Leadership in a Traumatized Culture

"Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for though art with me…."

Psalm 23:4

Over the last couple of years, I have reflected more deeply on the nature of trauma. My son was diagnosed with cancer, and eight months later, his ten-year-old son was diagnosed with bone cancer that led to the loss of his leg. This acute trauma in our family's life helped me understand the more generalized anxiety in our global community as Covid 19 took the lives of so many precious souls and families grieved.

Because the pandemic claimed so many lives, almost everyone has been personally touched by trauma. During Covid, another trauma, that of being black in America, added to the collective anxiety in our nation. The normalization of lies and misinformation, economic strains caused by the pandemic, a global recession, and supply chain woes all weigh heavily on humanity at this time in our lives.

Grief and anxiety are realities in the people we lead. In this time of stacked traumas, the Rev. Dr. Kimberly Wagner, Assistant Professor of Preaching at Princeton Theological Seminary, observed that the Judeo-Christian tradition's story holds lament and brokenness together with the promise that God is still with us. "God is still present even if God doesn't feel present," Wagner said in a webinar on preaching. "The trauma has occurred, and resurrection is on the way, but it's not fully present." Leaders of the church's ministry need to "honor that narrative fracture by resisting moving to quick answers, theological bandages or easy resolutions," Wagner said. "It's OK to conclude some sermons with "frayed edges or unanswered questions."

Ronald Heifetz, professor at Harvard University's School of Management, writes in his book Leadership Without Easy Answers, "Instead of looking for saviors, we should be calling for leadership that will challenge us to face problems for which there are no simple, painless solutions – problems that require us to learn new ways."

We don't need Christian Leaders who have all the answers right now. We need those who can hold hope that "resurrection is on the way." There are no easy answers, and we are adapting to a new normal that poses new questions that have not yet yielded answers.

Jesus's disciples lived with grief, ambiguity, and questions following his crucifixion. We are called on to do the same in times when answers are elusive.

Skilled Christian leaders will identify with the trauma, grief, and pain of the people we lead while holding "hope of resurrection" in trust for the community that is having a hard time finding God in the dark valleys of grief, ambiguity, and questions.