The Reluctant Leader Podcast with Paul Jenkins

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Part three of the "Strength in the Cracks" series — exploring vulnerability in leadership as a place of God's power, not human weakness.

Episode Summary

That feeling right before you walk into a hard meeting or step on stage and consciously arrange your face, posture, and tone — it's not just a mental trick. In this episode, Paul draws on his doctoral research in relational neuro...

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This is part two of the "Strength in the Cracks" series — exploring vulnerability in leadership as a place of God's power, not human weakness.

Why do we edit the "thorn" out of our bios? In this episode, Paul digs into 2 Corinthians 12 — Paul the apostle's thorn in the flesh, his three prayers for its removal, and God's answer: "My power is made perfect in weakness." This episod...

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We've been taught that strong leaders don't get shaken — they absorb the chaos, keep the smile on, and never let the cracks show. But is that strength, or just armor? In this episode, Paul kicks off a new series drawn from his doctoral research in Spiritual Formation and Relational Neuroscience, naming the myth of the "bulletproof pastor" and making the case that exposure — not...

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Are we expecting Jesus to change lives as much as the people who are desperately searching for Him?

In this episode of The Reluctant Leader Podcast, Paul reflects on the powerful story of blind Bartimaeus in Mark 10:46-52 and what it reveals about faith, desperation, and the surprising places where God is at work today.

Using the recent testimony of a former TikTok tarot reader ("Alex Reads ...

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Dallas Willard once described Jesus with a word that feels almost impossible in today's world: relaxed.

Not careless. Not disengaged. Not indifferent.

Relaxed.

Meanwhile, many of us feel pulled in a dozen different directions at once. Responsibilities, relationships, ministry, work, finances, notifications, expectations—the pressure is real.

The Apostle Paul understood that pressure. He ...

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Have you ever felt like you're constantly trying to catch up?

Behind on work. Behind on goals. Behind on expectations. Maybe even behind on life itself.

In Episode 73 of The Reluctant Leader Podcast, Paul reflects on a question that has become increasingly important in his own journey: What if God isn't rushing you?

As this episode releases, Paul is stepping away for a week with his family&md...

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Why do so many of us feel guilty when we slow down?

In this episode of The Reluctant Leader Podcast, Paul explores the deeper reasons rest can feel uncomfortable — especially for leaders, helpers, pastors, and high-capacity people who have quietly tied their identity to productivity.

From ultramarathon training to the pace of Jesus, this conversation looks at how our culture rewards ex...

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For this episode of The Reluctant Leader Podcast, we’re talking about something most of us wrestle with: how to measure progress in a healthy way.

In a culture obsessed with instant results, it’s easy to believe we’re failing when growth feels slow. But whether it’s physical training, spiritual formation, emotional health, or leadership development, the deepest trans...

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We live on a planet sustained by five great oceans. But what sustains the human soul?

In this episode, Paul shares how a simple morning rhythm—shaped through the Ignatian Spiritual Exercises and grounded in everyday objects—has become a pathway to deeper attachment with Christ.

A candle.
A cup of coffee.
A faithful companion named Eden.
A chair.
And above all… ...

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We live in a world built for speed—instant answers, constant connection, and endless noise. But what if all that “progress” is quietly costing us something deeper?

In this episode, Paul explores the tension between the fast-paced superhighways we’ve grown used to and the ancient paths God invites us to walk. Through a simple but powerful question—Could you go b...

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We live in a world that rewards speed, noise, productivity, and visible results. So it makes sense that a lot of us have learned how to do things for God without really slowing down to be with God.

In this conversation, Paul talks with Angela, a fellow doctoral cohort member, counselor, and woman of deep wisdom, about what it means to move beyond a checkbox faith and into a life of presence...

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Leadership pressure is unavoidable. Expectations, decisions, criticism, responsibility—it all adds weight. Most leaders spend their energy trying to reduce pressure, avoid pressure, or escape pressure.

But what if pressure isn’t just something to eliminate?

In this episode, we explore a different lens from James 1: pressure produces something in us. When handled well, the very th...

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What if the very thing you think is protecting you as a leader is actually holding you back?

In this episode of The Reluctant Leader Podcast, Paul sits down with Natasha Skolny, a former professional ice skater who is now a leadership coach and founder of The Leadership Cabin. It's a wide-ranging, deeply practical conversation about authenticity, nervous system regulation, resilience, ...

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In a world more connected than ever, leadership has quietly become more distant.

We have constant access to people—texts, emails, meetings, metrics—but proximity isn’t the same as presence. And when leaders begin leading from a distance, something subtle but serious happens: our decisions start to lose their soul.

In this episode of The Reluctant Leader Podcast, Paul Jenkin...

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In this episode, Paul sits down with Maggie Mastin — life coach, spiritual director, and director of career development at Indiana Wesleyan University — for a conversation that brings leadership back into the real world… your actual body.

They explore what happens when leaders live from the neck up, why “slowing down” is more spiritual than it sounds, and how ...

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In this episode of The Reluctant Leader Podcast, we dig into the difference between trending right (short-term hype, emotional highs, quick wins) and right trending —the slow, often unsexy work of real growth that actually changes your life.

We even talk football.
Yes, the Carolina Panthers lost—but somehow the future feels brighter. Why? Because improvement changes perspecti...

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Emmanuel: The God Who Chose Us

Christmas reminds us that God is not just with us—
He wanted to be with us.

In this special Christmas-week episode of The Reluctant Leader Podcast, we reflect on the meaning of Emmanuel and the often-overlooked truth behind it: God didn’t come reluctantly. He came willingly.

Drawing from Philippians 2, this episode explores the humility of Jesus, ...

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In this episode of The Reluctant Leader Podcast, Paul unpacks a powerhouse Greek word hidden in Philippians — συναθλέω (soon-ath-LEH-oh), a term ripped straight from the ancient athletic arena. It doesn’t just mean “work hard for Jesus.” It means strive together — shoulder-to-shoulder, like teammates fighting for the same goal.

Then we take that truth straight ...

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Episode Theme: How choosing gratitude reshapes our leadership, our relationships, and our mental and spiritual health.

Episode Summary:
We live in a culture trained to obsess over what’s missing. But the way of Jesus flips that narrative. Gratitude doesn’t ignore hard circumstances — it invites us to see God’s goodness right in the middle of them. In this episode,...