Podcasts about Courageous

Unity Without Compromise with Dr. Steven LaTulippe – Christians face rising attacks on faith, freedom, and constitutional order while silence enables corruption to grow. Courageous believers are called to resist evil, defend truth, protect liberty, and obey God above men, following the examples of America's Founders, Scripture, and faithful witnesses who refuse surrender to tyranny and darkness...

Unity Without Compromise with Dr. Steven LaTulippe – Christians face rising attacks on faith, freedom, and constitutional order while silence enables corruption to grow. Courageous believers are called to resist evil, defend truth, protect liberty, and obey God above men, following the examples of America's Founders, Scripture, and faithful witnesses who refuse surrender to tyranny and darkness...

We break down why courage is the one energy you cannot skip if you want real expansion, and why comfort never earns the reward you are chasing. We share stories from family, sports, and our own growth to show how fear can become a doorway to confidence and change. • courage as the tuition for the next level • the first step as the most powerful step • fear as an invitation rather than a warning • trusting the route when life feels off-course • asking “Am I willing?” instead of stalling • redefining courage as emotional honesty and self-love • the nervous system reacting to uncertainty like danger • building courage through deliberate discomfort and discipline • the caterpillar lesson: growth is vulnerable and often solo • swapping “What if I fail?” for “What if this changes everything?” • using imagination to see possibilities before proof • recognizing when growth means leaving relationships behind I advise you to get into DG Mindset Academy. If you're ready to stop consuming information and start creating real transformation, the DG Mindset Academy is where the work happens. Learn how your mind, subconscious patterns, nervous system, and identity shape your reality so you can heal, grow, and perform at your highest level. Join a community of people committed to becoming who they were truly meant to be.Find out more here

Courageous Compassion For the session to be discussed on June 21, 2026 1 Kings 3:16–28 Daniel Glaze Nikki Hardeman Jaye Peabody Smith David Adams Lacey Wondree In this episode we reflect on what sacrifice looks like in everyday life, then explore the story of two unnamed mothers before Solomon and a threatened child. We focus […] The post 18.25 Courageous Compassion appeared first on Faithelement.

What does it mean to lead with unwavering faith in the face of overwhelming challenges? In this inspiring episode of Who's Who in the Bible, Fr. Joseph Royan, C.Ss.R., takes viewers on a journey through the remarkable life of Joshua, one of Scripture's most influential leaders. From stepping into the immense responsibility of succeeding Moses to guiding the Israelites into the land promised by God, Joshua's story is a powerful witness to courage, obedience, and trust. Explore key moments from his leadership, including the crossing of the Jordan River, the victory at Jericho, and the decisive events at Gibeon—each revealing how faith in God can overcome seemingly impossible obstacles.More than a story of conquest, this reflection uncovers Joshua's enduring message of commitment to God. His challenge to the people of Israel to remain faithful continues to resonate with believers today, offering valuable lessons for anyone seeking direction, purpose, and spiritual strength. Join this enriching exploration of Joshua's legacy and discover how his steadfast confidence in God's promises can inspire your own walk of faith.

AI filmmaker and 14-time author Jason Moore joins me to unpack how artificial intelligence has reshaped the way he tells stories — without stripping out the creativity behind them. We get into a real client project that only became possible because of AI, his three guiding principles for using it well, and how he handles the inevitable wave of online critics. If you're curious (or a little nervous) about where AI fits into your video business, this conversation's for you. Key Takeaways AI works best as a collaborator, not a vending machine — the more of yourself you bring to it, the better the output. Some projects only exist because AI makes them affordable. In those cases, nobody actually loses a job that was never in the budget to begin with. Every big tech shift — Photoshop, CGI in Jurassic Park, even self-checkout — displaced some work while creating new opportunities for the people who adapted. Jason's "soul test": if you don't bring your own creativity and judgment, you get soulless results. The human stays in the driver's seat. About Jason Moore Jason is the author of 14 books on topics ranging from creativity and design to artificial intelligence. His most recent release, AI and the Church: A Clear Guide for the Curious and Courageous, is an Amazon bestseller that has sparked more than 150 national training engagements. In film and television, Jason has collaborated with Hollywood producers and created book trailers for New York Times bestselling authors including Arianna Huffington, Seth Godin, Robert Greene, Ryan Holiday, and Marc Ecko. A graduate of The Modern College of Design, Jason now returns to his alma mater as an adjunct instructor, alongside his work as a sought-after keynote speaker and trainer whose career bridges the worlds of creative production, ministry, and emerging technology. In This Episode [00:00] Welcome to the show! [05:58] Meet Jason Moore [12:06] AI Video Content [16:22] AI Video Package [27:47] Using AI Morally [38:23] Example Projects [48:35] Outro  Quotes "AI should be a 'do it with you' tool, not a 'do it for you' tool." — Jason Moore "You have a soul and AI doesn't. If you don't bring enough of your soul to your interaction with AI, you get really soulless outputs." — Jason Moore "I'm a human first, business owner second." — Ryan Koral "When the option exists, we're going to help more people tell stories in more compelling ways than we could in the past." — Jason Moore Guest Links Follow Jason Moore on Instagram | Facebook | X Links Find out more about the Studio Sherpas Mastermind Join the Grow Your Video Business Facebook Group  Follow Ryan Koral on Instagram Follow Grow Your Video Business on Instagram Get your Early Bird tickets for the Onward Summit Join the Studio Sherpas newsletter

Entrepreneurs are not ordinary. They are visionary thinkers, Creative problem solvers and Courageous founders. This summer I am offering two types of CURATED PODCASTS  $97 seven days of postings clipped from your unique three minute podcast that I create. (Wealth Yoga wine podcast..)  $197 Change Makers Curated podcast 14 days and 14 posts or more from six minute podcast that I create $197.  The beauty of both of these podcasts is that I do EVERYTHING for you while you are on vacation.  Or for any other reason to take a break for a week or two weeks. ACT FAST BECAUSE THESE SLOT WON'T LAST    I only create two podcasts a week vahail1956@gmail.com to start the process    merci

Key Takeaways From This Post In this episode of The Recruitment Marketing and Sales Podcast, Sharon Newey explores why imposter syndrome disproportionately affects the most capable recruitment business owners, what it actually costs commercially, and three practical actions you can take this week to start showing up with the authority you have already earned. You are on a call with a client you have worked with for a while. Good relationship. The conversation is going well. And then, almost as an aside, they say: “We had a really useful piece come through this week from another agency. A benchmarking report on salaries in our sector. Really timely.” They are not threatening to leave. They are not complaining. It is a throwaway comment. But something shifts. Because you know that topic. You have lived it. You have had the exact same conversation about salary expectations with four clients this month. You know what is happening in that market, why it is happening, and what businesses should be doing about it. You could have written that report. You should have written that report. But you did not. And someone else did. And now your client is talking about them on a call with you. That feeling is not a content problem. It is not a time problem. It is imposter syndrome. And it is costing your business more than you realise. The Statistic That Changes how you see This Research suggests that up to 85% of high-achieving professionals experience imposter syndrome at some point in their careers. Eighty-five per cent. That is not a niche phenomenon. That is not something that happens to people who lack confidence or ability. That is a pattern that affects the majority of people who are genuinely very good at what they do. Imposter syndrome is not evidence that you are not ready. It is frequently a signal that you are more capable than you give yourself credit for. The doubt is not a warning sign. It is a side effect of expertise. What Imposter Syndrome Actually Looks Like in Recruitment In a recruitment business, imposter syndrome rarely announces itself as imposter syndrome. It disguises itself as something far more practical. It looks like waiting until the website is ready. You know the marketing needs to happen. But the website is not quite right, so you will start once that is sorted. The website gets sorted. Then it is something else. It looks like not posting because it is not good enough. You draft something, read it back, and think: this is obvious. Everyone in my sector already knows this. So you delete it, and nothing goes out. It looks like avoiding video, permanently. You know video works. You have seen the data. But something about pressing record feels impossible, so the video conversation gets shelved for another quarter. It looks like undercharging and struggling to defend your fees. When you do not fully believe in your own authority, you drop your rate before the client has even pushed back. You discount as a reflex, not as a strategy. And it looks like watching competitors win work you know you could do better. They are not better than you. They are simply louder. They are showing up. They are saying the things you are thinking. Recognise any of that? Most recruitment directors and founders will recognise at least three of those patterns immediately. And they will have filed them under time, or priorities, or just not my thing. But that is not really what they are. Why High-Achievers are Most at Risk The people most susceptible to imposter syndrome are not the least competent. It is the opposite. The more expert you become, the more likely you are to experience it. And there is a name for this: the paradox of competence. When you are a junior recruiter, you know what you do not know. The gaps are visible and that feels appropriate. But as you become genuinely expert, your awareness of the field’s complexity increases at the same rate as your knowledge. You can see further. Which means you can also see further ahead of where you currently are. You know more, and so you are more aware of the things you do not yet know. And that awareness can feel, incorrectly, like inadequacy. There is a specific version of this that we see consistently. Many of our clients built their career inside a corporate agency. They were brilliant at what they did, and the brand gave them a platform. Candidates and clients trusted them, but some of that trust was borrowed from the institution. And then they went out on their own. Courageous, commercially smart. But it came with a hidden tax. Because now the brand is them. The credibility is theirs to build, not to borrow. And a voice surfaces that says: was it ever really me? The answer is yes. Thirty years of sector expertise does not evaporate when you hand back a corporate email address. But the voice does not always believe that, and the voice is loud. The Commercial Cost you are not Counting Imposter syndrome is not just an internal discomfort. It has a real, measurable commercial cost. And most recruitment business owners have not fully calculated it. The first cost is visibility. When you are not showing up consistently, not posting, not putting your expertise into the public domain, you are invisible to people who are actively looking for someone exactly like you. Your ideal client is on LinkedIn right now, forming opinions about who they trust. If you are not there, you are not in the conversation. Visible competitors win the work you should be winning. Not because they are better. Because they are present, and you are not. The second cost is fee pressure. Authority and pricing power are directly linked. When a client already knows who you are, has read your posts, has seen that you understand their market in a way that other recruiters do not, the fee conversation starts from a completely different position. They have already bought your expertise before you pick up the phone. When you are invisible, you are just another recruiter. And just another recruiter competes on price. We saw this play out clearly with a client who had close to thirty years in her sector. Before she started showing up consistently, she was competing on contingency terms like everyone else. Within months of building a visible presence, she was having completely different conversations. Fee negotiations became almost secondary, because clients had already bought into her expertise before terms were discussed. She went on to secure her first ever retained projects after decades of contingency work. The third cost is referrals. Referrals are generated not just by the quality of your work but by how front of mind you are. If your network has not heard from you in six months, they will refer someone else. Not because your work was not good. Because the other person was more visible at the moment the referral conversation happened. Three Things You Can do This Week These are low-risk, practical actions that genuinely move the needle. Post one piece of content about what you know, not who you are. The best content from a recruitment leader is about the market. What are you seeing in your sector right now? What are clients getting wrong? What do candidates need to understand about the current hiring picture? That is expertise sharing, not self-promotion. Start there. One post. This week. Share a client or candidate outcome. Not a polished case study. Just a moment. “We helped a client hire a head of finance last month, and here is what made the difference in the search.” Two paragraphs. It demonstrates your expertise and is built entirely from something that already happened. You are not inventing content. You are making your existing work visible. Say the thing you think is too obvious to say. Your market hears these things all the time and still makes the same mistakes. Obvious to you is not obvious to them. The insight that feels like basic knowledge inside your industry is exactly what your ideal client is waiting to read. Say it. None of these require a content strategy, a copywriter, or a professional photoshoot. They require you to decide that your knowledge is worth sharing. That is the only prerequisite. Something to Sit With Before you move on, one question worth sitting with honestly. What is the one thing you know you should be saying publicly that you have been holding back? And what is the real reason? Not the practical reason. Not the time, or the website, or the platform. The real reason. In thirty years of coaching, I have rarely met a business owner who lacked something worth saying. What I have met, time and again, are people who had everything they needed and were waiting for permission that was never going to come from anywhere external. You already have the expertise. You have earned it. The only question is whether you are going to let it stay invisible. Thanks, Sharon How We Can Help Working on your marketing consistently is one of the most important things you can do for the long-term health of your recruitment business. Visibility builds authority. Authority builds better fee conversations. And better fee conversations build the kind of business you actually want to run. We have just updated our Superfast Circle programme with new resources and support designed specifically for recruitment business owners who are ready to show up consistently and with confidence. If you would like the full details, email us at support@superfastrecruitment.co.uk and we will send everything across. The post Imposter Syndrome Is Keeping Your Recruitment Business Small appeared first on Superfast Recruitment.

LUKE 24:36-53

Hello Everyone , This is a wonderful hindi story of Courageous Children . Listen to the full story and get to know about the moral of the story .

Good morning family. Heynn Laubscher will be giving the message around Be Strong and Courageous. We will be journing through the book of Joshua. Subscribe to receive our latest messages:  https://coah.co.za/series/ To support this ministry and help us reach more people:  https://coah.co.za/giving/ See what God can do through you. Stay Connected: Website: https://coah.co.za/ Facebook: shorturl.at/elsPT Instagram: shorturl.at/ntGMW YouTube: shorturl.at/qvOS6 Soundcloud: shorturl.at/hvFIL Podcast: shorturl.at/tM179 Twitter: shorturl.at/egiY1 Join the conversation: Drop a "Hello" in the comments, let us know where you're watching from, and share your prayer requests with us! #bestrongandcourageous #SundayCelebration #Joshua

David begins the new series on Joshua

Courageous compassion, prophetic witness, and faithful engagement in a hurting world are all a part of being a disciple of Jesus, the Peaceful One. Join Blake Smith and Linda Stanbridge in a conversation that explores difficult questions surrounding advocacy, empathy, media attention, and the call to stand with vulnerable communities while affirming the worth and dignity of all people. Grounded in Christian discipleship and peacemaking, the discussion offers practical ways to move beyond awareness toward meaningful action.  Linda's Letter to the Michigan Mission Center. Learn more about UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency) American Federation of Ramallah Palestine. Find contact information for your federal legislators. Watch the documentary, “Gaza is Our Home,” by Monear Shaer.  Listen to other episodes in the Grounds for Peace series. Download the transcript. Thanks for listening to Faith Unfiltered!Follow us on Facebook and Instagram!Intro and Outro music used with permission: “For Everyone Born,” Community of Christ Sings #285. Music © 2006 Brian Mann, admin. General Board of Global Ministries t/a GBGMusik, 458 Ponce de Leon Avenue, Atlanta, GA 30308. copyright@umcmission.org “The Trees of the Field,” Community of Christ Sings # 645, Music © 1975 Stuart Dauerman, Lillenas Publishing Company (admin. Music Services). All music for this episode was performed by Dr. Jan Kraybill, and produced by Chad Godfrey.   NOTE: The series that make up Faith Unfiltered explore the unique spiritual and theological gifts Community of Christ offers for today's world. Although Faith Unfiltered is a Ministry of Community of Christ. The views and opinions expressed in this episode are those speaking and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Community of Christ. 

What does great leadership look like when AI is moving faster than most organizations can keep up? To answer this important question, I spoke with Joshua Gould, the CEO of thebigword, a global language technology and services company, where he helped grow the business from $6M to over $100M in revenue. In 2021 he sold the business to a large US based PE firm and continued on as CEO, where he has led a $20m technology investment into AI and automation.This episode tackles the challenge of leading in an Ai-driven world, examining why level-headedness, prioritization, and empathy are more vital than ever. The discussion surfaces candid insights on how leaders can cut through tech-driven noise, return to first principles, and make decisions that truly serve their teams and customers.During our conversation, Joshua shares real-world examples that bring the risks and rewards of AI adoption to life, from transforming pricing and market share strategies to reshaping entire job roles. Josh does not shy away from hard truths, exploring the necessity of honest conversations even when the answers are unpredictable or uncomfortable.For leaders searching for actionable advice on how to steward organizational culture, empower employees, and future-proof their businesses, this episode offers a blueprint grounded in candor, resilience, and a commitment to doing good.What You'll Learn- How to cultivate level-headedness amidst noise.- Prioritize ruthlessly: It's the antidote to overwhelm.- Use technology to serve your values.- Building a culture of adaptation and co-creation.- Why the best leaders lean into transparency and courage, even when It's scary.- Empathy remains irreplaceable in an Ai-driven world.Podcast Timestamps(00:00) – Welcome to the Podcast(03:10) - Essential Leadership Qualities in the Age of AI(06:16) - Fundamentals Versus Hype: How to Make Sound Decisions(10:27) – Effectively Leading Through AI Advancement(12:39) - AI as a Pricing Weapon Rather Than a Productivity Tool(19:20) - Navigating Job Impact and Workforce Concerns with AI(24:09) - Courageous and Transparent Leadership in Disruption(29:29) - Leading Culture Change Amidst AI Fear and Resistance(34:38) - Grounding Adoption in Mission and Strategic Participation(41:00) - Preserving Critical Thinking and Avoiding AI Overreliance(48:03) - Empathy, Humanity, and Leadership in an AI FutureKEYWORDSPositive Leadership, AI, Artificial Intelligence, Technology-Driven World, Level Headedness, Market Fundamentals, Fear-Based Decision Making, Prioritization, First Principles, Job Disruption, Upskilling, Employee Anxiety, Courageous Leadership, Transparency, Culture Change, AI adoption, Empathy, Critical Thinking, Executive Decision-Making, Value Creation, CEO Success

Fluent Fiction - Norwegian: Honesty in Oslo: Siv's Courageous Decision After Grunnlovsdagen Find the full episode transcript, vocabulary words, and more:fluentfiction.com/no/episode/2026-06-04-22-34-01-no Story Transcript:No: På Oslo Sentral politistasjon var det travelt dagen etter grunnlovsdagen.En: At the Oslo Sentral police station, it was busy the day after grunnlovsdagen.No: Rester fra feiringen av 17. mai var fortsatt synlige.En: Remnants from the celebration of the 17th of May were still visible.No: Røde og blå flagg hang rundt inngangen.En: Red and blue flags hung around the entrance.No: Siv, en ung kvinne med et alvorlig uttrykk, ventet ved disken.En: Siv, a young woman with a serious expression, waited by the counter.No: Hun holdt en liten, svart veske tett inntil seg.En: She held a small, black purse closely to herself.No: Siv hadde funnet vesken under en parkbenk i Spikersuppa, like etter paraden.En: Siv had found the purse under a park bench in Spikersuppa, just after the parade.No: Den så forlatt ut, og da hun åpnet den for å lete etter en ID, fant hun bare en lommebok og noen gamle kvitteringer.En: It looked abandoned, and when she opened it to search for an ID, she found only a wallet and some old receipts.No: "Dette er tydelig stjålet og forlatt," tenkte hun.En: "This is clearly stolen and abandoned," she thought.No: Hjertet banket raskt da hun bestemte seg for å gi den til politiet.En: Her heart beat quickly as she decided to give it to the police.No: Hun bekymret seg for at de kanskje ikke ville tro henne.En: She worried that they might not believe her.No: "Kan jeg hjelpe deg?" spurte Leif, en politi med et vennlig smil som jobbet i resepsjonen.En: "Can I help you?" asked Leif, a police officer with a friendly smile who worked at the reception.No: Siv tok en dyp pust.En: Siv took a deep breath.No: "Jeg fant denne vesken i parken i går," sa hun med en svak stemme.En: "I found this purse in the park yesterday," she said with a faint voice.No: "Jeg ville bare levere den inn."En: "I just wanted to turn it in."No: Leif tok vesken og undersøkte innholdet.En: Leif took the purse and examined its contents.No: "Det var snilt av deg, Siv," sa han og fortsatte å skrive ned det hun sa.En: "That was kind of you, Siv," he said and continued to write down what she was saying.No: "Vi får ofte inn gjenstander etter feiringen.En: "We often receive items after the celebration.No: Mange mister ting i folkemengden."En: Many lose things in the crowd."No: Selv om ordene hans var vennlige, kjente Siv en klump i magen.En: Although his words were friendly, Siv felt a lump in her stomach.No: Leif stilte flere spørsmål: "Når fant du den?En: Leif asked more questions: "When did you find it?No: Hvor akkurat fant du den?"En: Where exactly did you find it?"No: Hun forsøkte å svare så presist som mulig uten å virke nervøs.En: She tried to answer as precisely as possible without seeming nervous.No: Astrid, en annen betjent, kom bort til dem.En: Astrid, another officer, came over to them.No: "Hva skjer her?" spurte hun nysgjerrig.En: "What's going on here?" she asked curiously.No: "Jeg leverer inn en stjålet veske," svarte Siv.En: "I am turning in a stolen purse," replied Siv.No: Astrid så på henne med alvorlige øyne, men nikket godkjennende da hun hørte Leif forklare situasjonen.En: Astrid looked at her with serious eyes but nodded approvingly as she heard Leif explain the situation.No: Det ble en stille øyeblikk mens de ventet på systemet for å bekrefte eieren av vesken.En: There was a silent moment while they waited for the system to confirm the owner of the purse.No: Slike ventetider kan virke lange når man er nervøs.En: Such waiting times can seem long when one is nervous.No: Siv gned hendene sine for å holde dem rolige.En: Siv rubbed her hands to keep them calm.No: Plutselig kom bekreftelsen: Vesken tilhørte en dame som hadde rapportert den savnet.En: Suddenly, the confirmation came: The purse belonged to a woman who had reported it missing.No: Leif ga Siv et varmt smil.En: Leif gave Siv a warm smile.No: "Du har gjort en flott ting, Siv.En: "You have done a great thing, Siv.No: Takk for ærligheten din."En: Thank you for your honesty."No: Astrid nikket bifallende.En: Astrid nodded approvingly.No: "Vi trenger flere som deg."En: "We need more people like you."No: Siv følte en lettelse skylle over seg.En: Siv felt a wave of relief wash over her.No: Hun takket betjentene og gikk ut i vårsolen, med vinden som lekte med flaggene over hodet hennes.En: She thanked the officers and walked out into the spring sun, with the wind playing with the flags above her head.No: Hun hadde overkommet frykten sin og gjort det riktige.En: She had overcome her fear and done the right thing.No: Nå visste hun at hun kunne stole mer på seg selv og handle mot eget hjerte selv når det føltes skummelt.En: Now she knew she could trust herself more and act according to her heart even when it felt scary.No: På vei hjem tenkte Siv på hvor mye hun hadde vokst bare ved å ta et valg.En: On her way home, Siv thought about how much she had grown just by making a choice.No: Modighet, trodde hun, var ikke fravær av frykt, men handling til tross for det.En: Courage, she believed, was not the absence of fear, but action in spite of it.No: Oslo virket litt lysere under vårsolen denne dagen.En: Oslo seemed a little brighter under the spring sun that day.No: Hun hadde funnet mer enn en bag; hun hadde funnet sin egen styrke.En: She had found more than a bag; she had found her own strength. Vocabulary Words:busy: traveltremnants: resterexpression: uttrykkclosely: tetabandoned: forlattreceipts: kvitteringerworried: bekymretfaint: svakexamined: undersøktecontents: innholdetcrowd: folkemengdenlump: klumpprecisely: presistnervous: nervøscuriously: nysgjerrigserious: alvorligenodded: nikketapprovingly: bifallendesilent: stilleconfirm: bekreftecalm: roligebelonged: tilhørtehonesty: ærlighetenrelief: lettelseovercome: overkommettrust: stolestrength: styrkecourage: modighetabsence: fraværbrighter: lysere

Matt King (CEO of GoBundance) joins Justin Roethlingshoefer on The OWN IT Show for a powerful conversation on obedience over outcomes, the hidden cost of “success,” and how to become strong and courageous (Joshua 1:9) without living in striving.In a world that trains leaders to chase the highlight reel, Justin calls out what people don't see: you can have the money, the image, and the wins—while your health, peace, and relationships quietly erode. This episode reframes the true metric of leadership: it's not optics, it's your fruit—love, joy, peace, kindness, faithfulness, and self-control—because that's what sustainable leadership produces.They also unpack the “Availability Principle”— why the most important moments of impact are often unplanned, and why obedience requires staying open to what's right in front of you.============================================================================About Matt KingFrom May 27th to June 8th 2026, Matt King is riding 2,000 miles from Mexico to Canada -- not as a professional cyclist, but as a husband, father, and CEO who believes showing up is the point. His project, theRide, is a cross-country cycling journey designed to spotlight overlooked people and communities and deliver direct, in-the-moment impact along the route, with a goal of raising $1,000,000 placed into real hands at real turning points. "If we're asking the world to show up for families in need, I'm showing up first."  https://gobundance.com/theride As CEO of GoBundance, Matt has spent years helping entrepreneurs live at an elevated level -- not through motivation, but through conviction. His story is rooted in resilience, choosing an unconventional path, and learning that real success isn't what you can show online, but what you can sustain in your body, your family, your faith, and your daily life. theRide is that philosophy in motion.Support the show

Fluent Fiction - Dutch: Conquering Fears: Sander's Courageous Journey Takes Flight Find the full episode transcript, vocabulary words, and more:fluentfiction.com/nl/episode/2026-06-01-22-34-01-nl Story Transcript:Nl: Het zonlicht kleurde zachtjes de terminal van Schiphol.En: The sunlight gently colored the terminal of Schiphol.Nl: Reizigers liepen haastig rond, rolkoffers ratelden over de vloeren.En: Travelers hurried around, rolling suitcases rattled over the floors.Nl: Tussen al die drukte, stond Sander met een gespannen blik.En: Amidst all that hustle, Sander stood with a tense expression.Nl: Femke, zijn collega, merkte zijn onrust op.En: Femke, his colleague, noticed his unease.Nl: Ze gaf hem een zachte klop op de rug.En: She gave him a gentle pat on the back.Nl: "Het komt wel goed, Sander," zei ze geruststellend.En: "It'll be alright, Sander," she said reassuringly.Nl: Sander zuchtte diep.En: Sander sighed deeply.Nl: Hij wist dat hij naar de conferentie moest.En: He knew he had to attend the conference.Nl: Het was belangrijk voor zijn werk.En: It was important for his work.Nl: Maar de angst voor vliegen hield hem in zijn greep.En: But the fear of flying gripped him.Nl: "Wat als het niet goed gaat?"En: "What if it doesn't go well?"Nl: mompelde hij.En: he mumbled.Nl: Femke glimlachte.En: Femke smiled.Nl: "Joris?En: "Joris?Nl: Zou jij iets tegen Sander willen zeggen?"En: Would you like to say something to Sander?"Nl: vroeg ze, terwijl ze haar telefoon pakte.En: she asked, while grabbing her phone.Nl: In een paar seconden verscheen Joris' gezicht op het scherm.En: In a few seconds, Joris' face appeared on the screen.Nl: "Hey Sander!"En: "Hey Sander!"Nl: zei Joris opgewekt.En: said Joris cheerfully.Nl: "Je kan dit, echt waar.En: "You can do this, really.Nl: Denk aan wat je hebt bereikt."En: Think about what you've already achieved."Nl: Sander wilde zijn vrienden geloven.En: Sander wanted to believe his friends.Nl: Toch maakte de vertraging van de vlucht het er niet makkelijker op.En: Yet the flight delay didn't make it any easier.Nl: De aankondiging dreunde in zijn hoofd als een trommel: "Overschrijding door slecht weer."En: The announcement echoed in his head like a drum: "Delay due to bad weather."Nl: Zijn hart klopte harder.En: His heart beat faster.Nl: Femke keek hem aan.En: Femke looked at him.Nl: "Weet je nog," zei ze, "hoe je die presentatie toch maar gedaan hebt?En: "Remember," she said, "how you managed to give that presentation?Nl: Dit kun je ook."En: You can do this too."Nl: Met elke minuut werd de tijd korter.En: With every passing minute, the time grew shorter.Nl: Femke bleef naast hem staan, met haar rustige aanwezigheid.En: Femke stood by his side, with her calming presence.Nl: Joris praatte nog steeds via de telefoon.En: Joris was still talking on the phone.Nl: "Zal ik grapjes blijven vertellen totdat je instapt?"En: "Shall I keep telling jokes until you board?"Nl: stelde hij voor, waardoor er een kleine glimlach om Sanders lippen verscheen.En: he suggested, causing a small smile to appear on Sander's lips.Nl: Toen het eindelijk tijd was om te boarden, voelde Sander de paniek nog steeds sluimeren.En: When it was finally time to board, Sander still felt the panic lingering.Nl: Maar hij had een besluit genomen.En: But he had made a decision.Nl: Hij zou zijn angst niet laten winnen.En: He would not let his fear win.Nl: Met een laatste diepe ademhaling stapte hij naar de gate.En: With one last deep breath, he stepped toward the gate.Nl: Het geluid van de scanner klonk en de poort ging open.En: The sound of the scanner beeped and the gate opened.Nl: Sander ademde in.En: Sander inhaled.Nl: Hij keek naar Femke die knikte en naar Joris op het scherm die hem een opgestoken duim gaf.En: He looked at Femke, who nodded, and at Joris on the screen, who gave him a thumbs-up.Nl: Stap voor stap zette hij zich in beweging en stapte aan boord van het vliegtuig.En: Step by step, he moved forward and boarded the plane.Nl: In zijn stoel zittend, keek hij uit het raam.En: Sitting in his seat, he looked out the window.Nl: De wereld daarbuiten leek rustig.En: The world outside seemed calm.Nl: Hij voelde Femke naast zich en hoorde de stem van Joris die door zijn hoofd galmde.En: He felt Femke beside him and heard Joris' voice echoing in his mind.Nl: Langzaam kalmeerde zijn hartslag.En: Slowly his heart rate began to calm.Nl: Voor het eerst voelde hij zich klaar.En: For the first time, he felt ready.Nl: Klaar om dit nieuwe avontuur tegemoet te treden.En: Ready to face this new adventure.Nl: De vlucht zou geen makkelijke waren, dat wist Sander.En: The flight would not be easy, Sander knew that.Nl: Maar hij had een stap gezet.En: But he had taken a step.Nl: Een grote stap.En: A big step.Nl: En dat gaf hem vertrouwen voor wat er ook zou komen.En: And that gave him confidence for whatever was to come. Vocabulary Words:sunlight: zonlichtterminal: terminaltravelers: reizigershustle: druktetense: gespannenunease: onrustreassuringly: geruststellendconference: conferentiefear: angstdelay: vertragingannouncement: aankondigingechoed: dreundecalming: rustigelingering: sluimerenscanner: scannergate: poortinhaled: ademde inthumbs-up: opgestoken duimboarded: stapte aan boordadventure: avontuurconfidence: vertrouwengripped: greeppresentation: presentatieminutes: minutenpresence: aanwezigheidjokes: grapjeslinger: sluimerencalm: kalmeoutside: buitenadventure: avontuur

I Shouldn't Say This But is back, and I've got a lot to say and share.I'm Katy Leeson, former MD of Social Chain, founder of Courageous, and I'm bringing back one of the UK's top-ranked business podcasts with a clear mission: to help leaders and founders scale without losing their people or themselves.No fluff. No performance. Just the stuff most of us won't say out loud.Hit follow and get ready, new episodes are on their way.

Text: Matthew 25:14-285 Traits of the Lord's Servant: Connected, Clear, Compliant, Consistent, and Courageous

05/31/2026 Strong & Courageous | Choose TodayJoshua 23-24Big Idea: Today's devotion shapes tomorrow's direction.God finishes what He starts. People rarely walk away from God all at once They slowly stop choosing Him day by day.Four practical challenges for living that stay devoted to God:1. Remember God's faithfulness. You are standing here because God has been faithful. Forgotten faithfulness weakens present devotion. What past faithfulness of God do you need to revisit to strengthen your present trust?2. Remove what competes for your devotion. Trust god and cling to Him. Beware of internal drift. It takes courage to start following God. It takes greater courage to keep following Hi faithfully over time. What you tolerate today will eventually shape who you become. What is quietly competing with God for first place in your life?3. Choose daily whom you will serve. There is no middle road, follow God or live according to your earthly desires. (Matt 24: 9-13; Joshua 24:5; Rom 5:8; Col 1:13) Following Jesus isn't self-improvement, it's self-surrender. What choice do you need to make today before drift takes you further?4. Build rhythms that reinforce your devotion. What rhythms need to change if you want your devotion to stay strong?Three decisions you need to make to live fully devoted to the Lord:1. Decide what needs to go. What competes for your devotions shapes who you become.2. Decide what faithfulness looks like. Being faithful takes hard work.3. Decide what needs to be reinforced. Choose wisely.

Welcome to The Wise & Courageous Podcast, where we host conversations with women leaders about how they are seeking and engaging wisdom and courage in their leadership and work in this unique season. “Once you have been to the edge of the cliff, it gives you a heart for others who are feeling like they are barely hanging on.” — Pamela Simmons Pamela Simmons joins Nancy Pedulla on The Wise and Courageous Podcast for a conversation about her journey to becoming an instructor who is passionate about serving community college students with a heart for each person's situation and needs. Professor Pamela Simmons found her calling as an educator while tutoring classmates as an undergraduate. She loves “demystifying” accounting — translating complex ideas into something clear, practical, and even enjoyable lessons for her students. A CPA with both an MBA and a Master's in Accounting from Kent State University, she taught at Kent State University, Hiram College, Wayne College, and Baldwin Wallace University before finding her home at the student-centered Cuyahoga Community College (Tri-C). She remains dedicated to helping every student overcome challenges and reach their fullest potential. How do you find the Lord's invitations in the midst of the circumstances of your life? Pamela shares her unexpected career journey, from working in the university business office to deciding she wanted to invest her time in teaching others in a student-centered college. She describes her experience as the mom of a disabled child and the way that has deeply impacted her teaching and her values. Listen for her determination to help a sight impaired student pass a challenging Accounting course. Listen to the end to hear about how prayer infuses her work with students. For the purposes of this podcast, we are defining leadership as the stewardship of people, culture and purpose, guiding and serving others toward a shared vision or outcomes. Welcome to the conversation! — Nancy Pedulla   For show notes or more information please visit our article at The Well. If you'd like to support the work of InterVarsity's Women Scholars and Professionals, including future podcasts such as this episode, you can do so at givetoiv.org/wsap. Thank you for listening!

In this solo “quick hit” episode of The Courageous Podcast, Ryan unpacks the tension between safety and growth, why so many people stay stuck waiting for certainty, and how courage is often built through smaller decisions that slowly reshape who we become. Along the way, Ryan reflects on the loneliness ambitious people quietly carry, the future of Courageous, and the mindset he keeps coming back to lately: the people who build the lives they want eventually learn to bet on themselves before they feel fully ready.

Ashley Berger — creator of Sweet Pea Lifestyle, TEDx speaker, and devoted believer that dinner parties can change the world — joins me for a warm, honest, and surprisingly radical conversation about hospitality, community, and what it really looks like to build a life around bringing people together. We explore how 18 years of gathering people around a table has evolved from recipes and pretty tablescapes into something she feels is genuinely needed right now — a deeper, braver invitation to honest human connection. And how Ashley's projector energy, her TEDx message, and her own quiet reinvention are all pointing toward the same truth: real connection requires presence, not performance. In this episode, we explore: What "radical hospitality" actually means — choosing connection over comfort, especially in charged or uncomfortable moments How hosting can become performative and draining, and the shift Ashley made to ensure the host gets held too Human Design Projector-style leadership in practice: guiding more than grinding, and trusting the power of being recognized and invited rather than forcing things The deceptively powerful practice of hosting yourself daily — setting a place at the table, eating with intention, and extending to yourself the same care you give others Reclaiming "hospitality" and "homemaker" as expansive, inclusive, culture-making words — not gendered limitations Why small, intimate tables are where deep transformation most often happens — not comment threads, not massive networking rooms, or huge events This one is for anyone who longs for more face-to-face, heart-to-heart human connection — and is ready to open their door, even imperfectly, to make it happen. Connect with Ashley: Website & resources: sweetpealifestyle.com Substack: Sweet Pea Supper Club — monthly dinner party kits, recipes, and conversation prompts for both new and long-time friends Watch her Tedx talk, Dinner Parties Can Change The World Find her on social media @sweetpealifestyle Connect with Meghan: meghan-omalley.com Get the Book, Unstuck Yourself: Thrive Beyond Burnout and Discover Your True Purpose, available wherever books are sold

“Slingshot? Slingshot.”Today's Christian Movie Club features a movie based on a song based on a Men's Bible Study - CourageousCourageous - https://tubitv.com/movies/100016125/courageousSend us your movie suggestions! - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@thebibleisfunny⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Get The Bible is Funny Card Game, hats, and more at https://thebibleisfunny.etsy.com/

Carlos Juan Finlay was a Cuban doctor who did a lot of work to understand the spread of Yellow Fever. But Walter Reed got most of the credit. Research: American Experience. “Carlos Finlay (1833-1915).” From The Great Fever. PBS. https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/fever-carlos-finlay/ Berenbrok, Dorothy E., "Latin Heritage Month. Carlos Juan Finlay: Outrageous, Courageous and Correct" (2015). Posters: Jefferson History. 3. https://jdc.jefferson.edu/jeffhistoryposters/3 "Carlos Juan Finlay." Encyclopedia of World Biography Online, Gale, 1998. Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints, link.gale.com/apps/doc/K1631002194/GPS?u=mlin_n_melpub&sid=bookmark-GPS&xid=bfeecc25. Accessed 29 Apr. 2026. Chaves-Carballo, Enrique. “Carlos J. Finlay: The mosquito man.” Hektoen International. 11/2/2020. https://hekint.org/2020/11/02/carlos-j-finlay-the-mosquito-man/ Corbitt, Duvon C. “Carlos J. Finlay, Cuban Physician.” The Hispanic American Historical Review, Vol. 45, No. 3 (Aug., 1965). Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/2511751 Del Regato, Juan A. “Carlos Juan Finlay (1833-1915).” Journal of Public Health Policy , 2001, Vol. 22, No. 1 (2001). Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/3343556 Faerstein, Eduardoa; Winkelstein, Warren Jrb. Carlos Juan Finlay: Rejected, Respected, and Right. Epidemiology 21(1):p 158, January 2010. | DOI: 10.1097/EDE.0b013e3181c308e0 Ferreira Moreno, Víctor Guillermo. “Evocation to the Dr. Carlos J. Finlay Barres on the centennial of his death.” Colombia medica (Cali, Colombia) vol. 47,1 63-6. 30 Mar. 2016 Finlay, Carlos J. “The Mosquito Hypothetically Considered as the Agent of Transmission of Yellow Fever.” Read before the Royal Academy of Medical, Physical and Natural Sciences Session of August 14th, 1881. https://archive.org/details/b33448541/page/590/mode/1up Finlay, Carlos Juan. “Trabajos selectos del Dr. Carlos J. Finlay. Selected papers of Dr. Carlos J. Finlay.” Habana. 1912. https://archive.org/details/trabajosselectos00finl Finlay, Charles. “Inoculations for Yellow Fever by Means of Contaminated Mosquitoes.” Published in The American Journal of the Medical Sciences, n.s. 102: 264-268, 1891. https://archive.org/details/b33445242/page/n4/mode/1up Finlay, Charles. “Yellow Fever: Its ‘Transmission by Means of the Culex Mosquito.” Published in The American Journal of the Medical Sciences, n.s. 92: 395-409, 1886. https://archive.org/details/b33435698/page/613/mode/1up Palmer, Steven. “A Cuban Scientist Between Empires: Peripheral Vision on Race and Tropical Medicine.” Canadian Journal of Latin American and Caribbean Studies / Revue canadienne desétudes latino-américaines et caraïbes, Vol. 35, No. 69, Special Issue: Landscapes of LatinAmerican Health, 1870-1970. Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/41800498 Spears, Ellen Griffith and Rosa López-Oceguera. “Carlos Juan Finlay, William Gorgas, and Walter Reed and the U.S. Army Yellow Fever Controversy: Competing Historical Memories.” Alabama Review The University of Alabama Press. Volume 74, Number 1, January 2021. https://doi.org/10.1353/ala.2021.0011 Stepan, Nancy. “The Interplay between Socio-Economic Factors and Medical Science: Yellow Fever Research, Cuba and the United States.” Social Studies of Science , Nov., 1978, Vol. 8, No. 4 (Nov., 1978). Via JSTOR. http://www.jstor.com/stable/284817 Thomas Jefferson University. “10 Notable Jefferson Alumni of the Past.” https://library.jefferson.edu/archives/exhibits/notable_alumni/juan_carlos_finlay.cfm Tone, John Lawrence. (2002) “How the mosquito (man) liberated Cuba.” History and Technology, 18:4, 277-308, DOI: 10.1080/07341512.2002.11417735 “Carlos J. Finlay.” 5/16/2023. https://www.unesco.org/en/prizes/carlos-j-finlay/about Woodall, Jack. "Yellow Fever." Infectious Diseases: In Context, edited by Brenda Wilmoth Lerner and K. Lee Lerner, vol. 2, Gale, 2008, pp. 925-931. In Context Series. Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints, link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX3045200265/GPS?u=mlin_n_melpub&sid=bookmark-GPS&xid=bf646a26. Accessed 29 Apr. 2026. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this message, we are encouraged to walk out in courageous integrity. Courageous integrity is critiquing your own tribe and holding them accountable, while actively looking for what is good, admirable, or true in those you disagree with. The reason why all of us struggle with integrity is that we need something that provides us with structure and allows us to feel good about our lives. The structure comes from the load-bearing beam or spec in our eyes. What are the load bearing beams that hold up your identity? Our load makes us fragmented in our lives. We are one way in our family life and a different way in our online life. This lacks integrity: being our whole, best self in every part of our life. The good news is that God can grow our integrity. Practice spending time in God's presence, persevering on the maintenance of our integrity, and directly praying to God for strength to increase and maintain our integrity.

What gives ordinary people the courage to speak truth, resist fear, and remain hopeful in a fractured world?In Acts 4 and 5, the early church faces its first wave of persecution after Peter and John heal a man at the temple gates and boldly proclaim the resurrection of Jesus. Confronted by powerful religious leaders, threatened, imprisoned, and punished, the apostles discover that true power is not found in coercion or control, but in resurrection, community, and the Spirit of God.In this sermon, Yelena explores:• Why the message of Jesus provoked opposition• What Acts teaches us about power and courage• How community helps us face fear• Why joy can still exist in suffering• What it means to live nonviolently and faithfully todayWhether you're wrestling with fear, longing for deeper community, or trying to live with integrity in a divided world, this conversation invites us to become people of courageous witness together.Scripture: Acts 4–5Commons ChurchLove God. Love People. Tell the Story. ★ Support this podcast ★

Speaker: Jeff Schwarzentraub

On this Pentecost Sunday, Pastor Dan talks about the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Scripture reading: Acts 2:1-13. 5-24-26 Courageous Together in Changing Times: Pentecost Dan Petrak

05/24/2026 Strong & Courageous | When God Fights For YouJoshua 8-10Bid Idea: God wins our battles when we walk His way.When God fights for you:1. Obedience matters. (Joshua 8) Some people are stuck because they want to know and understand God's whole plan before doing anything. Partial obedience still leads to full consequences. Where is God asking you to obey instead of just agreeing with Him?2. Dependence matters. (Joshua 9) Read Proverbs 3:5-6. What we fail to pray through, we often stumble through. What are you trying to navigate without truly seeking God? Are you willing to ask Him about it?3. Faith steps forward. (Joshua 10) Faith doesn't sit still when God says move. What step of faith is God asking you to take right now?

How do you go from sweeping job sites and hauling trash to sitting at senior leadership tables managing multi-million dollar portfolios? In this episode of Constructive, host Seth sits down with industry veteran Matt Rumsey to dismantle the biggest clichés in the business. Matt challenges the viral LinkedIn myth that construction productivity hasn't evolved , explaining why safer sites mean our baseline metrics are actually better than ever . We dive deep into the weight of making tough leadership transitions, how to navigate project management friction , and why tech companies need to build for the field workers—not just the CEOs . Plus, Matt shares a surprising look at why AI won't replace your job, but will drastically elevate it . Hit play for a refreshing, human-first look at the reality of building great things ! Show Credits & Music:Music: https://www.bensound.comArtist: Benjamin TissotLicense code: EBEXIJM0PQLM90NZ

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Eric Hansen built his business the hard way—decades of grit, risk, and going it alone. But he hit a ceiling he couldn't break through by himself. In this episode, Eric shares how joining The Strategic Coach® Program helped him multiply his business, reclaim his time, and design a more balanced, purposeful entrepreneurial life. Here's some of what you'll learn in this episode:Why entrepreneurs talk about completely different things with one another than anyone else in their lives.The two crucial stages that signal you're ready to join The Strategic Coach Program.Why Eric said no to Coach for years—and what finally changed his mind.The kind of wireless telecommunications company Eric has been growing for nearly three decades.How Eric has actually gained more free time and freedom as his company has scaled.  Show Notes: When corporate executives meet, they share wins. When professionals meet, they discuss problems. When entrepreneurs meet, they trade stories about their biggest failures and comebacks. Entrepreneurs routinely put themselves into situations where they have to grow as people in order to create the solutions they need. Great entrepreneurs are always acquiring new capabilities, and that continual growth is what builds their confidence. The most successful entrepreneurs can go through almost any kind of trouble and still find a way to come out stronger on the other side. In the Strategic Coach® community, you never have to explain yourself because everyone has lived through their own version of the challenges you're describing. It's a powerful advantage for a new entrepreneur to admit they don't know everything and be open to learning. Companies, like people, move through distinct phases of growth, and each phase demands a different kind of leadership. When you're staring down potential business ruin, you quickly discover who you are and what you're really made of. Grit is a crucial entrepreneurial capability that never shows up neatly on a resume and is almost impossible to judge on the surface. Most small businesses don't survive beyond their first few years, which makes staying power and resilience a serious competitive advantage. The willingness to be vulnerable, especially after major setbacks, can become one of an entrepreneur's greatest superpowers. Resources: The 4 C's Formula by Dan Sullivan Grit by Angela Duckworth The 4 Freedoms That Motivate Successful Entrepreneurs The Self-Managing Company by Dan Sullivan From Strength to Strength: Finding Success, Happiness, and Deep Purpose in the Second Half of Life by Arthur C. Brook The Impact Filter®

During a lively event filled with decorated walkers, Derby Day chaos, laughter, respite care, and lunch provided by Chick-fil-a, Veranda Ministries showed that joy and purpose can coexist despite the tough behind-the-scenes work, like running the Kentucky Derby uphill in orthopedic shoes. In this heartfelt and funny episode, we recount the Veranda Ministries Derby Day 2026 fundraiser — the fun, mishaps, horse-themed walker races, and a reminder that caregiving communities need fun, support, dignity, and connection. Sue and Mary Anne Oglesby-Sutherly reveal the emotional and physical effort behind creating a dementia-friendly respite program that offers caregivers and loved ones hope, laughter, and a sense of belonging. We also celebrate Mary Anne as the recipient of this year's Welch College's "Strong and Courageous" Award for her leadership in dementia care ministry, which highlights resilience, compassion, and community.  www.verandaministrires.org

Are you discouraged today? Have you lost hope? Are you struggling? You just don't feel like you can do what you know you're supposed to do? If that's where you find yourself today, Chip shares words of encouragement and hope about how to handle life when it gets really tough. Broadcast ResourcesMessage NotesAdditional ResourcesTake The Real You AssessmentConnect888-333-6003WebsiteChip Ingram AppInstagramFacebookTwitterPartner With UsDonate Online888-333-6003

Today's episode is a surprise gift from Spirit, lovingly delivered just for you. So often, Spirit communicates through quiet nudges, meaningful synchronicities, unexpected moments, and gentle whispers woven throughout our days. Yet in the rush of life, these sacred gifts can easily go unnoticed. In this episode, Ginette shares a powerful Spirit messages encouraging you to slow down, open your awareness, and truly see what the Spirit world is trying to reveal within you. This message is about courage, truth, and remembering who you truly are beneath fear, conditioning, and limitation. If you have been searching for clarity, reassurance, or a sign that you are being guided, this episode may be exactly the confirmation your heart has been waiting for. Xo G To secure your spot at the AWAKENING THE SOUL SUMMIT click here!: https://avalonspirit.com/products/awakening-the-soul-summit-may-28-30-2026-whistler-canada To ask your questions to spirit and receive a recording click here! https://avalonspirit.com/collections/personal-journey-guides/products/ginette-biro-readings-copy To learn to read tarot cards click here! https://avalonspirit.com/products/how-to-read-tarot-cards-with-ginette-biro To learn to read oracle cards click here! https://avalonspirit.com/products/the-awakening-and-wisdom-oracle-card-bundle-copy To purchase your own Wisdom of Gaia and Awakening Avalon deck click here: https://avalonspirit.com/products/oracle-cards #avalonspirit #dailyoracle #dailytarot Thanks so much for listening! Please SUBSCRIBE, LIKE and SHARE to spread love and higher consciousness from these messages to more people. For more amazing content, check out: Website: www.avalonspirit.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/avalonspirit Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ginettebiro.medium Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/the-ginette-biro-podcast/id1505097658 https://ginettebiro.podbean.com/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0W-63rlYl8mX5edln35gsw TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@ginettebiro.medium If these messages have inspired you, please give back and Donate today: paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=G5HYV58ZFPLEQ Spirit Wisdom Podcast: Are you ready for a divine spiritual journey? Ginette Biro brings insight from the spirit world to you to grow your consciousness and connection to other dimensions. Get ready to live a more meaningful and purpose-filled life. She helps make sense of life within the world of spirit and woo so that you can connect more deeply to your higher self and purpose. She is rare in being both a channeler, medium and having a near-death experience. Ginette channels information about Spirit Guides, Fifth Dimension, Vibrational Frequency, Spirit Guides, Life After Death, Cosmic Consciousness, Higher Self, Parallel Timelines, Energy Portals, Past Lives, Live Channeling, Aliens, Galactic Federation and much more. Check out her Cosmic Consciousness Circle and Lightworker Mentorship Circle for live sessions with Ginette. https://avalonspirit.com/collections/experiences

Ever notice that when you take a step of faith and you're committed to being the person God wants you to be, that life suddenly gets really tough? Why is that? Chip explains why it gets worse before it gets better and he'll give you some practical ways to make it through the bumpy ride that you may be enduring right now. Broadcast ResourcesMessage NotesAdditional ResourcesTake The Real You AssessmentConnect888-333-6003WebsiteChip Ingram AppInstagramFacebookTwitterPartner With UsDonate Online888-333-6003

Episode Overview- Faith trusts God—even without outcomes- Spirit-led risks create defining moments- Stand firm when God makes it clear- “But even if He doesn't” is true obedience- How you stand shapes your influence- Courageous faith can change cultureShow Notes and Resources

In this episode, we cover:What it means to be a courageous mother in the face of deep lossHow grief and faith can coexist without fear or shameThe power of spiritual friendship in seasons of painTrusting God when understanding is impossibleHow healing unfolds over time through God's presenceKey Moments:Courageous mothers honored through testimony and truthPat and Deborah share the stories of their sons with honesty and graceLessons learned through grief, surrender, and trusting the LordThe role of the church family in healing and restorationScripture, prayer, and anointing as acts of spiritual covering

What if the thing standing between you and the life God promised isn't an obstacle, but a fear?In this message, Strong and Courageous, Pastor John Huseman opens up Numbers 13 and Joshua 1 to show how fear stopped a whole generation from stepping into the Promised Land, and how God has given us everything we need to live differently. Drawing from 2 Timothy 1:7, Philippians 4:6–7, Numbers 13, and Joshua 1, this sermon reminds us that fear is spiritual, peace is spiritual, and our God is greater than any report the enemy tries to spread.In this message, you'll discover:-Why fear isn't just a feeling, it's a spirit, and how to fight it spiritually-God's three-step playbook from Philippians 4 for trading worry for peace-Why what you consume (your phone, your feed, your input) shapes the race you can run-What ten spies got wrong in Numbers 13, and what Caleb and Joshua got right-Why God told Joshua to be strong and courageous three times in a rowWhether you're battling anxiety, carrying a diagnosis, navigating a hard family season, or feeling stuck in a desert that should have ended years ago, this message will remind you that God is for you, He's with you, and He has a Promised Land waiting on the other side of your obedience.

When Jesus ascended into heaven, he returned home to the Father. Pastor Dan talks about how we will be reunited with Jesus at the resurrection, and we will finally have the peace and satisfaction that comes with going home. Scripture reading: Luke 24:44-53. 5-17-26 Courageous Together in Changing Times: Going Home Dan Petrak

Welcome to The Wise & Courageous Podcast, where we host conversations with women leaders about how they are seeking and engaging wisdom and courage in their leadership and work in this unique season. “It took courage for me to transform myself from somebody who was comfortable in the background doing safe research to doing something much more controversial in the public eye.” — Cynthia Prescott Cynthia Prescott, Professor and Chair of the Department of History and American Indian Studies at the University of North Dakota joins Nancy Pedulla on The Wise and Courageous Podcast for a conversation about leadership.  What happens when the research you are doing suddenly takes up more space in public exploration and debate? In this conversation with Cindy, opportunities to lead in the research sphere and in the university invite a new sense of identity as a leader and require growing in courage and wisdom. Cynthia Culver Prescott is Professor of History and Chair of the Department of History & American Indian Studies and of the Anthropology department. Dr. Prescott's work focuses on gender in the American West. She combines social history and material culture methods to study the intersections of gender, race, social class, and historical memory. For the purposes of this podcast, we are defining leadership as the stewardship of people, culture and purpose, guiding and serving others toward a shared vision or outcomes. Welcome to the conversation! — Nancy Pedulla   For show notes or more information please visit our article at The Well. If you'd like to support the work of InterVarsity's Women Scholars and Professionals, including future podcasts such as this episode, you can do so at givetoiv.org/wsap. Thank you for listening!

Five RINO senators in South Carolina stymie a redistricting plan that could have added an extra House seat for Republicans, and MAGA is not happy. Bill Cassidy, John Cornyn and even Thomas Massie try to hitch their wagon to Trump, but conservatives aren't fooled. A multi-billion dollar Medicaid fraud operation is uncovered in Ohio as the Homeland Security Investigations team unravels a phony foreign student employment scheme across the country. Kash Patel makes senator Chris Van Hollen wish he was sipping drinks with an MS-13 gang banger.  

This special episode of Liberty + Leadership features highlights from the 2026 TFAS Annual Conference in Washington, D.C., where students, scholars, alumni and national leaders gathered around this year's theme: Developing Courageous Citizens.As the United States approaches its 250th anniversary, TFAS is placing renewed focus on civic education, the American founding and the responsibility each generation bears in preserving a free society. Across keynote remarks, panel discussions and alumni reflections, this episode explores the institutions, principles and habits of character that sustain self-government.Featured speakers include Vice President Mike Pence, Daniel Hannan, Lord of Kingsclere and many others. Together, they discuss America's founding principles, constitutional government, civic education, economic freedom, free speech and the enduring importance of preparing young people to lead with courage, conviction and integrity.The episode also highlights the lasting impact of TFAS programs through personal stories of intellectual formation, public service and lives shaped by encounters with the ideas of liberty both in the United States and around the world.The Liberty + Leadership Podcast is hosted by TFAS president Roger Ream and produced by Podville Media. If you have a comment or question for the show, please email us at podcast@TFAS.org. To support TFAS and its mission, please visit TFAS.org/support.Support the show

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Welcome back to another episode of the unSeminary podcast. Today we're joined by Dr. Derwin L. Gray, co-founder and lead pastor of Transformation Church. Since launching in 2010, Transformation Church has become a multi-ethnic, multi-generational movement impacting thousands locally and globally. In this conversation, Derwin tackles one of the most pressing—and often avoided—questions facing church leaders today: what are we actually multiplying? Are we forming disciples of Jesus—or unintentionally shaping people more through culture, politics, and media than through the gospel? Derwin challenges leaders to examine the deeper currents shaping their churches and to recover a bold, Christ-centered vision for discipleship. What are we actually multiplying? // Derwin raises a provocative concern: many churches are focused on growth, expansion, and multiplication—but not always clear on what is being multiplied. Are we producing disciples rooted in the gospel, or consumers attracted to experiences? He warns that without intentional focus, churches can unintentionally replicate shallow faith, cultural Christianity, or even ideological distortion. The goal of multiplication must not simply be more campuses or larger attendance, but deeper, more faithful discipleship. A discipleship crisis beneath the surface. // The issue isn't that churches lack discipleship. It's that many people are being discipled by the wrong influences. Social media, political ideologies, and cultural narratives are shaping beliefs and behaviors, often more powerfully than Scripture. This creates a “wrong discipleship” problem, where people identify as Christians but reflect values that are inconsistent with the teachings of Jesus. The challenge for leaders is to re-center discipleship around Christ, ensuring that people are being formed by the gospel rather than the surrounding culture. The danger of ideological captivity. // Derwin speaks candidly about the ways the church can become entangled in political ideologies—whether on the right or the left. He specifically critiques the rise of Christian nationalism, defining it as the fusion of the church's identity with the identity of a nation-state. This, he argues, distorts the gospel by elevating political allegiance above allegiance to Christ. At the same time, he acknowledges the influence of secular progressivism. Both extremes, in different ways, can pull believers away from the centrality of Jesus. The call is not to disengage from society, but to engage from a distinctly gospel-centered perspective. Recovering a gospel-shaped identity. // At the heart of Derwin's message is a call to rediscover what it means to be shaped by the gospel. The good news of Jesus is not merely about individual salvation—it creates a new family across ethnic, cultural, and social lines. This vision is central to Transformation Church's identity as a multi-ethnic community. Derwin emphasizes that the gospel reconciles not only vertically (between people and God), but horizontally (between people and one another). When churches lose this vision, they lose their witness in a divided world. Courageous and compassionate leadership. // Leading in this cultural moment requires what Derwin calls “courageous compassion.” Pastors must be willing to speak truth clearly while loving people deeply. This means addressing difficult issues without fear of losing people, while also avoiding harsh or divisive rhetoric. Derwin acknowledges that this approach can lead to criticism from multiple sides, but he emphasizes that faithfulness to Christ must take priority over maintaining comfort or approval. Practical steps for leaders. // For pastors who feel their churches have been shaped more by culture than by Christ, Derwin offers simple but powerful starting points: pray, repent, and refocus on the gospel. He encourages leaders to equip themselves through study and to guide their teams in rediscovering a biblical framework for discipleship. Most importantly, leaders must model what they teach, demonstrating lives rooted in Christ rather than captured by cultural narratives. A renewed vision for the church. // Ultimately, Derwin calls the church back to its prophetic voice. The church is not meant to mirror the divisions of the world but to offer a compelling alternative: a community shaped by love, unity, and truth. When the church remains rooted in Jesus, it becomes a powerful witness to a watching world. To learn more about Transformation Church and Dr. Derwin L. Gray, his teaching, and resources, visit transformationchurch.tc and derwinlgray.com. Plus, pre-order his book, It’s Time to Heal: Four God-Given Steps to Restore What Life Has Shattered. Thank You for Tuning In! There are a lot of podcasts you could be tuning into today, but you chose unSeminary, and I'm grateful for that. If you enjoyed today's show, please share it by using the social media buttons you see at the left hand side of this page. Also, kindly consider taking the 60-seconds it takes to leave an honest review and rating for the podcast on iTunes, they're extremely helpful when it comes to the ranking of the show and you can bet that I read every single one of them personally! Lastly, don't forget to subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, to get automatic updates every time a new episode goes live! Thank You to This Episode’s Sponsor: Portable Church Your church is doing really well right now, and your leadership team is looking for solutions to keep momentum going! It could be time to start a new location. Maybe you have hesitated in the past few years, but you know it's time to step out in faith again and launch that next location. Portable Church has assembled a bundle of resources to help you leverage your growing momentum into a new location by sending a part of your congregation back to their neighborhood on Mission. This bundle of resources will give you a step-by-step plan to launch that new or next location, and a 5 minute readiness tool that will help you know your church is ready to do it! Click here to watch the free webinar “Launch a New Location in 150 Days or Less” and grab the bundle of resources for your church! Episode Transcript Rich Birch — Hey friends, so glad that you decided to tune in to today’s episode of the unSeminary podcast. Really looking forward to this. I had a fragment of a conversation with a dear friend at the Exponential Conference and I want to have more of that today with you listening in. And this is a conversation that I know is impacting people. I think 100% of our church is in the country today. It’s something that we all are seeing. It’s impacting us. We’ve got to be thinking about this. Rich Birch — Honored to have Dr. Derwin Gray with us, incredible leader from Transformation Church. He and his wife, Vicki, co-founded the church in 2010. It’s a multi-ethnic, multi-generational, mission-shaped community community with two locations in South Carolina, as well as Church Online. He’s an award-winning author of multiple books. He’s been on the podcast in the past and is one of the people who, he’s called me out on the podcast before, and I have taken those lessons with me. And so I’m I'm hoping that happens with you today. Derwin, welcome to the show. So glad you’re here.Dr. Derwin L. Gray — Hey, man, thank you. So good to be with you.Rich Birch — No, it’s it’s honest. You know, been multiple times you’ve been on the show and I I’ve walked away being like, man, okay, Derwin just, he’s just pushed me and and got me to think different, which I really appreciate that. So for folks that don’t know about Transformation, kind of tell us a little bit about the church and give us the context you’re in, that sort of thing.Dr. Derwin L. Gray — Yeah, man. So ah my wife and I co-planted Transformation Church in 2010 in the Charlotte, North Carolina area. And so neither my wife and nor I grew up in church, and both of us came to faith in our mid to late 20s, and primarily through people at work. There was a woman at my wife’s job who shared Christ with her. I had a teammate named Steve Grant, with the Indianapolis Colts, where I played in the NFL. We called him the naked preacher because after practice, he’d dry off, take a shower, wrap a towel around his waist, and he’d share the gospel. And over five years, I came to faith. My wife came to faith before me. Dr. Derwin L. Gray — And all we knew was this. If Jesus is this incredible, this forgiving, this gracious, this is the greatest news there is in the world. And so we didn’t know what words like evangelism and discipleship meant. All we knew was this. I want to know him. I want to make him known. I want to know his word.Dr. Derwin L. Gray — And so that was in 1997, 1998. We moved to Charlotte, North Carolina to play for the Carolina Panthers, and I got injured. And so all I could do was read my Bible, rehab my knee. And the following year, both my wife and I said, you know what? I think my NFL time is done.Dr. Derwin L. Gray — What are we going to do? We don’t know. So I got an invitation to speak at a youth event to share my testimony. And I said, well, what is that? They were like, a testimony is where you share your story of how you met Christ and what what took place. So I did that. People started calling me.Dr. Derwin L. Gray — And in 1999, other Christians says, you guys need a nonprofit organization. You know, we’re like, what does that mean? So we started a ministry called One Heart at a Time. I would travel and speak. She would organize everything. We served at our church. Well, the longer we did that, we saw incredible fruit, but we also saw that wherever I would preach, it was ethnically segregated. It was it was really weird, right?Dr. Derwin L. Gray — I’m like, wait a second. America is integrated, but the church is basically segregated. And so I began to ask questions and I got lousy answers. But as we read the Bible, it was like the early church was Jews and Gentiles. That’s what it was. It was a multi-ethnic church. Jesus not only forgave sins, but he created a family with different colored skins. Not only is that the future of the church in Revelation 7:9, but that’s the present reality of the church that intrinsic to the gospel is ethnic reconciliation. What good would it be Jesus forgives you but don’t love your brother and sister? So the cross is vertical and horizontal. Dr. Derwin L. Gray — So we were frustrated. And then we just sense God say, well, you can criticize or you can create. And so ultimately that led to planting Transformation Church in the south area of Charlotte, North Carolina, where actually physically in what’s called Indian Land, South Carolina, and our other campus is in Lake Wiley, South Carolina, but it’s really the greater Charlotte area.Dr. Derwin L. Gray — And our church is more ethnically diverse than our community. And I want to be very, very clear. One of the reasons why we are ethnically diverse is because of the good news of Jesus. Like I explained, Jesus not only forgives sins, but he creates a family with different colored skins. And so for us, ethnic unity in Christ not only enhances our discipleship, but it enhances our witness to a looking and watching world which is filled with so much division. Dr. Derwin L. Gray — And over the last 16 years, God has done miraculous things. We’ve seen 9,000 people come to faith, thousands be baptized. God has given us massive influence. We also have what’s called the Multi-Ethnic Church Roundtable, where we’ve equipped 800 leaders from around the world to do gospel-centered multi-ethnic ministry. We’re also in the process, Leon’s Crump and I, of launching what’s called the Promise Collective, which is going to be an intentionally multi-ethnic gospel-centered church planting network.Dr. Derwin L. Gray — So a lot of wonderful things are taking place. And we think it’s pretty cool that God planted us in the state of South Carolina where the first shots of the Civil War were fired. And God has used this church here to influence not only the church in America, but even around the world. Rich Birch — Yeah, absolutely Dr. Derwin L. Gray — So we’re grateful.Rich Birch — Well, I, yeah, there’s I respect you on so many levels. And, and, you know, they these issues around being a multi-ethnic church are, you know, at the core of that. And just to respect you on for lots of what you’ve done. and And we ended up at this in this conversation, just to kind of bring everybody up to speed, we ended up in this conversation at Exponential that I leaned forward as just declaring my, ah you know, a little bit about me for folks that are listening in. So I am Canadian, don’t hold it against me.Rich Birch — But I’ve served mostly American churches in the churches I work with. And most of the 95% of the listeners of this podcast are in the States. I was in the States for a bunch of years. And that may become a little more obvious as we’re talking here why that’s why I’m talking about that context. But one of the things in this conversation that I heard you, the question you asked, which made me lean forward and then where it kind of unfolded from there is you asked the question, what are we actually multiplying? Exponential is obviously the global conference for multiplication, but you were pushing us to think about what are we actually multiplying? What is the the core of that? Can you unpack that for us?What were you thinking of when we started talking about that that day?Dr. Derwin L. Gray — Yeah, sure, sure. Just to provide either even a little bit more context is it was a gathering of of very large churches. Rich Birch — Right.Dr. Derwin L. Gray — And the question is what’s going well, what’s not going well? And so typically in those types of rooms, I like to listen. And so as I was listening, I was hearing no disrespect, but a lot of the same.Dr. Derwin L. Gray — And so I kind of waited for everybody to to finish what they were saying. And I said, here’s something that Transformation Church does well, is we are equipping our people to stand against secular progressivism and Christian nationalism. And I said, what are we exactly multiplying? Because the state of the church the United States America is not good. It’s not healthy. It is divided. In many cases, it is it’s mean. Shallow theology, not loving our neighbors as God commands us to be loved. Dr. Derwin L. Gray — So so my question was, are we just putting up more boxes for consumers to come in and consume because we have good music, good human-centered preaching. You know, we’re not going to mess with your idols. We’re not going to topple your idols at all. And yeah, you can invite your friends when we get more campuses. Because if that’s just what we’re doing, don’t sign me up for that. I don’t I don’t I don’t want any parts of that. That’s how we got to where we are now. And so you as a Canadian, here in America, the witness of the church is not very good. Like when I talk to people who are unbelievers, I have to untangle…Rich Birch — Right.Dr. Derwin L. Gray — …politics from the gospel because unfortunately there’s been an unholy wedding, particularly on the far right with aspects of Christianity, which has distorted and deformed. I think the secular progressivism is pretty easy to see, but I think the Christian nationalism is a lot harder. Dr. Derwin L. Gray — Now, let me define what I mean by that. So first of all, Loving your country is a good thing. That’s called loving your neighbors. You love yourself. So my fourth grandfather, Moses Davis, fought for the Union, the colored cavalry of Virginia… Rich Birch — Wow. Dr. Derwin L. Gray — …against the treasonous Confederate whatever it was. So in my blood is patriotism for my nation. America’s my home. But to love my neighbors, I love myself means not only do love America, but I love the entire world. And then as a Christian, we have a global body that we love. There are more followers of Jesus of color outside of America than the United States of America.Dr. Derwin L. Gray — Now, what do I mean by Christian nationalism? This is what I mean. Christian nationalism is the attempt to fuse the identity and mission of the church with the identity and power of a nation state, treating the nation as a primary vehicle of God’s purposes rather than seeing God’s kingdom as a global Jesus-centered reality that transcends all nations.Dr. Derwin L. Gray — By that definition, Christian nationalism is a heresy. Because it basically says, if you don’t think like us, you can’t be a follower of Jesus. And so you’re adding to the works of Christ. And so Christian nationalism has infiltrated much of what I would say the majority culture, Caucasian church in America. Not all, but a lot. Where Christians, what what it means to follow Jesus has turned into a far right, almost authoritarianism versus, no, no, you have the right to vote in the United States of America. But as Christians, we don’t have a right to idolize nor demonize those who vote differently than us.Dr. Derwin L. Gray — I’m not sure Americans know this, but most people in the world are not Republican or Democrat. Rich Birch — Right.Dr. Derwin L. Gray — So if you say your faith is based on what you vote for, you’re adding to the work of Christ.Rich Birch — So, so Derwin, I appreciate you. So I’ve not heard a lot of people talk about this. This seems to be, I don’t know, it seems like something happened post COVID and the church in general, there was this like shakeup in the church in general where, you know, lots of people ended up in different places and it was like, we’ve become more divided than ever before. And I do think that there’s a significant dividing line at or close to what you’re talking about here, that it’s like, there’s a, there’s a new voice around Christian nationalism that seems to be gaining influence. Is that, is that, is that ah a false perception or is that the way you see it as well?Dr. Derwin L. Gray — No, you are 100% right. And it is a well-orchestrated, well-funded plan. With social media and the rise of social media influencers, paid propagandists can go on and infuse their propaganda into people immediately.Dr. Derwin L. Gray — And here’s and here’s the thing. Populism does not require much intellect. All it requires is somebody to be angry at who’s taking from you. So the more divided we are as people, the more the oligarchs have power and the money that they make.Dr. Derwin L. Gray — They own the social media. They own the algorithms. I mean, for goodness sakes, Elon Musk promised people a million dollars to vote in Pennsylvania for the election. How is that even legal? Right. Rich Birch — Right.Dr. Derwin L. Gray — So people are being inundated. Like we have family members that don’t even talk to each other anymore because they have red hat or a blue shirt, right? And so it has been in increasingly effective. But here’s the thing, Rich, that’s so wild to me. The admin the the Trump administration greenlit the FDA approval of an abortion pill. And I don’t hear any evangelical saying anything about it.Rich Birch — Right. Right.Dr. Derwin L. Gray — And even when you look at the Supreme Court now saying states can choose whether you do abortion or not, that’s pro-choice. You know, what used to be the Republican Party, small government, family values, those things are way gone. Rich Birch — Right. Right.Dr. Derwin L. Gray — And so not only has Christian nationalism changed like, or not only has this current administration changed what the Republican Party was, but in many cases, it’s changed even so much of the church. And it is wild to listen to people in 2016 who said one thing, who say a totally different thing now.Rich Birch — Yeah.Dr. Derwin L. Gray — It’s hard.Rich Birch — Well, yeah. And I so I think the thing you’ve, you’re putting a finger on and it’s, I appreciate you being willing to talk about and unpack it is there’s definitely like a broader cultural conversation that’s happening around these issues. That is for sure. We’re seeing that. And that’s having an impact on our ability to disciple the people in our churches or our people are being discipled by social media, by the algorithm, by YouTube And that can create or is creating a discipleship crisis in many of our churches. How do you try to find the line between those two to say, hey, we’re going to talk about the discipleship stuff… Dr. Derwin L. Gray — Yeah. Rich Birch — …without getting dragged in on the you know the exterior? How do we how do we draw those lines in a way that makes sense?Dr. Derwin L. Gray — Yeah. Yeah. So, so, so what I would say is we don’t have a discipleship problem. We have a wrong discipleship problem. Rich Birch — Okay, that’s good. Dr. Derwin L. Gray — Because somebody is making students out of somebody.Rich Birch — Right, sure.Dr. Derwin L. Gray — And so are we becoming students of Jesus? that’s That’s the issue. And so what I say is this, how a person votes, that’s their conscience. But how do you treat the people who don’t vote like you? Dr. Derwin L. Gray — So for example, research shows black Americans are more socially conservative, more biblically committed than white Americans. But 90%, I’m sorry, but black American Christians, but black American Christians, 90% vote for Democrats. So how can you be more socially conservative, more biblically committed, but you vote for Democrat?Dr. Derwin L. Gray — Well, because they don’t take everything that’s in the Democratic Party, just like most people who voted for Trump don’t take everything with him. And so we have to give each other the latitude and the grace. And there’s also pro-life Democrats. And not everybody who voted for Trump is evil. Not everybody who votes Democrat is evil. But the powers that be want us divided. Rich Birch — Yeah, that’s true. Dr. Derwin L. Gray — And when I and when I talk to my friends from Canada, when I talk to my friends that are pastors from around the world, Norway, different parts of Europe, Australia, England, and they’re going, what has happened to you guys?Dr. Derwin L. Gray — I can tell you what’s what’s taken place is our faith is being distorted and driving it is fear and hatred.Rich Birch — Yeah. So I would echo that. The joke I’ve made, both with American leaders and leaders from other parts of the world, is there is a segment of the body of Christ that seems very angry about the love of God. Like they’re and they’re very fearful. Like it’s all it’s all anger and fear driven. And I don’t know whether, and it probably is related to the algorithms, but like we’re hearing from these people so much more than, than we used to. It used to be an echo chamber of people that lived in so much fear, but now it’s just out there. It seems to be in, in our, you know, in our feeds all the time.Dr. Derwin L. Gray — Yeah, what used to be on the fringes is now on the main street, right? And so we need to re-gospel ourselves. We need a greater commitment to Christ. So, for example, life in the womb is precious and sacred. That’s not conservative. That’s gospel. That’s biblical.Dr. Derwin L. Gray — Caring for the dignity of undocumented people in America is not liberal. That’s gospel. Wanting border control is not conservative. That is understanding that a nation has to have borders to flourish. Dr. Derwin L. Gray — Believing that marriage is between a man and a woman, we believe that’s biblical. But loving and respecting LGBTQ people is not liberal. Loving my neighbors as I love myself. And if I have any hope of anybody ah coming to Jesus, they’re not going come to Jesus because I’m yelling at them and I’m angry. I’m going to love them and pursue them just like we’ve done here at our church.Dr. Derwin L. Gray — And so I feel like what we’ve done in in in the church is we’ve taken a 250 year old country called America. And then specifically the last 10 years, we’ve made that the hermeneutic to understand the gospel.Rich Birch — Yeah, right.Dr. Derwin L. Gray — We’ve made that the lenses that we look through to determine the gospel. Whereas what I’m saying, let’s go back to the text. Let’s go back to the early church, the book of Acts, Paul’s letters, the gospels. That’s where our faith comes from. Dr. Derwin L. Gray — Like I have lobbied on Capitol Hill with Republicans and Democrats about immigration reform. We need border security, but we can also secure the dignity of human beings, especially human beings who are undocumented and don’t have a record against them. Right. So there has to be a process to have strong borders, but also to hold to people’s hearts.Dr. Derwin L. Gray — But but at the end of the day, right at the end of the day, we are people of the Lamb, not the elephant or the donkey.Rich Birch — So good. So good. So what’s the hardest part about leading in a church that really refuses to be captured by either side? I feel like there’s pressure on from both political parties to they, you know, I think somewhere along the line, they realize, wow, there’s a lot of power in these churches. And how do we you know, how do we kind of infiltrate or how do we gain that? What’s it like to lead a church that’s trying to, that’s refusing to be captured by both sides is wants to keep Jesus ahead. What does that cost? How is that, you know, what are some of the pressures of that? What have been some telltale signs for you as you’ve led at Transformation in this front?Dr. Derwin L. Gray — Yeah, um i would i would I would say, Rich, sometimes I’ll get a critical email and a eventually those people will leave. But but but but for the most part, I mean, we’re 16 years in, it’s our ethos, it’s our character. People know who we are. They know why we are. And so like we’re flourishing, we’re growing. It’s beautiful. Dr. Derwin L. Gray — There’s a matter of fact, I got some messages earlier today just saying, hey, thank you. Like I was just about done with Christianity and I found Transformation Church, right? I mean, this Jesus, you’re this is what I want to be a part of. So I think respecting and loving all people, even though you disagree with them. And the thing that I said, I did a series in 2024 in the fall before the election on on the Beatitudes.Dr. Derwin L. Gray — And my whole thing was how you vote is up to your conscious. How you treat people is not up for debate. We’re called to love our neighbors as we love ourselves. And so in our church, I’m sure we got people all over the political spectrum. I’m a registered independent myself.Dr. Derwin L. Gray — But something that I think really landed well with our people is this: 99.9% of all followers of Jesus for 2,000 years and even now have never voted Republican and have never voted Democrat.Rich Birch — Right. Right. That’s good.Dr. Derwin L. Gray — Our faith is in Christ and Christ alone. And America is what’s called a constitutional republic democracy. It is not a theocracy. It is governed by a constitution, not the Bible. And so, yes, I want believers in place not to do some kind of spiritual Sharia law, but to make sure that the Constitution is upheld, which gives life and liberty and justice, not for some, but for all.Rich Birch — What would you say, you know, I’ve often thought around this, these, this issue and we’re kind of related issues. I have to think back to Billy Graham and I think like, man, we don’t know what, don’t what he’d be doing today. Like what would, I’ve heard this story that and in the fifties he gathered a group of what at the time, they you know they self afflicted they gave themselves the title of fundamentalist and they said, hey, we gotta stop calling ourselves fundamentalist because that word is so loaded in our culture. It feels like evangelical is like that today. Dr. Derwin L. Gray — Yeah.Rich Birch — It is when people ask me, are you evangelical? I’ll say, well, it depends on what you mean by evangelical because it has so much freight behind it. Do you think there is a place for kind of a broader discussion? How, how can we continue to try to create a middle here that where people can actually try to shed these, like you say, the Lamb and the donkey and, or the, the, the elephant and the donkey and, and focus on the Lamb. How do we do that going forward? How do we create those kinds of places where those kinds of conversations can continue to happen?Dr. Derwin L. Gray — Yeah, you know, so let me answer the first question first is when I preached in Norway a few years ago, the people said, thank you for being so evangelical. And it had nothing to do with politics. So the term evangelical comes from the Greek word, which means good news. So it’s never meant to be a political voting block. Rich Birch — Right.Dr. Derwin L. Gray — It’s never meant to be an ethnicity. It is good news people. So in Europe, I say I’m evangelical because it goes well. Here in America, I say I am shaped by the gospel. I’m a Christian that’s shaped by the gospel. Rich Birch — That’s good language.Dr. Derwin L. Gray — I love God and I love my neighbors. I love myself. So I think we have a fundamental gospel problem in the American church. If you simply think the good news is Jesus died for your sins, now you don’t go to hell, then your discipleship is going to be very reductionistic. It’s going to be very individualistic.Dr. Derwin L. Gray — So the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, his ascension and then sending the Spirit, is not only do we spend eternity with him, but as brothers and sisters, we’re equally righteous, equally redeemed, equally the temple of the Holy Spirit, equally God’s children. So if all those things are true equally, then by definition, we are the body of Christ. So if you hurt, then I hurt, but we don’t think that way.Rich Birch — Right.Dr. Derwin L. Gray — So we have to change the way we think. Paul says in Philippians 2.3, do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but consider others better than yourselves. Verse five is “for you have the mind of Christ”. And so what we’ve been able to do here at Transformation Church is really move people deeper to the gospel. If you listen to one of my messages, you will hear gospel. That’s why we are the way we are. And the gospel challenges idols.Dr. Derwin L. Gray — When President Obama was president, I would get emails, “Oh you must be a Republican.” And then when President Trump, “You must be a Democrat.” I’m like, no, I’m an independent, but I’m called to be prophetic and to equip us to not be captivated by the zeitgeist…Rich Birch — Yeah, that’s good.Dr. Derwin L. Gray — …the spirit of the age. When the church loses her prophetic witness, we’ve lost everything.Rich Birch — That’s good.Rich Birch — Yeah, that that that names something that you put a finger on there, on something that I’d love you to unpack a little bit more. How do you do that as a pastor? Because I’ve seen you do that consistently. It’s like, how how do we be that prophetic voice, speak with clarity to ultimately point people back to Jesus, not be captured by just the winds of the day?Dr. Derwin L. Gray — Be courageously compassionate. Rich Birch — That’s good.Dr. Derwin L. Gray — Be courageously compassionate. I believe, you know, so I have, I have, I have talked to pastors who lead churches that may be, you know, center a little bit left. And well, if I talk about this issue too much, people may leave. Then I’ve heard other people like, well, if I talk about about this, the MAGA people may leave. And it’s like, well, Are you concerned about people leaving or are you concerned about honoring the call that God has given you? Rich Birch — Yeah, that’s good. Dr. Derwin L. Gray — And one day you have to face him and you’re going to say, well, you know, what Lord, I was afraid people were going to leave. Like you can be courageous and compassionate simultaneously.Rich Birch — That’s good.Dr. Derwin L. Gray — So I, there are people on both sides of the aisle that passionately and deeply love Jesus, but have different perspectives politically. Now, Christian nationalism, that is a whole different species that that has to be lovingly challenged. And my job at Transformation Church is to equip our people and to be a shepherd because there are false prophets and wolves that are coming.Rich Birch — There’s a ton here. I really appreciate that. For a pastor that’s listening in today that’s thinking, man, I look at my people and I think maybe I they have been discipled more by cable news than by scripture. And I maybe haven’t done everything I could could have done. I haven’t been clear with compassion. I’ve just been, I’ve just kind of let this happen. What would you say some of the first steps that you would say for a for a leader like that?Dr. Derwin L. Gray — Yeah, pray, repent, pray, repent. Take your elders and your staff through a book by Preston Sprinkle called “Exiles in Babylon” or the book by Michael Byrd and N.T. Wright. Both of them deal with you know how to be a faithful witness in this time of political division. But before you go out and share, make sure that you are equipped. But also choose not to be partisan.Dr. Derwin L. Gray — Rich, the Epstein Files is one of the biggest cover-ups in American history. We’re talking about precious kids who were taking advantage of. And I mean, where is the prophetic voice that this is wrong, regardless of who’s in it? This is wrong and it demands justice. We as God’s people are going to be held accountable to equip this. Like, this is serious. Like, I’ve heard people say, well, there’s bigger problems in the world. No, there’s not.Rich Birch — Yeah, that’s good. Derwin, this has been fantastic. I want to point people towards, you’ve got a new book that’s coming out. That’s like like a huge left-hand turn here, but just looking at it, I think this could is is connected, obviously, to what we’re talking about in today’s conversation. It comes out this fall.Rich Birch — It’s called it’s a time or “It’s Time to Heal: Four God-Given Steps to Restore What Life Has Shattered”. Tell us a little bit about this book, and I and I want to get people to you know actually pre-order this thing.Dr. Derwin L. Gray — Yeah, man. So basically the last seven years, what I have seen from followers of Christ is we’re the walking wounded. We are, we are just stuck. We have allowed our traumas, our histories, our pains, our failures, the way we’ve been hurt to keep us in a position of hurt. And we’ve just circled and circled. And then, a lot of preaching deals with behavior modification and doesn’t get to the root. And so I’ve just been like, you know what, God, I want to help God’s people. Right. And it starts with helping myself.Dr. Derwin L. Gray — And what I do is I really take a theology of who we are in Christ. I take neuroscience and psychology and marry them in spiritual formationRich Birch — Love it.Dr. Derwin L. Gray — And it’s by far the best book that I’ve ever written. I can’t wait for people to see the endorsements from people like Dr. Daniel Amen, Craig Groeschel, Christine Caine. It’s by far the most important book I’ve ever written and the best book I’ve ever written. And I believe that it can really help people heal. Like really understanding that trauma gets in our nervous system. It’s not just think harder, do more. Like we have to learn how this is embodied inside of us. Dr. Derwin L. Gray — And so, man, it transformed me writing it. And what I do is I walk the people through an acronym. The the book is in four parts and the acronym HEAL. H stands for honest about what what happened. E, expect hard. A, accept what happened and L, live from love, not for love. And I share some incredible stories in there. And so, yeah, I’m really, really looking forward to people healing.Rich Birch — Well, yeah, I would encourage people to, we’ll link to that in the show notes and all that. But I think it’s connected in that I think I think the extremes on both ends politically, they’ve picked up on kind of the pain in the zeitgeist. And they’ve they’ve said, hey, the solution is is is the other side is the enemy and we got to do something to tear them down. And we know that just won’t work. At the end of the day, it’s Jesus transforming our lives. It’s him restoring us to who we are. And I think this could be a great tool for folks as they’re wrestling with that. So I’m excited for that book to come out. Looking forward to that. And we’ll we’ll link to all that. Rich Birch — Any kind of final words as we wrap up today? I really appreciate you unpacking this a bit more and taking some time to, you know, kind of let us chat a little bit about it.Dr. Derwin L. Gray — Yeah, two thoughts. Jesus said in Matthew 5:44 and 45, bless those who persecute you. And I said, love your enemies. And then Jesus said, you will know my disciples because they love one another. Refuse to let anger and hatred and division guide you.Rich Birch — That’s good. So good. You said two things. You had two you that and one other thing.Dr. Derwin L. Gray — Well, yeah, it was it was Matthew 5 and you’re on…yeah.Rich Birch — Oh, I see. Right, right, right. Yep. Okay. That’s good. Nice. Where if people want to track with you or with the church, where do we want to send them online? Just as we wrap up today’s call conversation.Dr. Derwin L. Gray — Yeah, just go to derwinlgray.com, derwinlgray.comRich Birch — Nice. That’s great. Dr. Derwin, I just want to honor you. You’re an incredible leader. Thank you for being here today and helping us think through these issues. Thank you.Dr. Derwin L. Gray — Thank you, my friend.Rich Birch — Take care.Dr. Derwin L. Gray — Appreciate you.

Adam Mac is leading a proud, new charge for queer country music, but getting to this point wasn't without its challenges. The Russellville, Kentucky, native joins us in the Nashville Now cabin to talk about the discrimination he's faced, including harsh public words from a pastor in his hometown, and how he's overcome it. Mac also shares the origin of his band the “Cowgays”, with Brooke Eden and Chris Housman, and how he approaches his version of masculinity. And in a candid display of courage, the singer opens up about rewriting a homophobic song by Hank Williams Jr. He's a new face of country music, only on Nashville Now. Country is Here…Nashville is Now. Check out our Hear Now playlist on Spotify, updated weekly. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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