James M. Barthel

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James M. Barthel

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Kingdom-minded coach, consultant & author of Thou Shall Grow.

Guiding leaders to apply Biblical principles, break through roadblocks, and grow businesses that honor God while creating clarity, freedom & lasting impact.

10/13/2026

Can you lead with grace AND hold people accountable?

As Christian business leaders, we sometimes treat faith and good business practices like we have to choose between them.

Prayer or planning.
Grace or accountability.
Faith or results.

But God never asked us to make those choices.

Faith doesn't replace good business. It transforms how we do it.

When we bring faith, leadership, and business practices together, we can pursue excellence without compromising what we believe.

Where have you felt this tension in your own leadership?

I explore this further in this week's Leadership Letter, "Faith Doesn't Compete With Good Business."

Subscribe to receive the weekly letter:
https://www.jamesmbarthel.com/home

10/12/2026

Have you ever struggled with holding someone accountable because you wanted to lead with grace?

Or wondered whether trusting God meant you should wait instead of taking action?

These are real tensions Christian business leaders face.

But faith and good business practices were never meant to compete.

We can care deeply about people and still have difficult conversations. We can pray for direction and still make a plan. We can trust God while taking responsibility for the results.

The question isn't whether to choose faith or good leadership. It's how to bring them together.

Swipe through for three questions to consider before your next important business decision.

I'm exploring this further in this week's Leadership Letter, "Faith Doesn't Compete With Good Business."

Subscribe here: https://www.jamesmbarthel.com/home

10/06/2026

Most of us already know more than we consistently practice.

We know the conversation we need to have. The person we need to develop. The discipline we need to build. The thing we keep saying we'll get to next week.

But knowing isn't growing.

Growth happens when what we know becomes what we consistently practice.

That's what I'm writing about in this week's Leadership Letter: What You Practice Is What You Become.

Every Wednesday, I send one practical letter for business leaders who want to grow in their leadership, business, and faith. One idea grounded in Scripture, with reflection and practical application you can carry into your week.

If you'd like to join me, get the Leadership Letter delivered to your inbox every Wednesday:

https://www.jamesmbarthel.com/home

10/05/2026

Knowing what to do and consistently doing it are two very different things.

That gap shows up everywhere in leadership. In the conversations we keep putting off. The people we know we should be developing. The disciplines we intend to start. The things we know matter, but somehow keep getting pushed to another day.

That’s what I’m writing about in this Wednesday’s Leadership Letter.

Every Wednesday, I send one practical letter for business leaders who want to grow in their leadership, their business, and their faith. One idea grounded in Scripture, with questions and practical application you can carry into the week.

This week: What You Practice Is What You Become.

If that sounds like something that would help you lead with greater intention each week, I’d love to have you join me.

Get the Leadership Letter delivered to your inbox every Wednesday:

https://www.jamesmbarthel.com/home

09/29/2026

Sometimes growth isn’t about adding more.

Jesus gives us a powerful picture of this in John 15. The branch being pruned is already fruitful.

It isn’t being pruned because it failed. It’s being pruned because there is more fruit ahead.

I think that matters for us as leaders.

Sometimes the responsibility, role, habit, or way of leading that got us here isn’t meant to come with us into the next season.

And letting go of something that worked can be much harder than letting go of something that didn’t.

So maybe the question isn’t, “What do I need to add next?”

Maybe it’s, “What is God asking me to release?”

That’s what I’m exploring in this week’s Leadership Letter.

Get my weekly faith + business leadership email delivered to your inbox every Wednesday.

Subscribe here:

https://www.jamesmbarthel.com/home

09/28/2026

Growth usually makes us think about what comes next.

What should I add?
What should I build?
What new opportunity should I pursue?

But after years of leading, I’ve learned that growth sometimes asks the opposite question:

What am I willing to let go of?

That can be especially difficult when what we’re holding onto isn’t bad. It may be a responsibility we’ve always owned, a strategy that worked, or simply the comfort of being the person everyone depends on.

John 15 gives us a different picture of growth. The fruitful branch is pruned, not because it failed, but because there is more fruit ahead.

Sometimes making room for what God has next means releasing something that served us well in the last season.

This Wednesday’s Leadership Letter is about pruning, control, surrender, and the things we may need to release in order to grow.

Get my weekly faith + business leadership email delivered to your inbox every Wednesday.

Subscribe here:

https://www.jamesmbarthel.com/home

09/22/2026

“Leadership isn’t just about getting more out of people. It’s about helping more come alive within people.”

I can look back and name people who did that for me. Mentors who saw something in me, invested in me, challenged me, and helped me grow.

Eventually, leadership asks us to do the same for someone else.

We were never meant to carry everything alone. But the answer isn’t simply finding people who can help us carry more.

It’s developing people who can eventually lead, grow, and invest in others too.

Who helped you become the leader you are today?

And who are you helping grow now?

This Wednesday’s Leadership Letter goes deeper into what it means to move from delegation to multiplication.

Get my weekly Leadership Letter here:

https://www.jamesmbarthel.com/home

09/21/2026

For a long time, being a strong leader can look like being the person who can handle it.

You solve the problem. Make the decision. Step in when something needs to get done.

But eventually, leadership has to become about more than what you can carry yourself.

It becomes about what you're developing in the people around you.

Who are you trusting with greater responsibility?
Whose potential are you helping uncover?
Who is becoming a stronger leader because you took the time to invest in them?

That's when leadership moves beyond delegation and starts becoming multiplication.

This Wednesday, I'm digging deeper into what it means to develop people, not just get more out of them, in the Leadership Letter.

Get my weekly Leadership Letter email delivered to your inbox every Wednesday.

Subscribe here:

https://www.jamesmbarthel.com/home

09/15/2026

I’ve made plenty of business decisions without knowing exactly how they would turn out.

And I’ve learned that waiting for complete certainty can keep us from making the very decisions leadership requires us to make.

James 1:5 tells us to ask God for wisdom. It doesn’t promise that every risk will disappear or that we’ll know the outcome before we move.

There’s an important difference between wisdom and certainty.

That’s what I’m exploring in this week’s Leadership Letter, and what thirty years in business have taught me about making decisions when the answer isn’t obvious.

Faith doesn’t eliminate risk. It changes how you decide.

Get my weekly Leadership Letter delivered to your inbox every Wednesday. Subscribe here:

https://www.jamesmbarthel.com/home

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Denver, CO

Telephone

+1 303-522-3122

Website

http://www.jamesmbarthel.com/

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