About
I'm Chris Daukas, PhD.
I've spent the last twenty-plus years inside the work of pastoral ministry — preaching, teaching, leading staff teams, sitting across coffee tables with elders, and watching trust get built, broken, and repaired. For most of that time, I served as Lead Pastor at Grace Church in Phoenix. Today, I serve as Executive Vice President of Global Training Network, equipping under-resourced pastors across more than ninety countries.
Most pastors I know aren't lacking conviction or talent. They're navigating relational dynamics nobody trained them for. I received a PhD in Organizational Leadership, focusing on the study of emotional intelligence and interpersonal trust among church elders. This is the work I continued to examine as a practitioner and now as a researcher. What I've learned is that there are practical leadership convictions and behaviors that can build and keep trust.
That's what this site is about.
Why "The Trusted Pastor"?
Because the most underrated leadership skill in pastoral ministry is also the slowest to build and the easiest to lose. Trust isn't simply strategy, charisma, or competence, though all of these might help to build trust. Trust is the currency required to lead and the results that flow from emotionally intelligent leadership behaviors. It's high moral character matched by predictable leadership skills.
The goal of pastoring isn't being the loudest voice in the room, or the most strategic, or the most charismatic. The goal is being the kind of leader your people can actually rely on — over years, in the hard decisions, and when no one's watching. That kind of pastor is rare, but vital. And it can be learned.
What you'll find here
- Writing — short notes from the week and longer essays on trust, team-building, and the texture of pastoral leadership. Always theologically sound, always practically useful.
- Coaching — confidential 1-on-1 work with pastors and ministry leaders.
- A book — more on that page.
My wife Tara and I make our home in Peoria, Arizona. We have four children (Taylor, Trevor, Rylee, and Alexie). The fastest way to reach me is email, or book a coaching session directly. I read every message.