I often meet two kinds of leaders:

YES

The first is in danger because they have ended up surrounded only by those who say yes.
This would actually be my preferred option! It feels great when every idea is affirmed. Every instinct encouraged. Every decision applauded. It feels empowering – until growth stalls and you crash and burn, because nothing is challenged or refined – Confidence grows, wisdom doesn’t. A deadly combo!

NO

The second lives under no.

This is also terrible and whenever I have been there I wanted to run and hide.
When leadership is truncated by resistance, curtailed by criticism, under pressure where every decision feels scrutinised – forward movement feels risky. Vision becomes cautious. Momentum slows. Nobody benefits!

Here’s the problem: constant affirmation and constant criticism BOTH stunt a leader’s formation and effectiveness

The former leads to overconfidence without wisdom.

The latter leads to fear without faith.

Neither produces healthy, sustainable leadership.

What voices are surrounding you right now?

Most leaders don’t need more opinions. They need the right voices.

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The voices every leader needs around them

Scripture is clear – God forms leaders in community, not isolation. Jesus didn’t build through crowds, but with trusted companions.

Over years of leadership and coaching, I’ve seen that healthy leaders consistently have access to four kinds of voices: archetypes of the Lion, the Eagle, the Ox, and the Human. In turn they speak of the Lord (as the gospel writers symbolised)

• Authority – truth that brings clarity, alignment, and loving restraint
• Vision – that lifts your eyes and reframes what’s possible
• Practical wisdom – that helps translate calling into action
• Friendship – presence, empathy, and encouragement to strengthen the soul

When one of these is missing, leadership becomes distorted.
When all are present, leadership becomes restored.

Don’t you want all that?

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You were never meant to lead alone

Many senior leaders are tired – not because they lack faith, but because they are carrying responsibility without shared discernment.

Making weighty decisions in isolation. Holding vision internally.

Pretending on the front stage all is well, while behind the curtain it’s chaos.
Trying to hear God clearly with no safe space to test, pray, and process.

That’s not strength.
That’s loneliness wearing leadership language. Disaster waiting to happen. It’s why burnout or catastrophe happens. Here’s why we have started LAUNCH COMMUNITAS.

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An invitation to apply: Communitas

Communitas exists for senior ministry leaders who are ready to stop leading alone and start discerning together.

It is:

• A prayerful space
• A discerning community
• A trusted table, not a platform

This is not open-access.
It is application-based, by design.

If you are a senior ministry leader and sense a desire for:

• wise, grounded voices
• shared listening for the Spirit
• clarity without performance
• leadership without isolation

you are very welcome to apply to join us.

Just get in touch here to apply now – tell us about yourself and where you are leading, and if accepted we will give you details of how we want to serve you through our regular Zoom coaching and connection calls (FREE, yes really), and our forthcoming Communitas Retreat here in Manchester February 9th and 10th which only has a few spaces left!

Communitas is not about fixing leaders.
It’s about forming them through friendship. Because you don’t need more noise but we all need the right voices. Join us?

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