When Andrew Simila resigned from pastoral ministry during the upheaval of 2020, he didn’t have a clear next step. What he did have was a haunting question:
“What would new look like?”
Not better. Not more polished. Not a rebranded version of the past.
But new.
After 15 years of church leadership, Andrew was facing the same disorienting questions many faith leaders experience when the titles, rhythms, and expectations fall away.
⁉️ Who am I now?
⁉️ What do I want?
⁉️ What am I capable of?
In this episode of The In-Between, Andrew shares what it means to explore those questions with courage—and why the answers might not come through striving, but through slowing down and becoming.
In this episode, we talk about:
👉 Why we underestimates what we’re capable of
👉 How to ask, “What do I want?”—without guilt or apology
👉 The difference between doing something better and doing something new
👉 Why transitions often stir up identity loss
👉 What Andrew means when he says: “Growth happens on the hook, not off it”
👉 The power of ownership, and how it starts with curiosity
👉 Why ministry is a function—not a title
👉 How to transition without waiting for collapse or burnout
👉 The surprising questions that helped Andrew say yes to coaching
From Ministry to MetaPerformance
Before becoming an executive coach and associate partner with Novus Global, Andrew was a church planter and pastor—doing what he loved and using the full range of his gifts. However, without notice or much of a plan he was let go.
A friend’s phone call—and a gentle invitation to explore—opened the door to something unexpected: training with a coaching organization in New York. Within days, Andrew booked a flight. And then another. Those early steps weren’t calculated moves. They were risks.
It wasn’t heroic. It was just me being open to the possibility that there was more.
That openness led Andrew to not only get trained as a coach but also join a team of high-level thinkers committed to transformation, ownership, and reinvention.
The Two Greatest Leadership Challenges
Every client Andrew coaches hears this:
Every human vastly underestimates what they’re capable of. And every human gets in their own way.
This dual reality—the gap between potential and internal resistance—is where coaching lives.
For Andrew, it’s not about fixing people. It’s about helping them ask better questions:
- What am I capable of?
- What would new look like?
- Who do I need to become in order to give myself permission?
These aren’t fluffy prompts. They’re invitations to transformation. And they often emerge in moments that feel incredibly ordinary—like scrolling job listings for janitor positions, wondering if this is all life has to offer.
It’s not about pulling yourself up by your bootstraps. It’s about opening yourself up to the possibility that there’s more you haven’t seen yet.
Your Calling Isn’t the Role
For former pastors, this conversation hits close to home.
Andrew names a subtle but powerful trap many faith leaders fall into: confusing their calling with their title.
You’re not called to a role. You’re called to people.
When that role shifts—or ends—it can feel like your purpose has vanished. But as Andrew reminds us, ministry is not limited to a platform, paycheck, or Sunday schedule.
I’m still pastoring. It just doesn’t look like it used to.
Letting go of a title doesn’t mean letting go of your identity. But it does require you to become someone new.
Reinvention Starts With Ownership
One of the most powerful tools Andrew shares in this episode is the FACTS Loop—a framework from Novus Global that names the emotional gridlock many of us live inside:
- Frustration
- Avoidance
- Complaining
- Tolerating
- …and the unspoken Shame or Scared-of’s underneath it all
Sound familiar?
It’s easy to get stuck in cycles of dissatisfaction, blaming the system, or waiting for a disruption to force your hand.
But ownership invites something radically different:
If every experience I’m having is an experience I’m creating, what am I choosing?
Creating a Culture of Curiosity (At Home and at Work)
Now a husband, father of three, and coach to high-performing leaders, Andrew speaks candidly about how this work changed not just his career—but his family.
“There was a version of me that was physically present but mentally absent. I was sitting at the dinner table thinking about sermon points.”
The shift toward curiosity and ownership has allowed him to be more emotionally available, more honest, and more himself.
His kids don’t just get more time with him. They get more of him.
“You don’t get to choose what your kids remember. But you do get to choose who you’re being around them.”
For the Leader Who Feels the Ache of Change
If you’re in a role that no longer fits, or you feel the tension of “What’s next?”—this conversation is for you.
You don’t have to wait for collapse to begin again.
You don’t have to settle for better when what you’re really longing for is new.
You don’t have to keep living a story that no longer serves the person you’re becoming.
“Growth doesn’t happen off the hook. It happens on it.”
Want to Connect with Andrew?
If you’re in a transition or looking to explore your next level, Andrew would love to hear from you.
📱Instagram: @andrewwsimila
🌐 Website: Novus Global
✉️ Email: [email protected]
Questions Worth Asking Yourself:
👉 What are you frustrated with—but still tolerating?
👉 What would new look like in your life?
👉 Where might you be confusing calling with a role?
👉 Who do you need to become in order to give yourself permission?
Not Sure What Comes Next?
Everything Just Changed—Now What?
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