God doesn’t ask you to do everything you could do—He invites you to slow down, listen, and do the right things with Him.

https://courses.bibleleadership.com/blp-link-in-bio

Mark shares a vulnerable story from the COVID season when running at a breakneck pace led to a physical and spiritual crash—and how an emergency sabbatical became a rescue. He unpacks a simple practice he calls “chunking” to create focused blocks for what matters most (quiet time, message prep, leadership, family, rest) and explains why going slower actually leads to wiser, Spirit-led leadership. Erica tees up reflective questions about stress signals in our bodies, compassion fatigue, and treating God like a friend—not just a coworker.

📋 Key Takeaways
• One handful beats two fists: “Better is a handful of quietness than two hands full of toil and a striving after wind.” (Eccl. 4:6) Slow, Spirit-led pace beats frantic productivity.
• Limits are holy: If there isn’t time to do everything on your list, it may mean God isn’t asking you to do all of it—and He won’t anoint what He didn’t assign.
• Chunk your day with Jesus: Most people have 5–7 meaningful “chunks” of focus per day (quiet time, message prep, leadership work, workouts, family time). Live inside the chunk you’re in; stop trying to be in two at once.
• Watch your warning lights: Racing thoughts, middle-of-the-night wakeups, heavy fatigue, irritability, and diminished compassion are body-and-soul alerts—your body is a major prophet.
• Friend, not coworker: Don’t only talk to God about projects and problems; ask Him to work on your character and pace. Jesus walks unhurried.

🕐 Rough Timestamps
• 00:06–01:18 – Welcome & why pace is one of leadership’s hardest battles
• 01:19–03:41 – Panic, breakdown, and an emergency sabbatical
• 03:42–06:26 – Ecclesiastes 4:6 and untangling the “be the vine” mindset
• 06:27–08:26 – God won’t anoint what He didn’t assign; ruthless inventory
• 08:27–11:41 – The “chunking” framework (5–7 chunks/day) and single-task focus
• 11:42–12:50 – Margin, prayer, and accepting that you’ll get less done—but the right things
• 13:04–17:41 – Body signals, compassion drain, and treating people like interruptions
• 17:42–21:15 – Push seasons vs. unhurried love; shepherding people, not just solving problems
• 21:16–25:27 – Quiet time drift: coworker vs. friend; pride and needfulness
• 25:28–27:37 – Humility to admit “this could happen to me”; plan your rest on purpose

📖 Scripture Tie-Ins
• Ecclesiastes 4:6 — One handful of quietness is greater than two handfuls of striving and chasing after the wind.
• John 15:4–5 — Abide in Me… apart from Me you can do nothing. (We’re branches, not the vine.)
• Psalm 23:1–3 — He makes me lie down; He restores my soul.
• Matthew 11:28–30 — Jesus’ easy yoke and light burden; learn His unhurried rhythm.
• Mark 6:31 — “Come away… and rest a while.” Ministry includes recovery.
• Luke 5:16 — Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.
• 1 Corinthians 10:23 — “All things are permissible… but not all things are beneficial.”

https://courses.bibleleadership.com/blp-link-in-bio

Could this hurt be your refining?

God often uses the pain we experience in the church to shape us into more humble, compassionate, and Christlike leaders.

In this honest conversation, Pastor Mark Carter and co-host Erica Adkins dive into one of the most sensitive topics in church life—church hurt. Whether you’ve been wounded by leaders, overlooked, or misunderstood, this episode reframes your pain as part of God’s refining process. They unpack Hebrews 12, exploring how endurance through hardship develops Christlike character and how leaders can walk through hurt without running from God’s discipline.

• Endure hardship as discipline. (Hebrews 12:7) God isn’t punishing you—He’s parenting you into maturity.
  
• Church hurt and God’s refining discipline often overlap. Even when others wrong you, God can use that pain to form Christlike endurance.
  
• Don’t waste the trial. Running from discomfort may forfeit the growth and healing God wants to bring.
  
• Think humbly, not just act humbly. Learn to see yourself and others through a humble, grace-filled lens.
  
• Leaders model endurance. How you respond to pain teaches your team and congregation how to follow Jesus through difficulty.
  
• Healing is your responsibility. Others may have hurt you, but you’re responsible to draw near to Jesus and let Him heal you.
  
• Stay near to Christ. True healing and transformation happen only in His presence and through His Word.
  
  

“Endure hardship as discipline. God’s not punishing you—He’s forming you into someone who can help others heal.” – Mark Carter

“Running from discipline keeps us from growth, but endurance forms Christlike character.” – Erica Adkins

“If you want to be more helpful to people, you have to embrace the hard things that make you more like Jesus.” – Mark Carter

“You never know what future version of you depends on getting healed right now.” – Mark Carter

• 00:00–03:00 – Introduction: What is “church hurt”?
  
• 03:00–07:00 – Understanding discipline from Hebrews 12
  
• 07:00–10:30 – The danger of running from pain
  
• 10:30–15:00 – Endurance and humility as leadership formation
  
• 15:00–20:00 – Why we’re surprised when pain shows up in church
  
• 20:00–25:00 – God’s sovereignty in suffering
  
• 25:00–35:00 – How to walk with others through church hurt
  
• 35:00–43:00 – Healing, responsibility, and future fruitfulness
  
  

• Hebrews 12:7 – “Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children.”
  
• John 12:24 – “Unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.”
  
• Romans 8:28–29 – “God works all things together for good… to conform us to the image of His Son.”
  
• Genesis 50:20 – “You meant evil against me, but God meant it for good.”
  
• Psalm 34:18 – “The Lord is near to the brokenhearted.”
  
  

Reflect:

• Where have you experienced “church hurt”?
  
  
• What might God be refining in you through that pain?
  
  
• Are you running from something He wants to use to grow you?
  
  

Journal Prompts:

• “What does endurance look like for me right now?”
  
  
• “Where is God inviting me to think humbly instead of defensively?”
  
  
• “Who might need to see my faithfulness under pressure?”
  
  

Pray:

Ask God to help you interpret hardship as His loving discipline, not rejection. Invite Him to heal the wounds that still shape how you lead and love others.

Resources Mentioned:

• Hebrews 12 Study
  
• Planted, Not Buried by Pastor Mike Todd of Transformation Church
  
• Try Not to Run, Sermon Series by Pastor Carter of Fierce Church

Feeling stuck in your calling?

The wilderness is where God purifies our ambition, teaches us wisdom, and reminds us that people—not performance—are the real legacy.

In this episode of the Bible Leadership Podcast, Pastor Mark Carter and co-host Erica Adkins unpack how God uses seasons of wilderness to shape a leader’s heart. From learning wisdom to pruning unhealthy relationships, this episode explores the tension between ambition and people, waiting and working, ministry and identity. Through real-life stories and biblical insight, Mark shares how leaders can stay faithful, humble, and people-centered when God presses “pause” on their plans.

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• Wisdom grows in the wilderness. God uses waiting seasons to train leaders in discernment, humility, and patience.
  
  
• Don’t confuse surrender with passivity. You can’t rush God’s timeline, but you can grow while you wait—read, learn, and prepare.
  
  
• “Sow where you want to grow.” Be intentional about planting into the areas where you hope to see long-term fruit—your marriage, friendships, or leadership skills.
  
  
• People matter more than performance. Ambition can drive good work, but if it eclipses people, it’s become an idol.
  
  
• Ministry is a stewardship, not an identity. Your worth isn’t tied to what you build—it’s anchored in being a son or daughter of God.
  
  
• Affirmation from God outweighs applause from people. Maturity means caring more about heaven’s “well done” than earthly approval.
  
  

“God can move a parked car, but He probably won’t—get behind the wheel and start being faithful where you are.” — Erica Adkins

“True greatness isn’t building monuments to ourselves; it’s becoming the kind of leader God can trust.” — Erica Adkins

“Ministry is a stewardship, not an identity.” — Mark Carter

“Dude, ministry is just too doggone hard and too long to not be with people that you like to be around. Let's just like each other.” – Mark Carter

• 00:00 — What the wilderness really is
  
  
• 01:40 — Wisdom vs. waiting: how to discern the difference
  
  
• 05:10 — “Sow where you want to grow”: learning in the wilderness
  
  
• 08:00 — Pruning relationships and planned neglect
  
  
• 13:00 — Ambition vs. people: what really matters in leadership
  
  
• 19:30 — When ambition hurts people (Mark’s personal story)
  
  
• 23:00 — Learning to crave Jesus’ affirmation more than man’s praise
  
  
• 28:00 — When ministry becomes an idol
  
  
• 33:00 — Investing in teachable, responsive people
  
  
• 39:00 — Final encouragement: trading comfort for closeness with Christ
  
  

• James 1:2–4 – “Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete.”
  
  
• Philippians 2:3–4 – “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit… value others above yourselves.”
  
  
• Psalm 16:6 – “The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places.”
  
  
• Galatians 6:9 – “Let us not become weary in doing good.”
  
  
• Matthew 4:1–11 – Jesus’ own wilderness preparation.
  
  

• Reflect: Where might God be inviting you to grow in wisdom instead of rushing ahead?
  
  
• Journal Prompt: “What part of my ambition needs to be surrendered so that people, not projects, remain my priority?”
  
  
• Pray: Ask God to give you discernment in relationships—to prune what hinders growth and strengthen what builds your character.
  
  
• Practice: Choose one area this week to “sow where you want to grow.” Take a small, intentional step toward health in that space.
  
  

Resource: Revisit Episode 55 (“Wilderness Part 1”) for more context on how God works under the surface during waiting seasons.

In Part 2 of our Wilderness series, Dr. Mark Carter and Erica Adkins dive deeper into how to lead yourself and others through those confusing, in-between seasons when God’s promise hasn’t yet become reality. From church transitions and burnout to personal loss and leadership wounds, they explore what it means to stay faithful, grounded, and hopeful when everything feels disoriented. This conversation helps leaders recognize what’s “normal” in the wilderness—and how to find God’s hand when you can’t see the way forward.

✅ The wilderness is not punishment—it’s preparation. God is forming your faith and character in the in-between.

✅ Great leaders name what’s happening: “This might just be a wilderness.” Awareness helps your people stay calm and grounded.

✅ High communication and clarity protect your people when everything feels unstable.

✅ Every wilderness reveals the limits of your own strength and deepens your dependence on Jesus.

✅ Before you can lead others well, you must first let God lead you through your own disillusionment, fear, and false securities.

“Sometimes leadership in the wilderness just means saying, ‘What you’re feeling is normal—God’s still faithful.’”

“Jesus is the only one who will never leave you. Everything else can be taken, but He remains.”

"Is it possible that some of what you've lost, it's not because you're so bad, and it's not because you're just a person nobody wants to be around? Instead, it's because, in his mercy, God is teaching you to cling to only Jesus, because that's really the only rock. That's the anchor, dude."

Action Step:

Name your wilderness. Ask, “What might God be forming in me right now?” Then communicate clearly and calmly with those you lead—faith always flourishes in clarity.

Reflection Prompt:

Where have you been tempted to panic, retreat, or doubt God’s timing? What would it look like to trust that He’s still leading—even when you can’t see the map?

📝 Read: Emotionally Healthy Relationships by Peter Scazzero — for practical tools on staying grounded and connected through conflict and change.

📺 Watch: Bible Leadership Podcast – Wilderness Part 1

In this episode, Mark Carter and co-host Erica Adkins dive into what it means to walk through the “wilderness” seasons of life and leadership. These are the in-between spaces—after a promise is given, but before it’s fulfilled. Drawing from Scripture and personal stories, they explore why God leads us through wildernesses and how leaders can develop spiritual resilience during these confusing and refining times.

• Wilderness is a biblical pattern, not a personal failure. From Moses to Paul to Jesus, God often leads His people through a wilderness before a breakthrough.

• God uses the wilderness to shape dependence, obedience, and worship. It’s about valuing His presence more than the promise itself.

• Self-leadership is critical. Leaders must recognize they’re in a wilderness season and choose to stay grounded in God’s Word, worship, and truth—even when it feels like nothing is changing.

• Not knowing the full lesson is part of the process. Don’t assume you know what God is teaching right away; the deeper work often takes time to surface.

• Beware of grumbling and misplaced expectations. Complaining in the wilderness can short-circuit what God is doing—and so can trying to control the outcome.

• “The wilderness is usually the exact opposite of what we’ve been promised—and it’s where God forms the kind of people who can actually carry the promise.”
• “You may not know what God is correcting in your soul right away. That’s part of self-leadership—trusting Him even in the dark.”
• “If you’re not going to eat the manna, you’re going to die in that wilderness.”
• “Worship God with the suckiness. Jesus is worth the sucky.”

• Romans 15:4 – “Everything that was written in the past was written to teach us…”

• Exodus, Leviticus, Deuteronomy, Joshua – Israel’s wilderness journey

• Matthew 4:1 – Jesus led into the wilderness

• Numbers 16 – Korah’s rebellion and submission to God’s order

• Isaiah 55:8–9 – God’s ways and thoughts are higher than ours

• Job 1:21 – “The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.”

Reflect:

• What “promise” are you waiting on God to fulfill?

• In what ways might your current “wilderness” be shaping your character or your calling?

Journaling Prompts:

• “Where am I tempted to grumble instead of worship?”

• “How have I been trying to control the ending of my story?”

• “What does obedience look like for me in this season?”

Spiritual Practices:

• Meditate on Romans 15:4 and journal how God has used past seasons to encourage you.

• Take a 24-hour media fast and spend that time in worship and Scripture (especially Exodus 16 or Matthew 4).

Linked Resources:

• Visit bibleleadership.com for more episodes and resources.

• Watch the episode on YouTube and share with a friend.

• Want to know more about Fierce Church? Check it out here.