Summit After the Storm | Leadership, Faith and Resilience Podcast

My son came over for dinner last night. And it hit me. Jackson turns 22 this summer. And somehow… it doesn’t feel that long ago… that he was just a kid running around the house. But life moves fast. He’s grown now. Got his own life. His own schedule. And when he comes over… it means something. Because it doesn’t happen every day anymore. And the younger kids? They light up. They love it when their...

I ran 11 laps around the field on Saturday. No walking. Because before the game Thursday night… a deal was made. For every hit the team got… I’d run a lap. Sounded simple enough. Until they showed up… and got 11 hits. So after practice… it was time to pay up. Lap after lap. Just under an 8-minute mile pace. Not trying to set records… but not taking shortcuts either. All the way to the back fence…...

We broke the losing streak. And I’ll tell you… it felt good. But this game? This was about more than the score. We jumped out early. They answered. We took the lead. They tied it back up. 8–8. And we knew… this game was going to come down to one inning. The boys stepped up. Put up five runs. Gave us a shot. But that’s not what made this game special. Because the entire game… we were being tested....

I bought test tubes the other day. Not for work. Not for science. For my wife. Life in the valley can get routine. Work. Kids. Schedules. Responsibilities. And if you’re not intentional… you start going through the motions. So I decided to mix it up. I started leaving clues around the house for Amanda. Hidden messages. Playful notes. A little flirty. And if you know us… chemistry is kind of our th...

I worked out again today. Part of it? I might have to run a lot of laps Thursday. But something happened today I didn’t expect. An old friend from college called me. We hadn’t talked in seven years. Before COVID. Before life got busy. Before everything started moving so fast. And just like that… we picked up right where we left off. We laughed. Talked about the old days. Remembered some of the fun...

We got swept. But we’re getting better. Before the game, my wife told the team: “Coach Bart is running a lap for every hit.” And I’ll be honest… it worked. We started swinging the bats. Putting the ball in play. Competing differently. We only had one official hit… but that doesn’t tell the full story. Because we were making contact. Applying pressure. Getting closer. And then came the moment. Top...

It’s easy to see what everyone else is doing wrong. Harder to look in the mirror… and realize it might be you. We just wrapped up a relationship series at church… and I’ll be honest— it forced me to take a long, hard look at myself. Because most of the time… we don’t treat people the way we want to be treated. We treat people the way they treat us. Short with us? We get short back. Disrespect us?...

We’re 1–5. And we lost another tough one. We were leading early. Played better defense. Pitched well enough. Made fewer mistakes. And still… we lost. After the game, I asked the team: “What did we do well?” And one of the boys said: “Nothing.” And honestly… I could relate. Because in the valley… when you’re not winning… it doesn’t just feel like you’re losing. It feels like nothing is working. Not...

I’ve got a lot going on right now. And none of it feels easy. I’m learning something new… App development. And I’ll be honest… there’s a real learning curve. New systems. New language. New way of thinking. And at the same time… life doesn’t slow down. Last night I was out hitting baseballs with Noah and Rhys. One of the boys wanted extra reps. So we showed up. Put in the work. And then there’s the...

I’m not going to lie… I’m feeling it today. Sore. Tired. Slower than I used to be. And the truth is… I’m not doing less. I’ve been pushing more. Running. Workouts. Trying to get in shape for what’s ahead. But this morning… my body reminded me of something. I’m not getting younger. And I feel it more than I used to. And that took me back to Kilimanjaro. Because there were mornings on that mountain…...

We couldn’t hit the ball. Not all night. They had a pitcher throwing heat… and we just couldn’t catch up. One single. That was it. And still… we almost won. So we had to find another way. We got aggressive. Stealing bases. Pushing the pace. Creating pressure. We stole home. Forced mistakes. Got runners in the pitcher’s head. And it worked. Until it didn’t. I sent two runners home… both got out at...

It rained Friday night. So Saturday morning… the messages started coming in. “Are we still practicing?” “Is the field open?” We only had one practice scheduled this week. And by the time I had a chance to cancel… it was already too late. Parents were on the way. Kids were getting ready. So I said, “We’re practicing.” And if I’m being honest… if I wasn’t coaching… I probably wouldn’t have gone eith...

We’re 1–3. And if I’m being honest… there have been moments this season where I wasn’t sure I was the right guy for the job. I didn’t plan to be a head coach this year. I prefer being the loud parent in the stands. Cheering. Encouraging. Maybe questioning an umpire call from the peanut gallery. But when the season needed coaches… I stepped in. And I’ve questioned that decision more than once. But...

Did I cost us the game? That’s the question I couldn’t shake after Monday night. We only have one game this week… so I’ve had a lot of time to think about it. One moment. One decision. A kid hits a bomb. I’m coaching third. I send him home. I knew it would be close. At this age… most of the time that play works. Bad throw. Dropped ball. Something goes your way. But this time… it didn’t. He hesitat...

It started as a joke. A “yo’ mama” roasting contest between my boys. And at first… it was funny. Rhys is 10. Noah turns 12 next month. So when they asked me to judge… I wasn’t sure how I felt about it. But I listened. And I’ll be honest… a couple of them made me laugh. “Your mama is so fat… the earth was flat until they buried her.” “Your mama is so fat… she sat on an iPhone and turned it into an...

We lost 10–9 last night. And this one stung. Down 9–4 late… we fought back. Five runs. Tied it up. One baserunner at a time. One hit at a time. It felt like we were going to pull it off. And then… we didn’t. Game over. Below .500. Two-game losing streak. And that “we were right there” feeling hit hard. But something was different. Because the younger version of me… would’ve let that loss ruin the...

“I wasn’t one of them.” And that almost stopped something great from happening. In this episode of Summit After the Storm , I share a real story from my time in the automotive industry—where a breakthrough innovation almost didn’t happen… not because it wouldn’t work… …but because I wasn’t part of the group. What followed led to a published paper, a global innovation award, and technology that’s s...

“24 hours… and we’ll be up there.” That’s what I said… pointing at the summit behind me. Confident. Focused. Ready. And then our guide said something I’ll never forget: “I hope your friend tells you this is difficult… but doable.” At the time, that word sounded reassuring. Doable. But I had no idea what “doable” actually looked like. Because just hours later… doable looked like exhaustion. It look...

We lost 9–3 tonight. But that’s not the story. Because in the middle of that loss… a young pitcher stepped up… threw heat… and showed growth you can’t measure on a scoreboard. And it reminded me of something deeper. This weekend, I’m taking my 17-year-old daughter on a college visit. And as I think about that moment… I don’t just see who she is today. I see the valley she came through before she w...

We’ve got a game tonight. And yeah… I hope the boys do well. But not for the reason you think. Because the scoreboard isn’t the real test. The valley is. In this episode of Summit After the Storm , we talk about what actually matters when life isn’t a highlight reel. When it’s just practice, pressure, mistakes, and moments no one sees. From youth baseball… to leadership… to lessons learned on Kili...

It’s real now. After months of writing, editing, restructuring, and pushing through doubt…my book is officially available for pre-order. 📖 Pre-order here: Amazon: https://a.co/d/0bWwanSG Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/summit-after-the-storm-bart-a-wilbanks/1149826187?ean=9798895740583 But what most people won’t see…are the nights behind it. The all-nighters. The 4 AM and 5 AM de...

We were down 5–0 before we even got started. Walks. Errors. Missed plays. You could see it on their faces — they knew we hadn’t played well. It felt like the game was already slipping away. So I pulled them in and gave them something simple: “Just get on base.” Not a big speech. Not a full solution. Just the next step. What happened next changed everything. In this episode, I break down a wild 11–...

What matters more… winning, or how you play? After practice, I asked my 12U stepson Noah a simple question — and his answer stopped me. Because what he said about failure, pressure, and being a good teammate… is something most adults still haven’t figured out. In this episode, I sit down with Noah Jackson from the Orioles and unpack a powerful leadership lesson straight from the field: Why kids fe...

If your life feels like it’s falling apart right now… this message is for you. There’s a moment in life when everything feels like it’s falling apart. The plan fails. The future looks uncertain. And the silence feels louder than the storm. That moment… is your Good Friday. In this special Summit After the Storm episode, Bart Wilbanks unpacks one of the most powerful truths of the Gospel: 👉 The da...

We lost 7–0. And honestly… I’ve never been more proud of a team after a loss. This was our first real baseball game. We struggled at the plate. Left the bases loaded. Stranded runners. And one defensive inning cost us five runs. The scoreboard wasn’t kind. But that’s not what stood out. Because in the pouring rain… late in the game… down big… we picked off a runner. Still locked in. Still competin...