Podcast
Next Step Leadership
Hosted by Chris Maxwell & Tracy Reynolds · EN
Next Step Leadership is a podcast dedicated to helping you make your next step your best step. Your next step could very well determine the trajectory or direction of your life. Where we step, how we step, and when we step are all vital considerations for your next step. Chris Maxwell and Tracy Reynolds combine decades of experience in ministry, higher education, writing, music, leading organizations, and developing teams to inspire you to aspire in life one step at a time. We desire to assist you in making your next step your very best step.
38episodes
Episodes
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Interview with Peter Greer, Part 2 - Season 6, Episode 20
4d ago00:23:03Tap to summarizeContinuing the conversation, Chris Maxwell and Tracy Reynolds talk with Peter Greer about long-term leadership health, accountability, and resilience. This episode focuses on his book How Leaders Lose Their Way: And How to Make Sure It Doesn’t Happen to You. Greer provides practical ways leaders can remain grounded amid pressure, success, and responsibility. Learn from conversations about pastoral and leadership pressure, and how no one expected to make the poor choices they made. Peter offers wisdom on shared leadership, spiritual and emotional safeguards, and the habits that help leaders stay faithful over the long haul. Listeners will be encouraged to lead with humility, integrity, and a renewed commitment to sustainable, Christ-centered leadership.https://www.peterkgreer.com/https://www.peterkgreer.com/books/https://www.hopeinternational.org/
Transcribe →Interview with Peter Greer, Part 1 - Season 6, Episode 19
2w ago00:22:57Tap to summarizeIn this episode, Chris Maxwell and Tracy Reynolds welcome global leader and author Peter Greer for an honest discussion about leadership calling, drift, and integrity. Drawing from How Leaders Lose Their Way: And How to Make Sure It Doesn’t Happen to You, Peter shares insights from his leadership journey and research into the subtle patterns that often lead leaders off course. Leadership can be a dangerous place to live. We can learn from the failures of others. The conversation explores warning signs of drift, the dangers of isolation, and the importance of accountability in sustaining faithful leadership over time. Peter encourages us to not just know what others have done wrong, but to humbly make sure it doesn't happen to us. https://www.peterkgreer.com/https://www.peterkgreer.com/books/https://www.hopeinternational.org/
Transcribe →Interview with JR Briggs, Part 2 - Season 6, Episode 18
3w ago00:25:49Tap to summarizeWe often forget that questions can shape culture, faith, and community. In this follow-up conversation, Chris Maxwell and Tracy Reynolds continue their dialogue with J.R. Briggs, focusing on how better questions shape organizational culture, spiritual formation, and community life. J.R. reflects on how curiosity builds trust, prevents isolation, and creates environments where people feel heard and valued. The episode offers practical wisdom for leaders seeking to cultivate thoughtful teams, healthier conversations, and deeper faith through intentional questioning rather than quick conclusions. The Art of Asking Better Questions: Pursuing Stronger Relationships, Healthier Leadership, and Deeper Faith is a book needed in today's culture. Kairos Partnerships - https://www.kairospartnerships.org/aboutResilient Leaders Podcast - https://www.kairospartnerships.org/podcastshttps://www.amazon.com/stores/J.-R.-Briggs/author/B001K8DD78?ref=ap_rdr&shoppingPortalEnabled=true&ccs_id=7dc495b0-1344-467d-aa98-1d5dc5aeae18
Transcribe →Interview with JR Briggs, Part 1 - Season 6, Episode 17
4w ago00:23:33Tap to summarizeIn this episode, Chris Maxwell and Tracy Reynolds welcome pastor and author J.R. Briggs for a rich conversation about curiosity, calling, and the transformative role of questions in leadership and faith. Drawing from The Art of Asking Better Questions: Pursuing Stronger Relationships, Healthier Leadership, and Deeper Faith, J.R. shares his personal journey and the experiences that shaped his pastoral heart and leadership philosophy. The discussion highlights why leaders often default to answers instead of questions and how curiosity can strengthen relationships, deepen faith, and foster healthier leadership cultures. Welcome curiosity. And be ready for interesting, inspiring, and challenging questions--too often forgotten in this world of brief, shallow chats. Kairos Partnerships - https://www.kairospartnerships.org/aboutResilient Leaders Podcast - https://www.kairospartnerships.org/podcastshttps://www.amazon.com/stores/J.-R.-Briggs/author/B001K8DD78?ref=ap_rdr&shoppingPortalEnabled=true&ccs_id=7dc495b0-1344-467d-aa98-1d5dc5aeae18
Transcribe →Interview with E.K. Strawser, Part 2 - Season 6, Episode 16
Jun 1800:23:29Tap to summarizeThe conversation with Eun Strawser continues with a practical and biblical exploration of shared leadership. Together, Chris, Tracy, and Eun discuss the dangers of leading alone, the temptation to control, and the misconception that leaders must be experts. Eun challenges listeners to ask whether they are willing to share power and truly lead with people rather than over them. Emphasizing that leadership is meant to be done together—as imitators of Jesus—this episode offers wisdom for pastors, church planters, and teams seeking healthier, more faithful ways to flourish with the people God has already given them.https://www.iwacollaborative.com/ekstrawserhttps://www.iwacollaborative.com/books
Transcribe →Interview with E.K Strawser, Part 1 - Season 6, Episode 15
Jun 1100:22:51Tap to summarizeIn this episode, Chris and Tracy welcome E. K. Strawser—pastor, physician, consultant, church planter, and author of You Were Never Meant to Lead Alone. Originally from South Korea, E. K. shares her journey through medical school, ministry, and church planting, reflecting on how her story and place have shaped her leadership. She challenges common assumptions about power, influence, and success, asking hard questions like: Are we drawing crowds or making disciples? Does the church exist just to survive? Grounded in Scripture, particularly Acts and the Epistles, E. K. calls leaders to embrace shared leadership and faithful community.https://www.iwacollaborative.com/ekstrawserhttps://www.iwacollaborative.com/books
Transcribe →Interview with Timothy Jones, Part 2 - Season 6, Episode 14
Jun 400:22:53Tap to summarizeIn this follow-up conversation, Timothy Jones explores the heart of Fully Beloved (pronounced bel-uh-vəd) and why understanding the Trinity as a community of love matters for everyday leadership. Chris and Tracy guide a discussion centered on relationships, rest, and freedom from striving. Timothy explains how knowing we are fully beloved changes the way we relate to God, ourselves, and others—moving leaders from performance and competition into trust and belonging. This episode offers a hopeful reminder that leadership flows best from secure relationships rather than exhausted effort.Website: https://www.revtimothyjones.com/Substack: Tim Jones from Relatable or timothyjones3.substack.com
Transcribe →Interview with Timothy Jones, Part 1 - Season 6, Episode 13
May 2800:22:47Tap to summarizePastor and author Timothy Jones joins the podcast to discuss the deep question beneath our fractured culture: Am I loved? Drawing from his book Fully Beloved, Timothy reflects on his own story, pastoral ministry, and the widespread sense of drift many feel today. He speaks to the loneliness, division, and relational strain present across various Christian traditions and cultural contexts, pointing listeners toward God’s deep, steady, and trustworthy love. This episode invites leaders to consider how their own understanding of love, belonging, and trust shapes the way they lead and care for others.Website: https://www.revtimothyjones.com/Substack: Tim Jones from Relatable or timothyjones3.substack.com
Transcribe →Interview with Isaac Serrano, Part 2 - Season 6, Episode 12
May 2100:24:01Tap to summarizeContinuing the conversation, Isaac Serrano dives deeper into his book When Life Feels Empty. This episode focuses on the difference between destructive emptiness and the kind of emptiness God uses to form us. Isaac speaks candidly to leaders who feel drained, alone, and running on empty, offering practical wisdom on staying present with God when answers feel distant. He emphasizes the importance of gratitude—beginning with our first waking thoughts—and points to Jesus, who gave thanks even on the night He was betrayed. This conversation offers hope, perspective, and gentle guidance for leaders navigating quiet, uncertain seasons.https://www.isaacserrano.com/
Transcribe →Interview with Isaac Serrano, Part 1 - Season 6, Episode 11
May 1400:22:54Tap to summarizeIn this opening conversation, Chris and Tracy sit down with pastor, theologian, and author Isaac Serrano to explore his personal story and calling. Isaac reflects on the early influence of a youth pastor who believed in him, entrusted him with responsibility, and helped him grow in faith even when he felt out of place within his surrounding culture. He shares how those formative experiences shaped his desire to create spaces where the next generation can ask honest academic questions, wrestle with real-life issues, and arrive at faithful, biblical conclusions. Together, they discuss leadership, identity, and why so many faithful people experience seasons of spiritual emptiness—even while doing meaningful work.https://www.isaacserrano.com/
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