I received a call from a corporate donor to the ministry I led (Teen Challenge). He threw me a curveball. “Roger,” he said, “I’m in an MBA program here at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. We’re going to combine several classes and we want you to come and speak to us about leadership.”

My first response was that I did not have any type of degree to qualify me to speak to university students in an MBA program. Knowing my history and having heard my testimony at his church, he replied, “Roger, you’ve been in leadership in the military, then at Pinkerton Detective Agency [as it once was known], and now in ministry.” He seemed to think that was all the qualifications I needed, so I agreed.

I was nervous when I showed up at the classroom the day of my “talk.” My friend said there were two classmates who would present first, then it would be my turn. They had a PowerPoint presentation. Now I was really nervous! I didn’t even have notes! But when I walked into the classroom, there on the screen was the title of their presentation, “The Leadership Style of Bob Marley,” with a colorful photo of the reggae, pot-smoking artist.

Suddenly my nervousness vanished. Instead of being intimidated, I realized what a low bar I had to go over in my talk. When it was my turn, I briefly discussed my time in leadership in all three areas: military, business, and now ministry. I discussed some of the lessons I had learned, usually the hard way, and the impact they had on my leadership.

I discussed the deficit of leadership in our country today, including my assessment of leaders like Bill Clinton and the transition from “integrity and character” in elected officials to our current standard of only “personality and charisma.” I’ve talked about this before.

Then the session was opened to questions. One of the attendees asked me to give a profile of the average resident who entered our addiction recovery program. There’s a common misconception that most addiction is in inner-city communities.

I told them they came from every walk of life, every economic and ethnic background. But, there was one commonality to everyone who entered our residential program: HOPELESSNESS. Today looked like yesterday, and tomorrow doesn’t look any better. They had no hope their life could change. Teen Challenge is a faith-based program. Our solution was, and still is, for them to put their trust in Jesus Christ who is HOPE!

Yesterday was Easter Sunday, when we celebrate the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. His resurrection gives us hope for living eternally in Heaven with Him. All around us we see people who are overwhelmed with the conditions around them. We’re told we’re all going to die because of climate change. Crime and inflation are rampant. The economy seems to be teetering and our enemies are getting stronger as we grow weaker. We’ve lost hope!

Scripture tells us we’re to walk by faith, not by sight. While I believe the spiritual warfare we’re experiencing in America today is the most intense in my lifetime, Jesus is still sitting on the throne. Our hope has never been in Washington; it has always been in Heaven. Don’t give up!

Because of Calvary.