Rev. Seth Clark

Board Certified Leadership Coach | Executive Transition Coach | Keynote Speaker M.A., M.B.A., M.T.S., D.Min., B.C.C., P.M.C.S.F.

Seth Clark is a Board Certified leadership coach, hospice chaplain, and American Baptist minister with over two decades of experience at the intersection of leadership, identity, and transitions. He has served as Lead Pastor and COO of First Baptist Church of National City since 2017 and spent 8 years as a border minister, coordinating with Border Patrol and faith communities to serve tens of thousands — including serving communion through the fence, the basis for his dissertation and forthcoming book.

His doctoral research at the University of San Diego focuses on C-suite identity in retirement — the identity shifts that senior leaders face but rarely prepare for. He holds a DMin from Columbia Theological Seminary, an MBA from Western Governors University (completed in under 6 months), and is completing a PhD in Leadership Studies at USD.

He is the author of three books, including a #1 Amazon bestseller, and his forthcoming title Your Immortality Project applies finitude-driven leadership to modern organizational life.
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Seth Clark Portrait
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Contemplating death frees you. Stoics, Buddhists, Christian mystics knew it.

But here's what surprises people.

The work does not end in heaviness. It ends in freedom. When you stop avoiding your finitude, you stop wasting your life on performances that don't matter. What you get back is joy — and a clarity about your leadership legacy that most leaders never find.

The best leaders I've worked with are the ones willing to do the hard work of getting free from the noise. Mortality-aware leadership is the fastest route I've found.

My Story

I sat with the dying as a hospice chaplain during COVID. That work taught me what it looks like when people face the end honestly — and what it costs when they don't. It is also where I learned that leadership coaching rooted in mortality awareness is not morbid. It is the most clarifying work I know.

I have served as Lead Pastor and COO of First Baptist Church of National City since 2017. That same year, I began serving at the U.S.–Mexico border, coordinating with religious communities and Border Patrol to minister to tens of thousands of individuals and their families.

Real leadership, I learned there, does not happen in ideal conditions. It happens under pressure, with thin playbooks and high stakes — which is exactly what most executives face every day. My doctoral research at USD examines C-suite identity in retirement: the moment when the title disappears and leaders must confront who they actually are. It is the question most senior leaders avoid until they have no choice. My coaching helps them face it earlier — and lead better because of it.
Seth Clark Portrait

Most coaches start with goals.
I start with who you are when nobody’s watching.

1. Subtract

Strip Away the Noise.

What performance are you maintaining that doesn’t matter? What expectations can you release? Mortality awareness helps you see what’s actually worth your finite time.

2. Reorient

Align with Reality.

How do you lead when you accept that time is short and your leadership has real constraints? We build your strategy from there.

3. Sustain

Build Practices That Last.

How do you lead with moral confidence without burning out or selling out? We create sustainable practices rooted in your actual values, not someone else’s script.

Leadership does not happen in ideal conditions.

It happens under pressure, with constraints, when time is running out and the stakes are real.

Death is the clearest constraint we have. It’s also the most clarifying. When you lead like you’re going to die, you stop performing for an imaginary audience. You stop clinging to what doesn’t matter. You befriend your future instead of fearing it. You build something worth the time you have left.

That is purpose-driven leadership. And it is available to you right now, regardless of what stage of your career you are in.

Seth has worked with clients from companies like

Worldwide clients, all sectors—same life, death, leadership realities.

What Leaders Are Saying

“Seth helped me see patterns in my leadership I'd been blind to for years. I'm making braver choices and my team feels the difference.”

— Michael T., VP of Operations

“Seth showed me I needed better priorities, not better time management. He asks the questions that actually matter.”

— Rev. Sarah K., Senior Pastor

“Working with Seth gave me the courage to make decisions I'd been avoiding for years. I'm leading with integrity again.”

— David R., Executive Director

Frequently Asked Questions

  • Who is Seth Clark's leadership coaching for?

    Seth works with executives, nonprofit directors, entrepreneurs, and senior leaders navigating major transitions — including leadership changes, restructuring, and retirement. Most clients are mid-to-late career professionals who are highly competent but privately questioning whether the path ahead still fits.

  • What is mortality-aware leadership coaching?

    It is leadership development that uses the reality of finite time as a clarifying tool. Rather than adding more frameworks and goals, mortality-aware leadership coaching helps leaders strip away what no longer serves them — and rebuild from what is actually real and valuable to them.

  • Include questions a pIs Seth Clark a certified leadership coach?otential student may have before purchase.

    Yes. Seth holds the Board Certified Coach (BCC) credential, which is one of the most rigorous coaching certifications available. He also holds a DMin from Columbia Theological Seminary and is completing a PhD in Leadership Studies at the University of San Diego, with a dissertation focus on executive identity in retirement.

  • Does Seth work with leaders approaching retirement?

    es — and this is some of the most significant work he does. The transition out of a senior leadership role is one of the biggest identity shifts a leader faces. Seth's doctoral research focuses specifically on C-suite identity in retirement, making him uniquely qualified to coach leaders through this transition.