Carey Nieuwhof
Don’t settle for an impact smaller than you’re called to make. It's time to unlock your potential and lead confidently into a future filled with growth — for yourself, your church, and your mission. Get access to some of my best leadership content, only published in my newsletters.
Why "successful" leaders still crash
Hi Reader, One of the more sobering questions you can ask yourself as a leader is this: Am I becoming the kind of person who can sustain the life I’m building? Jimmy Mellado has spent more than three decades as a CEO, including 21 years helping lead the Willow Creek Association and the last 13 at Compassion International. Along the way, he watched leaders he admired make decisions that devastated their marriages, ministries, and lives. It forced him to wonder whether leadership failure was...
AI intimidate you? You don't need to become a tech expert (here's what to do instead)
Hi Reader, 87% of pastors say they're already using AI... are you one of them? If you've been feeling like everyone else has this figured out and you're behind, take a breath. Most leaders I talk to are in the exact same spot: experimenting a little, unsure a lot, and quietly wondering if they could be doing something different. But becoming more tech savvy is not about chasing every trend or turning yourself into a technology expert. It's about having a curious, adaptable posture and the...
What to do when you can't understand what God is doing?
Hi Reader, This one’s personal. I sat down with my wife Toni, Ann Voskamp, and John Ortberg for the kind of dinner-table conversation I love bringing to the podcast. Think of this conversation as three friends who have walked through real pain, talking honestly about what they’ve learned, to help you learn how God acts when nothing makes sense. Here’s what you’ll take away: 👉 Why AI’s instant answers are making it harder to wait on God (and what we’re actually losing)👉 What Dallas Willard...
The hidden AI stupid tax (are you paying it?)
Hi Reader, Does using AI make you dumber? Actually, it might. But here's the important nuance: it's not whether you use AI, it's how. Let me show you what I mean. A Brown University economics professor has taught the same course for over thirty years. Last spring, he moved his midterm to a take-home exam. Enrolment nearly tripled. And when the exams came back, the class average was 96 percent (on a harder exam than usual), in a course where the historical average runs 65-80. Something felt...
On The Rise: Gen alpha youth groups, bad AI and retro internet
Welcome to the On The Rise newsletter, where I feature fascinating, helpful, and sometimes curious content that caught my attention this week. Today, fresh Barna data on what youth groups today look like, and teen boys are attending more than teen girls, just like Gen Z. Plus bad actors are loving AI, an under $10 fire starter I love, and the internet c. 1996. Retro is in, right? Who’s Going to Youth Group These Days? More Gen Alpha Boys Than Girls, It Seems New Barna research shows that a...
He buried 24 members of his church, then he kept leading...
Hi Reader, Think about the last thing that tested your leadership. A hard board meeting, a budget shortfall, or a critical email. Now imagine leading a church where following Jesus can cost you your freedom, your sight, or your life, and choosing to lead anyway. And know, we're not talking about challenges in the Western church. My friend Brian Orme, CEO of Global Christian Relief, has spent a decade with global believers who do exactly that. This week he wrote a guest post for the blog on...
What if everything you know about multisite churches is wrong?
Hi Reader, What if everything you thought you knew about multisite church was wrong? Or at least misinformed? For years, a lot of leaders assumed multisite was mainly a strategy for megachurches. New research from Warren Bird and Sean Morgan tells a very different story. They identified every verified multisite church in America and surveyed more than 1,000 leaders. What they discovered surprised me and I bet it’ll surprise you too. Churches are going multisite at smaller sizes than you might...
The best response to suicidal ideation I've heard
Hi Reader, How you doing today? Honestly, many Mondays are hard, and I know a lot of leaders who find Monday the low point of their week. I get it. The weekend wasn't long enough. Preaching hangovers are real (I did six keynotes and three days of hosting leaders at the Art of Leadership Live and wasn't as tired as I am after preaching on a Sunday). Plus, on Monday, all your unresolved problems come back to haunt you. Add to that the reality that discouraged church leaders have been a real...
On The Rise: Finance majors don’t make great atheists + Why your team might be lying to you
Welcome to the On The Rise newsletter, where I feature fascinating, helpful, and sometimes curious content that caught my attention this week. Today, some fresh data on which college majors are most likely to be atheists, why teams often don’t tell their senior leader the truth, a great inside story about Apple, and it looks like your people are falling deeper into debt. English Majors Much More Likely to be Atheists than Finance Majors Not all atheists are the same. It may be a chicken and...
Going viral might be the worst thing for your ministry
Hi Reader, When was the last time you felt stuck? So many leaders delay because they can't choose between options, or haven't got the confidence to move forward. Getting stuck is a trap. A trap you can escape. Seth Godin has a fascinating way of getting to the heart of leadership problems, and he's back, candid, personal, and full of only-Seth insights. In our latest conversation, Seth challenges us to look at the things we assume can’t change and ask what might really be holding them in...
Don’t settle for an impact smaller than you’re called to make. It's time to unlock your potential and lead confidently into a future filled with growth — for yourself, your church, and your mission. Get access to some of my best leadership content, only published in my newsletters.