Linch With A Leader

[BONUS] Episode 26: Carey Nieuwhof

Episode 26: Carey Nieuwhof

Carey is the founding pastor of Connexus Church in Ontario, Canada. He is also the host of the widely popular podcast, The Carey Nieuwhof Leadership Podcast, and the author of many books with a brand new one about to be released entitled, Didn’t See It Coming. Carey is a native of Canada and originally had intentions of being a lawyer. He eventually made the transition to ministry, and founded Connexus Church in 1995. He now oversees the communication and is working to expand Connexus’ b...

Episode 25: Chris Goede

Chris is the Vice President of Client Success for The John Maxwell Company. Growing up between Ohio and Florida, Chris began to excel on the athletic field and earned a football scholarship to Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia. While at Liberty, he studied sport management and business, but went on to play in the Canadian Football League for a few seasons. Afterwards, Chris began to launch and lead fast growing startup companies in the real estate and manufacturing world. In his...

Episode 24: William Vanderbloemen

William is the CEO and Founder of the Vanderbloemen Search Group which is a search firm that serves churches, ministries, and faith-based organizations. Previously, he was in ministry for over 15 years serving as a Senior Pastor. He also draws on his previous experience studying executive search, and serving as a Manager in Human Resources in a Fortune 200 company. Vanderbloemen serves as a keynote speaker for many events across the country, and he’s also authored Next: Pastoral Successio...

Episode 23: Chris Brown

Chris is located in Tennessee, and currently serves as a member of the Dave Ramsey team.  Before joining Ramsey in 2014, he was known for his work in the church serving as a pastor and speaker.  However, he also had a background in business and real estate that played a role in his success as a campus pastor.  He managed the churches multi-million dollar budget that had eight different campuses and over 12,000 members.  With the Dave Ramsey team, Chris communicates to audiences the importanc...

Episode 22: Annie F. Downs

Annie is currently based in Nashville, Tennessee but was born and raised in Marietta, Georgia and has burst onto the scene with her unique and creative writing style. Authoring books such as Looking for Lovely, Let’s All Be Brave, Perfectly Unique, and Speak Love, she has captivated a wide-ranging audience. Many of her books have moved on to become best-sellers, but she is also known as a speaker and podcaster. Annie frequents many churches, conferences, and large gatherings to inspire au...

Episode 21: John Flood

John Flood is currently the Founder and Managing Director of Elevate which is located in St. Simons, Georgia. Elevate serves to assist executive teams to develop a performance strategy that results in performance improvement. Previously, he has served as the Vice President and General Manager of Further Processing at Wayne Farms Incorporated. He has made his career in the food industry with his 30+ years of experience in the business. Before Wayne Farms, he has worked for other giants in...

Episode 20: Kevin Burrell

Kevin was born and raised in southern California. He jumped onto the baseball scene at Poway High School, and become a first-round pick of the Boston Red Sox in the 1981 MLB draft. During his playing career, he spent time with not only the Boston Red Sox, New York Mets, San Francisco Giants, and Kansas City Royals organizations. He made it all the way to AAA with both the Giants and Royals. Once his playing career was over in 1992, he was not out of the game long, and he began to climb t...

Episode 19: Dr. Sam Chand

Dr. Chand was born in India and raised in a Pastor’s home, and equipped him from an early age to be around leadership development. In1973, he became a student at Beulah Heights Bible College where he served as a janitor, cook, and dishwasher at the school. Dr. Chand went on to become a youth pastor and senior pastor, before returning to Beulah Heights in 1989 to become the President Emeritus of the school. Under his leadership, it became the country’s largest predominantly African-America...

Episode 18: Molly Fletcher

Molly Fletcher has always made a mark wherever she is involved.  That’s been true since her time at Michigan State University, where she was the captain of the women’s tennis team, and earned her bachelor’s degree in communications.  She spent much of her career serving as a one of the only female sports agents in the world, representing many of the biggest names in the industry such as: John Smoltz, Matt Kuchar, Erin Andrews, Tom Izzo and Doc Rivers.  In her time serving as president of cli...

Episode 17: Todd Gongwer

This month’s podcast features author and speaker Todd Gongwer. Todd Gongwer has made many stops throughout his leadership journey, but you will be hard pressed to find one where he did not make an incredible impact. He learned about leadership from a very young age on growing up around his family’s food service business. As he grew, he kept his entrepreneurial spirit as he built restaurants, and even dabbled in the world of real estate. In 1992, he began serving as an Assistant Basketbal...

Episode 16: Chris Hogan

This month’s podcast features Chris Hogan, who is a part of the Dave Ramsey team. Chris Hogan received his undergraduate degree from Georgetown College in Georgetown, Kentucky, where he was a star on the football team as he became an All-American. After graduating from college, he transitioned to the coaching side of football while completing his graduate degree. Chris found lots of success in the business world, as he climbed the ladder becoming the vice president of a prestigious compan...

Episode 15: CJ Stewart

This month’s podcast features the founder of the L.E.A.D. Academy in Atlanta, CJ Stewart. Stewart was born and raised right in the heart of Atlanta, Georgia. Baseball became a part of his story early on in life, and was an outlet that led to the career path he would one day follow. He had the opportunity to play competitively in high school, which eventually lead to a scholarship to play at Georgia State University. After his time as a Panther, CJ was drafted by the Chicago Cubs giving h...

Episode 14: Matt Deggs

This extra podcast features the Head Baseball Coach of Sam Houston State University, Matt Deggs. On top of being a highly successful baseball coach, Deggs’ has also authored a book and frequently speaks in the off-season. He has worked his way up the coaching ranks, finding success at about every stop from Northwestern State to Texas A&M University. Deggs’ teams are known for a ‘Pack’ philosophy that focuses on creating a positive and transformational culture within a team. Most recently...

Episode 13: Randy Gravitt

This month’s podcast features the founder of inteGrREAT, and speaker/author, Randy Gravitt. Randy Gravitt describes himself as a C.E.O. (Chief Encouragement Officer), who is looking to help leaders grow. After attending seminary, he began teaching and coaching at a local Christian school. He then went on staff at Crossroads Church in Newnan, Georgia. Since then his career in the leadership industry has taken off. Not only has he authored and become a keynote speaker, but he created inte...

Episode 12: Tony Beasley

This month’s podcast features the third base coach of the Texas Rangers, Tony Beasley. Tony has had a long and impressive resume in the game of baseball, with his collegiate career taking place at Liberty University, where he was a teammate of podcast host, Mike Linch. In 1989, he was selected in the 19th round of the MLB draft by the Baltimore Orioles. He played professional baseball until 1998, spending his time in both the Orioles and Pittsburgh Pirates systems. In his career, he was ...

Episode 11: Kelli Masters

This month’s podcast features sports agent, attorney, and the Founder and President of Kelli Masters Management “KMM Sports,” Kelli Masters. Kelli attended the University of Oklahoma, and was named Miss Oklahoma in 1997. She began practicing Business Litigation in 2000, and became a partner and shareholder of the firm from 2005-2012. Now, she is the Founder and President of Kelli Masters Management, and was named a SuperLawyers Rising Star in 2011 and 2012. She has been noted for her fan...

Episode 10: Shane Williamson

This month’s podcast features the eighth, and current President and CEO of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Shane Williamson. Shane attended Wofford receiving a degree in biology as well as playing football. He then went on to get his master’s degree from Converse College in secondary education. He started his career as a teacher and coach in the South Carolina school system, and serving as an FCA sponsor at the schools. After 2002, he began his journey with the Fellowship of Chri...

Episode 9: Jon Gordon

This month’s podcast features prominent speaker, and author Jon Gordon. Jon Gordon has captivated millions throughout his incredible career as both a best-selling author and keynote speaker. Whether he is speaking to a Fortune 500 company, or professional sports team, his leadership conversations have influenced a countless number of men and women. Jon is a graduate of Cornell University, and received his Masters in Teaching from Emory University. He is also a well-known, and popular aut...

Episode 8: James Trapp

This month’s podcast features the Executive Director of the NFL Legends Community, and NFL veteran, James Trapp. James Trapp, originally from Greenville, South Carolina, became a household name when he starred as a Clemson Tiger from 1989 until 1993. Not only known for achievements on the football field, but he was also a two-sport athlete with the Tigers, also participating in track and field. Trapp became a 14-time ACC champion and 10-time All-American on the track team, which eventuall...

Episode 7: Jeff Henderson

This month’s podcast features the Lead Pastor of Gwinnett Church, and prominent speaker, Jeff Henderson. Jeff attended the University of Georgia, in Athens, Georgia, where he received his degree in journalism and advertising. He spent the first years of his professional career in the world of marketing. He worked for many prominent companies and organizations such as the Atlanta Braves and Chick-fil-A, Inc., in his 21-year marketing career. After his marketing career, Jeff joined North P...

Episode 6: Trey Burton

This month’s podcast features the tight end of the Philadelphia Eagles, and former Florida Gator, Trey Burton. Trey was born in Venice, Florida, where he went onto become a star at Venice High School , where he played quarterback for the Indians. He graduated in 2010, and was a three star recruit , and signed his letter of intent to play at the University of Florida. He played under Urban Meyer from 2010 to 2013, and although he was brought in as a quarterback, he played a variety of posi...

Episode 5: Andy Stanley

This month’s podcast features the founder of North Point Ministries, world-renowned author, and communicator, Pastor Andy Stanley. Andy Stanley attended Georgia State University before going on to receive his master’s degree from Dallas Theological Seminary. After graduation, he went on staff and helped his father, Dr. Charles Stanley, at First Baptist Church of Atlanta. In 1995, he founded North Point Ministries, which now serves around 90,000 people at one of their six Atlanta churche...

Episode 4: Tim Elmore

This month’s podcast features the founder and President of Growing Leaders, and author of Habitudes and over thirty more books, Tim Elmore. Tim Elmore began his career in the 1970’s as a youth pastor. In 1983, he began his career working with Dr. John Maxwell and all of his leadership materials. In 2003, Elmore founded Growing Leaders, who’s vision is to “see a world improved, even transformed, by the next generations.” Since that time, Elmore has gone on to become not only an author,...

Episode 3: Shannon Bream

Shannon was born in Florida, and moved north to Lynchburg to attend Liberty University for college. She graduated from Liberty in 1993 and went on to attend the Florida State University College of Law. She began her career as a lawyer, in Tampa, Florida, but made a career change to pursue television news in 2001. Since her career change, Bream has risen in the television ranks, and joined the FOX News Channel in 2007. Shannon Bream has also gained notoriety for becoming the first female k...

Episode 2: Vince Dooley

Coach Dooley was born and raised in Alabama. He was a multi-sport star at Auburn University for the Tigers. After his time in college, Coach Dooley, became an infantry officer in the United States Marine Corps. After his time in the military, Coach Vince Dooley returned to Auburn, Alabama to begin his coaching career with the Tigers. His life changed in December 1963, when he accepted the position as head football coach at the University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia. Coach Dooley establ...

Episode 1: Jason Romano

In this episode, Mike Linch talks with Jason Romano about not only his career at ESPN, but how his faith has impacted his personal and professional journey.