by Craig Etheredge

Jesus left no room for confusion.

Jesus clearly said that He is the only way to salvation and reconciliation with God. In (John 14:6 ESV) He said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” on another occasion Jesus said, “Unless you believe that I Am who I claim to be, you will die in your sins,” (John 8:24 NLT).

Followers of Jesus hold steadfastly that Jesus is the only way. That exclusivity is what often gets pushback from people. The reason, “There are lots of religions in the world and many good, well-meaning people. How can Jesus be the only way?”

I remember sharing this truth with a woman several years ago. Growing up as a diplomat’s daughter, she had traveled all around the world and lived in several cultures. When I told her that Jesus was the only way, she retorted, “such a statement was hubris and arrogant.”

Why do followers of Jesus believe that He is the only way?

Jesus claimed to be God.

In John 10, Jesus is engaged in a heated exchange with the religious leaders of His day. Jesus had just healed a man who was born blind, but He did it on the Sabbath day of rest when work was prohibited. Thus, these leaders were concerned more with Jesus breaking a Sabbath law than the incredible miracle of this man’s healing.

During this discussion, Jesus said these words: “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly,” (John 10:7-10 ESV). Jesus was making a claim that He (and He alone) was the doorway, the pathway to God.

Jesus went on to say, “I am the good shepherd,” (John 10:11 ESV), “I give them eternal life and they will never perish,” (John 10:28 ESV), and “I and the Father are one,” (John 10:30 ESV). Jesus repeatedly claimed to be one with the Father and the exclusive giver of salvation and eternal life. And His enemies got the picture. They quickly picked up stones to kill Jesus on the spot. When Jesus asked why they were doing this, they said, “because you, being a man, make yourself God,” (John 10:33 ESV).

This wasn’t the first time Jesus had claimed to be the messiah, God in the flesh, and the only way to salvation. Jesus claimed to live before Abraham (John 8:58 ESV). Jesus claimed to exist with the Father in eternity past (John 17:5 ESV). Jesus claimed to be the First and the Last — a name for God (Revelation 1:17 ESV). Jesus claimed to be the judge of all the people(Matthew 25:31 ESV). Jesus claimed to forgive sin (Matthew 9:2-7 ESV). All the while, the religious leaders plotted to kill Jesus because he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God (John 5:18 ESV).

They wanted Jesus dead because He claimed to be God. But probably His most shocking claim came at His trial. When the high priest asked Jesus if He was the Christ, the Son of the Blessed, Jesus replied, “I am, and you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven,” (Mark 14:62 ESV). With that, they charged Jesus with blasphemy and sent Him to the cross.

Let me make this very clear… Jesus never claimed to be a good teacher, a moral leader, or a spiritual guru. Jesus made the audacious claim to be God in the flesh. That is why they killed Him! You might say, “Well, there have been many men who have made audacious claims to be God in the past. That doesn’t make it true!” And you would be right. So, is there any reason for us to believe what Jesus said is true?

Jesus fulfilled ancient prophecy.

In 1966, Barry Leventhal was on top of the world. As team captain, he led the UCLA football team to its first-ever Rose Bowl championship. He had it all — popularity, fame, success. Soon after the Rose Bowl victory, one of his closest friends became a follower of Jesus and introduced Barry to Hal, the director of Campus Crusade on the UCLA campus. Hal talked to Barry about the claim of Jesus to be the messiah. He even showed Barry prophecies about the coming messiah that Jesus fulfilled. In one of those discussions, Barry got angry! “You rewrote the Bible to make it look like Jesus fulfilled those prophecies. This can’t be true!” But several days later, Barry opened up his copy of the Scriptures and turned to Isaiah 53. He began to read about the messiah to come.

“Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds, we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” (Isaiah 53:4-6 ESV)

It seemed so clear that these verses were speaking about Jesus. But were these verses tampered with, to make it look like Jesus had fulfilled them?

In 1947, a young Arab boy playing around a cave just west of the dead Sea made the discovery of a lifetime — the “Dead Sea Scrolls.” Contained in the find was one complete copy of the book of Isaiah. This copy dated back before the life of Jesus. While the original is kept secure in Israel, a copy is on display at the “Shrine of the Book” wing of the Israel Museum in Jerusalem.

Do you know what they discovered? That copy of Isaiah 53 reads just like the one in your Bible. Seven hundred years before Jesus was born, Isaiah wrote that the Messiah would be anointed by the Spirit, be driven by justice, have an international ministry, and be a gifted teacher. Coming from humble beginnings, He would be discouraged and rejected, suffer, die a substitutionary death, and later come back to life. That sounds a lot like Jesus!

But that is not the only prophecy that points to Jesus. Prophecies about the Messiah said that He would be of Jewish linage (Genesis 12:3 ESV), from the tribe of Judah (Genesis 49:10 ESV), of the house of David (Jeremiah 23:5-6 ESV), born of a virgin (Isaiah 7:14 ESV), and born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2 ESV). He would come out of Egypt (Hosea 11:1 ESV), live in Nazareth (Isaiah 11:1 ESV), and minister in Galilee (Isaiah 9:1-2 ESV). He would speak in parables (Psalm 78:2-4 ESV), be praised (Psalm8:2), and called King (Psalm 2:6 ESV). He would be betrayed by a friend and sold for thirty pieces of silver (Zechariah 11:12-13 ESV), His hands and side would be pierced (Psalm 22:16 ESV), no bones would be broken (Psalm 22:17 ESV), and He would be forsaken by God (Psalm 22:1 ESV).

Throughout His life, Jesus fulfilled approximately 353 ancient prophecies written hundreds of years before His birth, identifying Him as the messiah.

Jesus died for our sin.

Jesus fulfilled prophecy and claimed to be the messiah for one reason: so He could suffer on the cross as a once and for all sacrifice for your sin and mine. Aside from Jesus, there is no such thing as a perfect person. We are all guilty of sin. No one is innocent, (1 John 1:8; Romans 3:10-18 ESV).

According to God’s law, our sin must be punished. No matter how good you try to be, you can never be good enough to erase the sins of your past, any more than your efforts to be a good parent can erase a speeding ticket. We are sinful! We are guilty! And the punishment is death and separation from God.

(Romans 6:23 ESV) says, “For the wages of sin is death…” What we need is forgiveness, but forgiveness isn’t possible unless someone pays sin’s penalty.

(Hebrews 9:22 ESV) states, “Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.” This is what Jesus came to do. on the cross, Jesus absorbed the punishment for your sin so that you could be forgiven and made clean again.

(1 Peter 3:18 NLT) says, “Christ suffered for our sins once for all time.” He never sinned, but he died for sinners to bring you safely home to God. He suffered physical death, but he was raised to life in the Spirit. If there was another way to have our sins forgiven, then Jesus’ death would have been meaningless. He would have suffered for no reason, and He would have lied by telling people that He was the only way back to God.

The real question is not, “Why is Jesus the only way?” The real question is, “Why is there any way at all?” It is only by God’s mercy and grace that He has made a way for us to be right with Him, and that act of mercy is found in Jesus alone.

Jesus rose from the dead.

The resurrection of Jesus was also prophesied in the Old Testament Scriptures. King David wrote under the leading of the Holy Spirit, “For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol [place of the dead], or let your holy one see corruption,” (Psalm 16:10 ESV).

Even the scroll of Isaiah predicts that the messiah, the Holy one, will be brought back to life (Isaiah 53:10-12, 52:13-15 ESV).

Jesus also said this would happen. “For this reason, the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again,” (John 10:17-18 ESV).

The facts concerning Jesus’ resurrection are irrevocable. Jesus died on the cross. Jesus’ body was placed under guard in a tomb. Three days later, Jesus’ body was missing and as many as 500 people at one time gave corroborated eyewitness testimony that they saw Jesus alive over a forty-day period. These facts were written down in some of the most ancient creeds we have that date back to just a few years after the death of Jesus (1 Corinthians 15:3-7 ESV). The early Christians were so committed to the truth of these facts that they willingly gave up their lives rather than saying it wasn’t true. How do you explain that?

Jesus changed history.

Jesus has forever changed the world. millions of lives have been transformed by the power of the message of Jesus. Peter Kreeft, professor of philosophy at Boston College, wrote: “Why did thousands suffer torture and death for this lie if they knew it was a lie? What force sent Christians to the lions’ den with hymns on their lips? What lie ever transformed the world like that?”

Millions of people have been radically changed by Jesus Christ. These people have been willing to live for Jesus, to share what Jesus has done for them with others, and even to suffer and die for His name. C.S. Lewis, the Oxford scholar, wrote:

“You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon, or you can fall at his feet and call Him Lord and God, but let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.”

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Used with permission.

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Source: How Can Jesus Be the Only Way?

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By: Brandon A. Cox

Source: I Want to Live In the 8th of Romans

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By: Brandon A. Cox

Source: Be Careful Which Way You Lean

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Source: To Breakout, We Must Breakdown

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by Carey Nieuwhof: Few people have impacted Carey’s personal journey as much as Terry Wardle. That’s why it’s such a thrill to bring podcast listeners this interview.

Terry talks about why so many leaders cave under the pressure of leadership, what’s underneath the moral failure so many leaders experienced, and how to grieve the losses that come your way in leadership and ministry.

Welcome to Episode 309 of the podcast. Listen and access the show notes below or search for the Carey Nieuwhof Leadership Podcast on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts and listen for free.

Guest Links

Facebook | Website | Healing Care | Some Kind of Crazy

Episode Links

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They’re offering podcast listeners a free trial when you visit
RightNowMedia.org/Carey.

Conversation Links

A Failure of Nerve by Edwin H. Friedman

Some Kind of Crazy by Terry Wardle

Hillbilly Elegy by J. D. Vance

Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott

The End of Memory by Miroslav Volf

Jesus and the Disinherited by Howard Thurman

Slingstones Podcast by Terry Wardle

Healing Care Mandate International

The High Impact Leader

3 Insights from Terry

1. Dysfunctional behavior is usually the symptom of a deeper problem

Terry is convinced that aberrant behavior is driven by deep wounds and false beliefs and ungrieved loss. When he looks back on his life, his depression, workaholism, and agoraphobia was never the problem, it was the symptom of a deeper problem of ungrieved losses from his past.

Eventually, Terry was able to work through the deeper issues of his past, and has since begun leading others through a similar healing journey. He works with people who have addictions, anger issues, deep depression, and many other struggles so that they can begin to attack the real wounds that are impacting them.

2. Ministry is a series of ungrieved losses

“Every loss in life demands an appropriate season of grieving, whether you’ve lost your favorite person or your favorite end.” Now, when Terry walks into a room of pastors, he can feel the ungrieved loss in that room. This breaks his heart and causes him to want to help more people.

When Terry first taught this in a seminar, someone grabbed him and said, “Say that quote again. Just say it again.” And he did. When he repeated the statement, the person started to cry because they realized when you experience a loss and just move on, rationalize it, or get onto the business of work, you cheat the grieving process.

3. It takes an emotional laden positive experience to overcome an emotional laden negative experience

Through his time of personal healing and counseling other leaders, Terry has learned that knowing scripture isn’t enough to get over the deep wounds and fears of our past. Terry has learned that it takes an emotional laden positive experience to overcome an emotional laden negative experience.

Just knowing the scripture, “Perfect love casts out fear,” does not cast out fear. It takes a very real experience with perfect love himself to cast out fear. This is what Terry encourages people to seek.

Quotes from Episode 309

Many people and leaders are not stable in their identity, and as a result, they use performance and achievement as a way of advancing themselves. – Terry WardleClick To Tweet

Workaholism in ministry is not a matter of theology, it’s a matter of pathology. And until we deal with that pathology, we’re not going to be the men and women that we are supposed to be. – Terry WardleClick To Tweet

There’s nothing that beats a person down more than trying to measure up. – Terry WardleClick To Tweet

While my gifting and anointing were such that there was advancement in my ministry, I was actually just crushed inside by not dealing with the brokenness of my past. – Terry WardleClick To Tweet

When you are basing your ministry on performance, your last performance isn’t good enough. It has to be the next performance. – Terry WardleClick To Tweet

People want to kill the pain of loss. – Terry WardleClick To Tweet

I am convinced that aberrant behavior is driven by deep wounds and false beliefs and ungrieved loss. – Terry WardleClick To Tweet

Loss is meant to be grieved. And when we fail to grieve losses, that loss internalizes. – Terry WardleClick To Tweet

If you have the fruit of dysfunction, you have the root of wounding. – Terry WardleClick To Tweet

Grieving loss begins with finding a safe environment with people that are non condemning, empathic, who are confidential and who finally give you the permission to say what’s inside and say it like it is. – Terry WardleClick To Tweet

Every wound in life, every loss in life, every false belief, needs confronted in the presence of Christ so we can be freed from those. – Terry WardleClick To Tweet

When Jesus was at his worst, God didn’t give him a scripture. He gave him an experience of his presence. – Terry WardleClick To Tweet

Change doesn’t happen because someone told you you need to change, change happens when you’re desperate enough to say, I must change. – Terry WardleClick To Tweet

I think many of us try to forgive before we grieve. – Terry WardleClick To Tweet

You got to grieve the losses that have come your way. And then if there’s someone to forgive after you’ve grieved it, you’ll have the strength to go ahead and forgive. – Terry WardleClick To Tweet

You’ll know when forgiveness is complete when the issue no longer comes to mind. – Miroslav VolfClick To Tweet

Read or Download the Transcript for Episode 309

Looking for a key quote? More of a reader?

Read or download a free PDF transcript of this episode here.

Watch Back Episodes of The Podcast on YouTube

Select episodes of this podcast are now on YouTube. Our new YouTube Channel gives you a chance to watch some episodes, not just listen. We’ll add select episodes to YouTube as time goes on.

Didn’t See It Coming Will Help You Solve the Problems Most Leaders Miss

If you want practical help overcoming some of the biggest challenges leaders face, my book Didn’t See It Coming: Overcoming the 7 Greatest Challenges That Nobody Expects and Everyone Experiences tackles the seven core issues that take people out: cynicism, compromise, disconnectedness, irrelevance, pride, burnout, and the emptiness of success and provides strategies on how to combat each.

I wrote the book because no 18 year old sets out to be cynical, jaded and disconnected by age 35. Yet it happens all the time.

The good news is, it doesn’t have to be that way.

Here’s what top leaders are saying about Didn’t See It Coming:

“Seriously, this may be the most important book you read this year.” Jud Wilhite, Lead Pastor, Central Church

“Powerful, personal, and highly readable. ” Brian Houston, Global Senior Pastor, Hillsong

“Whatever challenge you’re facing, whatever obstacle you’re hoping to overcome, whatever future you dream or imagine, there is something powerful for you here.” Andy Stanley, Founder, North Point Ministries

“Uncommonly perceptive and generous…You have to read this book.” Ann Voskamp, NYT bestselling author

“Masterful.” Reggie Joiner, CEO Orange

“Deep biblical insight, straightforward truth, and practical wisdom to help you grow.” Craig Groeschel, Pastor and NYT bestselling author

“This book is sure to help you.” Daniel H. Pink, NYT bestselling author

Over the years, one of the things I’ve enjoyed most about being a public speaker is having opportunities to hang out with Carey…It’s not a matter of if you’ll run into these challenges; it’s a matter of when. Be prepared by spending a little time with a leader who has already been there.” Jon Acuff, NYT best-selling author

“Nieuwhof’s book provides expert guidance…with an accuracy that pierces the heart.” Nancy Duarte, CEO Duarte Inc.

“A refreshingly transparent guide for all leaders in a wide variety of industries.” Bryan Miles, Co-Founder and CEO, BELAY

You can learn more and get your copy of Didn’t See It Coming here.

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Thank you for being so awesome.

Next Episode: Jasmine Star

Jasmine Star dropped out of law school, didn’t even own a camera, and within 4 years was one of top photographers in the world. These days as a strategist, entrepreneur and social media influencer, Jasmine talks about how to find and connect with your dream customer or audience, how focusing on who you want to reach drives growth, and how to protect your online message against the algorithm changes that happen all the time.

Subscribe for free now and you won’t miss Episode 310.

The post CNLP 309: Terry Wardle on Why So Many Leaders Cave Under the Pressures of Leadership, Why Leaders Implode Morally, and How to Grieve Your Leadership Losses appeared first on CareyNieuwhof.com.

Source: CNLP 309: Terry Wardle on Why So Many Leaders Cave Under the Pressures of Leadership, Why Leaders Implode Morally, and How to Grieve Your Leadership Losses

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by Discipleship.org: Four people were on a plane when it suddenly lost power and started falling toward the ground. The pilot got on the radio to announce an even bigger problem: “There are four of us, but only three parachutes. It’s my plane and my parachutes, so I’m going to take one of them.”

The three who were left—a professor, an elderly pastor, and a young traveler—were faced with a dilemma. The brilliant professor jumped to his feet and said, “I am one of the greatest minds in the country. I must survive. I’m taking one of the parachutes.” The others agreed and he launched himself out.

The pastor turned to the young traveler and said, “I’ve lived a long life and I don’t fear death. You take the last parachute.” But the young traveler stopped him mid-sentence by saying, “No, it’s fine. That brilliant professor just jumped out with my backpack strapped on!”

Wisdom means seeing more than just what is right in front of you. If we want to live as wise men and women, we must see things from God’s viewpoint. As you grow in your knowledge and understanding of the principles and precepts of God’s Word and apply to them to real-life situations, you will become more skillful and successful in your responsibilities.

One of the ways we can see ourselves from God’s viewpoint is outlined in Hebrews 12:1-3. Notice that, according to the author, we are runners in God’s race.

Therefore, since we also have such a large cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us lay aside every hindrance and the sin that so easily ensnares us. Let us run with endurance the race that lies before us, keeping our eyes on Jesus, the source and perfecter of our faith. For the joy that lay before him, he endured the cross, despising the shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

As we consider this passage in this blog series, we will notice that there are three aspects that we need to focus on if we want to run our race wisely:

Preparation for the Race
Perseverance In the Race
Priority During the Race

This blog is from our partner Replicate. Sign up here to get updates sent to your inbox about ministries like theirs so you can grow as a disciple maker.

We Must Prepare for the Race

Running requires all kinds of training, discipline, and a rigorous protocol of diet and sleep. In the same way, our faith journey requires a single-minded, wholehearted devotion and determination if we are to run the race with endurance.

Verse One shows us two things we need to watch out for:

Every Hindrance

The writer of Hebrews tells us that if we want to endure and finish the race God has set before us, we must set aside every hindrance or “weight” that could drag us down.

Throughout Hebrews, the author repeatedly tells us that “Christ is better.” So as he writes to the Hebrews, one of the things Christ is better than is the Old Covenant. He admonishes them to lay aside this weight and embrace the new and living way that Jesus provides. His new covenant—accomplished through His blood—is superior to the old one!

We can do this two ways today:

Lay aside the law and embrace grace
Lay aside anything that hinders our faith journey

There are things in our lives that hinder or distract us from running with a single-minded devotion to Christ. They may not be bad in and of themselves, but they keep us from pursuing Christ with purpose and power. In your own life, what is something that keeps you from running full-force toward Jesus?

But weights aren’t the only thing we need to watch out for. We also need to scan for things that might trip us up.

Things That Ensnare Us

For the nation of Israel, “the sin that so easily ensnares” was unbelief. Unbelief may not be the besetting sin in your life like it was for the nation of Israel, but the truth is that we all have these. Everyone has something that they struggle with the most.

David, the “man after God’s own heart,” constantly sinned against God—and it cost him dearly. Sin does the same for us.

Sin dims the eye and clouds your spiritual vision
Sin deafens your hearing so that you cannot discern God’s voice
Sin dulls your taste so that you no longer hunger and thirst after God.

What sin is constantly pulling you back toward it that you need to lay at the foot of the cross?

The author of Hebrews implores us to identify both the weights that tie us down and the pitfalls that could trip us up and prepare for them beforehand so that as we run, we can do so with excellence. Draw near to God so that He can train you to run the race you’re already running well.

Originally posted on Replicate’s blog here. Used by permission.

The post Be Wise About Your Faith Journey appeared first on Discipleship.org.

Source: Be Wise About Your Faith Journey

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by Carey Nieuwhof: Albert Tate is one of the funniest conference speakers and preachers around today. In this episode, Albert breaks down how he finds comedic moments and how to deliver them.

In addition, Albert talks candidly about his struggle with porn, deep accountability, sex and how to handle the pressures of leadership.

Welcome to Episode 301 of the podcast. Listen and access the show notes below or search for the Carey Nieuwhof Leadership Podcast on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts and listen for free.

Guest Links

Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Albert Tate Ministries | Albert Tate Podcast

Episode Links

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Global Leadership Summit 2019: Slow Jam

Global Leadership Summit 2015: Leading with Leftovers

Counterfeit Gods by Timothy Keller

Preaching Masterclass

3 Insights from Albert

1. Comedians see the elephant in the room, and they call it out

Want to be more funny when you give a sermon or speech? The first thing he tries to do is find the funny or awkward “elephant in the room” and point it out from the stage. When he conveys comedy through real situations, it builds another level of trust with the audience.

The reason Albert does this is because he knows that he has to win the audience over in the first 60 seconds of his speech, otherwise they won’t listen to him for the rest of his talk. Some people hook the audience with humor, some with storytelling, and some communicators will use other methods, but every great communicator finds a way to connect with their audience early on.

2. We have to bring application to our audience and get specific

Albert has noticed that many pastors do a great job of bringing the information about the text to our congregations in our sermons, but we don’t always bring the best application to our people. In general, he has noticed that many black preachers naturally bring application, and many white preachers don’t.

He traces his heavy emphasis on application back to how Jesus communicated his message to the people of his day. Jesus used a lot of farming illustrations because he was speaking to a lot of farmers, and people could visualize exactly what he was saying and apply it directly to their lives. Albert hopes to do the same with the students, parents, and professionals in his audiences.

3. Sometimes the enemy uses us to bolster an insecurities our spouse carries

When you look at the story of the fall in Genesis, there is a specific way that the snake speaks to the woman to get her to disobey God. Albert has noticed that sometimes we, as spouses, can speak in the same tone of voice as the snake to our significant other. Sometimes the enemy uses our actions and words to reinforce an insecurity he has already placed in us.

One common way that this happens is with pornography. If the enemy/snake has been sowing seeds of insecurity in your wife about her appearance or self-worth, it would make sense for him to use your pornography addiction to confirm what he has speaking to her. We have to learn to fight this as pastors and leaders.

Quotes from Episode 301

God uses the ministry of laughter to deepen the word in our souls. @alberttateClick To Tweet

A lot of communicators know how to read the paper, but they need to be trained on how to read the room. @alberttateClick To Tweet

The word of God is worthy of a great setup. @alberttateClick To Tweet

How can you do something so holy and beautiful and then still be so empty? @alberttateClick To Tweet

God isn’t cheap, he’s not quick, and he’s not a fix. @alberttateClick To Tweet

If you want to have authentic fun, you’ve got to have authentic freedom. @alberttateClick To Tweet

Read or Download the Transcript for Episode 301

Looking for a key quote? More of a reader?

Read or download a free PDF transcript of this episode here.

Watch Back Episodes of The Podcast on YouTube

Select episodes of this podcast are now on YouTube. Our new YouTube Channel gives you a chance to watch some episodes, not just listen. We’ll add select episodes to YouTube as time goes on.

Didn’t See It Coming Will Help You Solve the Problems Most Leaders Miss

If you want practical help overcoming some of the biggest challenges leaders face, my new book Didn’t See It Coming: Overcoming the 7 Greatest Challenges That Nobody Expects and Everyone Experiences tackles the seven core issues that take people out: cynicism, compromise, disconnectedness, irrelevance, pride, burnout, and the emptiness of success and provides strategies on how to combat each.

I wrote the book because no 18 year old sets out to be cynical, jaded and disconnected by age 35. Yet it happens all the time.

The good news is, it doesn’t have to be that way.

Here’s what top leaders are saying about Didn’t See It Coming:

“Seriously, this may be the most important book you read this year.” Jud Wilhite, Lead Pastor, Central Church

“Powerful, personal, and highly readable.” Brian Houston, Global Senior Pastor, Hillsong

“Whatever challenge you’re facing, whatever obstacle you’re hoping to overcome, whatever future you dream or imagine, there is something powerful for you here.” Andy Stanley, Founder, North Point Ministries

“Uncommonly perceptive and generous…You have to read this book.” Ann Voskamp, NYT bestselling author

“Masterful.” Reggie Joiner, CEO Orange

“Deep biblical insight, straightforward truth, and practical wisdom to help you grow.” Craig Groeschel, Pastor and NYT bestselling author

“This book is sure to help you.” Daniel H. Pink, NYT bestselling author

Over the years, one of the things I’ve enjoyed most about being a public speaker is having opportunities to hang out with Carey…It’s not a matter of if you’ll run into these challenges; it’s a matter of when. Be prepared by spending a little time with a leader who has already been there.” Jon Acuff, NYT bestselling author

“Nieuwhof’s book provides expert guidance…with an accuracy that pierces the heart.” Nancy Duarte, CEO, Duarte Inc.

“A refreshingly transparent guide for all leaders in a wide variety of industries.” Bryan Miles, Co-Founder and CEO, BELAY

You can learn more and get your copy of Didn’t See It Coming here.

Subscribed Yet? 

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The best way to do that is to rate the podcast on Apple Podcasts and leave us a brief review! You can do the same on Stitcher and on TuneIn as well.

Your ratings and reviews help us place the podcast in front of new leaders and listeners. Your feedback also lets me know how I can better serve you.

Thank you for being so awesome.

Next Episode: Steve Green

What started in a garage almost 50 years ago has risen into a multi-billion dollar empire. Steve Green is the President of Hobby Lobby, and works along side his father, who founded the company. Steve discusses the reasons behind the remarkable rise of Hobby Lobby, how it almost all fell apart, their biggest challenges, bucking the trend, why his company pays entry level workers double the minimum wage, and why his family agreed to sign Warren Buffet and Bill Gate’s pledge to give at least half of their wealth away. Steve also talks about why he’s so passionate about funding what they’re funding.

Subscribe for free now and you won’t miss Episode 302.

The post CNLP 301: Albert Tate on How to Add Humour to Your Talks, Porn, Sex and Handling the Pressures of Leadership appeared first on CareyNieuwhof.com.

Source: CNLP 301: Albert Tate on How to Add Humour to Your Talks, Porn, Sex and Handling the Pressures of Leadership

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by Carey Nieuwhof: There are so many deconversion stories away from Christianity these days. David Platt has seen some of the greatest suffering on earth and has again, recently, asked some of the toughest questions: In a universe governed by a good God, is hell really a place? Will so many people born into an earthly hell really end up in eternal hell?

David shares how seeing profound suffering and asking those questions hasn’t led him away from faith but deeper into his faith. And, he shares what needs to change in Christianity is really going to impact the world.

Welcome to Episode 291 of the podcast. Listen and access the show notes below or search for the Carey Nieuwhof Leadership Podcast on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts and listen for free.

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CNLP 143: David Platt on Overcoming the Struggles of His First Decade of Leadership

Something Needs to Change by David Platt

McLean Bible Church

The Genesee Diary by Henry Nouwen

3 Insights from David

1. When sharing the gospel, some people will always think we are weird—we can’t let that stop us

In today’s isolated culture, it is so easy to let the fear of being perceived as “weird” stop us from sharing our faith with the people in our lives. One way David overcomes this is by finding ways to work different parts of the Christian experience into his daily verbiage without sounding “super spiritual.”

He tries to do this as often as he can in his life. At the gym, he will talk to the guys that he works out with between sets about what God has done in his life. He doesn’t let the fear of being seen as “weird” stop him because that’s going to happen to anybody trying to share their faith including the early apostles, and even Jesus himself.

2. Have we lost our ability to weep?

While on a trip in the mountain villages of the Himalayas, David saw people with urgent needs up close and personal—young girls in brothels, men with infections eating away their bodies, and villages of people where 50% of kids die before the age of eight. When he encountered these people, it caused him to weep in his hotel room that evening in a way that he had not wept in a long time.

Looking back on that experience, David realized that it is so easy for us to talk about the world’s urgent spiritual or physical needs and speculate about what we can do to fix it without feeling any major emotions about it. We have gone numb to just how tragic the pain and suffering in the world is. We have to be aware of this and do our best to share the gospel with as many people as humanly possible.

3. No other world religion compares to the gospel of Jesus

There are some very real questions that people have about the world if the gospel is true. “If God truly is good, why is the world so full of pain and suffering?” David was seriously wrestling with these questions while writing the journal that eventually turned into his most recent book, Something Needs To Change.

One of the realizations David made is that for the people that are in the midst of suffering, there isn’t a better belief system in the world than the gospel of Jesus Christ. What would you rather tell a young girl caught in the midst of sex trafficking? That the whole world is happening by chance and that we are living out what our DNA pre-programmed us to do? Or that there is a God that loves her and will judge all men’s actions at the end of time? That is an obvious choice.

Quotes from Episode 291

The last thing I want to do, as a pastor, is program my way through challenges without desperate dependence on God and prayer. @plattdavidClick To Tweet

We live in a changing climate, and we can’t control that. What we can control is our trust in the gospel. @plattdavidClick To Tweet

You can’t help but ask, “Why are some people born into earthly suffering, only to move on to eternal suffering without ever hearing the name of Jesus?” @plattdavidClick To Tweet

Are we willing to open our eyes and our hearts like we’re willing to weep? And are we willing to get close enough to people in order to experience that kind of reaction?” @plattdavidClick To Tweet

Read or Download the Transcript for Episode 291

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Read or download a free PDF transcript of this episode here.

Watch Back Episodes of The Podcast on YouTube

Select episodes of this podcast are now on YouTube. Our new YouTube Channel gives you a chance to watch some episodes, not just listen. We’ll add select episodes to YouTube as time goes on.

Get Your Church Growing (Again…or for the First Time)

Getting a stuck church growing, or helping a church that’s reaching new people grow even further can seem daunting.

It doesn’t have to be.

Whether you’re a church that isn’t growing, has plateaued, or whether you wish your church was growing faster than it is, I’d love to help you break through. That’s why I created the Church Growth Masterclass.

The Church Growth Masterclass is everything I wish I knew about church growth when I got into ministry more than 20 years ago.

Naturally, I can’t make a church grow. You can’t make a church grow. Only God can do that.

But I believe you can position your church to grow.

You can knock down the barriers that keep you from growing. You can eliminate the things that keep your church from growing and implement some strategies that will help you reach far more people. That’s what I’d love to help you do in the Church Growth Masterclass.

In the Church Growth Masterclass I’ll show you:

The 10 reasons your church isn’t growing
Why even committed church-goers aren’t attending as often as before
How to tell if your church leaders are getting burned out
The 5 keys to your church better impacting millennials.
What to do when a church wants to grow … but not change
5 essentials for church growth
5 disruptive church trends to watch—and how to respond
How to increase church attendance by increasing engagement.

The Church Growth Masterclass includes a complete set of videos that you can play with your team, board or staff, PDF workbooks that will help you tackle the issues you’re facing, and bonus materials that will help you navigate the most pressing issues facing churches that want to reach their cities today.

You can learn more and gain instant access to the course today.

Subscribed Yet? 

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Spread the Word. Leave a Rating and Review

Hopefully, this episode has helped you lead like never before. That’s my goal. If you appreciated it, could you share the love?

The best way to do that is to rate the podcast on Apple Podcasts and leave us a brief review! You can do the same on Stitcher and on TuneIn as well.

Your ratings and reviews help us place the podcast in front of new leaders and listeners. Your feedback also lets me know how I can better serve you.

Thank you for being so awesome.

Next Episode: Clay Scroggins

Clay Scroggins is back on the podcast with some fresh insights from his brand new book, How to Lead in a World of Distraction. In an open and vulnerable interview, Clay talks about how the pressures of leadership led to him missing some of the signs of emotional ill-health, breaking down in his boss’s office, and finding quiet and healing in a noisy world. And if you think this is just theory, Clay is learning all this while leading a church of over 9,000, nurturing his marriage, and parenting five kids under the age of ten.

Subscribe for free now and you won’t miss Episode 292.

The post CNLP 291: David Platt on Hell, Suffering, Eternity and Why the Hard Questions About Christianity Haven’t Led to His Deconversion, and What Needs to Change Among Christians to Truly Impact the World appeared first on CareyNieuwhof.com.

Source: CNLP 291: David Platt on Hell, Suffering, Eternity and Why the Hard Questions About Christianity Haven’t Led to His Deconversion, and What Needs to Change Among Christians to Truly Impact the World

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Carey Nieuwhof: So this isn’t an easy post to write, nor a glib one.

I’m not even sure what I’m about to write is accurate.

But once again last week, we heard of yet another mega-church pastor who isn’t in leadership anymore, this one fired by his church because of character issues.

I’m not naming names or linking to any post. If you’re plugged into church world, you probably know who I’m talking about, and if not, it’s not that hard to think of a bunch of others over the years.

Sadly, even if you read this months or years after this is published, chances are there will be yet another large church pastor who went down in flames.

The hardest part is there are just no winners. At least not in the short term. God is a God of redemption and he writes better stories than we do, but the pain of deliberate sin is something we’re best to avoid.

If there are direct victims (affairs, abuse, fraud), and sadly, often there are, their lives are devastated and their faith too often shattered or snapped. The people who were part of any movement or congregation associated with said fallen leader are crushed. The families of leaders are devastated, sometimes beyond repair.

And in the midst of it all, the unchurched gain one more reason to run in the opposite direction.

For those of us still in church leadership… think about that and let it sink in.

Bloggers and commentators who pile on to grab headlines or express outrage further destroy any hope left. I don’t want this to be that kind of a post.

And remember, for every mega-church pastor who has exited, there are probably 10 or maybe 100 smaller church pastors whose congregation and families are just as devastated. Only their stories never make the headlines.

Please hear me. I write this with a heavy heart and after a lot of reflection, introspection and prayerful consideration.

I’m far from perfect. There’s been no affair (by the grace of God) or fraud or anything worth headlines. But just talk to my family or my team. They see me on good days and bad days, and I write about the struggles of leadership as openly and candidly as I know how, as any of you who read this blog regularly or have read my latest book will realize.

So I’m not casting stones.

But I am writing so that all of us who lead anything (big or small) can look inside and notice the warning signs before it’s too late. Before yet another church loses its leader. Before yet another countless thousand people wince and say, “I told you so” or “Yeah…figures” and the collective eye roll/anger wave gets unleashed once again and more people walk away from Jesus.

Because, believe it or not, I think failure is in all of us. And yes, I think the seeds of failure are in me too. None of us are exempt.

But if you know what to look for…if you know where the danger lies, maybe, just maybe, you can finish well. Because not only are the seeds of failure in all of us, so are the seeds of finishing well.

So what’s the difference?

That’s why I’m writing this post.

Nobody who starts out in ministry sets out to fail. But all the time, people who never thought they’d fail, fail.

Every time another story breaks about a pastor who resigns, my phone lights up with texts from friends asking, “How do we make sure this doesn’t happen to us?”

A few years ago I wrote a post about the exit of two megachurch pastors…I think the observations are still true:

Most pastors aren’t fake. The struggle is real.

It’s hard to lead anything.

God uses broken people.

Even if all of that is true, still, why all the failure?

Here are some new thoughts…and some things I look for inside me in the hopes of finishing well.

The seeds of failure are in all of us. So are the seeds of finishing well.Click To Tweet

1. It Just Got Bigger Than I Could Handle

Please hear this: leading something large is not inherently bad.

Although I hear the argument all the time, I personally don’t believe there is anything inherently bad about a large church or organization.

But there is something inherently difficult in it. And to some extent, the larger something is, the harder it is.

Please know, this doesn’t mean leading a small church or venture is easy. I have led small churches. I get it. Few things in leadership are easy.

But I’ve also led some larger ministries and organizations, and the larger it is, the greater the pressure and the more there’s at stake.

I remember when our church grew past 300; my mind was blown. Now it’s five times the size.

Or look at this blog or my podcast. Honestly, 100,000 readers or listeners was inconceivable six years ago. Then millions showed up.

Nothing gets you ready for that.

It’s way too easy for your platform to outgrow your character. And that’s where all the danger lies.

There isn’t anything inherently bad about leading a large church or organization. But there is something inherently difficult in it.Click To Tweet

Add to it one more fact: you and I are not naturally made to lead thousands or millions.

It doesn’t mean you can’t do it. It just means you’ll have to grow your character faster.  Much faster.

As I outlined in Didn’t See It Coming, that has come in the form of hundreds of hours of counseling for me, some dead honest conversations, and a lot of painful personal growth. And in my case, I’m so thankful that groundwork was laid before things became bigger.

It doesn’t mean I’m off the hook. It just means God beat some things out of me that had to go before the stakes were any higher. And he continues to do that. Daily.

It’s way too easy for your platform to outgrow your character.Click To Tweet

So what can help you when things get bigger than you thought, whether that’s two hundred or two million?

Try this.

First, your platform isn’t yours. It’s God’s. It’s not your church or your organization. It’s His.

You don’t have a ministry, but God does (and out of his grace he chooses to use you).

Your life isn’t your own.  Are you allowing God’s spirit to loosen your grip on your life?

The more I remind myself of these things, the healthier I am.

Second, it’s a platform, not a pedestal. There is a world of difference between a platform and a pedestal.

Pedestals are about ego and adulation.

Platforms are designed to be shared and used for the benefit of others.

On the days I remember that, I’m a better leader because I’m a better servant. On the days I forget it, the clock starts ticking.

There is a world of difference between a platform and a pedestal. Pedestals are about ego and adulation. Platforms are designed to be shared and used for the benefit of others.Click To Tweet

2. I Created a World Where Nobody Challenged Me

So…let’s be honest…nobody likes critics.

But the bigger your organization or church becomes, the easier it becomes to surround yourself with like-minded people who won’t challenge you.

Please hear the distinction. You need like-minded people. You have to run with people who get your mission, vision and strategy. Otherwise, your organization descends into internal chaos.

But what you really need is likeminded people who can challenge you.

You need people committed to the same vision, mission and strategy you are, but who will push your thinking and who will push you.

Sure…maybe you have an accountability partner. You can spin your accountability partner. You can say it’s better at home than it is. Maybe they should ask your wife how it’s really going.

What you really need is people who have influence with you and power over you who can speak into you. Like a board and an inner circle to whom you are transparent and to whom you are truly accountable.

I realize in the age of social media, those of us at a distance might think we have a responsibility to speak truth to power or to criticize someone from afar. But I promise you, most leaders just tune out an angry person or troll 1000 miles away from, and perhaps to some extent rightly so. You don’t know them. They don’t know you.

There are also critics inside your church who intend to harm you or the mission. Learn what you can from them, but move on. They will not help you or your church long term.

But what you and I need most is people in our lives who know us inside out, who love us and as a result of that love, tell us the truth about us.

But you’ll be tempted—so tempted—to tune those people out. Don’t.

Keep them close.

Cultivate an atmosphere in which your team and those around you can tell you the truth. How you hurt them. What you’re not seeing. What you don’t realize is that they’ll be afraid to do that. You can fire them or dismiss them.

Just welcome their feedback, and encourage their critiques.

They may feel like your enemy in the moment, but I promise you they’re your best friends. They’re on the same mission as you, and they want you to win. And to help you win means they have to call your sin.

To help you win, your friends have to call your sin.Click To Tweet

The way to cultivate that is to thank those on-mission people every time they critique you. Welcome it. Tell them how much it helped you.

And if it hurts, get on your knees and talk to God about it. Ask what needs to stick and what you can discard, but for God’s sake (literally), listen.

And in the further need of transparency, a few things that have helped me.

First, give the people close to you your passwords.

My wife can look and at times does look at anything on my phone or devices. She has ALL my passwords and I let her see ANY of my conversations. DMs. The whole thing. Especially with the women I work with and talk to.

To make it even more interesting, because of the nature of my team, they have access to virtually everything in my life—all my inboxes, my passwords, my notes. So even if my wife’s not looking, they are. Everything. And that’s a wonderful thing.

Should you share that with everyone? Of course not.

But just because everybody doesn’t need to know everything, it doesn’t mean nobody does.

Give people access. And let the people who love you challenge you.

Just because everybody doesn’t need to know everything, it doesn’t mean nobody does. Click To Tweet

3. I Stayed Too Long

This isn’t a problem for everyone, but it is a problem for many of us.

I’ve been in the same church for 24 years. And you know what, we grow bored and accustomed to power. So I change it up. Regularly. That’s another story for another day.

And just over three years ago, I moved out of the Lead Pastor role and into a Founding and Teaching Pastor role at our church. Why? Because I sensed the season of me being the point leader at the church I founded was ending.

I wanted to jump before I was pushed. I wanted to leave while I was still serving the church, not when the church was serving me. I wanted to go while I was still fresh, not when everything grew so stale that everyone knew it was time for me to go except me.

By all accounts, I left early. But looking back, I think the timing was perfect.

Don Miller did an incredible interview with author Stephen Mansfield who shared 10 signs a leader is heading toward a leadership crash.

Sign #1? The leader stayed too long.

I get why leaders stay too long: it’s all you know how to do, and financially, you can’t afford to leave. But that’s such a mistake.

First of all, you’re supposed to serve the church. It’s not supposed to serve you. Secondly, I get that you’re not ready for retirement. But that’s not a tenure or honour issue: it’s a financial issue. Boards should get far better at handling financial issues as financial issues, not tenure issues. (I wrote more on why pastors stay too long and the succession crisis facing the church here.)

When I jumped out of the Lead Pastor role, I took a pay cut. It was a huge trust issue.

But I promise you, trusting God is never a bad thing. So trust God.

Leaders, you’re supposed to serve the church. It’s not supposed to serve you.Click To Tweet

4. Somewhere Along The Way, I Lost My Soul

You got into this for the right reasons. I know you did. Everybody does.

But somewhere along the way, it’s too easy to lose your soul.

How exactly does that happen? Well, it’s a subtle art.

Most leaders who sell their souls aren’t 100% on the right track one day and the next day wake up in someone else’s bed. It just doesn’t usually work that way.

Selling your soul starts with compromise.

You look at a little porn. Once. Okay, twice. Okay, a little more, and soon it’s a habit…

You flirted with her once…then again. Then you were emotionally entangled.. And then…

You started justifying your impulsiveness. If they only knew the pressure I’m under, they’d be this way too, you told yourself. And you repeated that to yourself the next day, and the next…

You swore a bit because just because you think cussing a little doesn’t mean you’re not a Christian.  But now, you internal dialogue is just so foul…

You had the one drink…then the other, then every Friday, then most days…

You blew your stack at the meeting the other day, but man they were being dumb, and you’re the leader, and you can get away with it, and…

And before you know it, a thousand little compromises left you compromised.

You’ve gotten so ugly you don’t recognize yourself in the mirror.

The challenge is several fold.

The more I see leadership as a trust, the less likely I am to use it for personal gain or to indulge my flaws.

Second, the more sensitive I become to the impact of my actions and attitude on the people closest to me, the better I lead. The gravitational pull is to to make excuses to those closest to you or find people who tolerate your weaknesses. And that’s a mistake (see #2 above).

I need to become expert at noticing the little compromises.  I don’t have to confess them to my whole team, but I need to confess to someone.  Bringing them into the light when they’re small prevents them from growing into something sinister.

The challenge in leadership is to live in a way that people closest to you become the people most grateful for you. And people become truly grateful for you when your life is characterized by humility, confession and grace.

Live in a way that people closest to you become the people most grateful for you.Click To Tweet

5. I Invested Too little Time at Home

Often—not always, but often—when you talk to leaders who are no longer in leaders, you realize that there were some serious issues in their marriage that were either neglected or never resolved.

And that can create a vicious cycle where because things aren’t going well at home, you throw yourself even harder into your work because you feel you can win there, all of which makes home go even more poorly.

Here’s what I’ve come to believe: Ultimately, everything rides on how you lead at home. 

If you’re winning at work but losing at home, you’re losing.

The stakes are high.

If you’re winning at work but losing at home, you’re losing.Click To Tweet

The difficult issues you work through in your home life will make you a wiser, stronger leader organizationally. Like many couples, my wife Toni and I have worked through some difficult seasons and (thankfully), came through to a better place.

But in my thirties, I became so consumed with work because it was honestly just easier to win at church than it was to win at home.

Why do so many leaders fall for that trap? There are at least three reasons.

There’s a clearer scoreboard at work. You can accomplish things far easier at work than you can at home.

It’s easier to earn respect at work than it is at home because you hold a title, and for senior leaders, direct a team.

You can avoid the hard conversations at home by staying later and working longer.

All of these are terrible reasons of course, but that doesn’t keep leaders from falling for them. I’ve fallen for them in different seasons too.

The challenge with home, of course, is that no one is that impressed by your title, latest progress or corner office.

But lead poorly at home for more than a season and the consequences will play out in several ways throughout your life and leadership:

You may win in ministry but lose the heart and affection of your family. Most of us have met leaders whose family is still together but deeply resents the leader’s organization.

Your leadership in ministry might be permanently stunted as unresolved character issues leak from home into your organizational leadership. Your flaws tend to eventually impact everything you lead and touch.

You might lose it all – the collapse of your family might lead to the collapse of your ministry and leadership.

See what’s at stake?

But here’s the truth.  You can’t have a great ministry and bad marriage. A bad marriage will eventually undermine a great ministry.

So if you’re struggling at home, invest more there. It will be painful at first. It may involve expensive counselling and hours (days, months…) of wading through mud. Do it.

I look at the investment I’ve made over the last 15 years in counselling, coaching, retreats and more time on my knees, and I can’t believe how much it’s paid off. Naturally, I still have a long way to go. The ancients called this process sanctification, and it’s never done. But things can get better. They really can.

Lead well at home, and you will inevitably become a better leader in your ministry or organization.

It’s just too easy to lose at home. So don’t.

You can’t have a great ministry and bad marriage. A bad marriage will obliterate a great ministry. Click To Tweet

Addendum: Four Likely Reasons Billy Graham Finished Well

The news is not all bad. There are more than a few long-time leaders who appear to be leading and finishing very well.

Billy Graham was certainly one of them.

Most people in church leadership are aware of the Billy Graham rule: never meet alone with a member of the opposite sex. And while it has its critics and limits, it’s helped many people.

Thank you to Kadi Cole who alerted me to the origin of the Billy Graham rule in her fantastic  new book, Developing Female Leaders.

As Kadi points out, the Billy Graham rule actually had four aspects. Billy and a few of his colleagues got together in 1948 in Modesto California in 1948 after seeing other evangelists become entangled in affairs, greed and running down local churches.

It consists of four rules:

Financial integrity…so that Billy Graham and his team would not raise money themselves at crusades.
Sexual integrity…so they wouldn’t fall victim to affairs or impropriety.
Respect for local churches…so they would build up local churches, rather than compete with them.
A commitment to accuracy in reporting…so they would not exaggerate how many people attended or how ‘successful’ their ministry was.

All four issues are still real issues. The more things change, the more they stay the same.

You can read Billy Graham’s own description of the Modesto Manifesto here.

Some Deeper Help

13 years ago, I burned out. By the grace of God, there are no affair, nothing that precluded me from moving forward in ministry except my loss of energy and passion.

By the grace of God, I recovered, and it’s become a passion of mine not only to thrive in life and leadership, but to help other leaders do the same.

Of course none of us have mastered this entirely and it’s an ongoing commitment, but I recently released two resources that I hope can help you.

The first is my latest book, Didn’t See It Coming, which outlines how issues like cynicism, compromise, pride, burnout and disconnection can take out leaders or stunt their potential. You can explore more or get a copy here.

The second resource is my High Impact Leader Course, where I show you how to avoid burnout, get more done at work and have more time to be fully present at home by getting time, energy and priorities working in your favour. It’s an on-line, on demand course that outlines the principles I’ve used over the last decade+ to get healthy. The course has helped thousands of leaders do the same.

You can learn more or enrol in the High Impact Leader here.

What Do You See?

I would love to hear in the comments some of the things you see in your own life that you need to watch.

Please don’t pile on leaders who are already down or take cheap shots at people or the church. I’ll delete those comments. This isn’t a place to make the problem worse.

I want this to be a place to help us all find solutions that create a better future.

So as you look inside, what seeds of failure and seeds to finish well do you see inside yourself?

Scroll down and leave a comment.

The post Some Thoughts On Why MegaChurch Pastors Keep Falling appeared first on CareyNieuwhof.com.

Source: Some Thoughts On Why MegaChurch Pastors Keep Falling

The post Some Thoughts On Why MegaChurch Pastors Keep Falling appeared first on Passion for Planting.

by Carey Nieuwhof: Pete Scazzero will be the first to tell you that while he was successful on the outside as a leader, he was immature on the inside, and his wife had had enough. That moved Pete on a journey to figure out what was wrong and how to make it right.

Raw, honest and gut wrenching, in this interview, Pete will help you gauge your level of emotional and spiritual maturity and help you make progress.

Welcome to Episode 230 of the podcast. Listen and access the show notes below or search for the Carey Nieuwhof Leadership Podcast on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts and listen for free.

Overcome the seven greatest challenges no one expects and everyone experiences. Learn more and get your copy of Didn’t See It Coming at didntseeitcomingbook.com.

Maximize giving at your church. Visit Pushpay.com/Carey to receive an exclusive offer for podcast listeners and discover why churches see an increase in giving by using Pushpay’s digital mobile strategy.

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The post CNLP 230: Pete Scazzero on Why So Many Successful Leaders Are Emotionally Immature, How to Tell Whether That’s You, and How to Become Emotionally Intelligent and Spiritually Mature appeared first on CareyNieuwhof.com.

Source: CNLP 230: Pete Scazzero on Why So Many Successful Leaders Are Emotionally Immature, How to Tell Whether That’s You, and How to Become Emotionally Intelligent and Spiritually Mature

The post CNLP 230: Pete Scazzero on Why So Many Successful Leaders Are Emotionally Immature, How to Tell Whether That’s You, and How to Become Emotionally Intelligent and Spiritually Mature appeared first on Passion for Planting.