The Kansas City Royals were a significant part of my childhood. So, imagine how excited I am to have Ned Yost on the podcast. Ned Yost was the manager of the Kansas City Royals in 2014-15 when they went to the World Series and won. Ned and I sit down and talk all things baseball, of course. I got to hear some of the lessons he’s learned as a coach, how he listened to his instincts and honed his ability to develop talent. Ned also talked about his faith journey: how he because a Christian and how his faith ultimately impacted his coaching. You don’t have to be a baseball fan to learn incredible lessons from Ned’s life and leadership. And if you are a baseball fan, I have to say that this will be a special episode for you.

Lance Witt joins me on the podcast this week, and we’re talking about burnout. Burnout is an issue that I think every person, no matter their industry, has had to navigate. Lance openly shares his experience as a pastor at Saddleback and the pivotal moment when he realized he needed a shift in his life. Lance also provides some helpful tips on combating burnout and increasing your self awareness, so that you can lead and work from a healthier place.

Savannah Kimberlin is the Director of Research Solutions at Barna Group, and I am honored to have her as a guest on the podcast this week. Sometimes, data and statistics can be a little intimidating to people (myself included). Thankfully, there are people like Savannah and the incredible team at Barna Group who are called to research so we can see how the numbers reflect the world around us.

Join Savannah and me as we talk through what our culture and faith look like after COVID, how to use trends in data to inform how you lead your organization, and what the stats have to say about how different generations engage church and faith.

Special thanks to Growmentum for being our sponsor this month.

There are so many great articles and podcasts out there about how to create a healthy staff culture.

This is not one of them.

This week, Rusty reflects on how he broke his staff culture, and what it took to repair it.

Paul Hicks joins Rusty on the podcast this week. He is a part of Search Ministries based in Texas, along with another Leading Simple guest, Bruce Matthews.

When we think about evangelism, our minds can immediately go to planning some big event with a lot of people. But in Rusty's conversation with Paul, he breaks down a process to share your faith that is centered on one person, one day at a time.

If you’ve ever wondered how to get more confident in sharing the gospel with people who may not believe in God, or you are curious about what it means to make disciples, then you’ll enjoy hearing Paul's insights.

Mark and Michelle McKinney are co-pastors, parents, and the first dynamic duo on Leading Simple. Rusty sits down with the two of them to talk about the ups and downs of being a part of a church community. 

Michelle shared her experiences as a pastor, a pastor’s wife, and with her children. Mark also gave some advice to husbands about what it can look like to support their partner through difficulty. Plus, if you are considering adoption, the McKinneys walk you through some things you should think about before starting the process. 

Special thanks to our sponsor this month, Leadr.

Special thanks to Leadr for sponsoring this episode and to our listeners!

This week's guest is author and leadership expert Brian Dodd. Rusty and Brian take this episode to make leadership simple. Take a listen as they discuss how to look at life through a lens of leadership and the best way to see growth in your leadership. Brian also shares the top 3 lessons from his new book, 2021: The Year in Leadership.