Finding Your Focus in a Global Pandemic

by Joel Lam, LeaderBreakThru in Asia and Base Leader YWAM Singapore

In these times of uncertainty when many changes are taking place at the same time, what does one focus on? Joel Lam of LeaderBreakThru in Asia held two sessions of Finding Your Focus in a Global Pandemic over Zoom on 22 and 25 May 2020, during which 35 participants learnt how God uses even difficult times to shape leaders so that we can stay on track to finish well. Joel, who is also Base Leader of YWAM Singapore, introduced the four stages of transition and how one can learn and respond to crises such as these.

Did you know that only 1 in 3 leaders finish well, where “finishing well” refers to “being more in love with Christ at the end than at the start”? Joel cited the findings of Dr J. Robert Clinton of the Fuller Seminary, who studied 5,000 Biblical, historical and contemporary leaders and derived this startling statistic. Defining leaders as people who influence, not just in leadership roles, Joel notes that everyone can be a leader, and God’s desire is for everyone to finish well – not simply to do good deeds or build up wealth, but to be more in love with Him at the end of our journey.

From the workshop, participants learnt that transitions happen to every believer and present opportunities for personal development. The key to finding our focus during transitions is recognising God's voice and listening to it. Hence, transitions should to be viewed positively, just as God promised in Jeremiah 29:11. We need to process and persevere through transitions, preferably with the help of our community.

Annie, a participant, found the session helpful. She said, "The transition cycle helped those going through transition put their experience into words." "Ever since the lockdown, I was struggling with the disruption and this session has been helpful," commented another participant, Vincent.

The Finding Your Focus in a Global Pandemic sessions really blessed the participants, especially those who are experiencing career and family transitions. Thank you, Joel, for running this workshop.

You can find out more about discovering your calling as a leader here: https://www.leaderbreakthru.com/calling/focused-living.php.