The Carey Nieuwhof Leadership Podcast
Art of Leadership Network
The Carey Nieuwhof Leadership Podcast is a podcast all about leadership, change and personal growth. The goal? To help you lead like never before—in your church or in your business.
Carey interviews top business and church leaders like Seth Godin, Adam Grant, Nancy Duarte, Simon Sinek, Cal Newport, Patrick Lencioni, Tim Keller, Annie F. Downs, Andy Stanley, Craig Groeschel, Rob Pelinka, Michael Hyatt, Christine Caine, John Mark Comer, Henry Cloud, Gordon MacDonald, Francis Chan, Lysa TerKeurst, Ian Morgan Cron and many more.
For insightful posts on leadership, change and personal growth, episode transcripts and podcast show notes, go to https://careynieuwhof.com/.
Carey interviews top business and church leaders like Seth Godin, Adam Grant, Nancy Duarte, Simon Sinek, Cal Newport, Patrick Lencioni, Tim Keller, Annie F. Downs, Andy Stanley, Craig Groeschel, Rob Pelinka, Michael Hyatt, Christine Caine, John Mark Comer, Henry Cloud, Gordon MacDonald, Francis Chan, Lysa TerKeurst, Ian Morgan Cron and many more.
For insightful posts on leadership, change and personal growth, episode transcripts and podcast show notes, go to https://careynieuwhof.com/.
Episodes
Mentioned books
35 snips
Oct 20, 2026 • 1h 10min
CNLP 837 | The Overcorrection Against Church Growth: Andrew Hopper on Why We Shouldn't Celebrate Church Decline
Andrew Hopper, lead pastor of Mercy Hill Church and a church-planting leader, shares what it was like to grow to 1,000 people in two years. He explores the hidden strain of rapid expansion, why churches lose people as they grow, and the practical barriers that limit momentum. He also tackles anti-growth criticism, spiritual opposition, leadership anxiety, burnout, and the friendships that sustain ministry.
22 snips
Oct 15, 2026 • 1h 41min
CNLP 836 | The Strengths, Weaknesses and Moral Failures of the Mega-Church Movement: Jimmy Mellado on Healthy Growth, Scale, and Lessons from an Olympian
Jimmy Mellado, CEO of Compassion International and a former Olympic decathlete, explores what the megachurch movement got right, where scale went wrong, and why growth is not the same as health. He discusses power, governance, moral failure, people-pleasing, leadership pressure, recovery, and lessons from elite competition.
46 snips
Oct 13, 2026 • 1h 46min
CNLP 835 | How to Trust God When You Don't Understand: John Ortberg, Ann Voskamp, and Toni Nieuwhof on Wanting to Give Up and What They Would Believe If They Weren't Christians
John Ortberg, a pastor and spiritual formation teacher; Ann Voskamp, bestselling author and advocate for gratitude and grace; and Toni Nieuwhof, author and relationship advocate, explore faith’s hardest questions. They discuss suffering, waiting, spiritual friendships, leadership, AI’s impact on wisdom, and what remains when answers don’t come. They also introduce the Honest to God project, supporting youth education worldwide.
64 snips
Oct 6, 2026 • 1h 20min
CNLP 834 | Everything You Know About Multisite Church is Wrong! What the Largest Multisite Study Ever Done Actually Found with Warren Bird and Sean Morgan
Sean Morgan, relational leadership developer and Leaders in Living Rooms podcaster, joins Warren Bird, renowned church researcher and author. They dismantle the “8,000 multisite churches” myth with the verified count of 1,800. Explore franchise, federation, and family models; mergers that revive declining churches; teaching teams; grandchild campuses; leadership pipelines; succession; and why multisite growth slows after year four.
35 snips
Sep 29, 2026 • 58min
CNLP 833 | The Problem with Going Viral: Seth Godin on the Truth About Influencers, Status and Affiliation and Why You Should Avoid The Race to the Bottom in AI
Seth Godin, bestselling author, entrepreneur, and marketing thinker, returns for a candid conversation about the hidden costs of going viral and the feedback loops shaping influencers and communities. He explores status, affiliation, meaningful work, getting unstuck, and why extremity divides. Plus, Godin explains how to use AI as a creative partner without joining the race to the bottom.
20 snips
Sep 24, 2026 • 1h 35min
CNLP 832 | Building Your Personal Board of Directors: Annie F. Downs on AI Friendship vs. Real Friends and Why Christians Need to Stay in the Secular World
Annie F. Downs, a bestselling author and co-founder of the That Sounds Fun Network, explores marriage, singleness, and leadership. She explains how to build a personal board of directors, why AI can’t replace real friendship, and how leaders can stay rooted in ordinary community. Annie also makes the case for bringing faith into secular cities, workplaces, and mainstream media.
50 snips
Sep 22, 2026 • 1h 6min
CNLP 831 | Is AI Worse for Mental Health Than Social Media? Andy Stanley and Holly Goddard Interview Carey Nieuwhof
Andy Stanley, pastor, author, and founder of North Point Ministries, and Holly Goddard, an executive pastor and ministry leader, join Carey Nieuwhof for a candid look at AI’s impact on mental health, employment, loneliness, and human connection. They explore AI companionship, the future of church community, why in-person worship matters, and how leaders can prepare without letting technology replace spiritual formation.
28 snips
Sep 15, 2026 • 1h 19min
CNLP 830 | AI Parenting Advice: James Kelly on Whether AI Is Sinful in Nature and the Killer App Trap
James Kelly, founder and CEO of FaithTech, works with Christians shaping technology in global AI hubs. He explores whether AI reflects humanity’s fallen nature, the risks of superintelligence and economic disruption, and why churches must disciple technology builders. Kelly also shares his analog parenting practices, digital Sabbath, and concerns about AI companions for children, while unpacking the “killer app trap” and transhumanism.
31 snips
Sep 10, 2026 • 1h 13min
CNLP 829 | The Race To Replace Humans Is Already On: Will Jones' Fight To Ban Superintelligent AI and What Most Leaders Have No Idea Is Coming
Will Jones, an AI safety researcher at the Future of Life Institute, explores the race toward AGI and superintelligence. He examines job-market disruption, manipulative AI companions, autonomous weapons, and the danger of surrendering human control. Jones also discusses Christian views of consciousness, protecting cognitive skills, raising children in an AI-saturated world, and building a pro-human technological future.
68 snips
Sep 8, 2026 • 1h 30min
CNLP 828 | The Giving Disruption Coming for the Church: Pat Gelsinger on AI and Mental Health
Pat Gelsinger, former Intel and VMware CEO and a pioneering technology engineer, explores AI’s impact on churches and society. They discuss AI companions, social media’s mental-health fallout, autonomous systems, job disruption, and the coming shake-up in church giving. Gelsinger also makes the case for Christian voices in AI, responsible innovation, and deeper relationships with high-net-worth philanthropists.
