Easter is one of the great gifts and challenges of pastoring. No other day on the church calendar matches it in terms of excitement — or pressure.

Leading up to the best-attended Sunday of the year, there are busy schedules, extra meetings, endless rehearsals, mounting expectations, and the perfect sermon to prepare.

Afterward, when scrolling through social media posts of other churches that did something bigger and better, it can be hard to hold onto resurrection wonder.

In fact, some pastors report feeling exhausted, disappointed, and even depressed in the days and weeks following Easter. The experience is common enough to have a name: post-Easter blues.

There seems to be a disconnect between what we preach on Resurrection Sunday and how we live and lead after the service ends.

Jesus is alive. How could we feel disheartened?

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Our congregation struggled to find musicians during its first few years as a new church plant. Most weeks, we had a classical piano player and a college student who sang. Neither would have described themselves as worship leaders.

These volunteers served the church because there was a need. Rather than fully appreciating this gift, I worried about whether each song was holding together and how to recruit more volunteers.

Of course, it was on Easter Sunday that things finally fell apart.

I’m still not sure what went wrong. Maybe the two volunteers started in the wrong key or mixed up the chord progression, but the opening song of our Easter service did not go as planned.

After a long and awkward attempt at recovery, they finally stopped and restarted the entire song. Attendees were gracious but laughed nervously.

Every minister has experienced such moments. But as a young pastor, I was disappointed. If everything rises and falls on leadership, I assumed this error made me a failure.

As people began to sing again, I sensed God speaking to me: “You’re about to tell these people that I am resurrected from the dead, and yet you’re worried about a song?”

Along with deep conviction, I felt renewed pastoral love and gratitude for the two women leading worship. These volunteers had served better than I did. I asked God to forgive me for treating them like props in my production.

What a silly thing to worry about in light of the good news of Easter. I eventually realized the deeper lesson: How I lead reveals what I really believe.

I believed in the Resurrection, but I had not yet allowed it to shape my leadership.

I believed in the Resurrection, but I had not yet allowed it to shape my leadership.

The German pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote, “To live in the light of the resurrection — that is what Easter means. If a few people really believed that and acted on it in their daily lives, a great deal would be changed.”

News of Jesus’ resurrection should change how we live and lead. The Monday after Easter is supposed to be better for it. Resurrection should energize our work and renew our sense of purpose.

Our calling is to proclaim Christ’s resurrection every day, inside and outside the church walls. But what does it really mean to lead in light of the Resurrection?

Leadership is notoriously hard to define. Considering how much we talk about it, it’s strange that we struggle to articulate what leadership is. It seems the word has become a junk drawer of vague lessons, principles and aphorisms.

Nevertheless, I’m partial to John Maxwell’s explanation that “a leader is someone who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way.”

In other words, leadership is living what I really believe. The question is not whether I am a leader or even how good my leadership might be. The question is how my leadership reflects or exposes what I really believe.

A great danger for Christian leaders is preaching Christ’s way while leading the world’s way.

Resurrection is not just a theological truth, but a new way of living and leading. After all, Jesus rising from the grave was a vindication of His way over the world’s.

First-Century Leaders

The Gospel accounts of Jesus’ death and resurrection include a number of people in leadership positions, each with his own way of leading. The Passover festival that brought Jesus to Jerusalem also attracted other leaders.

As high priest, Caiaphas was central to the week’s events. Rising to the position after a quick succession of priests, many of whom served less than a year, Caiaphas held the office for 18 years. He did so by carefully balancing interests, including those of Rome.

Caiaphas oversaw sacrifices, observances, and the flow of worshippers in and out of the temple. He managed those responsibilities under the careful watch of another leader, Pontius Pilate.

Pilate was not normally in Jerusalem. He preferred the former palace of Herod the Great, along the Mediterranean in the hellenized city of Caesarea Maritima.

Yet with thousands of worshippers flooding into Jerusalem, Pilate traveled there to ensure social order and remind the Jews of his Roman rule. He was aggressive in his use of power, relying on military force to keep the peace. It was Pilate’s proclivity toward violence that would later cost him his position.

Another leader arriving in Jerusalem was Herod Antipas. He had no direct authority over the city but ruled the area of Galilee, where Jesus had focused His earlier ministry. Herod came to Jerusalem for Passover and to work every angle for maintaining his influence and position.

After the death of his father, Herod the Great, the kingdom had been divided into three tetrarchies. Herod Antipas received only a piece of what his father had ruled, and increasingly, Rome seemed poised to cut into those margins.

Confused by the convoluted charges the Jews made against Jesus, Pilate sought Herod’s opinion in his deliberations over Jesus’ fate. The Jewish historian Josephus suggested this cooperation between the two rulers strengthened their working relationship. Perhaps Pilate saw in Herod’s leadership a kindred spirit.

Each of these men arrived at Passover with his own leadership challenges and style. Caiaphas maintained his position through religious pomp and political diplomacy. Pilate carried Rome’s standard and wielded its legions. Herod sought to reclaim lost influence and use relationships for social and political ends.

These ways of leadership were not foreign to Jesus. In fact, Jesus encountered them during His time in the wilderness. Satan tempted Jesus to satisfy physical cravings by abusing His authority; attract attention by throwing himself from the temple; and gain worldly power through acquiescence to evil.

Such temptations are as old as humanity’s fallen nature. Many people today lead by flexing power, seeking attention, and compromising integrity.

Death of Ambition

An emerging leader was also present in Jerusalem: Peter.

Peter seemed to have a unique leadership role among the apostles, if for no other reason than his willingness to speak and act first.

As the disciples approached Jerusalem, they were all thinking about their places in the coming Kingdom. Who among them would be the greatest (Mark 9:34)? Who would sit at Jesus’ right hand (10:37)?

While leaders like Caiaphas and Herod carefully protected the power they already possessed, Jesus’ disciples ascended the road to Jerusalem daydreaming of future power.

The mother of two disciples sought greater honor for her sons, prompting the others to grumble indignantly (Matthew 20:20–24).

Jesus reminded them all, “Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave — just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (verses 26–28).

It seems this group had not yet absorbed the lessons Jesus had been teaching them. Previously, Jesus had rebuked the disciples for wanting to call down fire on those who opposed them (Luke 9:54–55).

And when Peter tried to stop Him from talking about suffering to come, Jesus issued one of His harshest rebukes in the Gospels: “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns” (Matthew 16:23).

For all their time with Jesus, the disciples still didn’t get it. They struggled to understand the way of Jesus.

The disciples could not see how Jesus was leading them. They had in mind merely human concerns — the ways of the world and its leaders. Upon seeing Jesus nailed to the cross, they would scatter in disappointment and disillusionment.

According to Matthew 26:69, a servant girl spotted Peter and said, “You also were with Jesus of Galilee.”

But Peter waved off the girl, saying, “I don’t know what you’re talking about” (verse 70).

Pressed further, Peter went so far as to deny any acquaintance with Jesus (verses 72,74).

Whatever vision Peter had of coming to power with Jesus in Jerusalem, that dream was gone. Peter’s ambitions, vision of leadership, and expectations for himself died with Christ.

The way of resurrection leadership begins with the death of worldly ambition.

Resurrection Report

The church I attended growing up staged an annual Easter production that always impressed me as a child. It included a live donkey and soldiers with realistic swords.

But the most dramatic moment happened when the stage went dark, the music began to build, and a pinhole of light appeared at the top of the tomb. The widening beam then moved in a circular path as if cutting through the stone. Smoke poured from the opening as shafts of light shone across the sanctuary.

Finally, the silhouette of Jesus appeared in the bright opening as the music reached its crescendo. At this point, the crowd always applauded.

It still amazes me that the Gospel accounts of Jesus’ resurrection are so muted by comparison. There are dramatic elements, including radiant angels and an earthquake (Matthew 28:2–3). But when the resurrected Lord first appears in John’s Gospel, Mary mistakes Him for a common gardener (John 20:14–15).

The Gospel writers never attempt to describe the moment Jesus bursts forth in strength and victory. Instead, the resurrection mystery comes into focus as women discover an empty tomb, travelers walk the road to Emmaus, and Jesus cooks breakfast on the beach.

The Gospel accounts of Jesus’ death and resurrection include a number of people in leadership positions, each with his own way of leading.

It is the most revolutionary event in human history, the moment that defines all of time and eternity. Death suffers a crushing defeat. Yet the good news comes in such modest detail.

That is the way of Jesus. The Gospels depict Him as a baby, swaddled and lying in a manger (Luke 2:7); the Son of Man with no place to sleep (Matthew 8:20); and a servant washing His disciple’s feet (John 13:4–5).

Jesus faced death with the same humble posture. When Peter severed a man’s ear in a dramatic attempt at rescue, Jesus compassionately healed the wound (Luke 22:49–51). On the cross, Jesus prayed, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34).

Perhaps it should not be surprising that after His resurrection, we find Jesus roasting fish over a fire and restoring Peter (John 21:9–22).

The Resurrection vindicates not only Jesus’ identity as the Son of God, but also how He lived and led.

Christ’s leadership example triumphs over the ways of Caiaphas, Pilate and Herod, and the restless strivings of His own disciples.

What does it mean to lead in light of the Resurrection? It means Jesus must be our model for leadership. It is Christ’s ways, not the ways of the world, that lead to life.

New Vision

It’s tempting to think of leadership as a science. Just as we can calculate planetary movements and sequence genomes, it would seem that with enough study, we could master the laws of leadership.

Learning leadership principles instills confidence. A leader casts a vision and then goes to work, leveraging people and resources to realize that vision. We have endless books and resources for learning the disciplines and refining strategic planning.

What’s missing is surprise — resurrection surprise.

None of the disciples seemed to have planned for Jesus’ resurrection. In Luke’s Gospel, Christ’s first post-resurrection conversation was with two followers who were disheartened as they walked away from Jerusalem.

When Jesus joined them, the men didn’t recognize Him. In fact, they were shocked that He seemed unaware of their disappointing news.

They asked Jesus, “Are you the only one visiting Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?”(Luke 24:18).

The irony is remarkable.

It wasn’t until they stopped for a meal and Jesus broke the bread that their eyes were opened, and they finally recognized Him. They immediately got up and rushed back to Jerusalem, saying, “It is true! The Lord has risen” (verse 34).

One of the great gifts of pastoring is surprise — the unexpected intervention, the unplanned move of the Spirit, or the miracle of a repentant heart.

People expect leaders to know all and have a plan for everything. Vulnerability exists in the unknown.

Pilate feared the whisper of revolt. Caiaphas was anxious about a breakdown of the system. Herod feared a loss of influence.

Even Peter was afraid — of rejection, suffering and humiliation. But those were the very things Jesus embraced, and the path that paradoxically brought new life.

I am suspicious of leaders who think they have everything figured out, offering a principle for every problem. Of course, I also struggle with my own desire for quick fixes.

Jesus described as “blessed” the poor in spirit, the mournful, the meek, those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, the merciful, the pure in heart, peacemakers, and those who are persecuted and maligned for their faith (Matthew 5:3–11). They are the ones who recognize and receive Christ’s kingdom.

The vision God calls us to articulate is not primarily about budgets, volunteers or buildings. Rather, we are to point people to the God who brings life from death. Our task is giving them a vision of the extraordinary surprise of Resurrection.

Resurrection surprise humbles our plans and forces us to turn instead to what God is doing.

Leading in light of the Resurrection means helping people see that things are not as they appear, so that they too can say, “It is true! The Lord has risen.”

New Influence

At the heart of His resurrection message was Jesus’ promise of the Holy Spirit to come. Jesus would ascend, but He would send the Spirit to His people.

The Spirit came as the 120 were together in prayer on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 1:14–15; 2:1–2). Filled with the Spirit, they all began speaking in other tongues (2:4).

Some bystanders responded with mockery, accusing the disciples of intoxication (verse 13).

Fittingly, it was Peter who stood to address the growing crowd, explaining that they were not drunk (verses 14–15). Instead, this was the fulfillment of Joel’s prophesy and evidence of Christ’s resurrection (verses 16–39).

Peter proclaimed, “God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of it. Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear” (verses 32–33).

The apostle Paul later wrote, “If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you” (Romans 8:11).

That some in the crowd at Pentecost failed to recognize and celebrate the Church’s birth and Spirit’s outpouring should not have been surprising. After all, Jesus had told His disciples not everyone would welcome them or their message.

In John 15:18–19, Jesus said, “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own.”

To follow Jesus is to be, at a minimum, misunderstood by the world. Not everyone will embrace the message of Jesus crucified and resurrected. Some will criticize, mock, reject and oppose it.

The Resurrection offers a warning and a promise. The warning is that we must guard against the world’s ways of seeking power and approval.

The pastor’s calling is not to build brands or institutions, curate personal platforms, or negotiate social standing. Instead, we are to seek God’s Spirit, which is the promise of the Resurrection.

Even amid the mocking on the Day of Pentecost, God was working in hearts. When Peter preached in the power of the Spirit, “three thousand were added to their number” (Acts 2:41).

We can pursue influence through worldly means or through the Spirit’s empowerment. Leading in light of the Resurrection means resisting the temptation of the former to experience all the joy of the latter.

New Purpose

Peter was lost in Jesus’ death but changed by His resurrection. According to church tradition, Peter was crucified upside down. He requested this from his executioners because Peter considered himself unworthy to be crucified like Jesus.

Rather than renouncing Jesus once again, Peter understood the things he had missed before. He had encountered the resurrected Lord — and that changed everything.

Peter dedicated his life to the gospel, and his writings radiate resurrection hope.

Consider Peter’s words to pastors:

I appeal as a fellow elder and a witness of Christ’s sufferings who also will share in the glory to be revealed: Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, watching over them — not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not pursuing dishonest gain, but eager to serve; not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock” (1 Peter 5:1–3).

This is not an easy time for ministry in America. Churchgoing is declining, trust in clergy is waning, and many pastors are burning out and giving up.

I sometimes wonder whether our interest in leadership arises from a discomfort with simply being pastors. Being a leader somehow feels more relevant than being a pastor. Peter reminds us that our core identity as pastors is in shepherding.

Christ’s resurrection is not just a message; it is a way of seeing the world and leading people into its new reality.

We might be tempted to think the work of pastoring — or shepherding — no longer matters. After all, it seems the real action is in politics, media, technology, entrepreneurship or finance.

Perhaps it has always been that way. During the first century, leaders like Pilate seemed to have enduring influence. But beyond those mentioned in the Bible, how many Roman governors can you name?

Yet people around the world still gather to hear about a Galilean from Nazareth who called himself the Good Shepherd (John 10). And every Easter, we celebrate the most important event in history: the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

The real action is seldom in those things that attract the world’s attention. Events that change eternity for someone happen every day, but they rarely make the news.

As pastors, we do this work not because it’s prestigious, but because God called us. It’s difficult, and not everyone will recognize its value. Yet we have the assurance that we will one day “share in the glory to be revealed” (1 Peter 5:1).

We pastor because we believe the Resurrection is true. And if it is true, the things of the world offer far less hope than God’s kingdom.

Leading in light of the Resurrection means remembering why ministry matters. Rather than obsessing over the changing narratives of our day, find your purpose in the story of God’s people and His coming creation.

Encounter the resurrected Christ afresh, and let Him give your life and pastoral work new meaning.

Know the Way

If leadership is knowing the way, going the way, and showing the way, we need to live the good news before we can preach it.

You cannot show the way until you know it personally or have gone there yourself. You can talk about the Resurrection. You can preach it on Easter morning, as I’m sure you do, but it won’t bear its greatest witness until you go the way of the Resurrection in your life and leadership.

Christ’s resurrection is not just a message; it is a way of seeing the world and leading people into its new reality.

The Resurrection requires us to hold our own visions loosely and train our eyes to see what God is doing in all the unexpected surprises of new life. It guides us to the Spirit and His gifts, freeing us from the temptation to seek the world’s favor or approval.

Leading in light of the Resurrection gives us a vocational identity grounded in the eternal. It provides purpose beyond what the world recognizes or pursues.

Every Easter, you can count on busy schedules and the same old pressures of productions, services, and guests. There will be meetings to lead, volunteers to organize, and budgets to work through.

But amid the busyness of the season, don’t miss what you preach.

Resurrection is our message, but it is also our way. The way of Christ has been vindicated over the ways of the world.

Jesus is alive! And He calls each of us to lead in light of that truth.

This article appears in the Spring 2025 issue of Influence magazine.