Maverick Author
CHARLES NIEMAN
Senior Pastor of Abundant Living Family Church, El Paso, Texas. 48 Years of Ministry Leadership.
"You weren't the first leader to get knocked down. You won't be the last. So quit the pity party. Stop feeling sorry for yourself. Burn the white flag. Get in the fight."
About Charles Nieman
Pastor Charles Nieman has led Abundant Living Family Church in El Paso, Texas for 48 years, building one of the region's most influential congregations through seasons that would have crushed most leaders. After explosive growth in his first decade—taking the church from 12 people in a home Bible study to 2,000 in a sanctuary they built—Charles faced three years of devastating financial crisis that dropped attendance below 900, drained half a million dollars in savings, and forced him to go months without pay.
As a tested leader, Charles has shepherded thousands of families through nearly five decades of ministry in El Paso. His leadership was forged in the crucible of real organizational crisis—where his decisions directly affected families, where watching people he loved walk away felt like planning his own funeral, and where the choice to stay in the fight meant answering a call the crowd refused to hear. Charles is known for his straight-talk approach to ministry and his refusal to sugarcoat the cost of leadership.
Through Abundant Living Family Church, pastoral conferences, and mentorship of younger leaders facing their own crisis moments, Charles is building what he believes every leader needs—authentic voices who've been knocked down and gotten back up, sharing hard-won wisdom from the trenches rather than theory from the safety of success.
Chapter: "Embrace the Fight"
"Maverick leaders don't follow the crowd to the exit when the waters get rough. They answer the phone when courage calls."
In his transformative chapter for Maverick Leadership, Charles Nieman reveals the critical difference between leaders who quit when circumstances turn brutal and leaders who get their roar back—and provides a proven framework for choosing courage daily when everything says quit. Through his unflinching account of leading through 36 consecutive months of organizational crisis, Charles exposes how most leaders unknowingly plan their own funeral while still trying to preach life—and provides the exact roadmap to move from resignation to indignation.
Charles opens with his November morning drive to work, staring at the thirty-sixth straight month of red numbers. While others discussed their problems over coffee, Charles was watching his church die in real time. While others contemplated new strategies, Charles was lying awake doing math—if we sold everything, could we at least pay off the debt and walk away with dignity? But here's what Charles discovered: the universe doesn't care about your fairness arguments. Life will knock you down not because you're bad, but because life is hard.
"The phone is ringing in your life right now, and courage is on the other end. Every single day you have to answer it. This isn't a one-time decision—it's a daily practice."
Through his signature framework "Get Your Roar Back," Charles provides actionable principles that maverick leaders use to transform their response to crisis: internal transformation precedes external breakthrough, people's hearts leave before their bodies do, and courage in small daily choices literally builds neurological capacity for larger courage. His chapter culminates with practical systems—the Three Questions When You're Down, the Bitterness Timeline, and the Early Warning System—that compound into breakthrough decades instead of resignation. Charles's challenge is clear: "Answer the phone. Embrace the fight. Get your roar back. And whatever you do—GET UP."
What You'll Learn
The Early Warning System: Why people's hearts leave you before their bodies do—how to track the three metrics that reveal disengagement (financial commitment, time investment, emotional energy) and the 30-60 day window you have to win hearts back before departure becomes inevitable
The Internal-External Sequence: Why seeking external solutions (new strategy, more capital, better team) before winning internal battles (mindset, focus, narrative) always fails—and how Charles changed nothing externally for six weeks while everything shifted internally
The Bitterness Timeline: How discouragement progresses from disappointment (1 day) to frustration (1 week) to resentment (1 month) to bitterness (1 year)—and why maverick leaders interrupt the cycle at frustration before it crystallizes into the poison that destroys organizations
Get Your Roar Back: The ancient principle of indignation versus resignation—why crying doesn't resurrect your business, how grief is appropriate but can't be your strategy, and what it means to shift from "why is this happening to me" to "this ends now"
Three Questions When You're Down: The practical framework for leaders in crisis—What weapon have I laid down? What small thing am I neglecting? Am I talking about my mountain or talking to my mountain?—and why these questions interrupt the spiral toward resignation
Three Transformative Takeaways:
1. If You're Managing Your Crisis, You're Surviving. If You're Building Through It, You're Thriving
Crisis mode feels responsible. It feels realistic. But it's just sophisticated waiting—hoping things will get better while doing the same things that got you stuck in the first place. Maverick leaders don't manage their limitations. They embrace the fight. Your crisis isn't a nice problem you hope resolves someday. It's a defining moment that comes with divine responsibility to answer a different call than the crowd.
2. The Rock Starts Moving Before Anyone Else Sees It
Most leaders confuse their internal transformation with external circumstances. Charles's distinction changed everything: you don't wait for breakthrough to start believing. You choose to believe, and breakthrough follows. Don't despise small internal shifts. Those shifts compound. The rock was already moving before the mentor showed up. Show up to your internal battle first. That's where Mavericks are built.
3. Courage Isn't Lucky—It's Earned in Private Before It's Celebrated in Public
The daily choice Charles made at his desk wasn't magic. It was built through 48 years of choosing to speak intentional words when circumstances screamed louder. It was built through going months without pay while still showing up on Sunday. Consistency builds the foundation that breakthroughs stand on. Answer the phone when no one's watching. That's where courage is forged.
Charles’s Impact
Charles's leadership extends beyond pastoral ministry to building and scaling sustained influence through crisis: Abundant Living Family Church in El Paso, Texas—a multi-generational congregation that has influenced thousands of families across the Southwest. As a tested leader, Charles has mentored younger pastors facing their own organizational crises, spoken at pastoral leadership conferences, and become known for his refusal to sugarcoat what it actually costs to stay in the fight when everyone else heads for the exit. He lives in El Paso with his wife Rochelle, where he continues to lead Abundant Living Family Church and build what he envisions as a legacy of leaders who choose courage daily—helping voices rise, stay, and lead through the storms that reveal what maverick leadership truly means.
Connect with Charles Nieman
Website: abundant.org
Instagram: @charlesnieman
