Should leaders be vulnerable and open with those they lead? - Vulnerability - TouchPoints

2 Chronicles 20:12“O our God, won’t you stop them? We are powerless against this mighty army that is about to attack us. We do not know what to do, but we are looking to you for help.”

Psalm 51:12-14Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and make me willing to obey you. Then I will teach your ways to rebels, and they will return to you. Forgive me for shedding blood, O God who saves; then I will joyfully sing of your forgiveness.

Matthew 26:36-39Then Jesus went with them to the olive grove called Gethsemane, and he said, “Sit here while I go over there to pray.” He took Peter and Zebedee’s two sons, James and John, and he became anguished and distressed. He told them, “My soul is crushed with grief to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.” He went on a little farther and bowed with his face to the ground, praying, “My Father! If it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.”

2 Corinthians 1:8We think you ought to know, dear brothers and sisters, about the trouble we went through in the province of Asia. We were crushed and overwhelmed beyond our ability to endure, and we thought we would never live through it.

Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, could not hide the fact from his people that he was overwhelmed by the attack coming against the nation. David’s sin of adultery with Bathsheba and his virtual murder of Uriah were made public in a psalm for worship. Jesus’ agony in Gethsemane was openly shared with his disciples. And Paul did not hide his despair. The stereotype of the leader as a person who should have it all together is totally false. The reality is that the leader who is vulnerable sets an example for his people for how we need to help and support each other if we want to grow and thrive. When we share each other’s burdens, we find hope and community and purpose.