Pre-Order Pete Scazzero's forthcoming book, Emotionally Healthy Success, at www.emotionallyhealthy.org/success and get a free chapter.
This is Part 1, and we're starting where the book starts: the lies we call success.
For years I measured my ministry the way most of us do. Attendance. Budget. Baptisms. Conferences that promised the next strategy for growth. It worked, for a while. But underneath the numbers, I wasn't reflecting on Jesus. I wasn't in touch with my own shadow, my fears, my perfectionism, my anxiety. And the wreckage from that started piling up long before I was willing to see it.
In this episode, I walk through five of the most common false scorecards leaders use without knowing it: the size of our ministry, the extent of our influence, the praise we receive, the pace of our growth, and how we compare to everyone else in the room.
If you've ever felt like you should be further along, this one's for you. Listen in.
Learn more about the 2026 FALL SEMESTER School of Emotionally Healthy Leadership https://www.emotionallyhealthy.org/leadershipschool/
Free Resource: Rule of Life for Emotionally Healthy Leaders → emotionallyhealthy.org
You were made for glorious work. But you were also made to stop.
Most of us know how to produce, build, plan, and push through. What we struggle with is the hidden life. The stopping. The surrendering. The trusting when no one can see it.
In this episode, Pete Scazzero explores one of the most countercultural truths in Scripture: you are not God. And that is the best news you'll hear all week.
Drawing from Genesis, the life of Jesus, and two ancient disciplines (Sabbath and the Daily Office), Pete unpacks why our refusal to stop is rooted in the same rebellion as the garden. And why living in God's rhythms isn't weakness. It's the path to freedom, fruitfulness, and true maturity.
If your calendar is driven by fear, your ministry by insecurity, or your pace by the crowd's demands, this episode is for you.
Stop. Listen. Be free.
Learn more about the 2026 FALL SEMESTER School of Emotionally Healthy Leadership https://www.emotionallyhealthy.org/leadershipschool/
📥 Free Resource: Download our free guide to get started with the Daily Office emotionallyhealthy.org/dailyoffice
One of the questions I get asked more than almost any other is: How do you spend time with God each day? What do you do? For how long? Is there a right way?
Here's the truth I've learned over decades of pastoral ministry: there is no one-size-fits-all daily time with God. The goal was never a method—it was always a life of loving union with Him.
In this episode, I take you on a personal journey through five distinct phases of my own prayer life—from intense Scripture study to intercessory prayer, from emotional health integration to contemplative rhythms rooted in monastic wisdom. Each phase taught me something essential. None of them, on their own, was the whole picture.
Then I lay out six practical pillars you can use to design a daily rhythm with God that actually fits you—your season, your temperament, your calling.
Whether you're a ministry leader under immense pressure or someone just trying to show up faithfully, this episode will help you stop copying someone else's spirituality and start building something sustainable and life-giving.
The best daily time with God isn't the longest one. It's the one you'll actually keep.
Learn more about the 2026 FALL SEMESTER School of Emotionally Healthy Leadership https://www.emotionallyhealthy.org/leadershipschool/
⏰ DAILY OFFICE STARTER GUIDE - The Daily Office is an ancient practice to help you stop 2 - 3 times a day to quiet yourself and be with Jesus. https://www.emotionallyhealthy.org/dailyoffice
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For most leaders, success is based on numbers, influence, and impact. But the life of Elijah teaches us something different.
On today's podcast, we continue our journey in Part 2 of The Power of a Hidden Life: Leadership Lessons from Elijah.
We'll explore a profound truth often overlooked in leadership: before we stand on large platforms or lead others, our inner life with God must be well-rooted and established. Elijah's story in 1 Kings 17-19 reveals that God shapes leaders in the quiet, hidden places—like the cave—long before the public victories.
We'll dive into Elijah's time of hiddenness, fed by ravens and a widow, as God worked in his soul. These hidden seasons are critical because they teach us to lead from a place of deep connection with God, not simply from activity or impact. Elijah teaches us that success is about discerning the voice of God, not the pressures of Western values.
Take a deep breath, let God care for you, and allow His abundance to overflow into every part of your life!
Learn more about the 2026 FALL SEMESTER School of Emotionally Healthy Leadership https://www.emotionallyhealthy.org/leadershipschool/
✅ DAILY OFFICE STARTER GUIDE - The Daily Office is an ancient practice to help you stop 2 - 3 times a day to quiet yourself and be with Jesus. https://www.emotionallyhealthy.org/dailyoffice
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In today's chaotic and disorienting world, where leaders face intense challenges, Elijah's life offers us profound wisdom.
Whether you lead a ministry, organization, or family, Elijah's hidden life with God speaks to the core of how we navigate leadership in tumultuous times.
In 1 Kings 19, Elijah faced overwhelming exhaustion, fear, and disillusionment after pouring out his heart in service to God. As a fugitive, fleeing from Jezebel's threats, he reached his breaking point—ready to give up entirely. It's here, in the wilderness, that God met him in a way that transformed his leadership and life.
God didn't fix Elijah's problems immediately or offer a grand inspirational speech. Instead, He invited Elijah into the stillness and silence in the cave at Mount Horeb.
In today's podcast episode, we'll reflect on how entering our own "caves" of silence can transform not only our leadership but also our relationship with God.
Learn more about the 2026 FALL SEMESTER School of Emotionally Healthy Leadership https://www.emotionallyhealthy.org/leadershipschool/
Many Christians are familiar with the practice of a daily "quiet time".
But with the speed and volume of our often overscheduled lives, one short moment a day isn't enough to sustain an abiding life with Jesus.
Today's episode is a continuation of an 8-week podcast series in which we explore the seminal work from Emotionally Healthy Spirituality. If you are a pastor, leader, or listener and you want to start the journey toward emotional and spiritual health, this series is a must-listen.
Learn more about the 2026 FALL SEMESTER School of Emotionally Healthy Leadership https://www.emotionallyhealthy.org/leadershipschool/
In today's episode, we'll discover that it's in silence that we learn to pay attention to what God is birthing in and through us.
Learn more about the 2026 FALL SEMESTER School of Emotionally Healthy Leadership https://www.emotionallyhealthy.org/leadershipschool/
In today's podcast, Pete introduces the elements of one way to move from traditional devotions to transformative devotions through the integration of the practice of the Daily Office.
Learn more about the 2026 FALL SEMESTER School of Emotionally Healthy Leadership https://www.emotionallyhealthy.org/leadershipschool/
Pete talks about the ancient practice of the Daily Office as one powerful means to carve out sufficient time to be with Jesus and to be with ourselves – out of which we go and offer our lives as a gift to the world. This is not a superficial being simply to stay functional but to a deep waiting on Jesus – a life with deep stillness and silence that serves to center our leadership. He also breaks down one of his morning prayer times as a sample (being fully aware that each of us needs to find our own way) and leads a short Daily Office.
To download a free e-book on Six Marks of a Church Culture that Deeply Changes Lives visit www.emotionallyhealthy.org/churchculture.
Learn more about the 2026 FALL SEMESTER School of Emotionally Healthy Leadership https://www.emotionallyhealthy.org/leadershipschool/
