Leaders make or break the nation and the Church

Last Sunday after I had preached twice with two different sermons we went ahead with our council meeting. According to our Constitution it should be monthly but due to COVID 19 crisis, meetings have been a bit haphazard. In a way I am glad I am not the Chairman, so that I could focus on preaching and pastoral work. Last Saturday for a second time in two weeks we visited a family about 15 Kms and we drove up a steep hill overlooking the city of KK. But I realised that in times of crisis, leadership is even more critical and essential for the advancement of the Gospel and the growth of the church. Some people out of fear refuse to restart church services on a Sunday and I saw few wondering about in their shorts and T-shirt’s on a Sunday when they should be serving in church. How ironic when times were good, often we hear exhortations to attend church services, but the pandemic has hit some of the churches hard. No wonder Jesus said that when the Son of Man comes to the earth, will He find faith? Even the prayers seem to be haphazardly planned.
From July we had a whole month of prayer but then early August the NECF also launched the 40 day prayer until National Day on 16th Sept. But just a few days ago we received another circular asking for prayers. When something is too much, though prayers can’t ever be too much but it is just the planning and casting the vision for the larger church so that they are energised to rise up in prayers, instead of wondering why suddenly now, there is this prayer and that prayer launch. In fact, in early March I told one church leader that I was waiting for a prayer call since mid-February when COVID-19 became evidently more widespread and before it landed on our shores in Sabah. And coupled with the fact that the elected government fell with the resignation of the PM which lead to the current political turmoil including the razor thin majority which the current govt holds and at the State level, we are facing a Snap Election later next month. Prayers should have been called in late February and early March before the MCO came into effect. In fact I remembered a couple of important meetings were postponed in January and February thinking that we have all the time in the world then. It is a crisis of leadership, whether in the secular or spiritual worlds. In either realm, it is leadership and leaders who will make or break the future of a nation or the Church. Yet it is Christ’s church and we know from history that the Church could go into a downward spiral for decades or centuries until by God’s grace and power, it is revived once more.