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The Joy & Pain of Leadership Succession
Posted on: Monday November 10, 2025

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.

 

Archives:
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.