The Joy & Pain of Leadership Succession

Leadership succession is one of the most sacred — and most difficult — tasks for any pastor or ministry leader. In this episode, I share the behind-the-scenes story of my second major succession — passing the baton of Emotionally Healthy Discipleship to Drew Hyun as our new President. I've rarely seen a succession done well. And that's exactly why I knew I had to do it differently — with prayer, intentionality, and surrender. I walk through both the joy and the deep pain of letting go. I reflect on the lessons learned from my first succession at New Life Fellowship, the emotional disorientation that followed, and the profound spiritual formation that only comes through grief and relinquishment. This is not a leadership technique. It's a spiritual crucible. A death and resurrection. Whether you're years away from stepping down or you're mentoring the next generation now, this episode will help you face your limits, resist control, and steward your calling with integrity — for the sake of Jesus' mission in the world. Every leader will face succession. The question is not if, but when. Let's do it well. Reserve your spot at our upcoming Global Leaders Conference. September 30 – October 1, 2026 14th St. Salvation Army, NYC (Live Spanish Translation available) Register Now: Learn more about the EH Global Leader Conference 2026: emotionallyhealthy.org/conference

You can listen to The Joy & Pain of Leadership Succession online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

The Joy & Pain of Leadership Succession is an episode from The Emotionally Healthy Leader Podcast by Pete Scazzero.

This episode is 32:06 long.

This episode was published on Nov 10, 2025.

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