God works through his people wherever they are. Here’s how one Christian is joining in God’s redemptive work as a peacemaker, problem-solver, public speaker, and whitepaper-writer…

Leah spent the first decade of her working life leading merger and acquisition deals at top law firms. But life took an unexpected turn when Leah experienced burn out from a perfect storm of complex personal and professional challenges. As a result, she traded her high-flying role for a career as an in-house lawyer. In the months and years that followed, she went through an intense period of recovery and self-discovery, in which God called her to the ministry she has today as a peacemaker.

‘I work with high-profile public figures and organisations to mediate conflict. Often, the leaders I work with feel there’s no way forward – that things have gone beyond the point of no return. Time and time again, I’m inspired by God’s promises to the Israelites. In Isaiah 43, he declares he’s making a way for them through the wilderness and mighty waters, a powerful reminder that he can provide a way through acrimonious disagreements, systemic organisational problems, and heated interpersonal conflict.

‘God calls us to be agents of change. I’m working to transform leadership and organisational cultures to be more kingdom-like by advising boards on cultural misalignment, facilitating mediation in high-stakes disciplinaries, conducting culture reviews, supporting leadership transitions and reorganisations, and providing training to managers on conflict de-escalation.

‘All too often, leaders are conflict averse – they’re scared to address fundamental issues in their team or organisation because of the potential damage to their reputation or role. But this isn’t the model of leadership that Jesus offers. He wasn’t afraid to (literally) turn the tables or confront wrongdoing, but he handled these situations with humility and grace, offering forgiveness and restoration to those he disagreed with. I empower leaders to adopt this Jesus-like model of leadership. And this begins with them discovering their true identity, from which they can lead well, address conflict, and make decisions that’ll enable their employees to flourish.

‘But addressing conflict isn’t easy. In our culture, the emphasis is often on ending disagreement and imposing proportionate penalties, not on understanding the reason why conflict happened in the first place. But I believe there’s a different way, a more Jesus-like way – and that’s restorative justice. This model focuses on perpetrators taking responsibility, before working to repair broken relationships and exploring adjacent issues that may have fed into the problem. It’s a beautiful model, one which reflects God’s heart for restored relationships. And, through my job, I have the privilege of joining in this reconciliatory work.’

Leah was speaking to Sophie Sanders, Marketing & Communications Lead, LICC