The mission of LEAD WITH YOUR LIFE is to equip Kingdom leaders to lead from the inside out.
Every Christ-follower is on a mission—the Great Commission. Any mission, especially one of strategic importance, needs leaders—good ones and lots of them. But the mission is severely compromised when its leaders are taken off the frontlines due to some form of breakdown in their personal lives. These all-too-familiar breakdowns are seen in personal crisis, counterproductive behaviors, ill-advised choices, entitlement attitudes, interpersonal conflicts, and physical or emotional depletion.
It is no secret these are formidable problems. And prevalent ones.
Leadership success will never be fully realized if leaders lead with their titles, positions, personalities, degrees, or accomplishments. True leadership happens when leaders lead with their LIVES—bringing the weight and power of lives that are constantly being transformed by Christ.
What is Chuck’s story? Born and raised in Los Angeles, Chuck pastored in the local church for over 40 years before giving full focus to Lead With Your Life. He brings a deep passion for developing leaders, both in the local church and marketplace, who value the importance of leading not with positions or titles but with WHO they are. He is constantly pursuing ways to challenge current and next generation leaders to look at the interior issues of life and leadership.
What words do people use to describe him? Passionate Christ follower. Team leader. Developer. Maximizer. Learner. Strategic implementer. Coach. Encourager.
What is he really good at? Coming alongside of Kingdom leaders who want to take their lives and leadership to deeper and more significant places of impact and influence. He is deliberately in pursuit of leaders who want to develop from the inside out.
What are some of the formal ways God has prepared Chuck to serve? Chuck earned a B.A. at Biola University, a Th.M. at Dallas Seminary, and a D.Min. at Talbot School of Theology. He is Founder and President of Lead With Your Life.
Things he’s learned along the way:
One of Chuck’s favorite sayings: Great accomplishments start with a compelling vision, but become reality through daily choices.
What does he enjoy doing? Coming along side of Kingdom-minded leaders, encouraging and motivating them to develop and deepen their leadership impact to those in their spheres of influence. Olson continues to explore ways to engage and mentor next generation leaders from his own personal experiences as a leader, pastor, husband, dad and granddad. To keep his heart and mind healthy he enjoys reading and writing, home projects, running and working out, and traveling.
Bill Duncan has served alongside of Chuck in the local church as a dear friend before the inception of Lead With Your Life. He is a founding board member and currently serves as chair of the board. He brings strong organizational and exceptional leadership skills to the ministry. He also coaches Rock Solid groups, as he desires to take the journey with leaders of developing depth of character by being transformed from the inside out. Bill also serves on additional Christian, non-profit boards. He and his wife, Debbie have four married children and twelve grandchildren. Bill retired from The Olson Duncan Agency that he successfully owned and led for over 40 years.
Larry Edson retired from Union Bank corporate banking in 2004 having spent over 30 successful years in the banking industry. During his career, he has served on various corporate boards with his experience and strategic expertise. Larry is married to his sweetheart Gerri, and they have two adult sons and one adorable granddaughter. He brings his time, talent and resources to the Lead With Your Life Board, believing wholeheartedly in the mission of Rock Solid: equipping and resourcing Christian leaders to leave a solid legacy as they lead with their lives.
John Gilmour is a benefits broker with over 30 years of experience at JD Gilmour & Co., Inc. John is married to Karen and has one adult son and two adult daughters. They attend Fellowship Church in Monrovia, CA and are involved as marriage mentors. John has faithfully served on the Lead With Your Life Board for a number of years, bringing a keen passion and reliable expertise to the table. He strongly supports the Rock Solid Initiative, serving as a Coach most seasons. His deep desire is to come alongside of Kingdom-minded leaders resourcing and equipping them for maximum strategic impact, as they lead from the inside out.
Herag Haleblian uses his unique ability to articulate complex ideas clearly in various settings: as a management consultant for over 25 years, as a social entrepreneur, as a facilitator of men’s leadership development, and as a professor in academia. He is the founder/managing partner at the management consulting firm KRE Consulting, the founder/president of the social enterprise The Spectrum Works and a part time lecturer at USC’s Viterbi School of Engineering. Herag and his wife Lisa have a daughter and two sons. Over the years, he has faithfully served as a Rock Solid Coach. He is fully committed to the mission of Lead with Your Life, seeking to inspire and equip leaders to live lives of extraordinary impact.
Pastor Garrick Hanger serves as co-lead pastor at Coastline Covenant Church in Southern California. He is passionate about walking intimately with Jesus, helping leaders experience the lavish love of God, and learning how to live expectantly through the presence of the Holy Spirit. Garrick has been coaching Rock Solid groups with Chuck over the past few years, and brings to the board a strong discipline of living and leading from the heart, along with keen leadership expertise and insight. Things he loves: his wife Jeannine, his three kids, his dog Ruby Mae, slow reflective walks in nature, VW buses, and body surfing.
Jim Howe is the COO of a small manufacturing firm and has enjoyed teaching as an adjunct professor in the graduate School of Business at Azusa Pacific University. Jim has been an integral visionary board member at Lead With Your Life since its founding and has helped facilitate several Rock Solid groups. Having seen and experienced first hand the significant impact of this transformational ministry in the lives of leaders, Jim expectantly looks forward to continued engagement and support of the LWYL mission, seeking to impact and build into next generation leaders. Jim and his wife Lori are parents to an adult son and daughter and three darling grandkids.
David is the Chairman and CEO of Hing Wa Lee Group which is diversified in luxury retailing, real estate, and entrepreneurial investments. He joins wholeheartedly in the mission and development of Kingdom-hearted leaders through Lead With Your Life. He serves as a Rock Solid coach and brings a compelling excitement and energy to the ministry. He is “addicted to seeing leaders grow Rock Solid on the inside and become more dangerous for the Kingdom on the outside.” David is married to his wife, Katherine, for 28 years and has two adult children. His hobbies are cars, motorcycles, golf, travel, wine, and food. He attends Lake Ave church in Pasadena and Saddleback Church in Newport Beach.
Dusty Olson enthusiastically brings experience with donor engagement and relational strengths, as well as being a strategic thinker to the board. He has served as a Rock Solid coach and a next-generation leader for five years at Lead With Your Life, leading with transparency from the inside out. He graduated with a degree in Business Finance from Point Loma Nazarene University, and his career has focused on the Insurance industry where he is a broker for The Olson Duncan Agency in Torrance, CA. Dusty and his wife, Kim, have been married 19 years, and have three amazing children.. They attend Shoreline Church in San Clemente. Dusty also provides leadership on the Senior Living Ministries board.. Some of his favorite activities include engaging in the kids sports, connecting with golfing friends, and enjoying rich conversations over a good meal.
Kevin Hoist serves on the LWYL team as part-time Director of Key Initiatives. He loves to invest in people, desiring for them to understand and step into their God-given potential. He believes wholeheartedly in the mission of Lead With Your Life and brings fresh insights and a vibrant spirit with him. He has been a Rock Solid coach for a number of years and is committed to inspiring and equipping leaders to live bold and courageous lives as they fulfill their Kingdom calling and purposes.
As a CPA and business advisor for nearly a decade, Kevin has worked with many globally recognized brands and organizations.
Steve Keith serves on the LWYL team as part-time Project Manager. Having been a Rock Solid participant as well as coach, he has first-hand experience of the impactful nine month discipleship journey this has on a leader’s life. As a Commercial Property Inspector, he is able to connect with small business owners on a daily basis and sees the critical need for Kingdom-minded leadership development. Steve uses his professional skills to support the Tech & Worship ministries at Coastline Covenant Church. He enjoys family time with his beautiful wife, Alison, and two amazing kids, Paisley and Henry, takes in solitude and beauty of nature by hiking, camping, backpacking, and has a soft spot for ice cream.
Sam Kemp serves on the LWYL team as part-time Coordinator of Rock Solid NEXT. He loves encouraging, empowering, and equipping leaders to thrive and become fully engaged with who God created them to be. Having completed seven years of pastoring youth at Fellowship Monrovia, Sam is now a graduate student pursuing a Master’s in Clinical Psychology, Marriage and Family Therapy at Azusa Pacific University. He has been a Rock Solid coach for several seasons, and calls out firsthand the many ways God uses the Rock Solid journey to transform the lives of leaders. He loves spending time with his wife, Emily, and two darling daughters, Jaqueline and Amaya, and he enjoys good food, coffee, baking, and outdoor adventures.
Jazmine Parker serves on the LWYL team as an Administrative Assistant. Jazmine is skilled in creating, improving and implementing processes and procedures. She wholeheartedly believes in the mission of Lead With Your Life and brings excellence to us with her expertise in administrative systems and general organizational workflow systems.
Jazmine resides in the Bay Area and enjoys spending time with her husband, Cormac, and joy-filled son, Ezra. As a family, they love exploring new parks, new restaurants and new cities.
Danny and Avis Matsuda are excited to invest their time and talents at Lead With Your Life by providing essential administrative support in numerous ways. Danny is thriving in retirement as a Rock Solid coach in the fulfillment of his Kingdom calling. He gives witness to the growth and development of dozens of leaders who have taken the nine-month Rock Solid discipleship journey where they discover essential practices to clarify and develop their leadership influence. Avis has recently retired and is enthusiastic to join forces with Danny by organizing many behind-the-scene details of the ministry. They are parents to two married sons and excitedly wait to meet their first grandchild in the new year!
The mission of LEAD WITH YOUR LIFE is to energize and promote a movement of Kingdom leaders—both ministry and marketplace—who are uncompromisingly committed to fulfilling their calling by leading with their lives.
LWYL considers investing in leaders a wise stewardship decision, recognizing that there is a high rate of return in doing so since leaders, by definition, influence others. Included in the Lead With Your Life philosophy is an intentional seeking and engaging with next-generation leaders. All ministries and services provided by LWYL are on a donation basis so as not to prevent or limit one’s capacity to benefit from the stated mission of the organization. As an independent 501c3 organization, all donations are tax-deductible.
LEAD WITH YOUR LIFE provides both services and resources. Some of the services include discipleship groups for leaders (Rock Solid), one-on-one leadership coaching, virtual mentoring and leadership round table conversations. Resources include a monthly blog, book notes, a Partnership Insider and monthly opportunities to engage in mentoring by Chuck Olson.
Chuck serves as founder and president of LWYL. All ministries and fiduciary activities of LWYL are governed by a board of directors. The 2023 LWYL board members include: Bill Duncan/Chair, Jim Howe/Secretary, John Gilmour/Treasurer, Larry Edson, Herag Haleblian, Garrick Hanger, David Lee, & Dusty Olson.
The purpose of Rock Solid is to provide an intensive, 10-12 person discipleship experience that will empower leaders to become rock-solid on the inside and dangerous/courageous for the Kingdom on the outside. Using content that has been developed by Chuck over four decades pastoring and leading in the local church, the nine-month Rock Solid journey provides participants the opportunity to work through essential practices in a variety of ways, all designed to enable a leader to develop a personal game plan and profile for greater Kingdom impact.
The best way to learn more about the influential work and strategic mission of Lead With Your Life is to contact us.
Everyone’s life gets better when a leader’s life gets stronger.
– Chuck Olson
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