Spiritual Life and Leadership

Abraham Kuyper was a man who tried to live his whole life by these teachings of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount. He took the teachings of Jesus seriously and tried to live this all-of-life discipleship as a theologian, as a journalist, as an education reformer, and even as the Prime Minister of the Netherlands (a position he held 1901-1905). In this interview, Brant Himes, who wrote For a Better...

You are already blessed. In the Beatitudes, Jesus wasn’t giving us a list of rules to follow so that we could be blessed. Jesus was declaring whom the kingdom of heaven was for. He was announcing good news—that those that the world considers cursed are already blessed because the kingdom of heaven has come near. THIS EPISODE’S HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDE: The core of Jesus’ message was, “Repent, for the ki...

Several years ago, Pete Seiferth’s church was feeling a bit down about declining attendance, declining giving, and all kinds of other declining. So they prayed. They prayed that God would send people to them. And God answered their prayer. Except that the people God sent were not the people they were expecting. Rather than sending more middle-class white people, God sent African refugees and asylu...

Christiana Rice shares a powerful image. God is a woman giving birth and we are the midwife attending to God and to the new life that is coming into the world.  That’s the image we’ll be unpacking in this episode of Spiritual Life and Leadership.  It’s not an image that normally comes to mind when we think about God. But it certainly isn’t unbiblical. Listen to how God describes himself (herself?)...

Kaye Schneider cares about spiritual transformation. So often, churches focus primarily on giving people information—theology, apologetics, Bible studies, etc.  Information is good, but information doesn’t necessarily lead to deep transformation. In this episode, Kaye Schneider shares about how the Twelve Steps have deepened her own discipleship and how she now uses the Twelve Step process to help...

This sermon on Jonah 2:1-10 explores God's presence with us in our darkest places. What do we do when we find ourselves in times of great suffering? What do we do when we feel like we’re in a pit? When we feel like we’re inside the belly of a fish–a place of darkness, hopelessness, and death? Jonah faced that same question and discovered the only thing he could do was surrender. And by surren...

Geoff Hsu knows that how we think about the Gospel affects everything else. It affects the way we think about God.  It affects the way we relate to others.  It affects our leadership. What does the Gospel we believe tell us about God?  About ourselves?  About the world? What role does guilt and shame play in our understanding of the Gospel?  How do forgiveness and grace fit into the Gospel we beli...

Micah Lunsford believes that when it comes to following Jesus, thoughtfulness matters. It matters because God wants more than just our actions. God wants our hearts and our minds, too. In this episode, Micah Lunsford, the Founding Director of Resonance Journal , shares about why thoughtfulness and contemplation are so important for the spiritual life.   THIS EPISODE’S HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDE: Micah Lun...

When Bobby Benavides, a California native, went on a short-term mission trip to rural West Virginia in 2003, he never imagined God would call him to stay and serve there for the next fifteen years.  I should say, fifteen years and counting!  Bobby has no plans to leave any time soon.  It was through this experience that Bobby discovered the profound importance of listening to God and living into o...

Mario DeMatteo’s life was turned upside down in more ways than one when he suddenly became a quadriplegic. It was tragedy, to be sure. But it turned out to be the thing that drew Mario closer to God and set his life on a new trajectory publishing graphic novels that tell the stories of the scriptures in a sci-fi universe. Listen as Mario DeMatteo shares about how God used his tragedy then and is u...

Jim Mullins is the Pastor of Theological and Vocational Formation at Redemption Church in Tempe, AZ. He’s also the Director of the Faith, Work, and Rest Initiative of the Surge Network in the Phoenix area. But what you really need to know about Jim is that he cares about people. In this episode, Jim Mullins talks about his rich theology of God’s mission and how we are called to participate in God’...

Jason Coker, pastor of First Christian Church in Oceanside, California, shares about a ministry called Two Shirts. Even though it doesn’t exist anymore, it beautifully captures what God wants to do in the world—healing and wholeness for the whole world. Jason and I discuss this very creative ministry, Jason’s journey of discovering the gospel in a much bigger way than he had ever understood it bef...

What is the mission of God?  As we read the scriptures, we discover a word that captures what God is working to bring about.  That word is shalom –a comprehensive sense of well-being that touches every aspect of life.  God wants to bring healing and wholeness to the whole world in every way.  This is the mission of God that we are invited to join.   THIS EPISODE’S HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDE: Starting new...

The fourfold nature of shalom involves four key relationships--our relationship with God, with each other, with the created order, and within ourselves.   THIS EPISODE’S HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDE: I was involved in Campus Crusade for Christ when I was in college.  When I learned to share the Four Spiritual Laws, I was told, “Don’t focus on abundant life.  Just focus on eternal life.” When God created the...

Why am I calling this podcast Spiritual Life and Leadership ? Because the church needs leaders whose lives are characterized by a life of deep spirituality and union with Jesus. Yes, leadership techniques are valuable and church growth strategies can be helpful. But if those who are called to lead God’s people into God’s mission are not deeply connected to the heart of Jesus, the church and the wo...