The Art of Being Covered: Restoring the Leader's Soul

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The Day My Calling Met My Need

There comes a moment in leadership when the call to care for others collides with your own need to be cared for. I have spent decades ministering as a pastor, teacher, and now as a consecrated Bishop in the Lord’s Church. My responsibilities are many—ecclesiastical, civic, social, educational, and familial. I’ve counseled countless souls, built systems, cast vision, and equipped leaders. And yet, amid the swirl of duties and divine assignments, I encountered a startling, sacred awareness: I need a pastor.

This revelation surfaced while teaching a leadership series in Buffalo, New York. The topic was mentorship—a subject I’m deeply passionate about. As I spoke about the vital need for mentors, I could feel the yearning in the room. Eyes welled up, not from sentimentality but from recognition. So many in that room, leaders, ministers, emerging visionaries, were in desperate need of mentorship—yet struggled to find one. Why? Because many mentors are looking to be mimicked, not to mold. They desire replication, not revelation. That’s when I paused, and said aloud, “I’m looking for a pastor.”

The room fell silent. Holy hush. Sacred stillness.

I explained what I meant—not just a figurehead, or a supervisory ecclesiastical formality. I wasn’t looking for a title. I was looking for a shepherd—someone to care for my soul. “Pastors must care,” I said. “Shepherds need shepherds.” I looked out at those earnest faces and continued: “I need a pastor for where my vision is taking me. The weight, the distinction, the depth of this calling demands more than peers—it requires a covering.”

Later, as I was driven from the airport, the host said to me, “Bishop, when you said ‘I need a pastor,’ it shook me. Because your 10 needs a 10.” I smiled and responded, “Absolutely.” You see, great leaders don’t need fans—they need fathers. They don’t just need compliments—they need correction. They don’t just need affirmation—they need accountability. And at that moment, clarity rushed in like a wave. I pulled out my phone, sitting in the terminal, and made a call I had long prayed about but never had the courage to complete.

I called Bishop Jerry Wayne Macklin.

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The Covering I Needed

Now, to many, he’s the First Assistant Presiding Bishop of the Church of God in Christ. But to me, he’s more than a title. I called not because of his office—but because of his heart. I’ve known Bishop Macklin for over four decades. I’ve watched his life. I’ve witnessed his wisdom. He’s watched me grow. And when I asked him—would he prayerfully consider being my pastor—he responded with the words only a true shepherd could give. Tender. Honest. Covering. Grace-filled. I didn’t need a celebrity. I needed a soul-watcher.

When I returned home, I shared with my local church that I now had a pastor. I told them, “As I watch for your soul, someone is now watching for mine.” And in both of our worship services, they stood and applauded—not because I made an announcement, but because I made a confession. Transparency is powerful. Leaders bleed too. And if we don’t find a place to bleed safely, we’ll bleed everywhere else tragically.

Sharing in Hayward, Ca. on the topic of Foreign Missions with my new Pastor, Bishop J.W. Macklin.

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The Shepherd’s Difference

There’s something sacred about having someone in your life who believes in you without needing to be impressed by you. Someone who can see your blind spots, guide your spirit, correct your course, and usher you into your next season of purposefulness. Mentors can inform you. But a pastor will form you.

Howard Thurman once said, “There is something in every one of you that waits and listens for the sound of the genuine in yourself.” I’ve discovered that to hear the genuine, we often need someone who is genuinely listening—to God, and to us.

And here’s the deeper truth: If we as leaders are not vulnerably transparent about our own soul care needs, we risk leading others into healing while secretly hemorrhaging. We’ll preach deliverance while silently drowning. We’ll administer life-saving measures while our own hearts are failing. We become what Thurman called “the disinherited”—not because of exclusion, but because of self-neglect.

It’s not heroic to lead while withering. It’s not noble to pour while never being replenished. Eventually, even the best leaders—if they’re not honest—find themselves lost in the transfer of grace they offer to others but never receive themselves. That’s why we must normalize soul care, not just for our congregations, but for ourselves.

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Restoring the Leader’s Soul

Our pulpits do not exempt us from pain. Our platforms do not shield us from fatigue. Leadership cannot be sustained by image or inertia. It must be nurtured by intimacy—with God, and with those entrusted to shepherd our souls. As leaders, we must reject the lie that needing help makes us weak. On the contrary—it makes us wise. It makes us whole.

So here is the call to action: If you’re reading this and you’re a leader, I urge you to pause. Reflect. Reassess. Ask yourself: do I have a mentor, or do I have a shepherd? Have I confused ecclesiastical oversight with personal soul care? Am I being developed, or merely managed? Do I have someone who sees my whole self—not just my gift, but my grief?

Mentors may refine your leadership. But a pastor will restore your soul.

And to those carrying weighty vision, leading in obscurity, carrying others on your back—I echo the psalmist: “He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake” (Psalm 23:3). But sometimes, He does so through someone. Someone you must humbly seek.

Because no matter how high the calling, no matter how public the platform—your soul still needs a shepherd.

Ready to find your own covering?

Every leader needs a leader. Every voice needs a voice. Every dreamer needs someone who’s walked the road before them.This isn’t just my story—it’s a nudge for you to seek the guidance, wisdom, and accountability you need to step fully into what’s next.

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Let’s walk it out—covered, mentored, and moving forward together.

— Matthew L. Brown