Mere Christians

Jordan Raynor sits down with João Branco, CMO of Arcos Dorado (Brazil), to talk about how creating “delicious, feel-good moments” connects to God’s work in the world, the simple routine he performs each morning to remind himself of his why before work, and the brilliant, practical exercise he took his team through to pivot their marketing plans during the pandemic. Links Mentioned: João Branco Joã...

Jordan Raynor sits down with Amy Downs, CEO of Allegiance Credit Union, to talk about what she prayed while buried in the rubble of the OKC bombing, her 4 steps to practicing hope, and how to cultivate self-awareness. Links Mentioned: Amy Downs on LinkedIn Amy Downs on Facebook Amy Downs on Twitter Amy Downs Allegiance Credit Union Hope Is a Verb Getting Things Done Hope Rising Radical Candor No R...

Jordan Raynor sits down with Ali Llewellyn & Nick Skytland, NASA Innovators, to talk about the two unique advantages the Church has for shaping the future of the world, how to cast vision based on future possibilities rather than the familiar past, and why interdependence is a key to mastery. Links Mentioned: Ali Llewellyn on Twitter Nicholas Skytland on Twitter Nicholas Skytland on LinkedIn NASA...

Jordan Raynor sits down with Jon Acuff, Author of Soundtracks , to talk about Yanni, 3 questions to ask of every soundtrack, and how to teach kids about the goodness of work. Links Mentioned: Jon Acuff on Twitter Jon Acuff on Instagram Jon Acuff on LinkedIn Jon Acuff Jon Acuff Books Soundtracks Soundtracks All it Take is a Goal Podcast Stuff Christians Like The Voice of The Heart War of Art A Tech...

Jordan Raynor sits down with Cal Newport, Author of A World Without Email , to talk about how we can escape the tyranny of our email inboxes, how his career as a writer started with a college dare, and why he hears from pastors more than almost anyone else about Deep Work and Digital Minimalism. Links Mentioned: Cal Newport Cal Newport on Twitter Deep Questions Podcast Deep Work Digital Minimalism...

Jordan Raynor sits down with Emily Ley, Founder of Simplified, to talk about why she volunteered to cut 40% of her revenue, the magic of “batch planning,” and why Christ-followers should be the boldest people on the planet. Links Mentioned: Emily Ley on LinkedIn Emily Ley on Twitter Emily Ley on Instagram Simplified Simplified on Instagram The Simplified Podcast Growing Boldly The Four Winds Essen...

Jordan Raynor sits down with Janeen Uzzell, COO of Wikipedia, to talk about how Janeen manages the tension between “hustling” and “trusting” in God, how to build diverse teams that boost your bottom line, and what it looks like to show your kids that you really believe in them. Links Mentioned: Janeen Uzzell Janeen Uzzell on Twitter Lin-Manuel Miranda Black Enterprise Paula Madison Mercy Ships Cal...

Jordan Raynor sits down with Dr. Caroline Leaf, Cognitive Neuroscientist, to talk about a 5 step neurocycle that can help us live out Paul’s command to renew our mind and take every thought captive, the spirituality of science, and what we can learn about mental health from Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. Links Mentioned: Dr. Caroline Leaf Dr. Caroline Leaf on Twitter Dr. Caroline Leaf on YouTu...

Jordan Raynor sits down with Candace Cameron Bure, Actress, to talk about the origins of her signature phrase, “Oh Mylanta,” how practically she initiates conversations about faith in the workplace, and the sign in her church that changed her perspective on Hollywood. Links Mentioned: Candace Cameron Bure on Twitter Candace Cameron Bure on Instagram Candace Cameron Bure on Facebook Candace Cameron...

Jordan Raynor sits down with Sam Verghese, the COO of Florida Virtual School, to talk about the leadership lessons he learned scaling-up to serve 10X number of students in just a few months, why Sam has chosen to dissent from the Kingdom of Noise of news and social media, and the significance of the fact that Jesus focused his ministry in a single geographic setting. Links Mentioned: Assessment: j...

Jordan Raynor sits down with Dr. Nido Qubein, President of High Point University, to talk about his story of emigrating to the U.S. from the Middle East, 3 things he did to cause his university to grow 5% during COVID while the average university lost 16% of its enrollment, and the two other lists he keeps handy in addition to his to-do list. Links Mentioned: Assessment: jordanraynor.com/learn Dr....

Jordan Raynor sits down with Francine Rivers, Author of Redeeming Love , to talk about her involvement in the upcoming Redeeming Love film, Francine’s 3-year bout of writer’s block, and the striking parallels in her life story and that of C.S. Lewis’s. Links Mentioned: Francine Rivers Redeeming Love Redeeming Love: The Companion Study A Path to Redeeming Love A Voice in the Wind Lineage of Grace A...

Jordan Raynor sits down with Chris Carneal, Founder of Booster Enterprises, to talk about what he learned in going from 1,000 full-time employees down to 140 due to the pandemic and how they’ve rebuilt to nearly 400, how Booster makes the Kingdom winsome to their public school customers, and why Chris doesn’t go into the office until late morning. Links Mentioned: The Christian Entrepreneur eBook...

Jordan Raynor sits down with Darryl Strawberry, Former MLB All-Star, to talk about the remarkable story of how he went from a drug-addicted baseball star to evangelist, how Darryl submitted himself to the indirect mentorship of Billy Graham, and the power of praying mothers. Links Mentioned: Jordan's weekly devotional, The Word Before Work Darryl Strawberry on Instagram Darry Strawberry on Twitter...

Jordan Raynor sits down with Brad Lomenick, Former President of Catalyst, to talk about the difference between cultural and biblical hustle, how to be an exceptional, service-driven networker, and how to “crush The Now until you get to The Next.” Links Mentioned: Jordan's weekly devotional, The Word Before Work Brad Lomenick on Twitter Brad Lomenick on LinkedIn Brad Lomenick on Instagram Brad Lome...

Jordan Raynor sits down with Wendy Speake, Author of The 40-Day Social Media Fast , to talk about how she sold 100K+ copies of her first self-published book, the moment she heard God tell her to “hone her craft,” and the impact “social media fasts” are having on Christ-followers. Links Mentioned: Wendy Speake Wendy Speake on Twitter Triggers The 40-Day Social Media Fast The 40-Day Sugar Fast Life...

Jordan Raynor sits down with Kara Holden, Writer of Disney+’s Clouds , to talk about why Bob Iger was so adamant about distributing Clouds, the significance of Jesus as “the God who tells stories,” and why you should always take a glass of water in an interview. Links Mentioned: Kara Holden Kara Holden on Twitter Clouds Hamilton Disney+ Gilmore Girls Saved by the Bell Step by Step Soul Surfer Clue...

Jordan Raynor sits down with Mark Batterson, Author of Win The Day and Lead Pastor, National Community Church, to talk about the 5 levels of highlighting Mark uses when reading thousands of books, what the “law of requisite variety” means for us and our need to switch up routines, and how your uniqueness is a testament to God’s creativity—not your value. Links Mentioned: Mark Batterson Mark Batter...

Jordan Raynor sits down with Nona Jones, Head of Faith-Based Partnerships at Facebook, to talk about her traumatic upbringing and how that’s impacted her life and work, how to cultivate curiosity on the path to mastery, and the importance of budgeting time to reflect in between meetings. Links Mentioned: Nona Jones Nona Jones on LinkedIn Nona Jones on Facebook Nona Jones on Instagram

Jordan Raynor sits down with Ronnie Andrews, CEO of Oncocyte (NYSE American: OCX), to talk about why it matters that Jesus met people first physically, then emotionally, and lastly spiritually, the impact phone vacations have had on his life, and why the next 10 years of cancer research will be more fruitful than the last 100. Links Mentioned: Ronnie Andrews on Twitter Ronnie Andrews on LinkedIn O...

Jordan Raynor sits down with Sherron Watkins, Former Vice President, and Enron Whistleblower, to talk about her experience blowing the whistle on Enron, how mastery puts us “in the room where it happens,” and the tremendous advice her pastor gave her when she was considering leaving Enron to go into more overt forms of ministry. Links Mentioned: Sherron Watkins Sherron Watkins on LinkedIn Master o...

Jordan Raynor sits down with Scott Stephenson, CEO of Verisk Analytics (VRSK), to talk about how to cultivate innovative ideas, how Christians can be both “ambitious and humane” in business, and the story that convinced Scott to say the name of Jesus whenever possible, even when leading a public company. Links Mentioned: Scott Stephenson on LinkedIn Verisk Analytics Forbes Zero to One BCG N.T Wrig...

Jordan Raynor sits down with Lorin & Kyle Van Zandt, Co-founders of MISSIO Hair, to talk about the difference between Product Market Fit and Impact Market Fit, the top lesson they’ve learned working with Chip and Joanna Gaines’ Magnolia brands, and how to work in light of the assured victory of Christ. Links Mentioned: MISSIO Hair on Instagram MISSIO Hair Dream Center Praxis Magnolia Market The Sp...

Jordan Raynor sits down with David Ragan, a thirteen-year veteran NASCAR driver, to talk about how he is responding to instances of racism in NASCAR, how disconnecting from all news and noise brought him clarity about retiring from racing, and why he sets concrete goals with his 6 and 4 year-olds. Links Mentioned: David Ragan David Ragan on Twitter NASCAR Dave Ramsey Luke LeFevre Luke LeFevre on C...

Jordan Raynor sits down with Marcus Brotherton, four-time New York Times best-selling biographer, to talk about the important distinction between preaching Jesus and showing “the ministry of Jesus Christ” through our work, why Marcus pivoted from pastoral ministry to “secular” journalism, and how Christians should respond to career setbacks. Links Mentioned: Marcus Brotherton on Facebook Marcus Br...