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About

In this powerful episode of the Resilient Pastor podcast, host Glenn Packiam welcomes Tara Beth Leach, pastor, author of Radiant Church, and passionate voice on women in ministry. Together they explore how pastors can lead through grief and loss, the vital practice of biblical lament, and how to maintain hope amid the church’s unraveling witness. Tara Beth shares her personal journey of pastoring through polarization, family tragedy, and profound personal loss, offering raw honesty and Spirit-filled encouragement for weary leaders.

From the importance of looking for “signs of spring” in local ministry to embracing limitations as the place where God’s abundant grace is found, this conversation delivers timely wisdom for pastors navigating weariness, cultural division, and the unique challenges faced by women in church leadership.

Key Takeaways

• Resilience is not white-knuckling through ministry — it is a work of God’s grace discovered in our limitations.
• Biblical lament, modeled in the Psalms and Lamentations, is the safe pathway to healing, honesty, and being truly known by God and others.
• Hope for the church is sustained by focusing on local faithfulness — loving neighbors, serving the marginalized, and planting seeds of the Kingdom.
• Leaders must regularly confess “I can’t” to experience the second work of grace and stop muscling through ministry alone.
• Women in ministry should focus on the next faithful step while refusing to let bitterness become their banner.
• Solitude, Scripture, prayer walks, therapy, and safe community are essential practices for pastoral sustainability.

Highlights

• “I believe in the church because Jesus believes in the church.”
• “Lament is where God is. Lament is the beginning of healing. Lament is the safety of being known.”
• “Eighteen months ago I sat at my dad’s bedside… I cried out, ‘God, I can’t.’ And that was when I learned that God’s abundant grace is found in our limitations.”
• “Don’t miss the church you have because you keep thinking about the church you want.” — echoing Eugene Peterson
• “The next faithful thing.” — the guiding principle Tara Beth offers to women navigating opposition in ministry.
• “We live in the already but not yet — already we can trust God is with us, and yet we still experience weariness to our bones.”

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