Carey Nieuwhof: ‘Church leadership nearly killed me’
By 
Emma Fowle2025-09-24T10:50:00
The influential Christian podcaster and author opens up about his journey from lawyer to pastor, his burnout at 41, and why church leaders desperately need friends who aren’t impressed by them
Carey Nieuwhof is a bestselling author and speaker. His influential Christian leadership podcast has been downloaded more than 36 million times and his content reaches more than 1.5 million people each month.
Yet the lawyer-turned-pastor is the first to admit that his own leadership journey has been far from flawless. For years, Niuewhof says he was beholden to the grift of church growth - at the expense of his character, marriage and relationships. His congregation was growing rapidly - leading to invitations to speak around the world - but success led to sudden burnout and a reckoning in his approach to leadership.
Now, the former lawyer dedicates his days to sharing his hard-won wisdom through his books, podcast and hugely popular weekly blog.
But who is Carey Nieuwhof and what’s his story? We caught up with him to find out…
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