Lead From Peace

Protect your peace because your leadership depends on it.

My leadership default has been loud, intense, and all about getting it done, and for a long time it worked. Lately I’m wrestling with a tougher question than any KPI: how does Jesus want me to lead when I’m trying to live in the Word, show up at church, and still operate in a business world that feels like nonstop spiritual warfare?

We go straight to the Book of Acts for answers, starting with Acts 9 and the early church’s growth. Acts 9:31 hits like a brick because of the order it gives us: peace comes before strength. That one sequence forces a reset for any CEO, founder, manager, or team lead who thinks pressure is the only fuel. We talk about protecting peace, being strengthened through it, living with real fear of the Lord that changes behavior, and making room to actually listen for Holy Spirit guidance instead of just powering through.

Then we shift to Peter’s leadership moment in Acts 10 and Acts 11 when he goes to a Gentile’s home, gets criticized, and doesn’t hide behind authority. He explains the why from the beginning, and that becomes a practical playbook for modern leadership communication: when you get questioned by your team, your spouse, your board, or your execs, do you pull rank or do you lead with clarity and humility?

If you want faith-based leadership that’s concrete, challenging, and tied to Scripture, hit play. Subscribe, share this with a leader who needs peace, and leave a review with the biggest leadership shift you’re working on.

This is the Buddy For Junior Show — where faith, truth, and courage come together. Join us as we explore life’s deeper purpose and carry the torch of conviction. The show begins now.

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Transcript

Welcome And A Leadership Crisis

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Welcome. Welcome to the Buddy Foy Junior Show. Thank you all for being here. I want to talk about, I want to dive deeper into the whole leadership conversation we've been having. How are we supposed to lead? And my biggest struggle lately, or my wrestling with myself, I'm not a CEO anymore. I'm not a Christmas and Easter only churchgoer. I go to church every day. I try to make it midweek. I'm reading daily the Bible and the Word. By the way, that does not make me anything but a hypocrite. But I'm learning and I'm trying. And I find myself struggling lately with what got me to where I am today. My leadership style, and I've talked about it in the past episodes. It has been no holds bar, fist pounding, chair throwing, rock and roll, no prisoners, get it done. And it's worked. It's worked for me. Maybe it's worked better for others, but it's worked for me. And I'm struggling lately. How does Jesus want me to lead? As somebody who goes to church, who reads the Bible, who is imperfect, and lives in the world, this insanity, this godless spiritual warfare realm that we as business leaders live in. How does Jesus want us to lead? It's a question I'm constantly ponding my head with. But I gotta tell you, I look at Acts. The book of Acts is blowing my mind.

Saul’s Turnaround And Church Growth

SPEAKER_00 2:05

And I want you to go to the long form podcast, which isn't that long, the audio, and tune in. The Buddy Foy Jr. Show. I unpack Acts these last couple weeks. And a number of things have come and they've hit me. Okay. Acts chapter nine. Paul or Saul and the road of Damascus and how he becomes a major believer in Jesus. And he goes from killing Christians to converting Jews to Christians. And they try to kill him. And the believers are nervous about taking Paul in. But they did. And they increased in numbers. The church is always increasing in numbers. And us leaders know the only way to increase in numbers is incredible leadership. How did they do it? Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee, and Samaria enjoyed a time of peace and was strengthened. Living in the fear of the Lord and encouraged by the Holy Spirit, it increased in numbers. Folks, please go to Acts chapter nine, verse thirty-one. Think about this for a minute. This one paragraph that should stop us on our tracks and give us this revelation. I'm going to read again.

Acts 9:31 Peace Before Strength

SPEAKER_00 4:00

Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee, and Samaria enjoyed a time of peace and were strengthened. Peace came before strength. Protect our peace. As leaders, we must protect our peace. How are we doing that? You have to ask yourself that question. They were strengthened through peace. They lived in peace, then they were strengthened. Check this out. Living in the fear of the Lord, aware of the Lord, living in the fear of Him, which changes our behavior, and encouraged by the Holy Spirit. So letting the Holy Spirit and listening to the Holy Spirit, they increase the numbers. I don't know about you, but I want to live in peace. And I want to be strengthened. And then I'd love to see this transition into being encouraged and listening to the Holy Spirit that we study. We go to Sunday churches, we go to midweeks, we read every morning. Man, I want to download this Holy Spirit constantly. Remembering that there's a Lord or there's a creator that I have to be fearful of and get to my righteous living and stop being such a hypocrite. And in doing so, you're telling me we're going to increase in numbers. Because that's what happened in Acts 9.31. They lived in peace, they found strength, they downloaded the Holy Spirit and made themselves. They were in so much peace that they could receive the Holy Spirit. They were encouraged and they increased in numbers.

SPEAKER_01 6:07

What are we waiting for? What am I waiting for?

SPEAKER_00 6:16

That's how I need to lead. And then we go on to Acts chapter 11. Peter. Peter

Peter’s Vision And Leading Critics

SPEAKER_00 6:30

goes to the Gentiles. He goes to a Gentile's home. He's downloaded a vision in Acts 10, 15. The Lord speaks to him. He sees this tapestry, this blanket of non-kosher animals. He says, Lord, nothing I've ever put in my mouth has been a sin. And the Lord says, Whatever I've made is not sin. It's all righteous. So he gives Peter a vision. Men come to his house. They take him to Cornelius, a Gentile. And man, his followers are pissed. How dare you go to a Gentile's house? It's unclean. But Peter explains himself. Another leadership example in Acts chapter 11. Let me ask a question before we go through it. How many times have you felt the urge, the inspiration, the vision, the discernment to do something? And you do it. And you get questioned by your people, your wife, your kids, your CFO, your CEO, or your C O O, your VP, your head of HR. You get questioned. And you say, it's my company. It's my household. I'm in charge. I'm not explaining myself. Just it's what I did. Get on board or get out. Peter doesn't do that. Pretty big deal here, folks. Peter goes to a Gentile's house, and one could argue that's why we're all talking about I'm not a Jew, and yet I'm a Christian. So I got exposed to Jesus. And without this event happening, maybe we would not be having this conversation. Nevertheless, here we are. So the apostles question him, and Peter explains his actions. The apostles and the believers throughout Judea heard the Gentiles had also received the word of God. So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers criticized him and said, You went to the house of the uncircumcised men, and you ate with them. Starting from the beginning, Peter told them the whole story. So it goes on, and I'll fast forward. The voice spoke to him from heaven a second time. Right? And then Peter says later on in chapter eleven, who am I to question the Lord? So this question I have of myself, how does Jesus expect me to lead? If I'm interpreting Acts chapter nine correctly,

Applying Acts To Modern Leadership

SPEAKER_00 10:06

the first thing he wants me to do is lead from peace. And through that peace, I will lead through strength. Be aware of the Lord and let my behavior change for the fear of God. And buddy, while we're at it, you've been baptized by the Holy Spirit. So why not be encouraged by that very Holy Spirit? And you just might increase in numbers. Those numbers could be more employees, more clients, more peace, more revenue. Man, if I could just find peace in my leadership constantly, infinitely non-stop emotion of peace, I'll be strengthened. If I can fear the Lord and change my behavior and make room for the Holy Spirit to be guided, I can increase my numbers. And when it's important and it's critical, I need to explain my actions. And sometimes I explain them too much, and others, not at all. So maybe a little discernment, like Peter found while he was preaching to the Gentiles. And eventually he concludes when I heard who was I to think to think I could stand in God's way. Acts chapter eleven, seventeen. So if God gave them the same gift he gave us who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to think that I could stand in the way of God? And when his followers heard this, they had no further objections and praise God, saying, So then even the Gentiles, God has granted repentance that leads to life, folks. How does Jesus want us to lead, make the decision? Are we CEOs only Christmas and Easter only Christians? Or are we in the Word daily? Are we going to church weekly? Perhaps even a couple times a week. If we are, it's time to strengthen our numbers. Don't take the beat. We'll see you next week. God bless.