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Turning Adversity to Opportunity






A major portion of leadership is the sense of calling. Most world changing leaders from the have an overwhelming compelling spiritual or moral motivation to be a catalyst for change. These leaders face every situation and what can been viewed as obstacles as opportunities. How is this possible? First each of these leaders had otherworldly motivations. Jesus, God’s Son sent to redeem people and a lost world. Reverend Billy Graham, Mother Teresa, Mahatmas Gandhi and Dr. Martin Luther King all used their spiritual inclinations to change this world.

The same was true for me as accepted the call to lead Frontline Outreach an urban community ministry in Orlando in 1998. The founder of the ministry had just retired after 30 years of service. It struggled in the transition losing funding from major organizations in Central Florida. There was a loss of focus on what the ministry was supposed to accomplish and the good reputation that had been built over 30 years seemed to be fading.

Frontline’s Board of Directors and interim President prayed to determine whether they should close shop or press forward. They were compelled to mount and national search which introduced me to them. At 33 years old they offered me the reigns of a ministry organization with a discouraged team, no clear vision for service, and a floundering reputation. We did not know if we could survive the next week and especially not the next year.

Last December I celebrated ten years as President of Frontline. We ended the year with surplus cash, the building has had over 1.5 million dollars of renovations, we have one of the best urban ministry teams in Florida, the mission is preparing tomorrow’s leaders with a vision of success and service starting at preschool, and the Frontline name is respected throughout the State and nationally. What happened? Was I really that smart? No! How did the turnaround occur?

Here are the three keys to Frontline’s metamorphosis and to your situation. Granted there is much history and details that are being omitted for the sake of brevity. These keys capture the essence of the work accomplished.

1. Change Starts from Within: Bleach and water are cheap
2. Build and cherish relationships: Team, service, extravagant thanks,
3. Follow the Call: Do what you are meant to do

In the subsequent weeks I will cover each topic and how change was faciliated in the context of Frontline Outreach.
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