


Free Resource: Craft a Rule of Life for Emotionally Healthy Leaders → emotionallyhealthy.org/rule
In 2004, I stood in front of a building we couldn't afford to renovate, a staff team with the wrong people in the wrong seats, and a list of problems that all traced back to my own failures as a leader. I thought about resigning. I thought I'd taken the church as far as I could.
Most of us know that feeling. Not enough hours. Not enough margin. Not enough emotional or spiritual energy for one more thing. And under that kind of pressure, we get reactive, anxious, driven.
This week, I go back to 701 BC and a king named Hezekiah, surrounded by the most powerful army in the world, with no way out. What he does under that siege is still exactly what we need today. Four practices, not theory, that show you how to find rest when the pressure won't let up.
This isn't about managing your calendar better. It's about what you do the moment the walls close in.
Listen now, and grab the Rule of Life resource above to start building this into your own life.
Learn more about the EH Global Leader Conference 2026: http://www.emotionallyhealthy.org/conference

In today's episode of The Emotionally Healthy Leader Podcast, I'm joined by my longtime friend and the new President of Emotionally Healthy Discipleship, Drew Hyun, for a conversation unlike any we've ever released.
This is a new season for EHD—one marked by fresh leadership, expanding vision, and a renewed commitment to forming leaders around the world in a deep, beneath-the-surface discipleship. Drew and I look back on our 24-year history, the shaping influence of New Life Fellowship, and the surprising road that led him to carry this movement forward. You'll also hear how church planting, crisis, and personal formation prepared him for this moment.
In part two, we go deeper into succession—what it demanded of both of us, the internal work required, and the lessons every pastor or leader needs when stepping into (or stepping out of) significant responsibility.
Whether you're navigating leadership transition, rebuilding your soul, or discerning your next step with EHD, this episode offers a hopeful and honest invitation to join what God is doing in this new season.
Learn more about the EH Global Leader Conference 2026: http://www.emotionallyhealthy.org/conference

Leadership succession is one of the most sacred — and most difficult — tasks for any pastor or ministry leader.
In this episode, I share the behind-the-scenes story of my second major succession — passing the baton of Emotionally Healthy Discipleship to Drew Hyun as our new President. I've rarely seen a succession done well. And that's exactly why I knew I had to do it differently — with prayer, intentionality, and surrender.
I walk through both the joy and the deep pain of letting go. I reflect on the lessons learned from my first succession at New Life Fellowship, the emotional disorientation that followed, and the profound spiritual formation that only comes through grief and relinquishment.
This is not a leadership technique. It's a spiritual crucible. A death and resurrection.
Whether you're years away from stepping down or you're mentoring the next generation now, this episode will help you face your limits, resist control, and steward your calling with integrity — for the sake of Jesus' mission in the world.
Every leader will face succession. The question is not if, but when.
Let's do it well.
Learn more about the EH Global Leader Conference 2026: http://www.emotionallyhealthy.org/conference