What my return to Romania taught me about purpose, obedience and the influence of a life surrendered to Christ.
In 1998, I returned to courtrooms in Romania where I had defended Christians persecuted under Communist rule. Some of the judges and prosecutors invited me into their offices. There were Bibles on their desks.
Some judges told me they had been afraid for me during those earlier years. They had wondered whether I would return to court the next day or disappear. Some also told me they had gone to my church to hear the gospel after the revolution.
I had returned with a television crew from Dallas to visit churches and courtrooms where I had worked. Some churches I had defended had expanded their buildings. Bibles and hymnbooks were openly displayed.
Before going home, I stopped at a bookstore in Bucharest to buy gifts for my children. There were Bibles in the window and throughout the store. I remembered the displays dominated by the Communist dictator’s books and portraits.
I knelt in the bookstore and thanked God. I was overwhelmed with gratitude for the work He had called me to do and the strength He had given me to do it.
There, I understood another assignment: wherever I went to speak, I was to encourage people to hear God’s call and accept the work He had prepared for them.
I describe that visit in my memoir, Saving My Assassin. It helps explain what Christian leadership means to me: following Christ, accepting the responsibility He gives us and helping others respond to His calling in their own lives.
Following Christ gives our leadership its direction
Years before that return visit, I began learning about Christ through a client’s example. During months of work on his parents’ legal files, he remained patient and content. I wanted to understand the peace I saw in him.
He invited me to church. There, I heard the words of Jesus in John 14:6 and began to understand truth through knowing Him. I accepted Christ as my Lord and Savior. Afterward, my daughters and I began six months of Bible study.
I had much to learn. I brought questions about prayer, God’s will and how to live as a Christian. Following Him required learning and responding to what He taught me.
That is where my understanding of leadership begins. Knowing who we are in Christ gives direction to the abilities, experience and influence we have. We begin asking what He wants us to do with them.
This reaches into our motives as well as our actions. We may want recognition for our work, reassurance that we matter or a position that makes us feel secure. Bring those desires to God honestly. Ask whether they are helping you serve the people entrusted to you or drawing your attention away from them.
Purpose becomes specific through the people we serve
In my leadership teaching, identity leads into purpose. We consider what God has equipped us to do and what matters enough for us to accept responsibility.
For me, defending religious freedom meant taking the case of a person or a church. Someone needed an attorney willing to prepare, stand beside them and speak about what was happening to them. My legal training became part of how I served God and those people.
Your calling will have people within it, too. A person in your church may need patient guidance. A younger colleague may need someone willing to teach them and stand for what is right. Your family may need attention you have kept postponing while pursuing another goal.
Consider the people who depend on you and the help you are equipped to offer. Bring that responsibility into prayer. Examine it in light of Scripture, and seek counsel where you need it. Be willing to learn something that serving them will require.
The question of purpose reaches beyond what we hope to achieve. It asks what we are willing to give, learn and do for the people God calls us to serve.
A new assignment requires us to listen again
In that bookstore, I thanked God for the work He had enabled me to do in Romania. I also understood that He was asking me to use those experiences to encourage others to recognize their own calling.
The assignment was changing. I still belonged to Christ, depended on His strength and had people to serve. I needed to keep listening, learning and obeying as I accepted the work before me.
A change in your life may bring you to a similar question. Perhaps a role has ended, your family’s needs have changed or work you once expected to continue has taken another direction. Bring your gifts and experience to God as you consider how to serve now.
Listening also requires examining our willingness to act. We can pray about our purpose while avoiding a responsibility we already understand. We can become so attached to a particular opportunity that we give little attention to the person who needs us today.
Ask God to help you recognize that difference. Prepare for the work before you, accept the instruction you need and take the step that is yours to take. Dependence on Him continues as we work.
Christian influence helps others respond to Christ
The peace I saw in that client’s life makes me examine what people encounter through my own. If I encourage someone to trust God, how do I respond when my plans change? If I speak about His love, how do I treat someone who interrupts me or questions my decision?
Character gives substance to what we teach. People experience our convictions through our patience, honesty and willingness to acknowledge a mistake. They also see whether we accept the correction we encourage them to receive.
When you help someone grow, make room for that person to take responsibility. Listen to their questions. Help them recognize the gifts they can use in serving others. Encourage them to seek God’s guidance and act on what they learn. Your example can help them begin; their response belongs to them.
Significance reaches beyond what we can see
During the years of persecution, I could not have pictured that return visit or those Bibles on officials’ desks. I often feared for my family and myself. I needed God’s strength to continue with the work before me.
My teaching about success and significance asks us to consider whose lives our work touches. For a Christian leader, that includes whether our influence helps others know Christ, recognize their God-given worth and use their gifts to serve.
Some of that influence will be visible to us. We may see someone accept a responsibility they once feared or begin encouraging another person. Other outcomes remain beyond our knowledge and control. We can continue to serve faithfully while entrusting those outcomes to God.
Where does that leave you today? Consider one person you are responsible for helping. Pray about what they need and what you can offer. Perhaps you need to listen, teach, keep a promise or give them room to take a step of their own.
If you are planning a Christian leadership conference, church retreat or leadership program, I would welcome a conversation about helping your audience recognize God’s calling and act with faith and courage.
