Feeling stuck in your calling?
The wilderness is where God purifies our ambition, teaches us wisdom, and reminds us that people—not performance—are the real legacy.
In this episode of the Bible Leadership Podcast, Pastor Mark Carter and co-host Erica Adkins unpack how God uses seasons of wilderness to shape a leader’s heart. From learning wisdom to pruning unhealthy relationships, this episode explores the tension between ambition and people, waiting and working, ministry and identity. Through real-life stories and biblical insight, Mark shares how leaders can stay faithful, humble, and people-centered when God presses “pause” on their plans.
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📋 Key Takeaways
- Wisdom grows in the wilderness. God uses waiting seasons to train leaders in discernment, humility, and patience.
- Don’t confuse surrender with passivity. You can’t rush God’s timeline, but you can grow while you wait—read, learn, and prepare.
- “Sow where you want to grow.” Be intentional about planting into the areas where you hope to see long-term fruit—your marriage, friendships, or leadership skills.
- People matter more than performance. Ambition can drive good work, but if it eclipses people, it’s become an idol.
- Ministry is a stewardship, not an identity. Your worth isn’t tied to what you build—it’s anchored in being a son or daughter of God.
- Affirmation from God outweighs applause from people. Maturity means caring more about heaven’s “well done” than earthly approval.
💬 Quotes & Soundbites
“God can move a parked car, but He probably won’t—get behind the wheel and start being faithful where you are.” — Erica Adkins
“True greatness isn’t building monuments to ourselves; it’s becoming the kind of leader God can trust.” — Erica Adkins
“Ministry is a stewardship, not an identity.” — Mark Carter
“Dude, ministry is just too doggone hard and too long to not be with people that you like to be around. Let's just like each other.” – Mark Carter
🕐 Timestamps (Approximate)
- 00:00 — What the wilderness really is
- 01:40 — Wisdom vs. waiting: how to discern the difference
- 05:10 — “Sow where you want to grow”: learning in the wilderness
- 08:00 — Pruning relationships and planned neglect
- 13:00 — Ambition vs. people: what really matters in leadership
- 19:30 — When ambition hurts people (Mark’s personal story)
- 23:00 — Learning to crave Jesus’ affirmation more than man’s praise
- 28:00 — When ministry becomes an idol
- 33:00 — Investing in teachable, responsive people<
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