Podcast: Carey Nieuwhof Leadership

CNLP 821 | Finding Your Voice as a Young Preacher: Tyler Staton on the Gift of Imagination and What Getting Sick Taught Him About Pace

Most young leaders try to sound like someone else long before they sound like themselves. Tyler Staton, lead pastor at Bridgetown Church, talks about finding your voice as a preacher and writer, what a season of sickness taught him about pace, why addiction thrives when you’re moving too fast, and the gift of imagination you’re…

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CNLP 820 | Required Listening: Eric Peterson and Winn Collier on Eugene Peterson’s Battle Over Not Losing HIs Soul, Workaholism, Bono and Celebrity, And the Tension to Create a Contemplative Life

In Part 3 of this summer’s Required Listening, Eugene Peterson’s son, Eric Peterson, and biographer Winn Collier talk about Eugene Peterson’s battle to avoid losing his soul, his struggle to overcome his workaholic tendencies, Bono and celebrity, and the tension he had to overcome to create a contemplative life. ๐Ÿ”— Show Notes ๐Ÿค– AI and…

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CNLP 819 | Required Listening: Eugene Peterson on the Rhythms of a Reflective Life, The Challenges of Leading Through the 1960s, and the Origin of the Message

In Part 2 of this summer’s Required Listening, Carey interviews Eugene Peterson weeks before he retired from public life. Carey talks to Eugene about the origin of the Message and the life rhythms he and his wife Jan adopted that helped produce the legacy millions have appreciated. Plus, they discuss what it was like to…

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CNLP 818 | Required Listening: Gordon MacDonald on the View From 80 and 15 Lessons On What Really Matter in Life and Leadership

In this inaugural episode of Required Listening, Carey talks to Gordon MacDonald. For his 80th birthday, Gordon MacDonald wrote down the 15 leadership and life lessons he’s learned so far. He unpacks all of them here: how to stop cheating the people closest to you, how to survive doubt and obscurity, why you reinvent your…

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CNLP 817 | Grieving Your Ministry Wounds: Father Ronald Rolheiser and John Mark Comer on Getting Past Bitterness and Giving Your Life and Death Away

Father Ron Rolheiser has thought longer and harder about grief, aging, leadership, bitterness, and surrender than almost anyone alive. John Mark Comer joins me to co-interview him on what ministry actually costs, why so many leaders end up bitter, and what it looks like to give your life away before it’s taken from you. ๐Ÿ”—…

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CNLP 816 | The Brutal Reality of Pastoring: John Ortberg on Leadership Pain, the Introvert’s Ministry Dilemma, and Dealing With the Job You Didn’t Sign Up For

John Ortberg has spent decades leading churches, writing books, and teaching leaders. But every leader has parts of the job they’re not naturally good at. In this conversation, John opens up about pain in leadership, what it’s like to be an introvert in ministry, and how to handle the work you’d rather avoid. ๐Ÿ”— Show…

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CNLP 815 | The Death of Secularism: Matt Chandler on Why Pastors Shouldn’t Wear Capes and When the Church Is All Wood and No Fire

Matt Chandler doesn’t pull punches. The lead pastor of The Village Church joins Carey to talk about why wearing a cape doesn’t help anyone, the death of secularism, and why the church is all wood and no fire. Matt also opens up about the moment he almost quit, what Spurgeon taught him about suffering, and…

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CNLP 814 | Networking Without the Awkward: Michael Bungay Stanier on Better 1:1s and Building a Path No One Else Is Walking

Networking feels fake because most people do it wrong. Michael Bungay Stanier has a better way. In this conversation, MBS breaks down how to connect without the cringe, the seven questions you need to ask to run 1:1s that actually matter, and build a career path nobody handed you. Plus: a deep dive into self-publishing…

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CNLP 813 | Church Trends Update: Your Congregation Is Being Discipled 49 Hours a Week (And Not By You), The Wrong Convo About AI, Women Leaving, and the Anti-Celebrity Pastor

Six months into 2026, four church trends deserve a closer look. Algorithms are discipling your congregation 49 hours a week. AI’s biggest threat isn’t promptsโ€”it’s disruption on a scale the church isn’t ready for. Women are still leaving, and now we know why. And a new kind of megachurch pastor is quietly emerging. Here’s what’s…

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CNLP 812 | Creativity Is the Church’s Lost Superpower: Al Gordon on How Stress and Algorithms Are Killing Your Imagination and How to Unlock Creativity in Your Team

Most leaders don’t think of themselves as creative. Al Gordon says that’s the lie keeping you stuck. Al, founder of Renaissance, lead pastor of SAINT in East London, talks about why creativity is the church’s lost superpower, how stress and algorithms are quietly killing your imagination, and what it actually takes to unlock creativity in…

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