✅ How Healthy is Your Leadership? Take this short and free quiz to find out. // https://www.emotionallyhealthy.org/leadership-assessment/ ---------------------------- The quality of the people who surround you will determine the success of your leadership. Because there is undeniable loneliness in leadership, it is ever more important that we evalu…

✅ FREE EMOTIONAL HEALTH ASSESSMENT: In 15 Minutes, Discover How Emotionally Mature You Are https://www.emotionallyhealthy.org/mature ---------------------------- In this episode, we explore a topic that's as old as leadership itself: the loneliness that often accompanies the role of leadership. From the slowness of change to the weight of difficult…

📣 FREE E-BOOK: 8 Practices of Emotionally Healthy Preaching & Teaching 🌟 Learn the essential practices to deliver sermons with depth and power. https://www.emotionallyhealthy.org/preaching ---------------------------- Leadership is a crucible through which God is changing YOU into a new kind of person. Throughout your leadership journey you will be…

A course won't change your church. Neither will a book, a podcast, or a sermon series. So the question is, how do people truly change? This is a question every pastor and leader needs to answer. Over the years of my pastoral ministry, and even today, one thing I've noticed is how often we UNDERESTIMATE the personal time, presence, and intentionalit…

As leaders, we know that PRAYER is the heartbeat of life in Christ. But often, our vision of prayer can become lop-sided, leading to a heavy weight on our shoulders. For my first 17 years as a Christian, I had a one-dimensional view of prayer. I thought prayer was a tool I was supposed to use to make God's kingdom come. So I would devote 6-8 hours …

Leaders in a digital age face a unique pressure to always be in front. Our social media platforms entice us to be seen, to be recognized, and to be liked. Underneath this is a lie that to be hidden is to be forgotten, and to be unknown is to be unloved. This is why one of the greatest temptations leaders face is self-promotion. Even Jesus faced thi…

In 2024, church leaders will be sifted left and right. Mature from immature. Wise from foolish. Substantial from surface level. This I know – the most effective leaders (and the ones worth following) will draw a line in the sand and put a full stop to accepting a rushed, cluttered, and constricted life. They will reject speed, crowds, and noise in …

Leaders in 2024 are facing pressures and challenges greater than any other in my lifetime. Elections, wars, rumors of wars, economic pressure, global instability, scandals, artificial intelligence, etc. This may seem overwhelming, but there is a unique opportunity before us. As leaders, this will require the decision to radically re-align ourselves…

As we approach 2024, there couldn't be a better time to revisit your discipleship strategy. Here's why... In North America, we are ramping up towards another election year. For most Americans, this has become a time of increased anxiety, stress, and relational volatility. As a culture, we lack the tools to have difficult conversations (especially p…

We're in the thick of the holiday season – a time full of joy, yet jam-packed with people, parties, and productions. This season has a dizzying effect on everyone - but especially leaders. One temptation is to put a smile on our face while skimming over the frustrations, disappointments, and other inner workings of our souls. We have people and sit…

To be an emotionally healthy leader requires many skills, practices, and rhythms. Over the last several weeks, we've explored many relationship skills that are non-negotiable for leaders. But if there is just ONE skill I'm convinced every leader must master, it's "Incarnational Listening." David Augsberger wrote, “Being heard is so close to being l…

For the first 17 years of my Christian life, my emotional life was completely divorced from my spiritual life. Or so I thought. When sadness, anger, or disappointment surfaced from my soul, I did not see them as gifts. As a leader, I saw my emotions as interruptions to "my real work" – moving the church forward and reaching the lost! As a result, I…

Leaders, by definition, are captivated by the future – moving forward, making progress, and changing the world. But what many leaders fail to appreciate is that we are all anchored in our past. In other words, none of us are "blank slates". We each bring the blessings and curses of our families of origin (Exodus 20:5) into our relationships, church…

When was the last time someone let you down? Or can you think of a recent moment where YOU let someone else down? I'll bet the catalyst of these disappointments comes down to one thing - unmet expectations. The truth is – unclear and unmet expectations have the power to rip apart relationships, divide staff teams, blow up families, and sink entire …

Leadership can be a painful journey - especially in a church or ministry that depends on the depth and quality of the relationships within. Yet, in over 4 decades of leadership, I've found that so much of this pain is completely UNNECESSARY. Why? Because much of the pain we experience is the fruit of wrong assumptions. Assumptions are like a dragon…

In over four decades of leadership, I've come to the conclusion that one of the biggest gaps in our leadership training comes down to one essential skill... Creating safety where everyone around you feels empowered to communicate clearly and honestly. Without this skill, church teams remain silenced - unable to speak truth and creating the conditio…

Could you forgive someone if you knew they murdered your entire family? It sounds far-fetched. But this is the question posed in As We Forgive - a documentary about the tragedies of the 1994 Rwandan genocide and the stories of two women as they came face to face with the men who killed their families. It provoked the question - Would I be capable o…

Language builds culture. Recently on the podcast, I shared 5 timeless leadership axioms - portable and powerful phrases that have become adopted by emotionally healthy leaders all around the world. For example..."Jesus may be in your heart, but grandpa is in your bones". It's an easier (and more playful) way of getting at the truth that everyone is…

Movements with longevity are sustained through shared, easily understood language. This most often comes through the development of axioms - short, memorable phrases that capture the essence of truth in simple ways. Reflecting on the last two decades of leading Emotionally Healthy Discipleship, I've been able to identify at least 10 core axioms (pr…

According to the World Christian Encyclopedia, the fastest growing stream of the church is the Pentecostal/Charismatic movement. In terms of overall numbers, it represents 644 million Christians world wide. This is 8.3% of the world population. By 2050, it will reach over 1 billion people. Unbelievable! We need the power of God, gifts of the Holy S…

For leaders, one of the most frustrating parts of decision-making is this... It....takes....time. Sure, sometimes quick decisions are necessary. But most consequential decisions (that shape the future of your life, church, and ministry) require the ability to slow down and wait. Usually for longer than is comfortable for you. In order to let your j…

Decision-making is primarily about discernment. It's the ability to make decisions that align with God's will for your life and ministry. The truth is - discernment is an art. It takes practice, attention, and a lifetime to develop. But if there is one core practice that is the foundation of discernment, it is learning to pay attention to the movem…

One of the primary tasks of spiritual leadership is the ability to make prayerful, wise decisions. Yet many leaders find it difficult to invest the time and space necessary for sharp discernment. The result is that our decisions become dull, lacking precision and power. Over time, flippant decision-making inflicts tremendous consequences on us and …

Years ago, we were doing some strategic planning at the church I had founded in Queens, NY. We were reflecting on what contributed to our growth over a 26 year period. A single word kept reappearing on the whiteboard - "BASEMENT" How did we disciple so many quality leaders, many of whom are still leading today? Hint: it wasn't what happened on the …

Eight years after planting New Life Fellowship Church in Queens, I was exhausted. The pressure of preaching and teaching weekly messages, along with the rest of my leadership responsibilities, left me depleted. Although our ministry was growing, I often felt like I was gaining the world but losing my own soul. What I lacked, and what so many of us …