Ron Edmondson | The Legacy Project | Nashville

About

Ron Edmondson is a pastor and church leader passionate about planting churches, helping established churches thrive, and assisting pastors and those in ministry think through leadership, strategy and life.

Ron has over 20 years business experience, mostly as a self-employed business owner, and he’s been helping church grow vocationally for over 10 years.

Ron Edmondson Is Driven By | I love to see people grasp a new concept or thought — and get motivated to make a difference with their life. The desire to see growth in others fuels me every day.

 

My Highlights | We have had some incredible success at starting new churches and revitalizing existing churches. It’s the favor of God on our intentional, methodical, and strategic efforts.

 

The Difference Between Good And Great | I think people who are great at something have limited their focus to that in which they want to be great. You can be good at a lot of things — but not great at a lot of things. The more you narrow your focus on what you are doing, the better your success will be.

 

A Key Talent | I am a connector. I have the gift of discernment. I’m quickly able to discern a person and figure out where I can connect them to others with the same passion, desires, and callings that they have. It has served me throughout my career in both business and ministry. It’s one of the best ways I add value to people around me.

I think it’s a natural ability, but it’s also one I work on daily. I ask myself questions when I’m learning someone’s story — questions such as, “Who do I know who feels the same way as this person? Who could help this person where they are today. Who does this person need to know that I know?”

 

Principles I Live By | I am a follower of the teachings of Jesus Christ. As a believer, I have centered my life around the idea that — at the end of the day — my life’s best success will be determined by how well I do the first and greatest commands of Christ — to love God and love others. I strive for that every day.

 

Critical Skills I Develop | Listening, learning and waiting are critical skills for every leader. I can be quick to have an answer rather than listening to what the other person is actually saying first. That takes discipline and I’m still working on it.

A leader is a learner. In addition to the Bible, I try to read at least one chapter of a book every day. I’ve found if I do this I can average 25 books a year. Some years I do more, but I know that at the least I’m always learning something new.
Resting is something that those wired like me — wired for achievement — with little patience — have a hard time living. I’ve learned by experience, however, that when I try to rush my world or others I often miss some of the best life has to offers. People of success have learned they must discipline their time to decompress.

 

Lessons I Have Learnt | There are so many. One, you cannot lead people where they don’t want to go. You might be able to force — but leadership is more than that. It’s taking people along, who may not know the way and even be a little afraid, but willingly. They buy into the vision. That means we must cast vision constantly, continually encourage, and give people freedom within our vision to live up to their own potential.

Also, We tend to end in the direction we are headed. We shouldn’t be surprised if we end up in a bad situation, if that’s the direction we were aiming our life.

Third, You get more bees with honey than vinegar. Being nice to people usually gets better results than beating them into submission. (That’s actually a Bible truth: It’s the kindness of God that leads to repentance.)

Finally, people are different from me. I tend to want people to respond to life and me as I respond to life and others. They don’t.

 

Advice On Building Wealth | As someone who set out with this as a goal, I would say: Get a bigger vision for your life. There’s nothing wrong with great wealth or richness. It’s a blessing that allows you to experience much of life and help others greatly. But, if that is a person’s end goal they may get a lot of trophies at the end of their life but have no one to share it with and no ultimate life satisfaction. I can’t tell you how many funerals of wealthy people I’ve done where the family doesn’t speak to one another and the person who died was mostly unfulfilled. It’s a sad commentary on life. Set out to make the world a better place, to help others, to do good things for the betterment of society — and if that brings wealth all the better.

 

The Legacy I Would Like To Leave | I would want to encourage others to dream big, take risks, never be afraid of failure, and enjoy each season of life.

Interview Questions

[everest_form id="26923"]

View further interviews.

The Legacy Project

Maria Popova is a reader, writer, interestingness hunter-gatherer, and curious mind at large. She has previously written for WiredUK, The Atlantic, The New York Times, and Harvard’s Nieman Journalism Lab, among others, and is an MIT Futures of Entertainment Fellow. I Am Driven By | The yearning to learn how to live, how to lead […]

The Legacy Project

John Baldoni is an internationally recognized leadership educator, executive coach and speaks throughout North America and Europe. John is the author of more than a dozen books, including MOXIE: The Secret to Bold and Gutsy Leadership, Lead with Purpose, Lead Your Boss, and The Leader’s Pocket Guide. John’s books have been translated into 10 languages. […]

The Legacy Project

Lizé began her life as a singer-songwriter with her first break as a nine year old in the hit musical – Annie. Whilst still at school she then signed her first recording contract with David Gresham Records, South Africa and at 21 years of age she entered South African Idols and landed herself a finalist […]

The Legacy Project

Chris Dancy has been engaging information systems for over 25 years, wearing as many hats as there are heads in the IT industry. He currently is employed as Chief Digital Officer and Senior Vice President at Healthways, Inc. As a Data Exhaust Cartographer, Chris utilizes 300-700 sensors, devices, applications, and services to track, analyze, and […]

The Legacy Project

“Our children are the rock on which our future will be built, our greatest asset as a nation. They will be the leaders of our country, the creators of our national wealth who care for and protect our people.” – Nelson Mandela via SOS Children’s Villages South Africa Steve Miller has an ability to communicate […]

The Legacy Project

Prof Saurabh Sinha cannot but leave an impression on those who encounter him. As one of South Africa’s great electronic engineers he has obtained his B. Eng, M. Eng and Ph.D. degrees in Electronic Engineering from the University of Pretoria (UP) having achieved both his B. Eng and M. Eng with distinction. As a published […]

David Grier - TLP

David Grier – TLP is a speaker, chef and dedicated athlete and adventurist. He´s was born on the 16th of January 1960 into a Cape wine farming family in South Africa, here his love of the outdoors, food, wine and adventure began. He set out to take all his passions to the extreme and explore […]

  • South Africa
  • Humanitarian
The Legacy Project

Adrian Gore is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of the Discovery Group. He launched Discovery in 1992, with a simple and core purpose of making people healthier and enhancing and protecting their lives. Discovery has since evolved into a diversified and multinational financial services group. Discovery is widely acknowledged as a global thought leader […]

Disclaimer
The profiles and images embedded on these pages are from various interviews conducted by The Legacy Project.

These remain the property of its owner and are not affiliated with or endorsed by WeSpeak Global.

Our Mission

We are your partner creating memorable and engaging experiences that go beyond the event itself.

© All rights reserved 2025. Created using VOXEL THEME