
Unseen Leadership
Unseen Leadership, hosted by Chandler Vannoy and Josh Hunter, explores the unseen stories that have made leaders who they are today. This is a podcast for young leaders to learn from those ahead of them by exploring the early days of their leadership, understanding the mistakes they made, and identifying the habits that shaped them. All to help you lead in the future. This podcast will be featuring guests like Carey Nieuwhof, Jamie Ivey, Clay Scroggins, Jackie Hill Perry, Levi Lusko, and many more.
Latest episodes

Mar 4, 2020 • 38min
Unseen Leadership Episode 32: Ellie Holcomb on Leading with Authenticity
In this episode of the Unseen Leadership podcast, Chandler Vannoy and Jenaye White are joined by Ellie Holcomb who is a Dove award-winning singer/songwriter and author of two children’s books titled Who Sang the First Song, and her brand new kids book Don't Forget to Remember, available now.
During their conversation, they discuss how to lead with authenticity, how the creative process works, and how God’s plans are better than our own.
QUOTES FROM EPISODE 32:
“Music is a bridge builder. There is something about music that connects our story to someone else’s story, even if it is very different.”
“I’ve had to learn to be who I am and to own my own story and to own my own pain.”
“God didn’t come to make bad people good people. He came to make dead people alive people.”
“Don’t let fear dictate your decision making and pay attention to what makes your heart beat fast and come alive.”
“When I feel like I’m leading well, it is usually from a place of vulnerability and owning what I’m not good at.”
RESOURCES MENTIONED
Don't Forget to Remember by Ellie Holcomb
Who Sang the First Song by Ellie Holcomb
The Road Back to You by Ian Morgan Cron
The Gifts of Imperfection by Brené Brown
Rising Strong by Brené Brown
For more than 25 years, Portable Church® has helped thousands of churches launch strong and thrive in a mobile setting. We design custom solutions that fit each budget, vision, and venue. Everything you need to launch a mobile church — an inviting worship space, kids ministry areas, welcome spaces, storage cases, etc — all in a system refined to make it fast, easy & fun for the weekly volunteer teams. See what this looks like by visiting portablechurch.com/lifeway.

Feb 26, 2020 • 33min
Unseen Leadership Episode 31: Joshua Gagnon on Pursuing Dreams in a Godly Way
In this episode of the Unseen Leadership podcast, Chandler Vannoy and Josh Hunter are joined by Joshua Gagnon who is the founding and Lead Pastor of Next Level Church, which is one of the fastest growing churches in America and the author of his new book It’s Not Over.
During their conversation, they discuss how to leading by asking good questions, building culture, and pursuing your dreams in a Godly way.
QUOTES FROM EPISODE 31:
“No one wants to listen to a young leader full of pride or thinks they know it all. They want to listen to a young leader who is submitted and full of honor.”
“Older leaders don’t mind young leaders who ask good questions that lead to better results.”
“I wanted to start a church where my friends would want to go.”
“I had to learn to lead like a father rather than a brother.”
“Emotions in the moment compromise the integrity you want to walk with.”
“We have to be prepared to lead the moment, and often times we have not prepared our hearts to lead the moments we are stepping into.”
“Leadership breaks down when we are not prepared to lead in a specific moment.”
“If I’m moving the ball forward in an organization but not developing leaders for forward movement, that is going to create a lot of tension and roadblocks.”
“Wait until the morning to handle conflict and make big decisions.”
“Culture is what matters. Everyone talks about vision. But everybody has a vision. Tell me about the culture that supports the vision, and I’ll tell you if your vision is going to amount to anything.”
“We often expect way too much out of the immediate and not enough over the ultimate.”
“God will be fruitful. Our job is to be faithful at taking each piece in each season so that someday we’ll see our dream fulfilled.”
“The fake me might get me further for the short term, but the real me will take me further over the course of a lifetime. I want to be real and allow people to get scary close.”
RESOURCES MENTIONED
It’s Not Over by Joshua Gagnon
Red Zone, Blue Zone by James Osterhaus, Joseph Jurkowski, and Todd Hahn
Tale of Three Kings by Gene Edwards
Scary Close by Donald Miller
For more than 25 years, Portable Church® has helped thousands of churches launch strong and thrive in a mobile setting. We design custom solutions that fit each budget, vision, and venue. Everything you need to launch a mobile church — an inviting worship space, kids ministry areas, welcome spaces, storage cases, etc — all in a system refined to make it fast, easy & fun for the weekly volunteer teams. See what this looks like by visiting portablechurch.com/lifeway.

Feb 19, 2020 • 49min
Unseen Leadership Episode 30: Shannon Miles on Taking Calculated Risks
In this episode of the Unseen Leadership podcast, Chandler Vannoy and Josh Hunter are joined by Shannon Miles who is the Co-Founder and Co-Chair of Belay Solutions, a Virtual Assistant Company.
During their conversation, they discuss how to take calculated risks, how to lead others with empathy, and how to lead remote teams.
QUOTES FROM EPISODE 30:
“When your desperation exceeds your embarrassment, you will make a change.”
“I had to learn to stop applying my desires and ambitions to those I was trying to lead.”
“Not everyone is like you, and not everybody can be lead the same way.”
“You have to actually understand and know those you are leading.”
“A leader can lose credibility simply in the language that they use.”
“People will rarely remember what you say but they will remember how you make them feel.”
“If we had not taken the risk, we would have had regret.”
“The safest thing for us sometimes is to take risks.”
“I don’t think there has ever been a better time to start a business.”
“Always be looking to replace yourself.”
RESOURCES MENTIONED
Good to Great by Jim Collins
This is Marketing by Seth Godin
Purple Cow by Seth Godin
Deep Work by Cal Newport
Talking with Strangers by Macolm Gladwell
Overcast Podcast App
The Podcast App
For more than 25 years, Portable Church® has helped thousands of churches launch strong and thrive in a mobile setting. We design custom solutions that fit each budget, vision, and venue. Everything you need to launch a mobile church — an inviting worship space, kids ministry areas, welcome spaces, storage cases, etc — all in a system refined to make it fast, easy & fun for the weekly volunteer teams. See what this looks like by visiting portablechurch.com/lifeway.

Feb 12, 2020 • 57min
Unseen Leadership Episode 29: Andrew Peterson on Distinguishing between Pride and Ambition
In this episode of the Unseen Leadership podcast, Chandler Vannoy and Josh Hunter are joined by Andrew Peterson who is an award-winning sing-songwriter, creator of The Rabbit Room, and author of the Wingfeather Saga and his latest book Adorning the Dark.
During their conversation, they discuss how to distinguish between pride and ambition, how to tell the difference between leadership and false influence, and how to lead as a creative.
QUOTES FROM EPISODE 29:
“There is no recipe for success. The best advice I can give to young leaders is say yes, keep working on your craft, and be available.”
“Everything that I tried to make happen on my own, ended in a dead end.”
“If your ambition is to leave a legacy, what you’ll leave a legacy of ambition.” - Rich Mullins
“Your motives are never going to be perfectly pure, so don’t let that stop you from doing good work, but listen to the Spirit saying careful.”
“You need to go to church with people who are not impressed with you.”
“Knowing that you are not alone and that your struggles are familiar to other people is so helpful.”
“A good thing can be a bad thing for us if that is not what God has given us to do.”
“If you are honestly reading Scripture, it is almost impossible to get arrogant.”
RESOURCES MENTIONED
Adorning the Dark by Andrew Peterson
Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott
Walking on Water by Madeleine L'Engle
Ragamuffin Gospel by Brennan Manning
Deep Work by Cal Newport
The Lion’s Gate by Steven Pressfield
For more than 25 years, Portable Church® has helped thousands of churches launch strong and thrive in a mobile setting. We design custom solutions that fit each budget, vision, and venue. Everything you need to launch a mobile church — an inviting worship space, kids ministry areas, welcome spaces, storage cases, etc — all in a system refined to make it fast, easy & fun for the weekly volunteer teams. See what this looks like by visiting portablechurch.com/lifeway.

Feb 5, 2020 • 37min
Unseen Leadership Episode 28: Kara Powell on Handling Anxiety and Depression in the Church
In this episode of the Unseen Leadership podcast, Chandler Vannoy and Josh Hunter are joined by Kara Powell who is the Executive Director of the Fuller Youth Institute and a faculty member at Fuller Theological Seminary. She’s also the author of Sticky Faith, Growing Young, and a brand new high school curriculum titled Faith in an Anxious World.
During their conversation, they discuss affirming leadership in others, when to pursue higher education and seminary, and how to handle anxiety and depression in the church.
QUOTES FROM EPISODE 28:
“Little by little we travel far” - J.R.R. Tolkien
“If you want to read more, always keep a book with you.”
“I wish I would have talked more freely about God with young people.”
“It is easy to judge my day based upon how much I cross off my to do list. Instead, I’m constantly trying to reorient my compass to say my day is based on how well I loved God and how much I loved others as my self.”
“One of the biggest mistakes we can make when it comes to anxiety and depression is simply not talking about it enough.”
“My concern with personality tests is that it becomes our excuse to not grow.”
RESOURCES MENTIONED
Faith in an Anxious World curriculum
Measure What Matters by John Doerr
For more than 25 years, Portable Church® has helped thousands of churches launch strong and thrive in a mobile setting. We design custom solutions that fit each budget, vision, and venue. Everything you need to launch a mobile church — an inviting worship space, kids ministry areas, welcome spaces, storage cases, etc — all in a system refined to make it fast, easy & fun for the weekly volunteer teams. See what this looks like by visiting portablechurch.com/lifeway.

Jan 29, 2020 • 38min
Unseen Leadership Episode 27: Eric Geiger on Building Credibility with Those You Lead
In this episode of the Unseen Leadership podcast, Chandler Vannoy and Josh Hunter are joined by Eric Geiger who is the Senior Pastor of Mariners Church in Irvine, California. Before moving to Southern California, Eric served as senior vice-president here at Lifeway. He is the author of many books including Simple Church, Designed to Lead and his latest How to Ruin Your Life.
During their conversation, they discuss how to build credibility with those you lead, how to equip others to do ministry, and how to replace a long term pastor.
QUOTES FROM EPISODE 27:
“As a young leader, you want to honor and respect those who have been there before you.”
“One of the biggest mistakes a young leader can make is to bash the past and try and make themselves look like the hero.”
“The pastor is not supposed to do all the ministry but instead, prepare others to do the ministry.”
“Read or get out of the ministry.” - John Wesley
“Reading helps you formulate your thinking and process information.”
“Young leaders need to always stay curious and stay hungry.”
“One of the biggest misconceptions of young leaders is that people will follow simply because of the role or position you have been placed in.”
“You have to use your leadership role to serve others. Not use your role to be served by others.”
“Find one thing you are passionate about and that your supervisor is passionate about and ask if you can run that initiative.”
RESOURCES MENTIONED
Spiritual Leadership by Oswald Sanders
Leading Change by John Kotter
4 Disciplines of Execution by Chris McChesney, Sean Covey, and Jim Huling
Not the Way It's Supposed to Be by Cornelius Plantinga

Jan 22, 2020 • 33min
Unseen Leadership Episode 26: Will Mancini on the Overcoming Approval Addiction
In this episode of the Unseen Leadership podcast, Chandler Vannoy and Josh Hunter are joined by Will Mancini who is the Founder of Auxano, creator of VisionRoom.com and the author of his latest book Younique.
During their conversation, they discuss how to discover your personal calling, receive honest feedback, and overcome approval addiction.
QUOTES FROM EPISODE 26:
“There is the me I want to be, and then there is the me God created me to be.”
“There is no one who has ever walked planet earth that is built like you and made like you, and there is a real intention in who you are and your story.”
“Every human being is a collection of other people’s expectations.”
“When you stand before Jesus, he’s not going to care about what other people’s expectations were for you. He’s going to hold us accountable to who he made us to be.”
“It is easy to be addicted to approval. Rather than understanding who I wanted to be, I was trying to please others.”
“Words create worlds.”
RESOURCES MENTIONED
Younique by Will Mancini
The Making of a Leader by Robert Clinton
Under the Unpredictable Plant by Eugene Peterson
Word Hero by Jay Heinrichs

Jan 15, 2020 • 39min
Unseen Leadership Episode 25: Bobby Gruenewald on the Creation of the Bible App
In this episode of the Unseen Leadership podcast, Chandler Vannoy and Josh Hunter are joined by Bobby Gruenewald who is Pastor and Innovation Leader at Life.Church, a multisite church based in Oklahoma. He is also the founder of the YouVersion Bible App, which reached over 400 million installs in December 2019.
During their conversation, they discuss how The Bible App came to be, how to steward what God has entrusted you, and how to lead as an entrepreneur.
QUOTES FROM EPISODE 25:
“I had an investor before I even had an idea which is a really backwards way to do it, but the Lord was providing.”
“We feel like we are stewards of what he has entrusted to us, not owners.”
“Young leaders, don’t wait for someone to ask you to solve a problem. Just start tackling it.”
“I used to have the illusion that if I just worked harder than everyone else, that made me the leader.”
“It is a difficult transition going from a leader who does everything to a leader who empowers their team.”
RESOURCES MENTIONED
Bible App
Bible Lens
Bible App for Kids

Jan 8, 2020 • 51min
Unseen Leadership Episode 24: John Mark Comer on Eliminating Hurry
In this episode of the Unseen Leadership podcast, Chandler Vannoy and Josh Hunter are joined by John Mark Comer who is the pastor for teaching and vision at Bridgetown Church in Portland, Oregon and the author of many books including his latest, The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry.
During their conversation, they discuss how to understand our limits, how to create a rule of life, and how to eliminate hurry.
QUOTES FROM EPISODE 24:
“We achieve inner peace when our schedule is aligned with our values.”
“Leading from holiness also means leading from wholeness as a person.”
“Young leaders should be incredibly wary of ideals, stereotypes, and formulas. We should rebel against the American gospel of upward mobility.”
“We find God’s will for our life in our limitations.”
“The more leadership you have, the larger the target for spiritual oppression is on your back.”
“Pay less attention to idols, images, and aspiring to success, and pay more attention to inner work and who Jesus is calling you to become.”
“If the enemy can’t underpromote you, he’ll overpromote you faster than your rhythms of grace can sustain.”
“If you are working more than 40 hours a week, you are not doing your job well.”
RESOURCES MENTIONED
The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry by John Mark Comer
Habitudes by Dr. Tim Elmore
Atomic Habits by James Clear
Domestic Monastery by Ronald Rolheiser

Dec 19, 2019 • 44min
Unseen Leadership Episode 23: Top Books of 2019
In this episode of the Unseen Leadership podcast, Chandler Vannoy and Josh Hunter walk through their top books that were recommended on the podcast in 2019.
One of the most common questions we have received is if we have a running list of all the books that are referenced to on the podcast. Well, now we do. You can find that list at leadership.lifeway.com/unseenbooks.
YOUNG LEADER LIBRARY GIVEAWAY: In connection with this podcast episode, we are giving away a young leader library that includes all 15 books that we discuss in this podcast.
To enter the giveaway, just share about the Unseen Leadership podcast on Instagram through a regular post or on your story and make sure to tag @unseenleadership. When you share, you’ll be entered to win the Young Leader Library, which is valued at over $175.
TOP BOOKS:
How to Lead When You are Not in Charge by Clay Scroggins
The Emotionally Healthy Leader by Peter Scazzero
Extreme Ownership by Jocko Willink
Garden City by John Mark Comer
Necessary Endings by Henry Cloud
Spiritual Leadership by Oswald Sanders
Gay Girl, Good God by Jackie Hill Perry
Gaining by Losing by J.D. Greear
Emotional Intelligence 2.0 by Travis Bradberry
Atomic Habits by James Clear
The Next Right Thing by Emily P. Freeman
Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin
Good to Great by Jim Collins
Dangerous Calling by Paul David Tripp
If You Only Knew by Jamie Ivey
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