The Reluctant Leader Podcast with Paul Jenkins
Throughout the years, I've come to believe two truths: one, everyone leads someone, and two, no one really feels qualified to lead anyone. Add the pressure put on us by culture to have all the answers in a world full of confusion, and you've got a recipe for reluctant leaders. Thankfully, when it comes to leading in the Bible and in life, the most qualified aren't always the most obvious. This podcast is a conversation for all of us who want to lead well but never feel like we are. New episodes are released on the 2nd and 4th Tuesdays of each month.
Episodes
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Before Jesus ever sent His disciples out to preach, heal, or lead—He simply invited them to be with Him. In this episode, Paul unpacks Mark 3:14 and explores how powerful it is when leaders prioritize presence over performance.
You’ll learn why Jesus’ leadership style wasn’t built on strategy first—it was built on shared space, vulnerability, and relational connection. Whether you're l...
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In this milestone 50th episode of The Reluctant Leader Podcast, Paul sits down with Benjamin Crawshaw for an honest, relatable conversation about life, leadership, and what happens when everything falls apart. Benjamin shares his powerful story of how personal failure, ministry unraveling, and a season of isolation led him to rediscover God’s grace in unexpected places — including a 5-6 ye...
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Welcome to The Reluctant Leader Podcast—where we talk real leadership for those of us who sometimes feel like we’re not cut out for it… but keep showing up anyway.
In this episode, I’m unpacking what I learned from posting 21 straight days of hope-filled, one-minute videos on TikTok. I’ll share what surprised me, the comments that reminded me why this matters, and why consistency is your se...
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In a world overflowing with noise and polished personas, authentic leadership cuts through like a beacon of trust. In this episode, Paul unpacks why it's so powerful when leaders actually do what they say—how integrity, vulnerability, and consistency can create a kind of credibility that commands attention without shouting. Whether you lead a team, a church, or just your own life, thi...
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Ever feel stuck between where you started and where you want to be? The messy middle can be frustrating, filled with uncertainty, doubt, and the temptation to give up. But what if this season isn’t a roadblock—it’s the real work of transformation?
In this episode, we’re diving into what it means to trust the process when things aren’t happening as fast as we’d like. You’ll discover:
✅ Why su...
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In this episode of The Reluctant Leader Podcast, we dive into the biblical wisdom of seeking godly counsel and why no leader should make decisions in isolation. Proverbs tells us that wise advisers lead to success, but pride can keep us from listening. We’ll explore how humility opens the door to growth, how God often speaks through others, and why even the best leaders—Moses, David, and P...
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The Bible has a lot to say about staying alert and keeping watch. If we aren't vigilant as leaders, the churches and organizations we're responsible for are often left in disarray and vulnerable to attack and vision creep.
As Jesus often told his followers: watch!
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Thanks for listening to The Reluctant Leader Podcast with Paul Jenkins! Find me on Twitter, Fac...
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Too many of us are so addicted to the rush of something new that we've accepted that anything that gets repeated has to become boring or stale. But repetition is only a bad thing when we're repeating bad things! I repeat: repetition is only a...
You get the idea.
So let's change the narrative, and get busy repeating what needs to be repeated. As you'l...
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I've always been motivated by JFK's "we do them because they are hard" speech, and clearly, so was our country because we did get to the moon (regardless of what conspiracy theorists might think). But what happens after we've done hard things and we need time to rest and recover? Maybe more importantly, how do we find the strength to get back up and do another hard...
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In this interview, we take a deep dive with Karl Vaters, a seasoned pastor and author, as he challenges the conventional obsession with church size. For over 40 years, Carl has been an advocate for small churches and has worked to redefine success beyond just mere numbers.
Whether you're a church leader feeling the pressure to grow or just curious about the future of faith in America, ...
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All of us know that our words have power but too many times we talk as if they don't. In this episode, Paul shares how one simple statement ignited passion and launched him into action. We're sure that you'll be encouraged, and will be challenged to consider the kindness - or lack of - in the words you speak to those around you.
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Thanks for listening to...
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Does God ever seem distant when you ask him about things that really matter to you? Of course, he does. But the good news is that you aren't alone! Anyone who has ever spent any amount of time in prayer has felt that way, and often, the more desperate we are, the longer he seems to take.
In this episode, Paul walks us through Luke 18 and shows us what to do when we face the u...
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As we wrap up our "Restored to Health" miniseries in Psalm 126, the psalmist reminds us that even after we've been restored, there is work to be done.
Even more importantly, he reminds us that the work often still feels like work, and yet he holds out the very real hope that when the sowing brings us pain, the reaping will bring us bounty.
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Tha...
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We've all been there. We've gone public about something amazing that God has done in our lives, churches, businesses, or ministries only to wake up the next day and find ourselves wondering if it really happened?
In this episode, we can take comfort in the fact that the people of God also lived in the "now and not yet" places we find ourselves. Yes, God had bro...
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No more hiding or pretendi...
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As we continue our miniseries in Psalm 126, let's talk about the things that mark us when we're living lives that have been restored to health: joy, song, laughter, and the global influence that comes with a life of integrity.
Will we always feel like we're living up to that list? Of course not. But as we'll see in this episode, that doesn't mean that it i...
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In this episode, Paul kicks off a miniseries diving into the game-changing truths found in Psalm 126, and takes us deeper into the profound wisdom that verse 1 offers for modern living
Learn how gratitude transforms our perspective, calms anxieties, and deepens trust in God's faithfulness. Discover how practicing gratitude reshapes your spiritual journey, cultivating contentm...
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Is hell "down there?" If it is, then why do we often talk about "hell on earth?" Why does the regret we experience at night as we replay the day feel so much like hell already, and how can we learn to live beyond it?
Is peace even possible, or are we destined to stay stuck in a Groundhog Day of bad decisions and painful regret?
In this episode, Paul sh...
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What's the biggest difference between Tiger Woods and me when it comes to playing golf? Well, we both hit bad shots from time to time (I hit a lot more of them), but we don't recover from them the same.
In this episode, let's talk about how important it is for us to be healthy enough as leaders that we can recover from the bad shots, and help the people we lead find...
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Welcome to the last episode of 2023! In this episode, Paul walks us through Psalm 126 and shows us how what the Lord told His people then still speaks to His people now. As the Year of the Door, 2024 holds so much promise for us, and as Paul explains, it's a year that will mark the church with joy, laughter, hope, and health.
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Thanks for listening to The Reluctan...
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