To everything there is a season.
I’ve felt that more in the last few weeks than I have in a long time.
We welcomed a new granddaughter into the world.
We said goodbye to Jane’s mother. (At least for a while.)
We put our daughter on a plane to go serve the Lord for 18 months.
And somewhere in the middle of all that, business kept moving. It doesn’t slow down. It doesn’t wait for you to catch your breath. The sun still comes up. The responsibility is still there.
There are moments – real moments – where I feel the weight of it.
Not just physically, but mentally. Emotionally. Spiritually.
Moments where you wonder how everything is going to work out.
And yet… you get up. You move forward. You act in faith and in hope that the effort, the struggle, the persistence—it will yield something meaningful.
In the middle of all this, Gretchen handed me a book before she left.
The Peter Potential. (by Emily Belle Freeman and David Butler)
She didn’t make a big deal about it. Just, “Dad, I think you’ll like this.”
She was right.
I’ve Always Related to Peter
I’ve always been drawn to Peter in the New Testament.
He’s not polished.
He’s not perfect.
He’s bold one minute and uncertain the next.
He speaks up. He steps forward. He also gets corrected. Publicly.
And yet, Christ keeps calling him forward. Not because Peter had it all figured out. But because Christ could see what Peter could become.
That idea resonates with me.
Because years ago, I spent time thinking about a very different “Peter.”
The Peter Principle
In business, The Peter Principle is simple.
People get promoted until they reach a level where they are no longer effective.
It happens in business all the time.
Someone is great at what they do, so they get elevated. Then elevated again. Until eventually, they are in a role they are not equipped for.
Not because they aren’t good people.
But because the skill set required changed, and they weren’t prepared for it.
I’ve seen it.
I’ve lived parts of it.
As a leader, as a business owner, as someone responsible for people and outcomes—you learn quickly that good intentions don’t fix structural problems.
You can’t ignore reality and expect things to work.
Competence matters.
Preparation matters.
Systems matter.
The Peter Principle is a warning.
And it’s a valid one.
I wrote on it nine years ago in my blog, if you are interested. (Read it here)
The Peter Potential
Then there’s Peter the Apostle.
And this is where things get interesting.
Because if you look at Peter through a purely “Peter Principle” lens, he never should have been called.
He wasn’t ready.
He didn’t have it all together.
He made mistakes—big ones.
And yet, Christ didn’t wait for Peter to become capable before calling him.
He called him into capability.
That’s the Peter Potential.
Not who Peter was in the moment. But who he could become through discipleship, correction, experience, and grace.
So Which One Is True?
Both!
And that’s where I’ve been sitting on this flight, thinking.
In business, promoting someone beyond their capacity can break a system.
In discipleship, calling someone beyond their capacity is often exactly how God builds them.
That’s not a contradiction.
That’s a distinction.
And if you miss it, you’ll either:
run a business on hope instead of structure
or live your life afraid to step into what God is asking of you
Neither works.
What This Means for Me (and Maybe You)
There are a few things I’m trying to hold onto right now.
1. Competence is my responsibility.
In business, I don’t get to ignore reality. If I step into something I’m not prepared for, I need to learn, adapt, and get better—quickly.
Hope is not a strategy.
Effort, discipline, and truth are.
2. Calling doesn’t wait for readiness.
In life, God will ask things of me before I feel fully capable. That doesn’t mean I’m unqualified.
It means I’m being developed.
3. Pressure reveals, but it can also refine.
The pressure I feel right now—it can expose weaknesses. Or it can build strength.
That depends on how I respond.
4. I have to tell the truth—to myself first.
Am I in over my head because I ignored reality? Or am I being stretched because I’m growing?
Those are not the same thing.
And if I can’t answer that honestly, I’ll struggle in both arenas.
Where This Lands Right Now
Gretchen is stepping into something she isn’t fully prepared for.
That’s not a criticism. That’s the point. She’s going because she feels called. Because she believes it’s what the Lord wants her to do.
There’s something powerful about hearing your daughter say, quietly and confidently,
“I know I am doing exactly what God wants of me.”
I don’t know that there’s a better feeling than that. You don’t have to believe what I believe, but you can find respect in conviction. I know I do.
At the same time, I’m here, in my own responsibilities, carrying weight that doesn’t go away just because life gets emotional.
That’s the season.
The best of times.
The worst of times.
And right in the middle of it, I’m trying to become something better than I was yesterday.
Two Peters
The Peter Principle reminds me to be grounded in truth.
To build correctly. To prepare. To not ignore reality just because I want something to work.
The Peter Potential reminds me that I’m not finished.
That I can grow. That God is patient. And that being called forward is not the same thing as being exposed.
I need both.
We probably all do.
Because life will promote you before you feel ready.
And God will call you before you feel capable.
The difference is whether you’re willing to do the work required in each.
