The Gift of Authenticy
This weekend my wife and I took part in something we had never done before; we got on the platform at our church and along with the lead pastor & his wife we talked about sex.
It was a very different sermon. Our lead pastor asked questions, we gave the most honest answers ever.
All four of us openly talked about our failures, lessons learned, and how it all was more complicated than we ever could have imagined. Said another way - we got on the platform and talked about real life.
The interesting part from my perspective wasn’t what we talked about, but rather the response to the entire exercise afterwards. One person came up in tears, others gave us hugs. The theme was the same; they just appreciated the honesty of the conversation.
In reflection, the authenticity of the moment gave others the gift of feeling seen. And while we didn’t share any “silver bullets” to fix something or even a catchy sermon tagline, everyone cared because it was real.
As a leader, you have a superpower, and that superpower is authenticity. I want to encourage you this morning - people care a lot more about someone who is real, than someone who is right.