Leadership, Community, and Appropriate Expectations (Episode 1 - Archive)

Leadership, Community, and Appropriate Expectations (Episode 1 - Archive)

How do people find strength in their journey to sobriety? Relational Recovery kicks off its archive with a raw chat on leadership, community, and what it means to have realistic expectations of yourself and others. Host Wes Thompson and co-host Austin Hill talk as two people who are very much "in process" themselves.

They ground leadership firmly in Christian discipleship: "a Christian leader is someone who is aiming to be a disciple of Jesus and then is pushing others to be disciples of Jesus." It sounds simple, but as they admit, it gets messy when life hits hard and leaders themselves feel worn out. The conversation speaks directly to anyone in recovery who feels pressure to have it all together.

Wes challenges the idea that leaders graduate into some higher level of perfection, noting that "leaders that do the most harm are leaders that actually believe" they have arrived. There’s some gentle humour too, as they joke about "know-it-alls" and our tendency to be drawn to charismatic, over-confident figures who promise a clear map to a good life – a pattern they caution "rarely ends well".

They also tackle hypocrisy in faith and recovery spaces through a quote from pastor Matt Chandler: "the hypocrite grabs onto the language, but the heart isn't there." Wes admits he’s been there, stressing the need for leaders to "take our own medicine" and keep doing their inner work, especially after years in ministry. The tone is honest, conversational, and aimed at people wrestling with unwanted behaviours, Christian faith, and the realities of influence in families, small groups, or work teams.

You’ll get gentle encouragement to see yourself as a work in progress, whether you lead a whole community or are just trying to lead yourself well today. So what kind of leader do you want to be while you heal?