One of the beauties of faith and leadership is sharing. This is sharing with an audience of believers and readers about what it is to personal live your faith. Faith is more than trust. In leadership, it is vital for everyday leaders to grow spiritually. The author shares posts related to faith and leadership with a global community. Subscribe and receive updates directly in your email. Share via Social Media platforms.
Gardenia responds to Pip and Mara’s analysis. Although there are challenges the life of servants of God, true believers are encouraged in their faith as wellness warriors. Click to listen to my audio response.
Challenges of Servants of God is Durable – Gardenia Bulluck
Pip: If you’ve ever wondered whether answering a higher calling comes with a complimentary side of difficulty, bulluckg.com is here to confirm: yes, abundantly yes.
Mara: This episode draws from the site Servant Leadership NOW, and we’re looking at what it actually costs to serve — the challenges, the question of whose approval you’re chasing, and what it means to stay durable when conditions get hard.
Pip: Let’s start with the challenges themselves.
The Challenges of a Servant of God
Mara: The central question here isn’t whether serving God is hard — the post takes that as a given. The real question is whether it’s durable, and what makes it so when the pressure is on.
Pip: The post opens with a phrase from a friend named Stacey that sets the whole frame: “It is not easy, but it is durable.”
Mara: That word — durable — does a lot of work. It’s not a promise that things get easier. It’s a claim that the servant has what it takes to last through difficulty, specifically because of trust rather than personal resilience.
Pip: The post breaks this out across three areas: joy, approval, and control. On joy, it points to James 1:2-4 — count it all joy — but it’s careful to say the mindset has to agree with the spirit. You can’t just perform cheerfulness through a hard season.
Mara: And it’s practical about support, too. Having a mentoring group or circle of friends who share your values lightens the load you’d otherwise carry alone. Laughter gets a mention as well — Proverbs 17:33 on a spirit of laughter — which is a gentler kind of durability than white-knuckling through.
Joy, Approval, and Control
Pip: The approval section is where it gets pointed. Wanting human approval is called normal, but the post asks you to be honest about whose approval actually governs your decisions. The transformation of Saul to Paul is the example — a complete reorientation toward seeking God’s judgment over any person’s.
Mara: Then the fig tree. The post uses it to illustrate the control problem: the tree needs sun, soil, and water, but too much of any one thing damages it. It can only flourish under conditions it doesn’t set for itself. Habakkuk 3:17 closes the loop — rejoicing in God even when the fig tree has no blossoms, no fruit.
Pip: The tree can’t manage its own growing season. That’s either humbling or deeply inconvenient, depending on your relationship with spreadsheets.
Mara: The upshot is straightforward: releasing control isn’t passivity. It’s recognizing that the Creator understands the dry seasons better than the fig tree does.
Pip: Durable, not easy. That’s the throughline — trust over performance, God’s approval over the crowd’s, and growth that happens on terms you don’t get to set.
Mara: Next time, we’ll keep following that thread wherever the site takes it.
Podcast #3 is now ready!!! Welcome to Episode 3 of Wellness Warriors Taking the Lead Podcast. Once again, the author of bulluckg.com from Servant Leadership NOW responds to question, “Why blog posts about faith, leadership and healing as servant leaders and warriors?”
For you,listening to episode 3 of Wellness Warriors: Taking the Leader podcast, explains what her readers have in common when it comes to faith and believing as “Wellness Warriors” who are take the lead every day by faith; miracles of healing are around. us.
In this audio, you get to hear from Pip and Mara. It is their analysis of the author’s blog postsabout faith, leadership and healing.
Pip: If you’ve ever wondered what it looks like when a leadership blog doubles as a spiritual wellness practice, bulluckg.com has been quietly building the answer one post at a time.
Mara: This episode pulls from that site across prayer and mindfulness, servant leadership and calling, mindset and boundaries, and the way music and memory carry us through grief.
Pip: Let’s start with the spiritual foundation underneath all of it — prayer and what it actually costs you to pay attention.
Prayer, Mindfulness, and Spiritual Wellness
Mara: The thread running through these posts is that spiritual wellness is not a feeling — it is a practiced orientation. The piece on mindfulness and spiritual wellness grounds this in creation itself, tracing the human spirit back to Genesis.
Pip: And the post on prayer leans on a 2025 Strategic Renewal survey to show how far the gap runs, even among leaders who should know better.
Mara: The survey found that “64% of pastors express heart-level conviction about gathering their people to pray, two out of three pastors describe prayer as ‘not important’ to the core of their ministry.” The post draws the logical conclusion: if leadership discounts prayer, those they lead will follow.
Pip: So the people most responsible for modeling dependence on God are quietly opting out. That is not a small irony.
Mara: The mindfulness post responds to exactly that gap — practical resets like breathing, intentional silence, and curating your circle, framed as daily skill-building, not mysticism.
Pip: Psalm 37 takes the longer view: stop fretting about evil, because that energy is wasted. The post on spiritual wellness and mental health backs this up with Philippians 4:8 — retrain what you think about, and the mental health benefits follow.
Mara: How to Foster Spiritual Wellness in Everyday Life and Prayer Time — Your Grace and Mercy both land on the same anchor: grace is new every day, and that daily renewal is the practical starting point for everything else.
Pip: Which is also exactly what makes servant leadership possible — you cannot pour from an empty cup, and apparently you cannot lead from one either.
Servant Leadership as a Calling
Mara: The core claim in Understanding the Role of Servant Leadership in Modern Times is that servant leadership is not a style borrowed from organizational theory — it is a spiritual assignment.
Pip: The post on God’s calling makes that personal. It opens with Jesus in Gethsemane: “Father, everything is possible for you. Please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will, not mine.”
Mara: That is the template. Celebrating the Impact: Stories of Transformative Servant Leadership argues that Greenleaf’s famous model was really just biblical principles translated into business language — useful, but downstream of the source.
Pip: The Challenges of a Servant of God and Non-Negotiable Principles of God both press on the durability question — whether the calling holds under pressure, and whether the leader’s integrity is actually anchored to something that does not move.
Mara: It is More than Hair rounds this out from an unexpected angle — the barber and stylist as community healers, offering what the post calls psychoanalytic treatment to each individual client. Serving people where they are, one person at a time.
Pip: That reframe — from corner office to corner barbershop — is what the mindset segment is really about.
Mindset, Boundaries, and How You See
Mara: I Know What You Did opens with a fitness instructor’s line that carries further than the gym: “If you are not feeling challenged, then you are in the wrong class.”
Pip: Which is a gentle way of saying that comfort is not always a sign you are doing well.
Mara: What is Your Mindset? anchors the alternative in Philippians 2:5 — “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ” — and traces what that actually looks like in practice: hospitality to strangers, solidarity with those who suffer.
Pip: I Am Not Built for the Pit makes the boundary explicit — the pit is not your destiny, and the post on forbidding, I FORBID! FORBID! FORBID!, names the flip side: the authority you exercise when you refuse to allow something has consequences, and you should examine whose authority you are actually acting on.
Mara: As Much as Things Change closes the loop on perception — how trauma, bias, and busyness distort the way we see people, and why that distortion is ultimately a heart matter, not just a cognitive one.
Pip: Grief has a way of clarifying all of that — which is where the next segment lives.
Healing Through Memory and Music
Mara: Somedays — It’s Just About Music begins with a caregiver watching her mother, a lifelong gospel singer, close her eyes and fall into jazz for two hours straight. The post quotes 1 Samuel: “Whenever the spirit from God came on Saul, David would take up his lyre and play. Then relief would come to Saul; he would feel better, and the evil spirit would leave him.”
Pip: Music doing what words cannot — that is the whole argument in one verse.
Healing
Mara: Proverbial Mom Writes Letter #23 and the Proverbial Mom Podcast Version extend the theme into written memory — a mother’s letters tucked into a son’s suitcase across twenty-two years, each one timely, each one different. The podcast version is part of an ongoing healing process, rereading those letters now.
Pip: And Understanding the Importance of Safe Spaces in Faith Communities ties it together — grief and memory need a place to land, and the post makes the case that faith communities are meant to be exactly that place.
Mara: Prayer, calling, mindset, memory — these posts keep returning to the same question: what does it look like to stay rooted when everything around you is moving?
Pip: Apparently, it looks like jazz at two in the afternoon and a letter in a suitcase. Next time, we keep stepping up.
Welcome to Episode 2 of Wellness Warriors Taking the Lead Podcast. Once again, the author of bulluckg.com from Servant Leadership NOW explains the connection of prayer and leading from the readers’ viewpoint as discipling warriors. The author suggests that there is a psychology of prayer that defines the warrior who wants to have consistent wellness.
You can listen to Pip and Mara’s analysis of blog posts related to prayer and leadership (5:04) or choose to click and listen to the entire podcast (16 :11) from Wellness Warriors Taking the Lead Episode 2.
Pip: If you have ever wondered whether stepping up your leadership call involves equal parts prayer, honest self-examination, and knowing when to say a firm no — well, bulluckg.com has been doing the reading for you.
Mara: This episode pulls from posts covering prayer and healing, the role of vulnerability in servant leadership, and what it actually means to exercise authority with intention. Let’s start with prayer — specifically, what grace and mercy look like when you show up for them daily.
Prayer as Practice: Grace, Mercy, and Healing
Mara: The question both posts in this segment are wrestling with is this: what does prayer actually do for you — spiritually, physically, emotionally — and why does it matter that you show up for it consistently?
Pip: The post “Prayer Time – Your Grace and Mercy” frames the answer in a lyric that carries real weight. The songwriter puts it plainly: “Your grace and mercy brought me through, if it wasn’t for Your love, tell me what would I do? Your blood redeemed me, made me brand new, it was Your grace and mercy that brought me through.”
Mara: So the upshot is that prayer is not a transaction — it is a recognition. You did not earn another chance; you received one. The post describes prayer as a time to renew strength, ask forgiveness, and acknowledge that God looked beyond fault to meet an immediate need.
Pip: And that framing carries directly into the second post, “The Role of Prayer in Healing and Wellness,” which broadens the lens from personal gratitude to something more like a daily discipline with measurable consequences.
Mara: That post is direct about it: prayer is called “a mighty weapon commanded by the Creator,” and it points to growing scientific evidence — including research suggesting routine prayer is linked to cognitive protection and emotional balance in older adults.
Pip: Prayer as brain health. Turns out the quiet conversation has peer-reviewed company.
Mara: The post also makes a community argument — that praying together multiplies the effect. It cites Deuteronomy and Joshua on one person routing a thousand, and frames the faith community as a support system that speaks the Word collectively for wellness.
Pip: Which means the practice is both deeply personal and structurally communal — and that tension is exactly what the next theme picks up.
Vulnerability as Leadership Strength
Mara: The post “The Role of Vulnerability in Leadership” opens a question that cuts both ways: how does a ministry leader build trust when the very act of being open can be used against the people in their care?
Pip: The post names the stakes without softening them: “studies show that vulnerability in leadership creates psychological safety, increases employee engagement, and accelerates innovation” — and then asks how ministers bridge that finding into spiritual community building.
Mara: What this means in practice is that vulnerability is not weakness on display — it is the foundation of authentic relationship. The post uses Jesus in Gethsemane as the clearest example: pouring out real emotion to the Father, then choosing obedience without summoning the angels he could have called.
Pip: The self-reflection checklist the post offers — identifying trustworthy partnerships, being honest about challenges, speaking the Word daily — reads less like a leadership framework and more like a maintenance routine for integrity.
Mara: Which is exactly the point. And that idea of personal responsibility for the authority you carry leads straight into the next segment.
When Forbidding Is the Faithful Move
Pip: The post “I FORBID! FORBID! FORBID!” opens with a deceptively simple definition: to forbid means “to refuse to allow.” Six letters, the post notes, and yet it has consequences — because the moment you forbid something, you are claiming authority over it.
Mara: And the post immediately asks whose authority that actually is. It holds up Matthew 19, where the disciples tried to keep children from Jesus and he corrected them directly: “Leave the children alone. Do not forbid them from coming to Me. The kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”
Pip: The post turns that outward forbidding inward — by the end, the prayer is to forbid demonic forces from sabotaging what God has prepared. Authority, exercised rightly, is an act of love, not control.
Mara: Grace that meets you daily, vulnerability that builds rather than exposes, and authority accountable to something larger than yourself — these are not separate ideas.
Pip: They are the same call, from different angles. See you next time.
This blog post is about three kings: Asa, Jehoshaphat, and Hezekiah. Their encounter with God as leaders is still revelant in this season.
First, it is God who grants power. God does this for the good of those who chooses to follow Him. God sets up and takes down kingdoms, kings and rulers (Jeremiah 1:10). Yes, God has all authority in earth, below the earth, and above the heavens. He gives authority to whom He pleases (Romans 13:1).
Asa
Asa’s story is one of reform and disobedience. In the book of 2 Chronicles, chapter 14, we meet him as King Asa of Judah. What a magnificent beginning of doing what right! At the start of his reign, because of Asa’s obedience to God, the people enjoyed peace from war with surrounding nations. Even after ten years of rest, in the time of war, the nation experienced victory. One example is war against the Ethiopians, an army of a million fighters. In contrast, Asa’s warriors only totaled five hundred and eighty thousand. In the face of this opposition, Asa’s prayer (one of my personally favorite prayers) to God was:
“Lord, it is nothing for You to help, whether with many or with those who have no power; help us, O Lord our God, for we rest on You, and in Your name, we go against this multitude. O Lord, you are God; do not let man prevail against You!”
Yet, the Scriptures tell another story about Asa. His reliance and faith changed from God to another king: King Ben-Hadad of Syria (2 Chronicles 16:1-4) This alliance cost Judah their victory. Even in the time of sickness, Asa did not seek God (2 Chronicles 16:11-14).
Jehoshaphat
Jehoshaphat, Asa’s son, became king after his father’s death. The Bible describes King Jehoshaphat as a king of faith before God. In his heart, was a delight in seeking the ways of the Lord. In all his good works, the willingness to compromise with an ungodly king (Ahab) was a choice.
First, was the allowance of a marriage between his eldest son to thedaughter of King Ahab and Queen Jezebel of Israel (ungodly family of Baal worshippers). The convincing of Ahab to Jehoshaphat that “I am, as you are,” did override Jehoshaphat’s faith and God’s warning (2 Chronicles18:28).
Yet, because God is the judge, His decision is one of a merciful father in that in battle, Jehoshphat’s life was protected. Not so for Ahab and his son, even though they wore disguises. Because God did find good things in Jehoshaphat, mercy was given to him. The reforms of repentance to be faithful as God’s people, once again, blessed the nation of Judah.
Hezekiah
Hezekiah’s story and his relationship with the prophet of Isaiah is most familiar. From the beginning, King Hezekiah did what was right in the eyesight of God, quite different from his father King Ahaz. His devotion and worship of God was seem as loving as that of King David. In this way, there was flourishing and great worship of God within the nation. The people learned about forgiveness and repentance. Hezekiah’s whole-hearted reforms were a blessing in Judah (2 Chronicles 29:1-2; 2 Chronicles 31:20-21).
Unfortunately, Hezekiah, too, did succumb to his own imperfection of pride. Although it is God who delivered the people from the hands of their enemies, Hezekiah became prideful in the sight of God. It was the favor of God which allowed Hezekiah to prosper and overcome ungodly enemies of God (Assyrian Empire of idol worship). Even after Hezekiah repented and God extended his life, Hezekiah, once again, became a prideful showoff (2 Kings 20:12-13).
Speak Lord
God cannot allow unrighteousness. He is the judge of all. He is always speaking; God is always working. Leadership is important. No matter the dominion, i.e., home, places of worship, workplaces or nations, rightful leadership is what please God.
From the very beginning, God’s decision to give man limited authority (dominion) was in the power of His leadership. Giving His creation (male and female) leadership in the earth realm was under God’s authority. Yet, God’s love is evidence of how He deals with disobedience. Clearly, Adam did misuse that power. Adam’s decision to be disobedient to God, was a choice. Because of Adam’s decision, sin was introduced into this world. Ever since, there is a battle between powers given to Satan and humankind.
It is a mistake for any person (including a ruler, king, or official) to think that God’s voice is silent. The purpose is clear: “Leading with compassion, love, humbleness, and faith toward God is how you are successful. Careless and unrepenting leadership is deadly. God speaks!
Identifying Common Challenges Faced by Servant Leaders
We enter into this world, crying out to be served. As babies and young children, our needs are dependent upon others. Servant Leadership style differs. Yes, Servant Leadership is not easy because it is not about your being “first.” You are not the one to be served; rather, you are the first to serve others. Servant leadership is a change of the heart.
As a matter in fact, this type of leadership has to be an intentional mission (goal) for the vision given. Above all, servant leadership is a personal calling; yielding; it is not a placement position. That is the first challenge to face as a servant leader – accepting a calling greater than self.
Another challenge that faces the servant leader is the “repositioning of self” for the calling. Repositioning self is a mental, physical, and spiritual position to conquer authorized territory. The servant leader is a foreigner in strange territory. Yet, one has the calling and authority to walk in and take the territory. It is spiritual warfare.
Moreover, do not expect others to understand this calling. Because it is given to the servant leader, opposition persists. Wisdom and discernment come through prayer, meditation, and fasting. Even when the servant of God conquers the territory, one must maintain it for the benefit of others that you serve.
Practical Solutions for Overcoming Leadership Challenges
Examples of common challenges in serving others first and repositioning of self comes from external and internal pressures. Three common ones are:
Communication issues
Lack of natural resources
Untrained people
Communication
Good communication is a strategy. It is a learning process, and experience is a good teacher. From experiences, I share with you:
Be willing to develop good listening skills. More listening, less talking to people.
Be observant of your surroundings. Who are the communicators in your surrounding? Are these the key people who others listen to most often and not you?
Body language is a great communicator. Eyes, movement, twitches, hands, etc. Be mindful of its value in communicating, especially in different environments.
Be sensitive to others’ personal space and respect it.
Ensure that the physical environment differentiate as resting spaces and working spaces. This is a great way to serve others for areas of rebounding and re-energizing. The environment communicates to outsiders as well. It speaks to what you value the most.
Lack of natural resources
For the servant leader, the “Complaint Department” does not exist. The servant leader turns that department to a place of Transformative Operations. Therefore, the highly skilled servant sees a lack of resources as opportunities to transform lack to abundance. How?
Identify partnerships for the season of now for the immediate purpose
Build trustful relationships for ongoing supply chains
Assess the physical layout. Who are the custodians of the physical infrastructure? Usually, they are the ones who have certain keys for your access into specific areas. Treat them with the respect they deserve. They are the true operations managers.
Untrained people
Just because people lack training, this does not mean that they are not useful. This is an opportunity to help members acquire the skills. People have a skill set from life. So:
Identify current skills and experiences
Commit to conversations to build and improve members’ skill level
Identify ongoing training needs
Incorporate a reward system that validates members’ successes and value to the team
The Role of Faith in Navigating Leadership Obstacles
Reflectively, I view reposition of self as a constant walk of faith in Christ. For we are not here is to be the first served; rather, we are the first to serve others.
Evaluating Your Growth and Progress as a Servant Leader
Moreover, the scripture reminds us that only what we do for Christ will last (1 Corinthians 3:12-14). In the natural world, we often create instruments for the purpose of measuring growth. Such is the purpose of pre and post assessments in goal setting.
Spiritually, we know that only God’s measurement that will stand. However, our hearts are a reflection of who we are. It is because of our human condition that God gives to us mercy. It is the law that establishes a “stick” of measure. Without the law, how would we know that a violation occurred? The laws of God exist for giving us knowledge about the commandments of God.
Internally, when we accept Christ, the Spirit of God (the Holy Spirit) comes to teach and guide. Paul said a war occurs. The human spirit wants what is contrary to the Holy Spirit. With compassion and love, God renders to us his favor. Outwardly, is what we now produce – a leadership as His servant and friend.
Progress
The list below are examples from the Scriptures. These are growth areas in which you function, for the Holy Spirit is your teacher. You:
Operate in the commandment of love (Luke 6:27; Matthew 5:38-48). In other words, you are learning to treat others the way you want others to treat you.
Willingly keep watch as a shepherd (1 Peter 5:2-3).
Are able to readily answer questions about hope (1 Peter 13-16)
Are to stay strong in faith; do what brings honor to God (1 Peter 11)
Stay away from idols (1 John 5:21)
Keep building (Jude, verse 20)
God gives the increase of the affairs concerning us because of the desire to please Him. This is why we will overcome challenges as servants of God.
Finally, for more like this blog post and to encourage, we suggest:
Prayer time is another opportunity to remember that God’s mercy is new today. Today, new mercy is ours. Today, you rise up with grace and mercy, no matter the circumstance. The lyrics and sounds of this video are that of Soulful Sounds. I hope it is a reminder of how faithful God is even in this moment.
Grace is unmerited favor. No, I did not deserve another chance; but God gave it me. I am thankful for that right now. It is wonderful to know that Jesus is presenting me before God’s throne of grace. What about you?
The songwriter sang,
"Your grace and mercy brought me through, if it wasn't for Your love, tell me what would I do? Your blood redeemed me, made me brand new, it was Your grace and mercy that brought me through." Was it grace and mercy that brought you through?
Renewed Strength
Prayer will refresh the mind and spirit. It is a time that we can renew our strength in conversations with the Lord. We can ask for forgiveness of all my sins, (known and unknown). God, today, looked beyond our faults and saw our immediate need: MERCY. He understands that only the Lamb of God is worthy; so, God, in His love, extended mercy.
Above all, the writer reminds of us of what Our Heavenly Father did:
Thank You for saving a sinner like me To tell the world salvation is free There were times when I just didn’t do right But You watched over me all day and night Your grace and mercy brought me through I’m living this moment because of You I want to thank You and praise You too
For that reason, we should desire to be obedient to God’s Will and God’s Way. Will you praise Him for His grace and mercy from where you are right now?
