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Lance Witt: How to Handle the ‘Toughest Moment to Navigate Leadership in the Local Church’

“So many pastors have to do the hard work of really settling their identity issues because they’re so criticized right now. And as a long-time people pleaser, I know that this is a tough battle for a lot of us in ministry.”

“COVID probably didn’t create as much as it just exposed some core issues that pastors were dealing with.”

“Every pastor listening theologically and cognitively knows, ‘Hey, I’ve got a soul, I know Jesus died for my soul. I know my soul is going to go to heaven.’ I think what escaped me all those years was that my soul was something that I should actually pay attention to.”

“Self-awareness is our best defense against self-deceit.”

“I think the biggest barrier for pastors to really getting at some of those core questions is the noise and the distraction and the hurry in their lives.”

“What’s the life you long for? Not just the ministry you long for, but what’s the life you long for? And you’ve got to get clear about that. But then I think the second piece then is courage to actually walk that out.”

“My calendar is a reflection of where my time and my values converge.”

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“I don’t think it has to always be a cataclysmic earthquake in your life that gets your attention…but I think you need to pay attention to things like, I just feel empty, I feel burned out, I’m confused, I’m running on fumes.”

“Here’s the other thing I would say to a leader: If you really want to know, ask the people closest to you because they see it probably more clearly than you see it. Ask your spouse, ask your executive pastor, somebody on your team, a good friend, ‘Hey, how do you think I’m doing?’ And actually take the time to listen and see what they say.”

“Jesus did not live a frantic, frenetic life. He had this amazing ability to be present with people. He had clarity around his focus and his priorities. And Jesus embraced his limits—he could only be in one place at one time and in his earthly body on this earth. He didn’t heal everyone.”