity:

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:

“Write the vision and make it plain on tablets, that he may run who reads it” (Habakkuk 2:2).

Clarity of vision and clarity of agreement go hand in hand. They minimize conflict and maximize unity.

Kindred Hearts:

The apostle Paul had many coworkers, but when he needed to send someone to the Philippians, he chose Timothy:

“For I have no one else of kindred spirit who will genuinely be concerned for your welfare” (Philippians 2:20 NASB).

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.

A New Generation:

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.

Defining the Narrative:

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?

The Battle for the Soul of the Nation:

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:

“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.”

We must make sure our ideology is defined by God’s character, Word, and Spirit—not our personal preferences or cultural trends.

A Revival of Character:

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:

“Fortitude is an attribute of character glaringly missing from the pulpit and the pew.”

Finishing Well:

Leadership success is not just starting the race—it’s finishing well. That requires spiritual, physical, and emotional health, cultivated daily.

• Guard your heart. Most leaders don’t fall suddenly—they drift slowly. Stay vigilant.
• Know your real friends. Build relationships on authenticity, not position.
• Reject flattery. It manipulates for gain. Speak truth in love instead.

The Apostle Paul said in 2 Timothy 4:5,

“Be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.”

The Call:

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:

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith” (2 Timothy 4:7).