Prophet and Loss: Embracing Grief, Nurturing Resilience, and Harnessing Authentic Leadership

Being a mission-driven leader is hard. Being a mission-driven leader who knows how to navigate the emotions of loss and grief connected to leadership is harder still. It takes a vulnerable leader to lead well--one who has faced into their own losses and can let those losses equip their character for God's greater plans. Not all leaders are willing. Not all leaders are able. Yet, according to David Woolverton, leaders' vulnerability to the emotional processes of grief is essential for the overall health of the organizations they lead and for the well-being--and discipleship--of those under their direction. Grief, he says, is best viewed as a mosaic, where each of our significant losses forms a constellation of tiles that, when seen together over time, helps tell a story of God's redemptive love, grace, and mission--a story desperately needed within today's post-pandemic angst. Using Elisabeth Kubler-Ross's five stages of grief (denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance) as a guide, along with five biblical prophet "mentors," Woolverton presents five strategies to equip pastors and leaders in negotiating with their losses to attain organizational resilience, sustainability, and vibrancy.


About the Author
David E. Woolverton has been a pastor for over thirty-five years, primarily serving churches facing turnaround ministry situations. He has a doctorate in conflict leadership and intensive clinical training in hospital chaplaincy. Woolverton is an affiliate professor and a faculty mentor at Kairos University, and a sought-after workshop leader and church consultant in conflict leadership and transition. He is the author of Mission Rift: Leading through Church Conflict (2021).