Episode 390 – Why Ego, Not Ambition, Is Killing Your Leadership | Chip Ingram

Chip Ingram has spent decades pastoring some of the most driven, high-capacity leaders in the country — and he’s convinced the church has been telling entrepreneurs the wrong story about their ambition. In this conversation recorded at South by Southwest, Chip and host Justin Forman unpack what it actually looks like to lead boldly without losing your soul.

They dig into the mutual intimidation between pastors and entrepreneurs, the discipleship process Chip built to develop marketplace leaders instead of recruiting them into church programs, and the word Chip and Justin coin together — “humbition” — for holding ambition and humility at the same time. The conversation moves into servant leadership, God’s sovereignty versus human responsibility, and why sharing failure builds more trust than sharing success ever will.

Chip closes with a redefinition of love as a covenant choice rather than a feeling — and why every entrepreneur needs a small circle of people who have permission to tell them the truth.

Watch the full episode on YouTube or continue to stream audio on your favorite podcast platform.

CHAPTERS

00:00 Cold open — the secret to servant leadership

01:17 How God has been building this wave for 30 years

03:02 Why pastors and entrepreneurs intimidate each other

06:49 Building a church around entrepreneurial leaders

08:04 Measuring impact, not numbers

12:16 The theology behind ambition and greatness

14:55 Coining “humbition”

16:04 Getting permission to dream big

19:57 What servant leadership actually means

20:26 Why ego has to die

22:47 God’s sovereignty and human responsibility

25:37 Why nobody wants to talk about their failures

30:02 Breakthrough is born from brokenness

33:52 Redefining love as a choice, not a feeling

40:18 Finding a safe place to be truly known

43:41 Closing challenge — find your people

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Faith Driven Entrepreneur is an educational platform hosted by Faith Driven Movements, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization whose mission is to inspire, educate, and mobilize people to use their time, talents and other resources in the marketplace. Faith Driven Movements brings together leaders from around the world that seek to make a financial, social, environmental and spiritual impact through their business ventures. The website is intended to be an opportunity to exchange ideas for educational purposes. Faith Driven Movements is not responsible for the opinions, advice, statements, materials, presentations, data, images, videos, documentation and other information (collectively, the “Materials”) expressed or otherwise shared by guest contributors (including without limitation podcast guests, conference speakers, guest writers, participating companies and investment professionals). The Materials are for informational purposes only, and the statements, views and opinions expressed at any presentation or in any Materials are those solely of the presenter and not of Faith Driven Movements. Hosts and Guests may maintain positions in the companies and securities discussed. Further, Faith Driven Movements does not endorse or recommend any presenter, promoter, investment advisor, strategy, company or any views mentioned at any conference or in the Materials. Under no circumstances will Faith Driven Movements (or their respective trustees, directors, officers, employees, or agents) be liable for the accuracy, quality or reliability of any of the presentations or Materials, any defamatory, offensive, or illegal conduct of presenters, or any direct, indirect, incidental, special or consequential damages arising from any presentations or Materials. By visiting the site you agree to comply with the Terms of Use, Privacy Policy and Code of Conduct.