Unhurried Living | Helping Christians Rest Deeper & Lead Better

In my second book, An Unhurried Leader, I wrote a chapter based on Paul’s story of the thorn in his flesh that, no matter how many times he prayed, God did not remove or resolve. As leaders, there are things about us that we want to see changed. But sometimes, instead of changing what is unpleasant or difficult for us, God chooses instead to be graciously and lovingly present to us in the midst of what doesn’t change. Instead of resolution, God offers us transforming presence.Today, I’ve invited my friend, Steve Macchia, to talk about a book he wrote a while back titled Broken & Whole: A Leader’s Path to Transformation. I’ve been grateful for Steve’s work and our friendship for some time now. His life and his leadership are a beautiful example of the fruitful way of humility empowered by grace. Let me tell you more about Steve Macchia. In addition to being the author of at least ten books, Steve is founding president of Leadership Transformations and is the director of the Pierce Center for Disciple-Building at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. Before that, he served for 14 years as president of Vision New England. Connect with Steve and Leadership Transformations via the following:Facebook @leadershiptransformationsTwitter @LeadershipTF_Instagram @ItisSteve Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

Editor and spiritual director Cindy Bunch calls us to self-care through greater compassion for ourselves. She helps us pay attention to the frustrations that bug us in order to identify negative thinking about ourselves or others. As we do so, we can discern what we need to let go. This allows us to lean into the things that bring us joy. Each chapter of her book, Be Kind to Yourself, is filled with spiritual practices and creative exercises for reflection and celebration. So, be kind to yourself. And discover new opportunities to embrace joy. Cindy is associate publisher and director of editorial for InterVarsity Press, where she acquires and develops books on spiritual formation. She is a trained spiritual director and lives with her husband in the Chicago area.Cindy would love to connect with you socially at:Facebook @Cindy-BunchInstagram @Cindy.BunchTwitter @cindybunch Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

In her new book, Soul Care in African American Practice, Dr. Barbara L. Peacock illustrates a journey of prayer, spiritual direction, and soul care from an African American perspective. She reflects on how these disciplines are woven into the African American culture and lived out in the rich heritage of its faith community. Using examples of ten significant men and women―Frederick Douglass, Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, Darrell Griffin, Renita Weems, Harold Carter, Jessica Ingram, Coretta Scott King, James Washington, and Howard Thurman―Barbara Peacock offers us the opportunity to engage in practices of soul care as we learn from these spiritual leaders. If you've yearned for a more culturally authentic experience of spiritual transformation in your life and community, this book will help you grow in new yet timeless ways. Barbara L. Peacock (DMin, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary) is a spiritual director, author, teacher, and preacher. She is the founder of Barbara L. Peacock Ministries, a ministry committed to developing disciples through prayer, spiritual direction, soul care, mentoring, and teaching. Connect with Barbara on social media at:Facebook @barbara.peacock.35Twitter @bpeacock888Instagram @peacock9807 Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

In my coaching, consulting and leadership training work, I have the privilege of interacting with Christian leaders around the world. And one thing is clear: our experience of church has radically changed over the last few months. It has been for some a painful challenge, but it has also been for some a unique opportunity. Jay Kim, author of the book Analog Church, talks about this church reality.Your experience of church has probably changed as much as ours has over the last many months. In mid-March, we went from meeting in the chapel of a local Christian university to holding services live online through Zoom. This has been a world-wide reality. Our experience of church has been radically impacted. The book Analog Church released within weeks of this shift occurring. That could not have been planned when Jay began writing the book two years earlier, but the timing has been providential. As we’ve experienced most of our worship and fellowship through digital platforms, we are, perhaps, feeling even more deeply our hunger for in-person, face-to-face, what Jay calls “Analog” experiences of church. Let me tell you a little more about Jay Kim. He is pastor of teaching and leadership at Vintage Faith Church in Santa Cruz, California. He also serves on the core leadership team of the ReGeneration Project and cohosts the ReGeneration Podcast. He lives in Silicon Valley with his wife and two children.Connect with Jay on social media at:Twitter at @RGenProjectInstagram at @JayKimThinks Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

“To be human is to be lonely.” Jason Gaboury was deeply affected by these words from his spiritual director. Most of us have experienced loneliness multiple times over the course of our lives. And in this season of pandemic and self-isolation, that loneliness has only deepened for some. Jason has a message of connection and God with us that can inspire us all. Sharon Garlough Brown, author of the Sensible Shoes series, has this to say about Jason’s book, Wait With Me: “What if loneliness becomes an opportunity not only to know God’s presence in our affliction but to know Jesus in his? With skillful exposition of scripture and an undaunted naming of pain, Gaboury invites us into a paradigm shift that is both hope-filled and liberating.” Jason Gaboury is a regional ministry director with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship. He’s also an Anglican friar. In addition to authoring, Wait With Me, Jason has contributed to a number of books, including Drama Team Handbook. He and his wife, Sophia, live in New York City with their two children.Connect with Jason on social:Twitter @jdgabouryInstagram @Jason.GabouryFacebook @JasonGaboury Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

Christian faith has often focused on right beliefs and right choices as the key to personal growth. But biblical evidence and modern brain science show that our character is shaped more by whom we love than merely by what we believe. In Renovated, Jim Wilder shows us how we can train our brains to relate to God based on joyful, mutual attachment, leading to emotional and spiritual maturity, as our identity and character are formed by our relationship with God. Dr. Jim Wilder is a neurotheologian, training leaders and counselors for over 30 years on five continents. The found of Life Model Works, he is an expert on the intersection of theology and brain science. He is coauthor of Rare Leadership and Living from the Heart Jesus Gave You. Connect with his work at: https://lifemodelworks.org Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

How do we live in a way that doesn’t leave us drained and weary? How do we lead from places of refreshment and vitality instead?  Alan recently enjoyed a great conversation about “sustainable leadership” with Alan Briggs from Stay Forth Designs. Briggs work intersects at many points with what Gem and Alan have been doing for a while now. So sustainable leadership is what we’ll be talking about today.As we continue to navigate the practical changes that COVID-19 has made to our way of working, communicating and living, we need wisdom to know how to see the opportunities within these changes and not become overwhelmed by them. One lense through which to view this challenge is through a vision of “sustainable leadership.”Briggs loves helping hungry leaders GET HEALTHY and HAVE MORE IMPACT. He and the team at Stay Forth Designs do this through coaching leaders, consulting with teams, hosting leadership experiences and creating practical content. He co-hosts the Right Side up Leadership Podcast where he has strategic conversations about healthy leadership. He has been a pastor, a church planting catalyst and an entrepreneur. He is dad to four amazing kids and one amazing wife. He is author of Staying is the New Going, Guardrails, and Everyone’s a Genius.  Connect with Alan Briggs on Social Media:Facebook @alan.briggs.940Instagram @alanbriggsTwitter @AlanBriggs  Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

No one is going to argue that we have entered uncharted territory with the ongoing dynamics of COVID-19, and then with the painful wounds of injustice that are being rightly protested. It’s a season when we’ve perhaps never needed good leadership more, and when the complications of how leadership will adapt to the needs of this season may never have been higher. When I talk about unhurried leadership, I’m not talking about being slow to respond to real needs. I’m talking about slowing down enough to recognize what the real needs are so that you can be quick to listen and quick to respond.  This is the topic Tod Bolsinger and I  discuss in detail during this podcast. Tod Bolsinger is the vice president and chief of leadership formation and associate professor of leadership formation at Fuller Theological Seminary. He is the author of Canoeing the Mountains: Christian Leadership in Uncharted Territory, It Takes a Church to Raise a Christian: How the Community of God Transforms Lives, and Show Time: Living Down Hypocrisy by Living Out the Faith. A frequent speaker, consultant, and blogger, he serves as an executive coach for corporate, nonprofit, educational, and church organizations in transformational leadership. Tod and his wife, Beth, have two children. Follow him on social at:Twitter @todbol To access Tod’s free content related to Canoeing the Mountains, text “uncharted” to 66866.  Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

Many of our listeners are leaders and it can be easy for any of us to fall into the groove of teaching or leading for mere information or knowledge…and not into the deeper levels of formation and change. Of course, knowledge is important and we must begin there. But transformation must be right on its heels or the process is incomplete. Our guest today, Diana Shiflett, has written a very practical and hands-on book entitled Spiritual Practices in Community. And it gets at what I said earlier about moving from knowledge to formation. Diana lists a multitude of ways we can encounter God together…not just to learn about God…but to experience God in community.About Diana: She is the pastor of spiritual formation at Naperville Covenant Church in Naperville, IL. She is an adjunct professor of youth ministry at North Park University and a spiritual director.You can find Diana in all the fun places:Twitter @PastorDianaSFacebook @Diana-ShiflettInstaGram @dianashiflett Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

We’ve seen the news stories and heard the rumors. Maybe we ourselves have been hurt by a narcissistic church leader. It’s easy to throw the term around and diagnose others from afar—but what is narcissism, really? And how does it infiltrate the church?  Chuck DeGroat has been counseling pastors with narcissistic personality disorder, as well as those wounded by narcissistic leaders and systems, for over twenty years. He knows firsthand the devastation narcissism leaves in its wake and how insidious and painful it is. In When Narcissism Comes to Church, DeGroat takes a close look at narcissism not only in ministry leaders but also in church systems. He offers compassion and hope for those looking to heal from its systemic effects He also offers hope for narcissists themselves—not by any shortcut, but by the long, slow road of genuine recovery.  Chuck DeGroat is professor of pastoral care and Christian spirituality at Western Theological Seminary in Holland, Michigan, and senior fellow at Newbigin House of Studies in San Francisco. He served as a pastor at churches in Orlando and San Francisco and founded two church-based counseling centers. He is a licensed therapist, spiritual director, and the author of Toughest People to Love and Wholeheartedness.  Follow Chuck on social media at:Instagram @chuckdegroatFacebook @chuckdegroatTwitter@chuckdegroat Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.