The Leadership Journey Podcast

Mark Sayers is Lead Pastor of Red Church in Melbourne, Australia and the author of a growing catalogue of books, including, most recently, Platforms to Pillars, published earlier this year. He has become a significant voice in helping the Church in the Western World understand and respond to a rapidly changing context for ministry and mission. In our conversation Mark talks about growing up in a believing family and some of the key moments and influencers in the development of his own faith. He discusses some of the early challenges he faced in church leadership and his understanding of mission and of how 'personal renewal leads to corporate change'. We also discuss his writing, which he summarises under the rubric of missiology. Mark describes his process of writing, driven by his curiosity about how the world works and how God interacts with it - all grounded in his rootedness in local ministry. Mark believes that the world is in a process of rapid change and that spiritual authority, created in moments of pressure, is what will set Christian leaders apart from other forms of leadership. As is usual for these podcasts, we finish with some of what Mark would say to his 20-year-old self. For more from Mark, you can subscribe to his Rebuilders podcast or pick up some of his books - see the list below: A Non-Anxious Presence: How a Changing and Complex World Will Create a Remnant of Renewed Disappearing Church: From Cultural Relevance to Gospel Resilience Reappearing Church: The Hope for Renewal in the Rise of Our Post-Christian Culture Facing Leviathan: Leadership, Influence, and Creating in a Cultural Storm Strange Days: Life in the Spirit in a Time of Upheaval The Road Trip That Changed the World: The Unlikely Theory That Will Change How You View Culture, the Church, and, Most Importantly, Yourself The Vertical Self: How Biblical Faith Can Help Us Discover Who We Are in an Age of Self Obsession The Trouble with Paris: Following Jesus in a World of Plastic Promises Platforms to Pillars: Trading the Burden of Performance for the Freedom of God's Presence

Hold on to Hope is the title of a new book (July 18) from Instant Apostle. The author is Howard Satterthwaite who works for a global Christian charity and previously served as the lead pastor at Westminster Chapel in London. Howard is the guest on this episode of the podcast. In the podcast, Howard talks about coming to faith in Christ as a law student. He had not grown up in a believing family, but had a praying grandmother whose prayers for her family were powerfully answered as other members of the family came to faith through Alpha. After some time working as a barrister and working with the Lawyers' Christian Fellowship, Howard joined the staff at Westminster Chapel in central London, where he was mentored by the then-senior pastor, the late Greg Haslam. Two years ago, overwhelmed by discouragement, Howard felt that he had to step away from leadership in the church. In our conversation he talks about this season, and about his recovery, with grace and vulnerability. Hold on to Hope emerged from journalling and conversations during Howard's discovery. It's largely based around an incident in the life of David in 1 Samuel 30, where David 'encouraged himself in the Lord.' His reflections on the story are interspersed with contributions from a number of other people, including RT Kendall. The book will be published on July 18: in the meantime, you can pre-order a copy from several online outlets, including from the publisher, Instant Apostle, and from Amazon.

In this discussion, Simon Marriott, Executive Director of the Foundation for the Nations, shares insights from his diverse leadership journey. He delves into collaborative funding for youth initiatives and highlights the impact of community support on personal faith. Simon recounts a poignant experience during the birth of one of his children, emphasizing spiritual transformation. He also discusses the importance of listening to divine guidance and the role of mentorship in effective leadership, all while reflecting on his work connecting faith-based projects with generous donors.

The guest on this episode of the podcast is Alain Emerson. Alain lives with his wife and three children just outside Lurgan in County Armagh. He pastors Emmanuel Church in Portadown alongside his work with 24-7 Prayer and his oversight of the Tobar network of churches. Alain has just released his third book - The Cruciform Leader. The book is a rich combination of biblical reflection and personal story that aims to call Christian leaders back to the heart of New Testament leaders, embodied in Jesus and lived out by his first followers. In our conversation we talk about Alain's own leadership journey as well as delving into what lies behind the book and outlining some of its themes. You can get hold of a copy of the book (which includes a helpful study guide at the end of each chapter) from various outlets, including Emmanuel Church in Lurgan (if you are in the area), the various Faith Mission bookshops, and online, including from the publisher, Muddy Pearl.

Karise Hutchinson is Professor of Leadership at Ulster University. She is also the founder of Illuminaire Leadership - a global institute that provides research-led insight into leaders across a range of areas. Illuminaire publishes an annual journal that is available at illuminaireleadership.com. In the podcast Karise talks about the roots of her journey of faith and the roots of her interest in leadership. We talk about ways in which faith and leadership studies can inform each other (as well as some of the pitfalls), and Karise talks about her vision for the recently launched Illuminaire institute and publication. You can get copies of the Illuminaire journals and sign up for Karise's Substack, by visiting the website.

Rev Dr Israel Oluwole Olofinjana is director of the One People Commission at the Evangelical Alliance. He is the founding director of the Centre for Missionaries from the Majority World, a mission network initiative that provides cross-cultural training to reverse missionaries in Britain. He also serves several other organisations, including Tearfund and Lausanne Europe. In addition, he has authored or edited several books, including the upcoming Polyphonic God: Exploring Intercultural Theology, Churches and Justice. In our conversation we talk about Israel’s ministry journey but also about some of the issues that come under the umbrella of the work of the OPC. We chat about ‘Visions of Justice and Hope’ - a new resource on racial reconciliation from the EA and we unpack some of the differences between cross-cultural, multi-cultural, and inter-cultural churches. Here is the link to the podcast conversation. You can find out more about Visions of Justice and Hope from the Evangelical Alliance website where you can download a PDF: otherwise you can email opc@eauk.org to request a copy. Also, Israel will be taking part in the Irish Bible Institute's Summer Institute that will be held in June in Maynooth. The theme is churches moving from being multi-ethnic to intercultural and you can find information about this - and register - on IBI's website.

David Cassidy is pastor of Spanish River Church in Florida. He visited Northern Ireland in 2024, when he was one of the speakers at the Keswick-at-Portstewart Convention. Among other things, in our conversation David talks about the ethnic diversity and the global reach of his church, about some of the people who have influenced him, including Francis Schaeffer and Scotty Smith, and about the challenge of having a congregation and not simply an aggregation. He also tells us what he would say to his 20-year-old self.  

Nick Park is the Executive Director of the Evangelical Alliance (Ireland). He is also the founding pastor of of Solid Rock church in Drogheda, and oversees a network of almost 40 churches in the Republic of Ireland under the auspices of the Church of God. In our conversation Nick talked about his dramatic early years, coming to faith in Christ as a young man through the work of the Salvation Army, after several years of homelessness. He talks about his path into ministry and how he and his wife came to start Solid Rock Church in Drogheda (there is a fascinating reference to St Patrick). Along the way we chat about the state of the Evangelical Church in Ireland and discuss ways in which it might contribute to church planting in the North. As ever, we finish with Nick talking about what he would like to say to his 20-year-old self. Visit the EAI's website where you can catch Nick's Friday podcast.

People with a strong sense of call tend to have higher levels of motivation and satisfaction. However, the flip side is that they can be more prone to burnout. Arianna Molloy has recently published 'Healthy Calling: From Toxic Burnout to Sustainable Work' (IVP) in which she explores these important themes.

Leaders do not lead in a vacuum. There is always a context, and part of that context is the organisation within which the leader operates, whether it's a business with many employees or a church with an army of volunteers. So what do Christian leaders need to know about how organisations operate? Frank Markow has written about this in his book, 'Organizational Behavior in Christian Perspective'. Frank is Professor of Leadership Studies at the King's University in Texas. Notes: Of course if the book had been published on this side of the Atlantic, there would be a couple of tweaks to the spelling! Books mentioned include 'Leadership' - Peter Northouse; 'A Phenomenology of Pentecostal Leadership - Truls Akerlund.