Inside Out: Write Your Plans in Pencil (Proverbs 16:9)

What if the peace God has for you is far bigger than the absence of conflict?In this episode of Linch with a Leader, Mike Linch sits down with Pastor Terry Smith, Lead Pastor of The Life Christian Church in West Orange, New Jersey, and author of The Lord Give You Peace, to explore what the Bible means by shalom: life as God intended it to be.Drawing from thirty-four years of pastoring, Terry explains why shalom, used some 500 times in Scripture, includes harmony, flourishing, and delight, not just a quiet mind, and why so many of us don’t want enough. He unpacks the zeal of God, the difference between guilt and shame, and what it means to be a shalom maker.Mike and Terry also talk about John McCain’s “Camp Unity,” why successful leaders tend to isolate, and the family dinners that shaped Terry’s home. They share one of the most freeing truths in this conversation: God doesn’t just love us, He really likes us.And for the leader who is hard on himself, Terry offers a reframe: You did a bad thing. You are not bad.Pastor Terry Smith has served as Lead Pastor of The Life Christian Church for thirty-four years and is the author of The Lord Give You Peace, The Lord Bless You, The Hospitable Leader, and Live Ten.

What do you do when you can’t see your next step?In this Inside Out episode, Mike Linch builds on his recent conversation with Amilyn Pierce, Vice President of Government Affairs for the Arizona Diamondbacks, to explore a powerful idea: God gives us enough light for the next step, even when we can’t see the whole road.Proverbs 3:5-6 says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.” Mike connects it to Hebrews 11, where faith is what steps in when we don’t know where we’re going or how we’ll get there.He unpacks why we will always have seasons we won’t completely understand, what it means to submit to God in all our ways, and why God’s will is exactly what we would choose if we knew all the facts.Whether you’re facing a decision, a loss, or a season you can’t explain, the question is the same:Will you take the next step with God, even when you can’t see the one after it?Scripture: Proverbs 3:5-6; Hebrews 11:6

How do you keep walking with God when nothing went the way you planned?In this episode of Linch with a Leader, Mike Linch sits down with Amilyn Pierce, Vice President of Government Affairs for the Arizona Diamondbacks, to explore what it looks like to lead, work, and parent while holding onto faith through the hardest season of life.Drawing from nearly 20 years in politics and policy, Amilyn explains how a campaign job and a TV show led her to professional baseball, and why government affairs matters to a major league team, from stadium legislation to sports betting to the everyday problems no one sees.Mike and Amilyn also talk about where her faith began, the daily habits that keep it authentic, and what her parents passed on at the family dinner table. Then Amilyn shares the story she doesn’t tell often: the day her plans fell apart, why she never turned away from God, why she doesn’t believe “God will never give you more than you can handle,” and what she has learned about Him in grief that no book or sermon could teach.And for anyone walking through their own worst day, Amilyn offers a simple reframe: I turned to Him rather than away.Amilyn Pierce is the Vice President of Government Affairs for the Arizona Diamondbacks and was named one of Arizona’s Most Influential Women of 2023 by AZ Business Magazine.

Have you ever written a goal in ink and called it God’s will?In this Inside Out episode, Mike Linch builds on his recent conversation with licensed trauma therapist and author Kobe Campbell to explore a powerful idea: we make the plans, but God directs the steps.Proverbs 16:9 says, “A man’s mind plans his way as he journeys through life, but the Lord directs his steps and establishes them.” Mike shares how easy it is for goal-driven leaders to write their plans in ink and call it “thus saith the Lord,” even when a selfish motive is driving the engine room, and why God would rather we plan in pencil and let Him write in permanent marker.Mike unpacks how to live in the tension between being driven and trusting God, why God isn’t upset when we ask Him to confirm where He’s leading, and why the One who sees the whole journey is the right one to guide our steps.Whether your plans are for your business, your church, your team, or your family, the question is the same:Are you holding your plans loosely enough to let God direct your steps?Scripture: Proverbs 16:9

Why do so many capable leaders change everything around them except the one area of their own life that still hurts?In this episode of Linch with a Leader, Mike Linch sits down with licensed trauma therapist and bestselling author Kobe Campbell to explore how God heals the places high-capacity leaders tend to avoid.Kobe shares how she met Jesus at the lowest point of her life, and how that season shaped the way she serves others. She and Mike unpack why time doesn't heal all wounds, why a vacation can't fix emotional exhaustion, and why our gifts and productivity can become a shield from the healing God wants to give us.They also discuss the question at the center of her new book: instead of asking "What's wrong with me?", ask "What happened to me?" Kobe explains how leaders can move from "I am the problem" to "I have a problem," why staying in shame can feel easier than fighting for freedom, and what it looks like to stay curious with God instead of assuming we already know what He wants.And for the leader who has been performing well while quietly hurting, Kobe offers a reframe:What you're going through is not for nothing.Kobe Campbell is a licensed trauma therapist, bestselling author, media expert and keynote speaker. Her first book is Why Am I Like This?: How to Break Cycles, Heal From Trauma, and Restore Your FaithScripture referenced: Matthew 11:28-30, Romans 8:28, Psalm 119:29

None of us signed up for the school of adversity. So why does God walk us through it?In this Inside Out episode, Mike Linch builds on his recent conversation with Dr. Harv Powers, licensed clinical psychologist and author of Redemptive Leadership, to explore a powerful idea: God wastes none of it.James 1:2-4 tells us that the testing of our faith produces perseverance, and that perseverance must finish its work so that we may be mature and complete. That doesn't make hard seasons easier, but it does make them purposeful.Mike unpacks why trials come dressed differently in every season of life, what perseverance really is, and how the endurance God builds in you today becomes the strength you use to help someone else tomorrow.Whether your trial is at work, in your marriage, in your finances, or in your family, the question is the same:Will you let God finish His work in you?Scripture: James 1:2-4Inside Out takes a spiritual truth or theme from Mike's latest Linch with a Leader conversation and explores what Scripture has to say about it.

Why do most leaders think competency is the finish line, when it's actually just the beginning?In this episode of Linch with a Leader, Mike Linch sits down with Dr. Harv Powers, licensed clinical psychologist, pastor, and author of Redemptive Leadership, to explore the five stages every leader moves through on the way to genuine influence.Drawing from over 40 years working with leaders in crisis, Harv explains why most leaders don't fail because they lack skill or knowledge — they fail at the level of character. He shares the darkest season of his own life, when his marriage ended and he resigned from his job feeling like a complete failure, and how that exact crucible became the foundation for everything he now does helping leaders navigate their own breaking points.Mike and Harv unpack Harv's Redemptive Leadership framework, including the stages of Competency, Intelligence, Character, Transformation and Redemption, and explore why emotional intelligence is the number one predictor of success in any field. Harv explains why our shadows never fully disappear and must instead be stewarded, why every leader eventually faces their own "well of Midian" moment, and why the leaders who resist their crucible season often stall out right where they are.They also discuss one of the most freeing truths in leadership: God doesn't use us in spite of our brokenness. He uses us because of it.And for leaders in the middle of their own crisis, Harv offers a powerful reframe:Name it. Own it. Steward it.Dr. Harv Powers is a licensed clinical psychologist, ordained minister, and president of The Redimere Group, a faith-based nonprofit focused on leadership development for faith-based leaders and organizations. He is the author of Redemptive Leadership and has spent over 40 years working with leaders in crisis around the world.Read 'Redemptive Leadership': https://www.amazon.com/dp/0998789690?lv=shuf&channelId=500&plpRedirect=mhFallback

Every leader carries weight, but Jesus never meant for you to carry it alone.In this Inside Out episode, Mike builds on his conversation with Dr. Barry Corey, president of Biola University and co-author of Necessary Burdens, to unpack Matthew 11:28-30: "Come to me, all who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest."Mike breaks down the difference between the burdens we take on ourselves and the ones placed on us by others' expectations, and why Jesus didn't come to help us manage those burdens better. He came to carry them for us. The question every leader has to answer isn't whether they'll carry burdens. It's whether they'll carry them alone, or hand them to the people around them and the Savior above them.Scripture: Matthew 11:28-30

You can crumble, or you can crumple. One is destruction. The other is something you can still open back up and straighten out.In this episode, Mike sits down with Dr. Barry Corey, president of Biola University and co-author (with Dr. John Townsend) of the new book Necessary Burdens, to talk honestly about the weight every leader carries, and why almost no one talks about it.Barry explains why the person at the top of any organization carries burdens no one else fully understands: the isolation of having no true peer, the criticism that comes with embodying an entire institution, the pull of unchecked temptation, the discipline of discretion, and the quiet fear of becoming irrelevant. Left unaddressed, these burdens can crumble a leader. Rightly carried, they can be the very thing that builds one.Jesus said, "My yoke is easy, my burden is light" (Matthew 11:28-30) and this conversation is about what it actually looks like to carry leadership's weight in a way that strengthens you rather than breaks you.

Do you see what's coming before it happens or only after it's a crisis?In this Inside Out episode, Mike Linch builds on his recent conversation with pattern-recognition expert and bestselling author Les McKeown to explore a powerful idea: every organization, church, and team moves through a predictable life cycle, and the leaders who thrive are the ones who can see the shift coming before everyone else does.1 Chronicles 12:32 tells us about the sons of Issachar, 200 leaders who "understood the signs of the times and knew the best course for Israel to take." That kind of discernment isn't just business instinct — it's a spiritual gift God gives leaders who walk closely with Him.Mike unpacks what it means to lead from the inside out, how staying close to the Lord sharpens our ability to recognize warning signs before they become disasters, and why King Saul lost that gift while King David gained it.Whether you're leading a business, a church, a team, or a family, the question is the same:Are you seeing what's ahead, or only reacting to what's already happened?Scripture: 1 Chronicles 12:32Inside Out takes a spiritual truth or theme from Mike's latest Linch with a Leader conversation and explores what Scripture has to say about it.