Leadership is lonely, and among leaders, pastors tend to be some of the loneliest. We preach the gospel of God’s grace to others and hold out the heart of Christ – that the places where we are most inclined to withdraw in shame are precisely the places where Jesus draws nearest in compassion and care.

And yet when it comes to our own weakness, limitations, and failures, when it comes to our own besetting hurts, hang-ups, and habits, it can be hard to know what is wise and helpful to share with others, those on our team, or those under our care. We don’t want to undermine our credibility or our authority, much less jeopardize our reputation or livelihood. We may want to live in the light, but we might be terrified of how our vulnerability might be used against us.

It’s a fearful thing to fall into the hands of well-meaning church leaders who don’t have broken and contrite hearts over their own exceeding sinfulness (Ps. 51:17). Join us for this conversation as we talk about vulnerability in positions of spiritual authority.

Rankin Wilbourne (B.A. University of Mississippi, M.Div. Princeton Theological Seminary) has been a pastor for over two decades in a variety of contexts, including as lead pastor in Los Angeles, and assistant pastor in the Northeast, South, and Midwest. A former corporate banker, he’s written two award-winning books and is keenly interested in emotional health, wholehearted discipleship, and building bridges from the Bible to our modern concerns. He is currently the director of Broom Tree Media, a ministry that exists to help the Church be better and do better by facilitating conversations that lead to transformation. He is also a Senior Ministry consultant for RW360 and has been a popular plenary speaker at our conferences. Rankin is married to Morgen, and they have three children and two dogs.