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A leader has hope amid fear.

Updated: Aug 23, 2023


A leader has hope amid fear.


What happens when people make decisions based on fear and worst-case-scenario thinking? "Culture of fear" is a term that refers to a perceived presence of fear and anxiety in public discourse and relationships. This is the present reality in the majority of the world today. The upheaval from COVID-19 has impacted nearly every leaders’ life. Amid unprecedented circumstances like the ones we’re facing, much can hinder our peace. Let’s take politics, for example. It isn’t easy to find truth in political banter and posturing. Where truth is hidden, the absence of peace comes to light. And that absence of peace is fear.


We are hardly the first generation to struggle with this culture of fear. The disciples who walked with Christ were dominated by it. In John 20:19-23, we see a moment of great fear from the disciples (v. 19). “For fear of the Jews”—this little phrase reveals the hearts of the disciples and the challenge of having faith. The disciples had lost their peace; their Messiah had been killed (John 18-20). It’s easy to understand why they did not stand in the hope of the resurrection. And yet, they also had walked closely with Christ for several years and had already been taught that this would happen—they knew that HE WOULD DEFEAT DEATH! (cf. Matt. 16:21-28; Luke 17:20-37). Unfortunately, the fear of what the Jews would do to them was greater than the hope of the resurrection.

Likewise, the culture of fear can have a similar stronghold on a leader's life. Fear can blind them to hope. As the story continues in John 20, mysteriously, Jesus enters the room where the disciples were hiding (v. 19b). A powerful, supernatural appearance. Jesus did not appear in spirit but in body (v. 20). “Peace be with you!” Jesus repeats these words (v. 21). You need not fear; I AM HERE. Christ is the hope in moments of tension and fear. Peace is with us. The peace in Christ and the presence of the Spirit enables us, leaders, to follow and fulfill the Father's will. It is the same peace that Christ brought to the disciples, as he showed them that they couldn’t complete the mission on their own but certainly could if they remained fully dependent on God.


Eduardo Mendes

Founder and President





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