The world I was born into was a world of probabilities.  You could predict with some certainty the direction the world was heading.  Today you can’t because of probabilities our world is filled with wildcards.

What’s a wildcard? Here’s a quick list:

Terrorism
Global warming
Extreme global climate change
Nuclear war
U.S. decline as a world power
Rising of China and Iran
Pakistan
Volatile world stock market
Oil prices
2008

Two wildcards have been played in my life time – The shift from Modernity to whatever we want to call the emerging world and the world-wide economic crises of 2008 and following.

Navigating such a world isn’t easy. That’s why I wrote the book Doing Ministry in Hard Times. 

Hard times brings either great opportunities or great hardships to churches and their leaders . Only one thing determines the difference –how church leaders react to the hard times. Now is not the time to hunker down; now is the time to be proactive.

In my book I explore what should always be cut in hard times and what should always be increased.  Being strategic is the key.