In this episode of The Leader’s Journey Podcast, Jim Harrington is joined by coaches Rick Rorick and Nate Pyle to unpack what culture actually means within a church or organization—and why it matters more than we think. Together, they explore why “culture eats strategy for breakfast,” how culture shapes daily experiences for staff and volunteers, and how leaders can take intentional steps to build a healthy, life-giving environment that aligns with their values. If you’ve felt stuck in your church or organization’s culture, or if you’re wondering how to lead meaningful change, this conversation will give you both clarity and courage to take your next faithful steps.

Rick Rorick is a Leader’s Journey coach with decades of leadership in the business world, including at Invesco and Coca-Cola, bringing a passion for helping leaders and organizations build healthy, effective cultures. Nate Pyle is the pastor of Christ Community Church in Fishers, Indiana, and the author of Man Enough and More Than You Can Handle. He coaches leaders to cultivate emotionally healthy systems within their teams and churches, helping them navigate change with integrity and clarity.

Conversation Overview:

• The true definition of culture

• Navigating the gap between aspirational values and lived experiences

• How addressing mistakes and conflicts builds healthier culture

• Why building culture requires personal transformation from leaders

• Why culture work is hard and why coaching is essential for lasting change

  Resources Mentioned:

• Man Enough by Nate Pyle

• More Than You Can Handle by Nate Pyle

• The Leader’s Journey 

In this episode of The Leader’s Journey Podcast, Jim sits down with Houston-area pastor Melissa Emerson to explore what it means to live faithfully in the midst of deep church change. After stepping into leadership of Mosaic Community Covenant Church following her father’s sudden passing, Melissa and her husband have led their community through a nomadic, experimental journey—redefining what church can be in the most diverse suburb in the U.S. With honesty, wisdom, and a heart for justice, Melissa shares what it’s been like to shed institutional expectations, rediscover community, and follow the Spirit’s leading in uncharted territory. If you’ve ever felt disillusioned with “church as usual,” or if you’re discerning a new way forward, this conversation offers courage and clarity for the road ahead.

Melissa Lee Emerson is a third generation Chinese American woman co-pastoring Mosaic Community Covenant Church with her husband. Mosaic meets at a YMCA in the most diverse suburban county in the United States. Passionate about the intersection of faith and justice, Melissa dedicates her energy to the church, to Mosaic Learning Center, and raising her two daughters. She has a masters of divinity from North Park Theological Seminary with an emphasis on intercultural ministry and a bachelors in psychology with an emphasis on sociology and human development. She enjoys multicultural learning spaces and trips, especially if food is involved. 

Conversation Overview:

• The shift from institutional church to a nomadic, mission-focused church

• Creative approaches to discernment 

• Developing missional partnerships

• Embracing Unlearning

• Rebuilding culture: resisting performance-driven worship and prioritizing outreach

• The role of emotional maturity, spiritual formation, and slowing down in adaptive leadership

 

Resources: 

• Mosaic Covenant Community Church

• Unlikely Nomads: In Search of the New Church by Terry Walling A prophetic and pastoral look at the shifting landscape of the North American Church and how leaders are navigating toward new expressions of faith.

• Shattered Dreams – a sermon by Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. A profound reflection on disappointment, surrender, and trusting God’s larger purpose through unfulfilled expectations.

• Acts 1:8 Model A biblical framework used to guide outreach and mission—beginning in one’s immediate community (“Jerusalem”) and expanding outward to the world.

• Dwelling in the Word (Lectio Divina) A contemplative practice of reading Scripture in community with an emphasis on spiritual listening and discernment.

• Nomads in the Changing Church - The Leader's Journey Podcast 
• Find The Leader's Journey on YouTube!

In this episode of The Leader’s Journey Podcast, host Trisha Taylor is joined by coach and colleague Aundrea Baker for a rich and practical conversation about self-awareness and the Enneagram. Together, they explore how understanding the inner motivations behind our behavior can lead to personal growth, deeper compassion, and stronger team dynamics. Whether you're new to the Enneagram or a long-time student, this episode offers insightful reflections and practical tools to help you better understand yourself and others.

Aundrea Baker is a leadership coach with The Leader’s Journey, bringing deep experience in church leadership, nonprofit work, and pastoral ministry. A former co-pastor and nonprofit founder, Aundrea holds a doctorate and has spent the past decade exploring the transformative power of the Enneagram. She lives in the Houston area and works alongside her husband Warwick, who is also part of the team.

Key Points:

• Self-awareness is foundational for growth, especially in leadership.

• The Enneagram offers language and insight into our inner motivations—not just behaviors.

• Aundrea's personal journey with the Enneagram began during a season of burnout and transition.

• Misidentifying one’s type is common; deeper exploration often reveals more accurate insights.

• Understanding your type can foster self-compassion and reduce judgment.

• The Enneagram helps coaches and clients uncover unconscious motivations and internal narratives.

• It’s a dynamic system—growth is possible by accessing other traits and motivations.

• Team dynamics benefit when members understand each other's types and communication styles.

• Awareness of triads (assertive, compliant, withdrawing) can improve collaboration and reduce misunderstandings.

• Compassion is key: the Enneagram should be a tool for empathy, not judgment.

Resources: 

The Narrative Enneagram :https://www.narrativeenneagram.org/  -This is the organization in which Aundrea received her training. They have an online test, information about each type on the website, and conduct regular online training. For more information on the Hornevian Triad, see The Enneagram Map to Your Deeper Self: Living Beyond Your Type by Sandra Smith. -This book also offers basic Enneagram info with practices, blessings, and prayers. The Enneagram for Black Liberation: Return to Who You Are Beneath the Armor You Carry by ChiChi Agorom Finding Freedom: Understanding Our Relationships Using Object Relations and the Enneagram by Belinda Gore The Road Back to You by Suzanne Stabile and Ian Morgan Cron The Enneagram for Spiritual Formation by AJ Sherrill

 

View this episode on YouTube

In this episode, Jim and Mike explore how Bowen Family Systems Theory offers powerful tools for leading in times of uncertainty and anxiety. Drawing on personal stories—including parenting a child with trauma, navigating racial and cultural dynamics in St. Croix, and caring for a spouse with Alzheimer’s—they discuss how guiding principles, curiosity, humor, and staying connected help leaders function in the face of anxiety rather than be driven by it. They reflect on the necessity of running experiments when off the map, and why leadership today demands skills more like map-making than map-reading.

Key Topics

• Anxiety is not something to eliminate, but to manage

• Functioning in the face of anxiety with guiding principles

• Managing anxiety to access guiding principles

• The value of humor in anxious situations

• Curiosity as an antidote to anxiety

• Seeing the system and yourself in it

• Resistance is part of adaptive change

• Running experiments when off the map

• Coaching and community as support for off-map leadership

 

Resources

https://www.thebowencenter.org/

Watch this episode on YouTube!

 

In this episode of The Leader’s Journey Podcast, Trisha and Jim sit down with coach and educator Dawn Bird to explore the deep emotional and spiritual transformation that can come through Family of Origin work. Through vulnerable storytelling and honest reflection, Dawn shares how doing this work helped her uncover grief, reshape her understanding of her family, and show up differently in every area of her life—from her marriage and parenting to her leadership and coaching. This conversation is a rich, compassionate look at how healing the past creates new freedom in the present—and new hope for the future.

Dawn Bird is a professional coach, facilitator and educator with 9 years of experience in non-profit, business, and healthcare settings. Dawn has an M.A. in Educational Psychology with a concentration in Counseling. Dawn has been involved in Faithwalking for 11 years, first as a participant and then as a coach and facilitator.  Through Faithwalking, she was introduced to Bowen Family Systems theory which has been particularly helpful in her own journey of transformation and in her work with others as well.  Dawn has done extensive Family of Origin work and enjoys leading others through that process as individuals and in groups. She also has training in Internal Family Systems. Dawn lives with her husband, Bill Bird, in northwest Illinois. They have 3 adult children. Dawn enjoys reading, learning, live theatre, and working out on her Peloton.

Conversation Overview

• Starting the Work

• What It Looks Like

• Emotional Differentiation in Action

• Patterns We Inherit

• Siblings & New Conversations

• Grief and Healing

• Showing Up Differently

• Coaching & Accountability

Resources: 

Books

Growing Yourself Up – Jenny Brown

Everything Isn’t Terrible – Kathleen Smith

The Fangirl Life – Kathleen Smith

The Ties That Bind – Peter Steinke

Tools & Courses

Genogram – a tool for mapping multigenerational family patterns

Faithwalking – a spiritual and emotional formation process

Going Home Again – a Family of Origin course led by Dawn (available after completing the 6 Faithwalking modules)

 

Welcome to this episode of The Leader’s Journey Podcast, where we take a deep dive into one of the most foundational — and often fragile — elements of leadership and community: trust. In this extended conversation, we explore how trust gets broken, why it's so emotionally charged, and what it really takes to rebuild it — both in relationships and within organizations. Whether you're a leader trying to repair harm, or someone deciding whether to trust again, this conversation is for you.

Converstation Overview

• Trust is a two-way street: Both parties play a role in either building or breaking trust. It’s not about assigning equal blame, but about seeing the complexity of the system we’re part of.

• There are different kinds of trust: Sincerity, reliability, competence, and care — and naming which one was broken matters.

• The emotional impact matters: It's not enough to just hear feedback; trust repair requires acknowledging and connecting to the pain your actions caused.

• Restoration is mutual: Even after an apology, the other person has to “let it count” for trust to begin to rebuild..

• Trust takes time: Just because someone is trying to change doesn’t mean trust will instantly be restored. Rebuilding is often slow, with regular check-ins along the way.

• Trust yourself: At the end of the day, we each have to develop trust in our own capacity to be okay, even if trust isn’t fully restored with someone else.

Resources

• The Thin Book of Trust by Charles Feltman

• The Leaders Journey Youtube Channel

• Coaching support from The Leader’s Journey team

• The Leaders Journey Blog

"Trust is like the air we breathe -- when it's present, nobody really notices it. When it's absent, everybody notices." Warren Buffett, quoted in Forbes Magazine

Trust is the bedrock of every successful relationship—whether personal, professional, or within a community. In this episode, Jim and Trisha dive deep into what trust really means, why it’s essential, and how to cultivate it. Through real-life stories and insightful discussion, they explore the complexities of trust and how it impacts our daily lives. 

Key Topics Covered:

• The definition of trust and why it’s crucial for relationships
• How trust is built and the common factors that strengthen or weaken it
• The Components of Trust: Care, Sincerity, Reliability, and Competence
• The role of self-awareness in becoming a trustworthy person
• Practical steps to rebuild trust when it’s been broken
• The connection between trust and leadership in personal and professional settings
• Real-life examples of trust in action and lessons we can learn

 

Resources

 

Houston Rodeo mutton busting

The Thin Book of Trust by Charles Feltman

Brene Brown on The Anatomy of Trust

Dare to Lead by Brene Brown

The Speed of Trust by Steven Covey

In this episode, we explore the critical need for men to develop emotional maturity, take personal responsibility, and engage in meaningful self-reflection. Ryan, Aaron, and Trisha delve into how men's work, particularly in groups, can serve as a powerful tool for emotional growth and healthy relationships.

Conversation Overview:

• The Power of Group Work for Emotional Growth
•  
• The Role of Self-Reflection in Relationships
•  
• Acknowledging Women’s Anxiety About Men’s Spaces
•  
• Practical Advice for Emotional Growth
•  
• The Role of Emotional Maturity in Leadership

Links:

• Ryan Donovan at The Leaders Journey. 
•  
• Aaron Fullmer
•  
• Men's Work TX.

In this episode of The Leaders Journey podcast, Jim and Trisha are joined by Reverend Dr. Timothy Scoonover, senior pastor at First Presbyterian Church in Moncks Corner, South Carolina. With over a decade of pastoral experience, Timothy shares how, as an unlikely nomade, he has led his congregation through a journey of adaptive leadership, emotional health, and spiritual formation. Timothy’s story is a powerful reminder that leadership in today’s world is a long, slow process. Through cultivating emotional and spiritual health, investing in personal practices, and creating a community culture that supports one another, leaders can navigate the turbulence of change and conflict.

A native of Knoxville, Tennessee, Timothy graduated from the University of Tennessee with a Bachelor of Science in Human Services.  He received his Master of Divinity from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in South Hamilton, Massachusetts, where he was awarded as the Walters Preaching Scholar. Timothy married his high school sweetheart, Ashley, and they have two sons, Cooper and Micah. He is passionate about church renewal, making disciples, University of Tennessee sports, tennis, coffee, and time with family.

Key Highlights:

• The Power of Experiments in Leadership:
• Modeling Vulnerability and Emotional Health
• The Role of Language in Leadership
• Apprenticeship to Jesus in a Changing World
• Community Support and Leadership

Resources:

• https://firstpcmonckscorner.org/
• The Leaders Journey website.

 

Join The Leader's Journey team as they explore what it means to ride the waevs of reactivity and and how those waves have shaped their experiences and goals to improve.  a reflective conversation about reactivity—how it shows up in our lives, how we manage it, and what we’re learning in the process. Tricia and the team explore personal stories of how they’ve navigated emotional waves in their own lives—from time management struggles to family dynamics and professional challenges. With reflections from team members Jim Herrington, Rick Rarick, Dawn Bird, Chad Jaeger, and Edie Lenz, this episode offers practical wisdom for anyone looking to stay grounded amidst life’s inevitable anxieties and lead with greater awareness and intention.

Conversation Overview

Jim Herrington on Asking for Help

Rick Rarick on learning to adapt

Dawn Bird on Feeling, Acknowledging, and Managing Reactivity

Chad Jaeger on Letting Other People Grow

Edie Lenz on Learning to Stand Still and Wait

 

References

Kathleen Smith:  Everything Isn't Terrible: Conquer Your Insecurities, Interrupt Your Anxieties and Finally Calm Down    True to You: A Therapist's Guide to Stop Pleasing Others and Start Being Yourself    Kathleen Smith's substack The Anxious Overachiever   Oliver Burkeman: Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals