Yesterday, millions of people celebrated Easter Sunday. Christians gathered and rejoiced that Jesus conquered death, rose victoriously, and appeared to the disciples. Easter is not just a holiday, but it is a Holy Day. It is a day we celebrate once a year, but it is a day believers should celebrate every day. But how should Easter affect your leadership? How should it shape the way you lead in ministry?
While the resurrection accounts all appear in the four gospels, one of my favorite defenses of the resurrection appears in 1 Corinthians 15. Paul’s encouragement to the Gentile Corinthians whose philosophy dismissed an afterlife gives all of us reason to celebrate Easter. Here are three ways this passage should affect your ministry leadership and your personal journey with the Lord.
First, the resurrection impacts your ministry leadership because it is the single most essential event in history. 1 Corinthians 15:17 says, “And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins.” In other words, if Christ was not truly raised from the dead, everything we lead is worthless. It is a lie, and we are leading people down a wrong path. Our confidence in the resurrection hinges not only on how we lead, but why we lead.
Second, the resurrection impacts your ministry leadership because Christ’s resurrection guarantees our own resurrection. Consider this: Christ wasn’t simply raised from the dead. He was raised to never die again. Lazarus was resurrected, yet he died a physical death again. Christ offers you and I the same hope—because of His resurrection, we can lead others to have this same hope of a resurrected eternity in the presence of Christ. 1 Corinthians 15:22 says, “For just as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive.” As ministry leaders, you are a “hope dealer.” You know the hope of the resurrection, and you have the privilege and responsibility of sharing that hope with others.
Third, the resurrection impacts your ministry leadership because your labor is not in vain. As a ministry leader, you may or may not get paid a salary for your ministry responsibility. Yet, it is the most important work given to every believer. You may be a doctor, teacher, or computer analyst, but because you believe in the resurrection, your work is different. Your leadership is different. The way you live is different. You aren’t just a doctor. You are a Christian doctor. You aren’t just a mother. You are a Christian mother. And because of Christ, that makes your work different. It makes your leadership different. It makes your life impact different. That’s why Paul ends the chapter with this encouragement in verse 58, “Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the Lord’s work, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.”
Is the resurrection important? You bet it is. It’s not only a portion of our faith; it is our faith. Lead today with that confidence.
Kelly King is the Women’s Ministry Specialist for Lifeway Christian Resources and oversees the YOU Lead events. Join her this year and get to know her heart for ministry leaders. Follow her on Twitter @kellydking.