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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?
For the final podcast episode of the year, we compiled moments from the highest-rated episodes of 2020. Listen to today's episode to hear a series of short snippets or link to the full episodes
In today's episode, Pete shares a sermon from the prophet Jeremiah that will help us step over fear in the strength and power of God.
We are in the season of Advent - a time of hopeful expectation!
Yet we remain several months away from the end of the global pandemic. Across the board, many churches are closing down and others are hanging on with all of their strength.
In today's podcast, Pete shares some insights from the prophet Isaiah to help us see what God is doing when our plans change drastically.
Pete believes this episode will help you enter more deeply into the Advent season AND prepare well for the coming year.
In today's podcast, Pete shares with you this conversation and prays it spurs you on in your own prayer journey.
In today's podcast, Pete makes the case for why the practice of thankfulness is the antidote to a pervasive ingratitude that causes our hearts to shrink.
Near the end, Pete invites you to consider 6 categories of life in which you have the opportunity to give thanks to God.
In today's podcast, Pete shares a message from years ago that is especially important for leaders today. It's about embracing the work of the cross so we can experience resurrection life.
In today's podcast, Pete addresses how we can live, lead, and meet God in the confusing-in-between.
In today's podcast, Pete shares a sermon in which he explores Jesus' parable of the wheat and tares. In this passage, Jesus reveals an astounding picture of how God intends to deal with the good and the evil - especially in the church.
In today's podcast, we learn an important lesson from Martin Buber, a well-known German-Jewish theologian who lived during WWI. From there, we'll explore 3 questions for how we can know whether or not we are actually loving our enemies.
In today's podcast, Pete concludes a three-part series on how Scripture invites us to live and lead in such deeply polarizing times. Throughout this series, we are exploring a total of six radical invitations.
In last week's podcast, Pete explored how our overly-politicized climate is not different from when Jesus walked the earth. Today, he continues the conversation by offering the next two radical invitations from Scripture that will help leaders navigate this moment with health, wisdom, and maturity.
In the first episode of this three-part series, Pete explores how our overly-politicized climate is not different from when Jesus walked the earth. He offers six radical invitations from Scripture that will help leaders navigate this moment with health, wisdom, and maturity.
Following up on last week's podcast called "Relax. It's going to be ok.", I continue the theme by entering into God's invitation for us found in Psalm 23.
But how do we rest in a time like this? Listen along to find out.
Have you noticed that everyone is a little on edge? (This may be the understatement of the year!)
In today's podcast, Pete shares with you a message from the book of Revelation that has grounded him for years - especially in times of uncertainty.
In today's podcast, Pete dives into the story of Moses and explore the excuses that could have kept him from responding to God's call on His life.
In this podcast Pete and Geri address topics such as revival, anxiety, and the need for well-differentiated, non-anxious leadership.
In today's podcast, I explore a revelation that came to the prophet Isaiah in a time of great change. In this vision, he saw God on a throne and that a great future was going to spring out of an unlikely place.
In today's podcast, I share with you a sermon based on Isaiah 43 exploring God's divine purpose in a season of disorientation and how we can step into the plan of God.
In today's podcast, Pete addresses this concern head-on. Drawing from historical and global case studies, Pete helps us reframe how the church can thrive even when we can't gather.
In today's podcast, I offer a few ways for us to reframe "success" that will serve us well as we continue our journey through the unknown.
Back in June, I released the first part of today's topic, making a case that leaders must dramatically change the way we approach our devotional life with Jesus.
In today's podcast, I recommend a new way forward. I'll share with you four keys that will breathe life back into your devotions.
Building on last week's podcast theme, today's episode features a deeper exploration of the church as described in Ephesians 3:1-13. We must be gripped by God's design for the church to be one body that spans race, culture, gender, and class.
Today’s podcast features part one of a time-tested sermon in which Pete explores God’s plan to create a new international family. Exploring Ephesians 2:1-11, we are introduced to God’s vision for the church - a revelation so powerful that it dismantles complacency and burns through the sin of racism.
In this podcast I address one of the most important tasks before us as leaders – declaring the certainty of God’s future in the face of the multiple crisis facing our people, our nations, and our churches.
The world is reeling from three global upheavals.
The coronavirus pandemic, the outrage over racial injustice, and the global recession have exposed us. They've put pressure on the church in uncomfortable ways.
Today's podcast is my passionate plea to respond to God’s invitation.
In this podcast, Pete addresses fundamental discipleship issues confronting the church today in the midst of the global awakening around racial injustice – grief and loss.
In the wake of George Floyd’s death, Americans and people around the globe are expressing outrage and grief on a level I’ve never seem in my lifetime. It appears to be a moment in which God is doing something significant in the world and the church.
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.
In this podcast I talk about one key, often overlooked, ingredient of mature leaders – prudence. As Proverbs says, “…she is more profitable than silver and yields better returns than gold. She is more precious than rubies; nothing you desire can compare with her. Prov. 3:13-15
In this podcast, we begin with the reminder that success is becoming the person God has called us to become and doing what God calls us to do. In other words, detaching from the outcomes and circumstances we want, and surrendering to God and his will, is success -- regardless of where that takes us.
This podcast addresses another critical biblical theme for leaders during this Covid-19 pandemic– detachment, that we might follow Jesus, allowing him to birth what he desires in and through us. God has revealed, through this present crisis, our attachment to our plans, our need for security and control, etc. and our strong self-will.
Discerning what season you, your family, your ministry, and the world are in right now may be our most important leadership task. Discerning properly our season will determine our priorities, decisions, and pace – for ourselves and our teams. Failing to discern properly will result in all kinds of internal anguish and wasted energy. That is the theme of this podcast.
In this podcast, Geri and Pete introduce a foundation spiritual practice called the Community Temperature Reading (CTR for short). This is especially relevant as so many of us are under particular relational pressures during the Covid-19 pandemic.
In this podcast, Pete shares a message from Isaiah 36-37 when Israel found herself under enormous pressure surrounded by the armies of Assyria.
Pete is joined by his wife Geri as they address one of the great challenges we face during COVID-19 The prolonged, stay-at-home time in which we find ourselves – our relationships.
In this podcast, they introduce a life-changing skill called “Clarify Expectations.”
In this week's podcast, Pete's wife Geri joins him in sharing with us four ways to transition from surviving to flourishing during this COVID-19 pandemic. Using the framework of a "Rule of Life", they share ways to structure our days amidst our involuntary isolation. May this podcast be a blessing for you during this time.
In this week's podcast, Pete shares his reflections on the difficult season of the coronavirus pandemic that we have just entered. Challenging, hard-to-believe news is coming at a pace that is demanding to absorb for ourselves – let alone the people we lead.
What is God saying? How is He coming to us? How do we lead others in such an unprecedented time of crisis?
In part 2 of this week's podcast, Pete focuses on the taming of "tiger" behaviors that happen on every team. In Part 1, he defined a “tiger” as someone who invades and damages the overall health of our community due to their own lack of awareness and immaturity. Pete addresses the top ten questions people ask around taming "tigers" and creating a healthy culture.
Pete defines a "tiger" as someone who invades and damages the overall health of our community due to their own lack of awareness and immaturity. In part 1 of this week's podcast, Pete explores the issue of caging and taming "tigers" who emerge under our leadership. He shares with us three important lessons about what good leaders do to cage "tigers" in their midst.
In today's podcast, Pete shares an important truth from one of his favorite biblical characters – John the Baptist. John does not imitate other people, and part of leadership is to differentiate and bring that uniqueness of who God has made you to be. Pete will be sharing a message with us from John 1. To lead from who you really are, listen to this sermon and answer the 3 questions Pete gives you.
In part 2 of this week's podcast, Pete continues to build on the theology of rhythms and limits from Genesis 2:15-17. Pete expands on how our teams must seek to apply this to our most important task which is cultivating a deep spirituality with Jesus. It is crucial that we understand how much of a critical theme this is for all of us going into the future.
In this week's podcast, we learn how limits and rhythms are two of the most difficult truths in Scripture to embrace; and how it is very important for teams to be able to embrace these limits and rhythms. Pete gives us two critical questions that teams must be asking in order to lead from a healthy place.
Each of us has been “formed/discipled” by our family of origin in the early years of our lives – whether we were Christians or not. In part 2 of his podcast, Pete invites you and your team to do three things that will encourage you to continue learning and being formed into disciples of Christ.
One of the core pillars of "Emotionally Healthy Discipleship" is going back to go forward. In emotionally healthy teams, people understand that their family of origin has enormous significance in their ability to function maturely as a team. In this podcast, Pete shares five major points in how making sense of our stories can powerfully transform us, our teams, and those we lead. May it be an encouragement to you and those you lead.
In last week's podcast, Pete introduced us to the first five questions that he has asked himself and others when preaching a message. In part 2 of this week's podcast, Pete dives into the final five questions, while making suggestions that will make your preaching experience rich and enjoyable. May this podcast be a blessing for you!
In his first podcast of 2020, Pete shares with us the first five important questions that will make sure we make room for God to do His work in our lives. If we can learn to apply these questions to our lives, then these will surely help many leaders and preachers to preach in ways that will lead others to more authentic transformations.