Greatness & Crises

Former New York Governor Mario Cuomo recently said on FoxNews, "To be great, you have to deal with crisis."

What a simple and yet profound quote.

If the new President of the United States, Barack Obama, is going to be great, as many hope, he will have to deal with - and successfully overcome - crisis. In fact, he will have to successfully overcome several crises. He is facing a financial crisis, a banking crisis, a credit crisis, a national debt crisis, a stock market crisis, an auto manufacturing crisis, an environmental crisis, a terrorism crisis, and a Middle East crisis. If Barack Obama is going to go down in the US history books as a great president, then he will have to face down - and smack down - several of these crises that face him. It was the same for US Presidents Abraham Lincoln, with the Civil War, and Franklin Roosevelt, with the Great Depression and World War II. Presidents Lincoln and Roosevelt both dealt with enormous crises in their respective administrations, and as a result they are among the most admired presidents in US history.

What crises are you facing in your international ministry? Are the crises you face spiritual, or emotional, or psychological, or ministerial, or doctrinal, or financial, or legal, or governmental, or denominational ... or all of the above? What plans have you made to deal with them? How can you and your ministry achieve greatness by overcoming your crises?