Leadership Through Suffering and Surrender | Rev. Dr. Nicole Martin
What does it look like to lead the way Jesus did — through the cross, not around it? Host Joy Fea welcomes Rev. Dr. Nicole Massie Martin, President and CEO of Christianity Today, to talk about her book Nailing It: Why Successful Leadership Demands Suffering and Surrender. Together, they explore what people really need from a leader, why perfectionism isn't the same as excellence, how power works for women with and without a title, and why loyalty can quietly become an idol. Nicole also shares what “cruciform leadership” looks like on an ordinary Tuesday, and what she'd tell her twentysomething self about ambition, insecurity, and calling.
WHAT YOU WILL LEARN
· Why transparency — not just confidence — is what makes a leader trustworthy, and how naming the “turbulence” ahead of time actually builds a team's confidence rather than undermining it.
· What Nicole's book title actually means: leadership “suffering” isn't suffering for its own sake — it's dying to ego, control, and ambition so that something greater can be resurrected through you.
· How to recognize when perfectionism, not excellence, is driving your leadership (and your parenting) — and why anything involving other people can never be perfect.
· The difference between operating with excellence and operating to prove your worth — and why God's approval, not your output, is the more stable foundation.
· A framework for understanding power beyond your job title: legitimate, expert, informational, referential, and reward power, and how to identify and use whatever power you actually have.
· How to tell the difference between healthy, Christ-centered loyalty and loyalty that has quietly become an idol — and why toxic leaders are usually surrounded by loyal followers who are afraid to speak up.
· What women uniquely bring to leadership when they're free to lead from who God made them to be, rather than compensating for who they're told they aren't.
· What “cruciform leadership” looks like in practice — a daily, repeated act of surrendering your schedule, your meetings, and your outcomes to God rather than white-knuckling your way through them.
· How Nicole leads a 70-year-old media ministry without becoming captive to its legacy — maintaining Christianity Today's founding mission while letting its expression evolve.
· Nicole's advice to young leaders on discerning calling: focus on your strengths rather than fixing your weaknesses, and hold your context loosely — your calling is bigger than any one role.
ABOUT OUR GUEST
Rev. Dr. Nicole Martin was born and educated in Baltimore, Maryland. She graduated magna cum laude from Vanderbilt University with a triple major in Human and Organizational Development, Educational Studies, and French. Dr. Martin received her Master of Divinity from Princeton Theological Seminary and earned a Doctor of Ministry from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary.
Dr. Martin is the founder and Executive Director of Soulfire International Ministries, which accelerates thriving for pastors, churches, and younger leaders. She has decades of executive leadership experience in the church and Christian non-profits and is currently serving as the President and Chief Executive Officer of Christianity Today. She is also active in her local congregation, Kingdom Fellowship AME Church, in Maryland.
Prior to her role at Christianity Today, Dr. Martin has served in a variety of leadership and executive capacities, including as the Senior Vice President of Ministry Impact at the American Bible Society, as Executive Minister at The Park Church, and Assistant Professor of Ministry and Leadership Development at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in Charlotte, NC.
Dr. Martin is a gifted writer and author of numerous articles and three books: Made to Lead: Empowering Women for Ministry, Leaning In, Letting Go: A Lenten Devotional, and Nailing It: Why Successful Leadership Demands Suffering and Surrender. She serves on the executive council of the National Association of Evangelicals, the Board of Trustees at Fuller Theological Seminary, and on the National Advisory Council for the Salvation Army. She is a founding board member of the Center for Christianity and Public Life and has been inducted into the esteemed Board of Preachers at Morehouse College.
Dr. Martin is married to her best friend, Dr. Mark Martin, and they have two amazing daughters, Addison and Josephine.