In this episode of the Emotionally Healthy Leader Podcast, Pete Scazzero challenges pastors and leaders with a simple yet radical invitation: "Do the work before the work."

This is more than a productivity principle. It's a call to integrity—where your outer leadership flows from your inner life with God. Through a compelling reflection on Jesus' own rhythms of solitude, limits, and Spirit-led decisions, Pete explores how the greatest threat to your leadership may not be your church, your staff, or your context—but your own unexamined inner life.

You'll hear the ancient tale of The Woodcarver, brought to life through Thomas Merton's lens, and discover how it mirrors the kind of inner work Jesus modeled in the wilderness.

If you've ever felt the pressure to perform, the pull of others' expectations, or the pace of a life without margin, this episode offers a pathway back to wholeness—and a leadership that's both fruitful and free.

In today's episode of The Emotionally Healthy Leader Podcast, I'm joined by my longtime friend and the new President of Emotionally Healthy Discipleship, Drew Hyun, for a conversation unlike any we've ever released.

This is a new season for EHD—one marked by fresh leadership, expanding vision, and a renewed commitment to forming leaders around the world in a deep, beneath-the-surface discipleship. Drew and I look back on our 24-year history, the shaping influence of New Life Fellowship, and the surprising road that led him to carry this movement forward. You'll also hear how church planting, crisis, and personal formation prepared him for this moment.

In part two, we go deeper into succession—what it demanded of both of us, the internal work required, and the lessons every pastor or leader needs when stepping into (or stepping out of) significant responsibility.

Whether you're navigating leadership transition, rebuilding your soul, or discerning your next step with EHD, this episode offers a hopeful and honest invitation to join what God is doing in this new season.

Too often, we lead others while unaware of the emotional baggage we carry. In this episode, I share why genuine discipleship must go beneath the surface—into the depths of our emotional world and the generational patterns shaping us.

Using the haunting story of Nathan Price from The Poisonwood Bible, I reflect on my own early years of Christian leadership—driven, sincere, but stuck. Like many pastors, I loved Scripture and ministry, yet avoided the inner work required for lasting transformation.

In this second mark of an Emotionally Healthy Culture, I unpack how we follow Jesus into beneath-the-surface discipleship—marked by emotional honesty and breaking generational patterns that bind us.

You'll hear:

• How unprocessed pain sabotages leadership

• Why your family of origin disciples you more than you think

• Practical questions to begin your own journey inward

This isn't just another leadership podcast. It's a call to reclaim the radical discipleship of Jesus—starting from within.

Church scandals.

They seem to be more and more frequent in headline news. Each one has a dramatic effect on all of us. They are to be grieved but also carefully examined.

Please listen to today's episode, and if appropriate, share with others leaders who could benefit from this conversation.

We must recover the ancient practice Sabbath. It's how we slow down our lives to delight in Jesus, and in doing so, anchor ourselves into eternity.
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On today's podcast, I share a message which is the second part of our podcast series on the Sabbath.

Becoming an emotionally healthy disciple is not just about self-discovery and self-improvement.

Ultimately, our discipleship MUST lead us to become spiritual mothers and fathers of the faith - helping those around us discover their God-given power and purpose.

In today's podcast, I share a message that invites us to become spiritual mothers and fathers in the faith.

On today's podcast, I share a sermon that will help you grow as an emotionally healthy leader – prudent with your time, wealth, energy, and resources. Only with prudence are we able to become the kind of leaders who create and shape the future!

Recently, I made a large, consequential decision over the period of 3 - 6 months. This discernment process required me to personally apply the principles of Emotionally Healthy Discipleship in a deep way.

In today's podcast episode, I will walk you through the specifics of this real-life decision, why it was complex, and five questions that guided me in this decision-making process.

For the last 9 weeks, we've been exploring the core theology and practices of Emotionally Healthy Spirituality.

But now it's time to address your questions and challenges as you put it into practice. 

In today's podcast episode I bring the last of a multi-week podcast series in which we explore the seminal work from Emotionally Healthy Spirituality. If you are a pastor, leader, or listener and you want to start the journey toward emotional and spiritual health, this series is a must-listen.

If you missed the first episode on The Problem of Emotionally Unhealthy Spirituality, you can listen to it here.

We were made by God to live within rhythms and limits. 

In today's fast-paced world, Christian leaders are often caught on the "ministry hamster wheel"—spinning endlessly with meetings, sermons, crises, and expectations. But what if the most radical, missional act we could take isn't to do more, but to slow down?

In this episode, Pete Scazzero calls us to break free from the cycle of overload and distraction by embracing a countercultural rhythm of life rooted in Jesus. Drawing from personal experience and church history, Pete shows how slowing down is not self-care—it's spiritual resistance. It's leadership. It's mission.

This is the first episode in a new series on the 8 Marks of an Emotionally Healthy Culture, beginning with the most foundational mark: Slowing down to be with God before doing for Him.

If you're longing for a church culture marked by peace instead of anxiety, depth instead of shallowness, and prayerful leadership instead of constant reaction—this episode is for you.

Many Christians are familiar with the practice of a daily "quiet time".

But with the speed and volume of our often overscheduled lives, one short moment a day isn't enough to sustain an abiding life with Jesus.

Today's episode is a continuation of an 8-week podcast series in which we explore the seminal work from Emotionally Healthy Spirituality. If you are a pastor, leader, or listener and you want to start the journey toward emotional and spiritual health, this series is a must-listen.

Grief and loss are a central part of our humanity.

It comes without our permission and against our will. But this is why suffering is how God uniquely opens our hearts and transforms us.

Today's episode is a continuation of an 8-week podcast series in which we explore the seminal work from Emotionally Healthy Spirituality. If you are a pastor, leader, or listener and you want to start the journey toward emotional and spiritual health, this series is a must-listen.

In today's podcast, I talk more extensively about the 6 stages of the wall and it can lead to complete life transformation.

This episode is a continuation of an 8-week podcast series in which we explore the seminal work from Emotionally Healthy Spirituality. If you are a pastor, leader, or listener and you want to start the journey toward emotional and spiritual health, this series is a must-listen.

If you missed the first episode on the problem of emotionally unhealthy spirituality, you can listen to it here.

Today, on the podcast, we continue an 8-week series in which we explore the seminal work from Emotionally Healthy Spirituality. If you are a pastor, leader, or listener and you want to grow in emotional health, this series is a must-listen.

If you missed the first episode on the problem of emotionally unhealthy spirituality, you can listen to it here.

Today, on the podcast, Pete continues an 8-week series in which he explores the seminal work from Emotionally Healthy Spirituality. If you are a pastor, leader, or listener and you want to grow in emotional health, this series is a must-listen.

Today, on the podcast, Pete launches an 8-week series in which he'll explore the seminal work from Emotionally Healthy Spirituality.

In this first episode, Pete shines a light on the Top 10 Symptoms of Emotionally Healthy Spirituality. If you are a pastor, leader, or listener and you want to know if you are actually emotionally healthy, this episode is a must listen.

Today, on the podcast, Pete shares two biblical invitations that will anchor you when the earth is shifting underneath your feet.

In today's podcast, Pete shares a sermon with an appropriate invitation for 2022 so that you will be encouraged as you lead into a new year.

In today's episode, Pete plays highlights from five of the most popular podcast episodes from 2021.

In today's episode, we'll discover that it's in silence that we learn to pay attention to what God is birthing in and through us.

What if your family of origin is still running your leadership — and you don't even know it?

In Part 2 of this vital conversation, Pete Scazzero continues unpacking how the emotional and relational patterns we inherited growing up deeply shape how we lead today — often more than we realize. If you missed Part 1, go back and listen first.

In this episode, Pete explores:

• Why so many leaders struggle to build healthy, emotionally mature community

• How unspoken family scripts muddle our priorities and calendars

• A powerful diagnostic checklist to help you reflect on your leadership

You'll discover why your ability to lead from your true self, set wise boundaries, and create healthy spiritual culture is often determined by the invisible hand of your upbringing — unless Jesus breaks in.

This episode is both a mirror and a map — calling us to deeper freedom and alignment with the new family of Jesus.

📍 Start your journey toward emotional and spiritual maturity today at emotionallyhealthy.org/course

In today's podcast, Pete shares with you a sermon in which he explores many fascinating details about Herod's life and why it stood in such contrast with the newborn King.

In today's podcast, Pete explores the nuts and bolts and best practices of planning for a sabbatical. It takes advance planning, prayer, and thoughtfulness in order to do well.

In this week's podcast, Pete explores the biblical definition of a sabbatical and makes a case for why all leaders should, at the right time, take one.

Today on the podcast, Pete walks through 4 real-life case studies of leaders navigating transition. In each case, He'll share insights about the right (and wrong) ways these transitions should be handled.

In today's podcast, Pete explores how criticisms can set off internal triggers that may result in anger, defensiveness, or blaming. The good news is – it's possible to get free from these patterns. When you change the way you think, it will be a gift to your whole team and church!

Today on the podcast, Pete walks you through a format for how to host a service where every member of your church is commissioned into full time ministry.

In today's podcast, Pete explores the life of Abraham and the revelation that propelled him forward in his work. Because when we view our life and work from heaven's perspective, everything changes.

In today's podcast, Pete exposes some of the most unbiblical language we use and how we can better communicate good theology so our people can flourish in their everyday lives.

Today on the podcast, Pete builds upon last week's episode about finding our "calling" and shares about the deeper purpose of our work from God's perspective.

If you've ever found yourself stuck in patterns you can't explain or hitting a wall in your leadership that won't budge—there's a reason. In this episode of the Emotionally Healthy Leader Podcast, I explore one of the most overlooked but powerful forces shaping your life and leadership: your family of origin.

The truth is, we all carry a family story. And unless we allow Jesus to meet us there—deep in those places—our leadership, relationships, and even our ability to hear God will be compromised.

I'll walk you through how your family of origin influences your emotional maturity, your capacity to lead from your true self, and your ability to discern God's voice. I'll also share stories from my own journey and those of other leaders to help you recognize where you might be stuck—and how to move forward.

This is part one of a two-part series you don't want to miss. The work of transformation begins with you.

In today's podcast, Pete explores the paradox of how God's absence is a form of His presence.

On today's podcast, Pete offers encouragement to pastors who are carrying the weight of the church in a time that is very disorienting. If you need a fresh perspective, take a listen.

If you've come to the end of yourself, you're not alone. On today's podcast, Pete shares with you a message that he believes is timely and encouraging.

Today, Pete gives you a sneak peek of his wife Geri's new podcast, Emotionally Healthy Woman. The first episode is called "Quit Being Afraid of What Other People Think".

In this interview, Pete shares some treasures of church history and why they are vitally important for the leaders of today and tomorrow.

In today's podcast, Pete invites you to listen along as he walks through these three habits detailed in his book Emotionally Healthy Discipleship.

In today's podcast, Pete shares with you a passage that has been instrumental for him as a leader. The scene comes from Mark 15 where Jesus is lonely on the cross. Pete then offers some encouragement for how God comes to us, even in His silence.

In today's episode, Pete offers encouragement by drawing attention to the enormous power of Jesus in the face of evil.

Mark chapter 5 offers us the most graphic story in all of the New Testament. In this story, Jesus confronts a man filled with a legion of demons. And in Jesus' presence, this man is freed and restored to his right mind.

This kind of power is available to us all in Christ.

When power and dual relationships in your church are not carefully considered, you may be on the road to deep pain, confusion, and division.

In this episode, Pete reads five case studies from leaders who are navigating this delicate tension and he draws from difficult personal lessons he's learned to offer leadership wisdom.

After 30 years of wrestling with the tension between vision and limitation, I've come to see that how we handle limits can make—or break—our leadership. In this episode, I explore the subtle but powerful difference between good and bad limits. Bad limits are driven by fear, faulty thinking, and self-protection. But good limits? They're gifts from God—meant to ground us, guide us, and grow us.

You'll hear how ignoring God's limits nearly cost me everything: my marriage, my leadership, my soul. But when we stop trying to be God and instead embrace the limits He gives us, we begin to see Him in ways we never could have imagined.

I'll share practical ways you can discern the difference and walk in the freedom of wise, Spirit-led boundaries. This episode is both personal and pastoral—meant to help you lead from a deeper place.

Listen now—and rediscover the God who meets you right in the middle of your limits.

Today, Pete shares with you an excerpt of an interview he recently did for Preaching Today. In this interview, Pete shares 6 questions that you must ask if you want to learn how to preach from the inside out.

Today, Pete shares an excerpt from a chapter in his recent book, Emotionally Healthy Discipleship, called "Follow the Crucified, not the Americanized Jesus".

It's one of the most important chapters in the book. Within it, he explores four temptations from the Evil One that come to all of us –  regardless of our culture, country, age, demographic, or ministry

In today's episode, Pete offers a NEW scorecard with 7 new metrics leaders MUST begin to measure.

It's likely you won't hear about these 7 things in leadership books or church growth conferences. But if you want to lead in a way that actually makes disciples of Jesus, you cannot ignore them.

Listen to this episode, to discover 7 questions to measure leadership success.