Why Leaders Need to Let Hope In

What do you do when your boss writes a book? 

You shout it from the mountaintops and encourage everyone to read it.  That’s just plain smart!

So yes, I’ll be shouting pretty loudly this week that Pete Wilson‘s new book, Let Hope In, releases today!  But I don’t shout simply because he’s my boss.  I shout because day in and day out I watch Pete live out the truths that he talks about.  Whenever he writes, he does so with conviction and compassion that’s personal.  He lives it.  He breathes it.  He leads it.

LetHopeIn

Today Pete is guest posting about what it looks like for leaders to Let Hope In.

————————————————————-

I’ve always heard that hurt people, hurt people. I agree with this sentiment and would take it a step further and say that if hurt people, hurt people then hurt leaders, hurt LOTS of people.
I realize that in my position of leadership, my hurt, my patterns of sin, and my unadressed issues can bring a tremendous amount of pain to the people entrusted to my leadership.
I think somewhere along the way, we leaders, (especially Christian leaders) have bought into this idea that we should be “beyond” or “above” being hurt. We think, “if I were a stronger Christian, then I wouldn’t hurt so much”.

This misconception has created a lot of habits for us. It’s why we keep secrets. It’s why we can put on facades and pretend we’re someone we’re not. We’ve learned how to say one thing and mean another, and how to hide fear and deceit behind a fake smile.

We learned how to respond to the question, “How are you?” with “I’m fine.” But deep down we know this isn’t true. We’re not fine. We’re not fine at all.

We are…
Hurting,
Lonely,
Confused,
Frightened.

And in the midst of these whirling emotions I’m often tempted to want to exchange friends for fans, relationships for respect, and intimacy for influence.
Can I offer you a bit of advice as you head into the last 3 months of the year? Don’t be seduced by life on the pedestal.

Part of what I write about in my new book Let Hope In is that we are leaders but first we are human. We hurt, bleed, suffer, doubt, and stumble just like anyone else. We must learn to allow Christ to transform our pain or we’ll just transfer it to the people we lead.

You may also like

One comment

  • Cynthia October 1, 2013  

    Powerful truths for leadership and I’m picking up a copy to share with my leaders. Blessings and favor over this new book and message!