<\/p>\n
The ground is shaking beneath us. Policies shift overnight. Communities fracture. Neighbors disappear. Congregations scatter. Leaders everywhere feel the pressure to respond: to rally the troops, cast the vision, and charge the next hill.<\/p>\n
Yet I\u2019m sensing that many of us don\u2019t know which hill to take anymore. Some of us don\u2019t even have the energy left to climb. The instinct to charge is strong, but the path forward feels uncertain. And maybe, just maybe, this moment doesn\u2019t need another hill taken. Maybe it needs something else.<\/p>\n
For much of my life, I\u2019ve watched Christian leaders storm hills. Cast vision. Inspire crowds. Build brands. Launch movements.<\/p>\n
That model has mattered. It\u2019s mobilized people, shaped institutions, and sparked transformation. But many of us are staring at the next hill and wondering if we\u2019ve got anything left\u2026or if it\u2019s even the right hill anymore.<\/p>\n
I imagine you\u2019ve felt it: political, cultural, racial, and theological divides pulling us apart. The terrain of church, family, friendship, and neighboring feels foreign. The old playbook isn\u2019t working. People are tired. And so are you.<\/p>\n
Maybe this isn\u2019t the season for hill-taking leadership. Maybe it\u2019s time for something quieter, harder, and more faithful. Maybe it\u2019s time to lead from within.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s an approach that prioritizes:<\/p>\n
Presence over momentum.<\/strong>\u00a0We\u2019ve been trained to keep things moving, but when the ground is shifting, what people need most is presence. To listen, to remain, to resist the urge to fix.<\/span><\/p>\n Posture over platform.<\/strong>\u00a0Leadership isn\u2019t about projecting charisma; it\u2019s about discerning vision together. Slowing down. Praying deeply. Staying tethered to Spirit and reality.<\/span><\/p>\n Perseverance over performance.<\/strong>\u00a0The world doesn\u2019t need you to be a celebrity. It needs shepherds who grieve what\u2019s been lost while rooting themselves in resilient hope.<\/span><\/p>\n Remember. Faithful, paced presence is not a lesser calling. It\u2019s the Way of Jesus. He could have taken every hill. Instead, He took on flesh, moved into the neighborhood, and took up a cross.<\/p>\n Maybe your role right now isn\u2019t to take the hill. Maybe it\u2019s to stay with the people. To stay close to Jesus. To lead at the slow pace of relationship.<\/p>\n So take heart, dear friend. Breathe deep. Lean in. If the notion of \u201cLeadership From Within\u201d resonates, Global Immersion\u2019s\u00a02026 Leadership Cohort\u00a0is for you or, perhaps, for the leaders in your life. It\u2019s a six-month immersive journey of formation for unpretentious, imperfect, and in-process leaders who want to become rooted, resilient, and conflict-competent guides, fueled by our faith, into a fractured world. The application portal is now open and closes on October 31, 2025. Come with us!<\/em><\/p>\n Editor\u2019s Note: This article was originally published on\u00a0Hopeful Alternative<\/em>, a free Substack by Dr. Jer Swigart, co-founder and executive director of Global Immersion. Featuring \u201cprovocations for disarming conflict and remaking our world\u201d,\u00a0Hopeful Alternative\u00a0<\/em>invites readers into the everyday work of peacemaking. (Learn more)<\/p>\n RLC welcomes and encourages individuals who engage in critical thinking at the intersection of faith and justice to contribute to our blog. The views and opinions expressed by our blog authors are their own and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of RLC, its staff, members, or officers.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The ground is shaking beneath us. Policies shift overnight. Communities fracture. Neighbors disappear. Congregations scatter. Leaders everywhere feel the pressure to respond: to rally the troops, cast the vision, and charge the next hill. Yet I\u2019m sensing that many of us don\u2019t know which hill to take anymore. Some of us don\u2019t even have the<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9419,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[89,112,1231,1230,455],"class_list":{"0":"post-9418","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-christian-living","8":"tag-age","9":"tag-among","10":"tag-dividing","11":"tag-front","12":"tag-leadership"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9418","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9418"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9418\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/9419"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9418"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9418"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9418"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
The world doesn\u2019t need more driven leaders. It needs more rooted ones.<\/p>\n