Ep 211: On Calling, Counsel and Courageous No's (with Priscilla Shirer)

Speaker A: That's why one of the major, um, important characteristics of a great leader is humility. Because if you're not teachable, if you're not able. If I'm not able to receive advice from someone who's been here longer and done it longer than me and has proven by their, the fruit of their life that they've done it, well, then, man, I'm going to derail my own self if I'm not willing to listen to wise counsel. So humility matters. Foreign.

Speaker B: Hey, friends. I'm Whitney Putnam. Um, and welcome to the Global Leadership Podcast. I'm so glad you're joining us today. I'm going to ask you a question. As a leader, how do you discern what is yours to truly carry? If you're like me, it's more challenging than it looks. Not every opportunity is an assignment. Not every open door deserves your. Yes. And for leaders who want to be faithful with their influence, that tension can be really difficult to navigate. In this episode, GLN President and CEO David Ashcraft sits down with Priscilla Shire for a thoughtful conversation about calling humility wise counsel and the kind of leadership that is shaped by integrity over time. Priscilla is an author, Bible teacher, speaker, and actress whose work has encouraged leaders and people of faith around the world. She is also part of the faculty for the 2026 Global Leadership Summit. And in this conversation, she brings a deeply practical perspective on what it means to lead with intention. Together, David and Priscilla talk about the value of having wiser voices in your life. How to tell the difference between fear, guilt, and a true yes, why margin matters, and how leaders can create what Priscilla calls green space for rest, clarity, and the unexpected work of God. And whether you're leading an organization, a church, a team, a family, or simply trying to steward the influence God has given you, this conversation is a reminder that your assignment is sacred and how you lead in the everyday moments matter. Here's David Ashcraft with Priscilla Shire.

Speaker C: Well, hello, Priscilla. It's great to have you join us on, um, the Global Leadership Network podcast. Thank you for taking time with us. It's great to have you with us.

Speaker A: Of course. I'm so honored. Thanks. Appreciate it.

Speaker C: So Priscilla is part of our summit faculty now and excited about her speaking at the 2026 summit. And Priscilla, a lot of people know you because of your teaching, because of your books, uh, even acting. And I'll ask you a few questions about that in a little bit, but love to even go back a little bit, find out a little bit more about your family and even influences in your life that shaped the way you think or even shaped your career calling in life, and maybe your views on leadership. So describe some of your background to us, if you don't mind.

Speaker A: Yes, I did grow up around, um, strong men and strong women in a very healthy way. And I'm so grateful about that, looking back, because now I realize the gift that it is to be a kid, and you look around you and you see spiritually, emotionally, um, healthy adults who love serving the Lord. We grew up in a church context, um, and I also got to see in that context what leadership looks like, where you've got a huge pool, really, of volunteers, people who have to be not only committed to their faith, but they have to be committed to the vision of the institution of that church that they're in, which means that you have to care about people for them to want to follow the vision and the passion of the leader within that community. And so I got to see people who wanted to serve, who wanted to be a part of something bigger than themselves. And that spoke to the fact that we had healthy leadership. So I didn't realize it then, but now looking back, I'm like, wow, thank you, God, that you put me in the context where I saw integrity, I saw compassion. I saw leaders who didn't pull people, but kind of walked alongside of them and worked together with them. Servant leadership. So I saw that a lot in my growing up years. And then as I got into my 20s and into my 30s, I happened to be matched up always with people who were older than me. And it was a gift because they were 20 years older than me. And I always felt like, how did I get here? How in the world did I get matched up in any capacity? Whether it was in our local church context or, uh, in an organization that I was a part of, or whether I was invited to speak somewhere and I was just sharing a little introduction or emceeing something. But then that put me around all these people who were way more seasoned than I was in whatever their craft or skill was. And, man, I just absorbed it.

Speaker C: Priscilla, at what point did you begin to recognize that you were a leader? Is that something that was instilled in you as a kid growing up, that you were a leader, or did that happen later in life?

Speaker A: Well, I would say both. Uh, it was in my younger years that I do remember adults pointing it out to me that I had friends, that people would gravitate to me, um, and me to them in some senses. But I did have adults that I can remember Would point that out to me, would say and call out of me, hey, Priscilla, you're a leader. So they challenge me in that. They'd affirm it, but then they'd also say, so you better make good decisions. There are younger people watching you. This is when I'm 10. They'd say, but that 7 year old's watching what you just did. Um, so it was ingrained in me a bit that folks saw that in me. And I think that it's a little bit of a cyclical effect where because someone affirms it in you, then you sort of rise up to what you're hearing. People say, um, is a unique gift or talent that you may have or a unique bent that God has entrusted to you. So in my case, that was one of them. And then also communication. Um, I didn't really think about the fact that I was talking too much, um, or out of turn or with the wrong tone and getting in trouble for it. When I was a school girl, well, I remember being disciplined for that. But also my dad in particular, always saying, hey, you know, I think you're getting in trouble for this. But if you ever just surrender it, if you ever mature in it, then that which is getting you in trouble right now actually could be the very thing maybe that God has uniquely wired you to utilize for whatever purposes he has assigned to your life. And so I heard that too, that the thing that I was in trouble for wasn't necessarily negative, it's just I had to redirect it.

Speaker C: Was there a particular instance or was there somebody or a moment where. And you talked just a few m. Moments ago about your dad challenging you and saying you talk a lot. And so maybe that's a gift that you have that you could put to use for God's glory. But were there any turning events for you that you look back and go, man, that was really monumental for you?

Speaker A: Absolutely, um, so many of them. Um, but when I went to college, it was for broadcast journalism. That was the direction I thought I was headed. Very excited about maybe being in news one day, broadcast news. So that's what I went to school for. As a part of my degree, I got an internship at KHCB Radio, which is a radio station in Houston. And so I just interned there. And they gave me this little hour long program where really you're playing music. Um, but every now and then you have the opportunity to show up on the radio and talk for a second, maybe 60 seconds. And it was because of that internship that folks started to call the radio station every now and then throughout my college career and, and say, hey, well that, that girl, whoever she is, can she come and MCR event or can she come and lead a small Bible study? And I would just kind of show up. I don't think they knew I was a 19 year old sophomore in high school when they, when they would call. But most of the time I went and there were 10 women there and I'd share something or I'd emcee something. Sometimes I'd show up and there'd be 500 people there and I would still just do the same thing. Um, and I didn't know that that little open door was whetting my appetite even then for what I could not have even imagined was what the next 25 years of my life would look like. Um, I was still going into news. Uh, but to make a long story short, after college I did get a few opportunities at a couple of stations, uh, in Chicago and here in Dallas. But every time I got an opportunity, shortly after that door was open, it would close. I'd have that job for a few months and then that show would go off the air or they wouldn't need an independent contractor anymore. I mean the doors kept closing in my face.

Speaker C: It was real obvious.

Speaker A: Yeah, uh, oh yeah. And it was rattling because I'm a young person starting out and it basically feels like I'm just not good enough, like this is not where I'm supposed to be. It was really hurtful and felt damaging to my self esteem. Um, but as the years went on I saw that those doors were closing. But at the same time, these opportunities to keep kind of showing up and just sharing, um, whatever was on my heart to share, mostly from God's word, um, but also in the area of just personal development that I was continuing to get opportunities to do that. So it took some years, but over time it occurred to me, oh, this is God derailing me onto what he had planned for me to begin with. So kind of reconciling that took some time. Um, but I'm so grateful that the Lord was patient enough with me to um, not let me kind of ignore his leading.

Speaker C: Yeah, and way to go to you. For even though you may feel like it took time for you to recognize that he was leading you in a different direction and had plans for you that probably were much more significant than being on the news. So, um, yeah, so way to go for adhering to that. So let me kind of move into one of the things that you seem to teach A lot about is just your focus on hearing from God and then hearing from God as far as our calling in life or our purpose in life, and then just living our lives with intention. And so describe what that looks like for you or as you're talking to people. I mean, what is one of the main things, especially for leaders? Because the people that are listening to our podcast, Priscilla, are people that would view themselves as, or at least are like you been told that they're leaders. And so where does that living with intentionality and even sense of call from God that they're called to be a leader. Where does that come from? And how do you describe that?

Speaker A: Man, that's a layered question because there are so many nuances that. The main thing, though, that comes to my mind when you ask that is the importance of having the counterbalance of wiser people in our lives who help us to know if the direction we're feeling called to, if the sacred weightiness of a particular choice we are making, um, if it actually does resonate with other people who we trust, who, whose leadership, um, equity they've invested through the years, their ability to sense God's calling on their own life, their success, their experience. We can go to them and we know that they love us enough, they're invested in us enough, they care for us enough that they will help to keep us accountable to whether we're sort of just making up something or chasing after vain ambition or pride or fear has gotten in the way of a decision that we don't even recognize we're not making clearly in the moment. One of the biggest helps, I guess I should say, to helping me to continue to try to differentiate ego from God's will, fear from, um, God's will. Um, being able to differentiate that has really rested in the fact that I've had leaders around me who I have gone to and said, hey, will you pray about this with me? Or what do you see happening in my life here? Um, how would you give me wisdom on how to navigate this next piece? And by the way, that hasn't just been in ministry or in business. That's also been in marriage. It's been in matters of raising children that Jerry and I are so grateful. We have had people 10 to 15 years our senior in most every significant dynamic of our life. So it might be different people for different, um, dynamics. But those people, we've seen them navigate marriage well, they've been married 40 years or 45 years, and they're still happy for, and they still like each other. And they've navigated hard stuff and are willing to share it with us. Well, those are the people we've been able to go to and say, hey, we're having a hiccup here at year 20, year 21. What do you advise that we do? Having the counterbalance of those wiser voices in every area of life, stewarding, finances, having wisdom, enables us to make sure that we are not getting stumped on minor issues that in the moment you can't see it because they seem major. You have to have someone on the outside that can look at your life objectively. And again, they want you to win. They're invested in you. Those are the voices that help you to know clearly if you're on the right path.

Speaker C: That's great. Wise people around you. And it takes an openness on your part to listen to them. Right. When you approach them and ask for advice, you've got to be willing to take it when it comes.

Speaker A: Oh, man. I completely agree, uh, David. And I think that's why one of the major, um, important characteristics of a great leader is humility. Because if you're not teachable, if you're not able. If I'm not able to receive advice from someone who's been here longer and done it longer than me and has proven by their. The fruit of their life, uh, that they've done it, well, then, man, I'm going to derail my own self if I'm not willing to listen to wise counsel. So humility matters.

Speaker C: No, that's good. So let me camp on that a little bit longer. Priscilla, as far as wise counsel and people around you, did you, um, the people that you would approach, had they offered first their wisdom? Or is it just people that you respected? And so you approached them and you sought them out and just said, hey, can I get some input from you? Because I think sometimes we might think we don't have the people around us, or we're hesitant to ask for advice or, or direction.

Speaker A: That's right. M. It's very interesting because with different people, I can see it sort of happen different ways. But it all began with a, uh, prayer. Me saying to God, lord, would you open up my eyes to see the people that are already in my sphere of influence, that it hasn't occurred to me that they're the ones that actually have the model that I want to follow? And then from there with the Lord's. Seriously, most of these people were already in our sphere of influence, and he would just sort of make us go, oh, wait, they've got the success we'd like to have in that area of our life. And then we could tell, even though they didn't sort of come to us and say, hey, we'd love to be your mentor. Because of their curiosity about what was happening with us, because of their willingness to listen when we were in conversation and to ask us some questions and to dig in, that in and of itself was an invitation for, for that sort of relationship to begin. And then in most of those cases, not all of them, but in most of those cases, after a little while of that relational equity building, then, yes, we would ask them directly. Um, one couple in particular who honestly has kept me and Jerry married. They've kept our marriage on the rails. They've kept our ministry on the rails. They've asked us the hard questions about raising kids, the hard questions about integrity and, and those layers of our life. Um, we actually asked them after a while, hey, would you guys be willing to, um, in a more official capacity, just provide that counterbalance of, um, leadership and authority in our lives? And the reason why that sort of official relationship matters sometimes is because they have to be able to call you on the carpet and know that you have proof pre agreed that you've trust them enough that if they're asking you to do something hard, you're going to be willing to do it when you don't want to. And so in that relationship in particular, there have been times where they've said no to something we wanted to do or one of us wanted to do, or we were in a disagreement on and that they had to look at one of us and go, um, no, you're wrong. And we had to have already established up front that we were, in a way set, committed to the fact that we trusted their authority in our lives and that both of us were willing to sort of follow their leadership.

Speaker C: So I'm not sure that a lot of leaders have that kind of relationship. And what is it that keeps leaders from wanting that type of accountability or wanting that type of wisdom in their life? Does it go back to that humility piece and that teachability piece, or do you see traits that cause people to, to stay away from things like that?

Speaker A: It could be a number of things. One of them could be that the leaders that we saw in our lives didn't have accountability. So it doesn't even occur to us that the leader is supposed to have a leader. We think that the buck stops somewhere and that that person is the end all, be all. That's the way we saw it. So once we get into that position of influence or power, it doesn't occur to us that we're not supposed to be out here on our own. That's someone is supposed to be covering us because we didn't see it modeled. The other reason is because pride has a way of sneaking in on every single one of us. Power is enticing. Attention is enticing. Feeling like we are the end all, be all, to the end of a stream of, whether it's people or ideas or thought processes. And the buck stops with us. Man, it's great to feel like you're the one. So if we're not careful in reminding ourselves that we are indeed not, and making sure we are establishing intentionally, um, some leadership over our lives, um, then I think all of us in our humanity would be very tempted to enjoy that position of ultimate authority.

Speaker D: Hey, everybody, it's Eric, content producer for the Global Leadership Podcast. Just popping in to let you know that the super early bird pricing for the 2026 Global Leadership Summit is drawing to a close. Up until June 19, you can get $50 off an online ticket or a host site ticket or $200 off the studio audience ticket. If you're near Chicagoland or you want to make the journey in. Those prices will change after June. So we would love to see you at the summit. We would love to see you challenging yourself to grow and to get a little bit better. So I invite you to head on over to globalleadership.org summit and get your ticket today. Now let's get back to our conversation with David and Priscilla.

Speaker C: So, Priscilla, we have at the gln, been pursuing you for a number of years to get you on our stage. And, um, there were circumstances that just didn't allow that to happen because of scheduling issues. But, uh, my guess is, as a leader, you have umpteen opportunities. And you even talked about this couple or other people saying, man, that's not a good opportunity for you. So how do you even prioritize what you ought to be saying yes to, what you ought to be saying no to? And it kind of goes back to that whole point of living life with intention and purpose. And so how do you know if what you're doing is intentional or just seems like a fun opportunity? Or how do you differentiate?

Speaker A: Absolutely. Well, to the best of our abilities. And I say that it's important that I say that because it's like, to the best of our abilities, we try to reevaluate what our priorities are in each season. Um, for a long time that really was dependent, the season was dependent upon what was happening with our kids. Anything, for the most part, that conflicts with what we know are, uh, the priorities for the culture of our family, then no matter how good of an opportunity is, if it overrides what we know will be the, again, overarching balance of prioritizing our family, then we just automatically say no to those things. That's the primary filter. And then there are other layers from there. For example, I have known from, uh, my early twenties, as the Lord began to clarify our purpose, that primarily it's been a ministry to women. So a lot of the invitations that came in that didn't have to do with women's ministry, we, that was another filter that we could push that to the side, not because it wasn't important, but it just wasn't in line with what we felt like was our primary mission. It's the same thing earlier.

Speaker C: Mr.

Speaker A: Uh, David, you mentioned the fact that I've been in a few films and I've seen some people have asked me the question, like, are you going to be an actor now? And that never really occurred to me because to me, the only reason I have even done the films I've done is because they're still in line. Those films are still in line with, with the primary goal that we've had, which is to give people an opportunity that may not come into a church, by the way, they may never read a Bible study that I've written or a book that I've written, or show up at an event where many Christians are gathered. But a lot of those people will go to a movie theater. And so to me, when I read those movie scripts, the ones I've been in, um, they were so ministry oriented that even though it kind of threw me for a loop that I'd be in a film because I'm not a trained actor, I thought, this is not off to the left or the right. It's still in line with the primary mission that God has given us to do. So we just try to ask the Lord for this season, as far as we can see in the next year, maybe, what are the primary things you've asked us to do? Let's put them on a calendar, and then let's do our best to filter everything else that's coming in through these priorities. And then we have to be flexible with the things that end up butting heads. We have to not let fear govern our yeses and our nos. Maybe this opportunity will never come around again. We have to make sure that guilt is not a driving factor. Well, these people have asked four times and oh, I feel so bad I haven't been able to. Um, um. We've discovered through the years that anytime our yeses are connected to guilt or fear, we end up regretting that yes because if the yes didn't come from a pure place, always on that exact day, we end up finding out there was something else we should have been giving a better yes to. But one of the biggest gifts has been that when I have said no, I've noticed later in hindsight, when I look back on that event that I wasn't able to go to, or that project I didn't participate in, the co authoring that I didn't do, I look back and when I see that project or that event or little clips of it, I realize that my no opened up the door for a yes for a younger person that was coming along who was able to fill that space because I didn't say yes. And I think about now, in my 20s, how many people said no to something. And then the organizers thought, well, there's this little girl over here that we thought about and since we've got no's, let's just give her an opportunity. And as we age and mature and season, if we are too insecure to say no and we're doing all the yeses out of fear and out of guilt and we don't want to become irrelevant, then not only will it exhaust us, but it will also rob from us the joy of watching us leave space for the next generation to rise up and be the leaders that God has called them to be as well.

Speaker C: I love that. That's a great way to look at it. And I think oftentimes, maybe in pride, we think, well, nobody else could do it quite, quite like me. And there probably were people in their 40s or 50s when you were 20 something, that maybe they could have done it a little bit better, but maybe not. But it did give you the opportunity to become the person you are today. And so I love that thought. That's a great thought. So let me run down the rabbit trail of acting real quick. So what was that like? And is it anything you ever thought you would do? I guess if you were going to be a newscaster, you were going to be in front of a camera. But acting is a whole different thing.

Speaker A: Whole different thing. Um, I will tell you, man, it's been the surprise of a lifetime. It is not something that I plan to do at all. In fact, I did A summer camp theater thing when I was in high school. And I remember thinking, after that summer, I do not want to be an actor. I don't think this is for me. I'm not going to do this. And I did say to them, you know, I'm not an actress. I don't want to mess up Yalls film. And they said, just read the script. We think when you read it, if y' all will pray about it, we just feel real strongly that we're not just supposed to have an actor. We're supposed to have somebody who actually believes this. And if they've got a little bit of raw talent, we can work with that. Would you read it, Priscilla? It's ministry. And of course, when I read what I know so many people have seen now, the movie War Room, when I read it, I was like, oh, you're right. This is not a movie. This is ministry. And I'm so glad that I. Again, with wise counsel. I remember I asked three different counselors in my life, one of them being my dad. Dad, is this off to the left somewhere? Does this feel right to you, that this would be something I'd invest? Takes a lot of time to make movies. So should I invest three months in this project? Four months of filming? Um, but I'm glad I did. I pushed past a lot of fear and insecurity to do something I'd never done before. Um, the major impetus to do it was two things. Uh, it would reach more people than if I. If I spoke to a group of 1,000 people every weekend for the rest of my life, I would not be able to reach as many people as have now seen War Room and some of these other films.

Speaker C: Interesting way to look at it. That's amazing. Yeah.

Speaker A: Yeah. And actually, Alex Kendrick said that to me. He said the ministry that will come from this film will reach people who will never see you in person or ever read a book that you've written. The second reason was that they said you can bring your entire family with you for filming. And as a homeschool mom at the time, our boys traveled with us everywhere for a lot of years. As a homeschool mom, my thought was, what a gift to my kids to be able to see a film set. Who gets to see what it's like to see camera operators and lighting directors and makeup artists and people who are in the industry. And I thought, well, it's a great adventure for our family. Let's do it.

Speaker C: So one of the challenges for any leader is I'll use the Word notoriety or attention. And so obviously the movies, as you said, gave you a much wider audience. And there's already, for any leader, uh, probably that tension of, am I going to start thinking too much of myself? Am I going to enjoy the notoriety or the attention that I'm receiving from this? And so what challenges did you notice once you did the movie that all of a sudden there was more recognizability for you? Or did you notice that it started to change you at all in any way?

Speaker A: Um, there was already some of that just because of what the ministry that I've done has required me to be on video. So there was already some of that that would happen when we were in public anyway. But movies are an entirely different thing. My husband is an extremely private person, so he was the main person that, um, we really had to talk about if he was going to be okay with that. M. So. So it definitely ratcheted up quite a bit. I'm. I'm pretty unbothered, um, by attention, whether it is negative or positive. Not that it doesn't sting when I see the comment that someone says that, you know, I did that wrong, or that book was terrible, I'll see it. And it's for sure because I'm flesh, but I don't let it hang on me. Um, and I have to actively and intentionally make sure that it doesn't. And again, that's because those wise voices in my life, they're the people whose criticism carries weight. And I know I need to adjust my life to. I try to be unbothered by strangers that want to have a say in what's happening in my life when they have no investment in me doing well. The same thing is true with praise. I see it, I'm grateful for it and encouraged by it, but I try to make sure it runs off my shoulders pretty quickly. Because the same crowd that's praising you, the moment they see something you're saying or doing that they don't like, will be the exact same people that are criticizing you. So I try to carry all that lightly.

Speaker C: Interesting to hear you say that, because I think that's one of the things I realized early on as a pastor is the people that would come into the church and they would sing my praises almost too fast and too loud were almost always the people that would end up turning on me too fast and too loud as well.

Speaker A: Uh, that's great. Yeah.

Speaker C: So, Priscilla, I always love talking with people that are pastors kids, or preachers kids. I am one myself, and there oftentimes is this idea or thought that I think it's wrong, but it's often repeated again and again, is that pastor's kids are the most messed up kids around. And yet here you are. And it seems that you have done well, uh, in the midst of being a pastor's kid and one that people know thus far, you've done real well. And so how did you survive that? Or did your parents do anything? And realizing a lot of people that are listening to the podcast, they may not be pastors or pastor's kids, but they're a leader's kid or they're a leader that has kids that their kids oftentimes, um, they take the brunt of decisions that a parent makes may be good or bad. And so how did you navigate that or how did your parents navigate that to help you survive being a public figure's daughter?

Speaker A: Um, there are two things that come to my mind. One of them is that my parents were constantly, particularly my mom. Mom would always remind us, we are not the church's kid. We're not the community's kid. We don't have a responsibility to make sure that everybody's expectations are met. We only have responsibility to God and to them as our parents. And she would say that actively. I can even remember her pulling a Sunday school teacher aside because my mama didn't play. I remember her pulling the Sunday school teacher aside to say, stop calling on Priscilla like she's supposed to know the answer to all your questions. She's eight years old like all the other kids in the class. And so mom would call other people out that she thought were singling us out as an example unnecessarily. And then she would just remind us, you don't have a responsibility to everybody. I think that helped us to sort of offload the pressure of people's eyes on us. The other thing I would say is that, and I think I've mentioned this already, but I'm so grateful that my siblings and I saw integrity. We just didn't see duplicity. Our parents weren't one way at church. And then we're kind of shocked at home because they're not the same people there. They weren't perfect. They have said to us many times there are things they'd certainly do differently. But I think the reason why we don't have a distaste for ministry or church or being a leader is because we had parents that showed us it was possible to actually have symmetry across the different dynamics of your life. And I think us just Absorbing that kept us from being hardened or bitter or, um, disinterested in sort of following in their footsteps.

Speaker C: I love that. Yeah, I think that's fantastic. Priscilla, in the busyness of your world or any leader's world, where do you find time? Or how does a leader find time just to slow down and create enough space to actually hear otherwise people or hear God speaking in their life. Where does that come from? How does a leader find space for that man?

Speaker A: We're going to have to be courageous and intentional in order to find space. The entire culture around us is poor pushing. Especially now. Sort of this hustle and grind and build and keep going and the more, the better. The bigger the platform, the better sustain it, keep it up, keep it going, keep growing. That's the culture around us. So it is counterculture for us to say, no rest actually matters. Margin is replenishing. It's not a weakness, it's a sign of strength. Um, and we have to be intentional about that. So having the courage and intentionality to not be afraid to leave green space, that's what I call it, is green space on our calendar. What it gives opportunity for is not for us to just take a deep breath and enjoy what we've accomplished, enjoy what God has given us. Not only that, but the green space also leaves margin. And this has been one of the biggest and most amazing things in life, these support prizes where God has margin to actually allow you to be at this intersection point where now you have the, the margin, the opportunity, the, um, resources, whether in money, time, patience, encouragement. That what's in a fast paced, um, society or in a fast paced schedule, you'd see as an interruption, that that person wants to talk to you. You'd see it as a delay, that somebody has interrupted you, that you now have been derailed off the plan for the day. The schedule that's all rigid. Well, when there's green space, that thing that would have made you frustrated all of a sudden, you pause and take a deep breath and go, wait a minute, why did the Lord allow this to show up on my green space day? Do I just need to go ahead and have a full conversation with this person over coffee and ask them what it is that I can do for them? Uh, it keeps the interruptions in life from feeling like a negative and turns them into sort of a divine and sacred opportunity to just see what surprises

Speaker C: God is up to and to have space. I like the word green space. To have green space. To actually do that and experience what God is up to. That's fantastic. So I love that thought. So, Priscilla, you're going to be speaking at the summit in August, and without giving away too much, what do you hope? Have you thought about your talk enough to know what you hope leaders take away from your talk?

Speaker A: I'm hopeful that the thesis, the premise sticks with them, that their assignment is sacred. That even if it's in a secular environment, even if it's in the marketplace, in any industry, in any arena, from education to the arts, from political arenas, um, into medical fields, whatever it is, that there is some sacredness that is attached to every part of that endeavor. That it's not just a job, that God has given them access to the opportunity. He's given them influence to the people that are connected to them. He's given them an opportunity to do more than what's on the surface of the job description. And I believe that for me, um, what has happened is that when I have my eyes open all day to just see what's shimmering with a sacredness, what conversation has more to it than just what's on the surface? It's not just about the budget we're talking about. It's not just about the next endeavor that's on our plate. It's not just about the next writing assignment. But there's deeper, there's more below the surface here. Then I end up finding that there is a bigger satisfaction and fulfillment for me. And it gives me a greater opportunity to impact others in a way that will continue to ripple effect in their lives beyond our meeting up at this particular point in our lives. And so just a reminder to leaders that there is a sacred calling that's attached to the reason why they are where they are at this moment in history.

Speaker C: That's excellent. And I think the mistakes sometimes we make as church leaders, Priscilla, is we can almost make it sound like. Or we can make it feel like if you're not working in a church, that somehow that calling is not equally sacred. And I think you're saying, man, it's equally sacred whether you're in the marketplace or leading to the community or leading your family, whatever you're leading in.

Speaker A: So you're right, we've sort of separated it. That worship has something to do with a vocation or a Sunday morning experience where really our worship is supposed to be. That whatever he's given our hands to do, whether we eat or drink, which is the very fundamental baseline level of our days, whatever we're doing, we do all of that to the glory of God.

Speaker C: Yeah, that's Great, Priscilla, it's fun talking to you. And uh, thank you for taking time with us today. Very much looking forward to being with you at, uh, the summit in August. And ah, thank you for participating in that. And if people want to get ahold of you, where should they look for you?

Speaker A: Well, Priscillashire is where I am on Instagram or our website is going beyond dot com.

Speaker C: That's great. Thank you so much for the time. I appreciate it. Priscilla, thanks for what you're doing.

Speaker A: Great conversation. I appreciate it.

Speaker B: That was such a thoughtful conversation. One moment that really stayed with me was when Priscilla talked about how she and her husband make important leadership decisions and how they intentionally surround themselves with wise people who became almost a shield of protection around their leadership, their family and the influence they were stewarding. I loved when she said the leader is supposed to have a leader because leadership can get isolating really quickly if we let it. And Priscilla was so honest about the reality that power can be enticing, pride can sneak in, and attention seeking can slowly pull us off course if we're not careful. But when you have trusted people around you who can ask hard questions, speak truth, and help guide your decision making, it protects you, it protects your leadership, it protects your family, it protects the people you serve. Strong leaders don't isolate. Strong leaders stay accountable. So maybe here's a question to sit with this week. Who do you have around you that helps guard your heart, your leadership and your decisions? And even further, are you willing to ask for help? And before we go, I want to say thank you to our summit champions, those of you who give so conversations like this can remain free and accessible to leaders all over the world. Your generosity is helping leaders everywhere continue to grow and lead well. And speaking of growth, the Global Leadership Summit is coming up and we would absolutely love for you to join us right now. You can grab the early bird rate when you Register today@globalleadership.org Thanks for being here. And remember, everyone has influence, so lead where you are.