March 27, 2020 • De Pree Journal
Across the world, leaders are facing unprecedented challenges. Whether you exercise your leadership in a small business or a large corporation, in a family or a church, in a school or a non-profit organization, the COVID-19 crisis has disrupted your leadership, not to mention your life.
You may wonder: Does God make a difference in this crisis? Does God make a difference for me as I try to exercise wise leadership?
I believe the answer to these questions is “Yes. Absolutely.” God makes all the difference in the world . . . though in ways that might surprise us.
I recently finished a series of twelve devotions on the difference God makes for leaders in a time of crisis. This series is part of Life for Leaders, the daily, email devotional published by the De Pree Center. In order to make it easy for you to read this series of daily devotions, I have gathered them all together in an article called: Leading in a Crisis: The Difference God Makes.
If you find the material in this article helpful, you might want to share it with others. Perhaps you could even schedule a digital conference to talk and pray through what resonates with you. It might be something for your small group to study together. Remember, though we can’t be physically together in this time, we sure do need to connect virtually.
The De Pree Center will continue to produce resources to serve leaders in this unique time of history. Let me encourage you to check out:
“Piecing It Together” by Michaela O’Donnell Long, De Pree Center Senior Director
“Leading in Uncharted Territory” by Tod Bolsinger, Vice President of Fuller Seminary and author of Canoeing the Mountains
“Reflections from the Epicenter” by Uli Chi, Seattle resident and Senior Fellow of the De Pree Center
God is with you in this time, and in all times. I pray that you will sense God’s presence and peace, and that God will guide you in your life and leadership.
Click here to read the twelve-part blog series,
Leading in a Crisis: The Difference God Makes.

Dr. Mark D. Roberts is a Senior Strategist for Fuller’s Max De Pree Center for Leadership, where he focuses on the spiritual development and thriving of leaders. He is the principal writer of the daily devotional, Life for Leaders, and the founder of the De Pree Center’s Flourishing in the Third Third of Life Initiative. Previously, Mark was the Executive Director of the De Pree Center, the lead pastor of a church in Southern California, and the Senior Director of Laity Lodge in Texas. He has written eight books, dozens of articles, and over 2,500 devotions that help people discover the difference God makes in their daily life and leadership. With a Ph.D. in New Testament from Harvard, Mark teaches at Fuller Seminary, most recently in his D.Min. cohort on “Faith, Work, Economics, and Vocation.” Mark is married to Linda, a marriage and family counselor, spiritual director, and executive coach. Their two grown children are educators on the high school and college level.