Book Club Questions for Leading on Empty

1.Cordeiro opens the book with a striking admission of his own collapse — a moment when he realized he had nothing left to give. Had you ever heard a pastor or ministry leader speak that openly about personal breakdown before reading this book? What was your initial reaction to his vulnerability?

2.Cordeiro describes burnout not as a sudden explosion but as a slow leak — a gradual draining of reserves over time. Looking back over the last few years of your own life, can you identify moments when the tank was clearly getting lower? What were the signs you may have ignored or explained away?

3.The author draws a distinction between being tired and being depleted. In your own words, what is the difference? Why does that distinction matter for how we respond?

1.Cordeiro breaks burnout down into emotional, physical, and spiritual dimensions. Which of those three dimensions resonated most with your own experience or observation? Why?

2.The author describes how burnout distorts our thinking — making permanent what is only temporary and making us believe lies about ourselves, God, and the future. Can you recall a season of exhaustion when your thinking became distorted in this way? What were the lies that seemed most convincing?

3.Cordeiro notes that pastors and high-capacity leaders are often the last to admit they are struggling, in part because their identity is so tightly woven into their productivity and usefulness. How has your sense of identity been shaped — rightly or wrongly — by what you produce or accomplish?

1.Cordeiro walks readers through a personal inventory of their emotional reserves. Were there any areas of the inventory where you were surprised by your own answers? What did that surprise reveal?

2.The author distinguishes between activities that drain us and activities that replenish us, and he notes that even good, ministry-related activities can be draining. List three to five activities in your current life that consistently drain you, and three to five that consistently refill you. What do you notice about the balance?

3.Cordeiro introduces the concept of "recharge activities" — things that are not merely passive rest but that actively restore your soul. What are yours? If you struggle to name any, what does that tell you?

1.Cordeiro makes the case that refilling is not selfish — it is what allows us to keep giving. Did that argument land for you, or does part of you still resist the idea that investing in your own renewal is legitimate? Where does that resistance come from?

2.The author describes how Jesus repeatedly withdrew from the crowds — even urgent crowds — to pray and be alone with the Father (Mark 1:35 is one example). What does it tell us about Jesus' understanding of his own humanity that he made withdrawal a regular practice, not a last resort?

3.Cordeiro identifies several categories of renewal — physical, emotional, relational, and spiritual. Which of these tends to get the least attention in your life? What would it look like to be more intentional in that area?

1.Cordeiro argues that many leaders are so focused on the outer work of ministry that the inner life — prayer, Scripture, silence, solitude — is starved. How would you honestly describe the current condition of your inner life? Is it a source of strength or a source of anxiety?

2.The author draws on John 15's image of the vine and the branches to argue that fruitfulness flows from abiding, not from striving. In practice, how much of your ministry activity flows from a place of genuine abiding versus anxious self-effort? How can you tell the difference?

3.Cordeiro writes about the danger of leaders who read the Bible only for sermon content or leadership principles — mining it for others rather than receiving it for themselves. Does that describe your current relationship with Scripture? What would it look like to return to reading it for your own soul?

1.Cordeiro argues that ministry leaders often unconsciously adopt the world's metrics for success — attendance, budget, influence, growth — and that these metrics can become idols that drive us into the ground. Which of these metrics (or others) has had the strongest grip on you? Be honest.

2.The author draws on the parable of the talents (Matthew 25) to suggest that faithfulness — not results — is the standard by which we will be evaluated. How does 'Well done, good and faithful servant' (not 'successful servant') land for you? Does it relieve pressure or frustrate you?

3.Cordeiro writes about the subtle but destructive shift that happens when a leader's worth becomes tied to their ministry's performance. Can you trace that shift in your own story — a moment when the ministry's struggles began to feel like personal failure?

1.Cordeiro argues that Sabbath is not optional for the sustainable leader — it is architectural, woven into creation itself by God's own example. Before reading this chapter, how did you think about Sabbath? Has this chapter shifted your view?

2.The author notes that God rested on the seventh day not because he was tired, but to model a rhythm for his image-bearers. What does it mean that God built rest into the fabric of creation? What does it say about the kind of God he is?

3.Jesus says the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath (Mark 2:27). In other words, Sabbath is a gift, not a burden. Why do so many Christian leaders treat it as the latter? What does that inversion reveal about our deeper beliefs?

1.Cordeiro describes how burnout tends to push leaders into isolation — they withdraw from honest friendship precisely when they need it most. Have you experienced that pattern? What drove the withdrawal?

2.The author speaks candidly about the impact his burnout had on his marriage and family. How does the myth that "sacrificing for ministry is sacrificing for God" damage the relationships closest to us? Is that a myth you have believed or perpetuated?

3.Cordeiro emphasizes the need for what he calls "peer friendships" — relationships with people who know you fully, not as a pastor or leader, but as a person. Do you have those friendships? What makes them so difficult for leaders to cultivate and maintain?

1.Cordeiro is honest that recovery from burnout — especially when it has reached the point of clinical depression — takes much longer than most people expect. Were you surprised by the timeline he described? How does our culture's demand for quick fixes work against genuine recovery?

2.The author writes about the shame and confusion of feeling depressed when, from the outside, everything looks fine — a thriving church, a supportive family, an apparently blessed life. Have you experienced that dissonance? How does Cordeiro help make sense of it?

3.Cordeiro describes the importance of medical care — including medication — as part of his own recovery, and he is unapologetic about it. How does treating depression as a physiological reality (not just a spiritual failure) change how we approach it? Does that perspective feel liberating or unsettling to you?

1.Cordeiro describes the difference between a reactive life — always responding to the urgent — and a proactive life that is built on intentional rhythms. Honestly, which word better describes your current life? What would it take to move toward the latter?

2.Jesus' parable of the builder in Luke 14 asks whether you have counted the cost before you build. Cordeiro uses this as a metaphor for sustainable ministry — you must plan for the long race, not just the next quarter. What does counting the cost of ministry look like for you in this season?

3.The author writes about the importance of annual and quarterly planning that builds in rest, retreat, and renewal — not as afterthoughts, but as non-negotiables scheduled first. What would your next twelve months look like if renewal were scheduled before everything else?

1.Which single chapter or concept from *Leading on Empty* was most personally impactful for you, and why? Was it what you expected when you began the book?

2.At the beginning of this study, where would you have placed yourself on Cordeiro's gas gauge — Full, Half, Low, or Empty? Where would you place yourself now, and what has changed?

3.Cordeiro's book challenges several common assumptions in ministry and high-capacity leadership — that busyness equals faithfulness, that rest is weakness, that success is measured by results. Which of these assumptions had the deepest root in your life? How has it been shaken?