Leadership from Within: An interview with Greg Woodard, chaplain, coach, and author

Today I bring you an interview with Greg Woodard. Greg and I were introduced by a mutual mentor, and we decided to introduce each other to our readers. As you’ll find out, Greg has been a chaplain, a pastor, a coach, and now is writing a book. He has a unique take on what we need in our lives to thrive, the kinds of rhythms our lives must operate by. It’s all about being all-around healthy so we can be the people God created us to be.

I’ll let Greg speak for himself, but if you read to the end he’s offering subscribers what he describes as “a free practical guide to cultivating leadership clarity, emotional resilience, and authentic relationships.” Sounds pretty good, eh? Read on…

Gary Neal Hansen: Greg, my readers probably don’t know you yet, so please start by saying a bit about who you are and what led you to your current book project.

Greg Woodard: I have been in active Christian leadership for many years. I recently retired from twenty-two years of active-duty military service: fourteen years as a Navy Chaplain and some enlisted time as a Marine and Army National Guardsman. I have also pastored in local church settings and a Christian drug and alcohol recovery program.

I hold a Doctor of Ministry in Leadership Renewal and Coaching from Regent University. Most importantly, I am a devoted Christian, husband, father, and soon-to-be grandfather.

As a seasoned Christian leader, I feel a responsibility to the next generation of Christian leaders, thus my decision to begin a book project after military retirement.

GNH: Congrats about the coming grandchild! That’s wonderful. Speaking of your current project, though, let’s pretend I’m a big time editor and you and I end up alone on an elevator ride at a conference. You have seven floors to tell me about your book and get me interested. Go!

GW: My current project is a book titled Leadership from Within: Navigating the Path Toward Soul-Driven Success.

In a past season of my life, I vividly recall the drive home, each mile churning my workday concerns into a simmering anxiety. I wasn’t the husband or father I wanted to be. Short-tempered and emotionally absent, I hadn’t mastered the leader’s crucial task: soul care. My book arises out of my own journey to wise soul care.

In the book, I delve into a unique approach to leaders’ soul care that incorporates relational, spiritual, physical, and emotional rhythms. It’s about living an integrated, flourishing life. By prioritizing these rhythms, leaders can foster meaning and satisfaction. This holistic soul care approach leads to a calm spirit, a disciplined lifestyle, and genuine connections with others.

GNH: I think it’s great that your journey with God, finding ways to heal and thrive, led you to your own approach to discern useful practices, and  that you can now share it with others. I don’t know if you have studied St. Ignatius of Loyola, but his journey was similar: a wounded soldier, he searched for ways to find God’s will and to thrive again. These became his famous “Spiritual Exercises,” the foundation of a great Christian spiritual tradition. But this is about you: Say a bit more about the source of your approach.

GW: This book’s genesis came during a military deployment on board a U.S. Navy ship. I was the chaplain, providing spiritual care and coaching for eight hundred personnel. Reflecting on my time in the Middle East, I understand the deployment required me to manage my relational, spiritual, physical, and emotional rhythms. These rhythms helped me maintain resilience in a difficult assignment.

GNH: That’s helpful. You say that you teach people to care for their souls in four dimensions. You go beyond just “spiritual disciplines,” which could sound like focusing on just one dimension. It’s especially interesting to me that you include human relationships in soul care. Can you give me an example of that, from your own life or in your work with others? Help me see what it could be, and how it matters.

GW: I call it the Relational Rhythm, fostering meaningful connections for purposeful living. I intentionally placed this rhythm as the first part of my book. Understanding how we live in relationships is a powerful way to determine if we are living according to our God-given selves and fulfilling our leadership calling.

Relational rhythms have been vital at critical junctures of my life, especially those with my wife, children, and select friends.

My father died eighteen years ago, and shortly after his death, I was let go from a job. During the aftermath of these experiences, I was consumed by darkness and let go of most of my relationships. Two men remained by my side. My connections with Rob and Dan helped me navigate the darkness, ask God difficult questions, rediscover my purpose, and return to a fulfilling life.

Through these and many other relational connections, I have gained clarity in community over the purpose I carry in my soul.

GNH: That makes sense. Caring for those key relationships really is also caring for your soul. Grief and loss can detach you from your own core, and these guys helped you find yourself again. When you talk about the second area, “Spiritual Rhythms,” it sounds like you are in territory lots of people will already associate with soul care. What is your take on spiritual practices?  

GW: Spiritual Rhythms refer to cultivating a deeper integration between your inner self and God.

Spiritual rhythms and practices help us deepen our connection with God and understand the purpose for which we were made.

I grew up in a denomination that emphasized the present work of God through various sign gifts. I noticed a focus on emotional expressions of worship, emphasizing experiencing God in an emotional way. However, I found that these emotional experiences would fade over time.

As a chaplain, I discovered the value of contemplative practices in quieting my mind and finding rest as I listened to God. In ministry, I often encountered people’s pain and did not know what to do with it. I learned that practicing solitude, silence, and journaling allowed me to hear from God more personally and was an important aspect of my soul care.

GNH: I suspect many Christians will find your emphasis on the physical to be the most unexpected aspect of soul care. Help me understand the connection of body and soul. 

GW: Physical Rhythms is my term for strengthening the body to empower the soul. I think the area of our physical body is one many don’t associate with soul care. However, taking care of our physical self is as important as caring for our inner self.

Military deployments are a crucible. They require an enormous amount of physical stamina. As a caregiver, I needed to maintain energy for the long days I spent caring for people. I needed time in nature, physical exercise, good nutrition, and good sleep hygiene to be at my best and present for those who came to see me. Physical fitness and taking care of our bodies are critical to soul care.

Physical rhythms gave me space to give my mind time to rest and allowed my body to recuperate and rebuild. In my present work as a writer, deepening my connection to my physical rhythms shakes loose my mental cobwebs and often brings deeper insights and fresh ideas into my writing life.

GNH: Let me just say, that is very cool. I have heard a lot of Christians talk about the physical primarily in terms of the postures of prayer, whether standing or kneeling, or maybe ancient practices like fasting. You make a good case that the strength and health of the body matter in ways that are important to the soul. Last but not least, you want readers to focus on the emotional realm. Give me a sense of your practice here.

GW: Emotional Rhythms refers to understanding your inner emotions.

Emotionally unhealthy people are ineffective leaders. Leaders must consider their inner selves throughout their leadership journey. A deep look at our interior lives may reveal areas of the emotional pain we need to deal with.

Leaders who do not take the time to heal from the emotional baggage they carry from other parts of their lives may do damage to the people they care for and the organization they lead.

As we grow into adulthood, our relationships often mirror what we experienced as children. If we don’t address the emotional wounds of our past, our relationships are affected, often negatively.

A consistent emotional rhythm helps us regularly examine our inner selves, confront our past, recognize our challenges, and acknowledge our vulnerabilities. The path to emotional wholeness is crucial for helping leaders grow in emotional intelligence and empathy toward others.

GNH: As I listen to you describe the source of this approach in your military career, as well as the way you describe these four rhythms, there is a non-stereotypical quality. A lot of times when I hear people talk about soul care, it is more about bubble baths and scented candles.  I wonder, sometimes, whether men, as well as women, will be open to it. Tell me your thoughts about your approach in relation to gender. Is this more for men? For both equally? Whom do you most want to reach?

GW: This is an interesting and not unexpected question. I suppose what you described as bubble baths and scented candles could be a form of self-care. Personally I prefer essential oils and a massage.

In all seriousness, soul care is essential for leaders. In her book, From Burned Out To Beloved, Bethany Dearborn Hiser defines soul care as well as any I have read. She writes:

Soul care doesn’t just mean spiritual care. It means tending to our inner psychospiritual life, which affects our whole self. The Hebrew understanding of the self is holistic, with the body, soul, and spirit being interdependent. We are complex, intertwined beings with our soul, body, mind, and emotions all amazingly interconnected.

From Burned Out To Beloved, Bethany Dearborn Hiser

The model I described above touches the body, soul, mind, and emotions, all essential to the ongoing self-leadership leaders of all sorts need to maintain flourishing in their lives.

In my book, I am writing mostly to men. But the conversation is important to both men and women.

It is my sense that women innately understand the importance of what I am writing about. I can only hope men will get it as well. It gives me hope that five of the most important authors in my own journey over this conversation on soul care are men (Peter Scazzero, John Mark Comer, David Benner, Rich Vilodas, and Alan Fadling).

GNH: Greg, thanks so much for being willing to be interviewed on my blog. You’ve graciously offered my readers a gift if they would like to subscribe to your own blog and newsletter. Tell me what it is and I’ll put a button below it so they can follow up.

GW: Thanks, Gary. I enjoyed the interview and am grateful for the opportunity to share a bit about my project. When I complete the manuscript, I trust that the right publisher will pick it up and find its way into the hearts and minds of readers who need the message I am sharing.

I’ve created Your Path to Purposeful Leadership, a free practical guide to cultivating leadership clarity, emotional resilience, and authentic relationships. The guide offers a place to assess the cultivation of your soul care and purpose in the important areas we’ve discussed through this interview (relational, spiritual, physical, and emotional rhythms) and a place to commit to action steps in each rhythm area. You can get a copy by connecting with me here.

Once you sign up for the guide, you’ll receive my newsletter regularly. Over time, I’ll also share my developing book content and the writing journey of my forthcoming book, Leadership from Within: Navigating the Path Toward Soul-Driven Success. I’d love for you to join me on my journey toward more purposeful living.