In the last few weeks several student leaders have shared with me their feelings of inadequacy and irrelevance. Depleted emotionally, they feel as though they have little to offer to those they lead. As I have listened to them, I feel compassion but also the awareness that they may be learning what it is to lead and minister with a “heart of flesh.”
Henri Nouwen in In the Name of Jesus describes the leader with a heart of flesh as one who claims their feelings of irrelevance as a calling to know and share the heart of God with others. This is the new kingdom leadership where one continues to open themselves in the midst of their pain to connect people to the forgiving, healing, and accepting heart of Jesus.
As a campus minister, I’ve learned that students need me lead them with my unadorned self. Sometimes I have had the most influence with spiritually vulnerable students when I was simply present. When I listened to them and offered them truth and hope when I didn’t feel particularly inspired myself.
When we feel on the periphery and irrelevant, we may be in the best position for influencing our leaders. Why? It is an opportunity for us to trust in Christ’s strength through us. Leadership is about trust. Trust in our identity and sufficiency in Christ.
Leadership is a chance for these truths to become a lived reality. There’s nothing like having to encourage when we ourselves need encouragement, to love when we desire to feel loved, to empower when we need to be empowered. We’re set up to have greater impact when we give even when we feel inadequate and weak.
How do we teach students to open up to God and others in their weakness? How can we encourage them to trust that Christ will empower them and give them the love and strength they need to lead?
How can we mentor students to lead authentically in the face of their weaknesses and limitations?
As we equip leaders on our campuses, how can we help them receive Jesus’ acceptance of them in a performance and success-oriented environment?
In what ways can we as campus ministers model leading with a heart of flesh?
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Barbara Miller is the Director of Spiritual Life at Biola University. You can write her at barbara.miller@biola.edu.
