Jeremiah 1–3; 7; 16–18; 20 • Dr. Jeff Thompson • Oct 19–25 • Come, Follow Me 2026
How do you lead people who have the agency not to follow you? Dr. Jeff Thompson, inaugural director of BYU’s Sorensen Center for Moral and Ethical Leadership, joins Hank and John to explore Jeremiah’s 40 years of faithful service without success and what his story teaches us about letting go of control, trusting the Lord, and leading through our own unique gifts. SHOW NOTES/TRANSCRIPTS English: https://tinyurl.com/podcastOT243EN ALL EPISODES/SHOW NOTES followHIM website: https://www.followHIM.co FREE PDF DOWNLOADS OF followHIM QUOTE BOOKS New Testament: https://tinyurl.com/PodcastNTBook Old Testament: https://tinyurl.com/PodcastOTBook Book of Mormon: https://tinyurl.com/PodcastBMBook WEEKLY NEWSLETTER https://tinyurl.com/followHIMnewsletter SOCIAL MEDIA Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/followhimpodcast/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/followhimpodcast TIMECODES 00:00:00 Welcome 00:01:41 Meet Dr. Jeff Thompson 00:03:51 Jeff's background and bio 00:05:35 Jeff's lead role in a musical 00:09:24 Why Jeremiah is relatable 00:13:56 The Sorensen family's quiet influence 00:16:15 Jeremiah's tough times and tough assignment 00:20:05 Divine identity and unique gifts 00:23:27 Being yourself in the Church 00:28:00 Harmony is being different together 00:31:25 A student's hidden leadership gift 00:34:11 Being gentle with youth who don't fit in 00:38:04 Finding your calling: zookeepers 00:41:54 The Christ-Centered Leader Model 00:44:09 Love, agency, and accountability 00:47:29 Seeing the three principles in Jeremiah 00:49:42 Letting people learn from mistakes 00:52:04 Jeff's mohawk story 00:55:06 Learning through consequences 00:58:09 Leadership that keeps the door open 01:02:04 Love and accountability together 01:06:20 Leading with questions 01:09:17 Why we reach for control 01:13:18 Compliance versus conversion 01:15:38 Grace for parents 01:18:39 The potter and the clay 01:21:37 Growth mindset 01:23:04 A man who changed on death row 01:26:43 Jeremiah's raw honesty 01:29:09 Jeff's dramatic reading 01:33:29 Faith and pain together 01:35:46 Leadership measured by faithfulness 01:37:40 Jeff's story about his children 01:41:12 Giving the burden to the Savior 01:43:22 Hope for families in the middle of it 01:45:53 "Church is still in them" 01:48:54 Control is the opposite of faith 01:51:04 Jeremiah will be okay 01:52:29 Why Jeff returns to scripture 01:54:48 Where real power comes from 01:57:33 Closing thanks 01:59:22 End of Episode - Dr. Jeff Thompson
