Spiritual Life and Leadership

Phuc Luu is the author of Jesus of the East: Reclaiming the Gospel for the Wounded.  This book is based on the questions, “Why is there a theology for the sinner, but not for the victim, for the sinned against?”That same question is also at the root of this conversation.  In other words, do we need to pursue a Gospel that focuses less on punishment avoidance and more on the restoration of a broken world?THIS EPISODE'S HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDE:Phuc Luu is a theologian-philosopher and the author of Jesus of the East: Reclaiming the Gospel for the Wounded.The Crucified God, by Jürgen Moltmann, and The Cross and the Lynching Tree, by James Cone, are the most formative books Phuc Luu has read.Phuc Luu came to the U.S. as a refugee with his family at the age of 4.The Eastern Church Fathers tended to see sin as akin to sickness and salvation was likened to healing.Minjung theology came out of Korea in response to the suffering and woundedness experienced, and focuses on salvation as healing, much like the Eastern Church Fathers.With Constantine’s conversion, Christianity went from being a religion for the victims to a religion for the victimizers.We have a Christianity for the sinner, but not a Christianity for the sinned against.Phuc Luu explains the racialization of justice in the United States.What is the good news for us today?  How would Jesus bring healing to those who are wounded?Phuc Luu answers the question, why did Jesus die on the cross?Phuc Luu asks the question, does God have to do bad things in order to make good things happen?God stands in solidarity with all those who are crucified.The gospel for sinners is the opportunity to repent and have the mind of Christ.Jesus created a kinship that mended the wounds of those around them.  Jesus wants us to be reconciled to one another.The church is called to allow its brokenness to intersect with the brokenness of the world, and thereby bring healing.RELEVANT RESOURCES AND LINKS:Phuc LuuWebsite:  www.phucluu.comBooks mentions:Jesus of the East, by Phuc LuuThe Crucfied God, by Jürgen MoltmannThe Cross and the Lynching Tree, by James ConeReading the Bible with the Damned, by Bob EkbladSend me a text! I’d love to know what you're thinking!Get Becoming Leaders of Shalom for free HERE.Click HERE to get my FREE online course, BECOMING LEADERS OF SHALOM.

Kara Powell is the Executive Director of the Fuller Youth Institute at Fuller Seminary, as well as the Chief of Leadership Formation, also at Fuller Seminary.  Kara is also the co-author (together with Brad Griffin) of 3 Big Questions That Change Every Teenager.While Kara Powell’s book addresses the foundational questions that adolescents wrestle with, it turns out these questions linger throughout our lives.  The three big questions focus on identity, belonging, and purpose, and an understanding of these questions can give us insight both into our own anxieties, hopes, and motivations, as well as the anxieties, hopes, and motivations of those we work with and lead.THIS EPISODE'S HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDE:One of the reasons Kara Powell wrote this book is because a teen said, “I wish the church would stop giving me answers to questions I’m not asking.”This book is an attempt, through research, to understand, what are the questions that young people are asking and how do we help them experience Jesus’ best answers for those questions?In speaking with teenagers, the three big questions had to do with Identity, Belonging, and Purpose:Who am I?Where do I fit?What difference can I make?The process of discipleship is the process of discovering Christ-centered answers to these questions.Kara Powell shares that almost every teenager feels like they are not enough.  Jesus, however, says to teenagers, “You are enough.”The teens with whom Kara Powell spoke in her research said they feel like they belong when they feel safe and when they share experiences with others.Teens feel that they can make a difference when they are helping people.  But they need to learn that they don’t need to earn God’s approval.According to Kara Powell, these three questions can be really helpful in working with people in our ministries and organizations.  When we look a difficult issue as being a matter of identity, belonging, or purpose for someone, that issue can suddenly make sense.Kara Powell shares how understanding these questions have helped her even as a mom.To find out more about Kara Powell and 3 Big Questions that Change Every Teenager, visit www.3bigquestionsbook.com.RELEVANT RESOURCES AND LINKS:Books mentioned:3 Big Questions That Change Every Teenager by Kara Powell and Brad GriffinWebsite: www.3bigquestionsbook.comSend me a text! I’d love to know what you're thinking!Get Becoming Leaders of Shalom for free HERE.Click HERE to get my FREE online course, BECOMING LEADERS OF SHALOM.

Leadership, at its core, always has to do with navigating change.  In a world like ours, change leadership is more critical than ever.  But change leadership, or adaptive leadership, is impossible if the leader isn’t willing or able to take a learning posture.In this episode, Tod Bolsinger and Markus Watson talk about how best to learn for the sake of leadership.  Learning is always more effective in community.  Learning happens best, in other words, with the support of a cohort of others who are on the same leadership journey, and the guidance of a coach who can challenge our assumptions and ask provocative questions.THIS EPISODE'S HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDE:Tod Bolsinger is the Executive Director of Fuller Theological Seminary’s Church Leadership Institute.Markus Watson and Tod Bolsinger give a brief synopsis of Episode 108, “Context and Creativity.”Many leaders are discovering that they need help.  They are realizing that they don’t have all the answers.Tod Bolsinger explains why a cohort is so important for learning as a leader.  The leader’s job in a cohort is really just to convene a group of learners.Lewis and Clark and their team were a learning cohort.Tod shares the story of a megachurch pastor who admitted he needed coaching.A coach’s job is to care about you for the sake of the mission.A dysfunctional leader is more interested in control than in learning.Markus Watson and Tod Bolsinger discuss the role of spiritual formation in healthy leadership.Leaders need a cohort for support and a coach for challenge.Leaders need to ask for help.  Asking for help is an act of leadership.The Lilly Endowment has made it possible for the Fuller Seminary’s Church Leadership Institute to provide learning cohorts and coaching at an affordable price through the Online Adaptive Capacity Cohort.  The cost is $3500 for an 18-month cohort and coaching process.  Mention Spiritual Life and Leadership when you apply to get a $500 scholarship.  More scholarship money is available depending on need.At the end of the Online Adaptive Capacity Cohort, you will have a team of people who are ready to take on the challenge of a changing world. Your team will be change leadership experts.RELEVANT RESOURCES AND LINKS:Online Adaptive Capacity Cohort:For more information, click HERETo register, click HEREMention Spiritual Life and Leadership to get a $500 scholarshipBooks mentioned:Canoeing the Mountains, by Tod BolsingerSend me a text! I’d love to know what you're thinking!Get Becoming Leaders of Shalom for free HERE.Click HERE to get my FREE online course, BECOMING LEADERS OF SHALOM.

Each church, each ministry organization, is situated in a unique context—a particular place and time and culture.  And that context, if we’re paying attention and engaging with a posture of learning, will call forth creative new ways of serving and loving and blessing our neighbors.In this conversation, Tod Bolsinger and Markus Watson discuss both the importance of knowing one's context and responding with creativity when discerning a church's ministry calling.THIS EPISODE'S HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDE:Tod Bolsinger is the Executive Director of Fuller Seminary’s Church Leadership Institute, as well as the author of Canoeing the Mountains and Tempered Resilience.Now that we’re coming out of the pandemic, many of us think about going “back.”  But what would we be going back to?Ronald Heifetz says that a crisis can give us the will to address issues we didn’t want to address before.A crisis has an acute phase and an adaptive phase.The future of one’s church will be built on the healthiest version of its “charism,” it’s gift.Each church has been uniquely gifted for its particular context.Leaders are shaped more by their context than by the reading they do or the education they receive.Leaders and pastors need to pay attention to the pain points of their communities and reflect on how their church’s charism can address those pain points.  And how will that require us to change?Tod Bolsinger shares an amazing story of a church in Austin, TX, that took on the challenge of economic inequality in their community by buying medical debt.This sparked all kinds of ministry creativity in that church.Markus Watson shares the story of Westmorland Community Presbyterian Church and the Food Pantry they started in their small, rural town.The Church Leadership Institute is offering the Online Adaptive Capacity Cohort to help churches and pastors discover their charism and how to serve creatively in their contexts.RELEVANT RESOURCES AND LINKS:Online Adaptive Capacity CohortClick HERE for more infoClick HERE to apply (mention Spiritual Life and Leadership for a $500 scholarship)Books mentioned:Canoeing the Mountains by Tod BolsingerTempered Resilience by Tod BolsingerBeyond Thingification by Markus WatsonReviews help listeners find this podcast.  To leave a review of Spiritual Life and Leadership:Click HERE.Click on the link that says, "Listen on Apple Podcasts."In the window that opens, click the button that says, "Open Link." Send me a text! I’d love to know what you're thinking!Get Becoming Leaders of Shalom for free HERE.Click HERE to get my FREE online course, BECOMING LEADERS OF SHALOM.

Mandy Smith is a pastor and the author of Unfettered: Imagining a Childlike Faith Beyond the Baggage of Western Culture.  In this episode, Mandy discusses the ways we are called to embrace childlikeness, while resisting childishness.  And, at the same time, we are called to embrace mature adultlikeness, while resisting insecure adultishness.THIS EPISODE'S HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDES:Mandy Smith is a pastor and the author of Unfettered: Imagining a Childlike Faith Beyond the Baggage of Western Culture.Mandy wrote Unfettered over the course of five years and four re-writes, having initially written a very “adult-like” exposition of childlike faith.Mandy Smith explains the difference between “adultish” and “adult-like.”Mandy shares how she began to explore what it means to have a childlike faith.God is the initiator of mission in the world.  We are called to rest, receive, and respond.Rest from the assumption that it’s all up to me.From that rest, we always receive from the Source of all things.Our response, then is to step into the adult-like agency of leadership.Mandy Smith further unpacks the rest, receive, respond framework.Western culture tends to reduce human beings down to what we think and what we do.If we truly believe God is carrying our lives and the world, we can stop and rest sometimes.RELEVANT RESOURCES AND LINKS:Mandy Smith:Website:  www.thewayistheway.orgBooks mentioned:Unfettered: Imagining a Childlike Faith Beyond the Baggage of Western Culture, by Mandy SmithThe Vulnerable Pastor, by Mandy SmithThese books are available wherever you buys books, including https://www.heartsandmindsbooks.com/Listen to Mandy Smith’s earlier episode:Episode 36: The Vulnerable Pastor, with Mandy SmithReviews help listeners find this podcast.  To leave a review of Spiritual Life and Leadership:Click HERE.Click on the link that says, "Listen on Apple Podcasts."In the window that opens, click the button that says, "Open Link."  This will open iTunes.To the right of the Spiritual Life and Leadership logo, click "Ratings and Reviews."Under the heading, "Customer Reviews," click on the button that says, "Write a Review."Select the number of stars and write your review.Click submit.Thank you!—Links to Amazon are affiliate links.Send me a text! I’d love to know what you're thinking!Get Becoming Leaders of Shalom for free HERE.Click HERE to get my FREE online course, BECOMING LEADERS OF SHALOM.

Mark Lau Branson is the co-author of Leadership, God's Agency, and Disruptions.  In this episode, Mark discusses the question raised by "Modernity's Wager."  That question is, "Can life be lived well without God?"  While most of us would say, "No," the sad truth is that we often live and lead as though God is neither active nor present. THIS EPISODE'S HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDE:Mark Lau Branson is the Homer L. Goddard Professor of the Ministry of the Laity at Fuller Theological Seminary, as well as the co-author (together with Alan Roxburgh) of Leadership, God’s Agency, and Disruptions.Mark Lau Branson explains the meaning of “modernity’s wager,” which argues that life can be lived well without God.Christian leaders operate within a framework that puts the onus of “success” on them.  This leads to ways of leading rooted in power and control.Strategic planning is totally dependent on humans being objects who can be manipulated toward ends.  But ministry leaders do this unconsciously.Churches look at their neighbors as objects who need something.  And the church’s job is to deliver it.Mark Lau Branson states that God is constantly disrupting throughout the Bible and walking with his people amid disruptions.Markus Watson and Mark Lau Branson discuss the way the Gospel of Matthew presents learning communities as one of the key ways the church discovers its calling and purpose.We can truly only learn through reflection in conversation.Whenever Jesus had a meal with someone, he was always a guest.  Mark Lau Branson says that the disciples learned from this that hospitality for the Gospel means you’re a guest.  And then you listen because you’re a guest.Mark Lau Branson and Markus Watson discuss the Four Spiritual Laws as a commodity designed to control a conversation and elicit a particular outcome.Mark Lau Branson explains the social construction framework.  Jesus, in the Sermon on the Mount, is challenging the social construction of both his time and our time.RELEVANT RESOURCES AND LINKS:Mark Lau Branson:Fuller websiteBooks mentioned:Leadership, God’s Agency, and Disruptions, by Mark Lau Branson and Alan RoxburghRelated book:Beyond Thingification: Helping Your Church Engage in God's Mission, by Markus WatsonChurch Leadership InstituteFree Online Course:Leading Your Church Through ChangeReviews help listeners find this podcast.  To leave a review of Spiritual Life and Leadership:Click HERE.Click on the link that says, "Listen on Apple Podcasts."In the window that opens, click the button that says, "Open Link."  This will open iTunes.To the right of the Spiritual Life and Leadership logo, click "Ratings and ReviewSend me a text! I’d love to know what you're thinking!Get Becoming Leaders of Shalom for free HERE.Click HERE to get my FREE online course, BECOMING LEADERS OF SHALOM.

Rich Stearns, author of Lead Like it Matters to God, served as the President of World Vision from the mid-1990’s until just a few years ago.  In that time, World Vision took on the African AIDS pandemic—and through Rich’s leadership helped many of us get a better understanding of what was really happening in that crisis, and of the children whose lives were being shattered by that pandemic.THIS EPISODE'S HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDE:Rich Stearns is the President Emeritus of World Vision and the author of Lead Like it Matters to God.Rich Stearns came to faith after reading Miracles, by C.S. Lewis, and through the influence of his wife (then fiancé).Rich was CEO of Parker Brothers Games and Lenox China.Rich was initially not interested in being the President of World Vision.The call to serve World Vision was a lot like Jesus’ call to the “rich young ruler.”Total surrender is essential for faithful leadership.  Sometimes we surrender some parts of our lives, but not others.In the 1990’s, Rich Stearns was called to deal with the AIDS pandemic in Africa.  This was an incredibly difficult and adaptive leadership challenge.Listening is critical for healthy and effective leadership.The job description of every follower of Jesus is that we are Christ’s ambassadors in the world.We must sacrifice our ambitions for Christ’s ambitions for us.In addition to his book, Rich Stearns has a podcast titled Lead Like it Matters to God, where he interviews senior Christian leaders.RELEVANT RESOURCES AND LINKS:Books mentioned:Lead Like it Matters to God, by Rich StearnsMiracles, by C.S. LewisRich StearnsLead Like It Matters to God podcastWorld VisionReviews help listeners find this podcast.  To leave a review of Spiritual Life and Leadership:Click HERE.Click on the link that says, "Listen on Apple Podcasts."In the window that opens, click the button that says, "Open Link."  This will open iTunes.To the right of the Spiritual Life and Leadership logo, click "Ratings and Reviews."Under the heading, "Customer Reviews," click on the button that says, "Write a Review."Select the number of stars and write your review.Click submit.Thank you!— Links to Amazon are affiliate links.Send me a text! I’d love to know what you're thinking!Get Becoming Leaders of Shalom for free HERE.Click HERE to get my FREE online course, BECOMING LEADERS OF SHALOM.

Pamela Ebstyne King and Dwight Radcliff, professors at Fuller Theological Seminary, discuss what it means to thrive as we move into a post-Covid world, acknowledging our idols of comfort, and what it means to move forward toward the healing and wholeness that God wants for the whole world.THIS EPISODE'S HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDE:Pamela Ebstyne King is the Peter L. Benson Professor of Applied Developmental Science at Fuller Theological Seminary and the Executive Director of the Thrive Center for Human Development.Dwight Radcliff is Assistant Professor of Mission, Theology, and Culture at Fuller Theological Seminary, as well as the Academic Dean of the Pannell Center for Black Church Studies.The form of church and worship perhaps doesn’t matter as much as the ends.  We need new wineskins.Words matter and the Gospel is bigger than we thought.Dwight Radcliff is not convinced that much will change after Covid.When ecclesiology becomes an end in itself, we miss what God’s call for the church is.Pamela King suggests we think less about restoration and more about consummation.Pamela King unpacks what she means by “consummation.”When we don’t like where God is leading us we revert to our idols of comfort.Dwight Radcliff shares what it was like for him as a pastor during this past year of Covid.The experience of joy, according to Pamela King, and when we attune to those joy centers in our life, that is God speaking to us.Dwight Radcliff has embraced the freedom to be flawed over this past year.You can find out more about Dwight Radcliff on Twitter at @pastorrad and on Instagram at @pastorrad.  You can also find out about Dwight’s work at the Pannell Center website.You can find out more about Pamela King on Twitter at @drpamking and on Instagram at @drpamking, as well as at the Thrive Center website.RELEVANT RESOURCES AND LINKS:Books mentioned:Jesus and the Disinherited, by Howard ThurmanInner Voice of Love, by Henri NouwenPamela King:Twitter:  @drpamkingInstagram:  @drpamkingThrive Center:  https://thethrivecenter.org/Dwight Radcliff:Twitter: @pastorradInstagram: @pastorradPannell Center: https://www.fuller.edu/pannell-center/— Links to Amazon are affiliate links.Send me a text! I’d love to know what you're thinking!Get Becoming Leaders of Shalom for free HERE.Click HERE to get my FREE online course, BECOMING LEADERS OF SHALOM.

Kurt Fredrickson and Cameron Lee are on the faculty at Fuller Theological Seminary.  In this episode, our conversation centers on the theme of resilience and the willingness to adapt.  What does it mean to be resilient?  And how do we become resilient leaders who are not only able but willing to adapt when called to do so?THIS EPISODE'S HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDE:Kurt Fredrickson leads the Doctor of Ministry and the Doctor of Global Leadership programs at Fuller Theological Seminary.Cameron Lee is the Professor of Marriage and Family Studies at Fuller Theological Seminary.For Cameron, it’s painful to see how the coronavirus has divided the church this past year.Kurt Fredrickson noticed that when you have to adapt, you adapt. And the church adapted.Visiting various online church services is not really church.  The missing component is community.Kurt Fredrickson's biggest fear is that we’re just going to go back to church as it used to be—over-programmed and under-discipled.A crisis like this pandemic exposes the things that we tend to take for granted.To lead after Covid, leaders need to cultivate resilience, gratitude, and the ability to hold things loosely.Ministry leaders need to practice Sabbath.  But it can be hard to practice Sabbath when one day bleeds into the next (as it seemed during the pandemic).Kurt Fredrickson defines resilience in terms of its opposite—the inability to snap back or be flexible.Cameron Lee connects resilience to the ability to manage stress.Cameron Lee shares how Covid has personally affected him, including the loss of his mother.To find out more about Kurt Fredrickson’s work, visit his Fuller Seminary profile page.You can find out more about Cameron Lee’s work by visiting his Fuller Seminary profile page or his blog, Squinting Through Fog.RELEVANT RESOURCES AND LINKS:Books mentioned:Tempered Resilience, by Tod BolsingerThat Their Work Will Be a Joy, by Kurt Fredrickson and Cameron LeeSurfing the Edge of Chaos, by Richard Pascale, Mark Milleman, and Linda GiojaKurt Fredrickson:Fuller Seminary profile pageCameron Lee:Fuller Seminary profile pageSquinting Through Fog blogRelated episodesEpisode 72: The Edge of Chaos, Part 1: Why Your Church Needs DisequilibriumEpisode 73: The Edge of Chaos, Part 2: Fresh New SolutionsSend me a text! I’d love to know what you're thinking!Get Becoming Leaders of Shalom for free HERE.Click HERE to get my FREE online course, BECOMING LEADERS OF SHALOM.

This episode is the second part of a four-part series exploring the "Church After Covid." In this conversation, Fuller Seminary professors Ahmi Lee and David Taylor, focus on both the need for embodied presence in our lives and ministry as we return to life after Covid, and the importance of spiritual practices to help us stay grounded as we make that transition.THIS EPISODE'S HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDE:Dr. Ahmi Lee is Assistant Professor of Preaching at Fuller Theological Seminary.Dr. David Taylor is Associate Professor of Theology and Culture at Fuller Theological Seminary.David Taylor notes two things that he learned during the pandemic.  First, our bodies matter; our embodied presence matters.  Second, fractures in our culture don’t happen overnight.Ahmi Lee discusses the fragility of life that became so clear during the pandemic.  But recognizing our fragility has also taught us to be present with one another.It’s important for us to not romanticize the past.Ahmi Lee considers the way the act of preaching was affected by the pandemic.David Taylor says churches should continue to think about how digital media can help fulfill the mission of the church.  Because of digital media, many who couldn’t attend church were able to participate for the first time in a long time.At the same time, the church should explore how to live more fully into embodied relationships.Church leaders need to ask God to teach us how to do less so we can be truly present to each other.We’re not creative or adaptive enough to face all the changes in a rapidly changing world.  What we need more than ever is to be grounded.Ahmi Lee has found strength in the old spiritual practices.Surrender and trust are what Ahmi Lee has learned most during the pandemic.David Taylor has discovered, during the pandemic, how addicted he is to productivity and achievement. RELEVANT RESOURCES AND LINKS:Ahmi Lee:Fuller Seminary Faculty Profile PageDavid Taylor:https://www.wdavidotaylor.com/Church Leadership Institutehttps://depree.org/church/Facebook pageReviews help listeners find this podcast.  To leave a review of Spiritual Life and Leadership:Click HERE.Click on the link that says, "Listen on Apple Podcasts."In the window that opens, click the button that says, "Open Link."  This will open iTunes.To the right of the Spiritual Life and Leadership logo, click "Ratings and Reviews."Under the heading, "Customer Reviews," click on the button that says, "Write a Review."Select the number of stars and write your review.Click submit.Thank you!Send me a text! I’d love to know what you're thinking!Get Becoming Leaders of Shalom for free HERE.Click HERE to get my FREE online course, BECOMING LEADERS OF SHALOM.