Podcast Summary

Podcast: Jabin Chavez Leadership Podcast
Episode: The Shepherd’s Heart of Every Great Christian Leader Feat. Jacob Aranza | #063
Date: September 10, 2025
Host: Jabin Chavez
Guest: Pastor Jacob Aranza

Overview:

This episode zeroes in on the essential call for Christian leaders, especially pastors, to possess the heart of a shepherd. Host Jabin Chavez and guest Pastor Jacob Aranza engage in an enriching dialogue about authentic pastoral ministry, spiritual discipline, the legacy of mentorship, the balance between public and private leadership, and the practical and spiritual dimensions of caring for both individual congregants and affluent “kings.” With anecdotes, wisdom, and practical tools, the discussion is a masterclass in redefining what greatness in Christian leadership truly means.

Key Discussion Points & Insights:

1. The Power of Mentorship and Spiritual Legacy

• Jacob Aranza’s Early Years with Leonard Ravenhill (00:04):
  • Jacob lived and was personally discipled by revivalist and prayer leader Leonard Ravenhill for four years starting in 1984.
  • Prayer and passion were central: “We prayed eight to ten hours a day. ... The passion he had for God never waned and only grew up until the end.” (Jacob Aranza, 06:48)
  • Ravenhill’s memorable aphorisms:
    • “The man who’s not praying is playing. The pastor’s not praying is straying.” (Jacob Aranza quoting Ravenhill, 05:25)
    • “We have many singers, few clingers, many pastors, few wrestlers, failing here we fail everywhere.”
    • “Revival is when God gets so sick and tired of being misrepresented that He shows up Himself.” (Jacob Aranza, 11:53)
• A Revivalist’s Honest Appraisal:
  • Ravenhill saw himself as “the revivalist or the prophet that failed because he never saw the revival he believed would happen. But the truth is he has seen it ... through me and many others.” (Jacob Aranza, 10:40)

2. Shepherding vs. Evangelistic Ministry (12:32)

• The contrast between being an evangelist and a pastor is stark:
  • “Being an evangelist is nothing like being a pastor. The only thing in common are a microphone and a platform ... As a pastor, I’m thinking about, how are the people?” (Jacob Aranza, 13:19)
  • True pastoral ministry involves involvement in life’s most sacred moments—funerals, weddings, hospital visits—regardless of church size.

Importance of Presence and Accessibility

• Both Jabin and Jacob stress being physically present in the lobby, praying, hugging, noticing needs, and building human connection, regardless of how big the church gets.

  • “I still do weddings and funerals. I still do hospital visits. I don’t live in the green room.” (Jacob Aranza, 13:19)
  • “Pastoring is shepherding. It’s Father. You don’t graduate from that because your church gets bigger.” (Jacob Aranza, 21:54)

• Memorable Moment (09:55):

  • Ravenhill’s loving rebuke: "Obviously you didn’t pray all afternoon. ... You try to be too funny. You want people to like you too much. And you didn’t have any anointing."

3. The Role of Compassion and Suffering with Others

• “What the word compassion means: to suffer with. What we love about Jesus is he suffered for us and he suffers with us.” (Jacob Aranza, 22:18)
• Practical wisdom: “Do for one what you wish you could do for all. Don’t get overwhelmed by the all.” (Jabin Chavez, 22:59)

4. Primary Counsel to Pastors (24:09)

• Love Your Wife:
  • “The greatest gift you’ll ever give to your church is loving your wife... Jesus died for the church already. He wants you to die for your bride. Wow. He died for His, now you need to die for yours.” (Jacob Aranza, 24:10-24:59)
  • Healthy marriages are foundational to healthy churches and teams.
• Be What You Want to Reproduce:
  • “Everything reproduces after its own kind. ... Your staff will never be doing any better than a marriage is doing. Never, never, never.” (Jacob Aranza, 25:29)

5. The Priority of Anointing, Prayer, and Living in the Spirit

• Moving beyond mere ministry skill to supernatural anointing:

  • Jabin: “Getting up on stage with an anointing...is the game changer to your ministry where you leave being a TED Talk.”

• Developing a Life of Prayer (28:41-32:15):

  • “When you see God before you see anybody else, when you hear from him before you hear from anybody else, ... you go from a prayer time to a prayer life to a life of prayer.” (Jacob Aranza, 29:08-29:27)
  • Leading by example: Jacob’s children grew up seeing him pray daily—now they do the same with their families.

• Small, Practical Steps:

  • “See God before you see anybody else. ... Speak to Him before you speak to anybody else.” (Jacob Aranza, 31:14)

6. Cultivating a Prayer Culture in Family and Church (34:46)

• Praying with one’s spouse is essential security for wives and a vital part of a pastor’s ministry.
  • “I am astounded by the Christian men that don’t pray with their wife. ... Your wife gets no more security ever. Any greater security than when she hears you hugging her, holding her hand, saying, God, I pray for our children.” (Jacob Aranza, 35:03-35:14)
• Jabin notes the transformative power of ending every phone call or conversation with a prayer.

7. Shepherding Affluent People: Making Kings Rich Where They’re Poor (37:28)

• Jacob defines “kings” as those with both influence and affluence.

  • “When you work with affluent people, most of them have exchanged their faith and their family to get their finances. ... You will often find people that are very financially rich, but very relationally poor.” (Jacob Aranza, 38:10-38:22)
  • Ministry priority: “My job as a pastor is to see the areas where you lack and to try to make you rich. ... I’ve rarely ever asked anyone for anything that I had not first gone in and made serious deposits into the areas of their greatest lack.” (Jacob Aranza, 39:14-39:58)
  • Relationships are like bank accounts—serve first, then receive.

• Tithing and Giving (41:54-46:05):

  • Jabin and Jacob discuss both sides: those who feel their small gift is insignificant and the wealthy who question effectiveness.
  • “You have to empower that group: no, you are a part of this. It matters. ... On the flip side, to the wealthy... you also have to let them know: we can steward and be responsible.” (Jabin Chavez, 46:05)
  • Stewardship and trust are key to unlocking generosity.

• Leadership Principle:

  • “We all follow people for two reasons: Because, number one, we believe they love us, and number two, we trust. ... If they love you and they trust you and they believe in the mission, then ... what can I afford to do? Or what does God want me to do by faith, even if I can’t afford it?” (Jacob Aranza, 48:14-48:37)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments:

• “Nobody can have more of God than me. I get to decide how much of God I get, not them.”
  — Leonard Ravenhill to Jacob Aranza, relating a core spiritual lesson (07:38)

• “Pastoring is shepherding. ... You don’t graduate from that because your church gets bigger.”
  — Jacob Aranza (21:54)

• “You backslide in the green room.”
  — Jacob Aranza on the dangers of pastoral isolation (22:18)

• “Do for one what you wish you could do for all. Don’t get overwhelmed by the all.”
  — Jabin Chavez (22:59)

• “The greatest gift you’ll ever give to your church is loving your wife.”
  — Jacob Aranza (24:10)

• “When you see God before you see anybody else ... you go from a prayer time, to a prayer life, to a life of prayer.”
  — Jacob Aranza (29:08-29:27)

• “You want to make them rich where they’re poor.”
  — Jacob Aranza, principle for pastoring influential and affluent people (39:58)

• “All relationships operate on a bank account. ... Everything costs something, just not always money.”
  — Jacob Aranza (40:12-40:22)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:04 – Leonard Ravenhill mentorship stories
• 07:38 – The lesson of spiritual hunger and personal responsibility
• 09:55 – Ravenhill’s feedback after a sermon
• 13:19 – The difference between evangelist and pastor
• 14:31 – The role of a pastor in life’s pivotal moments
• 17:19 – The importance of being present with congregation
• 21:54 – Pastoring is shepherding: never outgrow it
• 24:10 – Wedding and marriage: The greatest gift to the church
• 29:08 – Life of prayer vs. mere prayer time
• 34:46 – Praying in family and church culture
• 35:03 – Praying with your spouse
• 38:10 – Helping affluent leaders become rich where they’re poor
• 46:05 – Stewarding money and empowering every giver
• 48:14 – Leadership built on love and trust

Conclusion

Jabin Chavez and Jacob Aranza deliver a heartfelt, practical, and spiritually potent call for leaders to never lose the heart of a shepherd. Whether mentoring future revivalists, stewarding a large church, or investing in wealthy marketplace leaders, foundational themes of love, presence, prayer, and practical care echo through every story and principle. The episode is a timely reminder that, for Christian leaders, greatness is measured by their capacity to care intimately and to lead authentically—never losing sight of the why behind the what.