"Who am I? Was never gonna turn out well. Who do I say I am? Had a chance." - Mike Hilson
"Who am I? Was never gonna turn out well. Who do I say I am? Had a chance." - Mike Hilson
Mike Hilson is the Senior Pastor of New Life Church based in La Plata, Maryland. Since 1999, the church has grown under his leadership from a congregation of less than 100 into several churches and video venues. The New Life Network of churches now averages more than 5,000 in regular attendance across Maryland, Northern Virginia, and online.
Mike currently serves on the Board of Trustees at Southern Wesleyan University. He is also a member of the Chesapeake District Board of Administration for the Wesleyan Church. He lives in the D.C. Metro Area with his wife, Tina and their three adult sons.
Mike has written several books, including Napkin Theology, Speak Life, A Significant Impact for Christ, Heart of a Leader: Moses, and a series of books called Coffee with the Pastor.
These successes led to numerous invitations to teach and coach leaders from multiple regions, states, denominations, and nations.
In this episode, host Ken Woodward welcomes Pastor Mike Hilson, senior pastor of New Life Church. They delve deep into how questions shape identity, leadership, and personal growth.
Mike shares his journey, from wrestling with self-identity as a child to leading a thriving network of churches. Key discussions include the necessity of creative boredom, the evolution of the question 'Who do I say I am?', the importance of strategic delegation, and balancing doctrinal adherence with familial love.
The episode addresses how asking the right questions can uncover more profound truths, facilitate effective leadership, and nurture valuable relationships.
This Curated Questions episode can be found on all major platforms and at CuratedQuestions.com.
Keep questioning!
Episode Notes
00:00 The Origin of a Pivotal Question
01:51 Introducing Mike Hilson
03:18 Mike's Early Life and the Power of Questions
04:16 Struggles in School and the Importance of 'Why'
05:18 College Years and Career Decisions
05:49 Journey into Ministry
06:14 Challenges and Realizations in Ministry
08:21 Creative Boredom and Leadership
11:00 Self-Awareness and Personal Growth
11:24 Marriage and Life Decisions
15:38 Parenting and Fatherhood
17:24 Wrestling with Identity and Faith
18:17 Leadership and Church Growth
22:40 The Impact of Lifelong Questions
30:36 What is a Good Dad?
36:16 Delegation and Empowerment
38:57 Handling Authority and Humility
40:38 Church Planting and Community Building
41:58 Maintaining Humility and Perspective
42:46 Mentorship and Church Growth
43:33 Rabbinical Mentoring Approach
44:04 Coffee with the Pastor Series
44:37 Rick Warren's Baseball Diamond Structure
45:39 Impact and Ministry Goals
48:52 End Game Thinking
50:36 Succession Planning
53:27 Communism and Totalitarianism
54:14 End Game Thinking in Personal Life
58:37 Questions and Anger in Society
01:00:48 Philosophical Base Choices
01:03:57 Biblical Truths and Cultural Application
01:06:04 Personal Identity and Roles
01:07:26 Future Plans and Family
01:13:13 Living a Full Life
01:15:51 Common Question: Proving God's Existence
01:16:10 Philosophical Game: What If I'm Wrong?
01:19:43 Final Thoughts and Gratitude
01:19:48 Summary Takeaways
Resources Mentioned
New Life Church in La Plata, Maryland
Napkin Theology by Mike Hilson
Speak Life by Mike Hilson
A Significant Impact for Christ by Mike Hilson
Coffee with the Pastor by Mike Hilson
Outlive by Dr. Peter Attia
Mike Hilson on LinkedIn
Questions Asked
When did you first understand the power of questions?
Why am I here, why am I here without anybody? Why don't people like me?
Why is that bird doing that? Why does that rabbit hide there? why does that snake stand in that tree?
Why am I doing this [college class]? Why am I here? Why am I doing this?
What's this gonna be like?
Why am I a Wesleyan? Why do I believe this about the Bible versus that?
Could I be a Baptist? Could I be a Pentecostal?
Where is your creative boredom?
How have you used questions in that journey of self-awareness?
If I keep dating this girl, I'm going to marry her. And I had to stop and say to myself, am I okay with that?
Who do you say I am?
Who do I say she is?
Am I, Mike the guy who's gonna be a businessman who's gonna do this? Or am I, Mike the guy who's gonna be a pastor? Am I pastor Mike?
How do I figure it out?
How do I help other people deal with this?
Who do I say I am? Who does God say I am?
How could you leave?
What do I think a father ought to be?
What does a good father do right now?
How do you properly unpack things?
Which matters more?
What did Jesus die for?
If I fail to show grace here, how is it that I'm being like Jesus?
How does a dad show Grace?
What is a good dad, and how do I live that out?
Who do I say that I am?
What can I not, not do?
How quickly did you embrace load shedding and being okay with that as a leader?
How do I make sure we're taking care of them properly?
What is the logical outcome of what I am currently doing?
What is end game thinking?
What do I leave behind?
How do you think through what that building's gonna be worth in 30 years?
What's the natural outcome if I continue to treat my wife the way I'm treating her right now?
What happens if you silence half or a third of your nation and tell them they can't talk anymore?
How generous am I being to other people?
What does that mean for my life? What does that mean for how I live?
What measure did I just use?
What measure do I want God to use back to me?
What does it mean to love my child, even if my child's gonna reject my faith?
How do I balance these?
How do you now do your job? What can I not not do to fit inside of that?
Why would I believe in a God that you can't prove exists?
What have I missed in my life by following a biblical worldview and the biblical tenets of how I should live?
What if I'm wrong?
What if I'm right? What have you missed?
Where in your life do you need to create more space for creative boredom, and what might emerge if you stopped filling every quiet moment with distractions?
How might shifting from "who am I?" to "who do I say I am?" change your approach to major life decisions?
What would change in your effectiveness if you identified the 3-4 things only you can do and systematically handed off everything else?
In your leadership roles, where might you be prioritizing institutional expectations over the deeper human needs of those you serve?