EP 43 with Nicole Martin: Leadership and the Dance of Discernment

In this episode, our host, Christine Caine, welcomes Rev. Dr. Nicole Martin, Chief Impact Officer with Christianity Today. Nicole shares how God has used her education, experiences (both successes and disappointments), and the direction of the Spirit to equip her to live and lead with discernment at home and in the workplace. It’s not just one part of us that God calls to follow him, rather it’s our whole person. Nicole will encourage you today to bring your whole self into every space and place God leads you.

Show Notes: 

God’s Detours

In many of the disappointing “side” routes she has faced, Nicole says God has been actively detouring her so that He could sharpen her skills or show her new things He had for her. What divine detours might God be leading you on?

A Seat at the Table

Nicole recalls, “when you get to the table, it’s your job to speak up for who’s not there.” We all have a role in creating pathways for other leaders and voices that are noticeably not present.

Bring Your Whole Self

“Code-switching” and having to adapt yourself to new environments is exhausting. Nicole shares how discernment is learning to “listen to the Holy Spirit to know when it’s time to pull back or push forward,” not because you’re too much or not enough, “but because you’re waiting for the appointed time.”

Do What Only you can do

Our bodies are one way God signals to us that we have limits. If we’re overwhelmed, Nicole suggests it may be time for us to be discerning about what needs to change. Christine shares that none of us can do it all, and we can practice accepting help from others where it’s available, so that we are able to prioritize the relationships and tasks that only we can do. 

Follow Nicole @DrNicoleMMartin and Soulfire International Ministries. She is the author of Made to Lead: Empowering Women for Ministry, and her forthcoming book Nailing It: Why Successful Leadership Demands Suffering and Surrender will be found wherever books are sold. 

Follow Christine @ChristineCaine

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