Confession Is Good for the Soul . . . and for Your Leadership Why are so many Christian leaders burning out, losing faith, and abusing power? Rather than relying on our self-sufficiency and toughing our way through the tension, Mandy Smith invites us to confess it. As a pastor who also equips and encourages other pastors, Mandy feels the pain. Instead of offering more strategies to fix our problems, she reminds us of the call that first captured our imagination, directing our passions back to God and God’s people. In her book you will: experience the surprising freedom of grappling with a loving God - be released from illusions of control into a lifestyle of healing hope - rediscover your passion for ministry and your love for God and God’s people. Confessions of an Amateur Saint is a different kind of leadership book for a different kind of leader. And different is what we need these days―spiritual leadership refined by fire rather than burned out by it, a leadership unencumbered by unrealistic expectations, a leadership reconnected to the God who receives our confession with love and restores our soul for the task ahead. In a time where all Christian leaders are required to be pioneers, let Mandy skillfully guide you to a fresh, spiritually-fueled integrity, not weighted by false expectations but leading your people as your faith is increasingly shaped like Christ. If you’re a leader who’s weary of bluster and preening and you long for an honest, faithful voice to name the ache in your soul, you’ve found a friend in Mandy Smith. These pages take us deep into our story, into our fear and hope, into the places where God waits for us with open arms. Winn Collier, director of the Eugene Peterson Center for Christian Imagination and author of Love Big, Be Well and A Burning in My Bones Like Mandy Smith’s previous books, this is a searingly honest confession by a truly vulnerable pastor. Dr. Smith acknowledges her impulse to desire success, certainty, and comfort but shares how she has come to yearn for a different perspective―one that sees what God sees, glimpses what God is doing, and tries to follow the prompts of the Spirit. If you’re like me, you’ll be deeply disquieted by Confessions of an Amateur Saint . It’s scary. Scary good. Michael Frost, Morling College, Sydney What Mandy offers here ought to be self-evident among those who work in churches or in positions of spiritual influence, but sadly it is not. We have lost the art of true spiritual leadership, of what it means to be an elder in the church. We lean too heavily on secular skills and perspectives in our work of ministry and not enough on the sheer act of faith. Mandy challenges us to return to the vulnerable, messy, courageous work of real leadership after the pattern of Jesus. It is a call worth hearing and leaning into because the world starves for more truly spiritual leaders. Carolyn Moore, pastor and church planter Mandy Smith has done it again. She has honestly, creatively, and faithfully drawn us into things that matter most. Her searching self-examination as a pastor and as a woman leader during these turbulent days is itself richly reflective as she names and explores the familiar and the mysterious about the church and beyond. All this occurs as her undergirding sense of hope grounds her wisdom and faith. Mandy Smith is such a gift, and I consider myself her student. I commend you to do the same. Mark Labberton, professor and president emeritus of Fuller Theological Seminary This book is for those of us who love doing God’s work but who also struggle with the tension of living in our own messy stories. In a natural, relational style, Smith invites us to be real and to own and name the difficulties of leadership, whether we’re struggling with unbelief, the desire to succeed, or other challenges. But she doesn’t leave us there. She reminds us to return to our faith by confessing and choosing God rather than relying on ourselves. A wonderful, helpful book for strengthening and discipling Christian leaders. MaryKate Morse, professor and author of Lifelong Leadership and A Guidebook to Prayer We live in a world that teaches, “Blessed are the self-confident, for they will bring about the Kingdom of Heaven.” But what if as we grow in ministry competencies, we become less self-reliant? Mandy shares her struggle to trust God in the daily grind of ministry and invites us on a journey to discover the countercultural truth that Jesus pronounced: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.” JR Woodward, PHD, national director of the V3 Movement and author of The Scandal of Leadership This beautiful book is a gift to us all! Mandy Smith writes with a tender vulnerability as a fellow believer who doesn’t always fully believe but who chooses to keep trusting in God over and over through the practice of confession. She models this honest confession through personal stories, reflective exercises, and pray