More Than Doing
The Leadership Practice of Not Fixing
There is a kind of leadership that moves quickly, solves efficiently, and fixes problems before anyone else even notices. And then there is the kind of leadership God keeps inviting me to learn—the leadership that doesn’t rush to action, doesn’t reach for control, and doesn’t center itself in the moment.
It is leadership shaped by presence rather than performance. And in a world that rewards speed and certainty, presence can feel almost countercultural. But it remains one of the deepest, boldest forms of Spirit-led leadership we have.
Recently, I experienced this in a way that surprised me—and honestly, humbled me.
A Moment of Presence
I remember a ministry moment when I was sitting in my office with the door open, when I overheard one of our ministry staff gently navigating a difficult pastoral moment with a congregant who was clearly having a hard day. From my chair, I could hear the tension rising on both sides. Yet what unfolded was remarkable.
The staff member came right to the edge of losing patience, but she didn’t. She paused… breathed… and chose to let the presence of Christ become larger than her own reactions.
She spoke with honesty and compassion. She named what needed to be named. She stayed rooted in grace even when the other person wasn’t ready to receive it. Slowly—almost imperceptibly—the conversation softened. Openness returned. Clarity emerged.
Remarkably, I didn’t step in. I didn’t rescue the moment. I didn’t fix anything. I simply stayed present and listened from the next room.
And in that stillness, I learned something.
I heard echoes of things I’ve taught, yet also witnessed a depth of pastoral presence that taught me something new. I listened as patience became tough love. I watched grace outlast anxiety. I watched someone choose the Spirit’s way instead of the easy way.
It is surprisingly hard, as a leader, to watch a moment unfold and not insert yourself. But I’m grateful I didn’t. My faith grew that day because I saw how powerful it is when Christ’s presence becomes the focus—not my performance or preferred outcomes.
The Leadership Instinct to Fix
Watching that moment unfold, I felt the familiar itch rising in me:
to step in,
to smooth things over,
to lighten the tension,
to help the moment “go better.”
A few years ago, when Gil Rendle and I were working together on a project, he stopped mid-conversation, leaned back, and said gently:
“Rob, we must resist the urge to fix it.”
At the time, it felt like a leadership riddle. Now, I am learning what he meant.
Fixing is often the easier move—not because it requires less effort, but because it lets us avoid the deeper work of presence. The practice of leaning into the presence of the Living Christ.
Presence requires:
restraint,
humility,
trust in someone else’s gifts,
and the belief that God is also working in the room.
Fixing centers my agency. Presence centers God’s activity.
And that distinction is everything.
Presence Is Not Passivity
Many leaders (especially pastors!) confuse presence with passivity. But presence is not withdrawal or avoidance.
Presence is:
the refusal to dominate a moment,
the willingness to trust another’s giftedness,
the surrender of the need to be the one who saves the day,
the patient belief that something holy is unfolding—even if I am not the one directing it.
Presence isn’t disengagement; it’s disciplined attentiveness.
Presence is the active practice of not inserting ourselves where the Spirit is already at work.
A Theological Frame for Presence
Wesley, Ignatius, and Open & Relational Theology all speak directly to this posture.
Wesley describes “holy tempers” forming—patience, gentleness, humility, charity. Presence is sanctification-in-motion.
Ignatius names this interior shift as consolation: deeper trust, interior spaciousness, quieter ego, clarity without force, peace without passivity. Presence is discernment-in-motion.
Open & Relational Theology reminds us that God does not coerce outcomes but works through relationship and gentle influence. Presence is cooperation-in-motion.
Together they reveal one truth:
Spirit-led leadership is not what we make happen. It’s how we make room.
When Leaders Stop Performing
When leaders practice this kind of presence, something remarkable happens. We stop performing spirituality and start participating in it. We stop centering ourselves and start noticing others. We stop assuming God needs our intervention and start trusting that God is already active.
This shift doesn’t weaken leadership. It deepens it. It creates safer teams, clearer conversations, less urgency, more trust, spacious discernment, and awareness of the Spirit’s movement.
Actively NOT trying to “fix” something (or someone!) may be one of the single most overlooked marks of a Spirit-shaped team.
Leadership Practice: The Noticing Round
Here is a practice to help leadership teams develop a more attentive leadership posture that values presence.
The Noticing Round
In any meeting (and regularly), invite each leader to answer this question:
“Where have you noticed the Spirit’s presence—not in what you did, but in what you saw, received, or learned through someone else?”
Keep responses to the simple observation. No analysis. No debate. No correcting. Just noticing.
This embeds the value of presence in the team so that they attend to the Spirit, honor others’ gifts, de-center themselves, cultivate humility, and trust that God works through the whole Body.
This isn’t an agenda item. This is leadership formation. This is culture building.
The Leadership Practice of Not Fixing
Every day, leaders face the temptation to act hastily, fix things quickly, and make an impression. But the deeper call of the Spirit is often quieter:
“Stay present. Don’t rush. Pay attention. Let Me work.”
This is when the Spirit forms us most personally—and often, when the Spirit forms our teams most powerfully. And this is when leadership becomes more than doing; it becomes participation in God’s gentle movement in real time.
Breath Prayer
Inhale: I release the need to fix…
Exhale: I make room for Your presence.
Sources
John Wesley, A Plain Account of Christian Perfection (on “holy tempers” and the inward formation of patience, humility, gentleness, and love)
John Wesley, Sermon 17: The Circumcision of the Heart (on the inner tempers of humility, faith, hope, and love)
John Wesley, Sermon 12: The Witness of Our Own Spirit (on walking in “all the holy tempers” as evidence of sanctification)
Ignatius of Loyola, Spiritual Exercises (on consolation, interior movements, and discernment)
Thomas Jay Oord, The Uncontrolling Love of God (on God’s non-coercive, relational action in the world)
Gil Rendle, personal mentoring and the leadership principle: “We must resist the urge to fix it.”
"grace outlasted anxiety". Love that. It's perfect.