Every leader wrestles with insecurity. For years, I didn’t realize how much of my leadership was fueled by fear. Fear of not knowing enough. Fear of looking incompetent. Fear of losing value if I wasn’t needed. In this clip, I share about what it’s like to lead from insecurity—and how it quietly drives our behavior, our learning habits, our decision-making, and even our relationships with our teams. I talk about how a coach helped me see that not all “love of learning” is actually curiosity… sometimes it’s anxiety in disguise. Sign up for the next webinar: https://stan.store/theinbetween/p/healing-your-church-culture-live-webinar-nje9yb63

Hey there! Coffee Break Q&A is tomorrow at 4:30 pm EST. What's on your mind? What questions do you want to discuss? Share them in the comments below!

When the culture at your church resists change, it’s rarely about the change itself. The culture at your church is the result of beliefs and behaviors. If your culture is slow to change or others seem to resist it, it is because every change touches a mindset, and every mindset is tied to something that is deeply valued — whether good or bad, whether from a place of security or insecurity. So if you’ve ever introduced an idea, a new process, or a different way of doing things — and your pastor or team shuts down, deflects, or resists it — here’s what’s actually happening: You’re touching a mindset. And mindsets don’t shift overnight. We want culture to be like a light switch. But unfortunately, you don’t flip it on, flip it off, and suddenly things get healthy. That’s just not how culture works. Changing the culture in your church will require an approach that is much more like how a light dimmer works. It moves slowly. Incrementally. In degrees. So instead of expecting things to work like flipping the light on and expecting everyone to see what you see… you start shining just enough light for others to begin imagining a different way forward. Oftentimes, the way that new, different, or even better gets experienced or seen is through someone else modeling it first. They’ve got to believe it first before they buy into it. So if your church culture feels slow or resistant, remember: It’s more about beliefs than change. It will require a mindset shift. And it might be best to use a dimmer to start shining light on your idea instead of expecting everyone to use a light switch. And of course… part of this is a waiting game. It will require deep patience. And it’s always worth asking whether you’re actually being invited to help change the culture. If not… it may take longer than you think.

👋🏼 Hey there, I’m Evan. I’m the coach of The Alignment Lab. I spent 18 years in full-time pastoral ministry and over 20 years at the same church prior to my own major life transition. I’m also the host of The In-Between podcast — where I chat about transition with guests such as Suzanne Stabile, Andy Squyres, Kathryn Maack, Tyler Reagin, Kristi Gaultiere, Michael Shahan, and more. After 18 years in pastoral ministry — and over 20 years at the same church — I stepped away. It wasn’t just a career change. It was an unraveling of a life I had built. I’ve successfully walked through: 👉 Vocational upheaval and change. 👉 The grief of relational loss. 👉 The deep identity questions that come when the role you built your life closes. I’ve also experienced what’s on the other side: 👉 Rebuilding trust in myself and in God’s ongoing work in my life. 👉 Recognizing my strengths and skills still matter, even outside the context I once relied on. 👉 A new season that’s aligned with calling and meaning, instead of the roles and expectations I thought I had to live up to. That’s why I created this community. So you don’t just grit your teeth and get through this season — but allow it to become the space that shapes you, realigns you, and sets you up to flourish on the other side. Oh yeah, I'm into collecting arrowheads, a gym rat, and writing content, lots of it. What about you??

Hey there! Coffee Break Q&A is tomorrow at 4:30 pm EST. What's on your mind? What questions do you want to discuss? Share them in the comments below!