Lausanne Movement Podcast

Why do so many leadership transitions fail—and what does it actually take to hand over leadership in a way that strengthens, rather than harms, the ministry?
Summary
In this episode of the Lausanne Movement Podcast, Jason Watson speaks with Steve Woodworth about one of the most critical and often overlooked aspects of leadership: succession. Drawing on over 40 years of experience in Christian nonprofit leadership—and his recent transition out of a CEO role—Steve explains why so many transitions fail and how leaders can navigate them with humility, intentionality, and a deep sense of stewardship.

Guest Bio
Steve Woodworth is the founder of Masterworks, a marketing agency serving Christian ministries globally, and a trusted advisor to nonprofit leaders navigating growth and transition. With more than four decades of leadership experience, Steve has coached numerous organizations through succession and is the author of Lost in Transition: Lessons from the Most Disastrous and Successful Ministry Successions, a guide to helping leaders finish well and pass leadership on faithfully.

Main Points

Many leadership transitions fail—and often unnecessarily. A lack of planning, communication, and humility can derail even the most promising successions.

Succession is a process, not an event. Healthy transitions take time, involving mentoring, shared leadership, and gradual handover.

Leaders are stewards, not owners. Leadership is entrusted for a season and must eventually be passed on.

Letting go is emotionally complex. Even prepared leaders can struggle to release control and allow others to lead differently.

Open-handed leadership builds trust. Intentionally giving away responsibility develops the next leader and strengthens the organization.

Pride is one of the greatest threats. Both outgoing and incoming leaders must walk in humility for transitions to succeed.

If this episode encouraged you, subscribe to the Lausanne Movement Podcast and share it with a leader, board member, or mentor navigating leadership transitions. We’d also love for you to join the conversation in the Lausanne Movement Podcast space on the Lausanne Action Hub, where you can share your thoughts and engage with our podcast community—and if this episode encouraged you, please consider leaving a rating or review so others can discover it too.

Lausanne Movement Podcast Archive

https://lausanne.org/podcast/the-making-of-a-leader-how-god-forms-character-calling-and-influence-over-a-lifetime-with-richard-clinton

https://lausanne.org/podcast/how-are-resilient-disciples-really-formed-and-why-it-matters-for-mission-rick-hill

https://lausanne.org/podcast/the-hidden-gap-in-christian-leadership-knowing-christ-vs-becoming-like-him-herman-moldez

Links & Resources

Lost in Transition: Lessons from the Most Disastrous and Successful Ministry Successions — Steve Woodworth - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D7GF49BK?lv=shuf&channelId=500&plpRedirect=mhFallback 

https://www.masterworksagency.com — Masterworks agency website

https://www.masterworksagency.com/succession — Leadership succession resources

What if the church’s leadership crisis is really a discipleship crisis?
Summary
In this episode of the Lausanne Movement Podcast, Jason Watson speaks with Josh Benadum about why Christlike leadership begins with discipleship. Drawing from his experience in house church movements, life-on-life disciple-making, and conversations with global leaders at the Fourth Lausanne Congress, Josh invites the church to look beneath the surface of the leadership crisis and recover the slow, relational work of forming everyday believers into the likeness and mission of Jesus.

Together, Jason and Josh explore why leadership cannot be reduced to platform, gifting, or specialized roles, and why the church must invest deeply in ordinary Christians who are equipped to make disciples in their homes, workplaces, communities, and churches. This conversation is a call to recover leadership as the overflow of a life being formed by Christ, sustained through humility, guarded against hidden traps, and kept in motion for the sake of God’s mission.

Guest Bio
Josh Benadum is a pastor, disciple-maker, and ministry coach based in Orlando, Florida. He and his wife, Meri, serve with Acacia House Churches and are involved in developing and encouraging house church and microchurch movements. Josh also works with Brave Future, a global collective that connects house church and microchurch movements for mutual encouragement, learning, and collaboration. He is the author of A Life That Leads, a book focused on pursuing Christ and impacting others through everyday discipleship and intentional relationships.

Main Points

The leadership crisis is a discipleship crisis. The church does not simply need more gifted leaders; it needs deeply formed disciples whose leadership flows from life with Jesus.

Christlike leadership begins with formation. Christian leadership is not primarily about role, platform, or skill, but about becoming the kind of person who lives and leads in the way of Christ.

Every day, believers must be equipped for mission. The future of the church’s witness depends on ordinary Christians who see their lives as part of the Great Commission.

Life-on-life discipleship is essential. Mentoring, apprenticeship, and intentional relationships are central to forming leaders who can endure and multiply.

Churches must make time for disciple-making. If leaders believe in forming others, they must prioritize personal investment over simply maintaining programmes or platforms.

Hidden traps can undermine long-term fruitfulness. Spiritual pride, legalism, mission drift, materialism, and bitterness can slowly take leaders off course.

Christlike leaders stay in motion. Faithful leadership means continuing to grow, serve, disciple, and follow Jesus until the end.

Call to Action
If this episode encouraged you, subscribe to the Lausanne Movement Podcast and share it with a pastor, mentor, disciple-maker, or emerging leader in your life. We’d also love for you to join the conversation in the Lausanne Movement Podcast space on the Lausanne Action Hub, where you can share your reflections and engage with our podcast community. And if this conversation helped you, please consider leaving a rating or review so others can discover the podcast too.

Lausanne Movement Podcast Archive

https://lausanne.org/podcast/the-making-of-a-leader-how-god-forms-character-calling-and-influence-over-a-lifetime-with-richard-clinton

https://lausanne.org/podcast/how-are-resilient-disciples-really-formed-and-why-it-matters-for-mission-rick-hill

https://lausanne.org/podcast/the-art-of-whole-life-mentorship-an-interview-with-ole-magnus-olasfrud

Links & Resources

https://alifethatleads.com/ — Josh Benadum’s book and resources on Christlike leadership and disciple-making

https://www.bravefuture.org/ — A global learning community focused on microchurch and disciple-making movements

https://www.100movements.org/books/a-life-that-leads-josh-benadum — Publisher page for A Life That Leads

The Master Plan of Evangelism by Robert Coleman

The Radical Disciple by John Stott

Discipling in a Multicultural World by Ajith Fernando

How can the global church speak about sexuality with both biblical conviction and the compassion of Christ?

Summary
In this episode of the Lausanne Movement Podcast, Jason Watson speaks with Vaughan Roberts about why sexuality has become one of the most pressing mission conversations facing the global church. Drawing on Scripture, pastoral experience, and his own personal story, Vaughan helps listeners reflect on identity in Christ, the goodness of God’s design, the false promises of the sexual revolution, and the need for churches to speak with both grace and truth.

Guest Bio
Vaughan Roberts is Rector of St Ebbe’s Church in Oxford and President of The Proclamation Trust. He is a pastor, speaker, and author of Full of Grace and Truth: The Gospel and Sexuality in the Global Church, a short book based on his Lausanne presentation that offers a biblical and pastoral vision for engaging questions of sexuality with compassion and faithfulness.

Main Points

Sexuality is now relevant in the global mission conversation. Vaughan explains how the sexual revolution has become a major barrier for many people engaging with Christianity, and how the internet is discipling younger generations around the world.

Identity in Christ is deeper than sexual desire. Vaughan shares from his own story, distinguishing between same-sex attraction as part of his reality and Christ as his true identity.

The Bible begins with a positive vision of sexuality. Vaughan frames biblical sexuality around four truths: God is for sex, sex is for marriage, marriage is for life, and life is for Christ.

Marriage points beyond itself to Christ and the church. Human marriage is not the ultimate answer to our deepest longings; it points to the greater union between Christ and his people.

Shame and isolation make discipleship harder. Vaughan urges leaders to remember that when they speak about sexuality, they are speaking to real people in the room who need both truth and grace.

The church must be full of grace and truth. Leaders must resist both compromise and condemnation, offering courageous biblical teaching alongside the open hands of Christ.

Call to Action
If this episode encouraged you, subscribe to the Lausanne Movement Podcast and share it with a pastor, ministry leader, parent, or young adult who is seeking to engage questions of sexuality with biblical conviction and Christlike compassion. We’d also love for you to join the conversation in the Lausanne Movement Podcast space on the Lausanne Action Hub, where you can share your thoughts and engage with our podcast community—and if this episode encouraged you, please consider leaving a rating or review so others can discover it too.

Lausanne Movement Podcast Archive

Redeeming Human Identity: Exploring the Intersection of Scripture, AI, Biotechnology, Gender and Human Sexuality with Dr Carmen Imes & Dr Matthew Niermann

Restoring Biblical Sexuality — Lausanne Movement — Vaughan’s Fourth Lausanne Congress presentation on sexuality through the lens of creation, fall, and redemption.

Links & Resources

Full of Grace and Truth: The Gospel and Sexuality in the Global Church — Vaughan Roberts’ short book on the gospel and sexuality in the global church.

Living Out — Resources for Christians, churches, and leaders seeking to think biblically and pastorally about sexuality, identity, singleness, marriage, and same-sex attraction.

Restoring Biblical Sexuality – Worldwide | Living Out — A Living Out post sharing Vaughan’s Lausanne talk as a model for speaking biblically and graciously about sexuality.

St Ebbe’s Church, Oxford — The church where Vaughan serves as Rector.

Genesis 2:24, Ephesians 5, Revelation 21 — Key passages Vaughan references in his biblical overview of sex, marriage, Christ, and the church.

What does it take to bring the gospel where Christ is not yet known—and remain faithful for the long haul?

Summary

In this episode of the Lausanne Movement Podcast, Jason Watson speaks with Janelle Stoops about calling, cost, perseverance, and leadership formation in frontier mission. Drawing from her years in Central Asia and her current leadership with A3, Janelle shares what she has learned about reaching unreached and unengaged people groups, preparing leaders for mission, and cultivating rhythms that sustain faithful service over time.

Main Points

Calling begins with surrendered obedience. Janelle shares how a sense of calling at age 16 eventually led her to Central Asia as a young missionary.

Frontier mission is costly and often slow. Life among unreached people requires perseverance, cultural humility, language learning, and faithful obedience when visible fruit takes time.

God is already at work among the unreached. Stories of dreams, visions, digital outreach, and spiritual hunger remind us that mission begins with joining what God is already doing.

Prayer must come before strategy. Janelle emphasizes extraordinary prayer as foundational for ministry among unreached and unengaged peoples.

Disciple-making should be relational and reproducible. The gospel spreads naturally through families, friendships, local believers, and simple practices that new disciples can carry forward.

Leadership must be formed for the long haul. Competence and charisma should never outpace character; healthy leaders need spiritual formation, rhythms of silence and solitude, and wisdom for each season of life.

 

Call to Action

If this episode encouraged you, subscribe to the Lausanne Movement Podcast and share it with a leader, missionary, or young person discerning a call to mission. We’d also love for you to join the conversation in the Lausanne Movement Podcast space on the Lausanne Action Hub, where you can share your thoughts and engage with our podcast community—and if this episode encouraged you, please consider leaving a rating or review so others can discover it too.

Guest Bio

Janelle Stoops serves as U.S. President of A3, bringing experience in global missions leadership, organizational strategy, and cross-cultural engagement. She previously served with her family as a church planter in Central Asia, later worked with Frontiers in strategic leadership roles, and now helps strengthen A3’s work of developing Christlike leaders for mission and multiplication. A3’s announcement of her appointment describes her as uniquely qualified to lead its U.S. ministry into its next chapter of growth and impact.

Lausanne Movement Podcast Archive

The Making of a Leader: How God Forms Character, Calling, and Influence Over a Lifetime with Richard Clinton

The Art of Whole Life Mentorship: An Interview with Ole-Magnus Olasfrud

Training Christlike Leaders for the Harvest: Preparing Leaders in Every Nation and Every Sector of Society

 

Links & Resources

A3 — Learn more about A3’s work developing Christlike leaders who multiply churches and transform communities.

A3 Leaders — Explore stories, updates, and resources from A3’s global leadership community.

Mission Frontiers Article by Janelle Stoops — Janelle’s article on using AI tools with wisdom in nonprofit and mission contexts.

Why do so many leaders know Christ deeply—yet struggle to become like him?
 

In this episode of the Lausanne Movement Podcast, Jason Watson speaks with Herman Moldez about the often-overlooked gap between knowing Christ and becoming like him. Drawing from decades of ministry experience, Herman explores how true Christlike leadership is formed not just through knowledge and skill, but through deep inner transformation, humility, and intentional mentoring relationships.

Main Points

There is a gap between knowing and becoming. Many leaders are well-trained in Scripture but struggle to embody Christlike character because inner formation is neglected.

The journey from head to heart takes time. Transformation is not automatic—what we know does not easily translate into how we live.

Christlike leadership is formed in hidden places. Leaders are shaped not on the front stage, but in humility, anonymity, and faithful service.

Culture often shapes leaders more than Christ. Without intentional formation, churches can produce leaders driven by success, power, or influence rather than Christlike humility.

Mentoring must focus on the heart. Transformation happens through trusted relationships that ask honest, value-driven questions about motives and inner life.

Leaders need deep, honest friendships. Beyond networking, leaders must cultivate “heart-to-heart” relationships where they can be known, process pain, and grow in Christlikeness.

 

Call to Action

If this episode encouraged you, subscribe to the Lausanne Movement Podcast and share it with a leader or mentor in your life. We’d also love for you to join the conversation in the Lausanne Movement Podcast space on the Lausanne Action Hub, where you can share your thoughts and engage with our global community—and please consider leaving a rating or review so others can discover the podcast too.
 

Lausanne Movement Podcast Archive

https://lausanne.org/podcast/the-making-of-a-leader-how-god-forms-character-calling-and-influence-over-a-lifetime-with-richard-clinton

https://lausanne.org/podcast/the-art-of-whole-life-mentorship-an-interview-with-ole-magnus-olasfrud

https://lausanne.org/podcast/delphine-fanfon-on-leading-with-vulnerability-and-humility-lessons-from-the-african-church-reaching-the-next-generation-cultivating-identity-and-purpose-in-christ-and-moving-forward-from-failure

 

Links & Resources

MentorLink International — https://mentorlink.org/

IFES (International Fellowship of Evangelical Students) — https://ifesworld.org

Asian Access - https://www.a3leaders.org/ 

Lausanne Podcast Action Hub - https://collaborate.lausanne.org/share/FF0jv_MJcqEcpuoK?utm_source=manual

 

Guest Bio

Pastor Herman A. Moldez Served with IVCF Philippines (IFES) for 25 years, discipling and mentoring students, and 3 terms as General Secretary. In 2003, he started the ministry of mentoring pastors and Christian leaders with MentorLink International where is part of the Global Leadership Team and in 2017 started A3 (formerly Asian Access) Philippines where peer mentoring is integrated in the two-year training of 16-18 trainees per cohort. He is also the Senior Pastor of Faith Baptist Church in Quezon City, Philippines. Aside from mentoring pastors, Pastor Herman and his wife, Mercy Moldez, former Staff Training Directress of IVCF Philippines, facilitate spiritual retreats for pastors and Christian leaders.