Good Faith Leadership in a Bad Faith World

Joycelyn Lewis
Aug 17
5 min read

Disclaimer:

This reflection is based on my experiences as a leadership coach, spiritual director , and mentor, and biblical principles of good faith and integrity. While inspired by real situations, it is not intended to accuse or name any specific individual or organization. It is an invitation to examine how we, as leaders and as people of faith, handle truth, trust, and fairness.

This is a leadership reflection drawn from my 20+ years of experience. It’s not about one specific case—it’s about the bigger truth that processes, in any setting, can lose their soul when people forget the human side. My hope is to encourage courage, integrity, and care in every leader, no matter the field. In leadership, trust is the currency that makes progress possible. Good faith is more than honesty—it’s a shared commitment to truth, fairness, and the well-being of all involved. But what happens when you step into a process believing those values are mutual… and discover they are not?

In my work as a leadership coach, spiritual director, and mentor, I’ve been thinking about how good faith shapes every decision we make — both in our leadership and in our life with God. Whether I’m helping a leader navigate a high-stakes decision or guiding someone in their spiritual formation, the themes are the same: trust, alignment with God, and follow-through.

Good faith isn’t just a leadership competency; it’s a spiritual posture. It’s the fruit of a life being formed by Truth. And when spiritual leaders, — or the systems they steward — fail to act in good faith, they undermine not only results but relationships, not only credibility but the soul’s capacity to trust.

Proverbs 11:1 says, “The Lord detests dishonest scales, but accurate weights find favor with him.”

Good faith is like accurate scales — measuring with honesty, without hidden agendas, and making decisions without bias or self-protection. It’s transparency. It’s trust. It’s following through on what’s promised.

Bad faith is the opposite. It’s like a dishonest scale — tilting the measure before the weight is even set. It hides behind procedure. It delays, deflects, and sometimes pretends to be fair while quietly steering toward a predetermined outcome. It protects the system instead of the Truth.

Leaders are constantly asked about the “cost” — cost of a decision, cost of a project, cost of a change. But in healthy leadership, that question is asked in good faith — to make wise, fair, and transparent decisions.

What happens when you share the actual cost — openly and factually — but that cost is met with silence, delay, or quiet dismissal?

In those moments, you begin to ask yourself:

Was the request for cost truly in good faith?
Or was it made to check a box, to appear fair, while the outcome had already been decided?

That’s where leadership integrity and spiritual formation meet. Good faith in leadership is not just about fiscal responsibility; it’s about stewardship of trust. Bad faith erodes both — it undermines results and relationships, but also shapes the soul of the organization in ways that are hard to repair.

Jesus once told the story of a widow who kept coming before a judge, asking for justice. The judge didn’t fear God and didn’t care about people, but her persistence wore him down until he granted her what was right. (Luke 18:1–8)

Like that widow, you can enter a process in good faith, believing that fairness will prevail — only to discover that no one seems to fear God, no one seems to care about people, and it seems God has never been at the center of the process at all.

And sometimes you may even wonder… if the same gatekeepers who once held the concern in their hands are now the ones holding the scales.

And then it just looks like the whole process is bad faith, and you start to wonder who in the process still fears God — and who truly cares about people.

When you stand in good faith, some may ghost you, and sometimes, that’s the sign that you are standing in good faith in the middle of a bad faith process.

But don’t be discouraged. In over two decades of leadership, I’ve seen this truth again and again: silence does not always mean opposition. Sometimes it hides quiet agreement, waiting for a spark. The prayer—and the calling—for every leader is to embody such integrity and conviction that others are stirred to step out of the shadows and stand for what’s right.

That's when you realize that persistence is simply praying that good faith will show up, one day. This is your stand. This is you being the persistent widow.

Because here’s the truth I keep circling back to in my 20+ years of experience: the heart of the problem isn’t always the tactics or the delays — sometimes it’s deeper than that. Sometimes it’s that a process has lost its soul. The rules get followed, the boxes get checked, but the spirit of love and care for people is missing.

And so maybe bad faith… is also not believing that God is going to show up.

And good faith is knowing that God sees all, knows all, and will judge all.

As you read this blog, you may have remembered a moment that made you wonder in that process: Will good faith or bad faith prevail? And as a leader, I’m still asking that question too — not just for myself, but for the many processes and people I’ve witnessed over the years. Because sometimes good faith wins, sometimes bad faith wins, and sometimes… we wait to see which will speak louder in the end.

And I’ll let you know when I know. And I will know. And so will you.

Prayer:

Lord,

Teach us to walk in good faith — to speak truthfully, to act justly, and to measure every word and decision with integrity.

Give us hearts that value honesty over convenience and truth over appearance.

And give us keen discernment to recognize when we are slipping into bad faith — so we can turn, repent, and realign with You.

When we face silence, delays, or withdrawal from others, help us to remember that You have not withdrawn from us.

Remind us that You see all, know all, and will judge all with perfect justice.

Keep our hope anchored in Your timing, not in human timelines.

Make us people whose actions match our words, whose faith is steady, and whose integrity reflects Your heart.

May good faith be our testimony, our witness, and our legacy.

Please help us be found faithful.

In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Reflection Questions:

1. Who in my life has shown me what true good faith looks like? In what ways can I practice good faith?

2. What does persistence look like for me in this season — and what practical ways can I practice persistence?

3. When is it wise to call a process bad faith, and what signs make it clear?

I would love to hear your stories, share them with me: contact Joycelyn