Barnabas Keynote: Terry Walling - “God Has Never Stopped Working: How Transitions Shape Leaders”
Keynote Speaker, Dr, Terry Walling - Presented October 28, 2025
The truth is simple but profound: God has never, ever not been at work in your life. The real question isn’t whether He’s at work — it’s what He’s doing, and whether you have the courage to join Him in it.
Many of you represent organizations, causes, and Kingdom initiatives. You’re responsible for stewardship, strategy, and influence. But beneath those roles, something else is happening: God is shaping you — not just for what you do, but for who you are becoming.
Discipleship isn’t an eight-week class we finish. It’s a lifelong journey. And at the core of that journey is a desire every believer carries in their heart: the longing to live a life that counts for the King.
As Ephesians 2:10 reminds us, we are “created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” He authored those works long before time began. The prize of surrender is revelation: when we align ourselves with Him, He shows us what He’s already written for our lives.
The Apollo 13 Moment
In April 1970, I was a senior in high school. In the middle of the night, my dad — who worked on the Apollo program — got a call. I walked into their room as my parents frantically packed. “I have to get to Houston,” my dad said.
At that moment, Apollo 13 had gone from routine to crisis. Up until then, the mission had been so uneventful that the live broadcast from space didn’t even make the networks — everyone was watching Monday Night Football instead. But then everything changed in an instant.
That’s what happens in transition. Everything looks fine. You’re in a rhythm. And then something shifts. What felt stable is suddenly uncertain, and the story takes a turn you didn’t plan for.
What a Transition Is — and Isn’t
One of the most significant moments in a leader’s life is when God takes you into transition. This isn’t simply about changing jobs or moving cities. Transition is about how God develops you over the long arc of your story.
Every leader who wants to finish well will go through multiple transitions. On average, you can expect between eight and twelve major transitions over a lifetime. And these aren’t brief interruptions — they can last anywhere from a few months to three years.
Why does God do this? Because you are the resource. If you change, everything around you changes. If you don’t, nothing changes. Leadership isn’t ultimately about position; it’s about influence. And God shapes that influence through the crucible of transition.
The Internal Reality of a Transition
There will be moments in leadership when, deep inside — though you’ll likely never say it aloud to your team or even to your spouse — you’ll whisper to yourself, “Houston, I have a problem. I know I can’t go back, but I don’t know exactly where I’m going.”
That’s the heart of transition.
How do you know you’re in one? It isn’t subtle. Restlessness starts to grow. Confusion creeps in. There’s a sense of self-doubt you can’t quite explain. Motivation fades. You find yourself going through the motions but feeling disconnected from the mission. You’re active but not advancing.
And perhaps most of all, there’s prolonged uncertainty — a season where God seems to strip away your ability to rely on your usual strengths. It’s not punishment; it’s formation.
What God Does in Transition
These seasons may feel like they lack direction, but they are often God’s most intentional shaping work. Over decades of research and personal experience, I’ve observed some of the core ways He works in these moments.
First, He clarifies your values. He forces you to ask: “Of all the things I could do, what should I do? What matters most?”
Second, He refines your identity. God reminds you who you are — and who you’re not. This isn’t about reinventing yourself according to trends; it’s about rediscovering how He made you.
Third, He heals wounds. Leadership leaves marks. Influence comes at a cost, and these seasons are often where God brings long-overdue restoration.
And finally, He whispers direction. He doesn’t shout; He whispers. It often comes slowly, after a period of letting go. But in that whisper, He reveals what’s next.
Recognizing the Pattern
Most transitions follow a recognizable pattern. They often begin with leadership backlash — that moment when you’re out in front and those behind you start firing at the most visible target. Then comes negative preparation — those hard circumstances that form character more than they break it.
Next is confusion, when the old roadmap doesn’t work anymore. It’s followed by a time of alignment, when God invites you to surrender your plans and align with His. Only then does direction begin to emerge.
And eventually comes the faith challenge — the moment when He calls you to step out on a limb, and you hear that faint sawing sound beneath your feet. That’s when obedience gets real.
I often tell leaders, “The only thing worse than not knowing what God wants you to do is knowing.” Because knowing means you’ll have to step out and trust Him.
Major Life Transitions
Over forty years of studying how God shapes leaders, certain patterns emerge. There are three major transition points that nearly everyone encounters:
Twenties and Thirties – Awakening. This is the season where God often gets your attention. He stirs a sense that your life is meant for something more — that following Him will cost something but also bring purpose.
Forties and Fifties – Deciding. In this season, of all the things you could do, you begin to ask what you should do. This is where contribution becomes more focused.
Sixties and Seventies – Finishing. Finishing doesn’t mean being finished. It means legacy. It means identifying who will stand on your shoulders and continue the work.
Finishing Well
After four decades of studying how God develops leaders, one statistic stands out: only one in three finish well.
Finishing well isn’t about fame or status. It means being more in love with Jesus at the end than at the beginning. It means being more passionate about His calling on your life than your personal preferences. And it means becoming more sacrificial with your time, talent, and treasure — not less.
This is the heart of leadership in the Kingdom. God is not just building ministries or movements; He’s shaping people. He’s shaping you.
A Final Word
If you find yourself in a transition right now, don’t resist it. Join Him in it.
God will do things in a transition He can’t do in any other season. This isn’t a detour from your calling — it is the path. And if you trust Him in it, the fruit of that season will shape everything that follows.
About The Speaker: Dr. Terry Walling
Dr. Terry B. Walling is the President and founder of Leader Breakthru, a leadership‐development ministry dedicated to coaching and resourcing “risk-taking, Kingdom leaders” to live, lead, and finish well.
With over 30 years of experience in leadership development and coaching, Terry integrates decades of mentoring, research, and hands-on ministry. He is also the author of several books, including Stuck!: Navigating Life and Leadership Transitions, and Unlikely Nomads: In Search of the New Church, and has created a variety of tools and processes—such as the TRAC assessment, Focused Living, Apex, and Resonance—to help leaders gain perspective, clarity, and effectiveness.
Terry holds a Doctor of Ministry degree from Fuller Seminary and is passionate about helping individuals, churches, and coaches pursue personal renewal, clarity of calling, and Kingdom impact.