What Most Christians Get Wrong About Giving with Rick Dunham

What Most Christians Get Wrong About Giving with Rick Dunham

Today on the Servant Leadership Podcast we welcome Rick Dunham, the founder of Dunham and Company. For more than twenty years, Rick has led Dunham and Company, one of the most respected fundraising and strategic consulting firms in the world. The work Rick and his team have done has helped ministries impact hundreds of millions of people globally. Rick is the author of If God Will Provide, Why Do We Have to Ask for Money?, and is widely recognized as a leading voice on biblical generosity, data-driven fundraising, and long-term ministry growth. Join us as Rick shares the heart behind biblical generosity, the changing landscape of nonprofit giving, leading and releasing through seasons, and Rick's uniquely biblical perspective on what it actually means to be a servant leader. Timestamps: 00:00 Opening 00:25 Rick Dunham Intro 01:10 Welcome Rick Dunham 01:24 Rick’s Journey - Dunham & Company Origins 02:29 Shifting Focus Towards Ministry 02:52 Changing Understanding Of Generosity 04:29 God Doesn’t Want A Tip, He Wants Our All 05:19 Aligning Our Hearts With God’s Purposes 06:16 The “Everything Is God’s” Perspective 06:59 A Data-Driven Focus 08:31 Servant Leadership - Humility And Self-Awareness 10:12 Building Trust With Clients 12:09 When Things Go Awry 13:22 Focusing On Those You Serve 14:06 Australia Expansion 14:54 Complexities Of An Overseas Office 15:23 An Earned Succession 17:15 Trent’s Grand Vision 19:24 Helping Other Leaders Grow 20:54 Having The Hard Conversations 22:47 No One-Stop Solutions 24:32 Counterintuitive Marketing Truths 26:30 Full Inboxes vs Empty Mailboxes 27:26 The Power Of Text Marketing 28:02 Cross-Network Attribution 28:27 Increased Giving Despite Decreasing Givers 30:26 New Deductions For Donors 31:51 Getting The Message Out 32:29 Trends In The Nonprofit World 33:58 Creating Impact 35:40 Dunham + Co’s Next Ten Years 36:49 Mentoring The Team And Clients 37:30 Ten Rapid-Fire Questions 40:24 Importance Of A Servant Leadership Podcast 43:10 Closing Learn more about Rick here: https://www.dunhamandcompany.com/ Servant Leadership: URL: https://servantleadershippodcast.org/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ServantLeadershipPodcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/servantleadershippodcast LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/servant-leadership-podcast/ X (Twitter): https://x.com/servant_podcast

Dallas Mavericks, Texas Rangers, and Servant Leadership with Scott Sonju

Today on the Servant Leadership Podcast we welcome Scott Sonju, longtime sports executive, leadership coach, and senior advisor. Scott grew up in the sports world — his father was the founding president and general manager of the Dallas Mavericks — and he has built his own remarkable career across professional baseball, rugby, and international sports. Scott led the Frisco RoughRiders for thirteen years, where more than one hundred and twenty-five players developed before going on to play for the Texas Rangers. He helped train the Chinese national baseball team, launched the Dallas Jackals in Major League Rugby, and today teaches sports sponsorship at SMU while coaching CEOs and executives across the country. In this conversation, Scott and I talk about how blind spots show up at the highest levels of organizations and what servant leadership really looks like when you have to make the hard call. Timestamps: 00:00 Opening 00:12 Scott Sonju Intro 01:03 Welcome Scott Sonju  01:24 Scott's Journey - Growing Up In A Sports Family  02:51 Leaving Sports To Work At A Christian Camp  03:53 Early Lessons In Servant Leadership  06:19 Rest And Restoration  07:50 Jumping Back Into Sports  09:28 Creating An Amazing Fan Experience  11:12 Early Pitfalls  12:39 The Rangers' Business Model  14:15 Players Getting Called Up To The Majors  14:53 Servant Leadership - Leading Many Different Groups  17:48 Instilling Great Leadership Skills  19:39 Helping People Thrive Professionally And Personally  20:42 After The Minor Leagues  22:43 The First Chinese National Baseball Team  23:29 Launch Of The Dallas Jackals  24:36 Experience Leading In A Different Culture  27:24 Why The Shift To Rugby?  29:10 Influencers And Sports  31:01 Changing Times For College Athletes  33:29 Opportunities And Investments In College Sports  34:39 Back Into Consulting  37:02 Leadership Blindspots  39:05 Weaknesses vs. Blind Spots  41:54 360 Stakeholder Analysis  43:15 How Aware Are Leaders Today?  44:54 Overestimating Your Communication Skills  47:19 How Great Leaders Communicate Well  50:01 Lessons From Norm Sonju  51:45 As Tender As Possible, But As Firm As Necessary  53:33 Servant Leadership - Working Behind The Scenes  55:07 Servant Leadership - Being A Strong Leader  58:01 Ten Rapid-Fire Questions  1:01:50 Importance Of A Servant Leadership Podcast  1:02:45 Closing Learn more about Scott and SNS Advisory: https://www.snsadvisory.net/ Servant Leadership: URL: https://servantleadershippodcast.org/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ServantLeadershipPodcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/servantleadershippodcast LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/servant-leadership-podcast/ X (Twitter): https://x.com/servant_podcast

What 30 Years in Banking Teaches About Money with Kent Lugrand

Today on the Servant Leadership Podcast we welcome Kent Lugrand, the CEO of InTouch Credit Union. For more than three decades, Kent has led InTouch Credit Union, a member-owned financial cooperative serving members in all fifty states and more than twenty countries. Under Kent's leadership, InTouch has built a national reputation for community-focused banking and has championed the fight against food insecurity by tying a portion of every loan payment and every debit card swipe to feeding families in the communities they serve. Kent leads from a posture of stewardship and humility — taking the blame when things go wrong, giving away the credit when things go right, and consistently putting the interests of the credit union members and his team ahead of his own. In this conversation, Kent and I talk about how to think about money and better understand how servant leaders should think about their finances. Timestamps: 00:00 Opening 00:42 Kent Lugrand Intro 01:31 Welcome Kent Lugrand  01:40 What Makes InTouch Credit Union Different  03:10 Why Bank With A Credit Union  04:15 Is The Movement Growing?  04:49 Kent's Journey - The Path To Credit Unions  07:00 Falling In Love With The Credit Union  07:50 The Fight Against Food Insecurity  09:24 Getting Members Involved  10:17 The InTouch Community  12:36 Investing In Your People  13:13 How InTouch Thinks About Tech  14:59 A History Of Innovation  16:42 Being A Steward Of Money  18:42 Giving God What He Is Owed  21:03 Servant Leadership - Willingness To Support The Team  23:29 Servant Leadership - Give As Much As Possible  24:40 Choosing Your Fellow Leaders  27:00 Praise In Public, Be Critical In Private  29:32 The Folly Of Expecting Perfection From Humans  30:05 There Is Always Room For Growth  31:59 You Are Still A Work In Progress  33:30 Choosing Family Over PHD  36:21 How A Credit Union Works  39:25 A Nonprofit Collective  40:25 Credit Unions vs. Publicly Traded Banks  42:49 Emotionally Driven Financial Decisions  44:15 The Lottery - A Bad Investment  45:14 Sharing Financial Wisdom  47:02 Retirement Money Comes From Savings, Not Investment  47:34 The New Generation's Differing Views On Money  48:50 People Don't Plan To Fail, They Fail To Plan  51:23 Ten Rapid-Fire Questions  54:22 Importance Of A Servant Leadership Podcast 57:17 Closing Learn more about InTouch Credit Union: https://www.itcu.org/ Servant Leadership: URL: https://servantleadershippodcast.org/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ServantLeadershipPodcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/servantleadershippodcast LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/servant-leadership-podcast/ X (Twitter): https://x.com/servant_podcast

Peak Performance with Dr. James Hewitt

Today on the Servant Leadership Podcast we welcome Dr. James Hewitt — a human performance scientist who has spent the last two decades helping the world's most demanding performers do their best work without burning out in the process. His work has taken him across nineteen Formula 1 world championships, into the offices of Fortune 500s, and onto stages all around the world. He's the author of Regenerative Performance, a book born out of his own cancer diagnosis and the realization that the "more effort, more optimization" approach he had built his career on wasn’t actually how the world’s true long-term performers operated. Join us as we talk about peak performance, burnout, and better understand why most leaders are dangerously bad judges of their own capacity. Timestamps: 00:00 Opening 00:23 Dr. James Hewitt Intro 01:06 Welcome Dr. James Hewitt 01:15 Dr. James's Journey - The Human Performance Scientist 03:33 The Cyclist Dream 05:19 A Scientific Approach 06:32 A Wrinkle In The Plan 08:19 Combining Psychological And Physical Efforts 09:31 Data Analysis Of The Human Mind 11:24 Digital Phenotyping 13:36 Single Lead ECG 16:38 Success Rate And Realistic Goals 19:01 Deconstructing The Goal To Find The Path 21:21 A Customizable Program 24:01 Our Best Ideas Come When We Least Expect Them 25:25 Regenerative Performance 27:24 Confronting Mortality 29:52 Maximize Effort AND Recovery 32:38 Servant Leadership - Increasing Capacity 34:53 The Negative Effect Of Sleep Deprivation 36:38 Avoiding Service Acting 38:19 The Wisdom Of Knowing Your Limit 39:52 Detachment Between Hours Worked And Energy Spent 41:10 Develop An Internal Dashboard 42:43 Concerns About AI Pushing "Always On" Work 45:05 3 Core Questions To Identify The Problem 46:49 Ten Rapid-Fire Questions 49:57 Importance Of A Servant Leadership Podcast 51:29 Closing Learn more about Dr. James here: https://drjameshewitt.com/ Servant Leadership: URL: https://servantleadershippodcast.org/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ServantLeadershipPodcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/servantleadershippodcast LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/servant-leadership-podcast/ X (Twitter): https://x.com/servant_podcast

What Happens After You Hit Bottom with Paul Young

Today on the Servant Leadership Podcast, we welcome New York Times bestselling author Paul Young. Originally written as a Christmas gift for his children, The Shack has gone on to sell more than 25 million copies, and became a major motion picture starring Sam Worthington, Octavia Spencer, and Tim McGraw. Paul's journey is anything but conventional. Raised among a Stone-Age tribe in the highlands of New Guinea, he later worked three jobs while writing The Shack on a commuter train. After twenty-six publishers rejected the book, he and two friends self-published it with just three hundred dollars in marketing — and watched it become one of the most-read books of the 21st century. The real story behind The Shack is the eleven-year unraveling that came before it — a story of failure, forgiveness, and the kind of grace that only shows up when you've stopped pretending. Join us as we talk about leading through hidden pain, the cost and freedom of forgiveness, and his long-awaited sequel, Return to the Shack. Timestamps: 00:00 Opening 00:12 Paul Young Intro 01:06 Welcome Paul Young 01:25 Paul’s Journey - A Rough Start 03:43 Bringing Troubles Into Marriage 05:21 Seeking Help And Healing 07:23 The Birth Of The Shack 09:40 Longing For Authenticity 11:19 Living Out That Authenticity 13:40 Advice For Those On The Path To Rock Bottom 15:37 Mending His Relationship With His Father 16:43 How To Live Without Expectations 19:08 Dangers Of Hiding Behind A False Persona 20:52 Being Remembered Only For Your Worst Day 23:33 The Themes Behind The Shack 25:14 From Christmas Gift To Best Seller 27:21 The Impact Of The Shack 29:07 Unrighteous Wealth Vs. Self Giving 30:54 The Film Adaptation 33:04 The Right Time To Give Away The Movie 35:11 Return To The Shack 36:57 Death Row And The Sequel 39:19 “Our Prison Is Obvious” 41:22 A Journey Into Redemption 43:54 Living A Life Of Gratitude And Forgiveness 46:15 Ten Rapid-Fire Questions 48:34 Importance Of A Servant Leadership Podcast 49:06 Closing Learn more about Paul here: https://wmpaulyoung.com/ https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-paul-young-podcast/id1733287109 Preorder Return to the Shack: https://www.amazon.com/Return-Shack-Journey-into-Redemption/dp/154600887X Servant Leadership: URL: https://servantleadershippodcast.org/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ServantLeadershipPodcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/servantleadershippodcast LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/servant-leadership-podcast/ X (Twitter): https://x.com/servant_podcast