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Are we expecting Jesus to change lives as much as the people who are desperately searching for Him?

In this episode of The Reluctant Leader Podcast, Paul reflects on the powerful story of blind Bartimaeus in Mark 10:46-52 and what it reveals about faith, desperation, and the surprising places where God is at work today.

Using the recent testimony of a former TikTok tarot reader ("Alex Reads Tarot"), who publicly gave her life to Jesus and walked away from the occult, Paul explores a challenging question:

Have those outside the church become more expectant than those inside it?

Bartimaeus couldn't see Jesus—but he believed Jesus could change everything. While the crowd tried to silence him, Jesus stopped, called him forward, and restored his sight.

What if the Church's greatest calling today isn't to quiet desperate people, but to encourage them to keep calling out to Jesus?

In this episode:

• Why Bartimaeus' story still speaks to our cultural moment
• What recent conversion stories reveal about spiritual hunger
• How disappointment can quietly erode our expectation of God's power
• Why desperate people have always been drawn to Jesus
• How followers of Jesus can become encouragers instead of gatekeepers

Key Scripture:
Mark 10:46-52
"Many rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, 'Son of David, have mercy on me!' Jesus stopped..."

Memorable Quote:
"Once, the church was desperate and the world was doubting. Today, it sometimes feels like the world is desperately searching while the church has quietly lowered its expectations."

Reflection Questions:
Who in your life have you quietly assumed is too far from God?
What would it look like to believe that Jesus is still stopping for people who are desperately calling His name?

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Thanks for listening to The Reluctant Leader Podcast with Paul Jenkins! Find me on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, and be sure to read the stuff I'm writing on my blog.

Rather watch the video? Head over to The Reluctant Leader Podcast on my YouTube channel.

Got questions or comments? Text them to me!

Dallas Willard once described Jesus with a word that feels almost impossible in today's world: relaxed.

Not careless. Not disengaged. Not indifferent.

Relaxed.

Meanwhile, many of us feel pulled in a dozen different directions at once. Responsibilities, relationships, ministry, work, finances, notifications, expectations—the pressure is real.

The Apostle Paul understood that pressure. He wrote that he faced the daily weight of concern for the churches (2 Corinthians 11:28). Yet beneath all of that responsibility was one clear focus: that Christ would be formed in God's people (Galatians 4:19).

In this episode, we explore the connection between Paul's concern for the churches, Martha's distraction in Luke 10, and the invitation to return to the love of God as our primary anchor.

Because the goal isn't to care less.

It's to stop being pulled apart by everything that competes for our attention.

When we truly believe we are loved by God, we discover the freedom to carry responsibility without being crushed by it.

In This Episode:

• Why Dallas Willard described Jesus as "relaxed"
• The hidden meaning behind Paul's "daily concern" for the churches
• How distraction literally means being pulled in different directions
• What Mary and Martha teach us about focus and formation
• Why spiritual pressure is different from spiritual purpose
• The question that may summarize the entire gospel

Memorable Quote:

"We don't overcome distraction by caring less. We overcome it by becoming anchored in the love of God."

Reflection Question:

What concern or responsibility has been pulling you in different directions lately—and what might change if you carried it from a place of being deeply loved by God rather than striving for His approval?

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Thanks for listening to The Reluctant Leader Podcast with Paul Jenkins! Find me on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, and be sure to read the stuff I'm writing on my blog.

Rather watch the video? Head over to The Reluctant Leader Podcast on my YouTube channel.

Got questions or comments? Text them to me!

Have you ever felt like you're constantly trying to catch up?

Behind on work. Behind on goals. Behind on expectations. Maybe even behind on life itself.

In Episode 73 of The Reluctant Leader Podcast, Paul reflects on a question that has become increasingly important in his own journey: What if God isn't rushing you?

As this episode releases, Paul is stepping away for a week with his family—a practice that doesn't come naturally for someone who loves leading, creating, building, and moving things forward. That tension becomes the backdrop for an honest conversation about hurry, attachment, spiritual formation, and the pace of Jesus.

In This Episode:

• Why our culture equates speed with success
• The difference between urgency and faithfulness
• How fear often drives our hurry more than our schedules
• What attachment theory teaches us about rest and trust
• Why Jesus consistently moved at a different pace than the people around Him
• The connection between being with Jesus and becoming like Jesus
• Why rest is not a reward for finishing everything
• How slowing down can become an act of faith

Key Scripture:

Mark 3:14 — "He appointed twelve that they might be with Him..."

Memorable Quotes:

• "Urgency and faithfulness are not the same thing."
• "Sometimes we're not running toward success. We're running away from insecurity."
• "Before there was ministry, there was relationship. Before there was mission, there was attachment. Before there was doing, there was being."
• "Rest isn't a reward for finishing everything, because you'll never finish everything."
• "The goal of spiritual formation isn't becoming more productive or more efficient. It's becoming more like Jesus."
• "Maybe the invitation of Jesus isn't to move faster. Maybe it's to walk closely enough with Him that His pace becomes your pace."

Reflection Question:

What would change this week if you truly believed that God wasn't rushing you? How would you pray differently, lead differently, parent differently, work differently... and rest differently?

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Thanks for listening to The Reluctant Leader Podcast with Paul Jenkins! Find me on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, and be sure to read the stuff I'm writing on my blog.

Rather watch the video? Head over to The Reluctant Leader Podcast on my YouTube channel.