The Myth of the Invincible Leader
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The Myth of the Invincible Leader is a mindset that quietly shapes how many of us approach ministry, often without realizing it. I want to speak to you today as someone who has walked in many shoes: Sunday School Teacher, Youth Pastor, Assistant Pastor, Lead Pastor, Evangelist, Missionary, Worship Leader, and Church Planter. I’ve had the privilege of baptizing dozens—even hundreds—in a single day, and preaching revivals where altars overflowed. I’ve witnessed miracles, felt the undeniable power of the Holy Ghost, and stood in moments where the Kingdom of God was advancing in ways I had only dreamed of.
But I’ve also led worship with a heavy heart. I’ve preached while privately battling discouragement. I’ve ministered overseas while feeling spiritually empty. I know what it is to bleed behind the pulpit while trying to hold everything together for everyone else.
I’ve led when I felt strong—and I’ve led when I was hanging on by a thread. I know the exhaustion. I know the pressure. I know the private tears, the silent prayers, and the ache of carrying people on your back while feeling like you’re barely standing yourself.
If you’re in that place right now—whether you’re seeing breakthrough or barely breathing—this writing is my hand on your shoulder, my voice saying, “You’re not alone. And you’re not failing.”
A Word to Those Who Haven’t Yet Walked Through the Fire
If you’re reading this and thinking, “Well, maybe you should have just prayed more. Fasted more. Gotten more of the Holy Ghost before you tried to minister to others”—I understand where that’s coming from. I really do. I probably said similar things in my earlier years of ministry before life, loss, and leadership humbled me.
But the Refiner’s fire has a way of burning off arrogance and producing something far more powerful than platform boldness—it produces broken dependence.
I still believe deeply in prayer and fasting. I still preach the power of the Holy Ghost without apology. But I’ve also learned that sometimes God does His most profound work not in our strength, but in our surrender. Not when we’re full, but when we’re emptied.
So if this sounds unfamiliar or uncomfortable, it may just mean your turn in the fire hasn’t come yet. But when it does—and it will—you’ll find out that God doesn’t discard wounded vessels. He refines them. He uses them. And often, He anoints them more deeply than ever before.
The Burden of the Platform
Somewhere along the line, we bought into a lie—not always from others, but from within ourselves. The lie that Pastors, Preachers, and Spiritual Leaders have to be invincible. Always strong. Always full of answers. Always composed.
But Scripture never demanded perfection from its leaders. It revealed their brokenness. Moses broke down in the wilderness. Elijah collapsed under a juniper tree. Jeremiah wept for the people. Paul wrote of being pressed beyond measure. And even Jesus, our sinless Savior, wept at Lazarus’ tomb, groaned in Gethsemane, and cried out on the cross.
If Jesus could bleed and still lead, so can you.
Leading from the Wounded Place
There’s something holy about continuing to minister when your heart is heavy. Not because we love pain, but because we trust purpose. Sometimes, ministry is less about having the power to advance and more about having the courage to simply remain faithful.
I remember times in my life when I was leading a congregation on Sunday and dealing with crushing personal disappointment by Monday. I’ve closed a church before. I’ve walked through sickness. I’ve lost people I deeply loved. I’ve carried burdens that no one knew about but God.
And somehow, through all of that, I still stood behind the pulpit. I still preached. I still led. Not because I had it all together—but because His strength was made perfect in my weakness.
You don’t have to be perfect to lead. But you do have to be honest—especially with God.
When the Applause Fades
Let me be real with you: ministry can be lonely. The applause of the congregation fades fast when Monday morning rolls around. There are seasons when people you poured into walk away. Times when those you led to Christ are the ones who cut you the deepest.
You might be reading this while sitting in an empty church office, wondering if your life is making a difference. Maybe your last sermon felt more like survival than revival. Maybe you're tired of smiling through the storm.
If that’s where you are, I want to remind you: Jesus sees. He knows what it costs you to keep going. And you are not less anointed because you’re in pain. You are not less called because you’re struggling. The anointing doesn't cancel out your humanity. It just means that God is working through it.
Four Anchors for Bleeding Leaders
Let me offer you four things that have kept me grounded in seasons when I was bleeding but still had to lead.
1. Let God Minister to You First
You can't pour from an empty vessel. Even Jesus, knowing the needs of the crowd, would pull away to pray. In Mark 6:31, He told His disciples, *"Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest a while."
I know it’s hard to step away. I know the to-do list is long and the church calendar doesn’t stop. But if you don’t let God minister to you, the very people you’re trying to serve will suffer.
Find your desert place. Maybe it’s a drive. Maybe it’s a quiet room in your home. Maybe it’s a few hours of uninterrupted prayer. Let God pour into you. You need His presence more than you need another meeting.
2. Stop Pretending You’re Fine
You don’t have to share every detail of your pain from the pulpit, but you do need safe people where you can be real. I thank God for a few voices in my life—people I can call, pastors I can confide in, who don’t expect me to wear the superhero cape all the time.
We weren’t called to be untouchable. We were called to be real. The church doesn't need leaders who are untouchable. They need leaders who are transformed.
Let someone in. Don’t bleed in silence.
3. Don’t Weaponize the Pulpit
I know the temptation. I’ve felt it myself. You’re hurt. Someone said something or did something. And now you have a microphone and a message.
Resist the urge to preach your pain at people. The pulpit isn’t a platform for retaliation. It’s a place for restoration.
Let God deal with your heart before you deal with theirs. If your message is more about vindicating your emotions than lifting up Jesus, it’s time to pause. Let your heart heal, and then let God speak.
4. Lead Small When You Can’t Lead Big
Some seasons aren’t about launching new visions or hosting major events. Some seasons are about showing up and being faithful in the small things.
Call one hurting member. Encourage one volunteer. Meet with one young leader. Sometimes your most powerful leadership is done quietly, in the shadows, while your own soul is being rebuilt.
When Elijah was at his lowest, God didn’t rebuke him. He fed him. Let that sink in.
Scars Are a Part of Your Sermon
I’ve got some scars. You probably do too. They don’t disqualify you. They authenticate you.
Thomas didn’t believe Jesus had risen until he saw the wounds. The evidence of resurrection was the scars. What you’ve survived becomes the sermon you live.
Ministry isn’t about being spotless. It’s about being surrendered. The most powerful sermons you preach won’t be with a mic in your hand, but with your life surrendered in brokenness and trust.
From My Heart to Yours
Pastor, leader, servant of God—I see you.
I know the weight you carry. I know the nights you’ve cried yourself to sleep. I know the burden of leading people who don't always see your sacrifice. I know what it is to feel like you’re giving your all, and it still doesn’t feel like enough.
But listen to me: You are enough because Jesus is in you.
You are not weak because you weep. You are not broken because you bleed. You are not less called because you're tired.
Your calling isn’t proven in how high you can soar when everything is good. It’s proven in how deeply you can trust when everything is falling apart.
Take a breath. Take a break. Take His hand.
Your best days are not behind you. The fire may have dimmed, but the embers are still hot. Let God breathe on you again.
Keep showing up. Keep loving people. Keep preaching truth.
But most of all, keep letting Jesus lead you.
Because even if you feel like you're bleeding... you're still leading. And you're not doing it alone.
Pastor James Smith,
President & Founder,
Preachit.org
Need more encouragement, sermon inspiration, or leadership tools? Visit Preachit.org. It exists to serve leaders just like you.
About Pastor James Smith
Pastor James Smith, Valparaiso, Indiana – Founder of PreachIt.org, OpportunityHope.org, and PastoralHelps.com.
He equips pastors worldwide with sermons, leadership tools, and encouragement, while also caring for orphaned and at-risk children in West Bengal, India through OpportunityHope. Beyond the orphanage and school, OpportunityHope provides clean water wells, livestock, and other humanitarian helps to families and villages in need. Additional books, leadership training, and mentoring resources are available through PastoralHelps.com.
