Not many have led in the variety of ministries and at the most senior levels as Jo Anne Lyon. She served in pastoral ministry for over 30 years, founded an international nonprofit organization, provided executive leadership to Christian higher education institutions, and was the top leader of The Wesleyan Church denomination.

In Today’s Conversation hosted by Walter Kim, Jo Anne shares how to lead well — in different contexts and especially in times of crisis. You’ll learn:

  • How to meaningfully employ courage and risk in leadership;
  • How God used Jo Anne’s passions to step into new levels of influence;
  • What she learned about women and men working together; and
  • How to understand power in leadership and know when to give it up.

Read a Portion of the Transcript

Walter: You’ve raised the issue of multi-tasking and being in multiple roles at the same time. What did you learn about being in multiple leadership roles at the same time?

Jo Anne: One of the things that I’ve always tried to do was, in a sense, draw a string. What connects all this? Why am I doing this? What is the connection? It isn’t like, “Here’s a compartment, here’s a compartment, here’s a compartment,” but how do they mesh together? What am I learning from one that adds strength and wisdom to the other? It is a collaboration of circles of all things in the circle together, rather than walls dividing them.

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Today’s Conversation is brought to you by Christian Community Credit Union.

 

 

 

Jo Anne Lyon

Jo Anne Lyon is general superintendent emerita and ambassador of The Wesleyan Church, after serving as general superintendent from 2008 to 2016. Prior to leading The Wesleyan Church, she was founder and CEO of the relief and development organization, World Hope International. For several years, she has been an adjunct professor of church and society at Indiana Wesleyan University and Asbury Theological Seminary. Lyon has served over 30 years in pastoral ministry, and holds a master’s degree in counseling and further graduate studies in historical theology.

Walter Kim

Walter Kim became the president of the National Association of Evangelicals in January 2020. He previously served as a pastor at Boston’s historic Park Street Church and at churches in Vancouver, Canada and Charlottesville, Virginia, as well as a campus chaplain at Yale University. He preaches, writes and engages in collaborative leadership to connect the Bible to the intellectual and cultural issues of the day. He regularly teaches in conferences and classrooms; addresses faith concerns with elected officials and public institutions; and provides theological and cultural commentary to leading news outlets. He serves on the boards of Christianity Today and World Relief and consults with a wide range of organizations. Kim received his Ph.D. from Harvard University in Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations, his M.Div. from Regent College in Vancouver, and his B.A. from Northwestern University.