EP 163: The Cost of Going It Alone: David Gate on A Rebellion of Care and Collective Leadership

We’re better together. We need community. We need the collective. We hear these ideas and believe in their truth. But when so many of us grew up learning that we’re supposed to do it all on our own, letting go of individualism takes a lot of conscious unlearning. An individualist lens on leadership tells us that when things go wrong, we’re both the source of the problem and responsible for the solution. We get stretched thin. We people please. We overfunction and overachieve, and still it never feels like we’re doing enough. Shifting to a systemic lens on leadership, one that asks what the whole system needs and who else belongs in the conversation, is the difficult work we need to do in order to embrace the collective not just in heart and mind, but in action. My guest today speaks to the challenges of navigating systems that still reward hyper-individualism and the need to build real trust in others and our communities through his poems, essays, and artwork with deep conviction and clarity. I am so excited for you to listen to our conversation. David Gate is a poet, writer and visual artist who hails from London, UK and now resides in the mists of the ancient Blue Ridge Mountains in Asheville, North Carolina. His work centers around care for the individual (heart, mind, body & soul) and the nurture of community (culture, the earth &  environment, the dignity of others and spiritual communities). **Listen to the full episode to hear:** - How the emotional distance and perspective of being in his 40s has shifted the lens of David’s writing - Why true caring for each other is an act of rebellion in our hyper-individualist culture - How a filter of care influences the choices David makes, both in the big picture and the day-to-day - How having experienced financial precarity can shift how people relate to their resources and communities - How the process of writing and editing *A Rebellion of Care* helped David rediscover the power of writing essays - The experience that helped David detach the practices of faith from the leadership norms that exist in many churches **Learn more about David Gate:** - davidgatepoet.com - Instagram: @davidgatepoet - A Rebellion of Care on Substack - A Rebellion of Care **Learn more about Rebecca:** - rebeccaching.com - Work With Rebecca - The Unburdened Leader on Substack - Sign up for the weekly Unburdened Leader Email **Resources:** - Reclaiming My Theology Podcast - Absalom, Absalom! William Faulkner - Let the Poets Govern: A Declaration of Freedom, Camonghne Felix - Father John Misty - The Payoff - Andor - House of the Dragon - Masters of the Universe - He-Man and the Masters of the Universe - Joker: Folie à Deux **Chapters:** - **(00:39) - Introduction** **(06:42) - Reevaluating Inherited Culture (09:47) - Unlearning Evangelicalism (12:43) - Finding Emotional Stability (14:15) - Power and American Evangelicalism (16:22) - Why Care Is Rebellion (19:35) - Defining Care In Practice (22:34) - Mutual Aid And Money Fears (27:20) - Work Myth And Poverty Proximity (30:33) - Writing Process And Clarity (34:40) - Seattle Church Breakthrough (39:34) - Relationship with Privilege (41:31) - Servant Leadership Redefined (43:23) - Rapid Fire Questions (51:59) - Where to Connect (53:12) - Closing Thoughts**