One out of three leaders don’t finish well in the work that they undertake. Striking, isn’t it? As our podcast celebrates 300 episodes of engaging global nonprofit leaders, we strive to be that minority that stay the course God gave us and there’s no one better to talk to than today’s guest. Making his record sixth interview on the show, we’re joined by Hope International CEO Peter Greer who sits down with Brandon Stiver and Phil Darke to discuss his new book, How Leaders Lose Their Way. For whatever area that God has called you to lead in ministry, humanitarian work or even within your own family, this is a conversation for you!
Author Archives: Brandon Stiver
Addressing Unregistered Orphanages with Obed Masese and Meredith Caleb
If our commitment is that every child grow up in a safe and loving family, how do we address that so many children are living in orphanages that are unregistered and operating outside of the public eye? It’s challenging work to map, find and even collaborate with such institutions, but we’ve got the right guides to learn from. Brandon is joined today by Obed Masese and Meredith Caleb of Victory Child Empowerment to learn what is causing children in Kenya to go into orphanages of all types and what their team is doing to map unregistered orphanages with a broader care reform approach.
Land Grabbing, Violence and Persecution in Nigeria with Clint Lyons and Paul U.
Did you know that 90% of the persecution that Christians face throughout the world comes from one region? Nigeria has seen a trajectory of violence aimed at Christians in recent years and in today’s episode we’re unpacking all the layers behind targeted massacres in the area. Joining the show are Clint Lyons and Paul Ubaka who are with iReach Global, a Christian nonprofit that is serving the church and creating bridges of peace in the country.
DOGE, Millenial Donors and The (Potential) End of the NGO Era with Michael Cerna
This year has seen a tremendous amount of change for Christian NGOs doing transformational development throughout the world. In many ways, we are entering a new era of global mission and international development. To talk about some of those changes and to help us keep a pulse on what God is up to, we’re joined by Michael Cerna who serves as the CEO at the Accord Network. Building on topics from Accord’s Thursday Three weekly newsletter, Michael talks with Brandon Stiver about recent reports, articles and resources that are charting a path forward for us.
God’s Movement Among the Iranian Church with Lana Silk
There is no place on Earth that God is not working, even in authoritarian regimes that make following Christ illegal, He still moves. Iran is one of those countries. While we hear about Iran pretty regularly in the news, we don’t typically hear about what God is doing through His Spirit and in His Church there. Today we’re joined by the CEO of Transform Iran, Lana Silk. She talks with Brandon Stiver about the geopolitics of the country, what it was like for her growing up in Iran and most importantly, how the gospel is spreading among communities there.
Care Reform in an Urbanizing Africa with Chantry Mweemba
Families are the center piece of how God created societies to flourish, yet there are so many things that can tear down this fundamental part of God’s design. We know that orphanages are spread out throughout the world and we know that those children should be allowed to grow up in families. In today’s episode, we have Chantry Mweemba of Alliance for Children Everywhere joining to dive deeper into the effects of urbanization, education access and other factors that are leading children in Zambia to separate from their families. We also get into how the recent USAID closure is negatively affecting the protection of children in Zambia and how organizations like ACE are continuing to step up for children even in the midst of uncertain times.
The Messy Middle of Monitoring and Evaluation
One of our great passions behind the show is equipping practitioners globally to serve the poor and develop communities. Today’s episode is all about that. We’ve invited our friend Jeremy Macias back onto the show to share with us about the “messy middle” of monitoring and evaluation and the critical role that it plays in community interventions. Jeremy works with World Relief and shares some of his experiences developing monitoring and evaluation frameworks with different organizations over the years. Then, Brandon dives into the Apostle Paul’s words from Romans 12 as an ethical framework for understanding Romans 13, but really all of Christian life. Lastly, we’ve got some gifts that we want to share with you! You’ve heard Brandon’s book recommendation for years, now it’s time to give some away.
Understanding the History Behind Gaza with Dr. Ben Norquist
There is no more salient, no more pressing global event right now for the Church to engage than what is happening currently in Gaza. Gaza presents not just a lightning rod for conversation (or controversy), but also serves as a moral compass for all humankind. The global Church is wrestling with questions like, “is Israel justified in their offensive?” “how do we understand the theology and politics in play?” and “are we watching a genocide unfold before our eyes?” To help us understand the broader history and context around Gaza, we’ve invited Dr. Ben Norquist from Churches for Middle East Peace to the show. He sits down with Brandon Stiver to discuss all things surrounding the conflict and most importantly the decades leading up to what we see in 2025. Join us in this conversation and join us in praying and acting for peace.
A Year of Discovering the World as a Family with Ashley Campbell
The podcast is back from our summer break, but we’re still in vacation travel mode! We’re joined by author and photographer Ashley Campbell who is on the show to share about her new book “I’ve Never Been Here Before” and what it looks like to lead a big family on a big adventure around the world. From Morocco and Albania to the Philippines and Colombia, Ashley shares insight that isn’t just about being a travel guide, but what it looks like to raise children that are truly global citizens. She sits down to talk with Brandon Stiver about the trip, the book and why basketball turned out to be the MVP of the trip.
Summer Break, Updates and Honoring Our Founder Phil Darke
It has been four years since Phil invited Brandon to take over the podcast and the conversations since then (and all the way back to Phil’s founding of the podcast in 2016) have been rich, uplifting and led to the equipping of people throughout the world to care for the vulnerable. In this mid-year episode, we’re preparing to take a month off from releasing episodes, but there’s an even bigger transition for our podcast community. This is a conversation for those in this community. Join this personal conversation with Phil and Brandon as we pursue God with open hands.
Canopy International 