Field Notes for Transformation

Leading in the Direction of Relationship with Wendy Hu-Au

Summary
In this conversation, Pastor Wendy Hu-Au invites us into the story beneath the title—her unexpected and deeply formative journey into serving as senior pastor at Metro Hope Church. What emerges isn’t just a leadership story, but a picture of what happens when faith is lived in real community.
We talk about the early moments that shaped her, the people who formed her, and why she’s so drawn to the idea of microchurches—not as a strategy, but as a way of being with people. Wendy keeps bringing us back to this: transformation happens in proximity, in honest relationships, in showing up.
She names the tension of leadership with refreshing honesty—the vulnerability it requires, the questions it surfaces, and the courage it takes to stay open when easy answers aren’t there. And woven throughout is this quiet but steady conviction: the church has a role to play in pushing back against what diminishes people and partnering in what brings life.
Takeaways
The gospel has to touch real life, or it’s not good news yet. 
Faithful leadership stays open, even when the answers have not been revealed yet. 
Resisting empire involves creating inclusive spaces for marginalized voices. 
 
Episode field note: Leading Without All the Answers
There’s a moment in leadership most people try to avoid, but most of us live in: I don’t know.
The world is not getting simpler. And leadership that depends on certainty is going to keep collapsing under the weight of real life.
Maybe faithful leadership isn’t about closing the gap between question and answer. Maybe it’s about becoming the kind of person who can stay in the gap—and not leave others there alone.
 
Resources and links
Hope Metro Church NYC
Apex for Youth                            
Follow SLI: @spiritualleadershipinc
Head to Spiritual Leadership, Inc to take a look at resources for ministry leaders. 

How is it with Your Ambition? with Ryan Tinetti

Summary
In this conversation, Ryan Tinetti invites us to reconsider ambition, moving away from pressure and performance toward something quieter and deeper. Through personal stories, Scripture, and lived wisdom, he offers a vision of life and leadership anchored in rest, shaped by humility and faithfulness over productivity.
 
Episode field note: Clarity Over Cleverness
When you’re leading change, resist the urge to be subtle. People don’t need hints, they need clear direction. Say it plainly, repeat it often, and make the path forward obvious. It may feel like over-communicating, but in moments of change, clarity is what helps people move.
 
Resources and links
Ryan’s Book: The Quiet Ambition (IvPress) 
Slow Productivity by Cal Newport 
Godspeed (Documentary) 
1 Thessalonians 4:11-12                        
Follow SLI: @spiritualleadershipinc
Head to Spiritual Leadership, Inc to take a look at resources for ministry leaders. 

You Were Never Meant to Lead Alone with Eun Strawser

Summary: 
We’ve normalized something that was never meant to be normal: leading alone. 
Rev. Dr. Eun K. Strawser invites us into a conversation about the gift of shared leadership. We talk about the ways we hold onto power, how our metrics are shaping the wrong outcomes, and why the environments we build may be working against the very transformation we long to see. What if shared leadership is exactly what the church was always meant to embody? 
Shared leadership isn’t just theory or a strategy. It’s biblical, practical, and transformational to the leader, the church and community. 
 
Takeaways
We don’t have a leadership shortage, we have a maturity gap.
What you measure is what you’re forming (so measure wisely). 
Healthy churches are rooted in people, place and community, not just growth.
Formation happens in place, not just in programs.
 
Episode field note: Take an honest inventory- Who do you actually share power with?
Most of us can answer that pretty quickly. And for many leaders, the answer is… we don’t. We may delegate tasks, but we’re not truly sharing power.
So the deeper question becomes: Who do you want to share power with and why?
 
Resources and links
Eun’s book: You Were Never Meant to Lead Alone: The Power of Sharing Leadership with IVPress
Eun’s website                 
Follow SLI: @spiritualleadershipinc
Head to Spiritual Leadership, Inc to take a look at resources for ministry leaders. 

Ep 25: There is No Playbook (and that's the point) with Angie Ward

In this episode, Dr. Angie Ward invites us into a rich conversation about leadership in uncharted place, where identity, and adaptive courage matter more than ever. She reflects on how her own journey has shaped the way she leads and teaches, and why the internal work of a leader is inseparable from the external work we’re called to do. We explore the shifting landscape of ministry and the kind of emotional intelligence leaders need to navigate change with wisdom and grace.
 
Takeaways
 
Leadership begins with who you are. Identity formation and the internal work you’re willing to do shape every decision, relationship, and moment of influence.
Today’s landscape demands adaptive courage. With no clear playbook, leaders must normalize change, embrace uncertainty, and respond with creativity rather than anxiety.
Presence matters as much as strategy. Emotional intelligence and a non-anxious posture create the conditions for clarity, trust, and transformation. 
 
Episode field note: Do your inner work. 
Do your work so you can show up whole, honest and fully yourself in every space you lead. 
 
Resources and links:
Angie’s website  
Angie’s Book: Uncharted Leadership             
Follow SLI: @spiritualleadershipinc
Head to Spiritual Leadership, Inc to take a look at resources for ministry leaders. 

Ep 24: The Future of Worship is Both/And with Michael Huerter

In this conversation, Michael Huerter opens up about his unexpected journey into worship and music ministry and the way hybrid worship is reshaping the life of the church. He names both the beauty and the tension of weaving technology into our worship practices—how we can use new tools without losing the human connections that make church feel like church.
Michael talks honestly about the challenges leaders face right now: the overwhelm of adapting to online spaces, the pressure to “keep up,” and the fear of getting it wrong. But he also points us toward the opportunities, for example, how music can create connection even through a screen, how creativity can build real community, and how relationships will always matter more than platforms.
Takeaways
Technology can open surprising doors for connection, but it should never replace the sacred gift of human relationships—it’s here to serve community, not define it.
For leaders feeling the weight of constant change, the invitation is simple and steady: focus on relationships first. The tech will follow.
Hybrid worship isn’t a stop-gap anymore; it’s a real and lasting expression of church life when we approach it with intention.
 
Episode field note: Technology and online ministry aren’t replacing relationships but they’re deepening them and reminding us we’re not alone.
Even though the pace of new technology can feel overwhelming, this moment is also opening unexpected doors for connection and support in ministry. Online spaces, Zoom calls with mentors, glimpses into a friend’s worship service, shared creative work can actually strengthen the relationships we nurture in person. Instead of choosing between online and offline, we’re invited to see them as a hybrid whole and lean into the creativity, curiosity, and community this season makes possible.
 
Resources and links
Michael’s book: The Hybrid Congregation   
Follow Michael on Facebook                          
Follow SLI: @spiritualleadershipinc
Head to Spiritual Leadership, Inc to take a look at resources for ministry leaders. 

Ep 23: Finding Freedom in Limits: A conversation with Alan Noble

In this conversation, Alan Noble helps us name the weight we all feel in a world that tells us we must be everything on our own. Drawing from his book You Are Not Your Own, Alan invites us to imagine a different kind of freedom, one found not in limitless choice, but in belonging to a loving God. Alan talks about the exhaustion of modern life, the grace of limits, and the practices of gratitude and attention that can reorient us. This is a conversation about recovering our humanity and remembering that we were never meant to carry the world alone.
 
Takeaways:
Freedom isn’t found in endless choice, it’s found in belonging.
 
Gratitude and attention are small rebellions.
 
Modern life is heavy, but we were never meant to carry it alone.
 
The fruit of our labor belongs to God. (Our work has meaning not because it’s impressive, but because it’s offered back to Him.)
 
Love people for who they are, not for what they achieve.
 
Episode field note: Get to know someone really well
When we move beyond surface conversations and risk true connection, we start to see one another as we are, not as we present ourselves to be. That kind of knowing creates room for compassion, for shared humanity, for healing.
Bearing each other’s burdens isn’t about fixing what’s broken. It’s about standing close enough to feel the weight and say, “You’re not alone in this.”
 
Resources and links:
Alan’s website
Alan’s book w/ IvPress
Follow SLI: @spiritualleadershipinc
This episode is brought to you by Spiritual Leadership, Inc
Head to spiritual-leadership.org to take a look at resources for ministry leaders. 

Ep 22: Leading Through Storms with Bishop Geoffrey Dudley

In this episode, Bishop Geoffrey Dudley shares what it takes to lead through the storms of life and ministry. Drawing from his experiences in both the military and the church, he talks about calling, resilience, and the connection between leadership and mental health. This conversation explores what authentic leadership looks like when you’re navigating real challenges, for example, crafting vision, managing the movement, and building teams that can bend without breaking.
 
Takeaways
Calling isn’t static, it evolves as we do and is tested, refined by resistance and clarified through rest. 
Leadership isn’t proven by what you achieve, it is revealed by how you show up when things get hard. 
Authenticity outlasts performance. 
 
 
Episode field note: Get to know you
“Set aside time for self-reflection and get to know you.
He already knows you. He fearfully and wonderfully made you. But when you begin to know you, that’s when He can really start working with you.”
 
Before you can lead others, you have to sit with your own story. Like Jacob, we wrestle with identity, with the question God still asks: Who are you?
 
Resources and links
Bishop Dudley’s website
Book: Leading Through Storms with IvPress
Follow Bishop Dudley on socials: 
                 YouTube
                 Instagram: @bishopdudleyphd
                 Facebook
Follow SLI: @spiritualleadershipinc
This episode is brought to you by Spiritual Leadership, Inc
Head to spiritual-leadership.org to take a look at resources for ministry leaders. 

Ep 21: When You Think You're Right with Erin Devers

In this conversation, Dr. Erin Devers discusses the concept of bias, its implications for self-perception and leadership, and the importance of understanding our identity. She emphasizes the role of confirmation bias in decision-making and the need for leaders to cultivate humility. Erin also explores the intersection of faith and bias research, highlighting how community can either amplify or reduce bias. 
Takeaways
Confirmation bias leads us to seek information that supports our beliefs.
Self-perception is often clouded by our biases.
Understanding our identity in Christ can help us navigate bias. 
 
Episode field note: The easiest way to cultivate humility is to communicate clearly
Erin suggests adding probabilities to your decision making, being honest about where you are - for example, “I’m 80% confident that we should go in this direction.” This approach can help build trust and fosters connection. 
 
Resources and links
Erin’s website
Erin’s Book: The Unbiased Self                               
Follow SLI: @spiritualleadershipinc
Head to Spiritual Leadership, Inc to take a look at resources for ministry leaders. 

Ep 20: Never Coasting: Ron Watts on Lifelong Growth in Leadership

In this conversation, Ron shares the story of his own call to ministry, the early influences that shaped him, and the lessons he’s in almost 40 years of leading La Croix Church. We dive into what it means to build a healthy church culture, the power of storytelling to draw people into God’s bigger story, and why developing leaders is always worth the risk of giving away ownership, and even letting them learn through failure. As Ron looks toward retirement, he reflects on the hope that drives him: raising up disciples who wholeheartedly follow Jesus.
Takeaways
Healthy leadership multiplies, it doesn’t center on one person. 
Painful seasons often become the very soil where transformation takes root. 
The legacy of a leader is discipleship - raising up others, giving them ownership and having that person learn through success and failure. 
 
Episode field note: Stay open to God’s stretching work
Ron reminds us that growth is a lifelong posture. That kind of hunger to learn, to receive feedback, to stay open to God’s stretching work, even when it’s uncomfortable. 
 
Resources and links
La Croix website: lacroixchurch.org
La Croix on socials: Facebook
                                  Instagram
                                  YouTube                                    
Follow SLI: @spiritualleadershipinc
Head to Spiritual Leadership, Inc to take a look at resources for ministry leaders. 

Ep 19: Redemption on the Clock: Rethinking Faith at Work with Elaine Howard Ecklund

In this episode, Lindsay talks with Elaine Howard Ecklund (Rice University) to talk about the intersection of faith and work and why it matters in the places we spend most of our lives. We dig into insights from her new book, co-written with Denise Daniels (Wheaton College), Working for Better: a New Approach to Faith at Work. We talk about her research on how people experience calling in their jobs and what it takes to create systemic change. Elaine and Lindsay explore how leaders and congregations can foster environments where faith isn’t just something we carry to church on Sunday, but something we live out every day, helping workplaces become more redemptive for everyone.
 
Takeaways
Faith can actually make us more committed and effective at work.
Everyday employees have the power to shift workplace culture from the inside. 
Churches/clergy can help people thrive professionally, not just spiritually. 
 
Field Note: For leaders in the workplace, take the time to understand the specific challenges at work. Find a group of trusted peers (at church for example) and create the space to thoughtfully address similar challenges.
For clergy, get to know the kind of work your congregants do and the challenges they face each day. This will have an impact on workplaces and help people bring more of themselves to both their work environment and church. 
 
Resources and links
Elaine Howard Eckland’s website: https://www.elainehowardecklund.com/
Working for Better book with InterVarsity Press: https://www.ivpress.com/working-for-better
SLI’s Spiritual Leadership Generator Tool: https://www.spiritual-leadership.org/leadershipgenerator/
Head to spiritual-leadership.org to take a look at resources for ministry leaders.