July 12, 2026
So You're Leading a Team Now
Leading a team doesn't mean you finished the fight — it means you're far enough down the road to reach back. Lead like a brother who still needs grace, because you do.
"What you have heard from me... entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also." — 2 Timothy 2:2
Brother, if you're reading this and you're the one leading a group now — the guy men text "clear" to, the one who calls when someone goes quiet — I want to talk to you specifically for a minute.
You didn't get here because you finished the fight. You got here because you're far enough down the road to reach back for the next man. Those are different things, and confusing them is the fastest way to hurt the men you're leading.
A few things every new team leader needs to hear:
1. You are still in the fight, not above it. The moment a leader starts believing his own testimony a little too much is the moment he stops doing the daily check-in himself. Don't be that guy. Text "clear" or send the hand emoji every day, same as everyone else in your group. Your team needs to see you still doing the work, not just teaching it.
2. A man's setback is not your failure. When someone on your team sends the hand emoji, your job is not to fix him in that moment or to feel responsible for his sin. Your job is to show up — a call, a text, a "let's grab coffee" — and remind him the fall doesn't disqualify him. You're not his savior. You're his brother.
3. Confidentiality is not optional, and it's not automatic. What's said in your group stays in your group unless someone's safety is at risk. Say this out loud to new men joining. Trust is the entire currency of this ministry, and one loose comment can cost you a man's honesty for months.
4. You will not have all the answers, and that's fine. You're not running therapy. You're running a room where men tell the truth and point each other back to Christ. When something is beyond you — real trauma, a marriage in crisis, something clinical — say so, and help him find help. Knowing your limits is leadership, not weakness.
5. Recruit your replacement. Paul told Timothy to entrust what he'd learned to men who could then teach others. Don't hoard this. The healthiest teams are the ones already producing the next leader, on purpose, before the current one burns out.
You didn't ask to be the guy men lean on. God built you into him anyway. Lead like a brother who still needs grace, because you do — same as every man in your room.
Praying for you and your team this week.
— Bryan, B.O.L.D. Ministry