TRLP 081: My Story of Leading While Grieving

Got questions or comments? Text them to me! The finale of the "Strength in the Cracks" series — exploring vulnerability in leadership as a place of God's power, not human weakness. Episode Summary Everything this series has argued for — power made perfect in weakness, identity before performance, the difference between vulnerability and oversharing — gets tested in real life. In this finale, Paul tells his own story: leading worship through the deaths of his mother and brother within twenty days of each other, being honest with his congregation in the middle of it ("I may just start crying up here — if I do, just keep worshipping"), and what he learned a year later when a woman told him how watching him grieve had impacted her whole family. What We Cover Why vulnerability isn't always a choice you get to plan or time Leading worship publicly through the sudden loss of two family members in twenty days Living right on the line between vulnerability and oversharing — and not always knowing which side you're on What it meant to hear, a year later, that an unhidden, unpolished season of grief had impacted another family Closing out the series: power made perfect in weakness isn't theory — it's lived This Week's Challenge If you're in a season you didn't choose, one you can't hide from public view: you don't need a polished version of honesty to be helpful to people. True is enough. Quotable Moments "I may just start crying up here. And if I do — just keep worshipping." "True was enough." "Not the bulletproof leader. The honest one. The one who's still standing there, still leading, even when the armor's completely gone." The Full Series — "Strength in the Cracks" The Myth of the Bulletproof Pastor Power Made Perfect in Weakness What Your Brain Does When You Fake Strength Identity Informs Activity — Leading From Belovedness Vulnerability vs. Oversharing Leading Through Grief in Public ⬇️  ⬇️  ⬇️  ⬇️  ⬇️ Thanks for listening to The Reluctant Leader Podcast with Paul Jenkins! Find me on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, and be sure to read the stuff I'm writing on my blog. Rather watch the video? Head over to The Reluctant Leader Podcast on my YouTube channel.