Gallant Fool: Tragic Effects of Leading with Wounds and a Surprising Solution

"My solution was to keep marching forward, a gallant fool. I was most angry at this fool's seemingly unstoppable march."

Gallant Fool examines the painful subject of carrying emotional wounds into Christian leadership. It follows the author's life in ministry and toxic relationship with shame and anxiety through starting a church, peaching and leading a congregation, managing staff members at Gospel missions, and working with authority figures like board members, a CEO, and other pastors.

Ministry requires faith; shame and anxiety corrode it. Living in a paradox this way is a burden. The author's burdens followed him into his faith in Christ and stayed with him through his career and marriage. He now realizes that for years, he believed and preached a Christian message that often worked against bringing peace and resolution.

The book contains sixteen short essays and ten chapters to describe carrying this burden and an eventual resolution, which the author describes as Christ's deliverance through a process of awareness, acknowledgment, and acceptance.

Cooney makes the point that Jesus offers relief to anyone carrying burdens, and he delivers his children regardless of the nature, duration, and magnitude of the burden; that's because God delivers us by grace through faith, a message that is familiar and at the same time elusive for its simplicity and refusal to credit anyone for a successful deliverance, except God. Gallant Fool offers hope by putting the spotlight on where it belongs: God and his grace.