Podcast appearances and mentions of leighton ford

Transforming simple pine boards into exquisite dining tables or crafting a jewelry box from a block of padauk isn't just a hobby—it's a metaphor for personal growth. Join me, Johnny Mac, as I explore the art of woodworking and the spiritual parallels it shares with our life's journey. Inspired by the precision and beauty of Japanese joinery, we discuss how these meticulous techniques mirror our lives, much like the master carpenter, Jesus, who shapes us with care, precision, and sometimes, a bit of discomfort. My wife and I shared a heartfelt conversation about how, though the process can be painful, the result is ultimately beautiful and profound.As you sip your morning coffee, let's reflect on the wise words of Leighton Ford who reminds us that while God loves us as we are, He loves us too much to leave us unchanged. Whether you're facing trials or triumphs, remember: If you're not dead, God is not done. He's continually shaping, refining, and crafting our lives into something extraordinary. So, let's start the day right by embracing this transformative journey, trusting that the master carpenter is at work, shaping us into masterpieces.We would love to hear your comments. Send us a Text MessageSupport the show

The Power of Collaboration: Insights from Global Leaders In this special episode of the Lausanne Movement Podcast, we explore collaborative action in global mission. Through highlights from previous interviews with key leaders, we uncover the transformative impact of working together for the Great Commission. Featured Voices: Jurie Kriel emphasizes the church's unmatched potential when united in mission, sharing his vision for synergy to complete the Great Commission. Jiyoung Yoo reflects on the challenges and rewards of collaboration, showing how God orchestrates beautiful outcomes when we work together. Mac Pier discusses effective strategies for collaboration, avoiding duplication, and fostering trust through shared vision and prayer. Gina Zurlo speaks on the Global South's growing role in Christianity and the importance of unity amid regional tensions. Ron Anderson urges leaders to move beyond understanding collaboration to putting it into consistent practice. Eiko Takamizawa identifies critical gaps and opportunities for collaborative breakthroughs in fulfilling the Great Commission. Dave Raley draws lessons from history, highlighting the power of collaborative innovation in movements like the Reformation. Ted Esler and Ed Stetzer discuss the importance of cooperation to tackle complex global mission challenges. Tom Lin, Guna Raman, and Ramez Atallah share practical insights on building trust, partnerships, and the importance of unity in mission. Leighton Ford reflects on Billy Graham's vision for leaders to unite in prayer and action, sparking the Lausanne Movement. Key Takeaways: Collaboration Accelerates Mission: Unified efforts reduce duplication and increase global impact. Trust and Relationships: Effective collaboration is built on trust and shared vision. Global Perspective: The future of global mission depends on greater collaboration, especially across the Global South and North.

In this special episode of the Lausanne Movement Podcast, we sit down with Dr. Leighton Ford, former CEO of the Lausanne Movement, to commemorate and celebrate Lausanne's 50th anniversary. On this day, the 16th of July 1974, more than 2300 evangelical leaders, from over 150 countries gathered together for the first Lausanne Congress for World Evangelisation. Dr. Ford shares personal memories from the first International Congress, provides insights into the movement's evolution, and discusses the importance of mentorship and intergenerational relationships. He emphasises listening to God, to others, and to the increasingly interconnected global Christian community while celebrating the impact of the Lausanne Covenant. Join us as we look back on the Movement's legacy and discuss its future.   Resources: Book: Lifelong Leadership: Woven Together through Mentoring Communities by MaryKate Morse - https://www.amazon.com/Lifelong-Leadership-Together-Mentoring-Communities/dp/1641580178 Book: A Life of Listening: Discerning God's Voice and Discovering Our Own by Leighton Ford - https://www.amazon.com/Life-Listening-Discerning-Voice-Discovering/dp/0830845739   Guest Bio:  Dr Leighton Ford is the president of Leighton Ford Ministries and a prolific author, speaker, and social activist. He was vice president of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association for 31 years, and has been featured on his own radio and television spots in the United States, Canada, and Australia. He has also served on the boards of World Vision US, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, and Duke University Cancer Center. From 1973 to 1975, Dr Ford served as programme chair of Lausanne's First International Congress on World Evangelisation. He continued this role from 1976 to 1992, as chair of the Continuation Committee for the Lausanne Committee for World Evangelisation (LCWE, which would later become the Lausanne Movement). During this time, part of his focus was to challenge, encourage, and equip younger leaders for future leadership positions. In 1987 this vision grew into the first Lausanne Younger Leaders Gathering (Singapore '87), which convened younger leaders from 65 countries. In 1989, he was chair of the Second International Congress on World Evangelisation in Manila. Dr Ford was appointed honorary lifetime chairman of the LCWE in 1992.

[00:00:00] Barry Corey: It was almost like every 10 years I entered this new stage, but when I turned 20 and was captivated by higher education and scholarship, became an English major, that was a decade where I would say I lived this adventure of scholarship thinking and writing and growing and finishing all my degrees during my twenties. And then when I hit 30, Bob Cooley said, why don't you come and work for me? And that was my decade of apprenticeship when I feel like I was to be the apprentice of a master. And I spent really the better part of my thirties learning at the feet of someone who is really good at what he did and cared enough to allow me to apprentice under him. Scholarship in my twenties, apprenticeship in my thirties, and then it hit my forties. It was leadership. +++++++++++++++++++ [00:00:50] Tommy Thomas: Our guest today is Barry Corey, the president of Biola University. My friendship with Barry goes back almost 17 years when I led the search that brought Barry to Biola. That was an interesting search in many ways, but I believe that's the only search I've conducted where a trustee at the place where the candidate worked encouraged me to recruit him to another place. But that's what happened. Barry was leading the Advancement Department at Gordon Conwell Seminary. When I launched the search, I sent the announcement to my good friend Joyce Godwin. Who, unbeknownst to me, was also a trustee at Gordon Conwell. And Joyce called me and told me of the excellent work that Barry was doing at Gordon Conwell and suggested that he'd make an outstanding president at Biola. So, Barry, I guess at some level we have Joyce Godwin to thank for this chapter of your life. [00:01:42] Barry Corey: If there's someone I want to thank, Joyce is a great one to do. [00:01:47] Tommy Thomas: Thank you for joining us today. Before I jump into this, you and I have discussed this before, and I think it was an interesting part of the search. I've done searches where the board kind of rubber-stamped the search committee's work, and I've done searches where it was like a Senate confirmation hearing. And I think yours go to the end of the Senate confirmation hearing. Maybe it's a little bit of humor. Maybe tell our listeners your recollections of that? [00:02:15] Barry Corey: Thank you for bringing that up. I don't have too much PTSD over that, I will say. When Biola University launched its search for the eighth president it was following the 25-year presidency of my predecessor, who was just an outstanding leader, Clyde Cook. And I think that meant that most of these trustees had never been through a search process before. The only ones that had would have been the ones that had been on there for 25 years or more. And to that, I will add that in then the 100-year history of Biola, 115-16 years now they had never hired from the outside. They always cultivated their presence from within. I was 45 years old, so I was rather young. I was at a seminary, not at a university. I came from a theological tradition that Biola needed to be thinking a little bit more about. I wasn't nationally known. There were just lots of reasons why their due diligence needed to be pretty carefully done. So, I saw it as, let's go through all the hard conversations before the decision so that after the decision, those questions don't come up. So, they left no stone unturned. And I actually think that's a good process for boards to go through, to think through in great detail prior to the conversation about making an offer. [00:03:36] Tommy Thomas: I totally agree.  I thought they saw you in multiple venues. They saw you in the boardroom, they saw you at dinner and breakfast. And I just think it takes a while to get to know somebody. I'm a fan of that. I know it was probably a little bit painful at the moment, but I like that. I applaud boards that take that kind of due diligence.  Before I dig into your professional career, take me back to your childhood and what was it like to grow up in the Corey family? [00:04:02] Barry Corey: I was one of two kids, the younger of two. My sister is a year and a half older than I am. And we grew up in a very love-filled home. My father was a Pentecostal preacher in a hardscrabble town outside of Boston, Massachusetts. And by the time I was six, he went into some kind of supervisory role over the denomination. We had a lot of love in our family. My father was, I don't know the best way to put it, a little bit more of a mystic than a cleric. He just had this way of seeing people. What they needed to be seen. And he would equate it as being prompted by God to love everyone he came in contact with, even if he wasn't loved back. And that's why probably his theme verse for his life was Matthew 10:40, where Jesus says, whoever receives you receives me and whoever sees me receives the one who sent me. So, there are a lot of awkward moments, Tommy, in my life when he would hug the Islamic gas station attendant. I would slink down in the backseat of the Pontiac Bonneville, or he would pray over the counter with the Armenian cobbler. Or one time he had the audacity to hold Ruben's face in his hand. Ruben was this Jewish furniture merchant, and he just told him he loved him. And all those moments were awkward to me. But later on in life, as I reflected back, he wasn't being weird. He was actually being receivable, which Jesus says in Matthew 10:40, we are to be. A little snapshot of my family. [00:05:30] Tommy Thomas: What was high school like for you and your sister? My parents did an unorthodox thing and allowed me to go to an all-boys Catholic preparatory school. [00:05:31] Barry Corey:  High school years were pretty good. We were active in our youth group. My parents did an unorthodox thing and allowed me to go to an all-boys Catholic preparatory school called St. John's in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts. Had a great education there. The great contributions that Catholics have made to education and virtues and morals and the values that needed to be embedded in education. So that kind of set me on a bit of a trajectory to realize that faith-based education is a good thing. So, by the time I was thinking about going to college, I looked at a number of faith-based colleges and ended up at a midsize liberal arts college connected to our denomination in the middle of the country. [00:06:17] Tommy Thomas: How did you decide on your major or was it pretty determined? [00:06:22] Barry Corey: No, I went to be a Bible major, but I had as many stories as other students would say, I had a professor who saw something in me. I didn't see it myself. And he was an English professor. He said, hey, you seem to be a halfway decent writer. Why don't you take another class in composition and rhetoric and then in literature? And I ended up I think falling in love with literature as a major and I became an English major because of the professor who believed in me was an English professor. Now, if he was a physics professor, that might not have been the same case for me. Being an English major was good preparation for being a critical thinker, good writer, articulate speaker, problem solver, and team builder. But that was the reason why people would ask, what are you going to do with your English major? And I didn't really know. But, God makes crooked roads straight, and I see in retrospect how that major was so preparatory for how I can be a critical thinker, a good writer, an articulate speaker, a problem solver, and a team builder. So much is wrapped up in being a literature or English major that really pays dividends in all aspects of life, and I tell English majors this at Biola University today. +++++++++++++++++ [00:07:29] Tommy Thomas: How does an English major get into fundraising? [00:07:34] Barry Corey: I made a decision when I was 19 years old that this transformational experience I had at a Christian college if God so willed, I would enter that as a career and went on and pursued a master's degree in American Studies at Boston College, got hired by a former professor of mine who became the president of a small Christian college outside of Philadelphia, just where I cut my teeth on. Higher education administration. And part of it was a process of elimination. I didn't have an MBA, wasn't a business major. So, entering higher education through the finance channel was not an option. I didn't really think I had the scholarship aptitude to be a professor. I didn't actually think I was smart enough to be one. And I ruled out doing a Ph.D. in English Literature or American Literature. And so, I eliminated that, a few other things. Maybe by default the advancement side, I really enjoyed because it was articulating the vision of Christian higher education to those who would become investors to make it possible for students to attend. And I defaulted there, both at the school where I was working in Philadelphia, and then ended up being mentored by an extraordinary leader at Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary, and that was where I spent 16 years of my life. The first half of my first 16 years of my real serious post-doctoral career, I did a Ph.D. in Higher Education Administration at Boston College. I think that's probably what happened, and I started in fundraising at Gordon Conwell, but actually ended up as the Academic Dean of the Faculty and Vice President for Education. So, I got over the academic side, but in a rather unorthodox way. [00:09:32] Tommy Thomas: Thinking back to your first management job when you actually had to manage somebody, what do you remember? [00:09:41] Barry Corey: I think I probably learned through a lot of mistakes I made as a young leader. Kept a lot of notes on what I did right and what I did wrong and realize I probably wanted to treat people the way I wanted to be treated. To see my gifts, be honest with me about where I have shortcomings, and help me be more prepared for what's next. [00:10:03] Tommy Thomas: At what time did you, I guess in your career, did you become, I'm going to say comfortable in your professional skin or your professional voice? When did you realize that maybe I have the makings of a leader? [00:10:19] Barry Corey: I don't know. I think I wanted to be a decision-maker. I didn't know where that would lead me. Bob Cooley was a futurist, and he made a deal that if I started working at Gordon Conwell Seminary, even though I wasn't reporting to him, he would mentor me. And there were those that maybe saw some things in me, like I mentioned earlier, Tommy, that I didn't necessarily see in myself. I had three remarkable mentors, one being my father, who I mentioned earlier, one being Bob Cooley, the longtime president of Gordon Conwell Seminary, who was a futurist, and he made a deal that if I started working at Gordon Conwell Seminary, even though I wasn't reporting to him, he would mentor me. And he did that until the day he died, and Leighton Ford and I eulogized him at his funeral just two years ago in Charlottesville. For 30 years he had been my mentor. And then his successor was a guy named Walt Kaiser. Many know Walt Kaiser as one of the leading Old Testament theologians. Being mentored by good leaders was something that I sought out and something today I feel I have an obligation to give out. He became the president of Gordon Conwell and in a very different way, he mentored me also. So, I think being mentored by good leaders was something that I sought out and something today I feel I have an obligation to give out. [00:11:25] Tommy Thomas: So you say Dr. Cooley was a futurist. I remember hearing him speak at your inaugural inauguration. It was amazing. What does a futurist look like in his life?  [00:11:39] Barry Corey: I think he could see things coming that others couldn't see. And he, I think, helped many of us look beyond the horizons of reality at what might be some new ways in which education is going to be delivered or boards are going to be governing, or faculty are going to be researching and teaching. He could just see things that we couldn't see. And he was a great help and he cared enough that he was willing to spend a lot of time with those under his tutelage, like me, and invest of himself. And if I look back at my own life, Tommy, because I know you're talking a lot about leadership here. It was almost like every 10 years I entered this new stage, but when I turned 20 and was captivated by higher education and scholarship, became an English major, that was a decade where I would say I lived this adventure of scholarship thinking and writing and growing and finishing all my degrees during my twenties. And then when I hit 30, Bob Cooley said, why don't you come and work for me? And that was my decade of apprenticeship when I feel like I was to be the apprentice of a master. And I spent really the better part of my thirties learning at the feet of someone who is really good at what he did and cared enough to allow me to apprentice under him.  When I hit 30, Bob Cooley said, “Why don't you come and work for me?” And that was my decade of apprenticeship when I feel like I was to be the apprentice of a master. Scholarship in my twenties, apprenticeship in my thirties, and then it hit my forties. It was leadership. I became the academic dean at a seminary. And then a few years later became the president of Biola University when I was 45 and, I think the scholarship and the apprenticeship prepared me for the leadership that I was experiencing in my forties, starting new things. And I just felt God had paved the way through people who believed in me and took chances on me, even when I had stumbled along the way. And then when I hit my fifties, I thought, it's time for me to start paying it forward. Maybe it's the decade of mentorship from scholarship to apprenticeship, to leadership, to mentorship. Who am I investing in the rising generation so I can pay it forward for those who invested in me? They had nothing to gain by investing in me, and I had everything to gain. So now I'm in my 60s, and it's a new ship.  ++++++++++++++++++ [00:14:01] Tommy Thomas: I know your time at Biola and Gordon Conwell, for the most part, people would say, man, Barry's been riding a crest, but I'm sure there have been times that tested your mettle.  Can you take us into one of those, and how did you come out of it? [00:14:16] Barry Corey: I'm writing a book now on the burdens of leadership which are burdens that top leaders of organizations uniquely bear. And that organization could be a Fortune 500 company, it could be a military unit, it could be the senior partner of a law firm, it could be a pastor of a church, or president of a university, or an owner of a family business. But it's where you have on the organizational structure, that one box at the top that person occupies. And when I stepped into this role as a leader of an organization, Biola has about a thousand employees, 500 students, and a 200-plus million-dollar budget. It was far bigger than anything I had ever experienced before. And I just realized that though I had worked alongside leaders, and I'd heard them talk about burdens. I finally understood them, not just intellectually, but existentially. And so that's the long lead into your question, Tommy. And there have been some real burdens that I've had to bear in this role. One of them is just this burden of loneliness. You're never alone, but you're the only one in your organization that has no peer. And so, friendships are different. The ways in which you relate to people are different and wrestle through that sometimes through trial and error. I've had situations where I was the recipient of legal lawsuits and litigation and just those kinds of burdens that come with leadership. There's the burden of surprises that you don't see things coming and when COVID came it was not anticipated. And of the 3,141 counties in America, only one county, Los Angeles County, where we are, completely shuttered every college and university in the county for 18 months, and we just couldn't get around that. And that was a tough season for us, but leaders have to be able to say we're going to get through this. We're going to overcome it. I've had sleepless nights and stressful times, but you have to live in this balance of reality and hope and communicate that to your own constituents that there is hope without being Pollyanna-ish. But this is also the reality of where we are. And that's another burden we bear is communicating hope with reality to our communities. That we're going to get through this. We're going to be strong on the other side. But sometimes it's hard to even believe it yourself. [00:16:51] Tommy Thomas: You mentioned the loneliness factor and I'm thinking of the board-chair-president relationship. Does that relationship alleviate that or do you still have an isolation piece there? [00:17:04] Barry Corey: No, I think it does, Tommy. Thanks for asking that. There have been four board chairs since I've been at Biola University. And, on a related note, I've often joked to say I'm in my fourth presidency of the same institution because the institution changes during the times that you're there. Now that I've entered my 17th year at Biola there are challenges that I'm facing now that I didn't face then, but the board chair-president relationship is vital and every board chair is going to have a different definition of what that looks like. And I thank God we've had four great chairs that were the right chairs for the right season that we are in. This morning I just finished an over an hour-long conversation, one-on-one with our board chair. And every two weeks, we cover the ground, but some of it's small talk, some it's how you're doing, and some of it's preparing for board meetings and others are like, what are the stressful issues that you're dealing with right now and how can we help? So, I think those Presidents or CEOs that I know have less communication with their board chairs. I just think they're in a tougher place. And I would just say I'm just so thankful for the board chair that Biola has and our ability to just be in regular contact with each other. He also chairs the committee on the president. At Biola University, which is the care and feeding of the president. And to a certain degree, you have to be able to talk honestly about some of the challenges that you're facing, but I will say, Tommy, that the board chair is not like your spiritual accountability partner. There's got to be those, including your own spouse in your life where you just let it all hang out. These are the things that I'm struggling with and dealing with. And these are my own depravity and everything else. So that's really not what the board chair needs to be. You need to be honest enough about the stresses of work and sometimes the stresses of home. But I would be careful not to substitute that with your own spiritual, encouraging, accountable brother or sister. [00:19:10] Tommy Thomas: 16 years, four chairs. So do y'all have a four-year term limit on the chair or has it just turned out that way? [00:19:16] Barry Corey: It's turned out that way.  I think six years, so I inherited the final two years of the previous chair, and we're in the first few years of the current chair.  [00:19:30] Tommy Thomas: All right. Do you and your cabinet create the agenda for the board meeting or how do you do it at Biola? [00:19:39] Barry Corey: Yeah, as it relates to board meetings, we have board meetings three times a year and we've made some changes. I think there are some essential dimensions of a board meeting that we have really been helped by. This might not be true for every nonprofit, but it certainly is true for us. One is that we spend a lot of time on board education. An educated board is an effective board. So, when I started at Biola, there would be four one-day meetings a year. And it was just pretty much, get through the agenda, lots of show and tell if there's a crisis, how are we going to deal with it? And then, we're in Southern California. So, people who wanted to be on the road by four o'clock, so they didn't get in all the traffic. Now we have three, two-day meetings. And I think two-day meetings are so important because it allows some of the discussion happening one day to be reflected on overnight. A governing body is dealing with and responsible for two things. One is financial solvency and the other is missional fidelity. And sometimes with that gestation period or whatever, it's fermenting in your own mind overnight. It allows you to think about things and maybe not rush through issues as much. And so, we spent a lot of time on board education sessions and spent a lot of time on what are the major accomplishments that we need to make sure that the board as a governing body, not an administrative body, but a governing body is dealing with and the board ultimately is, in my mind, responsible for two things. One is financial solvency and the other is missional fidelity. Sometimes you have missional fidelity, but if you're not financially solvent, a lot of good that's going to do sometimes you get financial solvency, but if you're not missionally faithful, then you're a bit like a rudderless ship. So, everything in our board conversations ultimately comes down to that. How are we staying missionally faithful? Sometimes that means dealing with legal aspects that are happening in our culture, in our state in Washington. Legislation that's going through. We're in a pretty bright blue state here in California, and we're a conservative Christian university, and we have to operate differently in many ways than if we were a conservative Christian university in a more sympathetic state. So, the board is so key to helping us deal with these kinds of missional fidelity and fiscal solvency issues. [00:21:55] Tommy Thomas: Does your board get involved in the overall risk management of the university, or do you keep that at the cabinet level? [00:22:01] Barry Corey: On a micro way, we keep it within the administration on risk management. On a macro level, the board is intimately involved in this because there are certainly viable threats to our business model that would be considered under the category of risk management. And that could be, how are we operating within our budget and how are we stewarding our resources and our quasi-endowment for long-term sustainability? How are we anticipating legislation or legal action that might jeopardize our deeply held convictions? Those are all risk management issues. So at the macro level, the board is very involved in those conversations. But as it relates to should we have skateboards on campus? The board's not. [00:22:49] Tommy Thomas: All right. That's good. Okay. So would you say your board is, if the Carver model is on one end of the continuum and whatever might be on the other end of the continuum, where do y'all operate on that as a board? [00:23:06] Barry Corey: We are somewhat of a policy-driven board, but I think policy becomes a little bit of the fallback. Let's not spend so much time developing policy that we're not thinking about our own future. And so, we probably have a balance on our board between, do we have the right policies in place? And are we dreaming and thinking about what kind of board we need to be in the future and what kind of university we need to be in the future that doesn't lock us into a kind of strict board parameters that prohibit us from maybe letting our imaginations go and basically thinking about what a new wineskin looks like at Biola. And I've often thought about this, is maybe a bit of a tangent, Tommy, but I think it's germane. Boards and Presidents can make two historical mistakes: They can be nostalgic – this is the way we have always done it. They can be amnesic – they forget about their founding principles. And that is I think that there are one of two historical mistakes that presidents can make, and boards can make. They can be nostalgic. Basically saying, hey, the way we've always done things is in essence who we are, therefore we're going to keep on doing things the same way. And that can lead really to being irrelevant or maybe mistaking that your methods are synonymous with your mission. So being nostalgic can be a real detriment to future thinking leadership of a board and of a president. But another mistake that presidents and boards can make, it's not just being nostalgic, but it's being amnesic. And by amnesic, they forget about their founding principles. They forget about their values and virtues and why was the institution established in the first place, and going back to the founders' vision and trying to embody and encase that. I spent three days undercover at a well-known college that has been around for 177 years or so. And they do this well. They haven't wavered from their founding mission, and I think that's what's made them so strong today. Because I think colleges and universities need not to blend in, but stand out and they don't need to be indistinguishable. They need to be distinguishable. And part of that is like, why did we start in the first place? And how are boards and presidents talking about that founding vision and founding mission in a way that keeps the board focused on the distinctiveness of Biola University that our world needs more than ever before? +++++++++++++++++ [00:25:36] Tommy Thomas: What's the most creative thing y'all have done at Biola that worked? [00:25:41] Barry Corey: We took a chance a number of years ago of really expanding our cinema and media arts program. We're located close to Hollywood, and we thought, we need four things. We need students to come here and not go elsewhere where they're not going to get a solid Christian-based education. Two, we need a visionary dean that is the leader that will take us there so that it comes out of the industry. Three is we need faculty that have great experience in the industry but are committed to the virtues of Biola University. And four, we needed a studio building to encompass this. And, by God's grace, this is all happening. Our program is growing like crazy. It's now ranked in the top 20 by variety in the country. And we just got like far and away, our largest gift. More than twice what we've ever received in Biola's history. And that was to help us build this building. And we're now going to have a building as part of the Snyder School of Cinema and Media Arts, the Snyder family being the founding family of In-N-Out Burger, who many people know, located here in Southern California honoring the Snyder family and their commitment to not just to media but their commitment to innovation, to opportune entrepreneurship, and certainly the commitment to the gospel. [00:26:57] Tommy Thomas: What's the most dangerous behavior that you've observed that derailed leaders' careers? [00:27:06] Barry Corey: Let me think about that for a second. I certainly feel like where I try to protect myself is to try not to think too highly of myself, but more highly of the office that I hold. And I think that sense of equating your own self-worth with your position and again, the ego and can get wrapped up in that can be very unhealthy to leaders. And it often leads to slacking off on moral and ethical standards because you think you deserve something. So I think that is it. I even try to do small things, Tommy, like I try not to talk about my vice presidents or my faculty or my board chair. They're not mine. They're the university's faculty, the university's vice presidents, the university's board, and the university's board chair. I even try not to say, come to my office to somebody else, they come to the president's office. It's an office that I have been asked to steward during this season and be a good custodian of it. But when I start thinking it's mine, I just think, in my mind at least, unhealthy fruit can be born out of that. So that's one bit of advice I keep on reminding myself, that I am a steward of this office for the season that God has called me to it. And I will say a little story about that, we used to have this big portrait outside of our residence hall of my predecessor, Clyde Cook, 25 years, just a beloved president. And I'd walk down there sometimes. And I'd say, who's that? And they say, I don't know. And I don't say that to disparage my predecessor. I say that to remind myself that, four years after I'm gone, rotate through one class of students. No one's going to know who I am. So, live faithfully the years that you've been entrusted with. Do the best you can. Stay missionally faithful, be innovative, take some risks, but just realize that you and the title you hold are not synonymous. I've got a bookmark on my desk that says, imagine what you would try if you knew you couldn't fail. [00:29:14] Tommy Thomas: If it's true that most of us learn from our failures more than we learn from successes, why are most of us so afraid to fail? [00:29:24] Barry Corey: I think for the same reason I tell students, it's just because you fail doesn't mean you're a failure. And I've got a bookmark on my desk that says, imagine what you would try if you knew you couldn't fail. So I do think that there's a fine line. If everything you try doesn't work out, then it sounds like the board needs a new president. But I do think if you're so risk-averse, then you're not stewarding well the office that you've been called to hold.  [00:29:51] Tommy Thomas: If you could go back and tell a younger version of yourself something, what would you tell him? [00:29:59] Barry Corey: Oh, you know what? I probably wouldn't tell him anything. I'm afraid if I told him something, then he might be more risk-averse. I'm just glad no older version of me told the younger version of me anything. Are there mistakes that I made that I wished I hadn't and things I would have avoided? Yeah, probably, but I like looking back at the crooked roads that I didn't see coming. And how Jesus and Isaiah say that God makes crooked roads straight and that which looks like it's twisting and turning when I'm going through it in the rearview mirror, it all seems to make sense.  And I guess that's just providence. ++++++++++++++++++++++++ Next week will be the 100th episode of NextGen Nonprofit Leadership with Tommy Thomas. When I began the podcast, my podcast mentor told me that there was bad news and good news about early podcast episodes. The bad news is that the early episodes won't be very good. The good news is that you won't have very many listeners either. I agree that my part of the early podcast was not that good. It took me a while to get comfortable in front of the microphone and hear my voice in a recording. I'm so grateful to Bob Lonac, Jim Lowschieder, Holly Moore, Christine Talbot, David Dockery, and the other early guests who endeared my learning curve. I'm also grateful to Bob Tiede and his blog Leading with Questions.  Bob has taught me so much about asking good interview questions. I do think the quality has improved a little.  Hardly a week goes by that I don't receive an email from someone telling me how much they enjoyed a recent episode. Although our target audience is NextGen Leaders, I'm continually amazed at how many seasoned Board Chairs and CEOs tell me that they're regular listeners. So, thank you, both guests and listeners, for helping us make it to Episode 100. I'm looking forward to next week. Links and Resources JobfitMatters Website Next Gen Nonprofit Leadership with Tommy Thomas Biola University Biola University - About President Barry H. Corey  Connect Tommy Thomas - tthomas@jobfitmatters.com Tommy's LinkedIn Profile Barry Corey's LinkedIn Profile  

[00:00:00] Tom Lin: I had no idea what InterVarsity was when I got to college. A group of sophomores knocked on my door, were persistent, and invited me to Bible study. I checked it out. They were persistent. Again, I joined a small group, so InterVarsity really reached out to me and I had a great experience in a small group Bible study my freshman year. The community I loved and then I loved doing ministry. I learned how to serve others and reach out to others and minister to others, and I had a blast and just got more involved in and grew as a leader in university.  +++++++++++++++++++ Our guest today is Tom Lin, the Presidency of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship. I had the privilege of meeting Tom, when our company, JobfitMatters Executive Search, was retained by the Board of Directors of InterVarsity to conduct the search that brought Tom to be their President. Tom took his undergraduate degree in economics from Harvard.  In addition to his day job as President of InterVarsity, Tom serves on several nonprofit boards. Let's pick up on that conversation. [00:01:10] Tommy Thomas: Before we dive too deep into your professional career, take us back to your childhood.  What two or three experiences do you remember as being formative?  [00:01:17] Tom Lin: Looking back at my childhood a couple things come to mind from my young childhood. I remember distinctly in third grade as a child visiting Taiwan. That's the country where my father immigrated, my father and mother immigrated from. And I'll never forget visiting his hometown in the countryside. His family was a farmer. And it really gave me a sense of who my dad was, the poorest of the poor in the community. He was the only child of eight children to go to elementary school and high school, much less college. And there was this conversation that I overheard him talk with a friend of his when we were in Taiwan, and he said his friend said, oh yeah what was that school you went to again? I remember how it took you like two hours to walk to school every day? And my dad had told me stories about how he walked five miles to school every day, but I thought he was exaggerating. And then when his friend literally said, it was like five miles walking to his school every day, it struck me significantly. And I'll never forget that. And I think that just spoke to who my father was, his humility in life. He never felt like he deserved anything. Everything was kind of grace, God's grace in his life. And he had all these different opportunities as life went on, but he remembers where he came from. And in a lot of ways that shaped me. Generally in my life I don't think I deserve anything in particular. I try to remember where my dad came from and that kind of simplicity in life and not feeling I'm supposed to be this or that. It's just, at its core, I'm the son of my father who was a farmer, so anyways, that's shaping, that's a significant experience that I remember.  [00:03:00] Tommy Thomas: How did they get to the states?  [00:03:03] Tom Lin: My dad immigrated after he graduated from college in Taiwan through a scholarship for grad school, so to Mississippi of all places in the late sixties. His college experiences in Mississippi are really interesting stories there as well. Jackson, Mississippi is where he went to graduate school.  [00:03:23] Tommy Thomas: Oh, my goodness. [00:03:27] Tom Lin: Yeah.  [00:03:28] Tommy Thomas: What was high school like for you? [00:03:29] Tom Lin:   High school was a time of generally a lot of fun. I would say high school was very positive for me. Both from a faith perspective, I was involved in my youth group and given a lot of leadership responsibilities. And that actually was a close-knit community where I got to lead a lot, and that gave me a lot of energy. I remember organizing things, calling people every week, preparing things. We had a very active youth group of a few dozen people of different ages from pretty much middle school through post-college. And as a young sophomore in high school or junior, I was leading the whole thing. And yeah, that was an important part of my high school experience. And then in my actual school, that was just, it's a lot of fun. I was active in sports, a lot of extracurriculars. And had a good number of friends. I loved going to school every day. I loved seeing people. I loved sports and being active.  So, it was a very positive experience.  [00:04:31] Tommy Thomas: Being Chinese American, did you feel different or were you pretty much one of the crowd?  [00:04:37] Tom Lin: Yeah, certainly at that time and age, I began to understand more of my ethnic background, I went to a school which was majority white for sure. I was one of the few Asian Americans in my grade. And no, I mean I certainly noticed those dynamics. But if anything, it gave me a lot of experiences being a cross-cultural person every day. I went to a setting that was different from my home or my church, which was an ethnic church. It was actually a Taiwanese church that I went to. So, I would cross cultures every day. And it certainly has helped me as an adult in my career as well. These days I'm in a different setting, multiple different settings in different cultures every day, to experience that in high school every day, certainly helped develop me and shape me positively and prepare me for the future. [00:05:24] Tommy Thomas: You went to Harvard, and you studied economics. Tell us a little bit about that. How does a guy choose economics as a major? [00:05:30] Tom Lin: I often say, my major is economics, but in many ways my major was InterVarsity. It was the campus ministry I was involved with. Going to Harvard, which was a generally liberal arts school. So, there's no business major per se.  Economics was the most popular major. It was general enough, social science, and so I fell into it. It wasn't that I was passionate about economics. However, I would say looking back now, I see how God used it. I've been in pretty much full-time vocational ministry most of my life, with the exception of a few years, and economics helps me think about systems, systematically about things. Trends help me analyze things, analyze this macro and micro. I think economics, certainly starting economics certainly helps me with today. I would not have made that connection though if you just assumed that I never use economics anymore, but I do use some of the ways you're taught to think.  [00:06:33] Tommy Thomas: How did you connect with InterVarsity? [00:06:36] Tom Lin: It was InterVarsity who reached out to me. I had no idea what InterVarsity was when I got to college and a group of sophomores knocked on my door, were persistent, and invited me to Bible study. I checked it out. They were persistent. Again, I joined a small group, so InterVarsity really reached out to me and I had a great experience in a small group Bible study my freshman year. The community I loved and then I loved doing ministry. I learned how to serve others and reach out to others and minister to others, and I had a blast and just got more involved in and grew as a leader in university.  [00:07:12] Tommy Thomas: Early in your career, you helped establish IFES in Mongolia.   What was that like and what was the hardest part of that? [00:07:22] Tom Lin: Yeah, so in the early 2000's, my wife, Nancy and I went to Mongolia, and it was a context which really was a pioneering context, we call it. There's not much Christian ministry going on. The Bible was translated in the year 2000.  We arrived in 2001-2002 where, you know, there was a lot of excitement for this new Bible. Church planting was going crazy. People were investing a lot in church planting. I would say that was an exciting experience because we were on the front end of a huge decade of growth in the Mongolian church. And yeah, we wanted to go because people needed to hear about Jesus and most Mongolians had never heard of the gospel before. And so what an opportunity to go and focus on student ministry, campus ministry, specifically planting a new campus ministry movement in Mongolia. And it was Mongolian, the goal was that it would be Mongolian led indigenous, that we'd raise up Mongolian staff and eventually a Mongolian board and praise God that those things happened over a period of time. [00:08:32] Tommy Thomas: Can you think of anything that you learned there that you've carried forward? Any particular leadership lesson that you still use today?  [00:08:43] Tom Lin: Yeah, many, for sure. I would say in Mongolia we learned a few helpful missiological concepts that I think is helpful for every leader to think about. One is, you enter with an exit strategy.  You never assume you're going to be there forever. Generally, I don't think it's helpful for missionaries to stay in one place forever. And so, you're always thinking about how I can develop this movement or this organization to be self-sustaining so that it no longer depends on me. I think that's helpful for any organizational leader, and certainly you're always thinking about succession planning and how do you develop future leaders, and what's your best contribution? And can you pass and delegate your responsibilities to someone else so you can work on something else? And I think those principles were really helpful. And I think those are some significant lessons and things that continue to hold dearly.  [00:09:41] Tommy Thomas: Let's go to mentoring.   That seems to be a theme in a lot of leaders' lives that I speak with. Have you had a particular mentor or has that played a role in your development? [00:09:52] Tom Lin: It's interesting. I think as a Gen Xer, I'm of a Gen X generation. Growing up I didn't think too much about mentoring. I think the millennials are much more open to it. And particularly, you may have interviewed folks, the millennial Boomer connection is very strong. Gen Z now appreciates mentoring, but Gen Xers, generally, thought we could figure it out ourselves, in a lot of ways. So, I didn't value it, I would say earlier in my career. And then it wasn't until later that it was interesting. It wasn't until later that I found a mentor that reached out to me. His name is Steve Hayner. He's the former President of InterVarsity in the nineties. And Steve cared for me. He invited me to his home. He eventually would play a mentoring role, which basically meant in my life of key moments, key decision-making moments in my life. He entered and would give me his advice, or I would ask for it. And yeah, he periodically would show up. I would seek him out when I was trying to decide a career decision or if I had just a significant life question I was wrestling with. So, Steve would've been one of those mentors. I've had other ones, another one in my life is Leighton Ford. I still do spiritual retreats with him. In fact, I have one coming up soon. And he's been a different kind of mentor, more a spiritual guide in helping me do some reflection in my life. [00:11:20] Tommy Thomas: Steve and Leighton are two very different personalities.  [00:11:26] Tom Lin: Yes, they are. They are.  [00:11:27] Tommy Thomas: I've had the chance to work with both of them over the years, and as I remember Steve is being so soft spoken and yeah, you wouldn't know he is in the room unless somebody pointed him out and Leighton's a little more forward and a lot more energy in the room when Leighton's in the room. [00:11:42] Tom Lin: That's right. Yeah. It's certainly different and that's also helpful I think, in mentoring to have different types of leaders as mentors. And yeah, so I feel lucky that these two in particular reached out to me and initiated with me in different ways. And, yeah, I think they played a significant role.  For sure.  [00:12:03] Tommy Thomas: Usually if people get to your level, they end up getting most things done through teams. And I'm probably assuming that's true about you. Maybe tell me about what you think was your most dynamic team as you think back over the years. And it could have been in student ministry, it could be an executive ministry. [00:12:20] Tom Lin: I think I've had the privilege of working with a lot of great teams and I think they're all very dynamic. I think probably one of the most exciting teams and exciting moments was when I directed the Urbana 2012 conference, my first Urbana event. I directed a huge ambitious event where we're preparing for usually two years in advance for these five days where about 18,000 young people come together to explore global missions. Right? And so many facets of it from operations, the communications to recruitment, to vision casting and budgeting for it. And it was like running an organization. The team we had needed to be dynamic, needed to be collaborative, needed to work with urgency at times. And, we did it and it was a phenomenal conference.  And so that was probably one of the more dynamic teams, and team experiences.  [00:13:29] Tommy Thomas: What's the most ambitious project you've ever undertaken with a team?  [00:13:34] Tom Lin: That one I would say was one for sure. To have key goals like seeing 18,000 people come or partnering with 300 organizations. We had come to the event, managing thousands of volunteers and then a world class program. There was a particular moment at the Urbana. We called it the join in where we partnered with World Vision. What we did was we assembled something like, I believe it was to speak accurately, I want 40,000 - 50,000 medical caregiver kits within a 90-minute program time slot at the conference. These would eventually be shipped to Swaziland and other parts in Africa for AIDS caregivers to use. And we did it at Urbana in this massive stadium with trucks on the stage. And it was just a really ambitious undertaking. And within 90 minutes, these 18,000 students put together 40,000 kits. It was an active experiential event, and then these trucks pulled away with being fully loaded with these kits and they were like on its way to Swaziland. It was pretty amazing how it all came together, but it took a lot of coordination, a lot of preparation to pull that off. That was a fun project within the bigger Urbana project.  [00:15:04] Tommy Thomas: Let's switch a little bit. Our topic overall is next generation leadership. What are some of the things either that you're doing or that you're seeing being done that you think is contributing to this next generation moving into place? [00:15:18] Tom Lin:   Yeah. I ask that a lot. Our bread and butter. What we do is develop the next generation of leaders. We do that on campus. We do that with student leaders. I think one way I'll answer the question is how we develop the next generation of leaders within our organization because I get asked that question a lot in terms of staff or employees. I think the keys are really around first intentionality. I think you have to be intentional. It doesn't just happen. People often say to me I don't have any, I don't have any potential people, so what can I do? I think it takes intentionality to build your pool of people and then to invest in the right people within that pool. So, intentionality creating, and that might include creating access. So every year I host what I call the president's living room consultation. I bring about a dozen or more emerging next generation leaders into my home for three days in the living room when we talk. And I give them access to me and I give them access to other leaders. And I think sometimes the key to developing future leaders or giving them access to current leaders you have to be intentional though. And then I think another thing we do is we offer stretch assignments. So, to develop the next generation, you have to give them tough assignments. So, it's going to be hard for them to develop into, let's say, the next level without giving them risk taking opportunities to stretch assignments where they can prove themselves or learn from tough assignments in addition to their day job. So anyways, those would be a couple things. I'd say, yeah, intentionality, access stretch assignments.  [00:16:58] Tommy Thomas:  You've mentioned two or three generations here, so you've got the boomers and the Xers, and have you noticed any difference in their proclivity to take risks?  [00:17:09] Tom Lin: Oh yes. Yeah, of course. Generally, for the millennials, again generally speaking, and generational theorists would agree with this, and studies have been done. Because of their upbringing. And the millennials have seen mostly prosperity and the rapid advance of certain technologies, iPhone generations, such apps that can solve the world's biggest problems generally. They're willing to take risks because they think, and they see the opportunity to change the world. They can do it. And so, their proclivity to take risks is, they're fine with it. Gen Z, the current student generation. They've seen some hard things. They've experienced the great recession.   The world's not their oyster and everything's not come easy. Mental health crisis. So generally, they're more risk averse. And what used to be when, to millennia you might say, hey everyone charge. Let's go, let's take the mountain, let's take the hill. You can do it.  For the Gen Z folks, that's not an effective rallying cry. Usually, you need to say let's do it together. We're behind you. You have the support you need. I'll be your mentor along the way. Or you lower yourself and take the big goal, and you break it up into three pieces and you say, hey the first step is this. You can do that first step and then we'll do the second step.  And so, it is different.  [00:18:33] Tommy Thomas: Maybe a more global leadership question. What's the most dangerous behavior or trait that you've observed that can derail a leader's life or career?  [00:18:47] Tom Lin: Yeah. There have been studies done about derailers. I think for me I don't see it so much as you do this one big thing, or you have one big trait and it's going to all of a sudden sneak up on you and it's going to blow up in your face or something. For me the most dangerous behavior is the collection of small decisions that a leader makes. Small steps. So, for example, I think when it comes to money, we can easily get tempted to have a deserving mindset. I deserve that thing. I worked so hard, that little decision or I should need that thing because I'm a little tired. I deserve a little bit of this or that. And the collection of small choices adds up to one day, a leader can be tempted to take something or make a decision that they shouldn't do. Or another example is, my time is valuable. They've heard that a leader and you begin to buy into that, and you start making little decisions. They start off innocently. My time is valuable, so therefore I should do X or Y or the organization should do X extra Y for me. And then where's the fine line, the line starts to blur and it goes into my time. I am so valuable that I should be able to do extra Y. So, a collection of small choices can easily build toward the point where a leader really does something completely unethical or, yeah, derails them completely. I always tell people to watch the small steps and the small decisions you're making.  [00:20:24] Tommy Thomas: What's the best piece of advice anyone's ever given you? [00:20:43] Tom Lin: Yeah, maybe I'll just share something more recent I've been thinking about. I was reading Bob Iger, the CEO of Disney, his autobiography, and one of the things he mentions is, people don't want to follow leaders who are pessimistic.  It's not a formula for success. Generally, people's inclinations, they want to follow a leader who's hopeful who is optimistic about his future. And I think generally that's something that I've abided by, even if there are challenges, people want to hear about the hope you have. People want to follow a leader who's optimistic about what's to come, who can paint a picture of why the future, or the preferred future, is better than today's future to today's reality. And I think that's so true and so important in leadership.  [00:21:33] Tommy Thomas: What do you do and maybe what do you and Nancy do for work-life balance?  [00:21:39] Tom Lin: Oh, work-life balance. I think. You know how I view that question? I think to me, work life balance is you have to work at both. You have to work at your work and you have to work at home, or your personal life, right? So it's not so much you work here and then you just veg out, so I think you work at both. And for me it meant I'm committed. I had both children at home. Now I have one at home, but I've had both at home for quite a while. I was committed to evening dinners at home, no matter what work demands were. I was committed to evening dinners at home when I was in town and I didn't carry work into dinner. And if I really needed to do work later at night, I'd wait till the kids go to sleep. So very careful about my evenings and then maintaining a Sabbath, there's a reason why the Lord commanded us to keep Sabbath and observe a Sabbath. And I think that really helps having the discipline of Sabbath where you're making sure you rest one day a week. [00:22:35] Tommy Thomas: What are you most excited about in life right now?  [00:22:40] Tom Lin: On one hand with my family, I'm excited about my kids growing up. One of my daughters is in college, and I'm in college ministry, so it's an exciting time for me to see my own daughter enter into this fantastic life stage. I think in work generally I'm excited about what we call our 2030 calling a vision. At InterVarsity we have a vision to see every campus in the country reach with the gospel. It's a fantastic vision for 2030 that is bigger than just InterVarsity. It's collaborative. We're working with over a hundred different organizations to see every campus have a gospel movement. And that's really exciting for me because it gets at my planting my experience in Mongolia wanting to see the unreached reached, kind of mentality. And as well as, I love campus ministry, so I want to see other organizations and churches get excited about campus ministry. And then ultimately, I want to see students' lives transformed and more students reached. It is a combination of a lot of things that go into this 2030 calling and that's what's making life exciting right now?  [00:23:52] Tommy Thomas: Let's reflect back a minute. The last two or three years we've lost two of your peers have gone on to be with the Lord and Steve Douglass and Denny Rydberg, and I know you've worked alongside those men and with them. What kind of reflections do you have on their leadership? [00:24:10] Tom Lin: Oh I would say Denny I did not have the chance to work with as closely, but we certainly collaborate a lot with the current CEO of Young Life, Newt Crenshaw. I would say with Steve Douglas, I did have a good number of years where I worked alongside. We met together to pray and fellowship with our spouses twice a year. My reflection on Steve is what I was saying about the small decisions equaling big ones. He was very aware that Steve was humble. One of the things he would do is he would decline a first grade up first-class upgrade on airplanes his entire life. He traveled a lot, but he would always decline an upgrade. I think he was very aware that even the small choices we make where we subtly begin to think that we deserve an upgrade or an extra treat or whatever, he wanted to be a model of simplicity and humility. And so, he would decline it every time. That's amazing. And then the second thing that struck me about Steve Douglas is he's always sharing the gospel, always sharing the gospel, always wherever he was, whether it wa at a restaurant with a waiter, a waitress, on an airplane, in a store. He would always just talk to somebody and find a way to share the gospel, and it was just very inspiring.  [00:25:29] Tommy Thomas: What are you going to say next week when you get a call from somebody that either thinks they want to be a leader, or maybe they're already in the leadership track and they're having second thoughts? How are you counseling our NextGen leaders? [00:25:47] Tom Lin: I think for NextGen, there's something about perseverance and paying the cost. So, I do think what I would counsel them is and it's harder to do I think in our North American context some of our majority world friends and leaders understand suffering and the role of suffering more. I think we're still less developed in that area. I would say I would counsel, persevere, especially in today's day and age as a leader, you are going to face extreme pressures, criticism, and reasons to hang it up. Reasons to just say I can't do it anymore. And I think I would say, keep on building the support team around you. Who's got your back?  Who is there for you? But when you engage in suffering, just know that's normal. And it happens. It will come. And that's part of the territory in leadership. So, I think that's how our counsel is just encouraging them to persevere and to understand it is a part of the reality, but you don't have to go through it alone. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++= I'm grateful to Tom Lin for taking time from his busy schedule to visit with us today. Why are we taking a break next week? It's 4th of July week holiday. And my experience has been that a lot of us take time away from work to spend time with family and friends. We will return the week of July 10 with our next episode.  In the meantime, stay the course on doing your part to make the nonprofit sector more effective and sustainable.    Links and Resources JobfitMatters Website Next Gen Nonprofit Leadership with Tommy Thomas InterVarsity Christian Fellowship Urbana IFES - International Fellowship of Evangelical Students   Connect Tommy Thomas - tthomas@jobfitmatters.com Tommy's LinkedIn Profile    

As part of the Good Questions, No Easy Answers series, Dr. Howell talks with Dr. Leighton Ford on “What is Belief and What Does it Mean to Accept Christ?” A Presbyterian minister and a leader in world evangelism, Dr. Ford has spoken in 40 countries and is the author of nine books, including his most recent, The Attentive Life.

Join Mike Cavaggioni with John Nicholas on the 102nd episode of the Average Joe Finances Podcast to discuss how you can be debt-free as soon as possible. John is a wealth coach and has been a lifelong entrepreneur who built companies worth millions. He shares his experience of being broke and his strategy to help others overcome debt.In this episode, you'll learn:A changed mindset means a change in directionPersonal journey of beating debt and achieving financial freedomSeven different ways of accruing debt and how to avoid itThe value of coaches and celebrating each step of the wayThree debt recovery keys everyone should knowAnd much more!About John Nicholas:John Nicholas has built award-winning sports media and real estate companies worth millions, but he has also faced serious setbacks and debt. So he knows how it feels, how it can happen to anyone, and what it takes to recover. John also worked inside the debt-relief industry, where he learned why debt programs often fail. That's why he left that field, only to return with the breakthrough approach he presents through his recent Amazon #1 New Release book and other free and affordable resources. John is a SoCal beach native, a former pro football player, pastor, and long-time entrepreneur. He's a graduate of Brown University, Fuller Seminary, and Leighton Ford's Arrow Leadership Program, and he lives with his wife and their two dogs near Dallas, TX.Find John Nicholas on: Website: https://debt-freeasap.com/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DebtFreeASAPYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCApKoli7paE1MpEy6mjWPAAFree Video Course: https://debt-freeasap.com/the-free-video-course/Average Joe Finances®Our social media links can be found here: https://averagejoefinances.com/linksCheck out: https://averagejoefinances.comBuying or Selling a House? https://averagejoefinances.com/realtorInterested in getting your real estate license? https://averagejoefinances.com/prepagentUse the same Audio/Video Editing Team that I use: https://editpods.comHost your own Podcast here: https://averagejoefinances.com/buzzsproutSocial Media Management Tool: https://averagejoefinances.com/social-mediaPodcast Book I'm Published in: https://averagejoefinances.com/daniel-larsonBuy an NFT of this podcast: https://ajf.uncut.fmMake Real Estate Investing Easier with DealMachine: https://averagejoefinances.com/dealmachineFree Stocks:Robinhood: https://averagejoefinances.com/robinhoodWebull: https://averagejoefinances.com/webullConsolidate debt: https://averagejoefinances.com/sofi-loans/Get Life Insurance: https://averagejoefinances.com/ladderAverage Joe Finances Swag: averagejoefinances.com/resources/shop*DISCLAIMER* https://averagejoefinances.com/disclaimer If you are interested in writing for Average Joe Finances or joining Small But Mighty Agency A podcast that uncovers how to go from solopreneur to seven figure agency with ease.Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify Small Business PRGet your small business seen and valued without ads, agencies, or connections necessary.Listen on: Apple Podcasts SpotifySupport the show

Joe Clifford's conversation with Leighton Ford on October 24, 2021, at Myers Park Presbyterian Church in Charlotte, NC.

Joe Clifford's conversation with Leighton Ford on October 24, 2021, at Myers Park Presbyterian Church in Charlotte, NC.

Ken and Carla are back on the beach. They review Carla's CA visit. Carla is a big fan of the octopus (My Octopus Teacher) and Gold Leaf South Park. Topics today: Trump Organization under criminal investigation; the Supreme Court takes up the Mississippi case on abortion (Carla weighs in); Russell Moore leaves the SBC for Christianity Today; the Billy Graham documentary biography on American Experience (featuring Nancy Gibb, Jemar Tisby, John Huffman, Anthea Butler, Grant Wacker, Leighton Ford and others); founder of Hillsong Church, Brian Houston interviewed re: the departure of Pastor Carl Lentz. President Joe Biden takes a test drive in an electric Ford 150. Secretary Pete leaves us with a sense of confidence and hope for the future. Support the show (http://thebeachedwhitemale.com)

Dr. Leighton Ford, founder and president of Leighton Ford Ministries, gives a message on how we can share and reflect the light of Christ with others amidst the darkness that may hover over our lives. By walking in the light with the Father, we enlighten our minds with truth, illuminate our eyes with beauty, and pour out light from within through the power of the Holy Spirit. It's through God's story and the light of his son Jesus that we find ourselves sharing in a story of hope, redemption, and promise.

Leighton Ford shares several stories about how God helped him through challenging times in his life, and how God can be with us now. Learn more about Leighton here: https://www.leightonfordministries.org/

Part 2 of a conversation between Dr. Francis Collins, Dr. Leighton Ford, and Bishop Claude Alexander. Dr. Francis Collins, M.D., Ph.D, advocates for the harmony found in the questions asked by the science and faith communities, is the Director of the National Institutes of Health, oversaw the development of Biologos Foundation, and wrote the book, “The Language of God”. This conversation includes Dr. Collins's journey from atheism to faith while immersed in the sciences, how we can reconcile faith and science which are not necessarily in conflict but can inform one another, and the implications of the efforts between faith and science in combating the COVID-19 pandemic as Christians.

Part 1 of a captivating conversation with Dr. Francis Collins, Dr. Leighton Ford, and Bishop Claude Alexander. Dr. Francis Collins, MD, PhD, is an advocate for finding harmony in the questions contended by both the science and faith communities. He currently holds the seat as director of the National Institutes of Health, is founder of the BioLogos Foundation, and is author of the book “The Language of God.” This conversation includes Dr. Collins' journey from atheism to faith while traversing the sciences, his discovery that conversations of faith and of science are not in conflict with each other but actually inform one another, and the implications of faith and science as we face the COVID-19 pandemic.

Author and Lifelong Minister Leighton Ford Discerns God’s in “A Life of Listening” [Ep 169][Under the Covers] In today’s episode, we visit with Leighton Ford, author of “A Life of Listening: Discerning God’s Voice And Discovering Our Own.” In this memoir, lifelong minister of the gospel Leighton Ford tells his story as a personal history of listening for God’s voice. Beginning with his earliest memories, he recounts the different ways God has spoken to him, and the different ways he has learned to listen. Through the joys of ministry, first as an international evangelist, often in partnership with Billy Graham, and later as a leader of the Lausanne Movement and a mentor of emerging leaders, Leighton remembers God's voice proclaiming, instructing, reassuring. Through the pain of deep loss, he remembers God's voice calling out to him, even in the deafening silence. What emerges is not just an account of a long and faithful life of Christian service, but a picture of the Christian life—the life of listening. What will it sound like, Ford asks, when God speaks to you? Engage with the show here: https://linktr.ee/CharlotteReadersPodcast Detailed show notes here: https://charlottereaderspodcast.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/charlottereaderspodcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/charlottereaderspodcast/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/charlottereader Charlotte Readers Podcast is a proud member of the Authors on the Air Global Radio Network and the Queen City Podcast Network. @copyrighted

Dr. Leighton Ford is President of Leighton Ford Ministries which focuses on raising up younger leaders to spread the message of Christ worldwide. He has spoken face to face to millions of people in 37 countries on every continent of the world and served from 1955 until 1985 as Associate Evangelist and later Vice President of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association.

Richard Foster: [00:02:52] Renovare and what  we do is not about personalities. And that's one of the reasons that we always work as a team, because then the various gifts of the people of God can come forward and we can live and move in that and be strengthened by it.Of course, the life in the kingdom must always be enfleshed. And that does take people. And we're so thankful for the various ones that teach me and teach you and help us all. Roger Fredrickson is one of those kinds of persons. When I first was considering a move to Wichita, Kansas to teach at a university there.I mean, I thought Wichita, Kansas was the end of the earth. And, it's not, I want you to understand that. So we're lovely place. It is not the end of the earth, though you can see it from there. And, very wisely the college president when Carolyn and I went there to just be together and think about this idea.He invited Roger and Ruth Fredrickson to meet with us and have dinner. I'll tell you that president knew exactly what he was doing. I immediately fell in love with those two people. They just had the ability to kind of put their arms around the city in the world and people and everything. It was a great blessing.Roger had come to that city of Wichita to pastor a church that had really been broken. There'd been a church split.You understand about those things? I bet. And a great human, which facility downtown, probably seat a few thousand and there was just a couple hundred folk left. After many people had left and built a very big facility.And I watched Roger take that church. He wrote a book about it, called The Church That Refused to Die. And I watched that. And then whenever I could, I would just try to slip in. I remember once coming, Roger doesn't even know this. I came to their new year's Eve service. Just sat there, just cause I wanted to soak in that life. Just the life of God. And Roger's the only person who has ever been able to get me onto a committee. You do know that Bible verse...God so loved the world that he did not form a committee.But Roger got me on a steering committee to bring Leighton Ford for a campaign in the city. I just watched how he threw his arms around the city. We'd meet in Hispanic churches. We meet in all kinds of places and our steering committee and how the love begin to flow. And then the last service. And then after that service, we went over to the church that had split away from Roger's church and the hostility was such they wouldn't allow each other to go to the other church building, even just walk in the building. And, uh,= I just stood there amazed as we shared thanked each other. And then Roger stood up and said, you know, you all know what's going on between our two churches. And then he turned to wonderful pastor that other church.And he said, I believe it's time to bury the hatchet. And he walked over and hugged that man. And I thought the kingdom of God has come near. See, and that's Roger Fredrikson, he's speaking to us this morning and I know he will point us to life in the kingdom of God and what that means. Roger come bless you.Roger Fredrikson: [00:06:36] I had a friend who sometime ago gave me a statement that flies in the face of what Richard said.It deals with a dilemma that we often get in once in a while get into the church. I was walking in San Francisco along the golden gate bridge. When a man I saw a man about to jump off. I tried to dissuade him from committing suicide and told him simply that God loved him.A tear came to his eye. I then asked him, are you a Christian or a Jew or a Hindu or what? He said, I'm a Christian. I said, me too, small world... protestant or Catholic. He said, Protestant. I said, me too, what denomination? He said Northern Baptist. I said, well, me too. That's amazing. Northern conservative Baptist, or Northern liberal Baptist? He said Northern conservative Baptist. I said, I don't believe it. Northern conservative fundamentalist Baptist or Northern conservative reform Baptist? He said Northern conservative fundamentalist Baptist. I said remarkable, Northern conservative fundamentalist Baptist, great lakes region or Northern conservative fundamentalist Baptist Eastern region. He said Northern conservative fundamentalist Baptist, great lakes region. I said a miracle Northern conservative fundamentalist Baptist, great lakes region of  1879 or Northern conservative fundamentalist Baptist. Great lakes region of 1912. He said Northern conservative fundamentalist Baptist. Great lakes region of 1912.I said, die heretic and I pushed him offNow in the face of this. Let me just say before the session began, we either laugh or cry about that. Don't we.  I met the  pastor of the Metropolitan Baptist church again, who serves the church now in Texas, Phil Lineberger. Where are you?Come down here, please. Just for a minute. Will you, as Richard has indicated, one of the great spiritual experiences of my life was when Metropolitan Baptist.  And I want to say this in deep love, a great Southern Baptist church. And our tattered First Baptist church, American Baptist gathered for worship, which Richard, each other.(Banter)I want to say this man had the courage to go to a board of deacon. Some of whom said we don't want to go into a church building that was stolen from us. And our people said we don't want to drag out old dead bones again. And somehow we said to them, we pray each Sunday, forgive us our debts. As we forgive our debtors, we cannot do that and live this uptight way we're living. And out of a came a reconciliation service. Phil, I've carried you in my heart ever since. In fact, in my study, I've got the picture of the two. It was greeting one another, and I want to bless you and thank God for you.I really think in a way, that's my speech.I'm going to be very, very personal with you at the outset. Not because I want your pity just to state a fact.Two-and-a-half years ago.... I was diagnosed with leukemia and I want to say that by love and prayers, a marvelous oncologist and sophisticated medication I'm doing very well.Ruth. And I greet each day with joy and wonder and gratitude. Now resources come in at a time like this, because I went through several days of the dark night of the soul, Saint John of the cross said. But in the midst of it, there were assurances and prayers and love. And finally a profound new sense of the presence of God.The Renovare office shipped me--it was a great package--the third chapter of the divine conspiracy, which deals with what Jesus knew, our God-bathed world. I sat down one night and started to read that I was so entranced and overcome. I at times wanted to shout. I wanted to weep because there came to me after all these years of preaching about the kingdom-- intellectually understanding the kingdom and I having intimations of the kingdom--there came to me a great new awareness of the wonder and the intimacy of the presence of God's kingdom in which I have rejoiced. And in many ways, grown in these last years.Strange and amazing things happen. I was driving back from the hospital in a park that we call McKennan park. A boy was coming home from school. It's a simple thing. He had a knapsack over his back. He had a lunch bucket in his hand and he was just dancing. And I just stopped. And almost with tears of joy, watch that boy dance with freedom. And I thought about Jesus' incredible statement, unless you become as a little child, you'll in no wise enter the kingdom of heaven. And I said, Lord, I thank you that I see the kingdom all about me.And since then, in all kinds of interesting, amazing unexpected places I have seen and experienced that kingdom for which I thank God. The sad thing and the things I want to say briefly here, girl, out of a love and a passion for the mandate, say it, the mainline church and the institutional church to which, and I, and I recognize we come from many different backgrounds here, but that has been my habitat, so to speak.And I say this in love and yet with pain, the church has not been at that point. And we know that this is why some sense we're here, wistful and longing, wanting to be taught. And we're richly blessed with a whole session. Last night, the church has settled for the superficial stuff. We know that it's been a consumer gospel in many cases, it's been self-centered, it's a question of, you know, how do I get in?And. As our dear brother Dallas says it's bumper sticker, theology, just forgiveness will get you in which of course leads to a superficial understanding of what the church is all about. And Gallup's poll indicates 94% of the American people believe in God. 74% say they have some kind of commitment to Christ 34% claim to have been born again yet no transforming impact in society, moral... I don't need to dwell on this violence, broken homes, addictions.So in the midst of this, we ask ourselves about the gospel we've been preaching. A phrase used in The Divine Conspiracy, which speaks of sin management. Our program has been to arrange somehow that people can get in. It's kind of like a glorified insurance program. We know that on the right, on the right side we've had, and I say it with gratitude, we've had Evangelical theology, which has stressed reconciliation. It's stressed forgiveness. It's spoken of the atonement justification by faith. You know, these are the massive--how shall I say it, rock on which the reformation is built. But you see it's been, if I can use this analogy, it's like baseball. We've got to go around the bases to get home, but we get the first base and stop there.And the tragedy is waiting beyond us something far more than just the beginning. The fact is tjat on the left side, which has been, as we classically have said, social action theology, we've attacked. We have attacked social ills of the organized away, so to speak. The removal of structural evils has been what we've dealt with on that side.So there was, was civil rights and the Vietnam protest. And the word liberation of the oppressed came to the heart of it. And people felt in a way I've dealt with them. That prayer is kind of tinkering that we're, we're not dealing with a personal God. That there's a God that's kind of removed. It's almost like a form of deism. That's not true of everyone, but it has tended to be true on this side.I want to say very personally, we have a son, our oldest son who was a political science major at Yale. Got a scholarship to go on to Harvard divinity school. Came out during that time, spent a week on a hunger strike, protesting the Vietnam war worked for George McGovern and fine keen human being with a great compassion for people, regardless of your political persuasion, that's true. And Randy worked among the native Americans in Western South Dakota with a passion and we'd have these discussions about Lordship, and surrendering, and the deeper element of what is involved in the kingdom of God. And then one Monday, dear Randy called. And he said, bless. I thought of that last night with deep emotion.Blessed are the meek for, they shall inherit the earth. I said, my conscience, Randy, what's happened to you. He said, I've capitulated to the Lord... his mother and I stood there and wept. And there began to emerge in his life the kind of thing. And I know this is a dad talking. There began to emerge a kingdom style of life that was holistic, that caught up the personal, the justification, the forgiveness, which is at the heart of what we believe, but also moves across the landscape that touch people where there's oppression and need and pain. And too much of the church has not dealt with that. We know that. And we rejoice in the fact that Randy's involved in a prison ministry, pastoring a church moving among, in many cases, the disenfranchised and the poor that are caught on the edge of society as we know it.So the condition of the church, dear friends, for many of us, we know that has been, we have shallow, self-centered, carnal Christians who say I want it my way. You know, the test of our own love for each other comes in this transportation from the hotel over here. It's very interesting to see how we react in those situations.I have a Catholic priest friend who preached on peace one Sunday, and he said, I went to the window and looked at the parking lot. And I could tell that that sermon hadn't even touched them the way they were trying to get out of that parking lot.And there are broken relationships, Ruth and I in the last 10, 11 years have spent a great deal of time in renewal, and I find that at the heart of church after church, there's misunderstanding there's criticism, there is brokenness and God can not work through those institutions. If I can put it that way. Or take the matter of the church setting for an agenda, that's largely institutional. We get all fired up about carpets and painting bathrooms and writing budgets and all that.While the world goes to hell, we discovered within walking distance of our church in Sioux falls, South Dakota on the basis of a survey 800 youngsters were within walking distance of our church. One third of whom came from single parent homes, which led us to a ministry, you know,  after school... care for youngsters at that. Well, you know about that, but the fact is we have spent a massive energies on maintenance, just getting the job done, surviving, which grows out of the fact that we've had, if I can say this. It partial theology, truncated, sin management. Let me use the phrase again, kind of theology.This is why we've come here. I believe to learn, to grow, to drink deeply. The kind of thing we heard talked about last night, which leads us and will be talked about all through this week, which leads us to the fact. Let me just say. In passing here that kind of life in the church has not led to any transforming impact on society.You know, we have subtly been conformed to the age. We breathe its spirit. We live in it's ethos. It's almost like a subtle cancer that eats at us. Instead of saying boldly, somehow we've got to take another look. We've got to deepen our lives. We've got to move into areas where we've never been before.Which leads us to the fact that we have to come back simply again to Jesus as our great teacher.This is brothers and sisters, a didactic book. Most of is written to explain to people how we are to live in the kingdom. Take for example, Jesus, and, and the people, men that he'd been and women that he called into his kingdom, he said to Jame and John, follow me, and I will make you, what does that mean? And I'm always intrigued reading that story of Matthew, where Jesus comes along and he saw him.. My conscience to see Matthew to cut beyond all that surface stuff and get at the real man and say to him, "Will you follow me?"And I'm taken with a verbs that say he straightway got up and followed him.He had no idea that he was going to find himself that you'll seeing miracles or, or, or hearing the teachings of Jesus, which many times he had to explain. And finally, in some way his death and his resurrection. And as far as we know, he, he was martyred. But he began a great life of adventure following him.This is what we're asked to do. Jesus poured his life into that handful of people. He taught them. He modeled for them. He explained parables that they could not have said yes, there's a mystery, the kingdom, the gracious rule and reign of God that draws near to us made available in Jesus. So like them there, we now with the living Christ present in his Spirit are trying as best we can to open ourselves and learn of him. Meek and lowly, as we heard said last night.And when Paul, let me just say this in passing, because sometimes we play Jesus over against Paul in some circles. That's not true at all. He spoke to the Galatians.I am in anguish. I am in pain. That Christ should be formed. And when he speaks about right writing to the Galatians  walking in the spirit that we will bear the fruits of the spirit. This is Christ like this in the kingdom. And he spoke to the Ephesians about the fact that the end of it all is to grow up into the maturity of Jesus Christ to be new creatures in him.That's the possibility of what this conference and what our life is all about. So it's life in the kingdom, which is so near at hand. And I want to say again, personally, that in this, how do I say it? The lights coming on, I've seen the wonder of that over and over again. Jesus at work, in the gracious rule of God that begins to envelop personally and socially our lives.I took our granddaughter as a graduation gift--our oldest granddaughter as a graduation gift from college to Haiti just after the first of the year. Ruth has a niece and her husband that are there. They've been there for 14 years at good Samaritan hospital against incredible odds, dealing with a pain and misery of a country so near within our hemisphere. And we've never had, I had a consistent policy about Haiti, we just go on zigzag on the whole thing. And we had an incredible experience. And I remember sitting on the second or third day in the pediatric ward and, and seeing the 15, 16, little infants, some of whom were all already orphans because their mothers had died in childbirth because of malnutrition and saw these four Haitian women, not their mothers, but caring for them, mothering them, feeding them, washing them.And I found myself without thinking about it, humming. Come thou fount of every blessing,  or the grace, how great a debtor daily I'm constrained to be.. Bind my wandering heart and so forth. It speaks about that in there. And as I, as I was humming, not aware, even on what I was doing, the women begin to look at me and there was smiles and they started to sing in Creole, come thou fount of every blessing.I want to tell you, Jesus walked there in the midst of that, but we come home. It's a very, very simple thing and sit down Ruth and I some mornings, because we have wrens that have built mama and Papa have built a nest in a bird house. And sometimes mama wren. I'm sure it's she, sits on the railing and looks at us through the window.And I think of the fact that Jesus said, you know, If your father takes care of the birds, he's certainly going to take care of you. We've got to understand dear brothers and sisters, that kingdom is not just behind stain glass windows. It's not just at meetings like this, as powerfully as he's evident here, God is moving in this incredible sense in this God-bathed world.And we need to be aware of that. See the signs move in it, learn from those situations. I want to close by just saying very personally... years ago at youth conferences, it illustrates the kingdom, at youth conferences at GreenLake, Wisconsin, a man came named Clarence Jordan. Now Jordan came from camp, came from South Georgia.He had that beautiful Southern--even more so than Texas in some ways--where he'd say, I want to talk to you about the economics of Jesus and boy that just scared the bankers to death. And he would say, I'm talking about people that couldn't get a loan at your bank. You know, you know how it happened.Clarence Jordan became a Christian as an adult. He always read by the way from a Greek new Testament, when you read. And when he read the sermon on the Mount, he said, this is the Lord's teaching to me. Went to Southern seminary in Louisville majored in Greek, so he could really get at the message from the heart.The Lord instructed him, justice. Richard, you are faithful to this vision of renovar Clarence Jordan said in effect, we need to form an interracial farm called Koinonia because it's back on Georgia. You know, Georgia state had been an agriculture, so they begin to revive the dead prostituted soil, grew nuts and peanuts and all that manner of thing.We took 10 of our people from Wichita and went down to koinonia. We saw the bullet hole. We heard the stories, not told with anger, but with pain of what had gone on. This is before the days of Martin Luther King. Well, Clarence was gone when we were there, but in the days that were on them, when Clarence was living, a man named Millard fuller, who had made a mint as a very sharp attorney, his wife was so fed up with new boats and houses, et cetera, that she went up to New York city to be counseled.And Millard sought her out up there sitting on the steps of a Presbyterian church. Millard and Linda talked about Jesus, speak statement to the rich young ruler, go sell all you've got, give it to the poor and come follow me. That becomes the calling for some people in some places. So they said, I've heard of this Clarence Jordan.Let's go down and learn about the kingdom. And Millard tells very humorously about how they had one cow on the farm. Clarence was on one side and Millard on the other. I don't know how the cows stood it. And while they were milking. Talking, as Millard says, between the flank of the cow and the tail of the cow, he said, I learned about the kingdom. And God laid on me, the whole vision of decent housing.Ah... an incredible, crazy dream. At the end of last year, habitat for humanity as it came to be known. And some of you've been involved. How many have you been involved in habitat? Put your hands up all over the place. Marvelous. Had built 70,000 homes. In our town, we've built 40 Catholics and Methodists and Baptists. () First time the Baptist got together on much of anything and building a house.) Young people, women have built homes. I'll never forget when we visited koinonia and Millard who was there, then took us around. He said, I want to show you what's going on. We're going to eliminate bad housing in Sumpter County.And we got to this one place where a marvelous African American woman said, I want to say, I'd only had dirt floors, I had no running water, I tossed my excretions out in the bushes. And then she said, I got a house. I got a home. Cement floor running water, electric lights. She said, I danced all night and sang hallelujah, because I'd been given a home.Now I realized this is a kind of a dramatic statement of it. But when I say I'm open to the kingdom, Jesus, I want to serve you. I want to be obedient. I want to listen and I want to obey. So that somehow I built on the rock. None of us here knows what adventure he leads us into, but you come home and it's a very simple matter.And here's dear Anna... anna has no habitat for humanity worker. She is a woman who cleans and deals with the grass and the flowers at the place where we live, called Frail Ridge. And Anna so happy. She was coming on to work at four 30 working until nine 30, 10 o'clock at night. And I said, Anna, you're so happy.She said, well, yeah, she's, uh, in some ways, a simple person in the way we were singing about it today. And then one day I was driving along and I saw this car with a fish, you know, the little fish I looked, it was Anna. So when I saw her in the building later, I said, Anna, you're a believer. She said, yes, I am.I said, tell me about yourself. And she talked about her love of the soil, coming off of South Dakota farm. She talked about grass and flowers and trees. I said, would you, we're going to have an Easter Africa service. Would you share with us how you came to believe and how God has involved you in his mission?She would, I'll never forget. She stood up and she said, I used to worry about everything. Be not anxious. Look at the birds and the flowers. Solomon arrayed in all his beauty was not like one of these. That's the kingdom, the mystery, and the wonder of the kingdom. People sat with joy and listen, as Anna said, and then I met Jesus. Now he's the one that shares the kingdom. We know that. He's the one who models it. He's the one who powers us with his life in this.Now she said, I'm still concerned. But I don't worry anymore. So be it. And God bless us to get beyond just managing sin into the great wonder and joy and power of Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen. Yeah.Richard Foster: [00:33:10] Wonderful.lovely. Dallas, come up.Dallas, talk with us a little as you've heard. Roger, just anything impressions that you picked up.Dallas Willard: [00:33:24] The simplicity of the vision, a little child is the heart of it. And if we could just get beyond all of our concerns about one or another kind of peripheral thing and just live that, then that's where the kingdom comes. When, when Jesus says, of course that unless you would come a little child, you shall not enter the kingdom of heaven. He's not talking about going to heaven when you die.He's talking about stepping into it right now and that's the invitation to all of us. ThankRoger Fredrikson: [00:33:54] you, Roger.Dallas, I want to ask you, people are looking for formulas. They want to we're so pragmatic. We want to work an arrangement. How does a person get the mind and heart of a child? Is there any how?Dallas Willard: [00:34:11] Well, yes. But it's not a formula.Roger Fredrikson: [00:34:14] No, no.Dallas Willard: [00:34:15] Uh, if you, if you know how a little child looks to their parents...that's the secret, uh, we've recently had this wonderful little granddaughter that was born in the middle of the board meeting last year.Roger Fredrikson: [00:34:31] Yes. We know about that.Dallas Willard: [00:34:32] I should have named her Renovare (laughter)She's named Larissa and it's what has come back to me is how the little child just looks at its parents just looks to its caretaker.That is the simple thing that we look to God in that way. Yeah. And as we do that, uh, we get past all the clever tricks and concerns about what other people do and don't believe them so on.And we just simply, we trust like that little child trust its parents. And I think that's the secret.Richard Foster: [00:35:11] You know, Dallas you've mentioned in this, uh, chapter two, something that has with me for a long time. I remember it in manuscript form that sociologically we can document that people are not growing spiritually. And you had said that that leaders lament this, that in spite of their most vigorous efforts that we're not growing spiritually. And then you add this sentence. Let's consider a revolutionary thought. What if it's because of our efforts that people aren't growing, can you, can you unpack that a little bit for us?Dallas Willard: [00:35:51] Well, it's just a simple matter of looking at what we actually spend our time on. I mean, what do we spend our time on? You've already made a comment on committees and, uh, and of course we have to.We have to have ways of working. And there's no doubt about that, but the problem is that the things that come to center to occupy the center of our attention are actually peripheral.And it's like I was saying last night, you know, what do you want on your tombstone? If you put the stuff we make central on our tombstones, maybe they are on our tombstone. Some of our churches turned into tombstones because they have that sort of written on them, you know?We just don't put the center center. Just don't do it.Richard Foster: [00:36:49] Speaking of tombstones. I remember. That wonderful description of that lovely lady that we just catch a glimpse of in the book of acts, her name was Tabitha or Dorcas, and it said of her that she was a woman full of good works and acts of charity.And I've always thought, wouldn't that be a wonderful thing to be able to put over a life? Here's a person, full of goodworks and acts of charity.Dallas. Uh, you mentioned in this chapter. About the importance of seeing Jesus as teacher and making the comment that that notion has gotten lost in our day.Now, can you help us understand what has brought that about why has that been lost to us?Dallas Willard: [00:37:41] Well, I really think it's been mainly lost because of the battle struggle between modernism and fundamentalism, the way it's shaped up. And on the conservative side, people began to recognize that when the other side I spoke with Jesus as teacher, it was a demotion that they were saying, well, he's just a man.And so they tried not to speak about that. And on the left side, the liberal side, they spoke of him as teacher, but nobody was really learning from him after a generation or two of liberalism because the earlier liberals were very different from contemporary ones. So on both sides, it's just lost.So that again, see that that is not placed at the center. I mean, suppose we said on the front of our churches: we exist to teach men and women, boys and girls, to do everything that Jesus said, just imagine, but that's lost because he's not thought of in that way on either side. And the recovery of that is necessary to renew this idea of apprentices, you know, and to invite people to simply come to learn, as he said, he invited come and learn of me.  If our churches were simply devoted to that, then everything else would take care of itself.Richard Foster: [00:39:07] You know, for a time I was an apprentice electrician and my job was to follow the journeyman and listen to what he said and watch what he did and try to do it the way he did it.And when I didn't do that, I sure got into trouble a couple of times flat on my back from electrical shock. And I though of that often as a model for me to think about apprenticeship to Jesus Christ, to watch how he looks. I lived when he was among us in the flesh, but also his living among us now in the spirit to listen to what he said in the gospels that's recorded, but also to what he is speaking and saying today, and to try to do it the way he does it. You have a phrase there about living my life...Dallas Willard: [00:40:11] as he would live my life, if he were I him.That's the aim of the disciple, just like  that fellow that you were following around, you were learning to do with your body and your mind what he would do if he were you. Now there are more than enough people here in this group today to revolutionize the world. If everyone here, I would say that is my only business in life is to learn to lead my life the way Jesus would lead my life if he were I.Roger Fredrikson: [00:40:50] We get the idea, you've got to be kind of spiritually elite. You've got to have, you know, the whole rigamarole, instead of believing that mechanics, people haul garbage, people that are selling used cars can be God's men in those places a kingdom can be seen there.And that's what we've been very short on. Our friend Elton Trueblood years ago said that the pastor is a player coach. In the sense of not only saying this is what ought to be done, or can be done is a better word, but I want to show you as best I can, you know, with all my weaknesses and foibles, how this is lived out so that people are learning from us.Richard Foster: [00:41:31] I watched Roger do this. Yeah on, uh, I think it was a Tuesday morning or noon study for about 300 business people from downtown who would come as Roger taught and worked through the gospel of John, I think in about a couple of years or so teaching that.And you know, people here are from all walks of life and those are all honorable walks... and we want to learn. You want to learn, I went to learn. How to live in a way that would be pleasing to God and only Jesus can teach us that. And Roger and Dallas, I want you to help me just to pray. Roger, could you begin?Roger Fredrikson: [00:42:18] Our father, you know, our hearts, and our minds and our wills, you know what brought us here. We pray for openness to receive what you long to give us. We pray that if there are areas of our life that we need to surrender, relationships that need to be healed. Oh Lord. Bless us in thatFill us afresh with your spirit, the spirit of Jesus in such a way that we will reflect the kingdom, the rain, your reign in all of life. And teach us once again, or that we have made. It terrible mistake and drawing lines and saying, this is sacred and this is secular. And may we see life whole, this God-bathed world that you put us in. We thank you that we can be together, that we can grow in love that we can affirm and encourage one another.And so we bless you and praise you and thank you in Christ's name.Richard Foster: [00:43:25] Lord I hold before you and we together hold every person in this room who's a parent, working and dealing and raising children. Would you bless these parents? Some of them single parents some together, but not together and struggling. Some who live in the home together, but differ on how to raise the child. Would there be a sense of the Shalom of God, all we ask and it's like seeing parents and children playing together, talking together, being silent together with the television off and enjoying life together.Dallas Willard: [00:44:19] Lord, we ask that each of us here, now, you will give us a vision of where we are, starting with our bodies and our past, and all that has happened to us and our families and our place in this world. And help us to see each one that we stand at the doorway of heaven and that the ladder, which Jacob saw come down into the ditch where he lay asleep, extends to where we are. And the angels are ascending and descending upon the son of man who walks beside us and makes our place holy. And give us the vision to know that this is the place, and this is the time and you are the blessing and that your kingdom opens out before us to claim everything that we are and have, in these days and hours that we're here together.As we are in our hotel rooms and in meetings. As we fellowship and listen and speak to one another, solidify that vision so that it decorates the inside of our mind and is all over our thinking and feeling that we might know that we have set the Lord always before us. He is at our right hand, we shall not be moved. In Jesus name.Richard Foster: [00:45:43] Amen.

In a world of soundbytes, really listening to each other can seem a dying art, one that takes more energy and time than we want to allow.  But we have a God Who listens to us, Who truly attends to us.  Following His example requires learning how to listen to Him and to others -- and even to ourselves.  Today's guest is Dr. Leighton Ford, a man who some say has mentored more people (especially Christian leaders) than anyone else alive!  He and his wife Jean began a ministry to Christian leaders after losing their 21-year-old son.  He joins Cinthia today to discuss his books A Life of Listening:  Discerning God's Voice and Discovering Our Own and The Attentive Life:  Discerning God's Presence in All Things.   Whether you listen for a living or have trouble truly hearing and discerning anything these days, join Cinthia to learn from a master of attending to what matters.

What You'll Hear: Leighton was adopted, but didn't find out about this until age 12 His mother was a devout Christian and raised himwith a spiritual grounding His adoptive parents ran a jewelry store, he looks back and is thankful for the love and provision, but his parents did not have a loving marriage and fought a lot When he was age 14, his mother left for a while and during that summer Leighton went to a Blue Water Bible Conference put on by a local business man.  A speaker talked about praying out loud from the Psalms and this was a turning point for Leighton. He felt God knew and understood that teenage boy That year a man named Evan Hedley, came to his hometown to start "Youth for Christ" there and Leighton was appointed to be president.  Evan was a business man who had been in insurance.  He wasn't a preacher but he was an organizer and a mentor.  Evan lived to age 90 and 60 men including Leighton who had been mentored by Evan came to his funeral. At age 16, Leighton met Billy Graham through Youth for Christ.  Billy was speaking and the auditorium was full, but Leighton was disappointed that no-one came up to give their life to the Lord.  Billy put an arm around Leighton's shoulder and encouraged him and prayed for him. "Our seeming failures are not always God's failures" Billy Graham gave Leighton a letter of recommendation for Wheaton and Leighton didn't get it in, but he transfered later and majored in Philosophy. He met Jean, Billy Graham's sister, there. They fell in love and married. Jean had a soft voice from Polio.  This soft voice was very important to Leighton, especially since it was in contrast to Leighton's mother's voice. "Out of the many voices we hear....as we listen for that still, small voice of the Lord, we begin to find our own voice" The best definition of a Christan is one who hears the voice of Jesus and follows His way BREAK1-17:09  “"The Classic Christian Rock podcast by WildMan & Steve encompasses all a Christian Music fan would want in a podcast. They interview Christian Rock artists twice a month- those from the past and the musicians who are rocking for Christ today. On the same podcast is a weekly radio show called Metal Talk where you will here great talk about politics, current events and faith- all while listening to great Metal music. Subscribe to their podcast today where ever you get your podcasts, find out more at WildManandsteve.com"” "We're in a time where people are paying continuous partial attention" Honor the Saabath as well as small Saabaths during the week Dallas Willard said "Ruthlessly eliminate hurry" We can be a workaholic and a thinkaholic Take advantage of pauses in our day and pauses in our life The monks have certain times durign the day when they pray. Leighton sets the alarm on his watch to go off and remind him to pause and listen. "99% of Christians in the world will never be in a pulpit and never be a missionary, but they will have daily work" Leighton's son-in-law is a doctor and prayed with a man and led him to Christ just before he died, and the family asked him to speak at his funeral. At age 50, Leighton stopped and took inventory and he and his wife began to say "I wonder if there's something different" and prayed for 2 years.  During that time their son Sandy died from heart problems. They felt led to lead the next generation to be what God wants them to be. Younger people want an older person to listen to them and help them. To find someone to mentor, pray about it.  Start a GGTW (Guys and Gals to Watch) list. Be available not to give them advice and tell them what to do but a genuine interest in them. "God's an artist.  He doesn't do copies, He only does originals." Recommended prayer to start your work day "Lord, you're in my mind, think your thoughts in me. Be my wisdom, knowledge and insight.  Be in my eyes, see through me. Be in my voice and speak through me with silence or whatever is needed, and let me live this day in the reality of You in me.  I trust you for making it so." Find "A Life of Listening" on Amazon. Go to www.LeightonFordMinistries.org

Have you ever wanted God to speak to you? My guest today has spent his life listening to God. He is Billy Graham's brother in law Leighton Ford, and it was such an honor to speak to him. He worked closely with Billy for many decades, and then spent the second half of his life mentoring young leaders. He shares about how you can learn to hear God's voice in your own life. You can pick up Leighton's book "A Life of Listening" here: https://www.amazon.com/Life-Listening-Discerning-Voice-Discovering-ebook/dp/B07VNH6MPS/. Pick up Matt's book "Truth Plus Love: The Jesus Way to Influence" here: amazon.com/Truth-Plus-Love-Jesus-Influence/dp/0310355249/ For more from Matt Brown, and to receive our free gift “5 Spiritual Keys to Find Fulfillment in God” which will help you get started into the life of fulfillment God has for you, go to: Thinke.org

Leighton Ford author, social activist, leader, communicator, and mentor, was singled out by Time Magazine as “among the most influential preachers of an active Gospel," and is the Founding President of Leighton Ford Ministries. He joins us on the Atlas Leadership Podcast to encourage the tired leader and share wisdom from previous storms he has weathered through his more than 40 years of leadership. Podcast created by CLT Leadership Summit & Silent Images. || The intro/outro music was created by YUNG Citizen.

Edge of Faith talks with Leighton Ford, founder of the Leighton Ford Foundation and former vice president of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, about the current pandemic, listening to God's voice, prayer, and much more as we take a closer look at his memoir, A Life of Listening. Join us we learn how to listen to that still small voice and feel the presence of God. Learn to develop your walk as the subtitle suggests, Discerning God's Voice and Discovering our Own.

Today's guest is Leighton Ford Billy Graham's brother in-law Interview begins in the second segment "A Life of Listening" https://www.leightonfordministries.org/ ------------------ Hebrews 8:8-13 8 For he finds fault with them when he says: “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will establish a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, 9 not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt. For they did not continue in my covenant, and so I showed no concern for them, declares the Lord. 10 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws into their minds, and write them on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 11 And they shall not teach, each one his neighbor and each one his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest. 12 For I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more.” 13 In speaking of a new covenant, he makes the first one obsolete. And what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away. ------------------ 5 Core Values of SWAT 1. God’s Word 2. Prayer 3. Evangelism 4. Discipleship 5. Community ------------------ https://swatradio.com/ SWAT - Spiritual Warriors Advancing Truth Call us Toll-Free at: +1-844-777-7928 Email Us a Question: ask@swatradio.com FIND A SWAT MEETING Woody’s Bar-B-Que 226 Solano Rd Ponte Vedra, FL 10611 Wed. 6:30-7:30 am IHOP 3250 Hodges Blvd Jacksonville, FL 32224 Wed. Night 7-8 pm Salem Centre 7235 Bonneval Rd Jacksonville, FL Wed. 12:00-1:00 pm Jumping Jax House of Food 10131 San Jose Blvd #12 Jacksonville, FL Thursday 6:30-7:30 am The Village Inn 900 Ponce De Leon Blvd St. Augustine, FL Friday 9:00-10:30 am Woodmen Valley Chapel - Woodmen Heights Campus 8292 Woodman Valley View Colorado Springs CO 80908 Thursdays 8-9:15 pm

Leighton Ford is the brother-in-law of the late evangelist Billy Graham. He has authored several books and is a renowned leadership coach and developer.Visit his website: leightonfordministries.orgCLICK HERE TO CHECK OUT THE DIGITAL BILLY GRAHAM RESOURCES

Leighton Ford is an evangelist, author, missiologist, and brother-in-law of the late Billy Graham. On this episode of Listening In, host Warren Smith talks about Ford’s more than 30 years of ministry with the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association.

Our #1 purpose is to provide resources globally for people who want to learn, grow, and deepen their walk with God.  We’ll be making more progress this coming year, but you’re help is needed now. Would you consider supporting Soul Care Conversations as a Patron? Find out how to support the podcast by clicking on the button above. SHOW NOTES This week’s podcast is with lifelong minister of the gospel Leighton Ford, who shares with Steve his story and how it became a personal history of listening for God’s voice. He recounts the different ways God has spoken to him, and the different ways he has learned to listen. What emerges is not just an account of a long and faithful life of Christian service, but a picture of the Christian life―the life of listening.  It's a conversation you don’t want to miss!   Leighton Ford is president of Leighton Ford Ministries, which seeks to help young leaders worldwide to lead more like Jesus. For many years, Ford communicated Christ around the globe through speaking, writing, and media outreach, addressing millions of people on every continent. He served from 1955 until 1985 as associate evangelist and later vice president of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and was featured as the alternate speaker to Billy Graham on the Hour of Decision broadcast. He served for nearly twenty years as chairman of the Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization, an international body of Christian leaders. He chairs the Sandy Ford Fund and has served as a board member for World Vision U. S., the Duke University Comprehensive Cancer Center, and Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. He received the 1990 Two Hungers Award, recognizing his contributions to addressing the physical and spiritual hungers of people around the world. In 1985 he was selected as Clergyman of the Year by Religious Heritage of America and TIME Magazine singled him out as being "among the most influential preachers of an active gospel." Dr. Ford is also author and co-author of numerous books. Places of the Heart is Leighton’s latest four-color book and features the author’s imaginative watercolor paintings, poetry, and reflections on a life formed, redeemed, empowered, and directed by God and for God’s glory.  Leighton lives in Charlotte, North Carolina, with his wife, Jean (who Billy Graham introduced him to - she was Billy’s sister!) Their children are a married daughter, Debbie, Kevin who partners with him in LFM, and their older son, Sandy, who died after heart surgery in November 1981.   RESOURCES MENTIONED ON PODCAST Billy Graham Association Leighton Ford Ministries Books by Leighton Ford (mentioned) The Life of Listening The Attentive Life (used in Potter’s Inn Soul Care Institute) Other books by Leighton Becoming the Beloved by Henri Nouwen Simone Weil – French philosopher and activist Cultivating Daily Examen Podcast “The heart has many dungeons. Bring the light! Bring the light.” - Mary Oliver My Bright Abyss by Christian Wiman John Polkinghorne, physicist and priest   Moment to Breathe - Now I Become Myself by May Sarton Text Audio

Dr. Leighton Ford joins Pastor Chris Payne for a conversation reflecting on a lifetime of ministry and the lessons learned along the way.

Throughout our busy and distracted days we hear so many different voices. What would happen if we slowed down, and listened to what God is saying to us? Leighton Ford describes himself as an “artist of the soul and a friend on the journey.” Leighton is an author, evangelist, mentor to emerging Christian leaders across the world, President of Leighton Ford Ministries, and in his own words, these four things: “I have a very long name.” “I have very long legs.” “I’ve lived a very long life.” “We haven’t known each other for very long.” Today, Leighton and I talk about his passion for mentoring and his new book “A Life of Listening: Discerning God’s Voice and Discovering Our Own”. I think you’ll be smiling through tears just like me, as you hear stories from his beautiful life. I’m so thankful for my conversation with Leighton, and I know you’ll be so encouraged by his message. SHOW NOTES Leighton’s Website Leighton Ford Ministries Whole Life Mentoring His New Book A Life of Listening: Discerning God’s Voice and Discovering Our Own Want to find a mentor? Sign up here for The Mentor Map here. Stop by my church if you’re in Austin at Austin Christian Fellowship Join me for Coffee & Conversation with Becky Powell – just ONE spot left! Join the waitlist for Soul Care Weekend at my home next Spring in Austin! Find my newest book, Dear Daughters: Love Letters to the Next Generation here! Dear Daughters is a template for those multi-generational conversations and relationships you’re craving. Dear Daughters is meant to be a bridge between two groups of women–dear daughters and spiritual mamas. Dear daughters are young women in search of spiritual guidance and spiritual mamas are women just a little further down the road with age-old wisdom to share. Each group has valuable insight for the other and the hope is that the reader will invite someone to come alongside them, pore over the included letters together, and pass along wisdom and advice that will make both lives more beautiful, wherever they are in their God story. This book, ideal for a gift, is a casebound hardcover with ribbon.

Today we’ll cover the start of the Supreme Court’s fall term and headline news. We’ll also talk with ADF legal counsel Kate Anderson, on one of the upcoming Supreme Court cases with religious freedom implications and Leighton Ford, on his memoir, “A Life of Listening: Discerning God's Voice and Discovering Our Own” (InterVarsity Press).See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Political Fatigue, Mayor Peduto, and Going to the Mall ... GUEST Salena Zito The Washington Post Falsely Criticized Drew Brees video on bringing bible to school. The world wastes tons of food: Grocery Store Happy Hour is 1 solution Forgive Us Our Medical Debts: A nonprofit helps churches take on their neighbors unpaid bills by the millions ... GUEST Maria Baer Happy Birthday to Hugh Grant, Adam Sandler, and Michelle Williams! Horrific Steeler loss to the Pats ... + ... Early mutiny in Miami: Should Pro athletes ever ask to be traded? A Life of Listening: Discerning God's Voice and Discovering Our Own. A Memoir by Leighton Ford ... GUEST Leighton Ford The 9 Most Depressing Professions! According to Washington Post, Focus on the Family is all about that hate ... GUEST Bobby Ross Jr Study: Sniffing a lemon can make people feel slimSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Political Fatigue, Mayor Peduto, and Going to the Mall ... GUEST Salena Zito The Washington Post Falsely Criticized Drew Brees video on bringing bible to school. The world wastes tons of food: Grocery Store Happy Hour is 1 solution Forgive Us Our Medical Debts: A nonprofit helps churches take on their neighbors unpaid bills by the millions ... GUEST Maria Baer Happy Birthday to Hugh Grant, Adam Sandler, and Michelle Williams! Horrific Steeler loss to the Pats ... + ... Early mutiny in Miami: Should Pro athletes ever ask to be traded? A Life of Listening: Discerning God's Voice and Discovering Our Own. A Memoir by Leighton Ford ... GUEST Leighton Ford The 9 Most Depressing Professions! According to Washington Post, Focus on the Family is all about that hate ... GUEST Bobby Ross Jr Study: Sniffing a lemon can make people feel slimSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

David Gray in for Brad Welcome to Meridian Ms to the SWAT family on The Great WMER (station ID) 5 core values of SWAT. Listed below Great whites off of Cape Cod Lightening strike at a golf tournament Drug resistant outbreak of salmonella Married then gone A couple Mississippi shout-outs If you were encouraged by the program please leave feedback on your stations Facebook page. Leighton Ford's new book. "A Life of Listening" Lon Allison's book "Possible" Guest Charlie Kodatt from Indonesia A few spots left for the Israel trip in January ------------------ 5 Core Values of SWAT 1. God’s Word 2. Prayer 3. Evangelism 4. Discipleship 5. Community ------------------ https://swatradio.com/ SWAT - Spiritual Warriors Advancing Truth Call us Toll-Free at: +1-844-777-7928 Email Us a Question: ask@swatradio.com FIND A SWAT MEETING Woody’s Bar-B-Que 226 Solano Rd Ponte Vedra, FL 10611 Wed. 6:30-7:30 am IHOP 3250 Hodges Blvd Jacksonville, FL 32224 Wed. Night 7-8 pm Salem Centre 7235 Bonneval Rd Jacksonville, FL Wed. 12:00-1:00 pm Jumping Jax House of Food 10131 San Jose Blvd #12 Jacksonville, FL Thursday 6:30-7:30 am The Village Inn 900 Ponce De Leon Blvd St. Augustine, FL Friday 9:00-10:30 am Woodmen Valley Chapel - Woodmen Heights Campus 8292 Woodman Valley View Colorado Springs CO 80908 Thursdays 8-9:15 pm

Tobi Schöll @tobischöll ist Leiter des Christus Treffs Berlin und Berlin United. Außerdem ist er Jugendevangelist bei Friends Marburg. Ich spreche mit ihm über den Christus Treff in Ost-Berlin und wie sie dort Gemeinde leben, in einem stark säkularen Kiez Berlins. Das zweite Thema ist die ökumenische und städteweite Jugendarbeit bei Berlin United. Außerdem unterhalten wir uns darüber, warum der heilige Geist wieder eine größere Rolle in unseren Gemeinden spielen sollte. Unsere Webseite: https://ecclesiopod.de Podcast bei Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ecclesiopod/ Shownotes: Tobi bei Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tobias.scholl.10 Tobi's E-Mailadresse: tobi@friends-marburg.de Christus-Treff Berlin: https://www.christus-treff-berlin.de/index.php?id=1 Gemeinsam für Berlin: https://www.gfberlin.de Berlin United: https://www.berlinunited.net Movement Days: https://movementday.com Bücher: Bücher von Tobi: https://amzn.to/2ZvASVC Bist du es Herr?, Loren Cunningham: https://amzn.to/2KgMxRK Jesus for President, Shane Claiborne: https://amzn.to/31bMmxA Ich muss verrückt sein so zu leben, Shane Claiborne: https://amzn.to/2MxYW6r Heilung in der Kraft des Geistes, John Wimber: https://amzn.to/2SWKLJi Power Evangelism, John Wimber: https://amzn.to/2ysleyl Das Buch der Mitte, Vishal Mangalwadi: https://amzn.to/2T0Hnx4 Leiten wie Jesus, Leighton Ford: https://amzn.to/2GGOVQx Skandal der Skandale, Manfred Lütz: https://amzn.to/2K7XO7Y Sorry, für teilweise schlechte Tonqualität. Das lag an der schlechten Internetverbindung. Vielen Dank fürs zuhören. Ich freue mich über Feedback. Schreibt mir einfach auf Instagram oder per Mail an: gebhardtsilas@gmail.com

In this episode, Natasha speaks with global leaders, Dr. Leighton Ford and Dr. MaryKate Morse about cross-gender mentoring, specifically how we cultivate healthy mentoring relationships between women and men. Dr. Leighton Ford, evangelist, author, social activist, leader, communicator and mentor, was singled out by Time Magazine as “among the most influential preachers of an active Gospel.” Dr. Ford is president of Leighton Ford Ministries. As an author, he has written 11 books. His most recent book is The Attentive Life. As a social activist, Dr. Ford has been an advocate for such issues as world hunger, poverty and racism. As a communicator, he has spoken to millions of people in scores of countries on every continent of the world. He is an ordained Presbyterian minister and was vice-president of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, where he served for 31 years. He was also a regular alternate speaker with Billy Graham, his brother-in-law, on the Hour of Decision, one of the most popular religious broadcasts of its time. As a leader, Dr. Ford serves as the Honorary Lifetime Chairman of the Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization, having served from 1976 to 1992 as chairman of this international body of Christian leaders. His book, “Transforming Leadership,” is one of the most comprehensive books on leadership ever written. Dr. MaryKate Morse is Professor of Leadership and Spiritual Formation at Portland Seminary of George Fox University. Currently, she is the Lead Mentor for the Doctor of Ministry in Leadership & Spiritual Formation. Raised in the Air Force, MaryKate lived in various US states and overseas. She completed her BS in Secondary Education and English Literature at Longwood University in Virginia. Upon return she did a Masters in Biblical Studies and a Master of Divinity at Western Evangelical Seminary (now Portland Seminary). She began teaching, studied spiritual formation and spiritual direction, and was certified as a spiritual director and recorded as a pastor with the Evangelical Friends. MaryKate completed her doctorate at Gonzaga University where she studied the characteristics of renewal leadership as modeled by Jesus. After her doctorate she planted two churches and served in various administrative positions at the university including Seminary Associate Dean, Director of Hybrid programs, and University Director of Strategic Planning. She is a spiritual director and leadership mentor and coach, conference and retreat speaker, and author including Making Room for Leadership: Power, Space, and Influence and A Guidebook to Prayer. Show notes are available at A Sista's Journey blog. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

It's a privilege and pleasure to welcome Leighton Ford. Leighton is a Christian leader whom God has called and gifted as an evangelist and later called to identify, develop and network leaders of a new generation. He is also the author of several books including Transforming Leadership … which is used widely now in seminaries globally. You might also know another one of his books called… The Attentive Life. Leighton, welcome to our podcast, today. Find full show notes here http://blog.bcwinstitute.org/s3e52-leighton-ford/

It was a gathering! Jesus and his disciples had arrived at the home of his friend, Martha, and she was getting things ready for her guests. What hostess wouldn’t want to have things in order? Instead of experiencing the joy of having friends in her home, Martha was “distracted” by everything going on around her (Luke 10:40). Literally, the word for distracted means “pulled apart.” At the same time Martha’s sister, Mary, had a different response. Jesus said of the moment, “few things are needed… indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” Martha was pulled apart by the many things, but Mary chose the one thing - the better way. Leighton Ford says that distraction can “split us down the middle” and even “divide us against ourselves!” Distraction pulls us away from ourselves, our friends, our families and away from God. The distracted life is marked by anxiety, hurry and frantic activity. In this series we want to explore the temptation of distraction, and affirm God’s desire for a better way. We will offer tools to help us navigate the many things going on around us and to choose a life marked by focus, peace and intentionality.

It was a gathering! Jesus and his disciples had arrived at the home of his friend, Martha, and she was getting things ready for her guests. What hostess wouldn’t want to have things in order? Instead of experiencing the joy of having friends in her home, Martha was “distracted” by everything going on around her (Luke 10:40). Literally, the word for distracted means “pulled apart.” At the same time Martha’s sister, Mary, had a different response. Jesus said of the moment, “few things are needed… indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” Martha was pulled apart by the many things, but Mary chose the one thing - the better way. Leighton Ford says that distraction can “split us down the middle” and even “divide us against ourselves!” Distraction pulls us away from ourselves, our friends, our families and away from God. The distracted life is marked by anxiety, hurry and frantic activity. In this series we want to explore the temptation of distraction, and affirm God’s desire for a better way. We will offer tools to help us navigate the many things going on around us and to choose a life marked by focus, peace and intentionality.

It was a gathering! Jesus and his disciples had arrived at the home of his friend, Martha, and she was getting things ready for her guests. What hostess wouldn’t want to have things in order? Instead of experiencing the joy of having friends in her home, Martha was “distracted” by everything going on around her (Luke 10:40). Literally, the word for distracted means “pulled apart.” At the same time Martha’s sister, Mary, had a different response. Jesus said of the moment, “few things are needed… indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” Martha was pulled apart by the many things, but Mary chose the one thing - the better way. Leighton Ford says that distraction can “split us down the middle” and even “divide us against ourselves!” Distraction pulls us away from ourselves, our friends, our families and away from God. The distracted life is marked by anxiety, hurry and frantic activity. In this series we want to explore the temptation of distraction, and affirm God’s desire for a better way. We will offer tools to help us navigate the many things going on around us and to choose a life marked by focus, peace and intentionality.

It was a gathering! Jesus and his disciples had arrived at the home of his friend, Martha, and she was getting things ready for her guests. What hostess wouldn’t want to have things in order? Instead of experiencing the joy of having friends in her home, Martha was “distracted” by everything going on around her (Luke 10:40). Literally, the word for distracted means “pulled apart.” At the same time Martha’s sister, Mary, had a different response. Jesus said of the moment, “few things are needed… indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” Martha was pulled apart by the many things, but Mary chose the one thing - the better way. Leighton Ford says that distraction can “split us down the middle” and even “divide us against ourselves!” Distraction pulls us away from ourselves, our friends, our families and away from God. The distracted life is marked by anxiety, hurry and frantic activity. In this series we want to explore the temptation of distraction, and affirm God’s desire for a better way. We will offer tools to help us navigate the many things going on around us and to choose a life marked by focus, peace and intentionality.

Dr. Leighton Ford is President of Leighton Ford Ministries which focuses on raising up younger leaders to spread the message of Christ worldwide. He has spoken face to face to millions of people in 37 countries on every continent of the world and served from 1955 until 1985 as Associate Evangelist and later Vice President of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. - See more, click here.