by Rev. Dr. Ben Haupt

Recently I was talking to a former seminary student of mine who is now a pastor. After we talked about the latest with his family, I asked him how ministry was going. He began trying to tell me about all the things going on at his congregation, but he didn’t know where to even start. And so after fumbling for a bit and stopping a few times mid-sentence, he stopped himself and just said, “Well, it’s complicated.”

Can you relate?

As I talk to friends and former students around the church, as I observe big changes in storied institutions that we have counted on for decades, and as I watch political developments in the U.S. and around the world, I think the phrase “it’s complicated” says it pretty well.

So what do we do when faced with challenges on every front?

“It’s complicated” sums up Asa’s situation in 2 Chronicles 14, too. Asa’s father, Abijah, was the former king of Judah and had faced all sorts of leadership challenges. During his short three-year reign, another leadership faction (the other 11 tribes of Israel) rose up against him, challenged his authority as the called leader, and waged not just a financial or psychological but an all out fight to the literal death war. Asa assumed leadership shortly after the war, but Judah was still a mess. It’s complicated. And yet, here’s what Asa did:

Asa did what was good and right in the eyes of the Lord his God. He removed the foreign altars and the high places, smashed the sacred stones and cut down the Asherah poles. He commanded Judah to seek the Lord, the God of their ancestors, and to obey his laws and commands. He removed the high places and incense altars in every town in Judah, and the kingdom was at peace under him. He built up the fortified cities of Judah, since the land was at peace. No one was at war with him during those years, for the Lord gave him rest.

2 Chronicles 14:2-6

It was complicated, but the Lord brought peace through Asa’s leadership. Here’s the thing, though. Asa isn’t in the Bible primarily for us to learn simple leadership tricks and tips. The point of this blog post isn’t just to follow Asa’s example. Asa and his leadership point ahead to King Jesus. Christ the Lord is the leader of His church.

If your leadership situation is complicated, don’t start by trying to find tips and tricks to make things better by your own hard work. That sort of human effort will turn out to be not much more than erecting idols, foreign altars and high places in your own name.

Start by remembering again that the church or ministry you are serving belongs to Jesus, purchased with His own precious blood, and that He has promised to continue His work by the Spirit through the Word.

When things get complicated, turn to Christ and to His people who seek the Lord regularly and obey His laws and commands.

That’s what I’m aiming to remember and do in this new season of my leadership of PLI. I’ve been blessed by folks out in the church who have reminded me constantly that PLI belongs to Jesus and His mission to the world. I’ve also heard from loads of friends and soon to be friends who regularly seek the Lord and obey His laws and commands. If you have a word you’d like to share with me as I seek the Lord’s will for the future of PLI, please reach out by email or on Facebook or X (Twitter). Even though there are loads of situations that draw my “It’s complicated” these days, I’m excited to follow Christ our Leader with you!

In Jesus, Ben