Leading While Hurting: Showing Up When You’re Struggling

What do you do when your soul is limping but the sermon still needs to be preached? In this vulnerable episode of Ministry Mix, Phil and Richard open up about what it’s like to keep leading when you’re tired, grieving, burned out, or just broken. They share honest stories of preaching through pain, shepherding with a heavy heart, and discovering how Jesus meets leaders not after the storm—but in it.

If you’ve ever had to lead while hurting, you’re not alone. And you’re not disqualified.

Key Takeaways:

• Leadership doesn’t stop when life gets hard—but it should get more honest.
• You don’t have to pretend to be okay to be effective.
• Hurting doesn’t make you a bad leader—it makes you a human one.
• God often ministers through us while He’s ministering to us.
• Authenticity in pain opens doors that polish never could.

Practical Soul-First Leadership Tips:

• Admit when you’re hurting—to yourself and to someone else.
• You can bleed and still bless. Jesus did.
• Find small ways to rest even when retreat isn’t possible.
• Don’t lead from your wounds, but don’t hide them either.
• God can still use you—especially when you feel weak.

In this practical episode of Ministry Mix, Phil and Richard walk through 10 ways to better understand the place where you live and lead. Whether you're planting a church, revitalizing a congregation, or just trying to be a more thoughtful neighbor, knowing your city is a key part of effective ministry.

From demographics to diners, prayer walking to property tax data, this episode gives leaders a real-world framework for discovering the rhythms, pain points, and potential of their community.

If you want to stop guessing and start engaging—this one’s for you.

10 Ways to Understand Your City:

1. Drive with Intentionality – Pay attention to neighborhoods, signage, businesses, and cultural markers.
2. Eat at Local Spots – You’ll learn what people love, talk about, and value.
3. Study Demographics – Use census data, city websites, and school stats to know who’s there.
4. Walk and Pray – Nothing replaces being on the ground with your eyes and heart open.
5. Visit City Council or School Board Meetings – Hear what people are fighting for and against.
6. Study What’s Being Built – Growth tells a story: housing, retail, parks, and schools all have meaning.
7. Follow the Money – What gets funded gets attention. Study city budgets, grants, and investments.
8. Talk to Longtime Residents – They carry memory, nuance, and pain newer folks miss.
9. Listen to Local Podcasts or Facebook Groups – See what people are celebrating, complaining about, and rallying around.
10. Look for Spiritual History – Ask where God has moved before and what spiritual strongholds remain.

Bonus Application Tips:

• Create a shared document to collect findings as a team.
• Map what ministries and churches already exist.
• Pray, “God, help me see what You see.”

In this episode, Phil Gifford and Richard Pope swap stories about the odd jobs they’ve worked—from lifeguarding and grease trap cleaning to bouncer gigs and debt collection. But it’s more than fun stories—they pull leadership and ministry insights from each experience. Whether you’re scrubbing toilets or selling copiers, there are spiritual lessons everywhere.

Key Takeaways:

• Train for the unseen: Phil shares how lifeguarding taught him to prepare for emergencies that may never come—yet be ready when they do. Ministry leadership is the same.
• Humility is leadership currency: Cleaning grease traps and scrubbing toilets helped Richard value servant leadership and never ask someone to do something he wouldn’t do himself.
• Conflict is better prevented than managed: A stint as a bouncer taught the value of addressing issues early—before they explode. This translates into proactive church leadership and relational health.
• Always deliver truth with grace: Richard’s debt collection job reminded him how tone and posture matter—especially when delivering hard news in ministry.
• Every job can be a gospel opportunity: From meat markets to copier sales, Phil learned to notice what hurts and bring Jesus into the story with empathy and boldness.
• Bad leadership leaves a mark: Phil’s short-lived envelope-stuffing gig reinforced the importance of clarity, kindness, and equipping volunteers before expecting results.

Practical Tips:

• Don’t underestimate the spiritual value of your past jobs—use those lessons in how you lead and disciple others.
• When equipping volunteers, be clear, kind, and thorough—never assume they “just know” what to do.
• Embrace the hard or “low” tasks. They cultivate humility and open doors for trust.
• Ask “What hurts?” when talking with someone far from Jesus—it often opens a door to gospel conversations.
• Address conflict early, and always with the tone of grace.