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Can you be a public school principal and openly follow Jesus without crossing the line into pushing beliefs on others? We’ve been sitting with that tension for a long time, because public school leadership demands fairness, trust, and service for everyone, including students, staff, and families with completely different faiths or no faith at all. What we’ve learned is simple but challenging: our beliefs matter most in what people experience from our leadership.

We tell a personal story of growing up in church, drifting, and then coming back to faith in a way that reshapes purpose, career, and calling as an educator. From there, we get practical about what “living your faith” can look like in a public school setting: listening well, speaking with care, forgiving, showing grace, holding boundaries, and treating people with dignity even when you disagree. That’s not a sermon. That’s school culture.

We also connect the dots between everyday educational leadership and the principles many of us already teach and use, including servant leadership, integrity, and consistent care. If you’ve read authors like John C. Maxwell, Stephen Covey, or John Gordon, you’ll recognize how often strong leadership overlaps with values that shape how we coach teachers, support students, and restore relationships after mistakes.

If you’re heading into a new school year and want to lead with conviction and compassion, press play. Subscribe, share this with a fellow educator, and leave a review so more school leaders can find it. What’s one way you’re setting the tone in your building this year?

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