Month: February 2016

Ten percent of the leaders who attend the Global Leadership Summit are at a breaking point, considering quitting their ministry due to burnout or discouragement. “When they shared this stat at my first experience at the Summit last August, I thought…that’s me. I’m thinking about quitting,” said Delilah Mansour, leader of a Christian theater group called Rhema Project out of New York. Her second miscarriage in June of last year left her utterly heartbroken.

“I was so hurt by the event, so confused and full of doubt and questions about why God would let this happen to us again,” she shares. “I was convinced that I was going to have to resign from my leadership position. I just didn’t know how I was going to be a light to the people I lead knowing that my heart was in such a dark place. I had never known loss or death until it was the lives of my own unborn children. There is nothing like the hurt of empty arms with the loss of pregnancy or stillbirth.”

But God had something he wanted Delilah to hear at the Summit

It was during Brian Houston’s heart session  on the second day of the Summit last year, when they dived into dealing with grief in your leadership. Delilah was so moved. “Brian talked about a song written by two people at Hillsong who also had a miscarriage. We started to pray for those who had lost a child. When he said that he was praying for the pain of losing someone you planned to share your entire life with, I just felt God draining away all the pain and hurt that was in my heart. It felt so good to have someone speak all the words that were inside me, acknowledging my loss. He also talked about God’s love for us, and for the first time in such a long time, I believed it again. After they prayed, I went outside the building and began releasing all the pain—crying and worshiping God in private. I was so thankful for the cathartic moment that released me to be a leader again, to give me hope again, to wake me up to God’s love once again. I feel 100 percent capable again!”

“God empowered me to do what I do best, which is lead well, encourage, mentor, organize and empower others through art. I feel so incredibly grateful to Brian for sharing that very private pain and being vulnerable. I can’t tell you how much it means to me to be free again!”

Because of the Summit, Delilah did not quit her ministry, and continues to bless people through her influence

She continues to devote her creative passions to God, lead the Rhema Project team of 30, and mentor teens coming into the ministry. “I love the confidence and healing I see God work in people through the acting process,” said Delilah. “The acting process is such an intimate experience and can really help you to self-evaluate, experience inhibition as you embody a character or experience emotions or feelings you might be repressing. It also gives me the opportunity to connect in a loving and trusting way with my actors by showing them that I care about their well being on stage and off, by ministering to their needs and by helping build confidence in them. We want to train and encourage our actors. We don’t cast because someone is amazing, we cast because they are faithful and open to learning and being ministered to.”

“My dream has always been to go on the road—travel the U.S., and bring ground-breaking performances to the nation that don’t feel like ‘Christian’ plays,” she shares. “A play should be artful, entertaining and should also encourage and inspire the Church. But it should also be relatable to the unsaved and deliver the gospel message without clonking you over the head with clichés.”

Ultimately, Delilah wants to continue to be used by God in her leadership and remain close to Him. “I pray that God uses me,” said Delilah. “As imperfect and rough around the edges as I am, I pray He will humble me and use me to His glory. Every time I call on Holy Spirit, He is there. I also found out last week that I am pregnant! I’m just grateful and honored to hold a little life inside me again.”

Delilah’s words to leaders are that they would remember to rejoice with those who rejoice, and mourn with those who mourn. You may never know the kind of influence you have on someone who is grieving. “It is worth so much more to me to have someone minister by acknowledging the hurt and affirming that God loves us and He’s still with us, even in the darkness,” she shares. “The truth is, we don’t know why a little life ends sometimes, but we do know that God is still good. Don’t let grief steal your faith. Don’t let grief steal your hope. We may never get the answers we are looking for in this life, but we can still hold onto the truth of who He is and what He promises us. He will restore us.”