— Written by Kip Pastor

What Leadership Really Looks Like 🌳 

On a cold October morning in 1997, my family piled into our Ford Taurus station wagon and drove south to Plains, Georgia. My dad wanted us to see how a former president lived. 

My father and Jimmy Carter met in 1976 and worked together on and off for the rest of my dad’s life. He had served on the National Security Council to President Carter in the White House and later was a Senior Fellow at the Carter Center. They wrote articles together, fly fished, celebrated birthdays, and Carter even had the unfortunate honor of speaking at my father’s funeral service. This man impressed my father, who was resolute in his own right, and also at times frustrated him. My dad knew there was virtue in showing his family how Jimmy Carter lived his life. 

When we pulled up to the Carter’s small ranch house, it looked like something they might have built themselves. Inside, it felt instantly familiar - like thousands of grandparents’ homes across the South. Fishing trophies hung on the walls. The fridge was covered in grandkids' pictures. President Carter’s own paintings adorned the rooms. An accordion desk was stacked with papers and a collection of feathers. Books were everywhere. Everyone wore jackets inside because I’m pretty sure he didn’t have the heat on. 

This wasn’t a house designed to impress. It was a home, filled with love, humility, and a quiet steadiness that told you everything you needed to know about the man who lived there. The focus was on time with people, not things.

President Carter never forgot where he came from. His grandson, Jason Carter, put it simply: "He was the same person no matter where he was or who he was with. That is the definition of integrity." You didn’t need a speech to understand what Carter valued. You could see it in every corner of his home, his church, and the entire Plains community.

He wasn’t idolized like a celebrity. He was beloved for his spirit and his actions. Unlike many leaders, Carter never stood at the pulpit thumping his chest saying, "Follow me!" Instead, he quietly spoke about what he witnessed, how empathy, love, hard work, and community could change lives. Leadership, for him, was never about Left or Right. It was about Right and Wrong. And his moral compass was unshakeable.

Lao Tzu once wrote:

Carter lived this. True leaders don’t blame others. They don’t shrink from difficult realities. They own the mess, even when they didn’t create it. Carter did all of this—with grace, calm, and an unwavering sense of duty.

Personal Note 📝 

On the day I was born, Jimmy Carter wrote me a welcome-to-the-world note. (picture) Maybe that’s why Plains always felt personal to me. What I learned there is something I’ll never forget: A small life is not a small life. You can live humbly in a tiny town and still profoundly change the world.

Humility. Empathy. Moral courage. These were Carter’s guideposts, and they’re exactly what we need now.

Earth Month Reflection 🌎

This was supposed to be a piece about Carter’s environmental legacy - and what a legacy it is - but instead it evolved into a portrait of leadership. It’s been a few months now since President Carter’s passing, and I’ve had time to reflect on the imprint he leaves behind. Carter led in climate the same way he led in everything - with integrity and the desire to help people. He protected our lands not for political points, but because it was the right thing to do. As a Christian and a farmer, he understood stewardship at its core: we are caretakers, not owners.

Some highlights of his climate leadership:

• Installed solar panels on the White House roof (decades ahead of his time)

• Created the Department of Energy
  Passed the National Energy Act, taxing gas-guzzling cars and promoting wind and solar investments

• Signed the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act, safeguarding National Parks

• Protected over 100 million acres through the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act

• Created Superfund in 1980 to clean up hazardous waste sites

Jimmy Carter saw climate action as an extension of moral responsibility, not politics. Imagine if our leaders did the same today.

Final Thought

We need another leader cut from Carter’s cloth: Visionary. Bold. Courageous. Guided by what is right, not what is easy. Where is this leader now?

Maybe it’s not one person. Perhaps it's all of us.

👀 Some Stories You Might Have Missed This Week 🗞️📺:

1. Trump May Unwittingly Cut Emissions from Online Shopping (New York Times)

2. China Commits to Tougher Emissions Targets as the U.S. retreats (Bloomberg)

3. A Landmark ruling in the Dutch Court Protects Ban on Fossil Fuel Ads (Euronews)

4. States are Ramping Up their Climate Efforts to Pick Up the Federal Slack (Grist)