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Names Before Numbers: The Dramatic Shift True Shepherds Must Make
Posted on: Tuesday November 26, 2024

🎄Christmas Sermon Prep Webinar -   Join me for a FREE webinar on Dec. 5th at 2 pm ET to learn about preaching a Christmas message that deeply changes lives. https://www.emotionallyhealthy.org/sermonprep/

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The truth is, you can’t shepherd numbers. You can only shepherd names. And yet, in a culture obsessed with metrics, many leaders feel trapped, measuring success by attendance, budgets, and fast growth rather than the flourishing of the people God has entrusted to them.

In this episode, Pete unpacks the heart of biblical shepherding—leading with Jesus’ love, slowing down to be present, and praying over the specific names God has placed under your care. He explains how this dramatic shift, though countercultural and painfully slow, leads to a deeply transformative and spacious life for both shepherds and sheep.

If you’re longing to move beyond hurried leadership into a ministry marked by patience, prayer, and personal connection, this episode is for you. Pete shares four practical ways to shepherd like Jesus and invites you to reflect: Who is on your list?

 

Archives: 2018
Tuesday December 18, 2018

This podcast, a 15-minute experience of silence and stillness before the Lord, is our Christmas gift to you, our way of saying “thank you” for being one of our faithful podcast listeners. For the fuller experience with Jesus, please find the video titled "Breathe: Being with God in Silence" on our YouTube page.

Tuesday December 11, 2018

Advent is a low point spiritually for most Christian leaders. We are told that told Christmas is the time to get as many people as possible to the church, to close the financial year strong, to thank all our leaders, and to model reaching out to our neighbors for Christ. The problem is that in the process we lose the wonder and beauty of celebrating God’s coming in Jesus of Nazareth. This podcast talks about the top 4 Christmas killers and what we can do to resist them.

Tuesday December 04, 2018

God’s ways are little and slow, i.e. they are a mustard seed. Mustard seeds appear insignificant, powerless, imperceptible, and defeated. Few of us signed up to lead in this way. I surely did not! Yet Jesus pleads with us to resist the big, powerful, and sensational ways of the world and embrace his way.

 

Tuesday November 27, 2018

This podcast returns to Matthew 4:1-11, looking at Jesus as our model of embracing his limits in order to stay rooted in the Father’s love and seemingly “ineffective” timetable.

Tuesday November 20, 2018

This podcast is a meditation of Matthew 4:1-11 (Jesus' temptation in the desert) around two questions: 1) In light of Jesus’ responses to Satan, what do we learn about staying grounded in leadership? 2)
What are ways in which Satan tries to split you off/separate you away from the Father in your pastoring/leading?

 

Tuesday November 13, 2018

Saying no to leadership opportunities, and the increased impact and influence they can afford, is not a topic talked about very often today. For that we need to look at the work of the Holy Spirit in the history of the church. In Part 2 of this series, Pete looks at two towering figures in particular: Bernard of Clairvaux and Gregory of Nazianzus.

 

Tuesday November 06, 2018

As people who lead in the name of Jesus, we are not to enter every open door or seize every new opportunity. Why? Doing so outside of God’s timetable damages both ourselves and his long-term kingdom mission in the world. In this podcast Pete talks about three reasons we ought to consider pausing to pray before saying yes to new leadership opportunities before us.

Tuesday October 30, 2018

Pete offers highlights from the eight charts that formed the basis of his book, The Emotionally Healthy Leader, contrasting the standard practice of how we typically do leadership vs. an emotionally healthy way, and talks about his new free e-book: Why Leadership Matters for a Discipleship that Deeply Changes Lives.

Tuesday October 23, 2018

Pete explores the story (with its present-day applications) of God directing Elijah to go to a desert for silence and solitude.

Tuesday October 16, 2018

This podcast looks at Jesus’ intentional movement from active ministry with people to times of solitude in a desert place in order to be alone with the Father. It also examines practical ways we can develop a similar rhythm of finding our “desert” with God—regardless of the unique season or circumstances in which we find ourselves.

Tuesday October 09, 2018

In this podcast you will hear a message on God’s invitation - at every stage of our life and leadership - to grasp ever more deeply that we are his “beloved,” i.e. we are deeply loved by him. Getting this truth frees us from the demonic voices that tempt us to get our loveability from other sources and fills us with the courage we need to do God’s will regardless of where it leads.
   

Tuesday October 02, 2018

In part 2 of this series, Pete talks about 4 additional gifts/applications from the Desert Fathers and Mothers that offer a challenge to us in leadership today.

Tuesday September 25, 2018

At the end of the third century Christian men and women began to flee the cities and villages of the Nile Delta in Egypt to seek God in the desert. In this podcast, Pete talks about what he believes is their contribution and gift for us today – both in our leadership and in our discipling of others.

Tuesday September 18, 2018

Pete expands on the 7 primary lessons (or gifts) from the Rule of Benedict that have profoundly influenced his life and leadership.

 

Tuesday September 11, 2018

The pressure to present an image of ourselves as strong and spiritually “together” hovers over most of us. We forget that not one of us is perfect and that we are all sinners. Pete explores Psalm 51 as a model for us, concluding with a few thoughts about our need to climb a ladder of humility if we are to lead well.

Wednesday September 05, 2018

Leadership in the name of Jesus is from the bottom up, not a grasping or controlling of circumstances and people. It is leading out of failure and pain, questions and struggles — a serving that lets go. It is a noticeably different way of life from what is commonly modeled in the world and, unfortunately, in many churches. Listen to this podcast about God’s strange pathway of living and leading out of brokenness and vulnerability.

Tuesday August 28, 2018

In the gospel of John the word "belief" can best be understood as "relax in" or "trust." How do we get there? Listen to Pete’s message based on John 6:16-21 and learn to relax. 

Monday August 20, 2018

Being a leader is knowing what to do next, why it’s important, and then bringing the right resources to bear that will make it happen. And yet a core part of discipleship is being able to say, "I don't understand, Lord." Pete shares why it’s necessary for each of us to go through “Dark Nights of the Soul” where we don’t know what’s going, because these are moments where God pulls us into deeper discipleship with Him.

Monday August 13, 2018

Pete shares how the truths of 1 Corinthians 13 and learning to really love others impacted him personally, radically changing his leadership and the discipleship culture at the church.

 

 

 

Monday August 06, 2018

Taken from a message given at the 2017 Emotionally Healthy Leadership Conference, Pete looks at three aspects that make John the Baptist an unlikely but extraordinary model of leadership.

 

 

 

Tuesday July 31, 2018

It is easy to lead for God without listening to him. The word listen or hear is found more than 1500 times in the Bible. That is why the most important question every one of us must ask throughout our days is: “God, how are you coming to me, what might you want to say?” In this podcast, Pete gives specific examples of how he regularly applies this question to different areas of his life and discernment process.

Tuesday July 24, 2018

Pete discusses a number of powerful truths around Jesus’ command: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you... If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? (Matt. 5:43-45).

Tuesday July 17, 2018

Pete introduces the ladder of integrity, a simple yet powerful tool to be used when we are feeling angry, frustrated, or hurt in a relationship or a situation.

Tuesday July 10, 2018

Living with integrity, whether you're in your twenties or seventies, is no small task. In this podcast, Pete lays the foundation for a leader’s integrity by discussing four critical areas: integrity with God, integrity with yourself, integrity in your marriage / singleness, integrity in your leadership.

Tuesday July 03, 2018

The first crisis the early church confronted was a crisis of integrity. Pete speaks on the story of Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5:1-11 and shares why integrity is so important to leadership.

Monday June 25, 2018

Pete shares 10 questions that became an anchor for him during a two-year period that served as a crucible of differentiation in his life.

Tuesday June 19, 2018

If you and I were sitting down with David towards the end of his life, and we asked him what tips might he have for our own leadership today, what might he say? Pete shares a few key tips he believes would be near the top of his list

Tuesday June 12, 2018

In part 2 of this podcast series on Becoming a More Differentiated Leader, Pete talks about four practical truths that can help us make the radical transition of dismantling our false self in order to lead faithfully out of our true self in Christ.

Monday June 04, 2018

Pete introduces the paradigm-shifting concept of differentiation as one significant reason why exercising excellent leadership is so hard and addresses three key questions can help us grow in differentiation and maturely navigate high-charged situations.

Tuesday May 29, 2018

To live and lead like Jesus requires that we embrace the fact that we are people with deep weaknesses and vulnerabilities. At the same time, it also requires we embrace the glorious truth that we are incredible – with unique passions, histories, gifts, experiences, sufferings, and destinies. 

Tuesday May 22, 2018

Our human hearts desperately crave praise, notice, and honor (usually from the wrong places). But actually, we were made to be noticed and honored by God as the primary aim of our lives. In this podcast, Pete completes a 2-part study on the radical contrast of the world’s easy-to-follow discipleship to Jesus’ hard-to-follow discipleship.

Tuesday May 15, 2018

In part 1 of this podcast series, Pete shares 19-months worth of learnings on the theme of discipleship in the Gospel of Matthew and makes specific applications for leaders today.

Thursday May 10, 2018

Keeping Sabbath is a core spiritual practice – an essential means God uses to slow us down and mature us. In this podcast, Pete expounds on ten core reasons Sabbath is indispensable for those who lead in Jesus’ name.

 

Wednesday May 02, 2018

God has a great plan for you. But if you are going to become the extraordinary human being He intends and be a blessing to the world, you will have to navigate the dark nights that will come your way.

Tuesday April 24, 2018

Discerning what season you, and your ministry, are in right now is one of our most important leadership tasks. In this podcast Pete expounds on the seasons of Fall (transitions), Winter (death), Spring (fruitfulness), and Summer (abundance), examining how each holds its own gift from God – if we cooperate with it.

Wednesday April 18, 2018

In part 2 of this series, we will look at the journey of Job as a model of a leader who integrated his sadness, anger, and depression in ways that made him an even greater leader who continues to speak to us today.

 

Wednesday April 11, 2018

In this podcast, Pete explores David’s integration of great leadership with great grieving and why this is so critical for us today.

Tuesday April 03, 2018

Limits are often the last place we look for God. The problem is that when we fail to look for God in our limits, we often bypass him. In this podcast, Pete considers Adam and Eve in the Garden, Jesus being tempted by Satan in the desert, and David at the height of his power and influence.

Tuesday March 27, 2018

One of the greatest spiritual challenges for leaders revolves around how we frame and respond to the limits God places around us. In this podcast, Pete begins offering a biblical framework to understand limits as gifts of grace from the hand of God and answers three of the most common questions he hears.

Tuesday March 20, 2018

In part 2 of this podcast, Pete issues an invitation to get deeply anchored in God by deliberately structuring your life in ancient spiritual practices that have stood the test of time.

Thursday March 15, 2018

Most leaders are starved for time. Few of us have a sustainable, long-term plan that answers the question: How can I live and lead in a way that is calm, relaxed, and filled with contentment in Jesus? In part one of this podcast, Pete discusses how to deliberately structure our lives around God’s rhythms.

Tuesday March 06, 2018

In Part 3 of this 3-part series, Pete answers five FAQ’s that emerge over and over again around the topic of redefining success Jesus' way and discusses the challenge of "to do the work before the work.”

Wednesday February 28, 2018

In Part 2 of this podcast, Pete offers three different examples of how to redefine success in ways that look beyond numbers. He then looks closely at the three factors necessary to internalize the kind of radical change necessary to make the doing of God’s will, regardless of where it leads, the measure of our success.

Tuesday February 20, 2018

Defining success as a Christian leader is one of our most challenging, vexing and difficult tasks. In part 1 of this podcast, Pete looks at two idols that dominate current Western culture and church leadership.

Wednesday February 14, 2018

One of the most important topics for any leader is how we develop other leaders. The future of our ministries depends on it. In this podcast, Pete shares the top three mistakes he has made and observed in leadership development over the decades.

Wednesday February 07, 2018

Many leaders are overworked, tired, and weighed down with too much to do in too little time. In this podcast, Pete discusses two keys to creative leadership: Sabbath and silence.
 

Thursday January 18, 2018

This podcast traces the history of Christianity and how this impacts our discipleship and our leadership today.

Thursday January 04, 2018

Embracing transitions is one of the critical leadership tasks every leader must master if we are to do God’s work, God’s way, and in God’s timing. Sadly, endings and transitions are often poorly handled in our families, ministries, organizations, and teams. This podcast explores the inner work we must do as leaders if we are to cooperate with God in this difficult work of endings and new beginnings.