Good Friday is one of my favorite church services of the year, with Ash Wednesday being a close second. This is not because I am a masochist but perhaps more the opposite. I am an optimist and I like to think of life as hope-filled. I also did not grow up with the tradition of either service so they provide a depth by the very fact that they remind us of the inevitability of death as humans and as followers of Jesus. They are the prelude to resurrection.<\/p>\n
Just a few weeks ago, at the Good Friday gathering, I was reconnected once again to the beauty and the brutality with which Jesus died. His last set of seven words conveyed his loving-kindness for us along with the depth of connection with his Father. After participating in the Eucharist, the singers led us, literally, out the doors of the sanctuary singing, \u201cI have decided to follow Jesus.\u201d Knowing the song and singing its verses in the middle of Portland filled me with the reminder that I have chosen the way of pain, the way of death and it is the only way to life. I can\u2019t skip Good Friday to get to Easter Sunday. Without the pain of Good Friday the hopefulness of the resurrection is lost.<\/p>\n
Deciding to follow Jesus does not just mean remembering the journey of Jesus\u2019 death annually. This pain is lived on the daily, dying to oneself as the journey to whole life with God. Yet, this is no easy task. As Samuel Chand writes in his book, Leadership Pain: The Classroom for Growth<\/em>, pain is normative in our lives. This is particularly true for leaders. Most people do whatever they can to take the easy road. Just last week I heard a pastor say publicly, I want to take the easy way. In college I remember my roommate, who was a psychology major saying more than once, \u201cpeople take the path of least resistance.\u201d<\/p>\n The truth of the matter as Chand argues, is that leaders do not grow without pain. Beyond merely enduring pain when it comes, leaders must plan for pain within themselves and their organization. \u201cGrowth always involves pain. In organizational growth, leaders actually cause pain, but for a very good reason. It\u2019s the only way to grow. At every growth barrier, pastors need to deepen their insights and sharpen their skills. When they stop growing, their church will stop growing. The areas that often (if not always) need attention are people, structures, leadership development, space, being outward focused, and personal growth.\u201d[1]<\/a><\/p>\n Judging Samuel Chand before knowing him, you would suspect he\u2019s a slick business guru that has his stuff together and may not have a deep well from which to speak on pain. Just Googling him brings up several images of a man in a suit, with perfect hair and teeth along with an eye catching website and bio. However, this is not the whole story when reading his latest text, Leadership Pain<\/em>, where he speaks of the inevitability of the pain all leaders go through, including some of his own.<\/p>\n Chand does have an optimistic approach to his work, whether reading Leadership Pain<\/em> or reviewing his website. He shares stories and life truths with the intent to motivate people to move through their pain chapter by chapter, with content to know, consider and do. One of his primary taglines, ending each chapter is, \u201cAnd remember: you\u2019ll grow only to the threshold of your pain.\u201d[2]<\/a><\/p>\n As the text is only a few years old and a popular book, there are many Amazon raving reviews and very few academic reviews. The only one review I found was from the Journal of Applied Christian Leadership, which neatly summarized the text and asked for a more thorough conclusion to weave in the central themes of the book.[3]<\/a> These reviews are only mildly helpful. Taken together with the Christian community as mentioned with regard to the need to consider more than resurrection only, they are understandable. People do not talk about pain and so the idea of having a book written on it with many quick steps for action to end each chapter is a nice way to begin the conversation. However, people are dealing with tremendous amounts of pain today, Christian or not, and live very isolated from one another. The reality is that leaders must actively be embracing their own pain in healthy ways so they can proactively engage the pain of the church and the community around them. This is the way of Jesus.<\/p>\n A few days ago one of our staff members at church had us watch a video of a Stephanie Grettzinger preaching about the reality that everyone is not okay. People say they are okay and but then have a depth of hiding and shame that are under the surface. She argues this has become normative in the church and people need to get real with God and one another about the pain that is actually happening to be able to live authentically.[4]<\/a><\/p>\n Leaders have a unique responsibility. They are called to lead. Leading in the way of engaging personal and corporate matters of pain is no exception. American culture avoids pain at all costs. Christ\u2019s culture heads in the direction of pain. \u201cI have decided to follow Jesus, no turning back. No turning back.\u201d If leaders are willing to be disciples of Jesus, there must be a willingness to authentically lead others into the inevitable pains of life.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n [1]<\/a> Chand, Samuel. Leadership Pain: The Classroom for Growth<\/em>. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2015, 94.<\/p>\n [2]<\/a> Chand, 22.<\/p>\n