Becoming Bridge Builders

Brad Wolfe emerges in this conversation as a cultivated practitioner of what might be called compassionate alchemy: transmuting sorrow into song, and private mourning into public service. He recounts, with the restraint of a memoirist and the fervor of an advocate, how a childhood intimacy with a friend named Sarah and her two-year battle with Ewing sarcoma pivoted his fear of death into a vocatio...

A murder mystery can lead people back to Jesus — that’s the powerful idea we dig into with award‑winning author Paul Hedworth and his novel Prophetic Redemption. I sit down with Paul, a retired law enforcement commander, as we unpack how a gripping thriller that mixes justice, grief and spiritual warfare became a vessel for people to reconnect with God — even helping a reader battling cancer find...

We get straight to the heart of it: we unpack how infertility and modern family-building — donor conception and surrogacy — collide with faith, grief, and the urgent need for churches and communities to offer real, compassionate support. I talk with Leslie Lopez, who walks us through six years of fertility treatments, the heartbreak of a stillbirth, and ultimately becoming a mother through donor c...

The central thesis articulated at the outset asserts that the most formidable impediment to efficacious leadership is not a deficit of technical acumen or material resources but rather an attenuated capacity for self‑awareness, a proposition he advances with clinical clarity and theological nuance. Kurt Bush, who he introduces as a certified Internal Family Systems practitioner, trauma‑informed co...

He was driving toward a cliff. Literally. Then he made a U-turn. That moment is where this conversation starts — and it's only the beginning of the story. Dr. Erika Horowitz, psychologist, mindfulness teacher, and author of Improbable and Extraordinary , walks us through her brother's jaw-dropping reversal: from untreated bipolar disorder, addiction, and near suicide to steady, sustained recovery....

What does it look like to find hope when fear arrives from two directions at once? In this episode, Cindy Eich shares how her family faced a son’s deployment to Afghanistan and her daughter Kendall’s grade 4 brain cancer diagnosis at the same time. Rather than collapse, they pivoted. Kendall chose joy. She set a simple goal, to visit all 50 states, and turned a terrifying season into a movement of...

A marriage can become a refuge from the chaos of the world if you fiercely protect your “monument” — that’s the big, early truth Galen Wilson lays down. I sit with Galen (a heart‑transplant survivor) and hear how he and Heather turned their relationship into a deliberate sanctuary: eye‑gazing, affectionate touch, and a sacred cue word — “monument” — that stops fights before they wreck trust. You’l...

Everything you've been told about talking to someone with dementia might be wrong: it's not stubbornness or malice, it's brain change — so the smarter move is to join their reality instead of trying to correct it. I sit down with Lisa, a behavioral specialist who’s spent 30+ years in the trenches (and had eight family members affected), and she breaks down how dementia erodes short‑term/executive...

What do you do when everything you’ve built crumbles and the love of your life vanishes? Well, today, we dive deep into the heart of grief and discover how to transition from merely surviving to truly living again. Our guest, Dr. Tina Fronwald, has navigated the choppy waters of loss, from battling breast cancer to facing the unexpected death of her husband after 32 years of marriage. Instead of l...

What if learning to die well could actually teach us to live better? That’s the big question we’re diving into today with JoAnne Chitwood, a seasoned hospice nurse with nearly 40 years of experience. Joanne’s seen it all—extraordinary courage, profound grace, and heartbreaking goodbyes—so she’s got some serious wisdom to share on how we can navigate the end of life with compassion and dignity. We...

What sets transformational leaders apart from the good ones? Is it all about knowledge, experience, or that magnetic charisma? Nah, it’s much deeper than that. Today, we’re diving into the nitty-gritty of leadership with our guest, Chris March, who’s been around the block—leading teams on three continents and advising some pretty big names. If you’ve ever felt stuck between knowing what needs doin...

Sometimes, you hit a moment in life where everything just feels like it’s about to shift, and you’re left wondering how to make that pivot. That’s where our conversation today dives in. We’re chatting with Dr. Wayne D. Wilson, a pro at guiding leaders through transformation—not just with strategy, but with genuine connection and integrity. He breaks down his “pivot process,” which helps folks tran...

Today, we dive headfirst into a heartfelt conversation with Julia Melanson, author of the poignant memoir *Not Yours to Keep*. She shares her incredible journey of reconnecting with her birth mother, exploring themes of identity, love, and the resilience of women across generations. With profound reflections on adoption, Julie highlights how her experiences shaped her understanding of family and t...

Stress doesn’t have to be our enemy, and Dr. Steven Stein is here to drop some serious wisdom on how to make it work for us instead. As a world-renowned clinical psychologist and emotional intelligence pioneer, he’s spent years helping folks thrive under pressure, and today, he’s sharing his insights on hardiness—a mindset that can turn stress into a stepping stone for achievement. We dive deep in...

What happens when leadership stops being inspiring and starts getting lonely? That's the big question we tackle today with Reverend Kevin T. Taylor, who brings a fresh perspective on what it really means to lead with integrity and responsibility. You see, leadership isn’t just about the glitz and glam of influence or charisma; it’s about stewardship—carrying the weight of authority when the stakes...

You ever stepped into a packed church and felt like you were the only one without a buddy? Yeah, that’s a real vibe, and it’s one of the biggest hurdles churches are facing today. We’re diving into this crucial conversation about how to not just get people through the doors, but to genuinely connect them, creating a space where they truly belong. Today, we’ve got the incredible Dustin Dozier on th...

What if I told you that the biggest hurdle to your organization's success might just be a blind spot lurking in plain sight? Today, we’re diving into that very idea with Hacia Atherton, the trailblazing first female CEO of a major plumbing company in Australia. Hacia’s journey—one that includes surviving a near-fatal accident—has fueled her mission to transform workplace cultures into safer, more...

Ever thought about the lonely life of a pastor? Well, today we’re diving headfirst into the isolation that often comes with leadership. We’ve got Rev. Jeff Meyer, a seasoned executive coach and pastor, sharing some serious wisdom on this not-so-glamorous side of leading. You’ll hear about why many leaders struggle to ask for help and how forming trusted relationships can be a total game changer. W...

Today, we’re diving into the world of thriving with Dr. Lee Baucom, the man behind the Thrive 15 Strategies to Building a Thriving Life. With over three decades of experience helping folks break free from just surviving to genuinely thriving, he’s got the goods on building meaningful relationships and finding purpose. We’re talking real talk about what it means to create a life filled with resilie...

What do pastoring a church and serving as an FBI special agent have in common? Far more than you might think. In this engaging and eye-opening episode of Becoming Bridge Builders , we sit down with Eric Robinson , who made the extraordinary leap from 12 years in pastoral ministry to over two decades with the FBI. From SWAT tactics and counterterrorism to protecting children, Eric’s work required h...

Imagine if the way we design learning could shift from just delivering content to genuinely connecting with learners on a personal level. That’s the essence of our chat with Jackie Pelegrin, a passionate instructional designer who believes in the power of empathy and intention in education. Instead of merely focusing on what students need to know, Jackie encourages us to think about how we can mak...

The essence of growth isn’t always about what happens to us; often, it’s about how we interpret those experiences. That's the heart of today’s discussion with Federico Malatesta, who transitioned from leading a massive investment portfolio to becoming a transformational coach. He challenges us to consider whether the stories we tell ourselves about our circumstances are the true obstacles to our g...

What if the hurdles thrown your way became the very spark that lit a fire under you? In this deeply inspiring episode of Becoming Bridge Builders , we are joined by Daniel Hodges —a lawyer, advocate, and founder who was born blind and lives with a rare connective tissue disorder. Rather than letting societal limitations dictate his path, Daniel flipped those barriers on their head, channeling his...

Leadership isn't just about strutting around like you own the place; it's more about having the guts to jump into the deep end when you're not even sure if there's water in the pool. In a world where tough conversations often feel like navigating a minefield, Tess Fialka, a leadership coach and author, joins us to spill the beans on her new book, "Walking the Leadership Ledge." We dive into the ni...

What if the ultimate test of leadership isn’t your ability to win an argument, but your capacity to build a bridge in the middle of a crisis? In this masterclass episode, we sit down with Doug Noll, a lawyer turned professional peacemaker, who has spent over two decades mediating high-stakes disputes and even training maximum-security inmates to de-escalate violence. Doug pulls back the curtain on...