The Bishopric & the Youth | A How I Lead Interview with James Fletcher

Leading Saints Podcast

Leading Saints

Religion & Spirituality, Christianity

4.9 • 1.2K Ratings

🗓️ 31 July 2025

⏱️ 43 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

James Fletcher is the founder and chief investment officer of Ethos Investment Management, and has been investing professionally in emerging markets for 20 years. He is also the founder of the global non-profit Young Investors Society, which provides lessons to teens on investing and financial literacy in over 3,000 high schools and 80 countries around the world. James has a bachelor's degree in Finance from Brigham Young University and also teaches as a BYU adjunct professor in Finance. He has lived in a variety of places, from Boston to Brazil and Los Angeles to Hong Kong, and currently lives in Springville, Utah, with his wife and five children, where he serves as a bishop in the Hobble Creek Springville Utah Stake.

Links

Young Investors Society: YIS.org
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Highlights
James Fletcher shares his insights and experiences as a bishop and youth leader. He shares his approach to engaging with youth, highlighting the advice he received to focus on them while allowing other leaders to manage adult responsibilities. He discusses his passion for working with young people, which has been shaped by his background in youth mentorship and his founding of the Young Investor Society, an organization that teaches financial literacy and investment principles to high school students.

James emphasizes the importance of setting high expectations for youth while providing the necessary support and mentorship. He also discusses the significance of creating engaging and interactive experiences for youth, rather than simply delivering lessons. He shares how challenging youth with high expectations can lead to remarkable growth and engagement, citing examples from both his church leadership and his work with the Young Investor Society.

00:04:04 - First Impressions of Being a Bishop
James shares his experiences and feelings during the first months of his calling as bishop.

00:05:16 - Unique Ward Dynamics
Discussion about the unique characteristics of James's ward in Springville, Utah, including its diverse community.

00:06:57 - Approach to Engaging Youth
James explains his focus on youth and how he prioritizes their needs in his leadership role.

00:07:54 - Background in Youth Engagement
James discusses his history of working with youth and the founding of the Young Investor Society.

00:09:37 - Weekly Engagement with Youth
Insights into James's weekly activities and how he applies principles of mentorship and engagement with youth.

00:11:06 - Measuring Success as a Bishop
James shares advice on how to judge success in his role, emphasizing spiritual guidance.

00:12:00 - Personal Story of Mentorship
James recounts a meaningful experience with a young man named Zach and the impact of mentorship.

00:14:23 - Principles for Working with Youth
James discusses key principles for engaging and inspiring youth, including setting high expectations.

00:18:47 - Interactive Learning Experiences
The importance of interactive and challenging experiences for youth to keep them engaged.

00:21:10 - High Expectations and Support
James elaborates on the balance of high expectations and providing support to youth.

00:23:01 - Recognizing and Nurturing Gifts
The significance of helping youth recognize their gifts and...

Transcript

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0:00.0	Does a youth leader ever feel like they haven't figured out?
0:08.1	This hasn't been my experience.
0:09.9	However, I couldn't be an effective youth leader today without Dan Duckworth's presentation
0:15.0	about going from youth worker to youth mentor.
0:17.9	Mentorship is a key concept to understand when leading youth.
0:20.6	In his presentation,
0:22.3	Dan talks about ways to really turn the traditional approach to leading youth on its head. How can you
0:27.7	better know your purpose? How can you find out their life goals? How can you build a relationship
0:32.5	that is transformational rather than simply filling time during the weekly youth activity?
0:37.7	You can watch Dan's presentation in the Young Saints virtual library by going to
0:42.3	leadingsaints.org slash 14. You'll get free access for 14 days and that will give you
0:47.3	plenty of time to watch Dan's presentation a few times. Let's give youth the leadership they deserve.
0:57.7	So a few times. Let's give youth the leadership they deserve. So my name is Kurt Frankum, and I am the founder and executive director of leading
1:02.8	saints and obviously the host of the Leading Saints podcast. Now, I started Leading Saints back
1:08.3	in 2010. It was just a hobby blog, and it grew from there by the time
1:13.4	2014 came around. We started the podcast, and that's really when it got some traction and took
1:19.6	off 2016. We became a 501-C3 nonprofit organization, and we've been growing ever since. And now I
1:26.5	get the opportunity of interviewing and
1:28.7	talking with remarkable people all over the world. Now, this is a segment we do on the Leading
1:33.8	Saints podcast called How I Lead. And we reach out to everyday leaders. They're not experts,
1:39.4	gurus, authors, PhDs. They're just everyday leaders who've been asked to serve in a specific leadership
1:45.3	calling, and we simply ask them, how is it that you lead? And they go through some remarkable
	...

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