Unhurried Living | Helping Christians Rest Deeper & Lead Better

What does it really mean to become the best version of yourself in God?   In this episode of the Unhurried Living Podcast, Gem Fadling sits down with therapist and bestselling author Dr. Alison Cook to talk about Christian boundaries, finding your voice, healing trauma, and facing emotional pain with faith.   Dr. Alison shares a deeply personal story that shaped her book  The Best o...

It’s one thing to understand the kind of leadership that helps people flourish. It’s another thing to sustain it—especially over time.   In this episode of the Unhurried Living Podcast, Alan Fadling continues his reflections on Wendell Berry’s wisdom, turning from the life we cultivate in leadership to the life we must become to sustain it.   Drawing from Berry&rs...

What does it mean to enter the final third of life with intention?   In this reflective episode, Gem shares about a personal season of reset as she approaches sixty. Through the lens of Christian spiritual formation, she explores four guiding words for her next decade: freedom, meaningful work, rest, and fruitfulness.   Together we consider how to navigate midlife transitions, how to emb...

What do we do when God no longer feels as close as He used to feel? Many sincere believers experience seasons when prayer feels empty, Scripture feels quiet, and God seems strangely absent. For leaders especially, those seasons can feel confusing, discouraging, and even shameful. In this episode of the Unhurried Living Podcast, Alan Fadling sits down with theologian and spiritual formation profess...

What do you do when your faith feels dry and your prayers feel empty?   In this episode, Gem Fadling sits down with author and Anglican priest Tish Harrison Warren to explore the reality of spiritual dryness, burnout, and what the Christian tradition calls “aridity.” Drawing from her book, What Grows in Weary Lands , Tish offers a deeply grounded vision of faith that endures, even...

Much of what we long to see in leadership—trust, depth, resilience, and lasting fruit—simply does not grow well in a hurry.   In this episode of the Unhurried Living Podcast, Alan Fadling reflects on insights from Wendell Berry to explore a different way of leading. Instead of pushing for results, what if leadership is more like tending a garden? What if the work is less about dri...

What if sustainable leadership begins not with strategy but with fullness?   In this episode, Gem Fadling reflects on Bernard of Clairvaux’s image of the reservoir and contrasts it with the canal model of leadership. Looking at the example of Jesus, who often withdrew to pray despite growing demands, this conversation invites leaders to rediscover depth, overflow, and spiritual sustaina...

Many of us have learned to live at odds with our own desires. Some of us follow them wherever they lead. Others try to suppress or manage them. Either way, desire can begin to feel like something we don’t quite trust.   In this episode of the Unhurried Living Podcast, Alan Fadling sits down with therapist and author Jay Stringer to explore a more honest and hopeful way of understanding...

In this episode, Gem sits down with Heather Rice-Minus , President and CEO of Prison Fellowship, to explore what it means to follow Jesus in places that are complex, urgent, and often overlooked.   Heather shares how her calling into justice and prison ministry unfolded, from advocacy work that helped shape the First Step Act to her current leadership of one of the most influential prison min...

Many Christian leaders begin their journey asking an important question: What can I accomplish for God?   But over time, a deeper question begins to emerge: What is God actually asking me to do?   In this episode of the Unhurried Living Podcast, Alan Fadling reflects on what he calls the inner conversion of a leader—the gradual shift from striving to do great things for God to lear...

What central paradigms are shaping your faith in this season?   In this reflective episode, Gem Fadling explores the foundational beliefs that influence how we see God, ourselves, and others. From understanding God as love to rethinking time, character, leadership, and presence, this conversation invites you into deeper spiritual formation and practical growth.   If you long for a more g...

Leadership failures rarely happen all at once. More often, they begin quietly—with small compromises, hurried lives, and a gradual drift away from the presence of God. In this episode, Alan talks with  Peter Greer , president and CEO of HOPE International and coauthor of the new book How Leaders Lose Their Way . Drawing from the biblical story of Solomon and years of experience working...

How do you trust God when the future feels fragile?   In this conversation, Tim and Hilary Timmons share their journey of living with an incurable cancer diagnosis and discovering a deeper, more intentional faith along the way. Rather than shrinking their lives, suffering became an invitation into daily life with Jesus.   Together we explore spiritual growth through hardship, the tension...

Strength is easy to admire. But in the kingdom of God, strength is not where leadership begins.   In this episode of the Unhurried Living Podcast, Alan explores a different vision of Christian leadership—one rooted not in self-sufficiency, but in shared weakness, daily dependence, and confidence in a living Christ.   Drawing from the witness of the Trappist monks of Algeria, the wi...

How do we serve faithfully without carrying more than we were meant to bear? In this episode, Gem reflects on poetry, discernment, and the spiritual practice of creating space to listen to God. A gentle invitation to slow down, trust, and offer yourself wisely in a world full of need. _________________________________________ Connect with Gem on Instagram and learn more on the Unhurried Living web...

Why do so many capable leaders struggle to lead with integrity, humility, and discernment over the long haul?  In this episode, Alan Fadling talks with Jason Jensen, vice president of spiritual foundations for InterVarsity Christian Fellowship and author of  Formed to Lead . Drawing from Luke 3–4, Jason invites leaders to recover a vision of leadership rooted not in performance, bu...

What do you hold onto when God feels distant, faith feels fragile, and life feels overwhelming?   In this episode of the Unhurried Living Podcast, Gem Fadling welcomes author Whitney Lowe for a rich conversation about God’s steadfast love, spiritual identity, and the quiet work of healing and restoration. Drawing from Scripture and Whitney’s book  Called Back to Who You Are ,...

What’s the difference between knowing about God and truly being with God?   In this episode, Alan reflects on a question at the heart of the Christian life: Are we formed more as scribes—accurate, informed, articulate—or as prophets—people shaped by lived communion with the living God?   Drawing from voices like A. W. Tozer, Eugene Peterson, John of Ruusbroec, and...

How do we respond wisely to the people in our care?   In this episode, Gem reflects on 1 Thessalonians 5:14 and explores how discernment, patience, and unhurried presence shape healthy leadership and soul care. This conversation invites listeners to slow down, see others more clearly, and trust God’s work in the lives of those they serve. _________________________________________ Connec...

In this episode of the Unhurried Living Podcast, Alan Fadling talks with Jason G. Green about faith, leadership, and the power of listening. Jason shares why he left his role in President Obama’s White House to sit with his grandmother in her final days—and how that decision led him to uncover the hidden history of Quince Orchard, a once-thriving African American Christian community. &...

When life feels unsteady, many of us respond by holding tighter, trying harder, and carrying more than we were meant to bear. But Jesus offers a different way.   In this episode, Gem Fadling is joined by Yvette Henry, writer, speaker, and author of Release, Rest, Remain, for a thoughtful conversation about learning to let go, trust God, and stay rooted in his presence when life feels ove...

What does it look like to lead without being quietly driven by anxiety?   In this reflective solo episode, Alan Fadling—author of  A Non-Anxious Life —explores what it means to lead from peace rather than from pressure in a world marked by tension, fatigue, and uncertainty. Drawing from Scripture, spiritual formation, and years of working with Christian leaders, Alan invites...

What do we do with the parts of our lives that feel unfinished?    In this episode, Gem reflects on Michelangelo’s unfinished sculptures and offers a hopeful, formational perspective on disappointment, unrealized dreams, and the slow work of inner transformation. This conversation invites listeners to release shame, embrace process, and receive God’s love exactly where they a...

Why do good questions matter more than ever—and how can learning to ask them change the way we live, lead, and relate?   In this episode, Alan talks with J.R. Briggs, founder of Kairos Partnerships and author of  The Art of Asking Better Questions  (IVP, 2025). J.R. invites us into a life shaped less by quick answers and more by curiosity, wisdom, and deeper connection. He sho...

Your greatest treasure isn’t your career, your possessions, or your achievements — it’s the people God has placed in your life.   In this episode of the Unhurried Living Podcast, Gem Fadling talks with Christian Mungai , global movement pastor at Mariners Church, native Kenyan, and co-creator of the influential Rooted discipleship process. Drawing from his African heritage a...