Joseph Handley
7 min read ⭑
“At A3, our vision is to accelerate Christ-centered movements by equipping and unifying visionary Christ-like leaders. I love it. Investing in others and seeing them grow personally as well as missionally is life-giving and rewarding.”
Joseph Handley has devoted his life to accelerating leaders for mission. He is the CEO of A3, a global network that equips leaders, and he serves as a Global Catalyst for Leadership with the Lausanne Movement. He’s a faculty member at Fuller Theological Seminary and a tutor for the Oxford Centre for Mission Studies. Joseph has also served as the founding director of Azusa Pacific University’s Office of World Mission and as lead mission pastor at Rolling Hills Covenant Church.
In this interview, Joseph shares about traveling the world for three decades, encouraging local leaders in faith and leadership — with food and coffee always a focal point of his travels. He discusses the limits of his “see food diet,” discloses his ongoing battle with “indulgences,” and shares how he’s harnessing AI to help present new ideas when he speaks and writes. Continue reading to hear his insight on equipping Christ-like leaders and to learn about the resources that have influenced his faith journey.
QUESTION #1: ACQUAINT
The meals we enjoy are about so much more than the food we eat. So, how does a “go-to” meal at your favorite hometown restaurant reveal the true you behind your web bio?
While my favorite meal is biscuits and gravy at the local Eat at Rudy’s in Old Town Torrance, my true favorite is what I call a “see food diet.” I love everything I see! And it works well for me; I travel much of the time and dig in with global food culture. Sometimes I’m on the fly, and McDonald’s, Starbucks and Burger King work quite well. However, I love everything from Din Tai Fung in Taipei (or here in the South Bay) to Isekender kebab in Istanbul (where I lived for a year) and Ichiran Ramen (my favorite ramen place in Tokyo).
What does all this say about me? Joe is global. I’ve been traveling the world for over three decades, walking alongside local leaders and encouraging them in their journeys and faith entrepreneurship. And food is always at the center — food and coffee, that is! I love hanging out with local friends around the planet, dreaming kingdom dreams together and seeing how we can synergize for the work of faith in their communities and nations.
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QUESTION #2: REVEAL
We’ve all got quirky proclivities and out-of-the-way interests. So, what are yours? What so-called “nonspiritual” activity do you love engaging in that also helps you find essential spiritual renewal?
My favorite daily ritual is walking with my wife. We try to get out in the neighborhood daily and sometimes go to the beach, walk the cliffs or stroll through parks and gardens nearby. These are life-giving experiences for us. It recalibrates my day and focus and allows the two of us to talk and pray and discover. Sometimes we’ll squeeze in a little café along the way, though that is rare.
Seeing the ocean waves from the cliffs or from the beach and hearing the water flow renews the spirit and the mind and refreshes the soul. Walking through gardens and seeing the flora and fauna gives new focus to life and helps me see beyond what is right in front of me. I spend so much time in meetings and on screens that getting out is huge! And I simply love getting to walk and talk with my wife to see what is stirring and how we may need or want to adapt.
QUESTION #3: CONFESS
Every superhero has a weakness; every human, too. We're just good at faking it. But who are we kidding? We’re all broken and in this thing together. So, what’s your kryptonite and how do you confront its power head-on?
My ongoing challenge is indulgences, especially in snacks or between meals but also during meal hours. It’s my way to get away from stress and relax, but it’s not good for me overall. Yet I succumb most of the time. The comfort of a bag of chips and salsa or snacking on salty nuts gives strange rest to my stressors and somehow calms my nerves. I’ll take seconds and thirds oftentimes, which is totally unnecessary. But the taste is delightful, and those tastes give rest to my weary mind.
QUESTION #4: FIRE UP
Tell us about your toil. How are you investing your professional time right now? What’s your current obsession? And why should it be ours?
I love helping leaders grow. Our motto captures it well: “Changing the Few Who Change the Many.” At A3, our vision is to accelerate Christ-centered movements by equipping and unifying visionary Christ-like leaders. I love it. Investing in others and seeing them grow personally as well as missionally is life-giving and rewarding. Sometimes we even see groundbreaking and earth-shattering changes in nations. It’s amazing.
It’s why we publish books like “Leading Well in Times of Disruption.” That book by some of the top practitioners in the world today helps leaders navigate the next decade or more by addressing the top gaps in leadership development for global mission in our world. It was birthed from our work in the Lausanne Movement with listening calls to dozens of global leaders involved in developing people, asking what the most significant gaps were in leader development today. Each chapter focuses on a different gap, aside from the first section which lays out the history of the Lausanne Movement. It’s a great resource to dive into for those wanting to help others grow and influence the world for Christ.
QUESTION #5: BOOST
Cashiers, CEOs, contractors or customer service reps, we all need grace flowing into us and back out into the world. How does the Holy Spirit invigorate your work? And how do you know it’s God when it happens?
I often feel unusual prompts, and, over time, I’ve taken those to be nudges by God’s Spirit. They seem to come out of the blue, yet I sense God pushing me or giving me a glimpse of what should or could happen.
Just last week, I felt the Lord leading me to talk about how he prompted me, over time, to make vocational or career shifts. When those prompts came, the words from the book of Esther almost always complemented them: “Who is to say that you have been called for such a time as this?” Each time I’ve made a significant move in life, those words seemed apropos. Last week, I felt I should share some of that story, and little did I know that the same passage would be referred to throughout the week. It was a special kairos moment where the call was clear! The voices came from different people and times, uncoordinated and unplanned. Clearly they came from somewhere other than the people involved! In those moments, I sense God is there, and it’s confirmed through other markers — like other people or clear indicators — that he’s speaking into my life.
QUESTION #6: inspire
Scripture and tradition beckon us into the rich and varied habits that open our hearts to the presence of God. So, let us in. Which spiritual practice is working best for you in this season?
Lately, I seem to get close to God when walking and getting rid of all the distractions of life. Of course, I read Scripture most mornings (or at least a devotional), but those times can often get disrupted by a text, an email or someone walking in on my quiet time. More often than not, it’s on those walks that I mentioned in a previous question where I sense a prompt from God — some sort of inspiration or guidepost. It’s there that I am meeting the Lord most these days: getting away from my habits and routines, experiencing the joy of nature and what’s around me. Somehow, someway, my communion with God is transported, and I feel connected to him. Ideas pop in my head, or new directions or inspirations come to me in a flash, and I sense they are from God. In those moments, I savor them for a while but then test them or reflect on them with others to see if I might be listening well.
QUESTION #7: FOCUS
Looking backward, considering the full sweep of your unique faith journey and all you encountered along the way, what top three resources stand out to you? What changed reality and your heart?
One of the stories that keeps coming back to me is Philip Yancey’s story about Henri Nouwen. It is titled “Holy Inefficiency of Henri Nouwen,” and it talks about how the renowned theologian dropped everything to serve a community of people with special needs. He gave up everything to follow Jesus there. Yancey referred to how many spiritualist specialists would refer people to readings and reflections, but Nouwen said, “Come, live with me.” It’s so like Jesus, who said, “Come, follow me, and I’ll make you a fisher of men.”
One of the key problems in our world today is a weakness of mentoring and disciple making. Here, Nouwen sets forth the Jesus model: simply follow, learn, live and grow. This one source, by far, has been the most critical for me because I'm so focused on using the best of my time, making the most of every opportunity. But God simply wants us to “hang out” and spend time together. As I spend more time with Christ and with others, this is when and where I grow the most.
We all have things we cling to to survive or even thrive in our fast-paced, techno-driven world. How have you been successful in harnessing technology to aid in your spiritual growth?
My best harness of technology is using AI these days. It helps me with research and with refining my writing. In addition, it summarizes long articles or books fairly adeptly. By harnessing various sources (mostly ChatGPT and NotebookLM), I find I gain precious time to focus on the big picture and keep the main thing the main thing. It also helps me hone what I’m learning or presenting to others. It enhances my sharing by giving me new insights to ponder or new ideas to pray through and discern if they fit the paradigms of what I’m looking for.
Not long ago, I used one of these sources to create a children’s version of my thesis book, “Polycentric Mission Leadership.” It was astounding! It created an anime version of my book, which made it more accessible to a larger audience. Crazy!
QUESTION #8: dream
God’s continually stirring new things in each of us. So, give us the scoop! What’s beginning to stir in you but not yet fully awakened? What can we expect from you in the future?
There are two things on my writing horizon that I’ve been thinking about for some time. As a youth (during high school and especially college and young adulthood), I often dreamt of writing my own book about Jesus and leadership. I thought it would never come to fruition, but, all of a sudden, the Lord has thrust me into various writing projects the last few years. Ever since my thesis, “Polycentric Mission Leadership,” was published, other opportunities have come my direction. We wrote “Leading Well in Times of Disruption” for the Lausanne Congress, and now we are looking at developing a more robust look at “Polycentric Mission.”
My original dream flows out of all of these: a book about leadership from Jesus’ approach or — probably more appropriate to say — leadership from a biblical perspective. So I’m tinkering with a book to fulfill those dreams of my youth that will be a more pragmatic version of my thesis above.
Kairos, an ancient Greek word, means “the appointed time in the purpose of God.” It refers to moments when God intervenes and makes his purposes known with his people. Joseph talks about the beauty of kairos moments with God. He says, “In those moments, I sense God is there, and it's confirmed through other markers — like other people or clear indicators — that he’s speaking into my life.” How do you know God is speaking to you? How has he confirmed his word in your life? Think back to a time when he spoke into a situation or a season and spend some time thanking him for the ways he confirmed his word and moved in your life.
Joseph Handley has devoted his life to accelerating leaders for mission. He is the CEO of A3, a global network that equips leaders: (A3Leaders.org) (A3.business). He serves as a Global Catalyst for Leadership with the Lausanne Movement and as faculty for Fuller Theological Seminary as well as a tutor for the Oxford Centre for Mission Studies. Prior, Joe was the founding director of Azusa Pacific University’s Office of World Mission and lead mission pastor at Rolling Hills Covenant Church. He is the author of Polycentric Mission Leadership and Leading Well in Times of Disruption.
