Category Archives: Leadership

The Emotionally Healthy Leader: More Than a Book

I wrote The Emotionally Healthy Leader with one primary goal in mind – to profoundly transform the leadership culture in our churches. Why? Long-term, sustainable, and effective mission in the world requires a deep spirituality which informs the way we: build cultures and teams, engage in planning and decision making, handle power and boundaries, and do endings/new beginnings. For this to take place, our leadership teams need time to talk about the core concepts from The Emotionally Healthy Leader for our specific leadership contexts. Towards that end I wrote a free EH Leader Study and Discussion Guide and now have recorded 3-8 minute video introductions on each of the chapters as you launch into the discussion of the book. (These have been immensely helpful for us in our New Life Staff Team discussions). Introduction to the EH Leader Chapter 1: The Emotionally Unhealthy Leader The Inner Life Chapter 2: Face Your Shadow Chapter. Read more.

Patience and the 4-Year Rule

When we take on a new role or position, it is helpful to remember Tertullian’s (155–222 AD) wise counsel: “It is God’s nature to be patient. One of the signs the Holy Spirit has descended is that patience and waiting is always by its side.” A few years ago Bobb Biehl, one of my mentors, shared an application of this principle that has served me well. It is the 4-year rule: When you take on a new position or role, it will take you 4 years to learn it. (This applies even if you have been in the organization for 20 years yet are moving to a new role). Year 1: Orientation – It takes one year to adjust to your new role. By the end of the 1st year, you are beginning to understand where things are, how to relate to co-workers, the strengths and weaknesses of the ministry, etc. Year 2: Experimentation – By the. Read more.

Power and Wise Boundaries

The most painful lessons I’ve learned in thirty-five years of Christian leadership have involved the exercise of power and having wise boundaries. The minefields surrounding the use of power are rarely acknowledged, much less openly discussed, in Christian circles. How do I handle dual relationships (e.g. when I am both pastor, friend and employer)? What are the boundaries I need to set with people whom I serve? How do I respond when inappropriate people, at inappropriate times, exert power? These are only a few of the many issues around this critically important topic. In fact this was the impetus for me to write The Emotionally Healthy Leader. Take some time with the chart below. It will give a quick overview of the core issues around applying EHS to power and wise boundaries.PS Send me your comments and thoughts on Twitter @petescazzero.

Know Yourself that You May Know God

Geri and I spent time last summer with Onnuri Church and her 75,000 people in Seoul, Korea. Yes, 75,000 people! They also have over 800 people serving around the world, a 650+ student seminary training leaders in both Korean and English, and a high-quality CGNTV station that equips missionaries around the world. We did an Emotionally Healthy Leaders Conference for pastors from around South Korea as well as their staff. Yet we left them, I believe, having received many more blessings than we gave. Onnuri is an amazing church with a godly, humble Senior Pastor – Jaehoon Lee. (I do not use the word amazing lightly). We look forward to doing a Part 2 of EHS with them next summer. They published an excellent article based on an interview they did with us entitled: Know Yourself that You May Know God. We felt it was so well done and perceptive that we wanted. Read more.

3 Killers of Effective Leadership

I called Bobb Biehl a couple of years ago at a moment I found myself “unclear” and “fuzzy.” He shared with me 3 killers of effective leadership that have served me since that conversation. The following is my expansion on his points: 1.Fog When we don’t see clearly where we are, where we are going, and how we are going to get there, leadership (and life I may add) is hard. We know that Jesus “often withdrew to lonely places and prayed” (Lk.5:16). It was a great struggle for Him, at times, to fully and clearly submit Himself to the will of the Father in critical moments. How can we expect it will require any less of us? Let me suggest 2 things if you are in a fog. First, receive your fog as God’s prompting for you to spend extended time alone with Him – perhaps a ½ day or a 1-2 day. Read more.

Wise Political Engagement. Is it Possible?

What does faithful political engagement look like as Christ-follower in the midst of the divisive, harsh, and acrimonious election year in which we find ourselves in the USA? My concern is that we not allow the world’s pressure to form us, but rather that we respond in a way that reflects and honors Jesus. In 1981, I spent three months in the Philippines during a time when the church found itself divided over the increasingly, repressive dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos. Some Christians vigorously opposed the government and were on the streets protesting and going to jail; others supported Marcos wholeheartedly. A very few others had decided to take up arms (taking cues from the insights of liberation theology). While the environment was fiercely anti-American, I was blessed to be visiting as an IVCF staff worker and allowed to listen in on their theological reflections in the midst of their highly charged, political environment. It. Read more.

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