Jason Miller got fired from his first youth ministry job, and he says he totally deserved it. The ministry was growing fast, but he didn’t have the character behind it. Years later, his first church as lead pastor closed. Those failures taught him what leadership really is.

Today Jason is lead pastor at Zion Lutheran Church in Clear Lake, Iowa, with 26 years in ministry, and he coaches leaders in every kind of business. He and Bart met at the Maxwell Leadership International Conference.

In this episode:

• Why he used to think leaders needed all the answers, and why that sank him
• The difference between managing and leading: managers get tasks done, leaders inspire people to want to do the task
• How Moses striking the rock teaches a lesson about self-awareness
• WAIT, which stands for “Why am I talking?”, and the four questions he asks himself before he speaks
• The joke he made from the stage that hurt people, and how he made it right
• Why real sobriety isn’t just not drinking, it’s sober thinking

This conversation isn’t just for pastors. It’s for anyone who leads people, whether you run a church, a car dealership, or a 7-Eleven.

Connect with Jason:
Instagram: soulgym.daily
TikTok: j.d.miller
Coaching: jdmiller.coaching@gmail.com

Dana Rowe was a bank teller who was great with customers but could never balance her cash drawer. Her company didn’t fire her. They moved her to customer service, and she thrived. Today she leads the same way.

Dana is VP of Business Development at KYCS Global. KYCS stands for Keep Your Community Safe. She started as a road warrior cold calling dealerships for Boomerang Tracking, the Canadian arm of LoJack. Now her company protects vehicles for Honda, Acura, BMW, Mercedes and Rolls-Royce, and it is breaking into the US market.

In this episode:

• How KYCS won Honda Canada when auto theft in Canada exploded during COVID
• Why perseverance became her personal mantra after a painful divorce
• Her mom, her biggest mentor, and a family story of boundaries and redemption
• The leadership mistake of only listening to people who think like you
• Why encouragement and appreciation shape a team more than anything else
• Her honest answer on where her own company needs to grow

Bart also offers the Five Levels of Leadership assessment free to every listener. Email bart@bartnollenberger.com or call 480-327-8751.

Learn more about Dana’s company at kycsglobal.com.

What does it look like to lead people who are broken, hurting, and rebuilding their lives — and what can every leader learn from that?

In this episode of Keep the Change, Bart sits down with his longtime friend Scott Rodgers — pastor, author, and leader — for a conversation about leading with compassion, building culture in ministry, and what it really means to treat people the way they want to be treated.

Scott shares how he's leading a thriving Celebrate Recovery ministry and the leadership principles that apply whether you're running a business, a team, or a church.

In this episode:

• Why leading volunteers is one of the hardest — and most rewarding — leadership challenges
• The difference between the Golden Rule and the Platinum Rule (and why it changes everything)
• How compassion, mercy, and grace aren't soft skills — they're leadership essentials
• Why knowing someone's story is the key to leading them well
• Don't be that boss — what great leadership actually looks like in practice

Connect with Scott Rodgers on social media — search Rodgers (R-O-D-G-E-R-S)

Subscribe to Keep the Change and share this episode with a leader who needs to hear it.