Finishing well is the exception—not the rule. Far too many leaders start with conviction but end with compromise. It rarely happens overnight. Most drift quietly—through small compromises, unchecked ambition, and a subtle shift from purpose to performance. In this powerful episode of Behind the Seal , Peter Greer (President & CEO of Hope International) joins us to unpack why leaders lose their way—and how to stay mission-true in the face of pressure, success, and fatigue. From the story of S...
Aug 21, 2025•50 min•Season 3Ep. 8
Is your leadership costing you connection? In this honest and thought-provoking conversation, Walter Kim, President of the National Association of Evangelicals, joins ECFA President Michael Martin to explore the emotional and relational challenges leaders face behind the scenes. From the illusion of transparency to the power of biblical vulnerability, this episode uncovers what it really takes to build meaningful friendships in ministry—and why you can’t lead well without them. Whether you're a ...
Aug 07, 2025•45 min•Season 3Ep. 7
What happens when no one’s asking the hard questions? ECFA President Michael Martin talks with David Ashcraft, CEO of the Global Leadership Network , about the urgent need for accountability, care, and clear guardrails in leadership. From the isolation many pastors and nonprofit leaders face to how transparency can rebuild trust, this episode offers practical insights and a call to action for leaders, boards, and teams alike. Discover why vague expectations create hidden risks—and how intentiona...
Jul 17, 2025•48 min•Season 3Ep. 6
What if your pastor is one conversation away from burnout—and no one knows it? In ministry, the warning signs don’t always look like collapse. Sometimes, they look like silence, fatigue, or a slow drift from intimacy with God. In this episode, we sit down with Dr. Jeramy and Jerusha Clark of Standing Stone Ministry to talk about the emotional and spiritual toll leadership can take—and what it looks like to care for pastors before crisis hits. With decades of experience in leader care, the Clarks...
Jul 03, 2025•1 hr 4 min•Season 3Ep. 5
What if the key to leading others well starts with healing your own heart? In this powerful conversation, Gabe Lyons —author, speaker, and founder of THINQ Media —joins us to talk about leadership, marriage, emotional health, and why being grounded in your identity as a child of God is more important than your title or metrics. From cultivating honest spaces for leaders to wrestle with hard questions, to sharing the deeply personal story behind his new book The Fight For Us (co-written with his ...
Jun 19, 2025•49 min•Season 3Ep. 4
What does it take to build—and rebuild—trust in leadership? In this powerful episode, Dr. Henry Cloud , bestselling author of books like Boundaries and Trust , reveals why trust is the foundation of every healthy relationship, team, and organization—and what leaders can do when it’s been broken. From identifying the key elements of trust to recognizing barriers like defensiveness, fear, and narcissism, Dr. Cloud offers practical insights for leaders in any setting. Whether you're leading a churc...
Jun 05, 2025•56 min•Season 3Ep. 3
As leaders in a digitally driven world, how do we balance productivity with presence? How do we create space for silence, reflection, and meaningful connection in an always-on world? What role do faith communities play in shaping healthier digital habits? Felicia Wu Song , cultural sociologist and author of Restless Devices , joins host Michael Martin to explore these pressing questions. Felicia unpacks the profound ways digital culture influences our identity, attention, and spiritual formation...
May 15, 2025•50 min•Season 3Ep. 2
Leadership doesn’t have to come at the cost of your soul. In this compelling episode, ECFA President Michael Martin sits down with Mindy Caliguire , founder of Soul Care and author of Ignite Your Soul , for a candid conversation on the growing crisis of burnout—and what we can do about it. Together, they unpack ECFA’s new Standard for Leader Care , explore the warning signs of soul neglect, and share practical rhythms for spiritual and emotional health. Michael opens up about his own journey tow...
May 01, 2025•1 hr 16 min•Season 3Ep. 1
This season, we explore what makes leaders last, from humility to impact and the care that carries them there.
Apr 24, 2025•1 min•Season 3Ep. 1
What if leadership wasn’t just about performance but about wholeness? This season, we’re having the real conversations every leader needs—about burnout, trust, soul care, relationships, and leading with integrity. Featuring insightful voices like Mindy Caliguire, Dr. Henry Cloud, Lysa TerKeurst, and more, we’re exploring the unseen challenges leaders face and the wisdom needed to overcome them. Whether you’re navigating difficult circumstances, protecting your leadership culture, or simply tryin...
Apr 16, 2025•1 min
A thriving culture drives a staff and organization to new heights. Kim Williams shares how to cultivate such a culture that can spread like wildfire in a workplace. Specifically, she explores ECFA’s own intentional pursuit of three key organizational values: Humble, Hardworking, and Healthy. 📻 Listen and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts: https://www.ecfa.org/Content/Podcast
Dec 28, 2023•39 min•Season 2Ep. 23
Harold Moore's story of hard work and striving is all too familiar. After a marketing and pastoring career, the Lord led him uniquely to ECFA as the Executive Administrator to the President. Harold exudes joyous serving while also exhorting ECFA staff towards healthy leadership. Michael and Harold talk candidly about their professional, personal, and spiritual dynamic as humility, honor, and legacy overlap. Find out more about ECFA: https://www.ecfa.org
Dec 14, 2023•37 min•Season 2Ep. 22
Michael Martin, ECFA's President, takes us back to 2021 when ECFA's Board started digging into how a leader's health affects financial integrity and trust. In the past two years, ECFA has surveyed and researched this connection. The ECFA board has applied these findings to better support the health of its own leadership and staff. With each conversation, ECFA was encouraged by ministry and church leaders to continue this research and bring leadership health to the forefront of the Trust conversa...
Nov 30, 2023•54 min•Season 2Ep. 21
We’re blessed to speak with Bishop Derek Grier of Grace Church. He’s the top leader at Grace and a Board Member here at ECFA. He dives into why supporting pastors is so vital right now and how the board can prioritize relationship building with top leaders! His leadership in the National Unity Weekend has spurred Christ-Centered conversations and action on race and diversity nationwide. Finally, he's been involved in ECFA's Board research on leadership health, and his desire to see healthy relat...
Oct 12, 2023•41 min•Season 2Ep. 20
Rob Hoskins and David Branker of One Hope Ministries have developed a reputation as a ministry with excellence in board and leader relationships, staff culture, and Christ-centered vision. Intentionality underscores all parts of their culture as leadership seeks intergenerational accountability. To live for Christ in your personal life and your public life, if they all look the same, is the most authentic you can be! One Hope Ministries: https://onehope.net/
Sep 28, 2023•58 min•Season 2Ep. 19
Women Doing Well's purpose is to activate women towards purposeful generosity. 95% of women will, at some point in their life, be the primary financial decision maker for their family, yet a larger percentage do not feel confident and equipped to to handle what God has given to them. https://womendoingwell.org/
Sep 14, 2023•44 min•Season 2Ep. 18
What do job interviews reveal about the current character of a candidate? William Vanderbloemen and his search firm have a unique knowledge of the staff at many Christian organizations and churches because they interviewed and recruited many of them! What do they look for when talking to a potential church or ministry leader? Ownership, transparency, excuses. No one is perfect, and how we approach our past failures defines our aim not to repeat them. Learn more about Vanderbloemen at https://www...
Aug 24, 2023•44 min•Season 2Ep. 17
Mark Yarbrough was a student, professor, and now President of Dallas Theological Seminary. For 100 years, DTS has held the word of God high in training young men and women to go into ministry and shepherd flocks worldwide. What's next for Pastors? How do cultural influences challenge private seminaries? How does a seminary take on the challenge of teaching integrity to future leaders? Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts: https://www.ecfa.org/podcast ========================= ECFA Links: ===...
Aug 11, 2023•59 min•Season 2Ep. 16
Raised as a Pastor's kid, then going in the ministry himself for over 35 years, Sam Chand has seen the changes in the church firsthand. His book, Leadership Pains, dials into the challenges that have resulted in failure among pastors. He's come alongside leaders as a first responder after a fall. Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts: https://www.ecfa.org/podcast ========================= ECFA Links: ========================= ChurchEXCEL (Free Resources): https://www.ecfa.church/ChurchExcel.a...
Jul 27, 2023•56 min•Season 2Ep. 15
Best Christian Workplaces Co-Founder and Board Chair Al Lopus has seen it all. Anonymous surveys reveal the heart of health in organizations. He shares telling signs of unhealth and examples of leaders who took it head on, even as they were the problem. Check out the Flourishing Culture Leadership Podcast here: https://workplaces.org/podcast
Jul 13, 2023•52 min•Season 2Ep. 14
Ministry Lead Brian Kreeger worked hard. He was doing the Lord's work at all costs. Listen to his reflections from The Courageous Ask, a book considering how a leader finds support from his board, friends, and fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. Connect with Brian https://www.briankreeger.com/ ECFA's Lessons from the Boardroom https://www.ecfa.org/lessonsnonprofitboardroom/Default.aspx
Jun 29, 2023•57 min•Season 2Ep. 13
Gary Hoag sees and hears about the global church every day. As CEO of Global Trust Partners, birthed from the heartbeat of ECFA, Gary witnesses how ministry work is done worldwide and how different cultures and governments perceive financial integrity, good governance, and leadership. Biblically, Gary has spent time as a New Testament scholar considering the Jerusalem council and its leadership structure. The three books Gary mentions from ECFA Press: http://www.thechoicebook.org http://www.sowe...
Jun 15, 2023•48 min•Season 2Ep. 12
Jacob Bland answered the call. As a young leader in a storied ministry, his wisdom in humbly leading and balancing a young family is relatable for so many of us. The relationship between Youth For Christ's Board of Directors and senior leadership is thoughtful, caring, and saturated in prayer. The God-honoring succession transition Jacob stepped into is one we all hope can be repeated in our own churches and ministries. Check out more from Youth For Christ: https://yfc.net
Jun 01, 2023•47 min•Season 2Ep. 11
The spiritual formation of Christian Leaders can get deprioritized in the face of other metrics of success. Steve Macchia has spent his career teaching the importance of a nurtured soul. As he says, where the soul goes, so goes the leader. Check out more of Steve's writing here: https://www.stevemacchia.com/
May 18, 2023•54 min•Season 2Ep. 10
CAFO Leadership released a document to staff that spells out how to have a balanced and healthy work, personal, and spiritual life. It's working! They call it the Strategic Plan for Thriving Souls. As Jedd Medefind discusses, good fruit comes from good roots. Find Jedd's Podcast here: https://resources.cafo.org/series/justice-and-the-inner-life/ and the Thriving Souls Plan here: https://cafo.org/souls/
May 11, 2023•36 min•Season 2Ep. 9
Mindy Caliguire leads Soulcare.com and frames Soul Care as a personal resolve to build a life deeply connected to God—the path to true flourishing. Most important, her work imagines the “what if?” of a future where the new norm is one in which leaders thrive, integrity thrives, and churches and ministries thrive because of better soul care. Take the integrity assessment! https://www.soulcare.com/integrity
May 04, 2023•46 min•Season 2Ep. 8
Our motivations are a shadow to us and others. Not always good or bad, but present. Know them, Redeem them. Gary L. McIntosh is President of the Church Growth Network and Professor of Christian Ministry and Leadership at Talbot School of Theology, Biola University. He has forty years of experience consulting non-profit organizations, coaching of leaders, and seminar presentations. Find more of Gary's work at https://www.churchgrowthnetwork.com/
Apr 27, 2023•53 min•Season 2Ep. 7
Good and Bad Leadership can push us towards knowing the Lord deeper. Glen shares how to find new wells to drink from, to stay resilient as a Christian leader in these times. Check out all Glenn's writing and podcast here : https://www.glennpackiam.com/
Apr 13, 2023•43 min•Season 2Ep. 6
Over 2/3's of larger churches in America have an Executive Pastor. There is opportunity to be effective and efficient in church business, all while increasing integrity with a pastor's heart. David Fletcher of Xpastor.org shares the trends and practical insights all churches can benefit from. Register for the Free Workshop from XPastor and ECFA at www.xpastor.org
Apr 06, 2023•44 min•Season 2Ep. 5
What are the legal risks of unhealthy leadership? Erika Cole, The Church Attorney, gives insight to how important a pastor's role is and how that can be isolating, taxing, and can lead to pastoral burnout. The importance to stay spiritually and emotionally healthy as a pastor seems obvious, but the legal ramifications of un-health can affect entire churches and communities. Find Erika's courses and Podcast at www.erikacole.com
Mar 30, 2023•40 min•Season 2Ep. 4
