No More Excuses

This post revolves around the mantra “no more excuses” and was originally shared during the COVID era.

I caught COVID.

I finally caught it on July 29, 2022, and in true youth pastor fashion, I got it at summer camp.

As you know, COVID-19’s effect on people or families ranges from medically devastating to mildly inconvenient. I thank God that my experience landed on the latter end of that spectrum. Even so, my need to quarantine forced my wife and me into a tough family decision. As we talked through our options, the lack of perfect solutions became obvious. My incredible wife told me to make the decision for our family.

I spent the next hour mulling over the options, talking with the Holy Spirit and a few trusted friends and advisors. Before long, I knew which option felt right to me. The problem was, I knew the choice I felt was right wasn’t the one my spouse wanted. I didn’t want to make a decision that would upset her—or, more pointedly, make her upset with me.

How This Shows Up in Leadership

Friends, whether in marriage, youth pastoring, or parenting, leadership brings this tension, doesn’t it? Sometimes we must choose between making the people we care about happy and making the decision that best serves everyone—including ourselves. For those wired like me, feedback from mentors or even the Spirit of God doesn’t make it easier to knowingly upset people we love—or more pointedly, make them unhappy with us.

As I cough-talked and fever-dreamed (because COVID) with Jesus about this situation, He poked at my heart-level desire to please people and stay well-liked at all times. He gently encouraged me to not fear leading my family. God, through Christ, leads us into places of unhappiness all the time because He confidently knows it will benefit us in the long run. (You could argue I experienced this dynamic in that very moment, since I felt deeply unhappy about how my COVID timing inconvenienced my family. Yet here I am, writing about how Christ used this experience to redeem my heart!)

A Gospel Lens for Excuses

God, through Christ, doesn’t fear leading us into temporal unhappiness when it means caring for us well. His deep love and firm identity as Shepherd allow Him to make temporarily unpopular decisions.

We are called to the same as shepherds.

So, when you feel certain—through the Spirit of God, wise counsel, and the approval of authority over you—that youth group needs to move from Sunday nights to Wednesday nights, reject the enemy’s whispers and lead.

When you feel confident that a certain volunteer needs to step away for a season, reject the enemy’s whispers and lead.

When you know a sacred cow event or program needs to be retired, reject the enemy’s whispers and lead.

God placed you in this position on purpose. The authority you carry wasn’t given by accident. Identify the heart-level reasons for your hesitancy. Then, through the transformative power of the gospel of Jesus Christ, tell the enemy to take a hike. And finally, lead the way God modeled for you in Christ.

No more excuses.