Empowered To Lead

What do you do when God doesn't answer your prayers the way you hoped? Maybe you've prayed for healing, for a relationship to be restored, for a door to open, or for something painful to finally change. You've done everything you know to do, but the outcome is still uncertain, or it's not what you wanted. What does faith look like in those moments? And where do you find the strength to keep going...

You can know you’re called and still hear a voice inside you asking: Who am I to do this? Am I really ready? What if I put myself out there and I’m not received? That was one of the things that struck me most after spending several days with 26 incredible women at the Women Speakers Collective Bootcamp in Indianapolis. These were gifted, accomplished women with clear callings, and yet self-doubt s...

What if becoming a more powerful communicator isn’t just about finding better words? Your posture, movement, breath, gestures—even the amount of space you allow yourself to take up—are communicating something too. And sometimes, without realizing it, your body may be sending a very different message than your words. In this episode, I’m talking with communications coach and Certified Movement Anal...

Have you ever felt like leadership sometimes seems to require something different from women than it does from men? A recent Harvard Business Review article looking back over 60 years of research reveals something striking: men and women are increasingly experiencing the same leadership cultures very differently. And that matters for women who lead in churches and Christian organizations too. In t...

Struggling to find enough volunteers or watching the same faithful few carry more and more of the load? It may be tempting to assume people just don’t want to serve like they used to. But the research tells a more interesting story: people are still willing to contribute, but how they want to serve is changing. In this episode, Jeannette shares five leadership shifts that can help you attract, eng...

As leaders we are often the ones holding everything together, carrying pressure, uncertainty, and the quiet fear that if we don’t fix it, everything could fall apart. In this episode, Jeannette talks honestly about the exhausting weight of trying to control outcomes, why so many faithful leaders get stuck in anxiety and over-responsibility, and how to release what was never yours to carry in the f...

What if the dream God gave you does not need more striving, it needs better support? In this episode, Jeannette talks with Hermela Felten, Founder and CEO of Feltech Digital Solutions, about what becomes possible when women stop carrying everything in their heads and start building systems that support their life, leadership, creativity, and calling. They talk about productivity, motherhood, entre...

In this episode, Jeannette responds to the recent Southern Baptist Convention vote to further restrict women from pastoral roles and preaching in gathered congregations — and asks a deeper question: Where does spiritual authority actually come from? Is authority something granted by a title, office, denomination, or male-only leadership structure? Or is spiritual authority rooted in Christ, empowe...

What if the Bible never actually said what you were taught about women? Many Christian women have been told that Genesis establishes male authority, that Adam was created first, Eve was made to support him, and God’s design is for women to live under male leadership. But what if those ideas were not drawn out of the text… but read into it? In this episode, Jeannette goes back to the beginning, Gen...

Can you really trust your heart or is it “deceitful above all things” like you may have been taught? In this episode, Jeannette explores what the Bible actually says about the heart, discernment, and the role of the Holy Spirit in guiding your decisions. If you’re a Christian woman leader who has ever struggled to trust your intuition, second-guessed your calling, or felt pressure to defer to exte...

If you’ve ever wondered what your team is really thinking or felt hesitant to ask because you don’t want to hear criticism, this episode is for you. Jeannette talks about why feedback matters, what’s at stake when leaders aren’t getting honest input, and why critical feedback can trigger shame or defensiveness (even for seasoned leaders).  If you’ve ever swung between shame (“Maybe I’m not cut out...

January is Human Trafficking Awareness Month and this episode is both eye-opening and hope-giving. In this conversation, Jeannette sits down with Hannah Munn of Love Justice International, a ministry doing something both bold and brilliantly strategic: preventing human trafficking before it happens. While most of us picture rescue after the fact, Love Justice trains local teams to watch transit co...

A new year brings fresh energy, new goals… and that beautiful feeling that this time it’s going to stick. But here’s the truth most people don’t realize until it’s too late: motivation is a great start… and a terrible plan. Because there’s a predictable moment coming when the newness wears off, progress slows down, and your brain starts negotiating for comfort. And if you don’t plan for it now, it...

What happens when God stirs a calling that feels bigger than your capacity, your resources, or your clarity? In this episode, pastor and leadership coach, Jeannette Cochran, returns to the Christmas story, not the sanitized, porcelain-figurine version of Mary, but the real young woman we meet in the gospel of Luke. A teenager. Overlooked. Without power or status. And yet, entrusted with a world-ch...

Have you ever felt that knot-in-your-stomach moment when staying silent isn’t working, but speaking up feels risky? In this episode, Jeannette gets practical about the conversations that shape our leadership: the ones with opposing opinions, strong emotions, and high stakes. Whether it’s a chronically late volunteer, decisions made without your input, or the quiet bias that sidelines women from op...

For the first time in decades, men are attending church more than women, and Gen Z women are disengaging the fastest. In this candid, hope-centered episode, Jeannette explores why so many women are stepping back, not from Jesus, but from church cultures that silence their voices, limit their gifts, or feel unsafe and exhausting.    Drawing on new Barna data, Scripture, and real conversations with...

Picture this: a ten-year-old girl stepping into a new country, a new language, and a future she can’t yet see. Fast-forward— to corporate boardrooms, profitability, and complex change. And through it all? A steady, quiet confidence in God. “Fear not, for I am with you.” (Isaiah 41:10) That’s Kellie Kim’s story and in this conversation with Jeannette, you’ll hear: How to shift your mindset from “I’...

In this Breast Cancer Awareness Month conversation, Jeannette and fellow survivor and leader Courtney Malengo open up about the day everything changed, the “conveyor belt” of cancer treatment, and the resilient, ongoing mindset work of survivorship. From sudden biopsies and surreal parking-garage moments to radiation fatigue and endocrine-therapy side effects they name the grief and the gratitude,...

We’ve all been told that talent and motivation are the keys to success. But here’s the truth: talent can only take you so far, and motivation comes and goes. The real difference-maker? Commitment. In this episode, Jeannette unpacks The Factor That Matters More Than Talent or Motivation—why commitment is the strongest predictor of success and how it gives you the stamina to keep going when the exci...

What do Doug Wilson’s extreme patriarchal views have to do with the “softer” versions of patriarchy many Christians quietly accept? In this episode, Jeannette digs deep into why both are rooted in the same flawed theology—and why women shouldn’t settle for half-hearted liberation. From CNN’s recent spotlight on Wilson’s church to the subtle complementarian practices that still silence women today,...

Have you ever caught yourself thinking, “I’m not ready yet”?  Like you need one more degree, another course, or someone else’s approval before you can fully step into your calling? If so, this episode is for you. In today’s conversation, I get real about the hidden ways brilliant women of faith play small, whether it’s hiding behind endless preparation, comparing ourselves to others, or waiting fo...

In this episode, Jeannette gets personal about one of the most overlooked but essential leadership practices: silence and solitude. Drawing from her own journey of burnout in the early years of ministry, while also raising kids and carrying the weight of leadership, she shares how contemplative spiritual practices became a lifeline, not just for survival, but for deep soul-level transformation. Th...

What does sexism in the church actually look like today—and what can we do about it? In this powerful and eye-opening conversation, I sit down with Dr. Heather Matthews, a pastor, church planter, educator, and author of Confronting Sexism in the Church: How We Got Here and What We Can Do About It. With over 20 years of ministry experience and a passion for empowering women leaders, Heather brings...

We often think of courage as standing on a stage or speaking truth to power but there’s so much more to courageous leadership. In this episode, Jeannette unpacks the three types of courage every Christian woman leader needs; public, relational, and private, and why the least celebrated kind might be the most essential of all. You’ll discover: Why public courage isn’t the only kind that matters How...

What if the story you’ve lived—the ordinary, the messy, and everything in between—was the very thing God wants to use to impact others? In this inspiring episode, Jeannette sits down with Danielle Zapchenk, host of The Parable Podcast, to explore how storytelling connects us, grows our empathy, and becomes a powerful leadership tool. Danielle shares her own journey from bossy seventh grader to wom...