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.

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.

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.

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.

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?

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.
   

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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. 

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.

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.

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.

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.

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).

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.

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.

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.