Behind every thriving ministry is a foundation you can’t always see - standards, accountability, and trust. Without them, the most passionate vision can unravel overnight.

In this episode of Life After Ministry, ECFA’s Jake Lapp explains why accountability matters not just for auditors and boards but for pastors, leaders, and anyone entrusted with Kingdom resources.

He shares how ECFA’s standards were designed to serve ministries, not stifle them, and how transparency is one of the clearest ways leaders reflect Christ’s call to integrity.

If you’ve ever wondered whether accountability hinders or helps ministry, Jake’s perspective reframes the conversation. This episode offers a framework for leaders who want to guard the mission, protect their people, and leave behind a legacy of trust.

• Accountability is not bureaucracy - it’s discipleship.
• Transparency builds trust faster than vision statements.
• Financial integrity protects both leaders and the people they serve.
• ECFA standards are guardrails, not red tape.
• Trust is earned in drops but lost in buckets.
• Healthy structures create freedom, not restriction.
• Integrity in hidden details sustains visible ministry.

• 00:00 – Introduction to ECFA and Jake Lapp
• 02:05 – Why Accountability Matters in Ministry
• 05:20 – The Role of ECFA Standards
• 09:45 – How Transparency Builds Trust
• 13:10 – Common Pitfalls Leaders Face
• 17:25 – Trust, Integrity, and Long-Term Sustainability
• 21:40 – Encouragement for Leaders in Transition

Strengthen the foundation you cannot see. Visit ECFA.org to review the Seven Standards, explore practical tools, and begin a clear pathway toward accreditation. Build transparency that protects people, guards the mission, and reflects Christ’s call to integrity.

If a transition is on the horizon, do not carry it alone. Go to MinistryTransitions.com to book a confidential call and build an integrity-first plan that safeguards your people and purpose. If you’re able, give to make this support possible for another leader.

What happens when the very act of caring for others leaves you depleted?

Laura Howe, founder of Hope Made Strong, knows firsthand the toll of compassion fatigue. From her own season of burnout came a global movement equipping churches to address mental health with wisdom and grace.

In this conversation, Laura shares her personal journey from exhaustion to renewed purpose. She reminds us that burnout is not a moral failure, but a workplace hazard for anyone serving in caregiving roles.

With honesty and clarity, she explains what resilience truly looks like, how to know when you’ve moved from “yellow” into “red,” and why churches must begin addressing mental health as part of whole-life discipleship.

For leaders in transition, this episode offers a lifeline. You’ll hear not only practical wisdom but also the hope that God redeems what feels wasted.

Whether you’re a pastor, a board member, or someone carrying unseen weight, Laura’s insights offer courage to pause, refuel, and continue faithfully.

• Burnout and compassion fatigue are hazards of caregiving, not signs of weakness or sin.
• Resilience is less about powering through and more about bouncing back.
• Ministry leaders must learn to recognize their “zone” on the green-yellow-orange-red scale.
• Sustainable care in churches means creating belonging, purpose, and hope - not acting as clinics.
• The Church has a unique capacity to support mental health across every stage of life.
• Global interest in integrating faith and mental health is rising rapidly.
• Hope Made Strong and the Church Mental Health Summit provide free, practical resources.

• 00:00 – Introduction to Laura Howe and Hope Made Strong
• 01:10 – Laura’s Burnout Story and Birth of Hope Made Strong
• 03:13 – Understanding Compassion Fatigue and Resilience
• 06:12 – How Do You Know It’s Time for a Change?
• 09:17 – From Red Zone to Hope Made Strong
• 12:15 – Sustainability and the Church’s Responsibility
• 16:04 – Why the Church Must Embrace Mental Health
• 19:50 – Launching the Church Mental Health Summit
• 23:25 – Personal Reflection and Final Encouragement

If this episode stirred something in you, take a next step: visit MinistryTransitions.com to book a confidential call about an upcoming transition, termination, or succession - or give to help another leader get timely support. Then head to HopeMadeStrong.org to equip your team for sustainable care by registering for the Church Mental Health Summit and accessing practical tools for your church.

What if the missing piece in your leadership is not more strategy but more empathy?

Bill and Kristi Gaultiere say empathy is oxygen for the soul, and many leaders are gasping without realizing it.

They join Matt to unpack how Jesus models secure attachment with the Father and how we can receive and reflect that love in daily life.

Bill and Kristi name the empathy deserts many of us grew up in, why ministry culture often rewards self-neglect, and how receiving care is not a luxury. It is discipleship.

The conversation lands with the Four A’s of Empathy. Ask. Attune. Acknowledge. Affirm. Practice these, and watch connection and courage return.

If you are ending a role, beginning again, or preparing for a hard meeting, this episode offers biblical wisdom and field-tested tools to do hard things with Jesus’ easy yoke.

• Empathy is not sentimentality. It is the way love becomes believable and actionable. “We love because He first loved us.”
• Many leaders grew up in empathy deserts. Naming this breaks shame and opens us to care.
• Jesus models secure attachment with the Father. Presence before performance. Prayer before platform.
• The Four A’s of Empathy help in any conversation. Ask. Attune. Acknowledge significance. Affirm strengths.
• Receiving empathy enlarges capacity for compassion at home and work.
• Empathy transforms hard transitions. It dignifies layoffs, fuels grief work, and softens the ground for forgiveness.
• Leaders need safe people and slow practices that rebuild attachment to God and others.

• 00:00 Welcome and name pronunciation fun
• 01:38 What is Soul Shepherding and the easy yoke of Jesus
• 04:10 Release day for Deeply Loved and why empathy matters
• 04:43 Empathy deserts and early stories that shape leaders
• 07:45 Why Christian leaders struggle to receive love
• 11:06 Empathy is oxygen for the soul
• 14:48 “Is empathy soft?” Gender, strength, and honesty
• 20:38 Attachment, secure bonds, and practical tools
• 26:30 Theology plus psychology in Deeply Loved
• 27:03 The Four A’s of Empathy explained
• 38:22 Empathy in layoffs, burnout, and hard meetings
• 43:53 Where to find the book and Soul Shepherding retreats
• 45:08 Close and gratitude

Explore More Resources:

Dive deeper into the themes of this episode by visiting soulshepherding.org/deeplylovedbook for Bill and Kristi Gaultier’s Deeply Loved, and find confidential guidance and support for ministry transitions at ministrytransitions.com.