Interruptions. We hate them. They mess with our schedules, our comfort, our control. But what if the interruptions in your life are actually invitations from God?

In this episode of the Emotionally Healthy Leader Podcast, Pete Scazzero unpacks how the Christmas story is filled with divine disruptions—from Mary and Joseph, to Herod, to the Magi, and even the religious leaders of the day. Each response to interruption reveals something profound about our own leadership, our spiritual formation, and the God we serve.

Pete invites you to consider:

• What interruptions are coming your way right now?

• Are you resisting, ignoring, or receiving them?

• And what practices can help you stop, listen, and respond like Mary did: "May it be to me as you have said."

This episode is a vital listen as we enter the holidays and close out the year. God is still interrupting lives—and He may be trying to get your attention.

In this episode of the Emotionally Healthy Leader Podcast, Pete Scazzero challenges pastors and leaders with a simple yet radical invitation: "Do the work before the work."

This is more than a productivity principle. It's a call to integrity—where your outer leadership flows from your inner life with God. Through a compelling reflection on Jesus' own rhythms of solitude, limits, and Spirit-led decisions, Pete explores how the greatest threat to your leadership may not be your church, your staff, or your context—but your own unexamined inner life.

You'll hear the ancient tale of The Woodcarver, brought to life through Thomas Merton's lens, and discover how it mirrors the kind of inner work Jesus modeled in the wilderness.

If you've ever felt the pressure to perform, the pull of others' expectations, or the pace of a life without margin, this episode offers a pathway back to wholeness—and a leadership that's both fruitful and free.

 

If you're ready to go deeper with the ideas shared on this podcast, the School of Emotionally Healthy Leadership is your next step. It's where leaders slow down, do the inner work, and come out equipped to lead from health instead of hurry. Learn more and apply for the upcoming Fall semester at emotionallyhealthy.org/leadershipschool.

Learn more about the 2026 FALL SEMESTER School of Emotionally Healthy Leadership https://www.emotionallyhealthy.org/leadershipschool/

In today's episode of The Emotionally Healthy Leader Podcast, I'm joined by my longtime friend and the new President of Emotionally Healthy Discipleship, Drew Hyun, for a conversation unlike any we've ever released.

This is a new season for EHD—one marked by fresh leadership, expanding vision, and a renewed commitment to forming leaders around the world in a deep, beneath-the-surface discipleship. Drew and I look back on our 24-year history, the shaping influence of New Life Fellowship, and the surprising road that led him to carry this movement forward. You'll also hear how church planting, crisis, and personal formation prepared him for this moment.

In part two, we go deeper into succession—what it demanded of both of us, the internal work required, and the lessons every pastor or leader needs when stepping into (or stepping out of) significant responsibility.

Whether you're navigating leadership transition, rebuilding your soul, or discerning your next step with EHD, this episode offers a hopeful and honest invitation to join what God is doing in this new season.

 

If you're ready to go deeper with the ideas shared on this podcast, the School of Emotionally Healthy Leadership is your next step. It's where leaders slow down, do the inner work, and come out equipped to lead from health instead of hurry. Learn more and apply for the upcoming Fall semester at emotionallyhealthy.org/leadershipschool.

Learn more about the 2026 FALL SEMESTER School of Emotionally Healthy Leadership https://www.emotionallyhealthy.org/leadershipschool/

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.

 

If you're ready to go deeper with the ideas shared on this podcast, the School of Emotionally Healthy Leadership is your next step. It's where leaders slow down, do the inner work, and come out equipped to lead from health instead of hurry. Learn more and apply for the upcoming Fall semester at emotionallyhealthy.org/leadershipschool.

Learn more about the 2026 FALL SEMESTER School of Emotionally Healthy Leadership https://www.emotionallyhealthy.org/leadershipschool/

Too many pastors live with a low-grade ache that their ministry—and they themselves—simply don't measure up. Quietly, comparison creeps in. We look at the growth of others' churches, their charisma, their staff, their buildings… and wonder, What's wrong with me?

In today's episode, I share deeply from my own journey of wrestling with these very questions. I was driven, angry, and often frustrated with my people and context—trying to build something God never asked of me.

But freedom came. Slowly. Through emotional honesty, interior silence, and deep formation.

We'll explore:

• The deadly cost of living from your false self

• How to spot comparison in your soul (and how to resist it)

• Why embracing your unique call is a spiritual breakthrough

• The ancient desert wisdom that reshapes your ministry success metrics
  
  

If you're a pastor, leader, or ministry worker who's tired of chasing an illusion of "success," this episode will give you permission to stop striving—and instead, lead from a place of joy, contentment, and union with Jesus.

 

If you're ready to go deeper with the ideas shared on this podcast, the School of Emotionally Healthy Leadership is your next step. It's where leaders slow down, do the inner work, and come out equipped to lead from health instead of hurry. Learn more and apply for the upcoming Fall semester at emotionallyhealthy.org/leadershipschool.

Learn more about the 2026 FALL SEMESTER School of Emotionally Healthy Leadership https://www.emotionallyhealthy.org/leadershipschool/

⚡FREE E-BOOK: Spaciousness: Avoiding the 8 Traps That Steal Your Margin - Download at emotionallyhealthy.org/spaciousness

In this powerful replay of one of our most listened-to episodes, Pete Scazzero invites pastors and leaders into a radical, countercultural way of leading: unhurried, unrushed, and deeply rooted in Jesus.

Are you constantly running at a pace you can't sustain? Exhausted, overextended, and wondering how much longer you can keep going? This episode is for you.

Pete explores the cultural and spiritual forces that keep us trapped in busyness and offers practical, time-tested rhythms that create space for rest, reflection, and deep communion with God. Drawing from his own journey and decades of leadership, Pete names the lies we believe about productivity and success and points us back to a slower, more spacious life anchored in emotional and spiritual health.

This episode will:

• Help you identify what's driving your pace

• Offer 15 practical practices to embrace a slower rhythm

• Encourage you to lead out of your being, not just your doing

This is more than a podcast. It's an invitation to freedom.

 

If you're ready to go deeper with the ideas shared on this podcast, the School of Emotionally Healthy Leadership is your next step. It's where leaders slow down, do the inner work, and come out equipped to lead from health instead of hurry. Learn more and apply for the upcoming Fall semester at emotionallyhealthy.org/leadershipschool.

Learn more about the 2026 FALL SEMESTER School of Emotionally Healthy Leadership https://www.emotionallyhealthy.org/leadershipschool/

⚡FREE E-BOOK: Spaciousness: Avoiding the 8 Traps That Steal Your Margin - Download at emotionallyhealthy.org/spaciousness

In this powerful replay of one of our most listened-to episodes, Pete Scazzero invites pastors and leaders into a radical, countercultural way of leading: unhurried, unrushed, and deeply rooted in Jesus.

Are you constantly running at a pace you can't sustain? Exhausted, overextended, and wondering how much longer you can keep going? This episode is for you.

Pete explores the cultural and spiritual forces that keep us trapped in busyness and offers practical, time-tested rhythms that create space for rest, reflection, and deep communion with God. Drawing from his own journey and decades of leadership, Pete names the lies we believe about productivity and success and points us back to a slower, more spacious life anchored in emotional and spiritual health.

This episode will:

• Help you identify what's driving your pace

• Offer 15 practical practices to embrace a slower rhythm

• Encourage you to lead out of your being, not just your doing

This is more than a podcast. It's an invitation to freedom.

 

If you're ready to go deeper with the ideas shared on this podcast, the School of Emotionally Healthy Leadership is your next step. It's where leaders slow down, do the inner work, and come out equipped to lead from health instead of hurry. Learn more and apply for the upcoming Fall semester at emotionallyhealthy.org/leadershipschool.

Learn more about the 2026 FALL SEMESTER School of Emotionally Healthy Leadership https://www.emotionallyhealthy.org/leadershipschool/

⚡DOWNLOAD FREE E-BOOK: 8 Marks of Emotionally Healthy Preaching & Teaching - https://www.emotionallyhealthy.org/preaching/

In this episode, I invite you to rediscover an ancient path of powerful preaching and teaching — one that's been largely lost in the modern church.

We're not talking about TED-style talks, clever soundbites, or performance-driven content. We're talking about preaching birthed out of deep, slow formation in Jesus. The kind of teaching that carries weight because it has been lived.

This episode explores the story behind the phrase "monks in the pulpit" — how early church leaders, shaped by the deserts of Egypt and the rhythms of monastic life, became the world's most transformative preachers. We'll trace their journey, unpack 8 core practices of Emotionally Healthy Preaching, and reflect on what it means to teach from being, not just knowledge.

If you're a pastor, teacher, or spiritual leader of any kind, I want to challenge you: the most urgent work you can do is not just preparing sermons — it's preparing your soul.

Slow down. Be with God. Then preach.

 

If you're ready to go deeper with the ideas shared on this podcast, the School of Emotionally Healthy Leadership is your next step. It's where leaders slow down, do the inner work, and come out equipped to lead from health instead of hurry. Learn more and apply for the upcoming Fall semester at emotionallyhealthy.org/leadershipschool.

Learn more about the 2026 FALL SEMESTER School of Emotionally Healthy Leadership https://www.emotionallyhealthy.org/leadershipschool/

⚡DOWNLOAD FREE E-BOOK: 8 Marks of Emotionally Healthy Preaching & Teaching - https://www.emotionallyhealthy.org/preaching/

In this episode, I invite you to rediscover an ancient path of powerful preaching and teaching — one that's been largely lost in the modern church.

We're not talking about TED-style talks, clever soundbites, or performance-driven content. We're talking about preaching birthed out of deep, slow formation in Jesus. The kind of teaching that carries weight because it has been lived.

This episode explores the story behind the phrase "monks in the pulpit" — how early church leaders, shaped by the deserts of Egypt and the rhythms of monastic life, became the world's most transformative preachers. We'll trace their journey, unpack 8 core practices of Emotionally Healthy Preaching, and reflect on what it means to teach from being, not just knowledge.

If you're a pastor, teacher, or spiritual leader of any kind, I want to challenge you: the most urgent work you can do is not just preparing sermons — it's preparing your soul.

Slow down. Be with God. Then preach.

 

If you're ready to go deeper with the ideas shared on this podcast, the School of Emotionally Healthy Leadership is your next step. It's where leaders slow down, do the inner work, and come out equipped to lead from health instead of hurry. Learn more and apply for the upcoming Fall semester at emotionallyhealthy.org/leadershipschool.

Learn more about the 2026 FALL SEMESTER School of Emotionally Healthy Leadership https://www.emotionallyhealthy.org/leadershipschool/

In this episode of the Emotionally Healthy Leader Podcast, Pete Scazzero shares a powerful word every church leader needs to hear: Focus on the Few. In an age of growing platforms, endless tools, and ever-increasing pressure to cater to the crowds, Pete brings us back to the model of Jesus — who chose to give his best energy to the few.

Whether you're leading 25 or 2,500, the temptation is the same: spend your strength on the many and ignore the long-term fruit that only grows through deep discipleship of a few. Pete explores why real transformation requires more than programs and volunteers — it demands formation from the inside out.

This episode is part of a series on the 8 Marks of a Church Culture that Deeply Changes Lives. If you're longing to lead differently, with intention, depth, and courage — this conversation is for you.

 

If you're ready to go deeper with the ideas shared on this podcast, the School of Emotionally Healthy Leadership is your next step. It's where leaders slow down, do the inner work, and come out equipped to lead from health instead of hurry. Learn more and apply for the upcoming Fall semester at emotionallyhealthy.org/leadershipschool.

Learn more about the 2026 FALL SEMESTER School of Emotionally Healthy Leadership https://www.emotionallyhealthy.org/leadershipschool/