Vulnerability

Vulnerable>open to attack or damage

This is what I think of when I come across verses like James 5:16 "Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed."

When we open up to others, confess things to others, we open ourselves up to potential attack and/or damage. When we do so our hope is that those we open up to will be grace dispensers (terminology thanks to a friend's blog, downwritehonest.com). We trust that they will handle us with care, love, and concern.

As leaders, sometimes we feel pressured to have the appearance that we've got it all together. We struggle with letting our guard down, with being vulnerable to those around us. And in our attempts to appear strong, we actually do those in our groups a disservice.

None of us has it together. We are all figuring out how to follow Christ in a way that pleases Him. I think what shows even more strength is our ability to be vulnerable to those in our groups. Let's show them how it's done. Let's lead by example, opening our lives up to them to see where we miss the mark. Let's lead by example, being honest about the fact that we don't have it all together, we have our own struggles, in fact we may miss the mark quite often.

At the same time, let's lead the way by being grace dispensers! I like what my friend said, "I believe it is our job to be dispensers of grace not just judges of character and conduct." This all came up because of what happened in our ministry huddles Monday night at VLT. The small group leaders in my huddle all do such an outstanding job of allowing others to be vulnerable, and I think we had some great discussions allowing us to be vulnerable with each other. I'm wondering, as leaders, how often we allow ourselves to be that vulnerable in our groups.

I think it's important that we model this. There's no distinction in James 5:16 as to who should do the confessing, as to who should be vulnerable, leading me to believe that we all should act this way. So, my question is have you operated more as a grace dispenser, or as someone who has practiced vulnerability lately as a leader? Maybe it's time to switch roles? Maybe it's time to grow in both areas.

I'd love to hear your thoughts.