An Army of Normal Folks

New Orleans Saints linebacker Demario Davis has spent 14 years in the NFL as one of its most respected leaders on and off the field. We could have talked with him about how he’s a two-time Pro-Bowler and his team’s nominee for the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award, but instead we celebrated his own Army of Normal Folks who’ve supported his greatness— a single mom who gave birth to him at 16, a grandmother who helped raise him, a chaplain who dared to ask him the hard questions, and a wife who has been his rock. His story will show you how your greatest impact just might be some radical love to those surrounding you!Support the show: https://www.normalfolks.us/#joinSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

New Orleans Saints linebacker Demario Davis has spent 14 years in the NFL as one of its most respected leaders on and off the field. We could have talked with him about how he’s a two-time Pro-Bowler and his team’s nominee for the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award, but instead we celebrated his own Army of Normal Folks who’ve supported his greatness— a single mom who gave birth to him at 16, a grandmother who helped raise him, a chaplain who dared to ask him the hard questions, and a wife who has been his rock. His story will show you how your greatest impact just might be some radical love to those surrounding you!Support the show: https://www.normalfolks.us/#joinSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A mail carrier trusted her gut, made one call, and saved a life. In this Shop Talk, we unpack why paying attention to the people around us is one of the simplest—and most powerful—ways normal folks can make a real difference.Support the show: https://www.normalfolks.us/premiumSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

After mixing antidepressants and alcohol, Christie Luther hit someone with her car and they died. She spent 4.5 years in prison, where she discovered her purpose to create Oklahoma’s first cosmetology school inside a woman’s correctional facility. The R.I.S.E. Program has had 286 students and only 1 of them has ended up back in prison, which is unheard of! And while Christie still lives with extraordinary regret and shame, she will show you how to keep living and transform your worst pain into unstoppable purpose. To learn more about R.I.S.E, visit riseprograminc.comSupport the show: https://www.normalfolks.us/premiumSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

After mixing antidepressants and alcohol, Christie Luther hit someone with her car and they died. She spent 4.5 years in prison, where she discovered her purpose to create Oklahoma’s first cosmetology school inside a woman’s correctional facility. The R.I.S.E. Program has had 286 students and only 1 of them has ended up back in prison, which is unheard of! And while Christie still lives with extraordinary regret and shame, she will show you how to keep living and transform your worst pain into unstoppable purpose. To learn more about R.I.S.E, visit riseprograminc.comSupport the show: https://www.normalfolks.us/premiumSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For Shop Talk, we bring you Wilma Mankiller's powerful commencement address. No joke, this lady is Coach Bill's spirit animal!Support the show: https://www.normalfolks.us/premiumSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

At 50 years old, Charlotte Dance had a 2 year old child placed in her lap. And instead of walking away, Charlotte not only legally adopted the child, she also informally adopted his broken family. She even says that they adopted her too! This episode will teach you about finding love in the most unexpected places like no other story. Support the show: https://www.normalfolks.us/premiumSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

At 50 years old, Charlotte Dance had a 2 year old child placed in her lap. And instead of walking away, Charlotte not only legally adopted the child, she also informally adopted his broken family. She even says that they adopted her too! This episode will teach you about finding love in the most unexpected places like no other story.Support the show: https://www.normalfolks.us/premiumSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Real change doesn’t start with convincing a majority of the public — it starts with a visible minority. In this Shop Talk, we unpack why movements tip when just 20–25% of people act consistently & visibly, and what that means for transforming our communities.Support the show: https://www.normalfolks.us/premiumSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For our Supporting Greatness series, two-time Emmy-nominated cartoonist Marshall Ramsey celebrates the Army of Normal Folks that shaped his life. And how we can be that Army for those around us. Plus, his fascinating stories about Peyton Manning, Barbara Bush, and his cousin Dave (yes, that Dave).Support the show: https://www.normalfolks.us/premiumSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For our Supporting Greatness series, two-time Emmy-nominated cartoonist Marshall Ramsey celebrates the Army of Normal Folks that shaped his life. And how we can be that Army for those around us. Plus, his fascinating stories about Peyton Manning, Barbara Bush, and his cousin Dave (yes, that Dave).Support the show: https://www.normalfolks.us/premiumSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For Shop Talk, we reflect on a dead Greek poet's wisdom, how an alive Salvadoran immigrant is the perfect example of it, and what we need to do be the heroes we're meant to be. Support the show: https://www.normalfolks.us/premiumSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Do you ever wrestle with how our country’s extraordinary wealth and problems co-exist? Or yearn for a deeper sense of community where we have each other’s backs? Then you’re going to cherish this episode with Jordan Schiele, the co-founder of a Catholic intentional community called Jerusalem Farm. These Catholic hippies, as their neighbors in Kansas City originally called them, live together without salaries and have completed over 300 home repair projects in the last 5 years alone! Learn more: jerusalemfarm.orgSupport the show: https://www.normalfolks.us/premiumSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Do you ever wrestle with how our country’s extraordinary wealth and problems co-exist? Or yearn for a deeper sense of community where we have each other’s backs? Then you’re going to cherish this episode with Jordan Schiele, the co-founder of a Catholic intentional community called Jerusalem Farm. These Catholic hippies, as their neighbors in Kansas City originally called them, live together without salaries and have completed over 300 home repair projects in the last 5 years alone! Learn more: jerusalemfarm.orgSupport the show: https://www.normalfolks.us/premiumSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For Shop Talk, Coach Bill shares his 3 keys to a successful marriage! Support the show: https://www.normalfolks.us/premiumSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Society tells us that self-care makes us happy, but Melissa O’Neil discovered that it doesn’t. She’s found happiness through building an identity of someone who serves. Sometimes that shows up in large ways like fostering two boys and other times in smaller, yet meaningful ways like helping a nonprofit write thank you notes. Melissa will show you how to find meaning in every season of life!Support the show: https://www.normalfolks.us/premiumSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Society tells us that self-care makes us happy, but Melissa O’Neil discovered that it doesn’t. She’s found happiness through building an identity of someone who serves. Sometimes that shows up in large ways like fostering two boys and other times in smaller, yet meaningful ways like helping a nonprofit write thank you notes. Melissa will show you how to find meaning in every season of life! Support the show: https://www.normalfolks.us/premiumSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For Shop Talk, Coach Bill pontificates on the bad wrap that the lumber industry gets about chopping down trees. When the reality is that their work leads to more trees and so many other fascinating environmental benefits! Support the show: https://www.normalfolks.us/premiumSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Pat Hardison was a volunteer firefighter, dad, and small business owner when one call changed his life forever. After literally losing his face in a fire and enduring more than 70 surgeries, Pat took the risk of undergoing the most extensive face transplant in history. This episode will show you how to keep going when facing obstacles…. or in Pat’s case losing almost everything. Check out Pat’s new book Facing The Fire: https://lnk.to/FacingTheFireEP Support the show: https://www.normalfolks.us/premiumSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Pat Hardison was a volunteer firefighter, dad, and small business owner when one call changed his life forever. After literally losing his face in a fire and enduring more than 70 surgeries, Pat took the risk of undergoing the most extensive face transplant in history. This episode will show you how to keep going when facing obstacles…. or in Pat’s case losing almost everything. Check out Pat’s new book Facing The Fire: https://lnk.to/FacingTheFireEP Support the show: https://www.normalfolks.us/premiumSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For Shop Talk, we dive into the origin story of a pencil and what lessons it has for An Army of Normal Folks. We bet you didn’t see that one coming!Support the show: https://www.normalfolks.us/premiumSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

James is the founder of Prison Yoga Project, which brings trauma-informed yoga to prisoners to help them heal and rehabilitate. And last year 57,000 prisoners attended their programming! This life-changing work is led by their own Army of Normal Folks who are facilitators.Support the show: https://www.normalfolks.us/premiumSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

James is the founder of Prison Yoga Project, which brings trauma-informed yoga to prisoners to help them heal and rehabilitate. And last year 57,000 prisoners attended their programming! This life-changing work is led by their own Army of Normal Folks who are facilitators.Support the show: https://www.normalfolks.us/premiumSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For Shop Talk, we dive into the reality that only 33% of Americans are contributing in their community at the level they’d like. And what we plan to do about it.Support the show: https://www.normalfolks.us/premiumSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Lydia and Scott Rosencrants have 13 children, 11 of which are adopted and 8 of them have some form of intellectual or physical disability. They didn’t set out to adopt this many kids, but they clearly answered the call a lot of times. And Lydia is the President of our local chapter in Memphis that’s launching soon! Support the show: https://www.normalfolks.us/premiumSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Lydia and Scott Rosencrants have 13 children, 11 of which are adopted and 8 of them have some form of intellectual or physical disability. They didn’t set out to adopt this many kids, but they clearly answered the call a lot of times. And Lydia is the President of our local chapter in Memphis that’s launching soon!Support the show: https://www.normalfolks.us/premiumSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For Shop Talk, Coach Bill shares his outside-the-box take on the Lane Kiffin saga. Even if you're not a college football fan, there's life lessons for our own lives and for the Army in this story! Support the show: https://www.normalfolks.us/premiumSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dr. Gabrielle Clowdus is the founder of Settled, which helps churches build "Sacred Settlements", tiny home villages on their property where people experiencing homelessness and church members live in community. When she started this work of radical hospitality, she believed it was a homelessness ministry. Today, she believes that it's a ministry to all of us, as we all have some homelessness in us! Support the show: https://www.normalfolks.us/premiumSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dr. Gabrielle Clowdus is the founder of Settled, which helps churches build "Sacred Settlements", tiny home villages on their property where people experiencing homelessness and church members live in community. When she started this work of radical hospitality, she believed it was a homelessness ministry. Today, she believes that it's a ministry to all of us, as we all have some homelessness in us! Support the show: https://www.normalfolks.us/premiumSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For Shop Talk, we explore why did human life expectancy stick around 30-40 years old for thousands of years and then suddenly increased by 4 decades in less than 200 years! Support the show: https://www.normalfolks.us/premiumSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Lisa Steven is a former teen mom who went on to build the only home for teen moms in the entire state of Colorado. Their resource center serves over 280 teen moms per year with free empowerment programming and early childhood education. And now 3 other communities have adopted their model!Support the show: https://www.normalfolks.us/premiumSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Lisa Steven is a former teen mom who went on to build the only home for teen moms in the entire state of Colorado. Their resource center serves over 280 teen moms per year with free empowerment programming and early childhood education. And now 3 other communities have adopted their model!Support the show: https://www.normalfolks.us/premiumSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For Shop Talk, we bring you Army member Anita Marin's awesome recommendation to learn from Eddie Jaku, the Holocaust survivor who called himself the happiest man on earth! Support the show: https://www.normalfolks.us/premiumSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Steve Wanta is the co-founder of JUST, a nonprofit lender to 14,000 black and brown female entrepreneurs in Texas. And because they’ve built an unheard of system based on trust and community, they’re achieving unheard of results such as loaning money to 100% of applicants while also being repaid 99% of the time! Support the show: https://www.normalfolks.us/premiumSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Steve Wanta is the co-founder of JUST, a nonprofit lender to 14,000 black and brown female entrepreneurs in Texas. And because they’ve built an unheard of system based on trust and community, they’re achieving unheard of results such as loaning money to 100% of applicants while also being repaid 99% of the time! Support the show: https://www.normalfolks.us/premiumSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For Shop Talk, we dive into Victor Frankl's monumental book, which he wrote in just 9 days after being liberated from a Nazi concentration camp! Support the show: https://www.normalfolks.us/premiumSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transracial adoption is a term that we didn’t know, until we met the Taylors. The black couple adopted 2 white kids and 1 black kid. And we have a fascinating conversation about love, hate, stereotypes, and redemption! Support the show: https://www.normalfolks.us/premiumSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transracial adoption is a term that we didn’t know, until we met the Taylors. The black couple adopted 2 white kids and 1 black kid. And we have a fascinating conversation about love, hate, stereotypes, and redemption! Support the show: https://www.normalfolks.us/premiumSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For Shop Talk, we bring you fascinating data and wisdom from the righteous troublemakers known as Jonathan Haidt, Lenore Skenazy, and Zach Rausch. Support the show: https://www.normalfolks.us/premiumSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When Vanessa Elias saw a rise of incivility in her Connecticut town, she rallied citizens to host 40 neighborhood block parties that had 1,200 attendees, so that people can get to know their neighbors, realize that they don’t hate them, and even enjoy them. It got so much attention that she started Block Party USA to spread this simple solution across the country! Support the show: https://www.normalfolks.us/premiumSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When Vanessa Elias saw a rise of incivility in her Connecticut town, she rallied citizens to host 40 neighborhood block parties that had 1,200 attendees, so that people can get to know their neighbors, realize that they don’t hate them, and even enjoy them. It got so much attention that she started Block Party USA to spread this simple solution across the country! Support the show: https://www.normalfolks.us/premiumSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For Shop Talk, we tell the extraordinary story of Madison Park. If freed slaves can figure out how to buy a plantation and build a self-sustaining community, what do you think An Army of Normal Folks in 2025 can achieve?! Support the show: https://www.normalfolks.us/premiumSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.