“Anything you could do in anxiety, you could do a lot better in peace.” That’s something Dallas Willard said. And it became one of the seeds that grew into my latest book with InterVarsity Press: A Non-Anxious Life: Experiencing the Peace of God’s Presence. It has been the most personal and most difficult book I’ve written so far. And it releases tomorrow!   I wonder what your anxiety has been like over these last few years. I have to admit that this has been one of the most anxiety-provoking seasons of my life. So writing this book was not a theoretical research project. It was a personal quest for life lived with the Prince of Peace at the center of it. I’m grateful to be able to share with you what I’ve learned.   This episode is a look at A Non-Anxious Life in a conversation with Michael John Cusick of Restoring the Soul.  Welcome to the Unhurried Living podcast.   _____________________________________________________________Connect with Alan on LinkedIn or learn more about Unhurried Living programs on their website. Learn more about Unhurried Leaders membership. 

There’s one more week until we’re back with the next season of Unhurried conversations at the intersection of spiritual leadership and soul care.And I have great news! Gem is coming back to the Unhurried Living Podcast. We’re talking about this today and we look forward to sharing what’s up with the Unhurried Living Podcast

One of our great concerns at Unhurried Living is caring for the souls of leaders. And one of the ways we focus on this is by helping leaders learn to care well for their own souls. It’s too easy to become so busy with work we believe God has given us, but not enjoying the life that God has given us.  There are so many good spiritual practices that can help us care well for our souls. That’s why I’m pleased to have Barbara Peacock as our guest today. She is the author of Spiritual Practices for Soul Care. We had a very encouraging conversation about 40 practices she recommends in her book.  Barbara Peacock is a spiritual director, author, teacher, and preacher. She is the founder of Barbara L. Peacock Ministries, committed to developing disciples through prayer, spiritual direction, soul care, mentoring, and teaching.  _________________________________________________________Connect with Alan on LinkedIn or learn more about Unhurried Living programs on their website. 

Today, I’m sharing the last of four episodes on the theme of rest. If you haven’t listened to the first three, I encourage you to go back. These have been some of the most important episodes I’ve offered in our six-and-a-half years as a podcast.  As we continue to navigate so many changes that have come to so many of us in these last few years, I wonder how tired you feel inside. I’m not talking about the sort of tired that a nap would resolve or a good night’s sleep might address. I’m talking about a deeper tired—a weariness of soul.  I’ve found myself wrestling with weariness at levels that has often surprised me. My wife, Gem, and I have both had to be far more intentional about finding the deep rest our souls need from God. In this episode, I’ll share what we’ve been learning. I’m hopeful you’ll find it helpful.  _________________________________________________________Connect with Alan on LinkedIn or learn more about Unhurried Living programs on their website. 

I’ve been a reader of the New Testament for forty-five years now. I’m still grateful for the wisdom and life guidance I find in those pages. Checking my current favorite NIV Bible, I realize that the New Testament takes up 225 pages. That’s about the length of many of the books I talk with authors about on this podcast. What I mean to say is that it isn’t as big as I sometimes imagine.And I realize is that I can easily get into habits, even ruts, when it comes to how I understand what I’m reading in these pages. That’s why I’m glad to share my recent conversation with Dr. Scot McKnight about his recent translation of the New Testament called The Second Testament. In reading through familiar passages in it, I found myself challenged and awakened to the New Testament in quite a helpful way. I think you’ll find what he shares about this translation to be very life-giving.Right after my conversation with Scot, my wife, Gem, and I have a brief conversation about our experience of The Second Testament. Be sure to stay with the episode for those thoughts. Scot McKnight serves as Julius R. Mantey Chair of New Testament at Northern Seminary in Lombard, Illinois. He is the author of many books, including Reading Romans Backwards, Pastor Paul, The King Jesus Gospel, and commentaries on James, Galatians, and 1 Peter. He is also the coeditor of the Story of God commentary series and general editor of the forthcoming second edition of the Dictionary of Paul and His Letters. _________________________________________________________Connect with Alan on LinkedIn or learn more about Unhurried Living programs on their website. 

They say that authors often write books that they themselves need. That has certainly been true when it comes to what I’ve written about Jesus’s rhythms of work and rest. I have a deep-seated efficiency and productivity engine inside me.  While this has often served me well in my work, it has also gotten in the way when it comes to entering into God’s gift of rest for me. It still feels like a discipline to stop producing and to simply embrace rest. When I do, I experience the grace and kindness of God. But it’s still often a challenge. Today I am talking about the counterfeits of true rest when it comes to our work and our relationship with God._________________________________________________________Connect with Alan on LinkedIn or learn more about Unhurried Living programs on their website. 

I have long been a great appreciator of the writings of Eugene Peterson. I realized recently that one of my first introductions to the idea of an unhurried life was from his book The Contemplative Pastor. I still have my 1989 hardcover edition of that book. It it, he has a chapter in which he invited pastors like me to become an “unbusy pastor.” I’m grateful for a full shelf of his books that have taught and mentored me over the decades.  But recently, InterVarsity Press released an expanded edition of one of his early books titled Traveling Light: Galatians and the Free Life in Christ. I couldn’t believe there was a Peterson book I’d failed to find and read. It’s a beautiful exposition of Paul’s letter to the church at Galatia on the theme of Christian freedom.  And today, I have the joy of interviewing Eugene Peterson’s son, Eric, who is also a pastor and was willing to talk about this re-released title.  Eric E. Peterson, a native of Maryland, is now a Northwest transplant, having lived in Washington State for the last thirty years. He is a village pastor of the Presbyterian church he founded in 1997. His first book, Wade in the Water, represents a pastoral perspective on the power of baptism to lead people more deeply into a sacred way of life. Peterson has a home in the woods just north of Spokane where he lives with his wife, Elizabeth and three children.  

My first book, An Unhurried Life, which was published over ten years ago, had this as it’s subtitle: “Following Jesus' Rhythms of Work and Rest.” Knowing what I know now about our great cultural struggle to rest well, I might have changed that to: “Following Jesus’ Rhythms of Rest and Work. It’s not that rest is more important than work. It’s that real rest is so neglected these days.  And many of us are feeling our need for real rest more today than perhaps we ever have. Getting better sleep, setting aside a day a week not measured by productivity or accomplishment, even guarding some weeks each year to really rest is something most of us still struggle to do.  Today, I’ll share seven reasons we don’t rest well. They aren’t theoretical for me. They are reasons I’ve struggled with entering into the gift of rest that God has always been offering me. I hope some of these will ring true to you as well, and just might help you move through some of these resistances, misbeliefs and challenges to a place of deeper rest of body and soul with God.  _________________________________________________________Connect with Alan on LinkedIn or learn more about Unhurried Living programs on their website. 

It’s been nearly 45 years ago that I attended a jazz concert sponsored by a Sacramento area church. I was invited to it by my boss, Jim. I had been working for him for a year or two at the Magic Tunnel Car Wash. It was at that concert that Jim’s life, shaped as it was by his love for Jesus, came to make sense to me. When someone asked me why I’d come forward at the end of the concert, my answer was simply, “I want what Jim has.”  It was that simple focus on Jesus in Jim’s life and in that little community that drew me into a new way of living and, eventually, into the vocational focus of my life. And refocusing on Jesus along my journey has been what has renewed me, even revived me, when my life began to feel heavy, or wayward, or empty.  All of this is why I’m so happy to be talking with Todd Hunter, my bishop and my friend, about his new book What Jesus Intended: Finding True Faith in the Rubble of Bad Religion. Doesn’t that title speak to where so many of us find ourselves these days?  The Rt. Rev. Dr. Todd Hunter is the founder of The Center for Formation, Justice and Peace. He is past president of Alpha USA, former national director for the Association of Vineyard Churches, and retired founding pastor of Holy Trinity Anglican Church in Costa Mesa, CA. He is the author of many books, including Christianity Beyond Belief: Following Jesus for the Sake of Others, Giving Church Another Chance,  Our Character at Work and Deep Peace. He writes a weekly newsletter, The Gospel of the Kingdom, that you can find on Substack. Todd also happens to be my bishop and my friend.  _________________________________________________________Connect with Alan on LinkedIn or learn more about Unhurried Living programs on their website. 

The theme of today’s episode has been fermenting in my thinking and in my rhythm of life for a while now. In fact, I’ll be sharing four episodes this season about rest. Today, I’m going to share some ideas about how exactly might we cultivate a good rest ethic. It’s something with which we’re much less familiar as a culture than a good “work ethic,” but it’s just as important. _________________________________________________________Connect with Alan on LinkedIn or learn more about Unhurried Living programs on their website. 

I’ve often been captured by a little line in the gospels. The disciples ask a question that has been burning in their hearts and minds, “Who, then, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” We signs of competition among the disciples, each wanting to prove himself the most faithful or the most gifted. They want to know how they can best get to the top in the eyes of Jesus.  I don’t think they’re expecting the answer Jesus gives. He says, “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven (Mt 18:3).” Become like little children. What does that look like? How does that work? Why would little children be the greatest in the kingdom of God.  To help us with that question and others like, my guest today is Lacy Finn Borgo, and we’ll be talking about her latest book, Faith Like a Child: Embracing Our Lives as Children of God. I found our conversation personally helpful, and I’m hopeful you will, too. _________________________________________________________Connect with Alan on LinkedIn or learn more about Unhurried Living programs on their website. 

Journaling is not for everyone. But it is a proven way to process thoughts and emotions.In this episode Alan shares about his long-standing practice of journaling as a leader. He knows not everyone keeps a spiritual journal. This episode is not meant to be a guilt trip if this hasn’t been a practice for you so far. He simply wants to share the benefits of the practice in his own experience to either encourage you in your own present practice, or to invite you to experiment with it.  He's been keeping a personal journal since 1990. Presently, as he recorded this episode, it runs over 11,500 pages, contains more than 7.7 million words, and covers 34 years of his life. He doesn’t offer those statistics as an attempt to impress. There are many pages in his journal that you wouldn’t find interesting at all. He shares this to illustrate how important this practice has been in his own life and leadership.   _________________________________________________________Connect with Alan on LinkedIn or learn more about Unhurried Living programs on their website.  

One of the outcomes of our experience of the Covid-19 pandemic has been to both highlight and to amplify our problem with loneliness and isolation as a culture. That’s why I’m glad to be talking with Justin Whitmel Earley about his new book, Made for People: Why We Drift into Loneliness and How to Fight for a Life of Friendship. Justin describes our interactions with others as either a  "snack" or a "meal", and goes on to state "our fullest spirituality is only possible with others." This is a rich conversation you will enjoy.Justin Whitmel Earley is a lawyer, author and speaker from Richmond, VA. He graduated from the University of Virginia with a degree in English Literature before spending four years in Shanghai, China, as a missionary. Justin got his law degree from the Georgetown University Law Center and he now runs his own business law practice in Richmond, Virginia at Earley Legal Group. In addition to Made for People, Justin is the author of The Common Rule and Habits of the Household. In episodes 72 and 222, I interviewed Justin about these two books. He frequently speaks at businesses and legal events on habits, technology and mental health; and at churches and conferences on habits, spiritual formation and parenting. He is married to Lauren and has four sons – Whit, Asher, Coulter and Shep. _________________________________________________________Connect with Alan on LinkedIn or learn more about Unhurried Living programs on their website.  

During our July sabbatical this year, Gem and I made some significant space for personal retreat that we’ve felt bringing fresh energy, creativity, and vision to the work to which we’ve now returned. We enjoyed three days at a retreat house not far from Lassen Volcanic National Park in the northeast corner of California. We then spent three days at a Trappist monastery not far from the first retreat center. In those days, God met with us in that quiet stillness.  I wonder what your own experience of retreat has been. When I think of my years as a young Christian, I remember participating in and then leading a whole lot of youth and young adult retreats in the church. They were exciting and fun. But I would have to say those retreats were more hurried than unhurried.  I’ve simply come to believe that this approach to retreats often misses the gift of uncluttered space and unhurried time with God that could be included, maybe even made the heart of retreat time like this. I’m looking forward to sharing more about this today.  _________________________________________________________Connect with Alan on LinkedIn or learn more about Unhurried Living programs on their website. 

I’m so pleased to share the conversation I had with Os Guinness about his book The Great Quest, where we discuss the relationship between living an examined life and a finding a sense of joyful or hopeful meaning in life. This book is a timely and important message as many are struggling to find meaning deep enough to sustain us. Oz has written a very helpful guide to taking this journey to deeper purpose. Os Guinness has written or edited more than thirty books, including The Call, Time for Truth, Unspeakable, A Free People’s Suicide, The Global Public Square, Last Call for Liberty, Carpe Diem Redeemed, and The Magna Carta of Humanity. Os has spoken at many of the world’s major universities, and spoken widely to political and business conferences across the world. He lives with his wife Jenny in the Washington DC area. _________________________________________________________Connect with Alan on LinkedIn or learn more about Unhurried Living programs on their website. 

I’ve shared that one of the unexpected unhurriers of my life has been suffering. And much of that suffering has been more a suffering of soul than physical suffering. Anxiety and depression have too often been familiar companions throughout my life.  For that reason, I’m glad to have a chance to speak with Alan Noble about his recently released book, On Getting Out of Bed: The Burden & Gift of Living. In it, he shares his own journey with inner suffering like anxiety and depression, and he offers us a vision of how we might discover the grace of God right in the middle of all that. I’m hopeful you’ll find grace for the hard places in your own soul’s journey.  Alan Noble (PhD, Baylor University) is associate professor of English at Oklahoma Baptist University, cofounder and editor in chief of Christ and Pop Culture, and an advisor for the AND Campaign. He has written for the Atlantic, Vox, BuzzFeed, The Gospel Coalition, Christianity Today, and First Things. He is also the author of Disruptive Witness and You Are Not Your Own. __________________________________________________________Connect with Alan on LinkedIn or learn more about Unhurried Living programs on their website. 

Jo Saxton wrote her book, Ready to Rise to encourage women to step into their God-given calling to influence and leadership. She states, “If there was ever a time to uncover our potential and voices—it’s now. Now is the time to boldly and authentically represent God’s goodness in the world, living as channels for His transformative change and power.”  She is an author, speaker, podcast host, and leadership coach. She has dedicated her career to growing leadership teams around the world and empowering women to find their purpose in their personal lives and in leadership. Born in London to parents who immigrated from Nigeria, Jo credits her family’s unrelenting work ethic to the bold, tenacious approach she takes to sharing her wisdom on identity, influence, and living an authentic life. She is characterized by her effervescent honesty and warm approachability, leaving audiences with practical next steps in areas that are usually a bit ambiguous. ___________________________Connect with Alan on LinkedIn or learn more about Unhurried Living programs on their website. 

Today, we’ll be addressing a critical issue for Christian leaders, especially over the last few years. We’re talking about burnout. In my own coaching work with leaders, individually and in groups, I’ve perhaps never seen the level of burnout that I’m witnessing these days.  That’s why I’m glad to be talking with Sean Nemecek about his new book, The Weary Leader’s Guide to Burnout. You’re going to find this helpful, whether you find yourself at that level of depletion or not.  Sean Nemecek is the West Michigan Regional Director for Pastor-in-Residence Ministries and a co-host of the Hope Renewed podcast. Sean is a third generation pastor. He served as a pastor for 18 years before joining PIR. Now, Sean coaches pastors through ministry issues, conflict, forced exit, transitions, and burnout. He also consults with churches and leadership on sabbatical planning, work culture, and pastoral support. His blog, The Pastor’s Soul (pastorsoul.com), teaches churches and pastors how to invest in the pastor’s joy for the good of the church. Sean has been married to Amy for over 25 years. Connect with Sean on Instagram or LinkedInConnect with Alan on LinkedIn or learn more about Unhurried Living programs on their website. 

We’re living in a time when Christian leaders have perhaps never been more in danger of fatigue, exhaustion, even burnout. Earlier this year, I hit my forty-year anniversary in vocational ministry in church or nonprofit settings. The problem of burnout seems at its greatest level in my memory.   But there is a spiritual practice that has been both a preventative and a remedy for burnout in my own spiritual experience. It is the practice of spiritual retreat. I’m looking forward to sharing more about this practice. I’ve talked about this practice often, but I’d like to take a deeper dive into my experience of it.   I’m looking forward to sharing my experience with spiritual retreat as a strategic leadership rhythm.   You can follow Alan on LinkedIn or learn more about him and the Unhurried Living programs at the Unhurried Living website.

It’s been almost thirty-four years ago that a mentor of mine reintroduced me to a passage that would become central to my understanding of the Christian life and ministry. I’m talking about John 15, where Jesus calls himself the true vine and invites us, as the branches, to make ourselves at home in him. There are so many words and phrases in that passage that God has used as spiritual guidance in a lot of different seasons of my life.  That’s why I’m glad to talk to Kyle Idleman about his new book When Your Way Isn’t Working. The whole of the book is a creative, thoughtful and very practical reflection on the wisdom of this gospel passage. Apart from Jesus, we can live very busy lives, but we won’t live very fruitful ones.  Our guest ,Kyle Idleman, is a senior pastor at Southeast Christian Church, one of the largest churches in America, and a bestselling author of several books including One at a Time, Gods at War, and End of Me. Not A Fan, his award-winning book, sold over 1.3 million copies and sparked a movement among believers. Connect with Kyle on Instagram.Connect with Alan on LinkedIn or learn more about the programs of Unhurried Living on their website.

Ronald Rolheiser has said that spirituality has to do with what we do with our longings. How does that line strike you? What are some of your longings these days? Where do you take them? And how do you connect the deep longings of your heart with the real and gracious presence of God with you.  This is what we’re going to talk about today as I discuss with my friend, Jeff Crosby, his new book The Language of the Soul. You’re going to find this episode especially timely, I think.  Jeff Crosby is an organizational leader in the world of words, ideas, and book publishing. Currently president and CEO of a trade association of publishers, he has served in various executive roles, including as vice president at Ingram Book Company, and at IVP, a publisher in the Chicago area. He combines a background in journalism, leadership studies, and business with a love of language and insight from several fields in exploring faith and spirituality in light of applied practice. He and his wife of more than forty years, Cindy, have two grown children and six grandchildren.

I talk with a lot of leaders, and one of the issues that a lot of them wrestle with is their life of prayer. It often feels a lot easier to do something for God rather than talking with God. But God, as the good Father that he is, wants us to enjoy his presence first, and then join him in his good work in the world. We were made for friendship, and staying relationally present is how that grows.  So I’m especially glad to share my this conversation with Tyler Staton about his book Praying Like Monks, Living Like Fools. Tyler Staton is the Lead Pastor of Bridgetown Church in Portland, OR, and the National Director of 24-7 Prayer USA. He is passionate about pursuing prayer in the honest realities of day-to-day life. Tyler is also the author of Searching for Enough: The High Wire Walk Between Doubt and Faith. He lives in Portland with his wife Kirsten and their three sons. You can connect with Tyler on Instagram.

This week I share an insight about working with God that has been especially important to me over the years. It’s about the difference between process thinking and event thinking. This idea is one of the many gifts God has given me through mentors.  The Christian life is a process, a pathway, a journey. Working with God is, too.

Today, I get to share with you a conversation with a friend and fellow author, David Zailer. His latest book, Death of a Fisherman, is a very honest, personal story. I was honored to write an endorsement for the book, which went like this: “Honest stories well-told help us walk our own lives in truth. Real stories of embracing grace show us the way to grow in grace ourselves. David has told a story that is full of both grace and truth.David Zailer is an author, speaker, and founder of Operation Integrity. He is also on the faculty of The Leadership Institute, championing faith-based recovery internationally. His current book is Death of a Fisherman: A Memoir of Family, Faith, and Forgiveness. His previous books include Our Journey Home, When Lost Men Come Home, and Starting Point for Recovery. David lives in Laguna Niguel, California where he is active in his community and enjoys running and cycling.Connect with David via Linked In. 

We talk a lot on this podcast about God’s gift of rest. But I wonder if you’ve ever thought about the gift of restlessness. Today, I’m talking with a long-time friend of the podcast, Casey Tygrett, about his new book, The Gift of Restlessness. In fact, Casey was among the first interviews we did when we launched the Unhurried Living podcast nearly six years ago. That was episode #16 and we talked about his first book, Becoming Curious. Casey speaks with the compassion and wisdom of a spiritual director. You’re going to appreciate what he has to share.  Casey Tygrett earned a Master of Divinity degree and Doctor of Ministry in Spiritual Formation degree from Lincoln Christian Seminary (Lincoln, IL).  He completed the Tending the Holy spiritual direction training program in 2015, and since then has been able to provide spiritual direction to individuals both privately and as the Director of Spiritual Direction at Soul Care. Soul Care provides spiritual direction to church, parachurch, and non-for-profit leaders so that they can lead from a place of soul health & soul flourishing. He is the author of Becoming Curious: A Spiritual Practice of Asking Questions (2017) and The Practice of Remembering: Discovering the Place of Memories in Our Spiritual Life. The book The Practice of Remembering was awarded the 2020 Award of Merit in Spiritual Formation by Christianity Today. You can connect with Casey on Instagram @caseytygrettConnect with Alan on LinkedIn @alanfadling

There is a lot being said these days about toxic versions of masculinity. What I’ve sometimes wondered is at least some of this about men growing older without growing in grace and wisdom. It’s why I’m grateful to be talking with Chris Bruno about his book Sage: A Man’s Guide Into His Second Passage. And for the women in our listening community, I believe you’ll gain wisdom for your own journey, as well as for the men in your life.  Chris Bruno is the Co-Founder and CEO of Restoration Project and Founder and CEO of ReStory® Counseling, devoting his life to helping people come alive. In addition to Sage, he is author of Man Maker Project: A Father's Guide to Initiating His Son to Manhood and Brotherhood Primer: A Journey Into Genuine Masculine Friendships. Chris is a licensed professional counselor with decades of experience helping men recover their hearts. Married for 27 years to his wife, Beth, they have three mostly adult children and enjoy adventures in the Colorado mountains or overseas whenever possible.  Connect with Chris on social media at:IG @storyrestoredIG @restorationprojectco

When we find ourselves in a hurry, one of the dynamics that grows thin is intentionality. We can find ourselves rushing from task to task, meeting to meeting in a kind of mindless autopilot. It’s not what we want, but it can be what happens.  Today, I’m sharing a recent conversation with Glenn Packiam about a book he wrote with his wife, Holly, titled The Intentional Year. In it, they share their regular practice of retreat as a couple to cultivate greater intentionality about five key spheres of their lives, their family and their vocation. Those five spheres are prayer, rest, renewal, relationships and work. For many years now, they set aside a week at the end of the year to reflect on how God has been gracious in the previous year, and how God’s grace might be inviting them forward in the new year. I know you’re going to appreciate the insights Glenn shares.  Connect with Glenn on YouTube,  Facebook or Instagram.Connect with Alan on LinkedIn or the Unhurried Living website.

We’re living at a time in which our capacity attention may be our most valuable asset. If this is true, than our great liability is distraction, and the ways in which we are training ourselves in distraction. Paying attention to the purpose of our lives, and to where God may be inviting us to give of our energy and time is a beautiful opportunity.The world around us is happy to provide us with lots of attractive options for surrendering our attention to mostly meaningless amusements. But God’s purpose for you is gentler, quieter, less flashy and more substantial. God’s Spirit would love to train you how to pay attention to his presence in your every moment. My guest today, Paul Angone, has written a book to help us with all this, Listen to Your Day. He wants to help us stop drifting, stop worrying, and stop living distracted. I’m looking forward to sharing our recent conversation with you in a minute. Paul Angone is a trusted and sought-after voice to college students, young professionals, and those going through career change. The bestselling author  of 101 Secrets for Your Twenties, 101 Questions You Need to Ask in Your Twenties, and 25 Lies Twentysomethings Need to Stop Believing, Paul is a dynamic keynote speaker at universities, corporations, and churches nationwide. He is also the creator of AllGroanUp.com and the All Groan Up podcast. He lives just outside Denver, Colorado, with his wife, Naomi, and their four children.

Here at Unhurried Living, we care about the souls of leaders. We are interested in spiritual leadership that attends to the souls of others. This is at the heart of the calling of Jesus in our lives to follow him, to let him shepherd us well, and to learn how to join him in the care of others around us. Cultivating the spiritual growth of others has been at the heart of our work for more than 30 years. And this Fall, we’ll be launching a new training in leadership and soul care called PACE. PACE is for you if you want to engage your leadership with more intention & presence, but:You haven’t found a mentor to help guide the way, You don’t have the skills to lead formationally,You feel distracted by all your current demands. Maybe you are well aware of your need to prioritize the care of your own soul, but:You're feeling unfocused  or overwhelmedYou don't believe you have the time to devote to these practicesYou struggle to experience the connection between your soul and your leadership. You know you could be leading with more focus and heart…but you don’t know where to begin.You know you could be leading from overflow...but you’re feeling stuck, overwhelmed, and distracted by all the options.Learn more about PACE here.

In the first two chapters of An Unhurried Life, I share a bit about my first experience with solitude and silence in a group retreat setting. That was in January 1990. It’s hard to believe that was 33 years ago. I have often shared how transformative the regular rhythm of retreat has been in my life, my marriage, and my leadership over the years. Today, I’m so happy to be talking with Ruth Haley Barton about her book Invitation to Retreat. It’s such a wise, practical resource to help us cultivate the regular practice of spiritual retreat. I can highly recommend it! Ruth Haley Barton (Doctor of Divinity, Northern Seminary) is founding president and CEO of the Transforming Center, a ministry dedicated to strengthening the souls of pastors and Christian leaders, and the congregations and organizations they serve. For over twenty years, she has ministered to the soul care needs of pastors and leaders based upon her conviction that the best thing we bring to leadership is our own transforming selves.Ruth is the author of numerous books and resources on the spiritual life, including Invitation to Solitude and Silence, and Pursuing God's Will Together.  Connect with Alan on LinkedIn.

There is one place in the gospels where Jesus specifically describes himself. Remember this passage from Matthew 11? “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”Jesus describes himself as gentle and humble in heart. I wonder to what degree we imagine these as primary aspirations in our own discipleship to Jesus. Harshness and pride seem to be reigning nearly everywhere in our world today, and too often even among those who would call themselves followers of Christ. That’s why I’m so glad to be talking today with Brenda Quinn and Richard Foster about his latest book, “Learning Humility: A Year of Searching for a Vanishing Virtue.” Humility is more than a virtue that we should practice. It is actually the pathway to the abundant life Jesus has come to lead us into!  Brenda Quinn is a pastor of spiritual formation in the Foursquare church and a writer of many years. She is also the author of the character profiles in the Life with God Bible.Richard Foster is founder, past president and current team member of Renovaré. Having studied at George Fox and Fuller Theological Seminary, Foster has served as a pastor and taught worldwide on spiritual formation. Author of dozens of articles and six books, including Celebration of Discipline, Richard continues to write on the spiritual life. He and his wife, Carolynn, have two grown children, Joel and Nathan, nine grandchildren, and live near Denver, Colorado. Connect with Alan on LinkedIn.

The second most listened to episodes in the nearly five years of this podcast is titled “Working for God or Working with God,” episode #205. A key insight there is that our work or our ministry is not so much something we do for God, and then hope for his blessing after the fact. Our work is a gracious collaboration with the God who initiates and is already at work. Today, I’m talking with Dr. Roger Parrott about his book Opportunity Leadership. In it, he makes what some leaders will consider a radical proposal: Many of our assumptions in long-range organizational planning are misguided. He wants to argue for a way of leading that is paying attention to opportunities God’s Spirit is bringing across our paths now rather than projecting futures we can’t possibly predict. Certainly Covid-19 showed us that long-range plans don’t predict the future for any of our lives or our organizations. Dr. Roger Parrott is one of America’s most experienced college presidents and was named among the 10 Most Visionary Education Leaders of 2021 by The Education Magazine. Dr. Parrott is a third-generation College president and was one of America's youngest college presidents first elected at age 34. He has served on various boards and was Chair of the 2004 Forum for World Evangelization hosted by the Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization. In addition to his book Opportunity Leadership, Dr. Parrott is also the author of The Longview: Lasting Strategies for Rising Leaders. His wife, MaryLou, earned her Ph.D. in English and is a Professor at Belhaven. They have two adult children who graduated from Belhaven.

We’ve talked often here about the continual challenge of how our devices tend to train us in hurry and distraction. In episode 103, “Managing our Omnipresent Smartphones,” I shared the story of an eight-day retreat where I found myself wrestling with how attached to my smartphone I’d become. You might enjoy going back to that episode after you’ve finished listening to this one. Today, I’m talking with a new friend, Heath Wilson, who is the co-founder of a company called Aro. They’ve developed a resource and app that will help you manage how you engage as a family with your smartphones. It’s designed to help us reduce screen time by making it easy and fun to put down our phones.Aro is built on the principles and science of habit formation, and gamifies the experience of being off your phone. The Aro smart-box is beautiful, tech-packed, and acts as the visual cue for you to put down your phone. I hope you’ll take time to explore this resource further. 

We live in a world where limits are seen as curses, but maybe good limits are God-given gifts. Only God is all-powerful, all-knowing, and everywhere. It’s good news that I don’t have to try to be any of these things because I simply can’t. Today's Unhurried Living Podcast episode is an interview with Kelly Kapic, author of "You’re Only Human: How Your Limits Reflect God’s Design and Why That’s Good News." I love how Kelly and I are able to talk about and share the intersection of his message on limitations the Unhurried Living message of unhurry. Kelly M. Kapic is professor of theological studies at Covenant College in Lookout Mountain, Georgia. He is the award-winning author or editor of more than 15 books, including Embodied Hope , The God Who Gives , and Becoming Whole with Brian Fikkert. Kapic is also part of a John Templeton Foundation grant studying “Christian Meaning-Making, Suffering, and the Flourishing Life.”

Near the beginning of the pandemic in early 2020, I spoke with Jay Kim about his book Analog Church. It was a great conversation that you can go back and listen to--episode 131. In his follow-up book, Analog Christian, Jay continues to address how we relate to technology, our devices, and our apps. He talks about how we think we’re using our devices, but don’t realize that our devices are also using us. I love the wisdom he shares in this book. By the way, Analog Christian was recently given The Gospel Coalition Award of Distinction in Christian Living.  Jay Y. Kim serves as the lead pastor at WestGate Church in the Silicon Valley and on the leadership team of the ReGeneration Project. His writing has been featured in Christianity Today, The Gospel Coalition, Missio Alliance, and Relevant Magazine. He lives in Silicon Valley with his wife and two children. In addition to Analog Christian, Jay has written Analog Church, 40 Days through the Book of Colossians, and is a contributing author to a number of other projects. 

As the 2023 Unhurried Living Podcast season begins, I’m pleased to be talking with Jen Pollock Michel about her latest book, In Good Time. As I read it in preparation for today’s conversation, I had so many “Amen” moments. I’m grateful for Jen’s deep-rooted and wise message about unhurried time. Jen Pollock Michel is a writer, speaker, coach, and podcast host. She is the author of five books: A Habit Called Faith, Surprised by Paradox (winner of Christianity Today’s 2020 Award of Merit for Beautiful Orthodoxy), Keeping Place, and Teach Us to Want (winner of Christianity Today’s 2015 Book of the Year). 

Last week, I shared some of the origin story of my latest book with InterVarsity Press, A Year of Slowing Down: Daily Devotions for Unhurried Living. In this episode, I’m going to share the essence of three of the daily readings from A Year of Slowing Down. I want to give you a feel for the resource. In this episode, I’m going to share the essence of three of the daily readings from A Year of Slowing Down. I want to give you a feel for the resource. So, for Day 29, I wrote about Psalm 33:5, which reads,The Lord loves righteousness and justice;  the earth is full of his unfailing love.If you’re going to learn to slow down to the pace of God’s kingdom, one of the realities you’re going to learn to trust is that the earth is full of God’s unfailing love, and that God loves making things right. He loves to restore attitudes, thinking, and ways of relating and living so they are what he intended. This is the fruit of communing with the God who does everything well. When we align ourselves more closely with God, he finds pleasure in this, and we find ourselves being made more whole and holy.Sometimes all we can see is the bad in this world. We hear news stories or witness global events and we see the injustice. Where is God in this? Despite the apparent evidence, God is working toward righteousness and justice. God is at work transforming our individual lives so that we, together, might bring change to the world around us. But that takes time. Hasn’t it taken time for God to bring about the transformation your life has needed? Listen as I talk about the benefits of the book as well as how to best engage with the devotions.

In today’s and next Monday’s episode, I’ll be sharing more about my latest book with InterVarsity Press, A Year of Slowing Down: Daily Devotions for Unhurried Living.  A Year of Slowing Down is designed to help you take the formational journey my first two books, An Unhurried Life and An Unhurried Leader, describe. These devotionals had their beginnings in my personal journal. I’ve been practicing the discipline of spiritual journaling regularly since my twenties. Since then, I’ve journaled about 11,500 pages and 7.6 million words over thirty-some years. At its simplest, my journal is a place where I pray. I wrestle with unhelpful thoughts. I meditate on scripture or spiritual readings. I reflect on my experiences. I capture creative ideas and work with them. I do all of this with a sense of God-with-me. It’s my hope that the Spirit who has been with me as I’ve written in my journal will be with readers as they journey through the book. I envision these daily readings as five-minute daily retreats. I don’t see the practice of retreat as a way of avoiding or escaping reality. It’s a practice in acknowledging deeper reality. As you read each day, and especially as you carry the included reflection question into your day to chew on, you’ll experience the steady formation of a more unhurried mindset and way of living. Transformation happens at that gracious, steady pace.

I’m sharing a recent conversation with Lore Ferguson Wilbert about her book A Curious Faith. In it, she talks about questions God asks us, questions we ask God, and question we wish others would ask us. We are sometimes uncomfortable with questions unless we quickly figure out an answer to them. But growing deeper in trusting God often involves “living the questions” rather than merely answering them. I believe in the formative power of good questions. Our own book, What Does Your Soul Love?, is based on eight questions that reveal the frontiers of where God is at his transforming work in our lives. Lore Ferguson Wilbert is the founder of Sayable.net and the author of Handle with Care, winner of a 2021Christianity Today Book Award. She has written for Christianity Today, Fathom magazine, and She Reads Truth, and served as general editor of B&H's “Read and Reflect with the Classics.” Wilbert reaches an audience of more than 40,000 through email and social media. She is currently pursuing an MA in Christian spiritual formation and leadership from Friends University and lives in upstate New York.  

Today, I’m happy to introduce my latest book A Year of Slowing Down: Daily Devotions for Unhurried Living, and it releases in two weeks on December 6. This book captures a lot of what we’ve been talking about here at Unhurried Living. It is the third book in the unhurried trilogy, following An Unhurried Life and An Unhurried Leader.With the overwhelming pace of life, many of us struggle to stop long enough to be present. Our long to-do lists and full calendars leave little breathing room to hear from God. We know we need to slow down but we don't even know how to begin.I’ve spent decades coaching leaders and communities on how to live an unhurried life, teaching that productivity and success are not our first pursuit, but the fruit of living at the pace that our true self longs to live. Designed to help you center your day around God's loving presence, A Year of Slowing Down offers six devotionals for each week of the year. Each day begins with a Scripture passage followed by a short reading and a reflection question.This book is an invitation to slow down and be present to the movement of God in your everyday life. I hope you’ll embrace God's call to welcome a year of slowing down. Connect with Alan to let him know what you think of this episode and your take on "time". You can also learn more about Alan, his book and Unhurried Living on the Unhurried Living website.

Today, I’m sharing a recent conversation with Tom Nelson about his book The Flourishing Pastor. Many of you who listen regularly to this podcast are serving in church leadership. Many of you aren’t. This isn’t an episode only for pastors. We’re talking about how we can flourish in our roles and relationships of influence. In fact, flourishing is one of the ways we best serve others. We have an abundance from which we can joyfully share with others. These have been challenging years to be a pastor. If you are a pastor, I hope this episode will be of special encouragement to you. If you aren’t a pastor, there is a good chance you have a pastor. Would you listen not only for insights that help you, but also with an ear for how you might be a friend to you pastor? Tom is founder and president of Made to Flourish, an organization that empowers pastors and their churches to integrate faith, work, and economic wisdom for the flourishing of their communities. Connect with Alan to let him know what you think of this episode and your take on "time". You can also learn more about Alan, his book and Unhurried Living on the Unhurried Living website.

Today, I’m sharing a recent conversation with James K. A. Smith about his latest book, How to Inhabit Time. The moment I saw this title, I knew there would be some wonderful intersections with our core idea here of learning to live and lead in the unhurried way of Jesus. I wasn’t wrong about that. There is a depth of thinking and a beauty of language in this book. It really was a pleasure to read. There is an invitation to live well in the present moment. The language of “inhabiting” takes me to the invitation of Jesus to “abide in him” like a branch remains connected to a vine to be lush and fruitful. Each “now” is the place where we can do that. But we are so often rushing past the present moment (or trying to) and missing the grace that is available to us right here. I know you’re going to enjoy our conversation about these things today.Connect with Alan to let him know what you think of this episode and your take on "time". You can also learn more about Alan, his book and Unhurried Living on the Unhurried Living website.

Today, I’m sharing a recent conversation with Matt Tebbe and Ben Sternke about their book Having the Mind of Christ. In it, they talk about what they call eight axioms for cultivating a robust faith. In a day when so many are disappointed with the faith they were given by the church of their early formation, we need a more vital vision of the life to which Jesus is actually inviting us. Too often, our assumptions, our expectations, even our values are shaped more by popular cultural voices than they are by the beautiful ways of God’s kingdom. This is a big part of the reason that Unhurried Living exists. We really believe the pace of the kingdom of Jesus is very different than the cultural one that surrounds us. Our guests, Matt Tebbe and Ben Sternke, are the cofounders of Gravity Leadership, an organization focused on transformational leadership and discipleship. They provide coaching, consulting, and workshops for pastors and ministry leaders. They are also copastors of a church in Indianapolis called The Table and cohosts of the Gravity Leadership podcast. Connect with Matt and Ben on InstagramMatt Tebbe and Ben Sternke

Today, rather than sharing an author interview or a leadership conversation, I’m going to share a daily practice that has been an important element of my unhurried life and work rhythms for a while now. It’s rooted in some of the insights I wrote about in the last chapter of An Unhurried Leader, which is titled “Working with God.” By the way, episode 205 of this podcast, “Working for God or Working with God,” based on that chapter, is one of our top five most downloaded episodes. If you haven’t already listened to that one, I encourage you to go back to it. This has been a big idea that’s been transforming how I think about and engage my work. The daily practice I’m going to share with you in this episode is one I’ve come to call, “Praying my Work.” Perhaps like you, I keep track of my work in terms of projects and tasks that I’m engaging in a personal task manager that syncs between my computer and my smartphone. There are plenty of tools like this, and you probably use a tool like this to manage your own work. The daily practice of “Praying my work” begins at the end of each day as part of my night prayer. I enjoy starting and ending my day with the daily office of The Book of Common Prayer. This rhythm of praying historic prayers and key passages of scripture has been one important way of praying for me for years now.

Today, I’m sharing a recent conversation with Andrew Arndt about his book Streams in the Wasteland. In it, he shares the ancient wisdom of the desert fathers and mothers who journeyed to the wilderness to seek a closer journey with Christ. Andrew shares some of the parallels between their experience with Rome then and our experience today. I was first introduced to the desert fathers and mothers in the late 1980s when I read Henri Nouwen’s The Way of the Heart: Desert Spirituality and Contemporary. It was his sharing of the wisdom of the desert fathers and mothers, especially about solitude, silence, and prayer, that launched me on a very different spiritual trajectory than the frantically busy one I’d been on up until then. Andrew Arndt is the lead pastor of New Life East, one of seven congregations of New Life Church in Colorado Springs. Prior to joining New Life's team, he served as the lead pastor of Bloom Church, a network of house churches in Denver. He is the host of the Essential Church podcast, a weekly conversation designed to strengthen the thinking of church and ministry leaders. Andrew received his MDiv from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School and is currently working on his DMin with Western Theological Seminary. He has written for Missio Alliance, Patheos, The Other Journal, and Mere Orthodoxy. He is the author of Streams in the Wasteland and All Flame. Andrew lives in Colorado Springs with his wife, Mandi, and their four kids. Connect with Alan at the Unhurried Living website.

This week Alan interviews friend and fellow author, Steve Macchia, about his latest book The Discerning Life. When we use the language of “discerning” in popular culture, we often mean something like having good taste—like knowing good wine from average. As a spiritual capacity, it’s much more than that as you’ll see.   In more particularly Christian contexts, we may use the language of discernment as it relates to decision-making. We come to a fork in the road and we feel the need for wisdom to take the best path. But discernment is bigger than this as well. As you listen to my conversation with Steve, you’re going to appreciate the depth and breadth of just what a discerning life can be for us.  Steve Macchia is founder and president of Leadership Transformations, Inc., a ministry which focuses on the spiritual formation needs of leaders and the spiritual discernment processes of leadership teams in local church and parachurch ministry settings nationwide. He is also the director of the Pierce Center for Disciple-Building at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and previously served for fourteen years as president of Vision New England. Steve is the author of several other books, including Broken and Whole, Becoming a Healthy Church, and Crafting a Rule of Life. Connect with Alan at the Unhurried Living website.

Today on Unhurried Living Podcast, Trevor Hudson shares wisdom he gained in a long mentoring friendship with Dallas Willard, and long practice in the Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius of Loyola. He talks about the reality of how the life of the kingdom of God is a different sort of life. It’s a life that meets us even in our places of hardship, weariness, and pain. I think you’re going to find a lot of grace in Trevor’s insights.   All of this as we find life in seeking God. Connect with Alan at UnhurriedLiving.com

Today, we come to the final episode based on our book What Does Your Soul Love? The final chapter is titled: “Process: Staying on the Path of Change.” One of my key learnings over the years has been that to remain a person of spiritual influence in the communities where God has placed me, I must remain engaged in the transforming journey into which God has invited me. Letting myself get stuck, but then stay stuck along the way doesn’t help me or anyone else. So I’m looking forward to sharing a recent conversation I had with my friends Jeb Shore and Matt Fogle about Leadership as a Transforming Process. I really enjoyed it and I believe you will as well. Connect with Alan at UnhurriedLiving.com

Nearly ten years ago, I wrote my first book, An Unhurried Life. It’s subtitle was “Following Jesus’ Rhythms of Work and Rest.” Discovering and following those rhythms of life and work have been a primary focus for Gem and for me in this last decade. So you can perhaps appreciate how glad I was when I saw that Ruth Haley Barton’s next book is titled, Embracing Rhythms of Work and Rest: From Sabbath to Sabbatical and Back Again. In light of these intense last few years that we’ve all lived together, this book could hardly be more timely!  Ruth Haley Barton (Doctor of Divinity, Northern Seminary) is founding president and CEO of the Transforming Center, a ministry dedicated to strengthening the souls of pastors and Christian leaders, and the congregations and organizations they serve. For over twenty years, she has ministered to the soul care needs of pastors and leaders based upon her conviction that the best thing we bring to leadership is our own transforming selves.Ruth is the author of numerous books and resources on the spiritual life, including Invitation to Solitude and Silence, and Pursuing God's Will Together.  Connect with Alan at UnhurriedLiving.com

We are continuing our series on Alan's book, What Does Your Soul Love? .  Today we are talking about the chapter on "Joy.” In other words, the question, “What does your soul love?” is a question of where do we find deep joy?   In the book of Nehemiah, we hear him telling the people that “the joy of the Lord is their strength.” It is God’s joy over us and in us that empowers and energizes us. It is our finding joy in God that sustains us and enables us to flourish.  Connect with Alan at UnhurriedLiving.comConnect with Gem on Instagram and learn more on the Unhurried Living websiteLearn about and pre-order her new book, Hold That Thought: Sorting Through the Voices in Our Heads

Today Alan talks with author Dr. Todd Hall about his new book The Connected Life: The Art and Science of Relational Spirituality. In it, he talks about the reality of how isolated so many of us feel. The pandemic seemed to amplify and accelerate a sense of disconnection many of us were already feeling in some way or another.  But God invites us into relationship, and connection is a great way to describe what he invites to. God’s Spirit enables us to experience the reality of God’s loving presence with us. But so many feel distant from God rather than close to God.  Todd W. Hall is professor of psychology at Rosemead School of Psychology at Biola University, where he teaches courses on the integration of psychology and theology and positive psychology. He is a faculty affiliate at the Harvard Human Flourishing Program at Harvard University and a founding partner at Flourishing Metrics. Hall is an award-winning researcher, focusing on relational approaches to spirituality, virtue, and leadership. He is a coauthor of Psychology in the Spirit and Relational Spirituality, developer of several widely used spiritual assessments, and codeveloper of the Flourish Assessment. Connect with Alan at UnhurriedLiving.com

We are continuing our series on Alan's book, What Does Your Soul Love? .  Today we are talking about the chapter on "Control.” The core question around which this chapter revolves is this: “What Are You Clinging To?” In a conversation with friends on the topic of control in leadership, they tackle the idea that leadership and control are not the same thing.  Many of the ways in which Christian leaders want to influence others are not exactly controllable. You can’t control people in the same way you might be able to control things. And when our leadership happens in the context of God’s kingdom, we might want to ask what effect our attempts to take control have in light of God’s presence and power.  Connect with Alan at UnhurriedLiving.com

Alan shares his conversation with Justin Whitmel Earley about his latest book Habits of the Household. A few years ago, we shared a conversation about his first book, the award-winning Common Rule (you can go back to episode 72 to listen to that conversation). Justin's book extends his insights into a personal rule of life into how to cultivate a rule of life for a family. At the time he wrote the book, he and his wife, Lauren, had three young boys and another on the way. What he writes has plenty of insight for households of many kinds as Holy habits extend from personal practice to community practice.  Justin Whitmel Earley is a writer, speaker, and lawyer from Richmond, Virginia, and the author of the award-winning book on habits and spiritual formation, The Common Rule. But most of all, Justin is a dad who is married to Lauren and spends a lot of time wrestling his four young boys.  Connect with Justin on IG @justinwhitmelearleyConnect with Alan at UnhurriedLiving.comUnhurried Living Podcast episode 72 with Justin Whitmel Early on Common Rule  

Today Alan is sharing some personal thoughts on the chapter in his book What Does Your Soul Love? on “Fear.” The core question around which this chapter revolves, no surprise, is “What Are You Afraid Of?” It’s a challenge that we all face. It’s been said that the most common word of command God gives in the Scriptures is “Do not fear.”  Alan hopes that what he has to share in today’s episode will help you enter into the encouraging gift of this command.  Learn more about Alan at UnhurriedLiving.com

In today’s episode, Alan speaks with his friend and bishop, Todd Hunter. His most recent book is titled Deep Peace: Finding Calm in a World of Conflict and Anxiety. It’s a pretty timely topic, wouldn’t you say? Statistics over these last couple of years tell us that anxiety is at perhaps an all-time high. And you don’t have to go much further than your social media or news feed to see the levels of conflict in our time.  One of the simple statements Todd has shared more than once goes, in part, like this: “If it can be done in anxiety, it can be done better in peace.” Alan shares that this has been a bit of ongoing spiritual direction that he’s returned to countless times. He’s come to find that peace is a far better foundation for good living, good relationships and good work that anxiety or anger have ever been.  IG @bishoptoddhunter Connect with Alan at www.unhurriedliving.com

"How are you suffering?"  Doesn’t this sound like a fun episode? However, it won’t take long to realize, and agree, there has been a lot of suffering in the last few years. A global pandemic. I’ve lost two friends to it, and I’m pretty sure I’ve lost two months of my life fighting COVID19 two different times. There’s been so much pain. Social conflict. Political polarization. Racial pain. Vocational isolation or overwhelm. This episode addresses these truths  in a conversation I have with friends on the topic of pain.  The discussion draws from the chapter in my book, What Does Your Soul Love?, of the same title and looks at "how are we suffering?"In my book, An Unhurried Life, I put two chapters back to back that I wish didn’t go together like they do. One is titled “Suffering: Unexpected Unhurrying,” and the other is “Maturity: Growing Up Takes Time.” I wish that hardship and spiritual growth didn’t go together so often, but the seasons that have contributed the most to deepening my roots or strengthening my trust have been hard ones. So I hope this episode will help you envision how some of the hard places you’ve been walking just might be something God uses for your best good and the good of those around you.

In this week's episode, we share a recent conversation Alan had with James Bryan Smith about his latest book, The Good and Beautiful You. In it, he talks about who we really are in God. How has God created us to flourish? What does it look like to be fully alive inside? How do we discover the person Jesus created us to be? We think you’re going to find this episode really helpful in answering questions like these. A few years ago, Alan and Gem wrote their book on the soul titled What Does Your Soul Love?  There is such a difference between being a self that we define and being a soul made in the image of a good and beautiful God. We have no better sense of meaning, purpose or identity than one given by a Master Artist who created us as an expression of divine vision. God makes us special. In God we belong.  James Bryan Smith is a professor of theology at Friends University in Wichita, Kansas, where he also serves as the director of the Apprentice Institute for Christian Spiritual Formation. He is a founding member of Richard J. Foster's spiritual renewal ministry, Renovaré, and is an ordained United Methodist Church minister, serving in various capacities in local churches. Jim is author of a number of best-selling books, including the Good and Beautiful series which includes The Good and Beautiful God, The Good and Beautiful Life, and The Good and Beautiful Community, and the latest in that series that we’re talking about today, The Good and Beautiful You. 

“What is most real to you?”There are a lot of ways that the idea of “truth” is talked about these days. There are those who view truth primarily as a philosophical or doctrinal category to be understood and perhaps defended. There are those who talk about “my truth” as a way of describing their personal perspectives or views.   This week on Unhurried Living Podcast, Alan talks with friends and pastors on this topic of truth as a kind of lived honesty. This conversation stems from a chapter in Alan and Gem's book "What Does Your Soul Love?"  We invite you to listen to the discussion, buy the book and experience what your soul is longing for and what your lived truth truly is.

The pace of grace, that’s the key theme in today’s episode of Unhurried Living Podcast. One of my mentors was fond of saying that just as truly as we are saved by grace, so we live by grace, serve by grace and lead by grace. Grace is not merely a doorway through which I enter into the life of the kingdom. Grace is the pathway on which I walk every step of my life.   Grace is not some kingdom commodity that God guarantees me. It is his very way of interacting with us with generous, joyful love. God invites us to make ourselves as home in his gracious presence. It’s is in God’s nature to long to be gracious to us. Today I'm talking with Ed Khouri, author of Becoming a Face of Grace. We’re talking about how it works to experience the grace of God and then to live graciously and interact with others graciously.  For more than 40 years, Ed has worked with substance abusers and their families in diverse settings. Serving as a pastoral counselor, trainer, and writer, Ed’s work has encompassed outpatient counseling, jails, transitional housing for homeless addicts in all phases of residential treatment. He even provided daily supervision for all therapeutic services and staff in a 96-bed state-licensed substance abuse treatment program. Ed is an ordained minister and president of Equipping Hearts.   

“Where are you hiding?”   Our habit of hiding goes back to the beginning of creation. Eve eats forbidden fruit. Adam joins her. They become self-conscious, perhaps even self-focused. And so when they sense God drawing near, instead of drawing near like they’ve always done before, they hide.   We do the same thing. We imagine that it is better to hide our messes from God rather than to bring them into the presence of mercy and grace. But it’s no better than a branch thinking it good to detach from the vine.   This week on Unhurried Living Podcast, Alan talks with friends John Freeman and Jeb Shore, about vulnerability. This topic stems from chapter 4 of What Does Your Soul Love? Listen in wherever you enjoy podcasts.  Then answer the question... what are you hiding? #whatdoesyoursoullove #unhurriedleader #unhurriedliving #unhurriedlife   

Today I'm chatting with Curt Thompson, MD about his latest book The Soul of Desire. I found so many intersections with what Gem and I have been learning in our journey towards wholeness and vitality in our life in God. In this book, Curt talks about the place of desire in our lives, how desire can sometimes get hijacked, but how desire can be a holy motive and energy that moves us toward the beautiful life of God he has always intended for us.  Curt Thompson is a board-certified psychiatrist,  founder of Being Known, an organization that develops resources for hope and healing at the intersection of neuroscience and Christian spiritual formation, and host of Being Known Podcast. In addition to The Soul of Desire, he is also the author of The Soul of Shame and Anatomy of the Soul. You can connect with Curt on social media on Instagram and Facebook.. 

Today, Alan shares a recent conversation with his wife and partner in Unhurried Living, Gem, and their friend Matt Fogle, about the chapter on “Resistance” in What Does Your Soul Love? The key question that frames that chapter is, “What is getting in your way?” We’re tempted that the main things that get in our way are out there somewhere. We assume that if other people were more cooperative, things would be dramatically better for us. But so often the main things that get in our own way actually arises from within us. We have old habits of getting what we want and need without much reference to God. There are still remnants of practical atheism embedded in these habits.  We really think you’re going to find this episode helpful as you continue to make your way forward on the transforming journey on which Christ has invited you.Learn more about Alan on the Unhurried Living website.

Today, I’m sharing a conversation I had a while back with Mark Scandrette about  his book, The Ninefold Path of Jesus. In it, he shares his experience of seeking to live more deeply and faithfully into the nine beatitudes that begin what some call Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. In his book, Mark shares a beautiful vision of what it might look like if we practiced the beatitudes as a way of following Jesus more closely and faithfully.  I love how Mark casts a vision for the kind of life Jesus considers blessed. So often, the culture around us suggests that the good life is in achieving more, or acquiring more, or impressing more people. But Jesus seems to say that a life of abundant goodness is found somehow in being more like him. He lived an abundant life. His way of treating people was remarkable. He was full of love, of joy, of peace, of all the things we seek. It’s good when we let Jesus define what a good life for us would be like.  We invite you to connect with Mark on social media on Instagram and Facebook and Twitter.

“What do you really want?” It’s a deceptively simple question, but the longer we live with it the more we realize we want so many different things at so many different levels to so many different degrees. It’s actually a genius question to surface that it is that our soul actually wants. This week Alan is sinking in deeper on a chapter of his and Gem's book, What Does Your Soul Love? Eight Questions That Reveal God’s Work in You.  The chapter is on Desire and the question that lies at the heart of that chapter is, “What do you really want?” 

In this week’s episode of the Unhurried Living podcast, I’m talking with Mike MacKenzie from Marble Retreat in Colorado about the issues that lie under our issues. He’s written a book called Don’t Blow Up Your Ministry that highlights how we sometimes think that if only we could solve our tiredness or our struggles with temptation we’d be all set, when in fact there are often deeper issues that are draining us or making us more vulnerable. For example, Mike shares that a lot of us in Christian leadership have an immense amount of intellectual knowledge of spiritual disciplines, of spiritual formation, or of any number of good things for our souls. But, the challenge is that we know them but don’t act on them much. Jesus said something very interesting in the Upper Room after he’d washed his disciples’ feet. He said, “Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them (Jn 13:17).” 

This week, the Unhurried Living Podcast begins an occasional series based on the book Gem and Alan wrote two years ago: "What Does Your Soul Love? Eight Questions That Reveal God’s Work in You".   This important book, at its heart, is a basic assumption that Gem and Alan have lived with for decades... God invites us to change over our lifetimes.   Biblical language for this change is “being transformed.”  ** God is seeking to transform our more selfish tendencies into more loving and selfless ones.  ** God is seeking to change our perspectives from despairing to hopeful, from fearful to kingdom confident, from anxious to peaceful.  ** God seeks to transform the focus of our work so that it is more rootedness in kingdom values and kingdom goals.   Change like this is good news.We invite you listen and enjoy.  Learn more about Alan and Gem and Unhurried Living. 

Remember when devices were not omnipresent in our lives. Life before email, before text messages, before mobile phones and personal computers. It feels like a completely different era of life and hard to remember what it was like.  There is so much that our devices do to serve us. And they are wonderful when they serve, but not so wonderful when they become our masters.  Today on the Unhurried Living Podcast, we’re talking about a new book from Felicia Wu Song, "Restless Devices", helping us  identify how our devices have a way of making our lives more restless than restful. 

Today on the Unhurried Living Podcast, we’re talking about the spiritual practice of silence. We’ve heard lots of authors and spiritual writers talk about how important the practice of silence is, but a whole lot of us struggle to figure out exactly how that might work in our actual lives.   We feel too busy. Or we feel there’s too much to do to spend any significant time alone and quiet. But the practice of silence is a place where we learn how to listen well, how to be more present to God, to others and to our own actual thoughts and intentions. It’s a place where we let the swirl of thoughts and feelings that fill us to gradually settle until we can be just a little more receptive, attentive and responsive to God.

Today's Unhurried Living episode is on a theme that a lot of us work pretty hard to avoid: aging. We’d much rather talk about how to stay young than address the realities of growing older. I celebrated my sixtieth birthday this year. It was the first decade birthday that has had a lingering impact on me. Thirty, forty and fifty came and went for me, but sixty has been a year of reflection and many questions.  So today I'm chatting with Alice Fryling, spiritual director and author, on her latest book, "Aging Faithfully". I hope you find it as insightful, encouraging and hopeful as I did, no matter what decade of life you are currently in. 

In the last chapter of An Unhurried Leader, I talked about the difference between our working for God and working with God. There is a way for us to do our work in a way that imagines God is elsewhere, assigning us work to do but mostly waiting for us to do it ourselves.   It’s a beautiful thing to realize that whatever our work, paid or freely given, we can do our work with God. We aren’t alone in the work we do. Our work is simply one more way we can live our lives in collaborative friendship with God.   That's where we are headed on this week's episode of The Unhurried Living Podcast.

Today, I’m talking with Brian Zahnd about his latest book "When Everything’s On Fire". The subtitle is Faith Forged From the Ashes. Brian’s book speaks to just how much this season in which we found ourselves over the last couple of years has tested our faith. A word some use to describe this experience is “deconstruction.”  Some think that deconstruction is a new idea, but something like deconstruction has always been a part of how our faith is refined. Sometimes, we are given beliefs in our childhood or youth that simply don’t reflect the truth of God or the wisdom of Scripture nearly as well as they might have. Losing beliefs is not necessarily the same as losing faith. Brian’s book addresses these realities with theological richness and spiritual depth. Connect with Brian on his website or on social media... Instagram or twitter

Think about the stories when Jesus and his disciples are on their way somewhere. The disciples often seem agenda-oriented and, therefore, they become quite frustrated when Jesus keeps stopping to talk with or to help one individual along the way. They seem to think that all this stopping is getting in the way of arriving where they are going.   They feel like they are going to serve a whole village and Jesus keeps stopping to help one person. Why does he do this? Because, better than any of us, Jesus lives at the pace of perfect love.   His disciples feel like like Jesus is inefficient. But love often feels inefficient to us.  Let's hear more on today's episode of The Unhurried Living Podcast. 

Welcome Sister Joan Chittister to the Unhurried Living Podcast where we are talking about her latest book, "The Monastic Heart" where she offers simple, practical, deep wisdom. You know when someone has lived truth well when they can make things so very easily understandable. Sr. Joan Chittister is an internationally known author and lecturer, and the executive director of Benetvision, a resource and research center for contemporary spirituality. She is past president of the Conference of American Benedictine Prioresses and the Leadership Conference of Women Religious. Her books include:The Gift of Years The Breath of the SoulCalled to Question Following the Path She is also a member of the Benedictine Sisters of Erie, Pennsylvania.

Unhurried is about making time in our lives for what matters most. The irony is that when we are frantically busy, we often run past what (and who) matters most in our lives. We can learn to slow down to remember and do what matters most to us and to God. Today I talk with dear friends John Freeman and Jeb Shore on how we take this simple idea and live into it's reality for our living and leading.

Today, I’m sharing a great conversation I had recently with Stephen Arterburn about a book he and David Stoop have written: The Soul of a Hero. This theme is so prevalent in our culture. So many of our most popular movies are rooted in the hero’s journey. There is something noble and beautiful that we can aspire to in the heroic way of Jesus himself. Stephen Arterburn is the founder and chairman of New Life Ministries, the nation’s largest faith-based broadcast, counseling, and treatment ministry. He is also host of the New Life Live! radio program that airs on more than 180 radio stations, SiriusXM radio, and television. Steve is a nationally known public speaker and has been featured in media such as Oprah and Good Morning America. He is a teaching pastor at Northview Church in Indianapolis and resides with his family in Indiana.

Today, I’m sharing a great conversation I had recently with my friends, Darrell Warner and Matt Fogle about how we make space to notice and respond to God’s presence in our busy lives. So often as leaders, we fill every minute with activity—really good activities. But a leader needs to cultivate moments for receptivity in the midst of our many good activities. We talk about questions like: What challenges do you face in arranging space to simply be in the presence of God in your busy life? What are some of the rhythms or practices have been helping you along the way? When you do well making this sort of space for God, what good fruit does this produce? What words of encouragement would you share with a very busy listener who feels like they don’t have time for this?

In today’s episode, Alan speaks with Ashley Hales about her new book A Spacious Life. You’ll hear a lot of intersections between her good thoughts here and Alan’s first book, An Unhurried Life. Alan’s book had a title focused on time. Ashley’s book has a title focused on space. But they are both talking about the great challenge and cost of hurry, and God’s invitation to live our lives at the slower and more fruitful pace of God’s kingdom.  Ashley Hales is a writer, speaker, and host of the Finding Holy podcast. She is the author of Finding Holy in the Suburbs and her writing has been featured in Christianity Today, Books & Culture, and The Gospel Coalition. Ashley is married to a pastor and the mother to four children.To learn more about Ashley and connect with her regularly, follow her on FB, IG or Twitter.

Today, I’m sharing a great conversation I had recently with my friends, Jeb Shore and John Freeman about how our obsession with productivity impacts the level of hurry in our souls. In An Unhurried Life, I wrote a chapter titled “Productivity: Unhurried Isn’t Lazy,” in part, to speak to this tendency to make assumptions about what makes our lives productive. The irony is that my over-busyness is more often a sign of a lazy soul that it is of a productive day.  The title, “Productivity and Our Hurried Souls” refer to something from An Unhurried Life, where Alan asked a question along these lines: “How productive is overwork anyway?” The point was that sometimes busy does not equate with productivity. We share some examples about how busy doesn’t always end up being as fruitful as we hope it will be? 

In today’s episode, Alan talks with fellow author, A. J. Sherrill about contemplative prayer. It’s such a timely practice for our frantic, hurried world today. We really do need wise mentor and coaches like A. J. to help us actually live the invitation to “Be still and know that God is…God is with us…God is at home in us through Christ by the Spirit.” We so need to learn how to be comfortable in solitude, silence and stillness.  AJ Sherrill has more than twenty years of experience as a pastor, including as lead pastor at Mars Hill Bible Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He is now lead pastor at St. Peter's Church in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina. He is an adjunct professor at Fuller Theological Seminary, where he teaches popular courses on transformational preaching and the Enneagram. A. J. receives many speaking requests to lead Enneagram workshops across the country and is the author of The Enneagram for Spiritual Formation and a forthcoming book titled "Being with God: The Absurdity, Necessity, and Neurology of Contemplative Prayer".

Alan  and friends, Darrell Warner and Matt Fogle, share a great conversation about the issue of identity. In his book, "An Unhurried Leader", Alan wrote about how doing our work to prove our worth is a very common temptation for leaders. It can be surprising just how often insecurity is driving us to frenetic activity.   We too often imagine that our value or worth is hanging in the balance of how well we perform. But what if our value is already decided in our favor. What if our identity is a gift we’ve already received rather than a paycheck we still have to earn?  Welcome to the Unhurried Living Podcast.

Today, Alan talks with Dr. Matthew Sleeth about his latest book, Hope Always: How to Be A Force for Life in a Culture of Suicide. It’s a difficult but timely theme. We’ve been living through a season that has stretched many of us to what feel like our very limits.  By the way, this episode is airing at the end of September, which has been Suicide Prevention Awareness Month. It seemed to be a very good time to have this conversation about a reality that is just the opposite of God’s great desire that we would live, and live abundantly and joyfully.  Dr. Matthew Sleeth is a former emergency room physician and chief of the hospital medical staff who resigned from his position to teach, preach, and write about faith and health. Dr. Sleeth has spoken at more than one thousand churches, campuses, and events, including serving as a monthly guest preacher at the Washington National Cathedral. Recognized by Newsweek as one of the nation’s most influential Christian leaders, Dr. Sleeth is the executive director of Blessed Earth and author of numerous articles and books, including Reforesting Faith and 24/6. 

Welcome to the Unhurried Living Podcast. Today, Alan is talking with friends Jeb Shore and John Freeman about the effect of hurry on our souls and the correlation that people make between anxiety and concern. We invite you to listen in on this leadership conversations that will help you to develop healthy rhythms of rest and work, and to live fuller in friendship with God. 

Hey friends. Welcome to episode 192 of the Unhurried Living Podcast.  We're hopeful that our time together will help you rediscover an unhurried way of life and leadership. Today we are sharing a conversation with Pete Scazzero about his latest book, Emotionally Healthy Discipleship. ⁠⁠When we launched the podcast in Spring 2017, Pete was among our first guests. I wanted to talk with him about his earlier book, The Emotionally Healthy Leader because I had just finished my final draft of An Unhurried Leader. I was encouraged and grateful for so many intersecting insights in what he’d written. ⁠After leading New Life Fellowship Church for 26 years, Pete co-founded Emotionally Healthy Discipleship, a groundbreaking ministry that moves the church forward by slowing the church down in order to multiply deeply changed leaders and disciples. Pete hosts the top-ranked Emotionally Healthy Leader Podcast and is the author of a number of bestselling books. Pete and his wife, Geri, remain vital members of New Life Fellowship Church in Queens, NY.

Welcome to the Unhurried Living Podcast. You’re invited to listen to leadership conversations that will help you to develop healthy rhythms of rest and work, and to live fuller in friendship with God. We hope this podcast will help you to overcome hurry and make time for what matters most.Today Alan is offering more about the shape of the podcast moving into the future. He's interviewing an author or sharing a leadership roundtable. He's just sharing his heart a bit in hopes that you’ll find fresh encouragement and energy to pursue this way of unhurried living relentlessly.

As the old adage says, “Laughter is the Best Medicine.” And we completely agree. And we’d like to propose that you could replace the word “laughter” with the word “gratitude” and the phrase still works. Gratitude is such good medicine, and we’re going to enjoy a big, heaping helping of it today.Whenever we lead a retreat, one of the holy rhythms we’ve practiced for years is ending them with focused reflection. One of these practices we call “Looking Back, Looking Ahead.” We offer our retreatants the opportunity to pause, reflect and think back over our retreat together with questions like these in mind: “How did God meet you? What invitations surfaced? What are you thankful for? What will life be like going forward?” Looking back with gratitude and forward with hope is a great spiritual practice. Hurry runs past gratitude at its peril. This is the last episode of the Unhurried Living Podcast as you’ve known it over the last four years. We are turning a corner and starting something new. We’ve shared more details about this in our last two episodes (listen in if you missed them). You’ll still be able to tune in right here to engage Leadership Conversations with Alan. Gem will be moving over to her new podcast called I Can Do That! which airs on September 13. Because of all this, we're taking time today to look back in gratitude and look ahead with hope. 

Last week, we shared the news that we’ll be launching a new podcast with Gem as host. It will be called “I Can Do That!” We will also be relaunching the Unhurried Living podcast with Alan as host. You’ll get a chance to listen in on leadership conversations that will help you rediscover the genius of following Jesus’ unhurried way of life and leadership. Gem and Alan are looking forward to sharing more about this with you on today.It’s hard to believe that Unhurried Living has been producing this podcast for more than four years now. It was among our first offerings when we launched Unhurried Living in 2016.  Earlier this year, it became clear that our one podcast was coming to a point of organic expansion. One podcast needed to become two. We both have felt that this is a way of serving leaders like you who have been with us on this five-year journey so far.  Thank you for being with us on this journey... and with us as we move into this a new season.

Growth is good. This is one of our undercurrent beliefs here at Unhurried Living. So I am excited to share with you that this podcast is growing, or I guess I should say, multiplying! We’re going to give you all the details right here and right now, on the Unhurried Living Podcast.The Unhurried Living podcast has been coming at you for four years now. It has been our privilege to provide content to encourage and inspire. And we’ve enjoyed interviewing so many amazing people about such important topics. Well, all this goodness is just going to get better. Starting in September, we will be offering two podcasts instead of one! Alan is going to continue to host this Unhurried Living Podcast and it will focus even more specifically on unhurried leadership. I’ll be starting a brand new podcast called I Can Do That! and that’s what we’re going to talk about today. 

Over the summer, we have shared nine episodes of our podcast we called “Unhurried Favorites.”  Today is our tenth and final summer favorite and we’re sharing “Attachment and Attunement: Finding Homebase in the Heart of God with Summer Joy Gross.”  Summer and Gem discuss neuroscience, attachment and spiritual practices. This is the heartbeat of Summer’s work and she shares with such grace and care.Summer is the curator of a program called The Presence Project where she helps women connect with God an feel his presence, through live events, Immanuel Journaling small groups and spiritual direction.Connect with Summer on social media at:Instagram @revsummerjoyFacebook @presenceproject

Over the summer, we are sharing ten episodes of our podcast we’re calling “Unhurried Favorites.” Today we’re sharing “10,000 Minutes: Following Jesus All Week Long” with recording artist Tim Timmons. In this episode, Tim and I talk about what it looks like to follow Jesus day-by-day, moment-by-moment. We talk about some of the holy rhythms and habits that have helped Tim cultivate this way of living and walking with Jesus. 

Over the summer, we are sharing ten episodes of our podcast we’re calling “Unhurried Favorites.” Today we’re sharing “What Does Your Soul Love, Part 2.” In this episode Gem and I unpack the second four of the eight questions from our book, "What Does Your Soul Love?". We address the themes of pain, fear, control and joy. It’s really in learning to live these questions rather than seeking quick-fix answers to them that we are transformed.

Over the summer, we are sharing ten episodes of our podcast we’re calling “Unhurried Favorites.” Today we’re sharing “What Does Your Soul Love, Part 1.” In this episode Alan and I unpack the first four of the eight questions from our book, "What Does Your Soul Love?". We address the themes of desire, resistance, vulnerability and truth. It’s really in learning to live these questions rather than seeking quick-fix answers to them that we are transformed. 

Over the summer, we are sharing ten episodes of our podcast we’re calling “Unhurried Favorites.” Today we’re sharing “The Common Rule” with author Justin Whitmel Earley. A key focus for continually cooperating with the transforming work of God both in us and through us is to develop a Spirit-guided and Spirit-empowered rule or rhythm of life. Learning to cultivate simple and regular habits that help us cooperate with the work God is doing is us is strategic. We also wanted to let you know that beginning in September, Unhurried Living will give birth to a brand-new podcast, called “I Can Do That!” and it will be hosted by Gem. [Gem will help you see the big picture and take your next step so you can transform hopes into habits. In each episode [she’ll/I’ll] share one practical idea, with one simple takeaway. Alan will host the Unhurried Living Podcast. He will continue to interview fellow authors on themes related to An Unhurried Life. He’ll also share round table discussions with members of the Unhurried Living community on the values and practices of unhurried leadership. 

Over the summer, we are sharing ten episodes of our podcast we’re calling “Unhurried Favorites.” Today we’re sharing “The Next Right Thing with Emily P. Freeman.” Emily is another trusted and wise voice and any of you who listen to her podcast know this. In our conversation we discuss being ourselves, the writing process, listening to our bodies, the idea of receiving people, and serving from overflow.Today, we are going to talk about being exactly who you are wherever you go and sharing from that centered place. We also talk a bit about writing, listening to our bodies, the overflow nature of leadership and more.Emily made our "Unhurried Favorites" list as today, July 5, 2021, marks the six moth anniversary of her "The Next Right Thing Guided Journal".  Although the podcast episode does not talk about the journal itself, it is a tremendous resource that has aided many on their journey.We hope you enjoy this episode and please do connect with and follow Emily on Instagram @emilypfreeman.

Over the summer, we are sharing ten episodes of our podcast we’re calling “Unhurried Favorites.” Today we’re sharing “Attachment to God” with author Jim Wilder. Gem and I had an encouraging and very helpful conversation with Jim about his book Renovated. We loved how Jim unpacked how our relationship with God and our formation into the likeness of Christ is rooted in connection with God. 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 founder 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. You can also connect with Jim via social on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram

Over the summer, we are sharing ten episodes of our podcast we’re calling “Unhurried Favorites.” Today we’re sharing “Finding Freedom from Constant Comparison with Richella Parham.” Richella is a wise and trusted friend and I you’ll love the reminder to step out of the comparison trap and learn to more fully express your true self. We also wanted to let you know that beginning in September, Unhurried Living will give birth to a brand-new podcast, called “I Can Do That!” and it will be hosted by [me]. [I’ll] help you see the big picture and take your next step so you can transform hopes into habits. In each episode [I’ll] share one practical idea, with one simple takeaway. [Alan] will host the Unhurried Living Podcast. [He] will continue to interview fellow authors on themes related to An Unhurried Life. He’ll also share round table discussions with members of the Unhurried Living community on the values and practices of unhurried leadership. Enjoy this unhurried favorite, “Finding Freedom from Constant Comparison with Richella Parham.”Connect with Richella on social in all the usual places!

Over the summer, we are sharing ten episodes of our podcast we’re calling “Unhurried Favorites.” Today we’re sharing “Intentional Soul Care.” I’ve often said that one of the greatest challenges for men and women of influence is the care of their own souls. It’s rare when someone asks another who is leading them about how their souls are doing, so intentionality about soul care is key. We also wanted to let you know that beginning in September, Unhurried Living will give birth to a brand-new podcast, called “I Can Do That!” and it will by Gem.  Gem will help you see the big picture and take your next step so you can transform hopes into habits. In each episode she will share one practical idea, with one simple takeaway. Alan will host the Unhurried Living Podcast. He will continue to interview fellow authors on themes related to An Unhurried Life. He’ll also share round table discussions with members of the Unhurried Living community on the values and practices of unhurried leadership. But today, enjoy this unhurried favorite, “Intentional Soul Care.”

Over the summer, we are sharing ten episodes of our podcast we’re calling “Unhurried Favorites.” Today we’re sharing “How to Take a Restful Vacation.” This may seem odd considering we are still knee deep in the dynamics of the pandemic. And yet we are seeing people becoming more active than before. So whether you are planning a getaway or a staycation, we hope you’ll find these insights useful as you make your way toward some rest. In this episode Alan and Gem share their experiences during a dream 34th anniversary vacation trip to Italy and Spain. It was beautiful, they saw amazing sights, and were gone long enough to disengage from work and to come back refreshed. But it wasn’t all perfect. Today, they share what we learned about themselves and what a true vacation for them looks like. How can you get away, have fun, and refuel with deep rest? The answer might be different for everyone. 

Here at Unhurried Living, we are often trying to find any number of ways to invite you into the depth of the work God wants to do both in you and through you for the good of others. One of Paul’s prayers has him asking that God would powerfully strengthen us inwardly through his Spirit so that Christ might dwell in our hearts more fully. Doesn’t that sound inviting?  Well, today I’m glad to be sharing a recent conversation on this theme of depth that I had with Rich Villodas (vee-yo-duss) about his book The Deeply Formed Life. I love the robust and holistic vision he offers us in it. So that’s what we’ll be talking about on today’s episode of the Unhurried Living podcast. Rich Villodas is the Brooklyn-born lead pastor of New Life Fellowship, a large, multiracial church with more than seventy-five countries represented in Elmhurst, Queens. Rich graduated with a BA in pastoral ministry and theology from Nyack College. He went on to complete his Master of Divinity from Alliance Theological Seminary. He enjoys reading widely, and preaching and writing on contemplative spirituality, justice-related issues, and the art of preaching. He's been married to Rosie since 2006 and they have two children, Karis and Nathan.Follow and learn from Rich on social:Instagram at @richvillodasFacebook at @rvillodasTwitter at @richvillodas

The connection between our minds and our bodies is undeniable. And even though the scientific world confirms this, practically speaking, we don’t always know how to make the most of this God-designed connection. Our guest today is Sarah Panther and she is going to talk about this connection by sharing her story of ongoing chronic illness and how she has moved to greater healing. Welcome to the Unhurried Living Podcast. Sarah Jackson Panther is a health coach and writer. She works with people navigating journeys of grief, trauma recovery, chronic illness, and limbic system retraining and writes about finding hope and healing in the darkness. She’s also the creator of an online healing movement class, called “Release, Rewire, and Restore,” designed to help participants release stored trauma, rewire their brains, and step into soulful restoration. You can learn more about her class and coaching at www.sarahpanther.com and can connect with her on Instagram and Facebook as Sarah Jackson Panther.

If you’re a follower of Christ, and most of you who listen to this podcast would likely describe yourself that way, a big part of that experience is church. The church is a gathering of fellow-students of Christ. The church is people. The church is a kind of kingdom outpost wherever it has been planted in the world.  Today, I’m talking with Jason Feffer about the community he leads called The Practice. We talk about our experiences of church, and how God has been leading them to be together week to week. I’m looking forward to sharing that  conversation with you on today’s episode of the Unhurried Living podcast. Jason Feffer is an evangelist for the spiritual disciplines. For over twenty years he has been helping people follow Jesus in their everyday lives with his teaching and writing. He leads The Practice, a practice-based contemplative ministry at Willowcreek Church. Jason has a B.A. in Christian Education with an emphasis in Spiritual Formation from Wheaton College and a M.A. in Ministry Leadership from George Fox Evangelical Seminary. He is husband to a beautiful wife, father to a couple of amazing sons, and he currently resides in the suburbs of Chicago, IL.Connect with Jason on social:Instagram at @jason.fefferFacebook at @jason.fefferTwitter at @practicetribe

Today we find ourselves at the intersection of neuroscience and creativity  with my friend, Amy Pierson. Amy firmly believes that creativity cracks open the soul, each and every one of us is God’s favorite, and living artfully is living authentically.Amy is a long time friend from the spiritual formation community. We met many years ago and have only been together in person a handful of times, but she is the kind of person that you simply pick up where you left off the last time. Intelligent, soulful and with a twinkle in her eye, Amy believes in the importance of expressing our creativity. With a degree in Journalism and Advertising, Amy Pierson has worked for many years in the spiritual formation arena, leading the efforts of the Spiritual Formation Alliance, and completing her Certificate of Christian Spiritual Formation from the Renovare Institute. Amy also served as a digital content creator for a digital platform that champions organizations transforming lives. Most recently, Amy desired to collaborate with others, and Burning Heart Workshops was borne out of her life-long journey with faith, learning, and leadership. Amy lives with her husband and family in Colorado.Learn more from Amy and connect with her on social media:Instagram @amypiepieFacebook @amy.h.pierson 

If you were to walk around our neighborhood these days, you’d see a number of homes that are being remodeled. Some of the work is so extensive that no one is living in those homes while the work is being done. But the goal is, of course, to rebuild those houses so that they can become homes again. Many of us are experiencing what some have called the “deconstruction of faith.” Something that made sense and worked before doesn’t seem to anymore. The constructions of faith that we were given aren’t as perfect as we once thought they were. But the goal of deconstruction, in this case, isn’t to destroy the home. It is to rebuild it. Where will our trust in God finds its new home?Recently, I had a very encouraging conversation with my friend, A. J. Swoboda about his latest book titled After Doubt. It’s a beautiful invitation into the sorts of reconstruction that many of us need and into which God is graciously inviting us. A. J. Swoboda is assistant professor of Bible, theology, and world Christianity at Bushnell University. He also leads a Doctor of Ministry program around the Holy Spirit and leadership at Fuller Theological Seminary. He is the author of a number of books, including the award-winning Subversive Sabbath. He is married to Quinn and is the proud father of Elliot. They live and work in Eugene, Oregon.Enjoy getting to know A. J. better via social at:Facebook @theajswobodaTwitter @mrajswoboda 

Letting go is hard, isn’t it? For most of us, it’s about admitting that we aren’t in control, and that is difficult. My dear friend, Marla Christian, is with me today and we’re going to talk about the freedom of releasing our grip on people and circumstances. Marla has long been a part of the Al Anon community and I have learned so much from her about letting go. I can’t wait for you to learn from her. Marla Christian is the CFO of Corporate Benefit Planners a business-to-consumer insurance agency that delivers Web-based, insurance information to individuals, families and small businesses. She also works at an import company in sales. For 16 years, Marla served in the high school ministry of a mega-church, and she is currently an active member and Sponsor in 12-step programs. 

I want to read some familiar words from the scriptures that I think have special relevance to the situation in which we find ourselves these day. Jesus is speaking, and says, “I am the door. If anyone enters by me, [they] will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” I really appreciate that last line. The life Jesus has come to announce to us and make available to us is meant to be abundance. But we’re living in a season that has called into question so many of the ways we had been measuring “the good life.” Today, I’m talking with Ken Baugh about his new book, Unhindered Abundance. I think you’ll find help for how to enter more deeply into the very good life to which you’ve been invited. Learn from and connect with Ken on social:Instagram @ken.baughFacebook @pastorkenbaughTwitter @PastorKenBaugh

I have long believed the practice of gratitude and looking back in discernment is crucial for a well-lived life. In Morgan Harper Nichols’ new book, "How Far You Have Come", we are invited to notice and give thanks for our growth along the journey of life. With her unique style, and deep, soulful heart, Morgan guides us yet again with her stories, poems and art.  I’m honored to call Morgan a friend. We met, by chance, at a workshop a couple of years ago and had an immediate connection. I was struck by her genuine, sweet and humble spirit. So much wisdom and care tucked into such a young woman. In this conversation, prior to engaging her book, we took time to talk about her being newly diagnosed with autism, as well as her experience with the racial tensions over the last year. I am so thankful that she is willing to share so vulnerably. Morgan is truly gifted and I am so glad she is with us again today to talk about her new book.  Morgan is a popular Instagram poet and artist. She has created her life’s work around the stories of others. In addition to “How Far You Have Come” she is the author of "All Along You Were Blooming", a book of poems and art she created in response to the personal stories submitted by her friends and followers. Morgan is often on the road creating, teaching, and performing, in hopes of spreading her unique inspirational message and inviting others into her creative process.  Connect with and be inspired by Morgan on social:Instagram @morganharpernicholsFacebook @morganharpernicholsTwitter @morganhnichols

Leadership matters to God. The way leaders lead matters perhaps more to God.  We who would serve the people of God as leaders are invited to do so in the way of Jesus—the Spirit of Jesus. We often say that you do not need a position of leadership to be a person of influence.   Today, I’m pleased to have as my guest Rich Stearns, President Emeritus of World Vision and author of the new book Lead Like It Matters to God. We’ll talk about some of the core values that have guided his leadership over the decades. I’m glad you’ve joined us for today’s episode of the Unhurried Living podcast. 

Today my friend and spiritual director, Stacey Green, is with me and we will be responding to some spiritual direction and formation questions that we received via social media. We’re going to interact on these themes and hopefully offer some guidance and encouragement along the way. Stacey Green is a trained spiritual director, a Southern CA native, and a graduate of Pepperdine University. She is passionate about offering soul care to women in all stages of life, particularly those serving in leadership positions. Stacey is knowledgeable in the Enneagram, having studied it in depth for nearly 15 years. She loves the beach, hiking, yoga, reading, gardening and is a culinary epicure.

We’ve often said on this podcast that who you are as a leader makes all the difference in the fruitfulness of what you do as a leader. Two people can do the exact same bit of work with very different outcomes. Even little bits of work done with great love can bear more fruit than huge gatherings or impressive performances. For the Christian leader, the trajectory of our lives is in the direction of living and leading more and more in the spirit—in the way—of Jesus. Today, I’m talking with a fellow leader and friend, Tim Morey, about his recently released book titled Planting a Church Without Losing Your Soul. Maybe you’re a church planter. If so, this episode is going to be a bullseye for you.  But even if you aren’t leading or participating in a church plant, you’re going gain a great deal of insight into how we become the sorts of women and men who can engage in the work of God more fruitfully and powerfully. Of that I’m confident. Tim Morey was born in San Diego where he embraced Christ at an early age, left the church as a teen, and was re-captured by the love of Jesus during college. Prior to planting Life Covenant Church, he served in college ministries in San Diego and Los Angeles. Tim and his wife, Samantha, are proud parents of two daughters, Abigail and Hannah. In addition to the book we’re talking about today, Tim is author of Embodying Our Faith: Becoming a Living, Sharing, Practicing Church and a contributor to two other titles on church planting. He serves on the national church planting team for the Evangelical Covenant Church and as an adjunct professor at Fuller Seminary.Connect with Tim on social media:Facebook @tim.morey

Empathy. This is a much needed and seemingly ignored dynamic in cultural conversations. However, today we are going to bring it down to the personal…our own lives. What is empathy? Why is it important for us and our relationships? How does empathy factor into our relationship with God? Today I chat with my dear friend, Kristi Gaultiere who is an expert on empathy. Not only by training, but by giftedness and lifestyle. Practicing empathy and caring comes naturally to her and I benefit from her attuned heart. I can’t wait for you to learn from her today. Kristi is a Psychotherapist and spiritual mentor to women pastors and pastors’ wives. She co-leads Soul Shepherding with her husband, Bill. As a pastor’s wife, mother, and ministry professional, Kristi offers empathy and wisdom from her experience personally and as a therapist who has spent many thousands of hours caring for people. Kristi enjoys speaking, training, teaching, consulting, counseling, and retreat leading with Bill as well as recording their weekly “Soul Talks”.Connect with Kristi in a variety of ways:Facebook @kristi.gaultiereInstagram @kristigaultiere or @soulshepherding  

A mentor of mine would often say something like this: “The Christian life is not mainly something I believe or a group to which I belong. The Christian life is somebody with whom I enjoy a living, day-to-day relationship. That somebody, of course, is Jesus. He is risen and alive among us today—right now—by his Spirit. He is inviting us into the love he and the Father share. That has been the inviting good news I’ve sought to enter more deeply into over this challenging year in which we’ve found ourselves.Recently, I enjoyed a conversation with Michael Card about his most recent book titled The Nazarene: Forty Devotions on the Lyrical Life of Jesus. I found what he wrote and what we talked about refreshing, encouraging and inspiring. Michael Card is an award-winning musician and performing artist. He earned a master's degree in biblical studies from Western Kentucky University under Dr. William Lane. His many books include Scribbling in the Sand, A Fragile Stone, Inexpressible, and the Biblical Imagination Series on the four Gospels.  The book we’re talking about today came out in November of last year and is titled: The Nazarene: Forty Devotions on the Lyrical Life of Jesus.Learn more from Michael and connect on social media at:Facebook @MichaelCardMusicInstrgram @michaeljcard

According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, major depressive disorder (or MDD) is the leading cause of disability in the U.S. for ages 15 to 44. MDD affects about 16.1 million adults each year. And think about all of those who remain undiagnosed. Then add to that the increased anxiety and depression caused by COVID-19. Many of us have likely struggled with a form of depression over the last year. And, certainly, most of us know someone who struggles. How do we cope? Drawing on her own experience with depression, Diana Gruver, author of Companions in the Darkness, looks back into church history and finds depression in the lives of some of our most beloved saints, including Mother Teresa and Martin Luther King, Jr.  Diana tells their stories in fresh ways and offers practical wisdom both for those in the darkness and those who care for them. Diana Gruver writes about discipleship and spiritual formation in the every day. She holds a M.A. in Spiritual Formation from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, and currently serves as the Communications Director for Vere Institute. She lives in south-central Pennsylvania, with her husband and daugther.Learn more from Diana on social at:Facebook @diana.stottlemyerTwitter @dianagruver 

Most of you in our listening community are people who pray. Or at least people who have prayed. You may be grateful for the opportunity to come  into the presence of God. Your prayer may feel fruitful and life-giving.   Or, you may have become disillusioned when it comes to praying. You might feel like you’ve come to pray but God didn’t seem to come to listen or respond. It’s not an uncommon experience. But, in the end, you probably still want to be a person who lives in the presence of God—a person who prays. Today, I’m talking with my friend, Kyle Strobel, about a new book that he and John Coe have written called Where Prayer Becomes Real. We’ll talk about our experience of prayer and how we might enjoy the reality of God’s presence. That’s the focus of today’s episode of the Unhurried Living podcast. Kyle Strobel is the assistant professor of spiritual theology and formation at Talbot School of Theology, Biola University, and is the author of Formed for the Glory of God (IVP, 2013) and co-author of Beloved Dust (Thomas Nelson, 2014). Kyle can be found at KyleStrobel.com or on Twitter. 

Burnout. This a most unwelcome word. And an even less welcome dynamic. But our guest today, Bethany Hiser, found herself smack in the middle of it. A social worker, jail chaplain and justice advocate, Bethany was in need of the very soul care she was providing to others. We’ll engage her story today. Bethany Dearborn Hiser is the director of soul care for Northwest Family Life, a network of therapists trained to work with survivors of domestic violence and sexual trauma. As a bilingual social worker, chaplain, and pastoral advocate, Hiser has worked in a variety of ministry and social service settings with people affected by addiction, sexual exploitation, incarceration, and immigration. Whether you're a social worker, therapist, pastor, teacher, or healthcare professional, From Burned Out to Beloved will equip you to confess your limitations, embrace your identity as a beloved child of God, and flourish in your vocation. Connect with Bethany and her work on social:Facebook @traumainformedsoulcareInstagram @bethanydhiserTwitter @bethanydhiser  

When it comes to talking about and understanding our life with God, I’ve long loved the image of a journey as a way of talking about it. Our life of faith isn’t merely a static set of beliefs to defend or argue about. It isn’t just being part of the right association. It is a way of life in which each of us grows, learns and develops. It is a life in which we deepen in trust, broaden in love, strengthen in hope. I recently enjoyed a conversation with a good friend of ours, Bill Gaultiere, about a new book he and his wife, Kristi, have written called Journey of the Soul. We’ve been grateful for their presence in our lives for some time now. In their new book, they share insights into the shape that our journey of growth in Christ might take. Before we go there, let me tell you a bit more about Bill. He is a psychologist and a spiritual director. By the age of 30 he had published three books with mainline Christian publishers and sold over 40,000 copies. But then God led him into a 20 year hiatus from publishing in order to better love Christ, his wife and three children, and everyone in his circle of influence. It was a longer journey than he’d expected. Bill and Kristi have their doctorates in psychology and are the founders of Soul Shepherding, Inc., a nonprofit ministry that cultivates intimacy with Jesus for pastors and other servant leaders. Learn more and connect with Bill on social:Facebook @soulshepherdingInstagram @soulshepherdingTwitter @SoulShepherdingYoutube @billgaultierePodcasts @soultalks

Along the way, God uses our life experiences to form us and to help us lead from an authentic and healthy place. The power of God’s presence is not just for your benefit but also for all in your sphere of influence. Today, I’m talking with Ebony Small, a younger leader who serves as a pastor and a mentor. Ebony has a wealth of experience in both churches and organizations. She's got practical and biblical wisdom to offer whether you are just starting or are looking for a fresh start in your life and leadership. Ebony is vice president of global ministries at PULSE Movement, a ministry committed to awaken culture to the reality of Jesus. She was formerly the director of Movement Day Expressions at MOVEMENT.ORG, where she was dedicated to catalyzing leaders to affect cities across the globe. She was selected to attend the Lausanne Younger Leaders gathering in 2016. Ebony also serves as an associate pastor at Bethel Gospel Assembly in New York City. If you are a younger leader or you’ve got younger leaders on your team, I hope you’ll encourage them to tune in and listen with you to Ebony’s encouragement and inspiration.Bethany would love to connect with you on social at:Instagram @bethanyssmallFacebook @ebonysmallauthorTwitter @EbonySmallYoutube @ebonyssmall 

We continue to find ourselves in unsettling times, don’t we? I’m sure I don’t need to unpack that any further for you, right? Many of us have struggled with what prayer looks like in this season when things are happening we never asked for. How do we pray when life feels more like a threatening night than a bright and dawning day?It was good to have a chance to speak recently with Tish Harrison Warren about her new book, releasing tomorrow in fact, called Prayer in the Night. Tish Harrison Warren is a priest in the Anglican Church in North America. She is the author of Liturgy of the Ordinary: Sacred Practices in Everyday Life, which was Christianity Today's 2018 Book of the Year. She has worked in ministry settings for over a decade as a campus minister with InterVarsity Graduate and Faculty Ministries, as an associate rector, with addicts and those in poverty through various churches and non-profit organizations, and, most recently, as the writer in-residence at Church of the Ascension in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She is a monthly columnist with Christianity Today, and her articles and essays have appeared in the New York Times, Religion News Service, Christianity Today, Comment Magazine, The Point Magazine, and elsewhere. She is a founding member of The Pelican Project and a Senior Fellow with the Trinity Forum. Connect with Tish on social at:Instagram @tishharrisonwarrenFacebook @tish.h.warrenTwitter @Tish_H_Warren

My guest today is Nikole Lim and she’s written a book entitled, Liberation is Here. Nikole weaves together a narrative of God’s grace and healing amid fear and trauma. Her journey proves that liberation is not just near, but it is here―in the eyes of the broken, the hearts of the oppressed, and the untold stories of our global community. Because of today’s subject matter, I want to extend a trigger warning for those of you who have or are experiencing capital T trauma right now. Nikole’s book is, of course, empowering, and yet it is full of raw stories and our conversation may be too much for some of you. So please take care of yourself in this regard. As I introduce our guest today I want to share this from the book’s description: As a freelance filmmaker, Nikole Lim's career allowed her to step in and out of the lives of marginalized people around the world. But when confronted with the prevalence of sexual violence in Kenyan and Zambian communities, she commits to advocating alongside the courageous survivors whose lives have intersected with hers. These women's powerful stories inspire her to embark on a new vocation, partnering with survivors of sexual violence to launch a nonprofit organization that equips women to lead through the rewritten stories of their lives. But as Lim seeks to help her friends experience healing and liberation, her perspective is altered. Spiritually depleted, she finds herself ministered to by the women she came to serve―the once oppressed become her liberators.Nikole Lim is a speaker, educator, and consultant on leveraging dignity through the restorative art of storytelling. She is the founder and international director of Freely In Hope, a nonprofit organization dedicated to equipping survivors and advocates to lead in ending sexual violence through their rewritten stories. Nikole graduated with a degree in film production from Loyola Marymount University and is currently pursuing a masters in global leadership from Fuller Theological Seminary.Find her on social at:Instagram @NikoleLimFacebook @nikolelimTwitter @nikole_lim

Creation is a living masterpiece of God. It is full of life, beauty and vitality. And maybe one of God’s greatest creative expressions is a tree. They are the longest-lived of God’s creations. They are the lungs of the planet. They are a wonderous reminder that the good God does develops over decades, even centuries. Trees remind us of God’s unhurried way. Recently, Gem and I had the opportunity to have a conversation with Dr. Matthew Sleeth about his book Reforesting Faith. In it, he shares his own journey of discovering the importance of trees for our world and for God’s creation.  As a former emergency room physician, Dr. Matthew Sleeth felt like he was straightening deck chairs on the Titanic saving a patient at a time while the whole ship (Earth) was going down. Together with his wife and two children, he began to bring his lifestyle in line with his values, cutting back on their fossil fuel by two thirds and electricity use by nine tenths.  Following a new calling, Dr. Sleeth resigned from his position as chief of the medical staff and director of the ER to teach, preach, and write about faith and the environment throughout the country. Dr. Sleeth is a graduate of George Washington University School of Medicine and has two post-doctoral fellowships. 

Today, we are going to talk about easing into the new year with gentleness and grace. This is much needed after making it through 2020. What does 2021 hold for us? We don’t know what circumstances will arise, but, as always, we have a choice about what we think and how we act within every situation. So, let’s lean into some gentleness and grace.For all of the complaining we can do (and rightfully so) about social media, I have met some genuine, lovely, heart-forward women on Instagram. Like anything else in life, you get out what you put in. And I’ve been collecting the goodness of these women over the last few years. Kathryn Carrington is one of these women. She is a holy yoga instructor and I have loved her posts and her sweet nature. She and her husband have a similar calling in that they long to encourage Christian leaders. They are working toward having a retreat center some day, dedicated to this purpose. Kathryn has been practicing yoga for seven years and has attained over 500 hours of world class yoga training. Her passion for movement and art began at an early age with dance, voice, music and art lessons. She continues to practice, create and live out of the radical freedom she’s been given through her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Kathryn believes that every breath is Holy and encourages her students to practice the ongoing flow of worship and devotion on and off their mat.Connect with Kathryn on social at:Facebook @kathryn.carrington.3Instagram @kathryncarringtonyoga

This episode is airing on the last Monday of 2020. I know that many can’t wait to put this year behind us and hope for a better 2021. But just as true as it is that 2020 was a hard year full of troubles, it was also a year in which God was doing very good work in his people and through his people. It is a gift to turn back and look for evidences of God’s measureless grace at work, especially in the midst of a very hard season.

Last December Alan interviewed John Mark Comer. His episode has remained near the top of our 10 most downloaded shows. So we thought we’d replay it for you today. I think it’s because John Mark is singing the same song as Unhurried Living and Alan’s book, An Unhurried Life. John Mark wrote The Relentless Elimination of Hurry and we are delighted to share the replay of Alan’s conversation with him now. John Mark Comer lives, works, and writes in the urban core of Portland, Oregon, with his wife, Tammy, and their three children.  He is the pastor for teaching and vision at Bridgetown Church and has a master’s degree in biblical and theological studies from Western Seminary.  John Mark is also the author of God has a Name,  My Name Is Hope, Loveology, and Garden City. Alan so enjoyed having a conversation with John Mark, hearing the story behind his book, and interacting about some of his key insights about following Jesus’ unhurried way of life and work.Connect with John on his website or via social at:JohnMarkComer.comFacebook @johnmarkcomerInstagram @johnmarkcomerTwitter @johnmarkcomer

We live in a profoundly wordy world. I sometimes feel utterly surrounded by words: social media, emails, text messages, news feeds, websites, television, radio. And it seems rare that words are being used to simply tell the truth and describe reality. In his sermon on the mount, Jesus had some profoundly powerful words to say about how we speak. Alan Fadling, (MDiv),serves as a frequent speaker and consultant with local churches, national organizations and leaders internationally. His content is approachable, usable and transferable. He shows leaders how to get perspective so their leadership flows from a full soul and out of healthy rhythms of rest and work. A trained Spiritual Director, Alan is author of An Unhurried Life (IVP 2013) and An Unhurried Leader (IVP 2016).Connect with Alan on social:Facebook @alanfadlingInstagram @alanfadling

We live in a visual culture. Just a few years ago the Internet Trends Report shared that an average of 1.8 billion images were uploaded to the internet daily. That adds up to 657 billion photos in one year. Every two minutes, people take more photos than existed in total 150 years ago.With all of that imagery floating through our consciousness every day, how might we use intentional imagery to grow closer to God? If a picture is worth a thousand words, is it also conducive to prayer?I’m welcoming Brenda Renderos on the podcast today. Brenda has been kind enough to “interview” me about Inviso. And I am also going to interact with her about how she uses Inviso in her own life. Brenda Renderos is a spiritual mentor with a degree in Christian Studies and 13 years of experience including ministry leadership, soul care, speaking and teaching, as well as guiding interns exploring vocational ministry. Brenda sees the immense need for soul care and spiritual formation and she's devoted her life to growing and sharing in this area. She also greatly enjoys life with her husband and their three kids. You can catch her on Instagram @brenrenderos.Download a sample of Inviso.

Author, Greg Holder, in his book Never Settle, suggests that “while we don’t consciously choose a less-than-life, it happens.Little by little, we start putting down roots in a land of less than: less than satisfying, less than interesting, less than helpful, and certainly less than hopeful. Before we know it our faith is lukewarm, apathetic, bland.Never Settle is a tangible reminder that every choice in your day is crackling with God’s redemptive power –God is calling us—you and me—to participate in what God is doing in his world. Can you think of a more significant and exciting invitation. I hope you’ll listen as we talk about resisting the temptation to become lukewarm.Greg Holder is a pastor, author, speaker, and story-teller. He has been the Lead Pastor for 20+ years at The Crossing, a multi-site church that reaches 8,000+ people across four campuses in the St. Louis, Missouri area and a thriving online community. He is the author of The Genius of One, Advent Conspiracy, and translator of the book of Jeremiah for The Voice Bible. The Genius of One Conference has trained 1,000+ pastors across India, Kenya, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Uganda, Zimbabwe, and Zambia. With a diverse assortment of interest, gifts, and training, including degrees in psychology and counseling, Greg brings unique insight into the development of God-honoring relationships. Connect with Greg on Social Media at:Facebook @GregHolder0Instagram @gregholder_Twitter @gregholder_

Can you believe that What Does Your Soul Love? released just a little over a year ago? With 2020 being what it is, that seems like an entire lifetime ago. Today, I’m sharing with you a bonus episode and it’s a bit different than usual. It’s different because I’m on the other side of the microphone in this conversation. And I loved this interview so much that I wanted to share it with you, here, on the Unhurried Living Podcast.Enjoy other episodes of Girls Talking Life podcast with Yohonna Smith.  You can connect with them on social:Instagram @girlstalkinglifeFacebook @girlstalkinglife

Most of us would agree that 2020 continues to be one of the most trying years in our adult lives. So much change. So much pain. So much conflict. I’m talking to a lot of leaders these days who are just plain tired. They are struggling to be hopeful. We need a vision of how this year could actually be an opportunity and not just a challenge. That’s why I’m especially glad to be sharing my recent conversation with Tod Bolsinger about his book, Tempered Resilience: How Leaders Are Formed in the Crucible of Change. Many of us just might say that we’ve experienced more change in this single year than we had faced in just about any previous year. Sometimes change can be refreshing and envigorating, but a lot of the change we’ve faced this year has been painful and draining. I’ve needed to gain the perspective of living in an eternal kingdom in the midst of a very challenging season. That’s why I’m so glad to share a recent conversation I had with Tod Bolsinger about his latest book, Tempered Resilience. He uses the core image of a blacksmith turning scraps of iron into beautiful and useful tools to describe how God just might use seasons like the one in which we find ourselves to help us remember who we really are and to engage in the very good work God has actually entrusted to us. We have good reason to be very hopeful. 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. Connect with Tod on social:Facebook @Tod-Bolsinger for his blogFacebook @Tod.BolsingerTwitter @todbol

The Enneagram has been more widely circulating for a few years now and most of us have a basic understanding of the types. But once you learn the types, the real question is, so what? What do I now do with all of this great information? What difference can the Enneagram make in my life?My dear friend, Mary Linam, is a trained and highly skilled Enneagram coach. I’m sharing her with you today because I want you to glean from her wisdom and to be in touch with her if you want to dig into the Enneagram further. I’ve known Mary almost as long as I’ve known Alan, and you know that’s a long time. Mary has taken her life with God very seriously and has made her relationship with God, and his formation of her soul, the center of her life. This is what sets her apart in this field. Mary merges her deep soul work with the process of the Enneagram. And so you get spiritual director level care as she walks you through the process. Our conversation today is out beyond the types and is more Enneagram 201 than 101. So buckle up and enjoy our conversation.Learn more about Mary on social:Facebook @mary.g.linamInstagram @choosinggrace

In the book Longing For Revival, authors James Choung and Ryan Pfeiffer remind us of a simple and encouraging reality: Revival begins with God. It happens in our lives and we cooperate with what God is doing, but God is the reviver of our souls, our communities, our world. In this season that feels so straining and wearying, God wants to refresh, renew and revitalize our lives so we can join God in the good work of the kingdom. Gem and I have been grateful to have been given moments of encounter with God along the way that have revitalized our souls and transformed our work. We’ve come to believe that these were moments or even season of God-given revival. We often remember these moments when we hit hard places in the journey. I’m so glad that James Choung and Ryan Pfeiffer have written a book to help us understand, enter into and even lead others into the reality of revival. James and I had a conversation recently about Longing For Revival, which I’m pleased to be able to share with you today. Rev. Dr. James Choung serves as Vice President of Strategy & Innovation — overseeing evangelism, discipleship, planting, growth, missions, multiethnic initiatives, and the Creative Labs — at InterVarsity Christian Fellowship USA. He is also ordained with the Vineyard USA, and has written both True Story: A Christianity Worth Believing In and its follow-up, Real Life: A Christianity Worth Living Out. He speaks frequently at campuses, churches, seminaries, and conferences, and teaches seminary classes on culture, leadership development and evangelism. James, his wife and two sons live in Los Angeles, CA. Connect with James on social:Facebook @jameschoungInstagram @jameschoungTwitter @jameschoung

2020 has been a rough year. And that is an understatement. It may seem counterintuitive to at least some of us, but one thing that can help us is to see this year up against the expansive backdrop of God’s eternal presence. Christ crucified is a witness to everything we are seeing. Christ crucified is present in our pain, our outrage, our anxiety, our fears. Let’s dig into a practice that can help us envision God’s presence and expanse now. Before we dive in here, I want to be sure you know that I’m not trying to paint a rosy picture or act like nothing is wrong. I am living in this culture and watching the news, just like you. I see what is going on and I feel it. The anger, the injustice, the contempt. It’s all right there for us to see. The word “but” is not coming next. Instead of the word “but” I want to use the word “and.” AND, in the midst of the difficulty and overwhelm, we can stand firmly on the realities of the kingdom of God. It is not impossible. I know this because God’s people did it all throughout scripture and Jesus consistently modeled this for us. There is a phrase of scripture in the Old Testament that says, “Is the Lord’s arm too short?” This was in the context of God making a way for his people yet again. And now is just as good a time as any to bring that phrase to the front of our minds: Is the Lord’s arm too short?You can follow Gem on social:Facebook @gemfadlingInstagram @gemfadlingUnhurriedLiving.com

There are so many reasons we might feel that cultivating a deep life of prayer is just impossible. We feel too busy. We feel we don’t deserve such a life. We imagine that kind of prayer is for someone more spiritual than me. But today, John Starke, author of The Possibility of Prayer, will remind us that prayer is always possible because prayer is a gift we receive more than a life we achieve. A mentor of mine, Chuck Miller, often reminded us that prayer isn’t so much something I do as it is Someone I’m with. Prayer is more about a Person than it is about a practice. We listen. We pour out whatever it is that fills our hearts and minds. And God listens. We are cultivating a conversational relationship with God. But it’s a gift and not an achievement. These are just a few of the themes John and I touched in our conversation about his book The Possibility of Prayer. Let me take a moment to tell you a little more about John Starke. He grew up in the Midwest but has lived in Arizona, South Carolina, Kentucky, and now lives in New York City with his wife Jena and their four children. He pastors Apostles Church Uptown in Manhattan. In addition to The Possibility of Prayer, John has written for for Christianity Today, Books & Culture, Comment Magazine, and others. Connect with John on social media:Facebook @jbstarkeInstagram @john_starkeTwitter @john_starke

The subtitle of Aundi Kolber’s book, Try Softer, is “a fresh approach to move us out of anxiety, stress, and survival mode—and into a life of connection and joy.” Now, who doesn’t need that?! Aundi is a trauma informed therapist and she is going to help us learn what “try softer” really means, today, on the Unhurried Living Podcast. Aundi Kolber believes that we don’t have to white-knuckle our way through life. In her debut book, Try Softer, she’ll show us how God specifically designed our bodies and minds to work together to process our stories and work through obstacles. Through the latest psychology, practical clinical exercises, and her own personal story, Aundi equips and empowers us to connect us to our truest self and truly live. This is the “try softer” life.  Aundi Kolber is a Licensed Professional Counselor, writer, and speaker in Castle Rock, Colorado. She specializes in trauma- and body-centered therapies and is passionate about the integration of faith and psychology. She has written for Relevant, CT Women, and (in) courage. As a survivor of trauma, Aundi brings hard won knowledge around the work of change, the power of redemption, and the beauty of experiencing God with us in our pain. Connect with Aundi on social media at:Facebook @aundikolberwritesInstagram @aundikolber Twitter @aundikolber

What is the purpose of the church? Why does it exist and what is on God’s heart as far as its aims? As of the airing of this episode, I have not been part of an in-person gathering of church for more than six months. And then many of the portrayals of church in contemporary media are less than encouraging. The emerging generation has been opting out of the church in large numbers as it is.My guest today, Tim Soerens, has written a book called Everywhere You Look to highlight the gracious opportunity that the times we find ourselves in presents us. In my conversation with Tim today, he shares that the church is on the edge of a new possibility at the very moment so much of it feels like it's falling apart. In his extensive travels in all kinds of neighborhoods, Soerens has seen the beginnings of this movement firsthand. In Everywhere You Look, he lays out practical, actionable steps for building collaborative communities in any neighborhood.He is a pastor, social entrepreneur, and co-founding director of the Parish Collective. In addition to Everywhere You Look, he is also the coauthor of "The New Parish".Connect with Tim on social at:Tim Soerens websiteInstagram @timsoerensTwitter @timsoerensFacebook @tim.soerens

“Anything that alienates and divides us leaves us weak and exposed to disaster. Simple human compassion is more essential to our national resilience and strength than most of us recognize.” Today, I’m talking with my long time friend, Diane Cox. She is a business owner, a beautiful writer, and an even more glorious human being. And she actually makes resilience something fun and intriguing to talk about. With anecdotes and unexpected stories about growing up during the 60s and 70s in Los Angeles, and from her work in disaster recovery, Diane Burden Cox illustrates the importance of our relationship with each other to our national resilience in her book, Resilient Americans. If we want a resilient infrastructure as a nation- clean water supply, buildings, bridges, roads, energy grids, health and education systems- we need to recognize it rests on the strength of our interactions with each other. Resilience isn't just one more thing to put on our national to-do list, it's something we can actually enjoy and have fun cultivating together. Diane Burden Cox is the CEO of Disaster Scope, Inc., an Emergency Management consulting firm based in Southern California. She and her husband, Graeme, have lived across the United States, working together on recovery efforts after major disasters. In Resilient Americans, Diane shines a light on the foundations of resilience with hopeful and compelling stories of simple ways we can move forward as individuals, communities and as a nation. Connect with Diane socially:Twitter @BurdenCoxFacebook @DianeBurdenCox, AuthorInstagram @DianeBurdenCox

The theme of today’s episode is grief, and especially grief related to traumatic loss. As a culture, we’re not very comfortable with or even very good at grieving. But we are facing a great deal of loss, maybe more chronic than traumatic, but loss nonetheless. I think today’s conversation may help you in ways you didn’t expect.About three years ago, our guest, author Mel Lawrenz, got a text from his wife that their thirty-year-old daughter, Eva, wasn’t breathing and was being taken to the hospital. That day, Mel and his wife experienced the death of that adult daughter. As Mel tried to find his way through this unimaginable loss, he began to share his experiences and thoughts with a circle of friends. They began to tell him that what he was sharing was really helping them, so here three years later those thoughts have become a book, A Chronicle of Grief.I’ve really appreciated what I’ve read so far. It has especially helped me realize that I am grieving losses related to COVID19 quarantining, political instability, and the generations-old grief of my brothers and sisters of color. What Mel has written about is for us today. Mel Lawrenz trains an international network of Christian leaders, ministry pioneers, and thought leaders through the Brook Network. He served as senior pastor of Elmbrook Church in Brookfield, Wisconsin, for ten years and now serves as Elmbrook's minister at large, teaching in North America, Asia, Africa, and Latin America. He holds a PhD in the history of Christian thought from Marquette University. His books include Spiritual Leadership Today and Life After Grief.Connect with Mel on social at:Instagram @mellawrenzFacebook @mel.lawrenz.7Twitter @MelLawrenz

Sungshim came to America from Korea at the age of 29. Being an immigrant and struggling with emotional deficits from her childhood left her isolated and insecure. Her search for God and her self-discovery process in her training and relationships opened her to God’s love in new and deeper ways till she was overwhelmed with the beauty and abundance of life in God’s kingdom. Along the way she developed a way of interacting with God called “Immanuel Journaling”. This tool was introduced in the book Joyful Journey and has helped many people into a profound experience with the God’s love. Sungshim and her husband John, also an MFT and a pastor, minister together. She offers bi-lingual psychotherapy and spiritual friendship to pastors and others with a special focus on Korean Americans.Connect with Sumgshim:Twitter @LoppnowRelateInstagram @loppnow.relationshipcenterLoppnow Relationship Center 

The Way of Presence: The Empowering Reality of God-With-Us launches September 8. Today, I'm sharing here a conversation with my friend and fellow author, Casey Tygrett, about the book and its life-giving message. Casey Tygrett is author of the recent Christianity Today award-winning book As I Recall, was able and willing to join me in a conversation about my new book.  I know you'l appreciate how Casey helps get at the heart of what I’ve sought to say through this new book project. Jesus being the way, the truth, and the life is more than just a theological fact about him. It is a vital and organic reality. I walk with Jesus as the way. I see myself through the eyes of Jesus as the truth. I live my every moment in communion with Jesus as the life. The Way of Presence will help you enter more deeply into this living reality.Check out another Unhurried Living podcast with Casey Tygrett on his book "Becoming Curious".Connect with Casey on social at:Instagram @cktygrettFacebook @cktyrgettauthorwww.caseytygrett.com Connect with Alan on social at:Instagram @AlanFadlingFacebook @AlanFadlingwww.unhurriedliving.com 

Our guest today is Marlena Graves, author of The Way Up Is Down. In her own words: “…we’ll explore ways in which God is calling you and me to surrender continually to being emptied and then filled with his abounding grace. We’ll soon discover that this is the process whereby saints are made. This is the selfless-way, the God-shaped life.”For writer, pastor, and activist Marlena Graves, formation and justice always intertwine on the path to a balanced life of both action and contemplation. Marlena is a writer and adjunct professor. She has also worked at Farm Labor Organizing Committee (FLOC). She holds an MDiv from Northeastern Seminary in Rochester, New York, and is a graduate of the Renovaré Institute. She has been a bylined writer for Christianity Today, (in)courage, womenleaders.com, and Our Daily Bread.  She also authored A Beautiful Disaster: Finding Hope in the Midst of Brokenness. She's married to her best and three daughters.Learn more about Marlena and follow her on social at:http://marlenagraves.com/Facebook @marlena.gravesInstaGram @marlena.gravesTwitter @MarlenaGraves

Many of you who listen to this podcast are leaders in business, church, nonprofit and other organizational settings. Others of you may not have a leadership title, but you live a leadership life…a life of influence. Today’s episode is going to help a lot. I’m talking with Jerome Daley, author of the book Gravitas: The Monastic Rhythms of Healthy Leadership about where spiritual depth and authority in leadership come.These continue to be challenging days for Christian leaders. Gem and I have had to be quite nimble in our own work as our travel and speaking calendar evaporated in one week back in March. Your life and work have probably changed pretty dramatically as well. In today’s episode, I’ll be exploring how the classic commitments and disciplines of monastic spirituality can especially serve us in these times. I’m not talking about something detached from the hard realities of life. I’m talking about a way to lean into Reality (capital “R”) in the midst of what’s happening around us. Let me tell you a bit about Jerome Daley before I share our recent conversation: He is an executive coach, retreat leader, and spiritual trainer who is passionate about helping men and women thrive, in their inner life and outer leadership. With 30 years in people development, Jerome strengthens leaders in the journey toward true identity and vocational calling. Making his home in the mountains of North Carolina, he and his wife Kellie are parents of three grown children. His great delights are taking spiritual retreats, drinking good wine, backpacking in the mountains, and playing with his grandson.Connect with Jerome at:Website: www.thrive9solutions.comFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/iThrive9Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeromedaley/Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Jerome-Daley/e/B001K8AU3SSide note, to connect with Jerome for an appointment, you have the pleasure of talking directly to him.  He uses the phone to connect / schedule interviews versus email!

Summer is another beautiful soul that Gem has met on Instagram. Last year Gem and Summer had the treat of meeting each other in person at a conference in the Midwest. Summer is a caring and wise listener and teacher and we can’t wait for you to learn from her today.Summer is an Anglican priest, spiritual director, homeschool mom of three, and still madly in love with her high school sweetheart. She comes alive listening to people’s hard and holy stories and setting the table for them to spend time in the Presence of God. Her mission? Sharing tools to help people go from anxious to resting in God.Neuroscience, attachment and spiritual practices – this is where we’re headed today on the Unhurried Living Podcast.Links to the books and resources Summer mentions in this episode:Try Softer: A Fresh Approach to Move Us out of Anxiety, Stress, and Survival Mode--and into a Life of Connection and Joy by Aundi KolberWiden the Window: Training Your Brain and Body to Thrive During Stress and Recover from Trauma Hardcover by Elizabeth A. Stanley PhDThe Pocket Guide to the Polyvagal Theory: The Transformative Power of Feeling Safe by Dr. Stephen W. PorgesAnatomy of a Soul: Surprising Connections between Neuroscience and Spiritual Practices That Can Transform Your Life and Relationships by Dr. Curt ThompsonMindsight: The New Science of Personal Transformation by Dr. Daniel SiegelEvery Breath We Take: Living in the Presence, Love, and Generosity of God by Dr. Terry WardleJoyful Journey: Listening to Immanuel by Dr. E. James Wilder III, Ms. Anna Kang, Dr. John Loppnow, and Dr. Sungshim LoppnowPDF for Immanuel Journaling by Summer Joy GrossConnect with Summer:Her website http://athirstforgod.com/InstaGram @revsummerjoyFacebook @SummerGross and @ThePresenceProject

We are living in a season where “us and them” thinking can be very tempting. Political differences, racial tensions, generational and even religious differences can push us to build thick walls we think will protect ourselves and keep bad things out. But reality is always bigger than simple “us and them” categories.Today, I’m talking with my friend, J. R. Briggs about his new book, releasing Sept. 8, titled The Sacred Overlap: Learning to Live Faithfully in the Space Between. In it, he communicates a refreshing vision that embraces tension and calls us to live in radical love and faithfulness between the extremes that isolate and divide people. Dr. J.R. Briggs has four passions around which his work focuses: Following JesusEquipping and investing in hungry kingdom leadersGrowing fruit on other people’s treesCreating good kingdom mischief.In short, his calling is to partner with people who are called to follow Jesus while they lead others. In 2011 he started Kairos Partnerships, an organization committed to serving hungry kingdom leaders through leadership coaching, consulting, speaking, teaching, equipping and writing. He is affiliate faculty member in practical theology at Missio Seminary and guest instructor at Friends University in the Masters of Arts in Spiritual Formation program. Connect with J.R. on social media at:Twitter @ kpartnershipsInstaGram @jrbr.iggsFacebook @jrbriggs1Side note...J.R. is a former minor league baseball mascot! 

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

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

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

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

“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

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

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 

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. 

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

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

Alan loved getting the opportunity to talk with a fellow author about the challenge of hurry in our world today. Today, we're sharing his recent conversation with Jeff Bethke, author of To Hell With the Hustle. In today’s episode, you’ll gain insight into how we can reclaim our lives in an overwhelmed, overspent, and overconnected world. Jeff is the New York Times bestselling author of Jesus > Religion and It’s Not What You Think. He and his wife, Alyssa, host The Real Life Podcast and run FamilyTeams.com, an online initiative equipping families to live as a multigenerational team on mission. They live in Maui with their daughters, Kinsley and Lucy, and son, Kannon. You can learn more about his work at jeffandalyssa.com.Connect socially with Jefferson on:Twitter @jeffersonbethkeInstagram @jeffersonbethkeYouTube @https://www.youtube.com/user/bball1989

Today we’re sharing a five part framework for change. We’ve been using this process in our own lives for years and it has kept us on track.Last Fall, our book What Does Your Soul Love? was published. It’s a book about necessary change--a book about how to cooperate with the transforming work of God in us and through us. What does it take to stay on this journey of change over our lifetime?We know that you’re the kind of person who is hungry to make good progress in your life and in your work. You aren’t willing to settle for the driven pace and frantic values of the culture around you. And we all know that the changes brought about by COVID-19 have added a whole new layer of challenges.Some of us have been able to lean into a more relaxed posture with the current guidance on staying at home and social distancing. Some of us are struggling with all this.We are here to help you live and work better with less hurry. So, this summer we are offering two group coaching opportunities that we believe are going to help you navigate this season in which we find ourselves.We share here the five-part framework we’ll use in these groups. It’s a framework that you can use in any situation needing change in your life.Learn more here: http://unhurriedliving.com/coaching

Many of us treat suffering like a problem to fix. Simply put, we’d rather not suffer at all, but if we do, we prefer it to be short. But what if our pain or suffering linger? What if it doesn’t go away quickly or at all? We may wonder if God sees us or if we’ve somehow failed God. We may question God’s very nature. If God loves us, why does he allow us to hurt?   Today, Gem is talking with KJ Ramsey who has suffered with pain every day for the last 11 years. And she has much to say about the presence and love of God in the midst of that pain. Welcome to the Unhurried Living Podcast. http://kjramsey.com/preorderSocial Media: @kjramseywrites

The radical changes to our lives and our work continue as we stay home and distance ourselves to slow the spread of the coronavirus. We don’t know how this has impacted your emotions, but we’ve wrestled with anxious thoughts and feelings many times since our stay-at-home orders began in mid-March.  On Sunday after Easter, Alan spoke for our online church service on the theme of peace. We needed it then, and we need it now. The good news of Jesus brings us peace in these uncertain times. Instagram: @unhurriedlivingFacebook: unhurriedlivingYouTube: unhurriedliving

According to our guest, Josh Larsen, “Films and faith have been intertwined in my head since childhood. As a practicing film critic, I hope to encourage other Christians in a nuanced, aesthetically focused, and theologically rooted exploration of the art of cinema.”Movies Are Prayers explores how modes of prayer—praise, confession, lament—are modeled by all types of films. In this fashion, Josh’s book illuminates the richness of both cinema and prayer. Josh Larsen is the co-host of the podcast Filmspotting. He is also the editor of Think Christian, a digital magazine on faith and culture, Larsen has influenced the minds of moviegoers on the applicability of stories to real life, spirituality, and faith for years. You can read Josh's movie reviews at his website, larsenonfilm.com. Connect with Josh:Twitter @LarsenOnFilmFacebook @larsenonfilm

We are living in one of the most polarizing times in terms of the public conversation that I can remember in forty years of adult life. And we are being invited to be the people of God in this very world. What is Jesus inviting us to? What is on the heart of Jesus for his people in such a time as this. And how does Jesus’ prayer that we would be one as he and the Father are one provide guidance for us now? Alan recently enjoyed a conversation with Greg Holder about his book The Genius of One. Here is a description of what the book’s about: “The world is fractured. Tensions are high, patience is low, and goodwill is hard to come by. In The Genius of One, author Greg Holder reminds us of the high value Jesus and his early followers placed on community and offers guidance for how to see and relate to one another in emotionally and spiritually healthy ways so that we, the Church, can fulfill Jesus’ prayer for us and model a better way of loving on another in a fractured world."Doesn’t that sound like something we need today perhaps more than we ever have? Greg Holder is a pastor, author, speaker, and story-teller. He has been the Lead Pastor for 20+ years at The Crossing, a multi-site church that reaches 8,000+ people across four campuses in the St. Louis, Missouri area and a thriving online community. He is the author of The Genius of One, Advent Conspiracy, and translator of the book of Jeremiah for The Voice Bible. The Genius of One Conference has trained 1,000+ pastors across India, Kenya, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Uganda, Zimbabwe, and Zambia. With a diverse assortment of interest, gifts, and training, including degrees in psychology and counseling, Greg brings unique insight into the development of God-honoring relationships. Greg’s next book, Never Settle, will be released in Fall 2020 through NavPress. You can connect with Greg at the following:Facebook @GregHolder0Instagram @GregHolder_Twitter @GregHolder_

Welcome to the Unhurried Living Podcast. Today, we are sharing another Inhaling Grace audiobook episode. We pray that these might be a few moments of remembering God’s grace that is with you, here and now, as you listen.

“A celebration of hope. An encounter with grace. A restoration of the heart. A healing of wounds. An anthem of freedom. All Along You Were Blooming is the ultimate love letter from the pen of popular Instagram poet Morgan Harper Nichols to your mind, to your heart, to your soul, and to your body.” This is a description of Morgan’s new book, All Along You Were Blooming. But it’s an even greater way to describe Morgan herself. A hopeful, gracious, restoring healing artist and creative. We just “happened” to meet each other last year at a workshop (you’ll hear more about that in a bit). And we have become friends over the course of this last year. Morgan is an old soul in the best sense of that phrase. I always enjoy her presence because she likes to “go there” so easily. Our conversation takes us all over the place: from growling stomachs to pregnancy and from suffering to slowness – you will love Morgan. And I hope you are inspired to connect with your inner creative.  Follow Morgan on InstaGram at:@morganharpernicholsYou can fine her book at the All Along Your Were Blooming at the following locations:Paper Source:https://www.papersource.com/desk/she-will-make-beautiful-things-notepad-10011553.htmlB&N - All Along You Were Bloominghttps://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/all-along-you-were-blooming-morgan-harper-nichols/1130949248?ean=9780310454076Target – All Along You Were Bloominghttps://www.target.com/p/all-along-you-were-blooming-by-morgan-harper-nichols-hardcover/-/A-76452381

We know that you all have been inundated with information about COVID-19 this past week. Our intention in this brief podcast is to come alongside you as you process what is occurring in the world around you, in your community, your home, and especially within yourself.We care about your mental, emotional and soul well-being and that’s where we will focus today. We hope that what we share can be added to what you are already learning and doing, and that our words will encourage you to relax inside, even in the midst of the unfolding of uncertain circumstances.

Over the years, one of my great challenges as a leader has been the dynamic of anxiety: my own and the anxiety of those I serve. Too often in the past, anxiety has been an engine that drove my leadership activity.So I’m glad to be able to share a recent conversation I had with Steve Cuss about his important book, Managing Leadership Anxiety: Yours and Theirs.Reading from the back cover of Managing Leadership Anxiety, Steve Cuss asks a simple question: “Does anxiety get in the way of your ability to be an effective leader? Is your inability to notice when you and those around you are anxious keeping you “stuck” in chronic unhealthy patterns?” These are the question Steve seeks to answer as he writes. 

Welcome to the Unhurried Living Podcast. Today, we are sharing another Inhaling Grace audiobook episode. We pray these might be a few moments of remembering God’s grace that is with you, here and now, as you listen.

You are in for a real treat today. We could not have enjoyed our conversation with Father Albert Haase more that we did. He is a truly engaging presence and you will not want to miss what he says about living in the present moment, how the beatitudes can re-wire our ego obsessions, and what it looks like to pray from the heart.  A little more about Father Albert – He is a preacher, teacher, and spiritual director. A former missionary to mainland China for over eleven years, he is the award-winning author of ten books on popular spirituality and the presenter on five bestselling DVDs. He holds a PhD in historical theology from Fordham University and an MDiv from Catholic Theological Union. He is currently serving as chaplain at Cedarbrake Retreat Center near Austin, Texas.IVP recently released Father Albert's book "Becoming an Ordinary Mystic: Spirituality for the Rest of Us". Interested and want to learn more, read an excerpt from the book.   

Welcome to the Unhurried Living Podcast. Today, we are sharing another Inhaling Grace audiobook episode. We pray these might be a few moments of remembering God’s grace that is with you, here and now, as you listen.

Personality. Achievements. Skills. Relationships. Appearance. Richella Parham was haunted by thoughts of not measuring up. She writes, “No matter how well-intentioned the teachings or pithy the advice, I found that most of it didn’t help me change.” She discovered that cultural and spiritual myths about others, God, and ourselves keep us trapped. From there she found that the journey is a spiritual one. If you’ve ever suffered from tortured moments of comparison on Facebook, in the office, or in the hallway at church, you’ll benefit from this fresh perspective. Welcome to the Unhurried Living Podcast!Richella Parham Social links:https://twitter.com/RichellaParhamhttps://www.instagram.com/richellaparham/https://www.facebook.com/richella.parsons.parham Discount code for Mythical Me at InterVarsity Press: BULK4395 and offers free US shipping.www.ivpress.com/mythical-me1-4 copies - 30% off5-9 copies - 35% off10+ copies - 40% off 

Welcome to the Unhurried Living Podcast. Today, we are sharing another Inhaling Grace audiobook episode. We pray these might be a few moments of remembering God’s grace that is with you, here and now, as you listen. 

When you dream about growing in your spiritual life—in your communion with God, do you imagine it as a relatively straight and upward journey? Progress at every new stage and season? Or, have you come to realize that the path is more often crooked than straight. Today, Alan interviews his friend and fellow author, Jeff Tacklind, about his recently-released book, The Winding Path of Transformation on the Unhurried Living podcast. It shouldn’t surprise us that the path of human transformation is not a perfect series of smooth moves towards maturity. Sometimes we get stuck. Sometimes we move backwards. At least that’s been our experience. We're glad to be able to share a very honest and helpful conversation Alan recently had with friend, Jeff Tacklind, about his new book, The Winding Path of Transformation. In it, Jeff shares many very transparent and personal stories of his own journey of transformation. He is lead pastor of Church by the Sea in Laguna Beach, California, where he lives with his wife, Patty, and their three children. He is a spiritual director and has a master's degree in philosophy and a doctorate in semiotics and future studies. We think you’re going to appreciate the conversation. We are also happy to let you know that InterVarsity Press has been kind enough to make a free excerpt from Jeff's book available to our listening audience. 

Welcome to the Unhurried Living Podcast. Today, Alan Fadling sharing another Inhaling Grace audiobook episode. We pray that these might be a few moments of remembering God’s grace that is with you, here and now, as you listen. 

In "What Does Your Soul Love?", the chapter on fear contains these words:When we’re little the list of things we fear may be quaint: the dark, the boogeyman, spiders, the mean dog next door. However, depending on your family or situation, you may have had next-level fears: the anger of an alcoholic dad, gun shots from the drug house down the street, bullies with hidden knives at school.  Nowadays, we have the real fear of public shootings and bombings, even in parts of the country and world that have seemed relatively safe. Add to that the never ending news threads on our social media feeds, and you have a recipe for constant underlying fear, anxiety, and even dread.Many of the social issues of our day are the fruit of fear—fear that we won’t be taken care of, fear that we won’t be seen or loved, fear that we won’t have enough. And these dynamics typically lead us directly to fearful or controlling behavior. Looking for and acknowledging our fears feels risky. But if we can come face to face with what we fear, we can see it in the light of God’s presence and find healing, freedom, and strength.  Almost everyone deals with fear at one time or another. So let’s take a look at fear and how we might move through it. Episode Links:Unhurried Living Podcast episode#95 - Intentional Soul Care (Unhurried Living Dynamic One)Fight or Flight articleUnhurried Living Podcast episode 101 - The Practice of UnpackingPodcast bonus worksheet.

Welcome to the Unhurried Living Podcast. Today, Alan is sharing an Inhaling Grace audiobook episode. We pray that these might be a few moments of remembering God’s grace that is with you, here and now, as you listen. 

Last year, Alan wrote and released Inhaling Grace. One of the big ideas in this little book is that gratitude is exhaling the grace we inhale. A mentor of ours reminded us often that just as surely as we are saved by grace and, of course, we are, we also live by grace, serve by grace, even lead by grace. Today, we share a little practice that has helped us remember this more in our moment-to-moment lives.As you listen you will enter into a mediation of Psalm 103. We encourage you to not skip over this part.  Take time to listen and breath and feel the grace of Christ.  

Welcome to the Unhurried Living Podcast. Alan is sharing another Inhaling Grace audiobook episode today. We pray that these might be a few moments of remembering God’s grace that is with you, here and now, as you listen.

Two years ago, I made a new friend. We had lunch together here in Orange County, myself, him and his wife. I heard some of his story about his ministry as a pastor in Portland, Oregon, but then I found out something really encouraging. He was working on a book on the theme of hurry. That friend is John Mark Comer and the book, which came out last October, is titled The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry.There have been a few books written on the subject of hurry, both before and after An Unhurried Life, but I have to say that my favorite is now John Mark Comer’s The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry. I read it rather quickly once it arrived. I think it was two or three sittings. It was such a pleasure to have a conversation with John Mark about the story behind his book, and to interact about some of his key insights about following Jesus’ unhurried way of life and work.  I can’t wait to share our conversation .

Welcome to the Unhurried Living Podcast. Today, Alan is sharing another Inhaling Grace audiobook episode. We pray these might be a few moments of remembering God’s grace that is with you, here and now, as you listen.

Last Fall, Alan was grateful to make an eight-day retreat after a very full season of ministry. In the course of that retreat, he learned a lot about his level of engagement with his smartphone. He shares some of those insights with you today on the Unhurried Living Podcast.

Welcome to the Unhurried Living Podcast. Today, Alan Fadling is sharing another Inhaling Grace audiobook episode. We pray it might be a few moments of remembering God’s grace that is with you, here and now, as you listen. 

There are numerous reasons for us to be tired, stressed or overwhelmed on any given day. However, that stress is often brought on by our own thoughts or behaviors. We've learned to stop being the one that adds pressure to our lives unnecessarily.In the book, What Does Your Soul Love?, Gem shared an exercise that helped ease some of this pressure. She's developed an expanded version of that exercise so you can practice unpacking your worries or fears any time you want. So let’s do this together, here, on the Unhurried Living Podcast. 

Today is the 100th episode of The Unhurried Living Podcast! Over the course of our previous 99 episodes you’ve heard us utter the same six words every single time:. Rest deeper, live fuller, lead better. And in episodes 95, 97 and 99 we’ve addressed these core values specifically. Today we’re going to pull it all together as we give you a vision for a lifetime of transformation that is rooted, intentional and strategic. Welcome to the 100th episode of The Unhurried Living Podcast!Learning healthy patterns of rest and work can transform your leadership— your daily influence. We live in a fast-paced culture. We often find ourselves in a hurry. Busy feels like our only option. But busyness is not always the same as productivity. Genuine productivity is doing the good work God actually prepares for you in a given day. An unhurried life is not just about doing less and moving slowly. It is not about strolling through daisy fields or floating on clouds. Unhurried living is the most intentional way to live. Unhurried enough to pray. Unhurried enough to care. Unhurried enough to listen. Unhurried enough to create strategic priorities and to have the energy to act on them. It’s time to get some perspective so that your leadership flows from a full soul. The practice of Unhurried Living can help you learn the healthy rhythms of rest and work. You want to make a lasting impact. Good work is more than checking off a never-ending list of to-dos. You need a way forward that is sustainable. You need a pattern of living that will work for a lifetime. It is possible to rest deeper, live fuller and lead better. 

When it comes to our kingdom influence, insecurity is one of our great enemies. But there’s a practical question to ask: What will we do with our insecurity? Where does our confidence come from? Where is it rooted? This is what we’ll be talking about today’s on the Podcast. Today, we’re talking about the interaction of our two Unhurried Living values: “Rest Deeper” and “Lead Better.” We’re saying this interplay is the dynamic of our Rooted God-Given Identity.In episodes 95 and 97, we been talked about two of our Unhurried Dynamics, specifically “Intentional Soul Care” and “Strategic Personal Influence.” Today, we’ll talk about our third Unhurried Dynamic, which is “Rooted God-Given Identity.” If you haven’t already listened to those two episodes in this series, we encourage you to go back to them after you’ve listened to this episode. We believe these episodes are the most important ones we’ve done yet. And next week, for episode 100, we’ll talk about the Essence of Unhurried Living and pull these three dynamics together. 

Welcome to an Inhaling Grace audiobook episode of the Unhurried Living Podcast. Following are the next three devotionals from Inhaling Grace. May you sense the real presence of God shepherding you as you listen.If you haven't already done so, you can purchase the Inhaling Grace Devotional here.

Many talk about the importance of leadership, in the church and in the world in general. In fact, I wrote An Unhurried Leader because we really care about good leadership.Now there are those who want to talk about leadership hacks—quick, easy things to do that will make a huge, unexpected difference. You’ve probably noticed that in Unhurried Living, we have a bias for action that often takes longer, but produces fruit that lasts longer, too.So today, we’re talking about how a fuller life produces better leadership—what we’re calling Strategic Personal Influence.Take action on the ideas of this Unhurried Living Podcast and next steps in your formational journey, by downloading the free bonus resources.

Welcome to an Inhaling Grace audiobook episode of the Unhurried Living Podcast. Here are the next three devotionals from *Inhaling Grace*. May you sense the real presence of God shepherding you as you listen.

The statistics on anxiety, depression and stress are becoming more disturbing. According to a recent Gallup poll about 1/3 of the world’s population are feeling stressed and worried. In the U.S. that statistic climbs to about 1⁄2 of the population. Our instant access to world news combined with the pace of our lives and all the vacation time we leave on the table each year—it’s all coming to a detrimental head. We don’t pretend to have all the answers to this global issue, but we do want to do our part to speak into the situation. So over the course of these next few episodes, we’ll be sharing with you some dynamics that we feel are critical to this discussion.Just this year the New York Times reported on the Gallup 2019 Global Emotions Report. Of 150,000 people surveyed from around the world, America came up among the most stressed people in the world.https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/25/us/americans-stressful.htmlThis is why the word “unhurried” is so important to us. It is not about doing less or moving slower. It is about the inner pace of our lives. That place where stress wants to move in and take root. We are sharing the great news that you don’t have to be a slave to anxiety, stress and overwhelm. You have a choice, and there is actually a way to live an unhurried life while maintaining and thriving in your relationships and work.We aren’t the only ones talking about this. From the Huffington Post to Forbes Magazine to Psychology Today, you can find articles that discuss how meditation, rest, silence and solitude can all play an important role in our mental, emotional, relational and workplace health.Take action on the ideas of this Unhurried Living Podcast and next steps in your formational journey, by downloading the free bonus resources. 

Welcome to an Inhaling Grace audiobook episode of the Unhurried Living Podcast. Here are the next three devotionals from Inhaling Grace. May you sense the real presence of God shepherding you as you listen.

We are diving into part two of our discussion on our new book, [What Does Your Soul Love?] When it comes to our life in Christ, change is part of the invitation. Transformation is essential to the journey. But we get stuck when we let what we perceive to be negative emotions and issues stop us from moving forward. Today we are going to address pain, fear, control and, finally, joy.

How do you feel about change? Some of us naturally love change. We like spontaneity, variety, new experiences. And some of us naturally resist change. We like stability, tradition, we like to “do it again.” But personal preferences are not exactly what we’re talking about today. When it comes to our life in Christ, change is part of the invitation. Transformation is essential to the journey. This week and next we are going to share some key insights from our new book, "What Does Your Soul Love"? Today we’ll discuss desire, resistance, vulnerability and truth.

The message at the center of our new book "What Does Your Soul Love" is the invitation and opportunity to change, to be transformed. That’s the idea we’ll focus on today. The big idea of how God is with us in the many changes we experience in our lives and in our communities of faith.

Welcome to an Inhaling Grace audiobook episode of the Unhurried Living podcast. Here are the next three devotionals from Inhaling Grace. May you sense the real presence of God shepherding you as you listen.

One of our deep passions as an organization is the spiritual wellness and vitality of leaders. This strategic focus lies at the heart of what we do in our writing, our speaking and our training. There is a way of following Jesus that grows in us a restful soul and a fruitful vocation. This podcast is a closing message as part of the Unhurried Collective. In working with this group, as well as the core of our ministry is on contemplation. We feel feel this is critical, and why I unpack it in the message today, is that contemplation, rather than being any kind of escape from reality, is actually a profound engagement with Reality.

Welcome to an Inhaling Grace audiobook episode of the Unhurried Living podcast. Here are the next three devotionals from Inhaling Grace. May you sense the real presence of God shepherding you as you listen.

The desert has always been my least favorite geography. I live within 25 minutes of a beach and within 90 minutes of the mountains. I am also about 90 minutes away from the desert, but I had to look that up on a map because I purposely do not go there. The desert is hot and dry and sand colored. Plus, there’s cactus. I know that people have worked hard to bring water into the desert and there are plenty of oasis-type places there. But the desert is still the desert. So the question is – can beauty be found in the dry places?

Welcome to an Inhaling Grace audiobook episode of the Unhurried Living podcast. Here are the next three devotionals from Inhaling Grace. May you sense the real presence of God shepherding you as you listen.

Last Fall, I made an eight-day silent retreat at Eastern Point Retreat House in Gloucester, Mass. While I was there, I came across a book I’d read a long time back: Parker Palmer’s The Active Life. I read some of it while I enjoyed those prayerful days in November, quietly sitting next to a little bay on which this retreat is situated. What I learned is today’s theme: Cultivating a Productive Rhythm of Action and Contemplation. Welcome to the Unhurried Living Podcast. So what are talking about here? If I were to use philosophical or theological categories, I might want to talk about action and contemplation. If I were to use practical or vocational categories, I might talk about leadership and spiritual formation. If I were to use theoretical or academic categories, I might talk about engagement and reflection. If I were to talk about this in everyday language, I might talk about work and prayer. The reason this conversation is so important is that it often feels like there is no option but for action and contemplation to be at war with each other. It can feel like we have to choose sides between being a work-driven, Type-A activist or a deep-rooted, very prayerful contemplative. We sometimes assume one category is made up of extroverts and the other of introverts. Listen as we discuss Parker's thoughts and the difference of each.

Here are the next three devotionals from Inhaling Grace. May you sense the real presence of God shepherding you as you listen. Audiobook read by author, Alan Fadling

Most mornings our backyard is a cacophony of birdsong. We have an unrelenting mockingbird who sings at the top of his lungs, sometimes beginning well before dawn. Combined with some bouncing sparrows, a pair of cooing doves, hummingbirds buzzing around and a random flock of crows, it can be quite entertaining. Sometimes, I am inspired to sit out back and watch the birds hop through our grass, looking for a spare crumb or sipping a few drops of leftover water from our sprinkler heads. And almost every time, these words of Jesus pop into my head, “Look at the birds…” The question then becomes–Am I paying attention? Am I present? Am I listening? Are my eyes open to the wonders around me? Paying attention to this living wisdom can lead to maturity because God has created this world in such a way that life lessons are all around. Let’s turn our gaze inward for a few moments.

Welcome to an Inhaling Grace audiobook episode of the Unhurried Living Podcast. Here are the next three devotionals from Inhaling Grace. May you sense the real presence of God shepherding you as you listen…

We recently returned home from a dream 34th anniversary vacation trip to Italy and Spain. It was beautiful, we saw amazing sights, and we were gone long enough to disengage from work and to come back refreshed. But it wasn’t all perfect. Today, we thought we would share what we learned about ourselves and what a true vacation for us looks like. How can you get away, have fun, and refuel with deep rest? The answer might be different for everyone. We know that this might come down to personality. What one person finds stressful is another person’s rest and vice versa. When traveling with people, it is still fair to ask this question and come to an agreement about how the days will flow. Ideally, a vacation is a time of rest, no matter the form that takes. No one wants to bring stress along on a getaway.

Welcome to an Inhaling Grace audiobook episode of the Unhurried Living Podcast. Author, Alan Fadling, is providing chapters 7-9 in this podcast.

Our guest today is Publisher’s Weekly bestselling author, Emily P. Freeman. Her latest book is called The Next Right Thing, which just happens to have the same name as her podcast. Through her podcast and books, Emily helps create space for the soul to breathe, offering fresh perspective on the sacredness of our inner life with God. Welcome to the Unhurried Living Podcast. We talk with Emily about the intersection of decision making and an unhurried life. She shares how she deals with hurry in her life and work, and how she views time and makes her way toward freedom in her schedule.

Welcome to an Inhaling Grace audiobook episode of the Unhurried Living Podcast. Here are the next three devotionals from Inhaling Grace. May you sense the real presence of God shepherding you as you listen. Thank you for listening. If you’d like a copy of Inhaling Grace, you can visit unhurriedliving.com/grace to purchase your book. You have three options: an eBook, a paperback, or you can get a discount on five copies or more.

Today we share with you a note from a leader in her mid-30s: I struggle to set priorities. It feels as though there is a lot to juggle between raising children, nurturing my marriage, training others, participating in a missional community, working with refugees, serving at church, managing my home, extra-curricular activities, etc. - and still have time to pursue physical and spiritual health. I know that these are important but just what balance is optimal? I don’t know about you, but I got tired just reading that list. My guess is many of you can relate to this person’s life. But is balance the goal? How do you decide how to prioritize your life? And are these even the right questions to begin with?

In the Fall of 2018, we published our first Unhurried Living devotional called Inhaling Grace. We’ve appreciated the encouraging response we’ve received since then. Over the next few months, we’ll share the devotional here as an audiobook. We’ll have more to say about that in a moment on the Unhurried Living Podcast.

We often talk here about how a hurried soul costs us more than we realize, and that an unhurried soul is a way of following the genius of Jesus’ way of life and work. But there is a hurry that is actually holy, and there is a way of being unhurried that is actually unholy. We’ll tackle this pair on today’s episode of the Unhurried Living Podcast. • Unholy hurry is that variety of soul hurry that we must ruthlessly eliminate as Dallas Willard urged us. • Holy unhurry is that variety of unhurry that we see in the manner and way of Jesus that we want to follow. This is our core message at Unhurried Living. In this episode, we will focus on the other two, which we don’t talk about as often but are nonetheless very important. We will say just a little bit about holy hurry because we think it’s a fairly straightforward idea. We’ll have much more to say about the challenge of Unholy Unhurry.

In his book, "The Sacred Enneagram", Chris Heuertz states, “Real transformation takes place when we pair the self-awareness that the Enneagram stimulates with the silence of contemplative practice. Then our unique path to spiritual growth emerges, and we will never be the same.” I could not be more thrilled to have Chris Heuertz as my guest today. What he is bringing to the Enneagram conversation is crucial. In his own unique way, he shares the integration of the practices of solitude, silence and stillness and how they are key to transformation. Many of you are now familiar with the Enneagram and I wanted you to have a vision for taking this to the next level. Chris Heuertz was first introduced to the Enneagram in the slums of Cambodia. Since then he has trained under some of the great living Enneagram masters including Father Richard Rohr, Russ Hudson, Marion Gilbert and Helen Palmer, and now teaches the Enneagram in workshops and retreats around the world. Chris is an International Enneagram Association Accredited Professional. He and his wife, Phileena, and their puppy, Basil, live in Omaha, and you can join him on Facebook and Twitter in his intentions to love on the margins.

In his book, "The Sacred Enneagram", Chris Heuertz states, “Real transformation takes place when we pair the self-awareness that the Enneagram stimulates with the silence of contemplative practice. Then our unique path to spiritual growth emerges, and we will never be the same.” I could not be more thrilled to have Chris Heuertz as my guest today. What he is bringing to the Enneagram conversation is crucial. In his own unique way, he shares the integration of the practices of solitude, silence and stillness and how they are key to transformation. Many of you are now familiar with the Enneagram and I wanted you to have a vision for taking this to the next level. Chris Heuertz was first introduced to the Enneagram in the slums of Cambodia. Since then he has trained under some of the great living Enneagram masters including Father Richard Rohr, Russ Hudson, Marion Gilbert and Helen Palmer, and now teaches the Enneagram in workshops and retreats around the world. Chris is an International Enneagram Association Accredited Professional. He and his wife, Phileena, and their puppy, Basil, live in Omaha, and you can join him on Facebook and Twitter in his intentions to love on the margins.

Much of our lives are lived by habits. Some of them are bad ones and tend to be life-draining. Some of them are good and help us really live. In today’s episode, Alan will share a recent conversation with Justin Whitmel Earley, author of the recently-released InterVarsity Press book, The Common Rule: Habits of Purpose for an Age of Distraction. A rule of life provides a structure of practices that enable us to live and work rooted in the life of God’s kingdom. It helps us enter into Jesus’ rhythm of work and rest. Today, Alan shares a recent conversation with Justin Whitmel Earley, author of The Common Rule. Alan had the treat of serving as an endorser for this book. This is what he wrote about it: “Creation is full of holy rhythms of life. There is a way to live that honors and embodies these rhythms. The Common Rule is a beautiful, inviting resource that helps us do just that. It is an important guide to living more deeply-rooted in God’s life-giving kingdom.”

I enter today’s conversation with great anticipation. I’ve recently read Mindful Silence by Phileena Heuertz and cannot wait for you all to learn from her. She’s such a wealth of wisdom and heart. In addition to Mindful Silence, Phileena is the author of Pilgrimage of a Soul and a founding partner of Gravity, a Center for Contemplative Activism. For nearly twenty years she and her husband, Chris, codirected an international nonprofit. As a spiritual director, yoga instructor, public speaker, retreat guide, and author, Phileena is passionate about spirituality and making the world a better place. Phileena also wanted to share this resource with you: This is a rare and vulnerable conversation. Join her as she reflects on the themes of her book, Mindful Silence. Eight, inspiring mini films (10-20 minutes in length) edited by Travis Reed of The Work of the People, accompany each of the eight book chapters. Each video draws you into Phileena's heart, where you discover your own. Let these films support you along the transformational path of contemplative spirituality. Check it out HERE.

Have you noticed that there is a lot of anxiety out there these days? Whether explicit and obvious, or implicit and underlying, many of us are feeling anxious or stressed. But we follow Someone who is called the Prince of Peace. Maybe that could make a difference in how we deal with challenges, troubles, hardships that cross our path. Maybe peace could actually become our operating system. When we talk about an operating system, we mean the basic underlying software that helps a computer or a smartphone operate. Unless you're a tech nerd like I tend to be, you don’t think very often about the operating system of your device, that is, unless it stops working properly. When we call peace an operating system, we’re saying that it is possible to learn how to allow peace to be the underlying framework of our lives. Peace might even become something unconsciously trusted rather than frantically sought.

We can’t help ourselves. We are going to join the conversation on Tidying Up by Marie Kondo. If you haven’t seen the Netflix show or read the book, that’s ok. We’re going pass through the subject on our way to a deeper dive into why we’re tempted to cling to things and how letting go can help our souls. Marie isn’t teaching this directly, but I’m seeing people sink down further into these two questions: What do I really need? What do I really want? Most people live on such a surface level, purchasing items without thought. They collect “stuff” until they are overwhelmed not only outwardly, but inwardly. Pruning thoughtfully, one piece at a time, helps people dip down into the deeper place of true desire. And the term “spark joy” is one way to go there.

Living more faithfully into our following of Jesus involves saying the right “Yeses” and the right “Noes.” In a little less than a month, Christians around the world will be saying “No” in some particular way as they practice Lent. In today’s episode, we’re going to talk about observing An Unhurried Lent together. Today, we’re talking about something that Gem and I are going to be doing together beginning in about a month. We’re calling it An Unhurried Lent. We’ll start by talking a little about Lent in general, then we’ll unpack the more specific idea of An Unhurried Lent.

A few years ago we spent a long weekend in a beautiful home on a vineyard. While visiting the Napa region of CA, we had the treat of being hosted by a master gardener. We ate beautiful food and drank amazing wine while seated at a picnic table overlooking the rolling hills and fruit-laden vines. We talked, laughed and shared all the way up to sunset. As you can imagine, it was one of the most beautiful sunsets I have ever seen. I could go on forever about the beauty of the setting but what does this have to do with spiritual formation? As we strolled the vineyard and spoke with the gardener he educated us on the pruning process of the grapes and how to make the best wines. What I found fascinating was the most unremarkable part was where the vine met the branch. The familiar words from John 15:5 echoed in my mind. “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” Jesus said, “You are the branch.“ Hmmm. I am the branch. Which means I’m not the gardener. I’m not the vine. I’m not the fruit. I am the branch. And a branch’s job is to simply stay attached to the vine. Simple. But not easy.

A new year full of plenty of new opportunities. However, with opportunities also come some common obstacles that can get in the way of making real, productive progress. That’s where we are headed today on the Unhurried Living Podcast. In this episode, we’re talking about four common barriers to leadership effectiveness. These aren’t the only four barriers to leading well, but they are four big ones. And these insights aren’t just for people with very visible leadership roles or positions. We see leadership as a much larger category than that. Leadership is about holy and fruitful initiative in life as well as in work. The four barriers are: Anxiety Fear Self-doubt Insecurity We will unpack these barriers using the following questions: What does this barrier look like in my life and work? How does it hinder my progress? What does it look like when I overcome or move through it? What is the alternative movement to each one?

A few months ago we were in Germany leading a conference for Navy Chaplains. And as I pondered and prayed about our time together a phrase came floating up from my memory banks: “Slow is smooth and smooth is fast.” I had heard that phrase one time as I listened to a movie star talk about training for his role in an upcoming blockbuster. But what does “Slow is smooth and smooth is fast” have to do with looking ahead to 2019. Research revealed that Navy Seals (per navyseals.com) have understood this concept for decades with the dynamic of slow, smooth, fast--and also crawl, walk, run. Here's a brief excerpt to explain: “In The Way of the SEAL, we are striving to navigate that journey with increasing awareness and power. Once you set foot onto this path, you begin to find extraordinary results through doing ordinary things extraordinarily well—and it eventually comes naturally. That is mastery.” (Mark Devine) At Unhurried Living, we have taken on a similar way for ourselves and our work. Spiritual practices are the slow of “slow is smooth” that we practice so that when we work, we have access to a deep reserve from within. In our spiritual practices our souls are learning to become present...present to God, present to ourselves, present to others. Our souls practice remembering that God is with us. And we will have quicker access to this reality in times of need. Our work becomes the “smooth is fast” part. This is what we mean when we talk about Jesus being relaxed. When we are relaxed instead of anxious, we are more creative, more insightful, less constricted, less distracted.

Alan and I take walks a few times a week. And most of the time we have these amazing conversations that lead to me saying, “We should have been recording this! This could have been a podcast!” We’ve never recorded a walk talk, but in this episode we are sharing from a couple of those conversations about contentment and anxiety. And we frame all this in the practice of a year-end-examen. As you listen, be sure to download the FREE resource from Isaiah 61 at http://unhurriedliving.com/isaiah61

A common approach to living the Christian life is to focus on our own faith, our own practices, our own faithfulness. The emphasis in the story of scripture always begins with God—God’s great faithfulness, God’s mighty works, God’s generous grace. Today, we’ll talk about a key question Jesus asks in the gospels that captures this inviting dynamic. One of my favorite words lately has been the word “invitation.” It feels good to be invited to a meal or a gathering by someone you like. Or, even better, by someone you admire! There is something very full of grace when someone else takes the first step towards us. This is the nature of grace. This is the way of God. Invitation is how Jesus approaches us. In today’s episode, we are talking about the story of Jesus and Bartimaeus in Mark 10, and how the question Jesus asks that is sheer invitation and changes how we look at grace.

Welcome to today's podcast on rest, a conversation with author and theologian, A.J. Swoboda. Our conversation stems around the idea of rest and how it is built into the very fabric of God's beautiful creation. Without giving too much away, here are four of of the nine questions A.J. and I discuss in this podcast. A.J.'s book is entitled “Subversive Sabbath.” In what ways is Sabbath a subversive practice? A.J., please share the story of your own experience of discovering and entering into the gift of Sabbath. In your own practice of Sabbath, what have been some of the boundaries you’ve observed (the “I won’ts”) and the engagements you’ve enjoyed (the “I wills”)? How might someone who has an unpredictable weekly work schedule practice Sabbath?

Have you ever felt embarrassed, humiliated or ashamed? That’s a silly question. We have all felt that way at one time or another. Today, we’re looking at the vulnerability that accompanies those dynamics and how Jesus himself can meet us there. When we think about this question of identity, we envision a simple dot in the center of a dotted circle going around it’s periphery. The dot at the center is our actual, simple identity as beloved sons and daughters of God. The dotted line that looks like something orbiting around that center point represents everything we attempt to make an identity of our own. We try to do enough, acquire enough, impress enough people. But it’s just going in circles. We hurry around, orbit after orbit, seeking for a sense of meaning and purpose “out there” in achievements, acquisitions and accolades. But the spiritual reality of finding our identity already in place in our friendship with God through Christ lies at the simple center of who we are. Being rooted in Jesus at the center brings us to a place of engagement with all the realities “out there”, but from a place of peace and stillness at the center with God.

In this episode we look at community and what it means to be mentored within the communities in which we engage, live, work, and play. How does the posture of that community impact our spiritual growth as a leader. Today we are offering details and insight into the Unhurried Collective, a two year mentored community group learning how to Rest Deeper, Live Fuller, and Lead Better. We've had many questions on what an Unhurried Collective is and we thought this would be a great opportunity to share information on this impactful two year community leader program, how it came to be and what you could expect when discerning to apply.

In this episode we look at grace. One of our mentors, Wayne Anderson, often reminded us that we are not only saved by grace, but we serve by grace, lead by grace, live by grace. In other words, the generous grace of God is not merely a doorway through which we enter this Christian life, but it is the pathway on which we live it.In this podcast we introduce you to our newest resource, Inhaling Grace: a 60-Day Unhurried Living Devotional.The grace of God is the atmosphere of his kingdom. We live by inhaling grace. These sixty devotionals are drawn from nearly thirty years of Alan's personal journal. The invitation in this devotional is to embark on a journey of being well shepherded by the grace of God. We learn just how surrounded we are by grace, moment to moment, day to day. We invite you to listen and enjoy breathing more deeply in God’s gracious presence.

Today we are visiting with Rick Miller, author of Be Chief: It's a Choice, Not a Title and discussing the difference between being in a POSITION of influence versus being a PERSON of influence. We’re very aware that key leaders in organizational setting have titles that begin with the word “chief”—chief financial officer, chief operating officer, chief executive officer and such. Rick’s point is that “being chief” in this way is not mainly about holding a position as it is about expressing a way of leading that serves others.

Are you hungry to hear from God? Do you long for a closer, more conversational relationship with him? Today we are talking about how Jesus offers a personal invitation to listen to his voice and live in a remembered companionship of Christ. God’s Spirit gives God’s people real, workable, useful knowledge—if they will listen. He desires to teach us how to live—really live—and to live well. God is speaking to us by his Spirit to give us counsel and insight we need to live our lives and do our work well. When we “set our hearts” or “set our minds” on things above, I don’t think Paul is saying, “Be always thinking God ideas” or “having God feelings.” I think he’s saying something closer to “live in the remembered companionship of Christ.” I’m being invited to remember that He is always with me and I am always with Him. Something dramatic happens when we trust Him and entrust ourselves to Him. Something dies, and a real, hidden life begins. My life does not consist in the obvious realities around me down here. I learn to live my life on two planes at once. Christ is my life. What a profound, simple statement. It doesn’t say that He gives me life, but that He is my life. I am alive with and in Him.

Sometimes in the middle of an ordinary circumstance we can find ourselves at odds with what is occurring, even when there is nothing to be at odds with. This podcast is about prayer and presence. Not prayers. But prayer. Openness to God in any and every circumstance is prayer. Because, as we’ve said before, prayer is not something you do so much as it is someone you are with. Presence is key in all of our interactions with others. Learning to catch yourself when you are not fully present can reduce your own stress and can show others that you are completely engaged with them.

One of the great hungers of the human heart is belonging. We want to be part of something. We want to be wanted by someone. “Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.” (Mark 3:35) The context of the passage is that Jesus is speaking to a crowd gathered in a house somewhere in the neighborhood of Galilee. The passage just before it is one in which the crowds who gathered were so large that often Jesus and his followers didn’t have even a moment to get a bite to eat. Listen now to Mark 3:31-35: Then Jesus’ mother and brothers arrived. Standing outside, they sent someone in to call him. A crowd was sitting around him, and they told him, “Your mother and brothers are outside looking for you.” “Who are my mother and my brothers?” he asked. Then he looked at those seated in a circle around him and said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.” We unpack that amazing last sentence: "Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.” With this knowledge and understanding we know we belong.

We talk about how Jesus trained his inner circle, and how they came to know him better through times alone with him. We also talk a bit about the strategic importance of Jesus being alone with his Father daily in the week leading to his crucifixion. Be sure you listen to parts 1 and 2 (episodes #52 and #53) for the full experience of this content.

This is the second episode in a three-part series on Paving the Way for Ministry Expansion in which I unpack Seven Key Moments in the Life of Jesus. If you missed Part 1, be sure to go back and listen to get up to speed. Today I’ll talk about Jesus’ pattern of stepping back to be with the Father then stepping out into more fruitful ministry. In today’s episode, which continues where I left off last week, I begin to unpack a pattern in the gospel of Luke that a friend of mine first pointed out to me. Every moment of ministry expansion or development in the life of Jesus is preceded by and grows out of a significant moment of His stepping back to be alone with His Father. You’ll see this as I talk about the first three of seven incidents of Jesus stepping back to be with the Father that are recorded in the gospel of Luke.

Recently, Gem and I led a training for a group of leaders. On the final morning, I talked Paving the Way for Ministry Expansion: Seven Key Moments in the Life of Jesus. Today I’m teaching on how prayer and leadership relate to each other and what this looks like in the life of Jesus. We’ve often said that one of our favorite parts of the work of Unhurried Living is consulting, training, or leading retreats for Christian leaders. And in those trainings, we always seek to include some unhurried time for each one to simply be alone in the presence of the Father. We see this as a way of following a strategic pattern in the life and leadership of Jesus. In today’s episode, I introduce a pattern in the gospel of Luke that a friend of mine, Shin Asami, first pointed out to me. Every moment of ministry expansion or development in the life of Jesus is preceded by and grows out of a significant moment of His stepping back to be alone with His Father.

Alan and I recently celebrated our 33rd wedding anniversary. About three weeks ago, I wrote a beautiful tribute to our long time love and sent it out to our email community. A week and a half later, we went on a celebratory trip that ended with us not speaking to each other on the plane all the way home. We’ll share the whole story with you today on the Unhurried Living Podcast!

In today’s episode, we're sharing a recent conversation between Alan and Tim Timmons. If you listen to Christian radio, you may already be enjoying his music. Alan enjoyed catching up with Tim, as it had been a while since they'd last spoken. Recently, Tim was nominated for a Grammy for writing the Mercy Me song, “Even If.” (Here's a YouTube music video of it). It’s a powerful vision of trusting God for God’s own sake, and not just when God seems to make things go the way you prefer. A little about Tim: Like Alan, he was born and raised in California. For the last three years, though, he’s lived in Franklin, TN with his beautiful wife, Hilary and their four kiddoes. He’s spends a lot of his time writing and recording music and playing concerts around the country. You can find out more about Tim’s work on either his music website at timtimmonsmusic.com or on his blog at 10000minutes.com. We talk about all of this in our conversation.

We are continuing our conversation on An Unhurried Life. We'll talk about the signs of hurry in every day life, the dynamics that accelerate our inner life and what good gets squeezed out when we are hurried inside.

It’s a fun episode today, because tomorrow is the fifth anniversary of Alan’s first book, An Unhurried Life. It is still gaining momentum and finding its audience. The word unhurried just really resonates with people. There’s a longing that people have, within our noisy, rushed culture, for a deep breath and a felt sense of peace.

Here's another prayerful practice you can use in the middle of a busy day to help you become present and remember that God is with you. We’ll envision ourselves on the ocean shore and I’ll share a few phrases from Psalm 42 and Psalm 145. So set aside what you are doing for a moment and let’s enter into the Ocean of God’s Love.

Join us on our podcast today as we talk about our "normal condition" and about living from within the source of it all...God Himself.

Spiritual friendship is a life-giving gift we give ourselves and others. There are likely people in your life who are struggling with self-doubt, fear or other issues. You can be a loving, listening ear and a quiet voice of encouragement. A simple sentence or two, shared at just the right time, may have a huge payoff in that person’s life. Don’t ever think that what you have to offer is too small. Small things matter. Quiet goodness offered often is a very good thing. So, we thought would share a bit about what spiritual friendship can look like. We have a few friends that we meet with in different ways. Sometimes as couples, others in one-to-one conversations. We’d like to share the dynamcis of these friendships and how we benefit from this level of friendship.

In these weeks following Easter, our church community has been focusing on “Resurrection: A New Life of Love.” The essence of the risen life is love. Living a risen life is living in Jesus’ way of love. We live in Southern California, and it can be a very hurried place. I have a little made up word to describe one way I experience the chronic hurry of our region. The word is “gronk.” “It is a contraction of green and honk, and it represents the nanosecond of time between the fresh green light in front of us and the angry horn blasting behind us. It is an inflammation of impatience. It is an utter lack of simple kindness. It is chronic and epidemic. And, bottom line, it is unloving.” In so many people there is an absolutely epidemic lack of patience and kindness—a lack of what Francis de Sales called “the little virtues.” Virtues like patience, humility, gentleness, simplicity, honesty, and hospitality lived out in your ordinary, daily life. They are little virtues because they aren’t the ones that tend to make headlines. They don’t seem impressive or heroic. But these little virtues are the virtues of love. They are the ordinary ways that we live a life of love in our simple, everyday lives. In our gospel text, Jesus gets at the essence of this at the very beginning of our reading: “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you (12-14).” Jesus is saying, “Love is at the center of who I am. Love is the essence of our friendship. Love is how my friends live. Love is the greatest life there is. Love is the great commandment.” And in his letter, John tells us this: “Beloved, I am writing you no new commandment, but an old commandment that you had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word that you have heard. At the same time, it is a new commandment that I am writing to you, which is true in him and in you, because the darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining. (1 Jn 2:7-8).” It’s not a new commandment in that it is as old as Moses. It’s really as old as creation, even as ancient at the very Being of God . But John wants us to realize that it is new in Jesus.

I recently re-read Tina Fey’s Bossypants which is a really fun read. I was reminded about the four rules of Improv. It sent me on an online search for the rules and I stumbled upon the 11 Commandments of Improv by Del Close. Del Close was a coach to many of the Saturday Night Live greats like Dan Aykroyd, Mike Myers, Tina Fey, Gilda Radner and dozens more. It’s amazing how these simple rules can help actors keep a flow of conversation and story going in their improvisational scenes. We’ve thought before that these guidelines could be beneficial in relationship and in our conversations. We’ve tried these out in our own friendship personally and as we do our work together. These rules of improv have helped us to get unstuck on more than on occasion. I’ll start by sharing Tina Fey’s 4 Rules of Improv and then we’ll describe a bit how each one works relationally: Agree…say YES Say yes…AND Make statements (as opposed to questions) There are no mistakes (only opportunities) Listen to the podcast to see how we unpack each of these in the context of relationships and conversations.

We’re talking about “Addiction” today. This isn’t so much about the substances, or relationships, or activities to which we find ourselves addicted. It’s more of a conversation about how the dynamics of addiction impact us. When we act on addictive impulses, it is like borrowing against future emotional resources. Having a few too many drinks to feel lighthearted or relaxed is like borrowing peace or joy from our future. Overeating as a source of comfort is like borrowing comfort from our future (leaving inevitable discomfort in my future). There is a physical reality that substance or behavior addictions stimulate or imitate certain brain chemicals in a way that results in less effective functioning of those parts of the brain next time. If I distract myself to avoid unpleasant feelings, I am borrowing concentration or focus from my future. If you resonate with the dynamics of addiction in some part of your life, this is an invitation to enter into the freedom of grace and our response of repentance. Let's freshen the meaning of this sometimes abused word: Repentance is simply a turning away from what is draining and damaging us and turning towards the One Who is Life.

What's it like to be a reservoir kind of person? Wouldn’t you like to live, relate and serve from a place of fullness, rather than continuing to pour out the last drop from your ever-emptying cup? We can learn how to treasure the goodness God is always pouring out to us, storing it up like a reservoir of abundance out of which we might bless and serve others without becoming empty. We can make space to let God fill our souls to the brim in relationship to him. This is how Jesus was able to accomplish all that he did. He often withdrew to receive love from the Father, to learn from him.

Engage with us as we talk about a dynamic that some will face in their spiritual journey, what John of the Cross called “The Dark Night of the Soul." It sounds kind of ominous and scary, but it’s actually just a place where our faith is given an opportunity for testing and refining. That doesn’t mean it feels good to us, but it is a good place. A while back, Alan wrote an article about the dark night for our blog. It’s one of our most visited posts. That’s because when you find yourself in a place like this, there’s a great thirst for insight and help.

Right now, we find ourselves in the season of Lent, and a few weeks ago, Alan wrote a blog post titled “Lent: An Invitation to True Satisfaction.” He said that, "In Lent, rather than aiming at acquisition, we aim for some form of openness or even empty space. Fasting results in empty stomachs. Self-denial can quiet our selfish ambition." But the “empty” here isn’t a vacuum. It is a welcoming of God’s presence. We open up space for God to be active in and through us. We seek to become quiet so that we can hear whatever He might wish to say. It’s a season of noticing our thirsts, and then bringing our thirsts into the presence of God. A passage in the Bible that brings this into focus for us is Psalm 42. It’s a passage we want to talk about as we address our thirsts. We will also pray through Psalm 63 at the end of the episode and we invite you to join in the prayer from your own heart.

We made our way through quite a few rooms of the Hermitage. The interiors were jaw dropping, the paintings gorgeous. And, as Alan said, he had been there before, so he knew when we were nearing the original painting we were most looking forward to seeing, which was Rembrandt's Prodigal Son. He gave me a brief warning as we turned the corner, "Get ready." We rounded the corner and entered the room completely devoted to Rembrandt's paintings. There it was, on its own wall, as we walked through the doorway. The original. Breathtaking. I waited a bit for the crowd to clear so I could get a close-up view for myself. A masterful work of art, depicting essential truths: The Father is waiting. He never gives up. He loves me. He is generous.

In this mini-sode, we want to share eight simple ways you can bless people. These are actually drawn from a resource we produced a year ago, called "Take Five: 17 Simple Ways to Serve Others." That was before we launched this podcast, so I wanted to share some of the helpful ideas with you all. These little "five minute" ideas aren't complex. That's actually the point. You could easily add plenty of other creative ways to bless another. We simply encourage you to do the good that God has put in your heart for the benefit of another. These mini-ministries can be done as you live your real, day-to-day life, including emailing, grocery shopping, driving, doing laundry and washing dishes.

Many years ago, I (Gem) was having a conversation with a very dear friend. As we interacted, she shared some insights about me that I had not directly told her before. No one could have known, because I had not shared with anyone. She was quite observant, but I was still surprised when she shared with me her thoughts. I asked her how she knew. She said, "I know you because I pray for you." I didn't really understand that fully at the time, but over the years I began to learn what she meant. The Lord had obviously led her to pray things for me that were core for me at the time. How is it possible to pray for someone that deeply without having been given a specific prayer request? What would it look like for Jesus invite us into his thoughts, ideas and desires for another person? How can we cooperate with Him as we pray for our friends and family? Using the text from Luke 5, we can practice carrying others to Jesus. He knows them, loves them, and will meet them right where they are.

Today, it is my delight to share a conversation that I had with Emily P. Freeman. As I've followed her on Instagram, read her blog and enjoyed her podcast - I've found her to be a true kindred spirit. She is singing the same song as as Unhurried Living - as she shares the message of small moment living in a face paced world. A little about Emily - She is a writer, creative director, and spiritual mentor who helps create space for the soul to breathe so people can walk in step with their calling. She is the Wall Street Journal bestselling author of Simply Tuesday and Grace for the Good Girl as well as Graceful and A Million Little Ways. She's been writing online for over 10 years and is the co-founder of a growing community for writers at hopewriters.com. She and her husband live in North Carolina with their three children. Connect with Emily online at emilypfreeman.com and on Instagram @emilypfreeman.

Today is the last in our five-part series where we've been responding to your answers to our poll question: "What is the biggest challenge you face right now in living a more unhurried life?" We received a whole grouping of answers that were all about life's seasons, stages and transitions. " We have the mom with young children at home trying to figure out how anything resembling unhurried time is even possible. " There's the student who is away at college, who feels the pressures of both school and family issues at home. " We have the parents of the college students who are feeling the effects of the empty nest. " There are those in the sandwich generation - caring for both aging parents and children at home. We've also heard from people who say that they can't meet with God in the same ways they used to. They keep working at an old practice that just doesn't seem fruitful anymore. Or they simply cannot make their way to what used to fill their soul. This conversation about seasons, stages and transitions can help us at any point in our lives. I (Gem) remember, at one point, well into my 30s, we were talking and I realized that we kept using the word "transition." "Oh, it feels like we are in another transition." We came to the realization that life was transition. We were always moving from season or stage to the next. Maybe our lives aren't about settling into a destination as much as continuing on a fruitful journey. So, rather than coming up with dozens of specific scenarios about people facing different seasons, stages or transitions, we're going to try to give a vision for the over-arching reality of what these seasons can feel like. Especially as it relates to when we try to carry standards, or expectations, or even practices from one season into the next. We are tempted to see our lives as monolithic. What works for me now will work for me always. Listen in for more on this…

This is the fourth in a five-part series sharing answers to the question: "What is the biggest challenge you face right now in living a more unhurried life?" Here are the questions on priorities that arose from our community: I want to be able to serve without overdoing it. How do we deal with the impulse to procrastinate as it relates to priorities? How do I deal with urgent things that aren't all that important? What about my relationship with time - managing time and finding time? We'll take a fresh look at the story of Mary & Martha. We'll dig deeper into the "why" of procrastination. We'll get a refresher course on Stephen Covey's Time Management Matrix. And, finally, we'll talk about our relationship with time itself.

Thanks for joining us today. You're really going to enjoy what our guest, JK Jones, has to share about what he's learned from the Monks. He wrote a book a while back titled: What the Monks Can Teach Us. We enjoyed sharing some of the ways that monastic writings, monastic communities and monastic practices have been a source of grace and wisdom for us in our journey with Jesus. You'll also appreciate his gracious, humble, pastoral spirit. JK Jones is Pastor of Spiritual Formation at Eastview Church in Normal, Illinois, and one of his roles is serving as pastor to the other pastors on staff. He and his wife, Sue, have two grown children and two grandchildren. Some of his favorite things in life are time alone with the Lord, teaching others about Jesus and the Jesus-following life, time with Sue and family, good coffee, riding my motorcycle, lifting weights, walking, listening to the hearts and minds of our good ECC staff, and reading great biographies.

Today is number three in a series where we are sharing answers to our survey question: “What is the biggest challenge you face right now in living a more unhurried life?” This week, we’re talking about “Distractions and Soul Busyness.” Let’s take a look a look at five of the questions that came up within this theme to see if we can find a little more freedom in our everyday lives. 1 - The internet and social media can eat up my time so quickly. How do I tame the beast? 2 - How do I say "no" to being busy? 3 - How do I break long established habits of "busy"? 4 - I'm bombarded with too much information to process. I make time each morning for prayer and focus on God, but am often too tired to feel alert and to really benefit. 5 - I want to focus this year on living a less distracted life. How do I do that? As you’ll see, over the course of our conversation, we can remember that our life is not out there somewhere waiting for us to grab it. My life is right here where I am, right here where God is present. As a reminder, we have an online course that can help you as you make some space to be in God’s presence. Alan has created 10 meditations on various Psalms. In the course, he’ll guide you into prayer as he reads the Psalm and gives you space to live into what it says. Enroll today in Encountering God in Scripture. There is a one Psalm, free version as well as a paid version with 10 Psalms. GO TO COURSE

Thank you for joining us today. Over the course of our first few episode of the new year, we are sharing answers to our poll question: “What is the biggest challenge you face right now in living a more unhurried life?” This is the second podcast in that series. Last week, we talked about “Nine Practical Challenges to Living Less Hurried.” This week, we’re talking about “Dealing with Workplace Stress.” Your primary workplace may be a corporate office, a home office, a retail business, a classroom, maybe even your home. The difference between this episode and last week’s is fairly simple: Last week we talked about challenges to unhurrying our lives that rise from within us. This week, we’re talking about challenges that arise from around us. These challenges come from the expectations of others, or the pattern of the culture in which we work and live. Be sure to visit us on our website.

Last year we polled our community and asked them a key question: “What is the biggest challenge you face right now in living a more unhurried life?” Very simple. Very practical. We got some great responses. We arranged the responses into five categories which will be the theme of some of our upcoming episodes. Those themes are:  Practical Challenges to Living Less Hurried  Dealing with Workplace Stress  Inner Distractions & Soul Busyness  Keeping First Things First  Noticing God in My Busy Life So that’s why today’s episode is titled “Nine Practical Challenges to Living Less Hurried.” Specifically, these are challenges that arise from within us. They are personal challenges and places of inward wrestling. Maybe you’ll see one of your struggles below. Listen in to see what we have to say about each one. Challenge #1 - Believing that rest and quiet is OK, maybe even good. Challenge #2 - My belief that I am what I do. This keeps me from focusing on who I am becoming. Challenge #3 - Developing self-discipline and self-confidence to live an unhurried life. Challenge #4 - Learning to be patient with myself and trusting Jesus to lead me into an unhurried life that reflects how he lived. Challenge #5 - Overcoming my guilt when I feel like I’m producing less because I slowed down. Challenge #6 - The anxiety I feel in uncertain situations. Challenge #7 - My preference for multi-tasking rather than doing one thing at a time. Challenge #8 - Knowing how to find quiet for my mind and heart and making contemplative time with God. Challenge #9 - My fear of looking inward. I stay busy to avoid my issues.

The Welcoming Prayer is a process that you can use on the go. It is useful for times when something comes up that makes you feel sad, hurt, or stressed. Sometimes, in the middle of a busy day, we don’t have time to address all of the emotions that come up. But we may notice here and there that an emotion is quite loud. We need a way to deal with it and continue on in our tasks or work. In just a few minutes, you can let the emotion come up and at the same time become aware of God’s presence. Then you can let it pass, and be on its way. You don’t need to argue with yourself or put up a defense. You can simply let go.

Great news - I have found a way to reduce much of the stress in my life. Actually, let me re-phrase that: A way to reduce much of the stress in my life found me. I wasn’t looking for this stress reducer, but it hit me like an 18-wheeler and set me on a new path. Much of the stress in my life is caused by my expectations, as well as my trying to control situations so they turn out the way I think they should. This happens consciously and unconsciously. Lovely. I want to address just one idea that may help ease any tension that may arise as you get together with others. And this is the cool part. It is not about them. This is something you can choose to do for yourself. And it may help you achieve peace even in the midst of what can be a busy season.

Well here we are in December. The Thanksgiving holiday is behind us and the Advent and Christmas season lies ahead. We hear the songs that are calling this the most wonderful time of the year, but it can sometimes feel like the busiest and most hurried time of the year. There are just so many details to solve, so many social gatherings, so many responsibilities. We can end up feeling so rushed that we’re unable to settle into the good news that this season is all about. And what is it all about? Jesus has come to be “God with us.” Immanuel. In my hurry, I forget that God is always with me thanks to the gift of Jesus’ life and the empowering presence of God’s Spirit helping me experience his presence. So, as a way to help us enter into this “God-with-us” reality, I want to share some thoughts about how to unhurry our holidays. A few years ago, when An Unhurried Life was published, I contributed to an article for the Christian post titled “Top 10 Ways to Have an Unhurried Christmas Season.” I’m going to take some time here to unpack those 10 ways in this episode. Now these suggestions are not meant to add a whole lot more tasks to your already-too-long holiday to do list. I’m hoping instead that you’ll find one or two of these ideas to be a way to approach this holiday season from a different spirit—with a more unhurried, relaxed, and peaceful heart. Our Ten Ways to Unhurry Your Holidays Summarized: Enjoy a few sips of your morning coffee or tea for five minutes without doing anything other than enjoying the moment. Take an evening walk in your neighborhood and enjoy the decorations that may be up. Make it a stroll. Feel the crisp air on your face. Engage all of your senses. As you are preparing to buy a gift for someone, slow down enough to ask yourself, "What would they enjoy? What would bless them, encourage them, enrich them, help them?" See if you can resist the temptation to make gift purchasing an exercise in efficiency, but rather an offering of love. Slow down enough to look a salesperson in the eye and thank them for their help. Bless them in the midst of what is a likely a very frantic season for them. Give yourself the gift of one morning to wake up without an alarm clock going off. Take a moment at the end of a day to think back over it. What are you grateful for? Say thanks. What was hard? Ask for help. What do you wish you did differently? Ask for forgiveness. Take the opportunity to spend a little time with someone whose needs are greater than yours. The needs might be financial, emotional, physical, etc. At a Christmas party or holiday gathering, be more present to others by listening well to what they are sharing. Ask questions that express interest and care. Take a moment to read the story about the birth of Jesus (Lk 2:1-21). The prophet Isaiah described Jesus as a child who would be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace. Which of these names hits closest to home for you? Carry it with you through this holiday season.

The ultimate reality is that we are loved by God, just as we are and as he made us (our true self). However, as we grow up, and over time, we begin to construct a false self. The false self is who we wish we were. It is the person we want others to think we are. We compensate for a world that is not what we thought it would be. Over time, we begin to believe the false self is actually us. But we grow tired under the weight of that mask. We need a way to come back to the true self and become more free. The Enneagram is a tool that helps us make our way into that process. Many times a day we move from true to false and back to true again. It is an ongoing process.

In this episode, we are talking about pain and loss. It is an inevitable part of all of our lives. We want to try to give some perspective on pain and how it can actually be viewed as a grace. If you are in the middle of deep pain right now, I’m sure that the word “grace” is not on the tip of your tongue. We are so sorry that you are so heavy and burdened right now. We hope you can hear this and tuck it away for a day when the pain or trial has subsided. Or maybe it will help give perspective in the midst. That would be our hope. You’ll see, in the stories we share today, that we have been through our own times of pain…trial…suffering…whatever you want to call it…difficult circumstances. We all go through times like this. Some of what we share today is from Alan’s book, An Unhurried Life, in a chapter titled, “Suffering: Unexpected Unhurrying.” One of the first books that Elton Trueblood wrote was titled, “The Essence of Spiritual Religion.” You can think of Trueblood as sort of the “Dallas Willard” of the early and middle part of last century. Listen to what he says along the lines of our theme today: “We know persons who have had new insights into the richness of life after the death of a much-loved child. We know many who have been struck by a loathsome disease and yet have so lived through the misery that the very disease has become an instrument of God’s grace. That is another way of saying it has become a sacrament. It is our task to oppose evil, but God, by His great mercy, is clearly able to lead us on to new heights by means of evil experiences if we are willing to open our lives to the divine influence. There is, then, a very deep sense in which anything at all can become an instrument for the enhancement of the life of the spirit.” Anything that has happened in our lives, no matter how hurtful or even evil, can actually become prayer when we bring it to God. God can work in absolutely any situation to redeem, to heal, to restore, to “grace” our lives. It’s our hope that you might find your way to bringing everything in your life, and especially those hurtful and broken places in your story into the presence of God’s grace. Be honest about how it hurts. See Jesus and his empathy for you as he himself suffers on the cross out of love for you and me.

Alan and Gem discuss developing a personal rhythm of life. It’s a practice they both have worked on over the years in their own spiritual journeys. In fact, the ideas shared grow out of a training piece Alan has shared with hundreds of leaders over the years. It’s one of the ways we can rise up out of the hurried and compacted world in which we live into a place of greater perspective and freedom. That’s always one of the ironies of freedom: It is not really something you can pursue directly. Freedom is the indirect fruit of discipline. We give examples of the Rhythms of Life of William Wilberforce, Mother Teresa, and Martin Luther King, Jr. And we’ll even share a brief version of our own Rhythms of Life. And we end with some great questions you can ask yourself as you create your own Rhythm of Life.

Alan Fadling talks with James Bryan Smith about his latest book, The Magnificent Story. We unpack what it means that the gospel of Jesus is good, beautiful and true here and now, not just someday. James Bryan Smith is the author of the trilogy: The Good and Beautiful God, The Good and Beautiful Life, and The Good and Beautiful Community. He is a theology professor at Friends University in Wichita, Kansas. He also serves as the director of the Apprentice Institute for Christian Spiritual Formation at Friends University. A founding member of Richard Foster's spiritual renewal ministry, Renovaré, Smith is an ordained United Methodist Church minister and has served in various capacities in local churches. His recent book is The Magnificent Story.

Today we are going to talk about practicing the presence of God in the midst of our real, and sometimes busy, lives. First by looking at Psalm 84, then we’ll move into the Stages of Competence, and, finally, ending up with seven practical tips for taking 5 minutes to become present in the middle of a busy day. If you want to read the transcripts for this podcast, you can access the content here: [Psalm 84: The Presence of God] (http://unhurriedliving.com/psalm-84-presence-god/) [Presence and the Stages of Competence] (http://unhurriedliving.com/presence-stages-competence/) [Take Five: 22 Simple ways to Enjoy God's Presence] (http://unhurriedliving.com/take-five/)

In this mini-sode, Alan shares a way of praying scripture that has become an important part of his spiritual rhythm. In a sense, it’s not just about “me praying scripture.” It’s also about God’s Spirit praying scripture into me. It’s a way of not only thinking about and studying scripture, but also letting scripture soak into my being—into our emotions, our intentions, our perspectives, our deep beliefs. It’s a way of encountering God in scripture. At the heart of his mini-sode is a six-minute guided prayer in Psalm 16:5-9. 5 Lord, you alone are my portion and my cup; you make my lot secure. 6The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance. 7I will praise the Lord, who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me. 8I keep my eyes always on the Lord. With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken. 9Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure… Subscribe to our emails for weekly inspiration, tips and resources.

BREATHE is a practice you can engage, for about 5 minutes, at any point in your day. It’s a helpful process of re-focusing and re-engaging. You can take a moment to breathe and to find some inner stillness in God’s presence. You can quiet your mind and heart for a moment and emerge refreshed and ready to move into your next task or conversation. It’s very difficult to be truly productive when you feel scattered or hurried. Mini-retreats like this can help you slow down, remember God's care, and bring you back into the moment.

Today, I talk with Suanne Camfield, author of The Sound of Million Dreams: Awakening to Who You are Becoming. You’ll enjoy our engaging conversation on the themes of: Being, Presence, Comparison, Becoming, and Truth. This is the passage from Suanne’s book that made me want to talk with her: “…the stirring was a moment: an awareness of the holy in the midst of the every day that simultaneously brought clarity and chaos to my space in the world. A feeling: of perpetual pressing, pushing, and pulling that happened and continues to happen all at once, a mystery not unlike the way we say the kingdom of God is both now and not yet, both here and yet to come, both with in us and among us, that was compelling me to do something. The vision: pathway for the future who’s specifics I couldn’t catch sight of but was certain existed nonetheless. And longing: an ache to offer a piece of myself to the world that held within it to the smallest hope of leaving a mark. An invitation: a solicitation to view life through a new lens, a kindling that burned so deeply I’d spend the next 10 years trying to figure it out. A calling. A dream. A gift. There was something I was supposed to do. There was a person I was supposed to become.” (bolded emphasis mine) If you recognize that moment, feeling, vision, longing and invitation, you’ll benefit from Suanne’s insights. And at the end of the podcast Alan & Gem drill down into Truth with a capital T and how opening to truth can lead to new places of healing. Suanne Camfield is women’s director at Christ Church of Oak Brook as well as a writer and speaker. She is also a founding member of the Redbud Writers Guild. Suanne frequently teaches communities of all ages at her church. She has written for multiple publications and was a contributor to the Every Day Matters Bible. Her latest book is The Sound of Million Dreams: Awakening to Who You are Becoming.

Today we are talking about Solitude and Silence or what we call Unhurried Time with God. But this is not just a “you should do it” talk. We are going to share stories from our own lives. From early on in our own experience and one from within the last month. We share these with you so you can see how we started out. We were in our late 20s and were just beginning our process of solitude and silence. Many of us unconsciously resist solitude because we don’t actually want to know what is going on inside of us, much less show it to God. We are also afraid of what he might say. Might give an assignment. Might express disappointment. We are hoping to encourage you to take whatever next step makes sense for you, whether this is a new practice or not. It’s ok to acknowledge that you are afraid. It’s ok to take a step toward broken or wounded parts of yourself. Our experience is that, if any of that stuff comes up in a time of solitude, that God is gracious. He will most likely meet you in that place in a way that is do-able for you. We have found that God meets us right where we are. He is not trying to cause further damage. He wants to bring healing. He wants to show you the depths of his love. But solitude and silence isn't only about facing ourselves. We have found that very often God simply wants to let you know how much he loves you. You can find rest, refreshment and new energy for your life. It is ultimately about relationship, however, and that should always be the focus. Simple presence. God with you and you with God.

Curiosity is one of the most important qualities in a good leader. We’ve seen the fruit of that counsel in our life and work. Today we share a conversation that Alan enjoyed with Casey Tygrett about his new book, Becoming Curious: A Spiritual Practice of Asking Questions. As a spiritual director, I have a bias for asking good questions. I love what Casey has written here, and it was a pleasure to interact with him about the journey that led to this book. We need to learn to resist the temptation to form easy answers when God might be leading us to live with a good question for a season. We give people a gift when we ask them a loving, thoughtful questions, and then give them the time is takes to listen well to their response. I hope you’ll enjoy today’s episode. Casey Tygrett is a pastor, blogger, adjunct seminary professor, and spiritual director who serves as the teaching pastor at Heartland Community Church in Rockford, Illinois. Casey's heart and passion is that writing is not just information, it can reveal the beauty of God as art. He is the author of Becoming Curious: A Spiritual Practice of Asking Questions.

“As a holy listener …. I have to put myself out of the way, to become humble in the true sense of knowing my place in the order of God’s creation …. above, all, I must be reverent, for I am entrusted with something precious and tender.” (Margaret Guenther) This is the essence of spiritual direction. Enjoy a conversation between Gem Fadling and Beth Booram, who is a seasoned spiritual director. Here are the questions discussed: • How do you meet with God? What is your personal experience tending your own prayer and contemplative life? • What is your favorite definition of spiritual direction? • Describe for me the art of listening to God and the other person at the same time? • How do you develop the skill of asking good questions? • What are the benefits of spiritual direction? • What do you talk about with a spiritual director? • When is a good time in life for someone to seek spiritual direction? • What is one piece of advice you would give to a practicing spiritual director? • What is one piece of advice you would give to someone who is currently in a spiritual direction relationship? Beth Booram, along with her husband David, is the founder and director of Sustainable Faith Indy, a retreat center in Indianapolis. She leads The School of Spiritual Direction, and speaks around the country on topics related to spiritual formation and Christian leadership. She has authored several books including Awaken Your Senses, and Starting Something New: Spiritual Direction for Your God-given Dream.

We’ve said before that at the heart of all we do is people. Where are the people? What do they need? How can we help them take their next step? One model we’ve used over the course of our lives is The Critical Journey by Janet Hagberg and Robert Guelich. Listen in as Alan and Gem describe the six stages in a life of faith. It is so helpful to see where you are in your journey. It can help you feel validated and understood. It can also help you to see where others are in their journey and give you eyes to see how to encourage them in their process. These stages are not prescriptive or limiting. They simply give vocabulary to our common developmental journey. And for leaders, it can be a helpful way to pray for those in our care.

In today’s episode, we share a recent phone conversation I (Alan) had with Pete Scazzero. We focused especially on his most recent book, The Emotionally Healthy Leader. It came out when I was writing the first draft of my latest book, An Unhurried Leader. I purposely waited to start reading it because I had a sense that there would be many points of resonance. I wanted to give voice to what was on my heart before hearing what God had put on Pete’s heart. I was right. I think you’ll hear how much Pete and enjoyed our first opportunity to talk with one another about the theme of unhurried life in the spirit of Jesus, about how the monastic tradition has been such a gift to both of us, and our hopes for healthier Christian leaders.

Most of us know how to teach for information, but how do you lead a team or group for transformation? On this week’s podcast we will share with you our approach and our methods, drawing on our 25 years of experience. Here are a few bullet points from our conversation: ¬ The importance of preparing who you are. ¬ Spiritual leadership as hospitality. Holding space for others. ¬ Making space for spiritual practices & encountering God. ¬ Unhurried Time with God explained and experienced. ¬ Right-sizing content to maximize formation. ¬ Informational teaching vs. formational teaching. ¬ “Process” thinking versus “event” thinking. If you want really unpack this with us, join us for our upcoming training: Leading for Transformation. In addition to the content above, we will also dig into An Unhurried Leader chapters on Working with God and Prayer as Primary Influence. Go to unhurriedliving.com/change for more information and to register.

Don't speed read the Bible if you want to sink into the friendship with God you can enjoy there. This podcast shares an unhurried way to engage scripture. In this podcast, I'll share a little personal story about my own daily engagement with scripture in my spiritual journey. I want to talk a bit about unhurried ways I’ve been seeking to come to the Bible in recent years. Last Spring, about 15 months ago, I began engaging a chronological Bible reading plan. I hadn’t ever read through the Bible that way and thought it might be a life-giving practice for me. I wrote about this on the Unhurried Living blog in January. Basically, what I did was listen to the chapters for a particular day while reading along in my print Bible. I’m sure, like you, reading the Bible in my mind goes faster than listening to the Bible read aloud. So listening as I read had a way of slowing me down and letting me sink a bit deeper into what I was hearing. Just the other day, I finished listening to and reading along with the whole Old Testament. (You don’t have to be much of a math expert to know that if it took me 15 months to finish the Old Testament on a one-year reading plan, I didn’t do this every single day). In recent weeks, I had begun to feel that this listening and reading along plan wasn’t proving to be as much a place of grace for me as it was for so long before. This happens with spiritual practices. In this podcast, I unpack my slowing down even further through the practice of Lectio Divina.

Gem shares a spiritual practice she's developed called, “SLOW.” It is an an acronym for STOP, LINGER, OBSERVE and WONDER. SLOW is a practice you can engage, in just a couple of minutes at any point in your day. It’s a helpful process of re-focusing and re-engaging. It’s very difficult to be truly productive when you feel scattered or hurried. Five-minute retreats can help you slow down, remember God's care, and bring you back into the moment. You can emerge refreshed, and ready to move forward into your next interaction or task. If any of you follow us on YouTube (which we highly recommend), you’ve seen our 5-Minute Retreat videos. SLOW is the most popular video on our channel. That’s why I want to share it with you now. If you are able, sit in a comfortable chair or simply stand still wherever you are. I will gently guide you through the steps of SLOW – STOP, LINGER, OBSERVE and WONDER.

“We need not have a position of influence to be a person of influence.” This isn’t a book just for people who are in organizational leadership roles. Leaders are influencers. God entrusts to each of us the privilege and responsibility to be persons of kingdom influence wherever he has planted us and in whatever relationships we find ourselves. One chapter is titled “Prayer as Primary Influence.” We may think of prayer as separate from the actual work and influence of our lives. We’ve found that it is actually an engine for our good work and godly influence. We can take fruitful action in prayer that would be impossible otherwise. Prayer as influence. Praying strategic and God-inspired prayers. One verse that has taught us a lot about unhurried influence is in Isaiah 30:15, “In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength” Salvation and strength are leadership categories—influence categories. In life, we want leaders who fix things (salvation) and take bold action (strength). What is surprising in Isaiah is where such salvation or strength comes to us. Repentance. Rest. Quietness. Trust. Not our first thoughts for where to find rescue or courage, but they are actually where kingdom salvation and strength are found. “What I’ve been discovering is that unhurried leadership is actually more fruitful because it is more unhurried, not in spite of that slower pace.” Unhurried isn’t just a nice place to visit between frantic seasons of frenetic work. It’s the relational way of Jesus to more fruitful work. Jesus walks with his Father, speaks the Father’s words, does the Father’s work. He goes slow enough to stay in that place. And he can teach us how to follow him.

Alan and Gem traveled to Chatsworth, CA and The Church at Rocky Peak. Alan took part in a conversational sermon with Pastor Dave Cox. Hear the heartbeat of Unhurried Living and get a taste of An Unhurried Leader. The Fadlings spent the first 8 years of their marriage and ministry at The Church at Rocky Peak. It was so fun to go back to visit and do a pre-launch of An Unhurried Leader. Enjoy this conversation between Alan and Pastor Dave as they talk about unhurried influence.

Is it possible to have a busy life that is also unhurried? Can our life with God and our work with God become more and more connected and fruitful? Listen to this week’s conversation with Dr. Carol Taylor, president of Evangel University in Springfield, Missouri, as we talk about what she’s learned in years of leadership.

Where do we find the abundant joy that Jesus promised to those who trust him? Do we work to acquire joy, or do we bring joy with us as we do our work? Listen to this week’s conversation with Jeff Spadafora of Halftime Institute as we discuss his new book “The Joy Model” to gain practical insights that will help you live a more joyful life.

What are some of the dynamics in work or ministry that get us hurried in soul? How can we engage in the work God gives us from a place of abundance rather than from brokenness? This week's conversation with Doug Fields will help. Listen as we discuss insights he's gained from over 30 years in youth ministry leadership and training of other youth pastors.

In the midst of our busy lives and our full schedules, what does it look like to tend our souls well? This week's conversation with Mindy Caliguire, founder of Soul Care, will help you with practical insights and guidance to better care for your life and relationships even in the midst of a very active life.

What does being a person of influence in the spirit of God's kingdom look like? How can we lead in our lives, our families, our workplace and our churches in the way of Jesus? This week's conversation with Todd Hunter will provide some on-the-ground wisdom that will help you do just that.

Welcome to the Unhurried Living Podcast! Unhurried Living exists to help people rest deeper and live fuller so that they can lead better. This is the first of eight episodes in Season 1. This season we’ll be talking with influencers such as Doug Fields of Download Youth Ministries, Mindy Caliguire of Soul Care, Jeff Spadafora from Halftime Institute, Carol Taylor, President of Evangel University, Pete Scazzero of Emotionally Healthy Spirituality and Todd Hunter of Churches for the Sake of Others. We can’t wait to share their insights, their experiences and even their wrestling at the intersection of spirituality and work. Alan’s new book, An Unhurried Leader, releases on June 19. And Season 1 leads right up to the launch. Now, as we always say busy is a matter of calendar and hurry is a matter of soul. Our culture’s fast pace can make it difficult to be present to God, to yourself and to others. We want you to be a person of fruitful influence in every sphere of your life. However, in the midst of all we do, sometimes we’re tempted to frantically take control of situations in hopes of making good things happen. In our writing, our training and now in our podcast, we want to help you deepen the connection between your personal walk with God and the very real demands of your life and work. As we mentioned earlier, in Season 1, we are focusing on Unhurried Influence to highlight Alan’s upcoming book. So, in these conversations, we will unfold what it means for people to let Jesus set the pace. Through biblical illustrations, personal examples, and on-the-ground practical wisdom, this book and these podcast interviews will guide you into a new view of kingdom influence. Along the way, you just might find that the whole of your life has been transformed into a more livable and fruitful pace. In season 1, we’ll tackle some key questions: • How does your life with God inform your relationships and work? • How do you experience prayer leading to action? And – How do you experience action as the fruit of prayer?  • How do you see spiritual formation and influence as interwoven? • What challenges do you face in integrating your own spiritual formation and your work? • What practices help you keep your inner and outer life more integrated and what good fruit does such an integration bear? We hope you’ll join us soon for this first season of the unhurried living podcast. We hope to be a source of encouragement, inspiration, fresh vision and strength for your life. And we also hope you’ll head on over to Amazon.com and pre-order An Unhurried Leader. We would love for you to rediscover the genius of Jesus’ unhurried way of life. You can signup for our weekly emails by going to unhurriedliving.com. Put your name and email in the pop-up and you’ll receive a free ebook --- Take Five: 22 Simple Ways to Enjoy God’s Presence. And be sure to check out Episode 1 of Season 1 of the Unhurried Living Podcast. It will air the first week of May. Together, we’ll learn to rest deeper, live fuller and lead better.

Welcome to the Unhurried Living Podcast! Unhurried Living exists to help people rest deeper and live fuller so that they can lead better. We’re sharing this mini-episode as an introduction to Season 1 of our podcast. In the eight episodes of Season 1 we’ll be talking with influencers such as Doug Fields of Download Youth Ministries, Mindy Caliguire of Soul Care, Jeff Spadafora from Halftime Institute, Carol Taylor, President of Evangel University, Pete Scazzero of Emotionally Healthy Spirituality and Todd Hunter of Churches for the Sake of Others. We can’t wait to share their insights, their experiences and even their wrestling at the intersection of spirituality and work. Alan’s new book, An Unhurried Leader, releases on June 19. And Season 1 leads right up to the launch. Now, as we always say busy is a matter of calendar and hurry is a matter of soul. Our culture’s fast pace can make it difficult to be present to God, to yourself and to others. We want you to be a person of fruitful influence in every sphere of your life. However, in the midst of all we do, sometimes we’re tempted to frantically take control of situations in hopes of making good things happen. In our writing, our training and now in our podcast, we want to help you deepen the connection between your personal walk with God and the very real demands of your life and work. As we mentioned earlier, in Season 1, we are focusing on Unhurried Influence to highlight Alan’s upcoming book. So, in these conversations, we will unfold what it means for people to let Jesus set the pace. Through biblical illustrations, personal examples, and on-the-ground practical wisdom, this book and these podcast interviews will guide you into a new view of kingdom influence. Along the way, you just might find that the whole of your life has been transformed into a more livable and fruitful pace. In season 1, we’ll tackle some key questions: • How does your life with God inform your relationships and work? • How do you experience prayer leading to action? And – How do you experience action as the fruit of prayer?  • How do you see spiritual formation and influence as interwoven? • What challenges do you face in integrating your own spiritual formation and your work? • What practices help you keep your inner and outer life more integrated and what good fruit does such an integration bear? We hope you’ll join us soon for this first season of the unhurried living podcast. We hope to be a source of encouragement, inspiration, fresh vision and strength for your life. And we also hope you’ll head on over to Amazon.com and pre-order An Unhurried Leader. We would love for you to rediscover the genius of Jesus’ unhurried way of life. You can signup for our weekly emails by going to unhurriedliving.com. Put your name and email in the pop-up and you’ll receive a free ebook --- Take Five: 22 Simple Ways to Enjoy God’s Presence. And be sure to check out Episode 1 of Season 1 of the Unhurried Living Podcast. It will air the first week of May. Together, we’ll learn to rest deeper, live fuller and lead better.