Advertise on podcast: The Leader’s Cut with Preston Morrison

Who do you need to keep out of your boat?   In this episode, Preston walks through ten people in the Bible you can’t afford to have in your boat, and the one place to look first for them: your own heart. He covers Lot’s wife and the danger of always looking back, the moment the Lord confronted him in prayer about a name he kept bringing up, and the night God asked him how many people chanting his name it would take for him to forget who was sitting next to him. In this episode: The Looking-Back Lingerer: Why the person reliving the easy days will kill your progress today The Compromising Counter: How noticing money turns into chasing it The Gossiping Grumbler: Why gossip is the habit of people who don’t pray The Envious Executioner: How comparison ends in bloodshed every time The Opportunistic Orphan: Chasing momentum while pretending to follow you The God-Card Guesser: Putting God’s name on what you actually want The People Pleaser: Why this one lets all nine others in The call on your life is weighty, and it will take other people to pull it off. But you can’t let just anybody in. Keep the right people in the boat, and keep the wrong behaviors out of your heart.

What would it look like to be so close to God that your own kids notice before anyone else does? Most of us treat intimacy with God like a discipline to maintain, something we fit in before the real work starts. Theo Koulianos flips that order. Before God ever gave Adam a job, He asked him to walk with Him. Everything else, the calling, the ministry, the family, is a byproduct of that walk, not a substitute for it. In this episode, Preston Morrison sits down with Theo Koulianos, husband, father, and co-leader with his wife Rachel of a ministry to marriages and families. Theo shares how a Greek Orthodox upbringing and a Holy Spirit who discipled him when no one else could built a foundation of first love, and how a knock on a dinner table changed his definition of success. In this episode: Shut The Door: the Matthew 6 picture God gave Preston about just how intimate the secret place is meant to be Walk Before Work: why “tend and keep the garden” was never the first thing God asked of man Grieve Or Please: Theo’s childlike test for every decision, and why it’s simpler than we make it Rabbi To Messiah: the transformation that only ever happens in private The Most Holy Piece Of Furniture: hint, it’s not the pulpit Raising Priests: why Theo stopped trying to raise good kids & focuses on this instead Get The Canvas: the field God is calling Theo’s family to, and why it’s never about just you Intimacy with God isn’t a step toward your purpose, it is the purpose. The breakthrough you’re looking for is relational before it is ever occupational.

Have you ever lost something you never let yourself grieve? Most of us think grief belongs at a funeral. But some of the deepest losses we carry are over a place we had to leave, a season that ended, or something we thought we’d have by now. And when grief has nowhere to go, it doesn’t disappear. It gets stored up, and it comes out somewhere else down the line. In this episode, Preston sits down with his best friend Tim Ross for a tender, honest conversation about what it looks like to grieve in a Godly way. Tim opens up about the four years he begged God to let him move back to California, and about losing his dad just days before his book tour began. Preston names the lie so many of us live under, “I have to be strong for my family,” and what it quietly teaches the people watching us. In this episode: Person, Place, Or Thing: why some of the deepest grief we experience is over a place “I’m Fine”: the crashed car trying to enter the Indy 500 on two flat tires Grief Isn’t Just Tears: what lament is, and why the Church rarely teaches it Grief And Pride: how refusing to grieve can be a way of refusing to admit how much it meant Grief Brings Its Own Friends: why you were never meant to mourn alone Jesus Wept: He knew He was about to raise Lazarus, and He cried first Grief isn’t weakness, and maturity doesn’t mean moving on as fast as you can. The God who is near to the brokenhearted isn’t asking you to fix it today. He’s asking you to bring Him your broken heart. You don’t have to be a hero. Pretending it didn’t hurt always creates more hurt. Give it to Him today.

What's your part when God starts moving? Most of us think the answer is a plan. Lonnell Williams has the plan: he's the Executive Pastor of 2819 Church, the strategist in the room and sharpened in corporate America. And he'll tell you the plan isn't what's doing it. In this conversation, Preston sits down with Lonnell to talk about what it looks like to steward something only God can build, what it costs the people closest to it, and why consecration doesn't earn what God is doing; it just keeps you from getting in the way. In this episode: Spirit Over Strategy — the assimilation plan, the graphics, and the man who got saved in the parking lot before he ever walked in Clean Hands & A Pure Heart — why Psalm 24 is the foundation of everything 2819 does Thinner Oxygen — the higher the Lord takes you up the mountain, the harder it gets to breathe Chipped Bricks & Bent Nails — what it's like to be misunderstood by the people you love most Anything, Everything, or Nothing at All — the philosophy Lonnell picked up at 22 The Cloud Moves — why the more comfortable you get with God's curveballs, the more you'll see Him move If My People Will Pray — the story behind filling AT&T Stadium with nothing but prayer Jesus is building. We're stewarding. And the only way to stay in step with Him, pray.

Isolation isn't an assignment God gives. It's a choice we make, and it's costing you more than you think. You were never meant to carry the call of God by yourself. So why are you still trying? If you're carrying something heavy right now — a calling, a family, a business, a season you can't see the end of — and you've convinced yourself it's just supposed to be you and the Lord, this episode is for you Preston walks through what going it alone really reveals about us, what it quietly costs, and how to start leaning on the people God has already put around you. He speaks from experience, including the 40 days he shut everyone out and the two years it took to recover. In this episode… How to tell if you're isolating.  What carrying it alone will cost you and the people around you. Who God has placed in your life for the storm you're in right now. What letting others in will cost you, and why it's worth the price. How the right people will grow you, strengthen you, and make you wiser. The one thing Preston has learned God always responds to when you need SERIOUS help. If you've been white-knuckling the call by yourself, this one's for you. You weren't designed to carry this alone. So stop trying.

What would you give up to keep God close? Preston has walked with Cody Carnes and Kari Jobe Carnes for more than 25 years, going back to the early youth ministry days. In this conversation, the three of them sit down to talk about Psalm 24, what it means to have clean hands and a pure heart, and what it has costs to protect that. Cody and Kari describe purity of heart as something closer to a garden, tended every day, one small weed at a time, because once you've felt God in the room, you never want to feel Him leave it. They're also honest that it costs you. The higher He takes you, the more it's going to cost. In this episode: Pure In Heart: the plaque on Kari's childhood wall, and the CD her dad felt from the kitchen God's Going To Ask You For Something: the decision Cody made the summer before his senior year When God Leaves The Room: what Cody calls one of the scariest things he's ever felt You're Not The Gardener: who actually tends the garden of your heart Walking The Other Direction: how Kari got comfortable with the price of saying no to the crowd The 10-to-1 Ratio: Cody's caution to Gen Z about where they get their revelation The Staring Day: what God is doing when He says nothing at all Purity of heart is not a rulebook, and it isn't something you settle once. It's a daily yes to keeping Him close, even when that means being hidden, misunderstood, or walking the other way while everyone else heads toward the lights. Cody and Kari have been paying that price for decades, and they'd tell you the same thing Preston does: blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. So keep climbing the hill.

You've got more to celebrate than you think. So why does it feel like nothing counts? In this episode, Preston sits down with Tim Ross to talk about something they've both struggled with for years: celebrating. Not the birthday-party kind. The kind Scripture calls rejoicing — choosing joy again over what God has already done, no matter what He does next. Tim looks back on the moments in his life he should have celebrated and didn't, and how he's learned to be intentional about it now. Preston gets called out in real time about the celebration he's been holding back with his own son — and names the lie underneath it: "you're not enough." In this episode… Present before you can rejoice — why a body that's gone offline can't celebrate Rejoice = "re-joy" — choosing joy again over what He already did Excessive celebration — why the enemy hates to see you spike the ball Psalm 23:5 — the table He prepared, and what He wants to talk about Memorial stones — 85 saved voicemails and a Toy Story ringtone The fence line before the cliff of craving — contentment as the prerequisite If you've convinced yourself you'll celebrate when the next thing pops off — this one's for you. He's already done enough. Throw the party.

Is it strict… or is it romantic? Most people hear the word "consecration" and think legalism—a list of rules for pastors and the overly serious. Maybe it’s something else entirely: an invitation. Because the God who is searching the whole earth for a fully devoted heart isn't sitting back on His throne deciding whether to move. He's on the edge of His seat, saying, give me one. In this conversation, Preston sits down with Luke LeFevre, a pastor & revivalist, to talk about the price of the set-apart life, why the Western church stopped teaching it, and what God does when someone finally pays it. In this episode: You Can't Be Hungry For What You've Never Tasted — why some people aren't hungry for God (and why that's not their fault) Strict Or Romantic? — the reframe that changes everything Move The Fence In — why we should never play close to the line, and where the gray area actually leads You Don't Have To Feel Convicted To Be Convicted — how to know the voice you're hearing is God and not you He'll Just Use You Less — the line that puts the cost of consecration in one sentence Consecration was never about earning something from God. It's about making room for Him—and refusing to compromise the intimacy that comes when He draws close. It's costly, it isn't getting cheaper, and Luke and Preston both say the same thing about it: no matter what it costs, it is always worth it.

Have you ever had God ask something of you without telling you how it's going to end? No roadmap, no snapshot of the finish line — just "go." Walking with God can feel like being handed a boarding pass with no destination printed on it, and if you aren't careful, the not knowing will convince you something is wrong. In this episode, Preston Morrison shares what God is teaching him in a real season of unknowns and unpacks five reasons why the God who knows the end from the beginning loves to withhold the details. If you want to stop being frustrated by the silence and start seeing it as an invitation, you have to understand what God is actually doing in the land of "I don't know." In this conversation, we're unpacking: Flying Blind: What Preston's pilot's license taught him about walking by faith — and why "visual flight rules" faith is entry-level living.  The Credit Trap: Why you can't take credit and bring glory at the same time.  What the Wait Reveals: What you talk about, pray about, and gripe about in a season of unknown points straight at what you actually trust the most.  Outcome Idolatry: Why God refuses to show you the ending — Partial obedience is still an ultimatum. The Stops You Sprint Past: There's something on the path more important than the eventual outcome.  If God has asked something of you and gone quiet on the details, this conversation is your reminder: His silence isn't rejection — it's an invitation to draw near.

What if the easiest thing in the world to do is grieve the Holy Spirit — and the hardest thing in the world is to keep from it? Most of us treat the Spirit's presence like a given. Dr. R.T. Kendall has spent 70 years learning the opposite: that the third person of the Godhead is a very, very sensitive person — and He won't bend the rules for anyone. Not even a man who's been walking with Him for eight decades. At 91 years old, Dr. Kendall is one of the most respected theologians alive — 25 years at Westminster Chapel in London, author of multiple books, including Total Forgiveness. He's also been canceled, publicly rebuked, and thrown under the bus by both sides of the church for one message he refuses to let go of — the power of word & Spirit. In this conversation, Preston sits down with him to talk about the vision that started it all, the burden he's carried for over 30 years, and the teaching that changed Preston's marriage in real time. In this episode: * The Silent Divorce — why the church split into "word churches" and "spirit churches," and what happens when the two remarry * Ishmael and Isaac — the message that cost Dr. Kendall his reputation with Baptists, Reformed, and charismatics all at once * October 31, 1955 — the vision on old US-41 that was "more real than you are right now" * Adjusting to the Dove — a couple's discovery that reframes everything about the Spirit's presence * Closing the Gap — Dr. Kendall's one-sentence definition of spirituality (and why mid-sentence repentance is the goal) Do you know what grieves Him? Dr. Kendall says finding that out will change everything.

Why won't God trust you with more? What if the answer has nothing to do with your effort — and everything to do with your direction? Most of us are chasing an upgrade: a better house, a better title, a better version of our lives. But for Korey Miller, blessing has never come from chasing it. It's come from a lifetime of making his life about others — and watching how God responds. In this episode, Preston sits down with good friend Korey Miller to unpack a supernaturally selfless story, from keeping every employee on payroll when COVID shut down his industry because God said "wait for me," to becoming a father to a village when life didn't hand him the family he pictured. What emerges is a roadmap — the connection between how you care for others and how much God is willing to trust you with. In this episode: * The Roadmap to Blessing: Why supernatural care for others is the path to God's favor. * "Wait for Me": The decision that made no business sense — and became the biggest season in Korey's company history. * Bitterness as Fuel: Why winning out of bitterness means staying bitter to win, and what Korey burned instead. * Direct vs. Harsh: The mentors who never sugarcoated it, and why real growth requires people who tell you the truth. * Raised by a Village: How the boy a village poured into became a man who raises one — and what that means for everyone. God wants to trust you with more. But if it's all about you, you're always going to be stuck with less. This conversation is about what happens when you finally make it about them.

You said yes to Jesus. But which one? Because the first yes was the easy one — and God isn't done asking. In this episode of The Leader's Cut, Preston Morrison and Tim Ross sit down for an honest, unfiltered conversation on what continuous obedience really looks like. We often hear people say, "Thank you for your yes," as if walking with God is defined by a single, one-time decision. But a single "yes" doesn't build something that lasts. From navigating difficult transitions to wrestling with God's timing, Tim and Preston break down the difference between counterfeit, conditional, and true confirmation "yeses". If you feel like God is asking you for a hard, excruciating decision right now, this episode will help you see His request not as an inconvenience—but as a divine compliment. In this episode, we’ll discuss: The Myth of the Single Yes: True discipleship is a string of escalating, daily yeses rather than a blanket decision. The 3 Types of Yeses: Counterfeit yeses (which are actually no’s), conditional yeses ("yes, as long as..."), and confirmation yeses. The Jonah Effect: Why saying "no" to God brings divine opposition, and why his opposition can actually lead us back to the right path. Obedience Escalates: The shift from cutting ties (leaving home), to covenant, to oneself—and how obedience escalates over time. You already know what He's asking for. This conversation is about what happens when you finally answer.

God moves excruciatingly slowly… until He moves supernaturally suddenly. If you've been plowing — head down, hidden, faithful, wondering if anything will ever change — this episode is a right-now word for you. Preston unpacks what he learned transitioning from 12 years of plowing to the season of the double portion, and why so many of us miss what's next. Because here's what nobody tells you about new seasons: the rules that worked in the last one won't work in the next one. What God let slide when you were 17 can cost you everything at 40. The people who carried you through the cave may not be built for the palace. And the God who took a century to send rain can flood the sky from a cloud the size of a man's hand. In this episode, we discuss: Seasons Change : Why God’s sovereignty dictates your timing and how to find beauty in both the hard and harvest seasons. When The Season Changes, The Rules Change : How God shifts the people around you and transitions you from relying on sacrifice to walking in total obedience. You Must Change : Experiencing more of God’s Spirit requires less tolerance for the flesh and a higher standard of maturity — which is why Preston has fired himself as pastor of Pillar Church five or six times. If you've been plowing with no end in sight, this one is for you.

What does God’s voice actually sound like? And how do you know if it’s Him or just your own thoughts? Most believers spend years waiting for a dramatic, audible sign from heaven. But for author/teacher David Holland, learning to hear God came down to something far more intimate: recognizing the distinct tone, timber, and fragrance of the Holy Spirit operating through his own inner voice. In this episode, Preston sits down with David to break down how to distinguish personal thoughts from divine prompting. After losing everything at age 50, following a supernatural warning he almost ignored, David learned firsthand what it takes to quiet a noisy mind, abandon transactional "laundry list" prayers, and compose the soul in God’s presence. In this episode: The Warning Sign: What happened when David heard God's voice before losing everything. The Ghostwriter's Lens: Lessons from years spent writing behind the scenes for leaders around the world. Is That God or Me? Practical tests to tell the difference between your thoughts and the Holy Spirit. Rethinking Prayer: Why shifting away from "request lists" changes everything about experiencing God. Quieting the Soul: How to cultivate stillness and hear God in a loud, distracted culture. Whether you're facing a major life decision, feeling stuck in your prayer life, or simply wanting to cultivate a deeper daily awareness of God, this conversation provides practical, time-tested tools for clarity in your walk with God.

Have you ever stepped off a mountaintop moment with God only to crash into complete spiritual emptiness? You gave Him everything, yet suddenly you can’t feel His presence, hear His voice, or make sense of the season you’re in. In this episode of The Leader's Cut, Preston sits down with ministry leader, author, and founder of Confident Women Co., Amanda Pittman. Amanda opens up about navigating a heavy "dark night of the soul"—a disorienting season that hit right after an extraordinary move of God. Together, Preston and Amanda pull back the curtain on how the enemy operates in times of isolation, spiritual fatigue, and waiting. They unpack why scaling back your faith is a dangerous trap, how to go on the offensive when under attack, and why turning the "lights on" by inviting trusted community into your struggle is the key to breaking the enemy’s power. INSIDE THIS EPISODE: The Aftermath of Mountaintop Moments: What to do when you leave a season of revival feeling completely depleted and spiritually numb. Defeating the Lie of Obscurity: Why the enemy tries to convince you that your faithfulness doesn't matter—and how to fight back using the power of remembrance. Flipping the Lights On: How keeping silent prolongs spiritual attack, and why vulnerability with godly community is a lethal weapon against the enemy. Misinterpreting the Vision: Why you shouldn't assume step one is supposed to look like step 100, and how to get God's direct interpretation for the promise He gave you. The Cure for Heartbreak: Why scaling back your expectations won't protect your heart—and why your soul heals when you dare to believe God again. If you feel like you've been fighting in the dark, wondering why things aren't matching the vision God gave you, this episode will re-arm you for battle and remind you that God is not finished with you yet.