The Courageous Ask

Brian Kreeger pt 1

We have all seen the news reports of someone of some esteemed importance getting caught up in some kind of scandal. Politicians. High level executives. Hollywood elite or sports superstars. It’s all so shocking and everyone wonders how they could have allowed it to happen. But there are others that fall into the same temptations. Pastors. Ministry leaders. Non-profit leaders. It doesn’t have to a major scandal, affair or corruption. Often, it’s not. But the stigma and embarrassment of what happens can cost marriages, careers and, in some cases, the people involved may even take their own life! My guest today is Brian Kreeger, author of the book “The Courageous Ask: A Proactive Approach to Prevent the Fall of Christian Non-Profit Leaders.” Brian was the founder of a great non-profit health clinic in a major metropolitan city – who lost his identity and, well, let’s say, “fell from grace.” His calling is to share his story and what he has learned and observed in others – all for the purpose of helping Board of Directors and others in various leadership positions to prevent their leaders from succumbing to these temptations. Brian’s book, “The Courageous Ask: A Proactive Approach to Prevent the Fall of Christian Non-Profit Leaders,” is a great read and will be a great resource for your leadership teams, from churches to businesses. Help me welcome to the program, Brian Kreeger.  Brian, thank you for joining us today. First question, other than that brief information I just shared, can you tell us in your own words, “Who is Brian Kreeger?” Everyone wants to be a leader. They see the leader out front. They see the leader getting the glory and praise – and they want that. What they don’t see though, is the pressure, the failures, – they don’t realize the aloneness a leader can feel. You were in the National Guard, you were in management in civilian life, and then you started a non-profit in a poverty-stricken area.  Were you becoming a leader through all of these careers and is running the non-profit what you believed your life calling was going to be? I always believe that “ministry” is not just preaching the Gospel. You used a health clinic to share the Love of God with those that entered your doors.  But, you were also being pressured to be more up front and “in your face” type of witnessing to the patients you were treating. Tell us about that type of pressure and why you resisted doing that type of “witnessing” in the clinic… Many people have a peer they can talk with at work about problems and situations. But not so for the leader.  How important is it for a leader to have a confidant, an accountability partner (so to speak) that they can vent to and seek guidance, etc.? Your book is titled, “The Courageous Ask: A Proactive Approach to Prevent the Fall of Christian Non-Profit Leaders,” why this book for the time in which we live? This is not a “pie in the sky” type of book that talks about theoretical things. This is based upon your own life experiences. Can you give us the background or basis for writing this book? In your book, you said your success caused you to, more or less, take responsibility for the continued success of your non-profit upon yourself and took it away from God. You reference an example of not golfing because a donor might think you were wasting donated money and things like that. How do leaders drift into that mindset that everything is “their” responsibility? Go down into the show notes and order Brian Kreegers book, “The Courageous Ask: A Proactive Approach to Prevent the Fall of Christian Non-Profit Leaders,” while you are thinking about it. In fact, order two or three copies. Give them out to your Board of Directors, your church leadership, your pastor. You never know how just ONE TIP from Brian Kreeger could be identified in a leader and prevented – simply because you purchased this book. Amen!

CONTACT INFORMATION:

  Email:  brian@briankreeger.com Website:  https://www.briankreeger.com/ Book:  “The Courageous Ask: A Proactive Approach to Prevent the Fall of Christian Non-Profit Leaders”  - on Amazon