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 simply an occupational hazard of success.
His conclusion has shaped the way he leads today: Who you’re becoming may be the most important contribution you ever make.
In this conversation, Jimmy’s refreshingly honest about what the mega-church era got right, what it got horribly wrong, and why so many leaders end up falling.
Here’s what you’ll take away:
👉 Why concentrated power without counterbalancing governance is the common thread in almost every leadership collapse
👉 What scale costs a pastor (and why the benefits plateau faster than most leaders think)
👉 Decathlon lessons about recovery plans that changed how Jimmy thinks about finishing well in ministry
👉 Why the most important question isn’t “what am I doing?” but “who am I becoming?”
If you’ve ever mistaken growth for health, this one is for you.
🎧 Listen now and take the next step toward healthier leadership. Watch it on YouTube or tune in wherever you listen to podcasts.
This episode is brought to you by...
AI and the Future Church
My book AI and the Future Church just hit its one-month mark, and I’ve been blown away by the conversations it’s sparking in churches. It walks you through three shifts you can start making in your ministry now, and we built a companion AI Hub at aifuture.church to help you figure out where your church stands and what’s worth tackling first.
Gloo
If you’re tired of wrestling with technology and guessing whether your marketing is actually working, Gloo handles both. They bring real engineering talent and smarter reach strategy so you can stay focused on the mission while they handle what’s behind the scenes.
Go to gloo.com/grow to learn more.
The Chosen
The new season of The Chosen launches exclusively on Prime Video November 15, and from now through November 14, churches can show the first episode for free.
Visit comeandsee.net/church to sign up, and mark your calendar for The Chosen Crucifixion, opening exclusively in theaters March 12, 2027.
