This morning I was struck in the gut, again, by what it means to be a leader. With every JFL class that comes through, we always take a good piece of class time and dedicate it to telling life stories. This time around, Andrew boldly led off yesterday morning with an open, honest rendering of his journey. He almost brings me to tears each time I hear him tell it, and I think I am on round five. The rest of the class finished what he started and left me weepy-eyed. It wasn’t just that so many folks have experienced great amounts of heart-wrenching pain. It was that they were so honest about what they had been through. And it wasn’t just honesty about the things that happened to them, although there were many of those stories. It was also honesty about addictions, broken family relationships, poor choices, and deep regrets.
Today, as we continued life stories, it was the same deal. But it was my turn to get us kicked off. Because of the searing honesty of those who have gone before me, I went for it. I told my life story in a more raw, open, and honest fashion than I ever have done in a public setting. I shared things with the class that only a small handful of people even know about me. I had to choke back tears for the whole ten minutes I spoke. It was humiliating, difficult, scary, and freeing.
But it didn’t end there. Person after person followed me and poured out their most secret pains, showed their deepest wounds, and confessed brokenness in their own lives. Even as I write this, it is hard to keep from weeping.
True leadership, true discipleship, true gospel living can only happen in a context of vulnerability and brokenness. I deeply believe that people were open this morning because I laid it all on the table first. But, I could only do that because Andrew and other class members had been so honest and broken the previous day. The LORD does beautiful things when broken people are “real” with one another. He begins to bring healing; He brings community; He teaches us to love. If we, The Church, and we, the individuals in the church, want to see change in our world we must begin clinging to God’s promise that “the first will be last.” That means making ourselves last.
Where I come from you don’t win friends, you don’t win influence, and you certainly don’t win respect by airing your dirty laundry. But that is where the Gospel thrives! Instead of trying to hammer legalistic rules, or even a message of grace, into people’s heads and hearts, we need to tell our story. We need to be non-threatening, grace-filled, and honest. We need to tell the full story of the Gospel in our own lives. That is the grace, that is the beauty, that is the message that draws people to Jesus. Only when we let people see the full picture of sin, grace, redemption, and restoration in our own lives will we lead people to fully worship The King. Real leadership is broken leadership.
Brandon Russell
Brandon@advancememphis.org
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