Podcasts about Relational

In this deeply human episode, Dr. Mark Bonta sits down with cardiac surgeon, scientist, and writer Dr. Paul Fedak for an honest look at the hidden cost of excellence in medicine. Dr. Fedak shares the story of the injury that forced him out of the operating room and into a profound reckoning with identity, purpose, and the culture of silence that surrounds clinician suffering.Drawing from years as Professor at the University of Calgary and Director of the Libin Cardiovascular Institute, he unpacks why perfectionism is so common in medical training, how surgeons learn to mask pain behind composure, and why emotional detachment has long been mistaken for professionalism. Together they explore the unseen burden clinicians carry, the pressure to perform without pause, and the moments when the mask finally cracks.Dr. Fedak speaks candidly about ego death, vulnerability, and rebuilding a life after losing the work that once defined him. He describes the colleagues who opened up only after he shared his own story, highlighting how connection and honesty can transform a profession built on quiet endurance.This episode examines the human side of medicine that rarely makes it into textbooks. Identity. Injury. Recovery. Presence. What it means to care for others while trying to stay whole yourself.A moving conversation for anyone in healthcare or anyone who has ever struggled with the weight of impossible expectations.Paul Fedak, MD, PhD's website : paulfedak.comEpisode Takeaways1. Surgeons are trained to push through pain, not acknowledge it.Medical culture rewards resilience and persistence, but that same conditioning prevents clinicians from recognizing and responding to their own injuries.2. Perfectionism is wired into medical training.Traits like list making, obsessive task completion, and performance under observation are common in medicine and often go unexamined despite their psychological cost.3. The mask of competence becomes automatic.Clinicians become so skilled at hiding distress that even close colleagues fail to notice warning signs. This silence leaves suffering invisible.4. Vulnerability creates connection and protects lives.When Dr. Fedak shared his story, dozens of peers came forward with their own hidden experiences. Openness is not weakness. It is safety.5. Ergonomic injuries in surgery are far more common than most people realize.The physical demands of operating are intense, yet surgeons lack the protections that other healthcare workers receive.6. Leadership shows the true burden physicians carry.Once in leadership roles, clinicians see the depth of burnout, fear, and quiet endurance happening behind the scenes.7. Losing the identity of “surgeon” creates an existential crisis.Stepping out of the operating room forced a complete reevaluation of purpose, ego, and self worth.8. Technical excellence is not the full measure of a doctor.Relational skill, empathy, presence, and human connection matter just as much as procedural skill.9. Medicine needs protected space for reflection.Without pause and presence, clinicians lose touch with themselves and the people they care for. Healing requires time, community, and grounding.10. System structures shape clinician wellbeing.The fee for service model rewards quantity over recovery, creating pressures that make self care feel impossible.11. Paying clinicians to care for themselves could change outcomes.If mental health visits, ergonomic care, and recovery time were compensated, more clinicians would seek help early.Episode Timestamps07:10 How one surgeon's work related injury forced a career pivot and a deeper conversation about wellbeing.08:25 The secret stories colleagues shared only after Paul opened up about his own suffering.10:30 Independent contractor status and why doctors lack the ergonomic protections nurses receive.13:00 The unseen emotional toll behind surgical careers and what leadership reveals about clinician suffering.16:00 Training teaches perseverance, but injury demands honesty. The conflict surgeons are never taught to navigate.17:28 Medical trainees and perfectionism. Why obsessive traits are six times more common in medicine.19:10 When the mask becomes permanent. How clinicians hide distress even from each other.20:00 Two tragic losses and the lessons Paul learned about checking in with colleagues.22:00 Vulnerability as leadership. Why sharing your story opens the door for others to heal.28:57 Did speaking out come with professional risks. What changed when Paul stopped protecting his own ego.31:55 Losing the identity of “surgeon.” The ego death that followed leaving the operating room.33:40 Beyond technical mastery. Why excellence must include human connection, empathy, and presence.34:46 How medicine can “create space” for reflection, grounding, and real conversations.37:50 The hidden financial pressures behind surgical work and how billing shapes clinician behavior.DISCLAMER >>>>>>    The Ditch Lab Coat podcast serves solely for general informational purposes and does not serve as a substitute for professional medical services such as medicine or nursing. It does not establish a doctor/patient relationship, and the use of information from the podcast or linked materials is at the user's own risk. The content does not aim to replace professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment, and users should promptly seek guidance from healthcare professionals for any medical conditions.   >>>>>> The expressed opinions belong solely to the hosts and guests, and they do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of the Hospitals, Clinics, Universities, or any other organization associated with the host or guests.    Disclosures: Ditch The Lab Coat podcast is produced by (Podkind.co) and is independent of Dr. Bonta's teaching and research roles at McMaster University, Temerty Faculty of Medicine and Queens University. 

December asks us to trust in the power of possibilities amidst unexpected transitions and confusions.The mutable grand cross is back in action and we're invited to question our attachments. This is a month that can bring a lot of fun if we're not rigid about outcomes.In this episode, we dive into:Connecting to our power when we know less than we'd like.Prioritizing sincerity and honesty.The line between hope and wistful thinking.Committing to learning as the point of being alive. Sign up for my newsletter to read my essays and be the first to hear about new offerings here.If you've enjoyed and benefited from the podcast, I invite you to apply for private mentorship and coaching with me. This is an intensive container, designed to support you in refining your self-leadership skills, moving through important life thresholds with grace, and expanding your capacity for creative expansions.Try the incredible breathwork and meditation app Open for 30 days free using this special link. This podcast is hosted, produced, and edited by Jonathan Koe. Theme music is also composed by me! Connect with me through my newsletter, my Instagram @jonathankoeofficial, and my music. For podcast-related inquiries, email me at healingthespiritpodcast@gmail.com.

In this lively, reflective episode of The Forest School Podcast, Lewis, Wem, and guest Lily pick apart the famous “three look afters” and ask a bigger question: who's allowed to fail at Forest School, and how do we help people fail well? From cartilage kneecaps and Mr Potato Head jokes to space holding, autonomy versus community, and that dreaded “shit spoon” moment, they explore boundaries, blame versus shame, and how to create conditions where struggle leads to learning rather than humiliation. Expect practical facilitation nuance, philosophical detours, and a few perfect tangents about tracksuits.⏱ Chapter Timings00:00 – Cold open: kneecaps, bandagraphs, and Mr Potato Heads03:14 – Axing the “three look afters”: demands, agency, and who can fail06:06 – Flattened hierarchies or hidden authority: responsibility in practice10:38 – Boundaries, safety, and culture shift for new groups14:49 – Space holding, low-demand setups, and modelling altruism21:27 – Failing well: conditions for struggle without humiliation25:22 – Nunchi: reading the room and tailoring support28:56 – Relational failure, shame versus guilt, and belonging49:22 – Process over product: the “shit spoon” and reframing success1:05:00 – Lily's trainings, FSA roadshows, and resources

SummaryIn this conversation, the host explores the concept of spiritual death as described in the book of Hebrews, emphasizing the importance of understanding acts that lead to death and their impact on our relationship with God. The discussion delves into the definitions of spiritual death, the patterns that contribute to it, and how to recognize and avoid these detrimental habits to foster a deeper connection with God and others.TakeawaysThe blood of Christ cleanses our conscience from acts that lead to death.Spiritual death is a separation from God.There are two types of death: the first death and the second death.Death can be seen as a form of mercy.Institutionalization can lead to a disconnect from God.Patterns of death are often indicators of deeper issues.Righteousness is defined by right relationships with God and others.Hidden habits can lead to spiritual death.Relational drifting is more dangerous than rule-breaking.Isolation leads to selfishness and deeper patterns of death.

All throughout both the Old and New Testaments, we see a clear pattern of people in Scripture turning to prayer and fasting in times of uncertainty, brokenness, and need. And in those examples, we find that prayer and fasting are not just religious obligations but natural responses to desperation. And we find that moments of crisis can lead to spiritual renewal when approached with humility and dependence on God. And we find that whether you and I are facing the unknown road ahead or the ruins of life, the invitation is to pray and fast, recognizing that our deepest hunger can only be satisfied by God. SPEAKERS: Jay Kim (Saratoga), video (South Hills) Bible Passage(s): Ezra 8:21,23, Nehemiah 1:3-4

Welcome back to another episode of the unSeminary podcast. We're talking with Tensley Almand, President and CEO of Atlanta Mission, the largest and longest-running provider of services for people experiencing homelessness in the Atlanta metro area. Founded in 1938 as a soup kitchen during the Great Depression, Atlanta Mission now operates four campuses, serving over 800 men, women, and children nightly through programs that provide housing, recovery support, and Christ-centered transformation. How do you lead through complexity while staying true to your calling? Tensley shares leadership lessons from his transition from church ministry to leading a $20 million nonprofit—insights that apply to every pastor or church leader navigating growth, complexity, or change. Moving beyond shelter to transformation. // While many think of Atlanta Mission as only an emergency shelter, over 60% of its beds are dedicated to long-term transformational programs that address root causes of homelessness. The yearlong program includes counseling, trauma recovery, life skills, and vocational training. Clients complete a four-week “Next Steps” program focused on relational, emotional, and workplace health. The results are remarkable: 70% of graduates maintain stable housing and employment a year later. Learning to lead by listening. // When Tensley stepped into his CEO role, he faced the challenge of succeeding a leader who had guided the organization from crisis to stability. Rather than arriving as the expert, Tensley began as what he calls the “Chief Question Officer.” He met with every employee to ask four key questions: What's right? What's wrong? What's missing? What's confusing? The responses revealed a clear need for strategic focus. Building clarity and focus. // Using that input, Tensley led a yearlong process to create a strategic roadmap—a seven-year plan that defines the organization's mission, values, and measurable outcomes. When there's clarity in an organization, saying ‘no' becomes easy and saying ‘yes' becomes difficult. The new strategy gave Atlanta Mission a unified framework for decision-making, with every initiative measured against the same mission. Measuring what matters. // Data fuels care. In order to better track client progress, the team at Atlanta Mission built dashboards, measuring not only how many people they serve but how lives are changing. When graduation rates dipped from 70% to 45%, they discovered the cause wasn't program failure but economic change. That same approach can transform church leadership. Churches measure nickels and noses, but what if we measured progression—how many first-time guests become group members, or how many volunteers grow into leaders? Partnership through presence. // Atlanta Mission thrives through partnerships with churches across the city. Tensley explains that relational poverty—people lacking healthy connections—is as debilitating as material poverty. Rather than only focusing on “do for” service projects, he encourages churches to create “be with” opportunities: hosting birthday parties, sharing meals, or building relationships with families at Atlanta Mission. Encouragement for leaders. // Reflecting on his own journey, Tensley reminds church leaders who feel stretched or uncertain that often you’ll overestimate what you can accomplish in 90 days, but underestimate what you can do in a year or two. Take time to listen, build unity, and stay faithful in the process. Over time, that faithfulness becomes transformation—both in the people you lead and in yourself. To learn more about Atlanta Mission, visit atlantamission.org or email to connect or schedule a visit. Thank You for Tuning In! There are a lot of podcasts you could be tuning into today, but you chose unSeminary, and I'm grateful for that. If you enjoyed today's show, please share it by using the social media buttons you see at the left hand side of this page. Also, kindly consider taking the 60-seconds it takes to leave an honest review and rating for the podcast on iTunes, they're extremely helpful when it comes to the ranking of the show and you can bet that I read every single one of them personally! Episode Transcript Rich Birch — Hey friends, welcome to the unSeminary podcast. I am so glad that you have decided to tune in. We’ve got a real honored to have an incredible guest on today’s episode. We’ve got Tensley Almand with us. He is the president and CEO of Atlanta Mission. Rich Birch — Now, if you don’t know Atlanta Mission, I’m not sure where you’ve been. You really should know. This organization was founded in 1938 as a soup kitchen to feed men who were displaced by the Great Depression. And they just keep chugging along. They do incredible work. They now serve Metro Atlanta’s largest homeless population and bring hope in the face of homelessness, poverty, and addiction. Rich Birch — Prior to serving at Atlanta Mission, he was in vocational ministry for 20 plus years, the last 12 of those, as we were just saying in the pre-call. He said, felt like he had the the best job in the world, was a lead pastor at Decatur City Church, one of the eight Atlanta City, Atlanta area campuses of North Point Ministries. Tensley, welcome. So glad you’re here. Tensley Almand — Man, so good to be here. Thanks so much for having me. I’ve been looking forward to this conversation. Rich Birch — No, this is going to be good. I’m excited. Why don’t you kind of fill in the picture? Tell us a little bit more of your background and tell us a bit more about Atlanta Mission, that kind of thing. Just help set the table. Tensley Almand — Yeah, so I’m a native Atlantan. I grew up here, born and raised just north of the city. Yeah. Only child. Parents still live north of the city in the same town that I grew up in. Rich Birch — Nice. Tensley Almand — My wife and I, we have four kids. We have been married now, just celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary… Rich Birch — Congratulations. That’s great. Tensley Almand — …which makes me feel old, but it’s it’s it’s all good. So four kids, three boys, little girl, they’re all just amazing, doing great things and in their worlds. We live over in city of Decatur. So ah for those that don’t know, just kind of just right outside of downtown Atlanta. So we feel like we’re living in the heart of the city. Rich Birch — Cool. Tensley Almand — Like you said, I spent 20 plus years on the church side of ministry, which you had told younger me that that was going to be my future, I probably would have laughed at you. Grew up in a family that church just frankly, wasn’t that important to us. My mom gets mad if I say I didn’t grow up in a Christian home, um, which, you know, looking back, I think is really true. I just grew up in a home that we didn’t feel like the church was for us. Rich Birch — Right. Tensley Almand — And so, um, after, you know, meeting Jesus in college, giving my life to him, which is a whole nother really cool story, started down the path towards ministry. And eventually several years into that kind of looked up and thought, I don’t know what I’m doing. Like I’m working at these churches that I don’t even want to attend. Tensley Almand — Like remember this very pivotal meeting in my life where our pastor asked us, he’s like, if I didn’t pay you to go to church here, is this the church you would attend? Rich Birch — Yes. Tensley Almand — And every one of us said no. Rich Birch — Oh, gosh. Oh, my goodness. Tensley Almand — And they were all okay with it. Rich Birch — Oh, no. Tensley Almand — And I just like something broke in me. Rich Birch — Oh, no. Oh, no. Yeah. Tensley Almand — And I remember going home and I told my wife, I was like, I can’t do this anymore. Rich Birch — Right. Tensley Almand — And so I started the process of just trying to find a job. But the problem is I’ve genuinely felt called by God to ministry. And so God used that to, to lead us down the path of starting Decatur City Church. And, um, our whole dream was just to create a church that people who didn’t like church would love to attend. Tensley Almand — And so, which is really cool. Again, it’s probably a whole other episode, but really cool because we got to do that in one of the most unchurched cities in Atlanta. 70% of the people who live in Decatur ah don’t go to a church. And Decatur, for those who don’t know, small little town right outside of a big city. Rich Birch — Right. Tensley Almand — But literally, there’s over 600 churches in that town. So we used to say all the time, nobody wakes up on Sunday wondering where a church is. They just wake up wondering if church is for them. Rich Birch — Right, right. Tensley Almand — And so that’s, that’s the thing we tried to solve. Right. Rich Birch — Right. Tensley Almand — And so did that for 12 years, thought I would do that with my whole life. Just an amazing season. And then God called me out of there to Atlanta Mission. And so for those who don’t know, and we can get into that story here if you want to, but, for those who don’t know, Atlanta mission, like you said, it’s the largest and longest running provider of services… Rich Birch — Wow. Tensley Almand — …for men, women, and children experiencing homelessness in our city. So for perspective, what that means is on any given night, we’ll have about 800 men, women, or children who are staying with us. Rich Birch — Wow. Wow. That’s a significant operation. That’s, that’s incredible. Tensley Almand — It’s a significant operation. Rich Birch — Yeah. Tensley Almand — It represents that in our city, that represents about 35 to 40% of all the shelter beds in Atlanta. Rich Birch — Wow. Wow. Tensley Almand — So that’s, it’s a, it’s pretty remarkable opportunity that we do that across three campuses in downtown Atlanta. Rich Birch — Okay. Tensley Almand — One for men, two for women and children. Rich Birch — Yeah. Tensley Almand — And then we have this really cool drug and alcohol addiction facility out near Athens, which is about an hour outside of town, on 550 acre farm that is just beautiful ah for men who are in recovery from addiction. Rich Birch — Wow. Oh my goodness. Huh. Tensley Almand — So yeah. Rich Birch — Yeah. That’s, that’s incredible. i’m I’m glad you started with the kind of community size that you’re you’re serving. That’s, that’s amazing. Give me a sense of the operation from like a, you know, total number of staff, other kinds of metrics. Like I’m just trying to, I know, you know, you’re not a kind of person that’s going to brag about that kind of stuff, but just trying to help people kind of place, because this is a significant operation, friends. Atlanta Mission is it’s a world-class organization doing great work and honored to have you on this the show. But people might not be ah kind of aware of the the scale of it. Give us a bit more sense of that. Tensley Almand — Yeah, no, it’s a, it’s a good question. I appreciate you asking. Cause yeah, I definitely don’t, I don’t want to, I don’t like going there, but… Rich Birch — Yes. And it’s even just, it’s a funny thing to, it’s a funny thing to even like, it’s like, well, we’re really good. It’s like, it’s like, well, yeah, it’s a tough thing you’re doing. So it’s like, man, it’s a weird thing to kind of try to but get ah your arms around. How, how do we talk about this? Yeah. Tensley Almand — Yeah. So let me kind of give you scope and then let me talk a little bit about what we’re doing. So scope is ah we’re we’re about a $20 million dollars a year organization. Rich Birch — Yep. Yep. Tensley Almand — And so just like every church out there, that means, you know, we start July as the start of our fiscal year and we start at zero… Rich Birch — Yep. Tensley Almand — …and then we go and raise $20 million dollars… Rich Birch — Right. Tensley Almand — …to meet the need of our expenses. And we do that through mainly private and and corporate donations. And so… Rich Birch — Yep. Tensley Almand — …we’re almost a hundred percent privately funded this year. Rich Birch — Oh, wow. Tensley Almand — We, we, we took our very first government grant. Rich Birch — Huh. Tensley Almand — But I mean, it’s a $250,000 grant, which is not insignificant, but on the scope of 20 million. So that kind of gives everybody an idea. So you’re talking about, uh, you know, thousands of donors who come alongside of us to partner with us, which is just amazing. Rich Birch — Yeah. Amazing. Yeah. Tensley Almand — We serve about 800 men, women, and children, like I said, Rich Birch — Yeah. Tensley Almand — And we have right at about 180 staff… Rich Birch — Wow. Tensley Almand — …who are who are either you know full-time equivalents basically here with us. And that’s across four different campuses. So we’re essentially like a multi-site operation. So I’m sitting here at my office today, which is basically our mission support center. Rich Birch — Yeah. Tensley Almand — So your accounting, HR, development team, all of your infrastructure, and we support the work that’s happening all over our city. Rich Birch — Right. Tensley Almand — And then we also have three thrift stores across Northeast Georgia that’s included in that head count. Rich Birch — Wow. Tensley Almand — And so a little bit of that 20 million that I was telling you about that that revenue comes from sales as well. And so, so yeah, it’s pretty broad organization. And then what we do, a lot of people think about you know Atlanta Mission, especially here in our city, and they just think emergency shelter. Rich Birch — Right. Tensley Almand — Certainly what we do. But of those 800 beds, roughly only 40% of those go towards emergency shelter. And so if you… Rich Birch — Oh, really? OK. Tensley Almand — Yeah. And so if you show up at our door and you just need safety, security, stability, um, you’re just trying to like get off the street… Rich Birch — Right. Tensley Almand — …we have a program called Find Hope… Rich Birch — Yep. Tensley Almand — …and it’s a 30-day program. You can stay with us rent free 30 days. You know, bed meals, showers, really, really, really, really low expectation on those clients. Rich Birch — Right. Tensley Almand — It’s just like, hey, we’re here to meet your needs. Rich Birch — Yeah, that’s cool. Tensley Almand — The other 60% of our beds go towards what we call our transformational model… Rich Birch — Okay. Tensley Almand — …where we provide complete wraparound services. It’s about a year long program. Rich Birch — Wow. Tensley Almand — You show up and we’re going to try to help you get healthy relationally, physically, emotionally, spiritually, vocationally. We’ve got counselors, we’ve got advocates, we’ve got social workers. You have a whole team… Rich Birch — Right. Tensley Almand — …that works with you, walks with you for a year… Rich Birch — Wow. Tensley Almand — …depending on really your core traumas, what’s caused your homelessness. And our main goal, our mission is to transform through Christ the lives of those who are experiencing homelessness, poverty, and addiction. Tensley Almand — And so what we want to do, what that means to us is over the course of that year, Um, we want to give you the tools to identify your traumas, understand those traumas and ultimately break the cycles so that you don’t ever have to come back to our doors again. We we tell our clients, we love you, but we don’t ever want to see you again. Like this is just like, like, how do we… Rich Birch — Yes. Yes. This was a phase of your life, hopefully, right? Tensley Almand — Yeah. Rich Birch — That’s the goal. Tensley Almand — How do we end that for you? And so our program goes through all the counseling, all the services, and it wraps up in a vocational training program we call Next Steps that… Rich Birch — Wow. That’s amazing. Tensley Almand — …that gives our clients the soft skills they need to not just get a job. Because here’s here’s what’s really cool. You you would get this. Our clients are really good at getting jobs. But like so many people out there, we’re terrible at keeping a job. Rich Birch — Right. Right. Right. Yes. Tensley Almand — Like people don’t know the skills needed to like keep a job. Like how do you manage conflict? Rich Birch — Right, right. Tensley Almand — What do you do with that boss who’s just overbearing? How do you have normal workplace conversations? Rich Birch — Yes. Tensley Almand — And so we have a ah four week training program that gives our clients those skills. And what we’re finding is that for the clients who go all the way through our program, 70% of those who graduate our program, they still have a house or a living situation a year later. Rich Birch — Wow. Tensley Almand — And they are maintaining that job a year later. Rich Birch — Wow. That’s incredible. Tensley Almand — And so it’s just been a remarkable, remarkable journey. And so we’ve got some transitional housing in there… Rich Birch — Yep. Tensley Almand — …where you graduate our program, you stay with us, we help you save up and and we help you find an apartment. And then when you’re ready financially and you’re you’re stable, we help you move into that that apartment. Tensley Almand — And what’s really cool, probably one of my favorite things is for alumni is that year after you graduate, you get a retention coach with us and they walk with you. And they just help you navigate life because, man, when you’ve stayed somewhere for a year and then you kind of come back in and you’re like, oooh, the pressures of the world are on me. That first year is so tough. Rich Birch — So hard. Yeah. Tensley Almand — Yeah. Yeah. Rich Birch — Well, that’s cool. I appreciate you sharing that. and And yeah, even church leaders that are listening in, um man, ah there whether if you’re in the Atlanta area, you definitely should reach out to Atlanta Mission. Rich Birch — But even in your neighborhood, like there are, this is why you shouldn’t be trying to invent this yourself as a church. There are these are incredibly complex issues that you know when I heard all of the the different things you’re doing to surround people, try to help them, um that’s that’s inspiring. That’s amazing. Rich Birch — Well, I’d love to pivot and talk about kind of your experience as you’ve transitioned in, like some try to extract some leadership lessons. It’s been said that one of the first things that leaders do is define reality or gain clarity for their for their organization. Rich Birch — When you first started early on in your role, what were you listening for or look for that told you, maybe there’s some areas here that just aren’t very clear? What did you see as you were, you know, we got to bring some more clarity in the organization? Were there things you kind of saw that that made you think, oh, we maybe this is some areas we need to gain some better clarity as an organization? Tensley Almand — Yeah, no, absolutely. And I think, you know, every leadership transition is different. One of the advantages I had is that what my predecessor was leaving me was so much different than what he inherited. Rich Birch — That’s good. Tensley Almand — And so he inherited an organization that was in crisis. He handed me an organization that was thriving. But, that organization really was, and he was, and it’s it’s all kind of wrapped up in our story, is that it was time for him to retire. It was time for him to move on. And so the whole organization was asking what’s next. And so that’s, that’s one advantage I had is that there was this collective, like, well, like what what is next for us? That was helpful. Tensley Almand — The other advantage I had, and I did not think this was an advantage. But, you know, I, I came out of church ministry. I didn’t know how to lead a nonprofit. I didn’t know anything about homelessness. Rich Birch — Right. Tensley Almand — Tensley Almand — I didn’t know much about social services. And so, yeah I truly believe God called me into this, but I couldn’t come in like an expert. Rich Birch — Right. Tensley Almand — And so I literally was forced to, my I tell people my door said CEO, but I think I was really the chief question officer. I mean, my my first year… Rich Birch — Help me understand. Help me understand. Tensley Almand — …was, yeah, asking questions. I can I can vividly remember our clinical director coming into my office and saying, hey, we’ve got this massive clinical decision that we need to make and there’s this and this and this. And you know and then like trying to leave that way. What do you think we should do? And I’m like… you’re the clinical director. Like, what do what do you mean? Rich Birch — Yes. Tensley Almand — But that was again, and this is and he would say this if he was sitting here, my predecessor had an organization that was in crisis. And so every decision had to center on him. And I needed to come in and teach our team how to have a decentralized leadership. How like, hey, look you’re the clinical director I’m going to support you, I’m to remove obstacles for you. But if I have to make clinical decisions, we’re we’ve got a really big problem because I’m not qualified to make that decision. Tensley Almand — And so um really pushing leadership down… Rich Birch — yeah Tensley Almand — …asking a lot of questions, understanding what we do. And so that was that was a huge advantage that that i think a lot of people probably, they can like I did, they they think about the things that are stacked against them. To me, it’s like you don’t know anything about the space. That’s a big obstacle. Rich Birch — Right. Tensley Almand — Well, maybe lean into those obstacles because it’s a really good way to to get underneath the hood. And so it forced me to ask questions, forced me to listen. And then what I did is I I truly went on a just a listening tour. Rich Birch — That’s good. Tensley Almand — I set up a meeting, I think, with every employee of our organization. Rich Birch — Wow. Wow. Tensley Almand — And I asked everybody what’s right, what’s wrong, what’s missing and what’s confusing. Rich Birch — Huh. Tensley Almand — And I still have that notebook. Rich Birch — Right. Tensley Almand — I mean, my assistant like cataloged answers for days. Rich Birch — Right. Tensley Almand — And what was so cool to me was that without having the same language, almost everybody in the organization identified the same rights, wrongs, missings and confusions. And so I was able to then take that and really come back to our senior team and say, hey, what should we do about this? Like we all… Rich Birch — Right. Tensley Almand — We all agree this is a problem. like What should we do do? And I think a colleague of mine, I remember walking into his office and he had this drawing on his board. I’m like, what is what is that? He’s like, well, is how I feel about our organization. I remember it was ah it was a circle. Rich Birch — Yeah. Tensley Almand — And all the arrows were pointed in every direction around the circle. And he’s like, that’s us. Like, we’ve got the right idea… Rich Birch — Right. Tensley Almand — …but everybody’s pulling in a hundred directions to try to figure out how to do that idea. Rich Birch — Wow. Tensley Almand — and I said, man, we need to take that circle and get all those arrows on one side. Cause if we can collectively pull… and that just kind of became our quest. And so we took all those answers and, you know, basically the the big thing was, um you know, and I don’t know where I learned this, but I feel like when there’s clarity in an organization, ‘no’ is really easy and ‘yes’ is is really difficult. It’s like really easy to say no. Rich Birch — That’s good. Tensley Almand — And what I found at Atlanta Mission was we were just saying yes to everything. And the reason we were saying yes to everything is because there was no strategy, there was no clarity. Rich Birch — That’s good. Tensley Almand — And so we took that first year and a half, wrote our strategic plan, identified who we want to be and why we want to be that. And then what would it look like to be that organization? And so we just kind of built it backwards. And that’s the journey we’ve been on now for the last four years since I’ve been here. Rich Birch — Wow. That’s, ah yeah, that’s incredible. I love that that feeling. In fact, i I took over a nonprofit ah kids camp and much smaller scale than what you’re running. But I remember those early days where there yeah people are looking at you and and and there is this sense of like, okay, so like you got to tell us where we’re going. What is the thing we’re doing next? Like and it’s easy to like… the easy thing is, let’s try this. Let’s try that. Let’s do a bunch of different things. And that can lead to that pulling, those hundred different, you know, it’s lots of activity, but it’s not focused. Tensley Almand — Yeah. Rich Birch — And trying to get everybody on a kind of a shared page of or shared picture of what the future looks like, man, that’s great through this, this process of kind of we’re going to do a strategic plan over a year. What, what would you, what would you say to a leader that is feeling the pressure of like, Hey, I want to define the future now, as opposed to that feels like a step back. We’re going to year and a half and define this stuff. What would you say to a leader? Why should we slow down? Talk us through why that, how that benefited now that you’re on the other side of all that. Tensley Almand — Yeah, I think the first thing I would say is it’s it’s totally worth it. I mean, it it was hard. It was challenging. It it does feel like a step back. But I don’t know how to step forward without without clarity, you know. Rich Birch — Right. Tensley Almand — And that’s, you said at the beginning, I got to ah got to be one of the campus pastors at North Point Community Church for years. I can remember Andy always saying, The beauty of North Point wasn’t that we got to start with a blank page, just that we started on the same page. Rich Birch — That’s good Tensley Almand — And I just think that like that, that is always set with me. And so when I when I started here, I realized like, hey, I don’t I don’t get the luxury of a blank page. I mean, this organization has been around since 1938. You know, when I when I started Decatur City, it was so easy because I just told everybody what we were doing and why we were doing it and there was nothing else we were doing. Rich Birch — Right. Tensley Almand — And so it was just like… But here it’s like, OK, if I can’t get to a blank page, the best thing I can do is we’ve got to get on the same page… Rich Birch — Right. Tensley Almand — …or else we’re just we’re going to spin our tires. And, and you know, I think I’ll I’ll this story probably sums it up and maybe somebody can relate to this. I have a monthly breakfast with our board chair and our vice chair. And the very first breakfast I went to in this role, it was my predecessor’s last breakfast and my first. And so we’re all so it’s him, it’s me and it’s a board chair a vice chair, all of which have been around this organization 3x the amount of time I had at that point, I had been there like three days. Rich Birch — Yes. Yes. Couple weeks. Tensley Almand — And and we got this email the night before the breakfast, and it was from a developer. And they were offering $14 million dollars for the piece of property that my office sits on, which is a widely underused piece of property… Rich Birch — Right. Tensley Almand — …that we’ve always kind of wrestled with, like, what do we do with this thing? Rich Birch — Right. Tensley Almand — $14 million dollars. Rich Birch — Yes. Tensley Almand — That’s almost our entire year’s budget. Rich Birch — Yes. Tensley Almand — And I remember showing up to this breakfast with this LOI and I asked the question, should we take it or should we not? Rich Birch — Right. Tensley Almand — And nobody could answer my question. Rich Birch — Wow. Wow. Tensley Almand — Nobody knew if it was a good idea to take $14 million dollars or to walk away from $14 million dollars Rich Birch — And if that group doesn’t know, nobody else in the organization is going to know, right? Tensley Almand — And that’s exactly what I said. I was like, if you don’t know, and I don’t know… Rich Birch — Yeah. Yes, exactly. Tensley Almand — …nobody knows. Rich Birch — Yes, yes, yes. Tensley Almand — And so I started with that small group and I said, hey, would you give me the freedom to to take however long it takes for us to make sure we can answer that question? Rich Birch — Yeah, that’s good. Tensley Almand — And so in our first board meeting, I raised my hand and I just said, hey guys, I know I’m new, I know I just started. But I shared the story and I said, hey, we have to be able to answer questions like this. Or we’re never going to get anywhere. We may do a lot of good things, but we are going to have no idea if we did the best thing. Rich Birch — Right, right. That’s good. That’s good. So kind of double clicking on that, continuing to kind of focus in on this. You know, there are churches, organizations that will do the strat plan or roll. We go away for the big retreat. We come up with the new value statements. It’s got great strategy on paper. But it doesn’t end up translating into practice. What are you doing at the mission to try to make sure that we’re going from that wasn’t just a great document that’s like in a nice book somewhere, but it’s actually rolling out. Maybe give us some examples of that. And what are those kind of rhythms, cadences, all that? How how are you making that happen? Tensley Almand — Yeah, it’s wish I could really tell you we’re crushing it in this area. It’s this is a new habit for us. Rich Birch — Sure. Sure. Good. Tensley Almand — And so we’re I’m four years in. We just finished our first full fiscal year under our new strategy. And so I can tell you what we’ve learned. Rich Birch — Hey, that’s good. Yeah, good. Tensley Almand — One, once you get it built you have to start small. We, I wish I could remember the exact number, I think as a senior team we committed and told our board we were going to do 392 new initiatives or something in year one, you know. Rich Birch — Wow. Right. Tensley Almand — And this is a seven-year plan… Rich Birch — Yes. Tensley Almand — …we’re like we got almost for it and I think we got 100 through of the 392. Rich Birch — Right. Tensley Almand — And we celebrated like crazy at the end of the year because it was like, that’s 100 things that were all in alignment that we’d never done before. We learned so much. So, start small. Tensley Almand — The other thing is we built our plan. And I was I was very intentional about this because of what you just said. I did not want another notebook that was going to sit on my shelf. And so our strategic plan is really a strategic roadmap. And what I have told our board, what I’ve told our staff is I want an organization that knows how to think. Rich Birch — That’s good. Tensley Almand — And our our plan is really a roadmap for how we should think. It’s not overly prescriptive in necessarily what that means. Because it’s it’s designed to take us all the way through 2030. Rich Birch — Right. Tensley Almand — Well, I have no idea what’s going to happen between now and 2030. Rich Birch — Right. Right. Tensley Almand — But I do know that if what we said we want to accomplish, we’re accomplishing, however that looks, by 2030, we’re on the right track. And so that would be the other thing is just like, I would build, I wouldn’t make it so prescriptive that it tells you like, Hey, next week you’re doing this. And the week after… It needs to teach the organization how to think, how to act so that the person who’s brand new on the front line, if I’m not in the room, they don’t need to spend any time going like what, what would Tensley want me to do? They just, this is who we are as an organization. It’s how we think. Tensley Almand — And then we at a senior level and then we pushed it all the way down to our organization. We built a meeting cadence around it. Rich Birch — Nice. Tensley Almand — And so we have our senior team meets once a week. Rich Birch — Yeah. Tensley Almand — That’s my six direct reports and plus my admin. Rich Birch — Yeah. Tensley Almand — And we, one, so we do that on Tuesday morning, one, the first Tuesday of the month is a strategy meeting. We talk all about the strategic plan. That’s like a, how how are you doing and your department doing towards what you said you were gonna do? Rich Birch — That’s good. Tensley Almand — And we have a dashboard to measure that against. And then the next Tuesday is an operations meeting. And it’s just like, hey, what are what are we working on? We can’t live at 50,000 feet all the time. Rich Birch — Right. Tensley Almand — Let’s get down to 1,000 feet or whatever it is. Rich Birch — Yeah. Tensley Almand — And so we have that operations cadence. And then the third meeting is kind of like a catch-all, like, hey, what you know what needs to happen? And then our last meeting of the month is a monthly ministry review with the entire, not just my direct reports, but all the managers that sit under my direct reports. Rich Birch — Oh, that’s cool. Tensley Almand — And they lead that meeting. I listen in that meeting. And I get to hear what’s happening at every campus, what’s going on. And I get to hear how people are implementing or not implementing the strategy. Rich Birch — Right. Tensley Almand — And then the very next meeting, if you’re keeping up, is then our strategy meeting. Rich Birch — Yes. Tensley Almand — So then I’m like, hey… Rich Birch — Here’s some stuff I heard. Tensley Almand — …tell me more about this. Rich Birch — Yeah. Yeah. Yes. Tensley Almand — Or I didn’t hear like, Hey, I thought we were working on this. Why is that not happening? And so we have dashboards. Rich Birch — Yeah, yeah. Tensley Almand — We’ve never had those before. We have data that we can follow. We have metrics we’ve identified as a, as a team, our wins. And so it’s like, Hey, how are we tracking towards those wins and just have created a layer of accountability that didn’t exist probably three years ago. Rich Birch — Yeah, that’s good. Let’s talk a little bit more about the data thing. I’ve, or data thing. We, I’ve, I’ve said with younger leaders, you know, spreadsheets are the language of leadership. Like you’re going to have to get used to this stuff. This is just… Tensley Almand — Yep. Rich Birch — …this is how we care for people at scale is, is that is what it looks like. So data can either inspire or intimidate. How do you track outcomes? How do you, how do you how have you seen, you know, data over this last year actually change behavior and move things, improve care, better outcomes, all that kind of stuff. Talk us through what, cause you know, what we measure can get, can, you know, steer us in the wrong direction or steer us in the right direction. Help, help us think through that. As we’re thinking about what numbers should we pay attention to? Tensley Almand — Yeah. So again, when I started, that was a big question I had. So if you were to look at our numbers, you would see that we serve, you know, let’s, these are rough, but right at about 3000 people a year come through our doors. Rich Birch — Okay. Tensley Almand — Right. Which is huge. Rich Birch — Yep. Tensley Almand — You’re like, man, that’s amazing. Well, then I, as I walk you through that, by the time you get to the end of our vocational training a year later, we may graduate like 400. And then 70% of those 400 are still doing well the the next year. And so, you know, on paper, you’re like, man, is that good? Rich Birch — Right. Yes. Tensley Almand — Like that, that there’s a lot of attrition there. Rich Birch — Right. Tensley Almand — Like should, is, is, are we fail… And that was, again, when I started, that was a question nobody could answer for me is, Hey, is that good? Rich Birch — Right. Tensley Almand — And so even backing up before we built our strategy, our senior team spent so much time defining our outcomes. And we had all of these statements, you know, but it was like we want somebody to be healthy vocationally. Tensley Almand — It’s like, okay, what does that mean? Crickets in the room. Rich Birch — Yes. Tensley Almand — Wait, if you don’t know what it means and I don’t know what it means, does the person who’s leading that program know what it means? Better question: does the person who’s receiving our services know if they’ve actually achieved help in that area? Tensley Almand — And so we went through, defined all of those terms so that there was a clear outcome to it… Rich Birch — Right. Tensley Almand — …so that we could then measure it. And then we built both a one-page dashboard that our senior team could look at at a high level. So I could I can open this dashboard on any Monday morning. It’s just in Tableau, so nothing super you know exciting. Rich Birch — Yep. Yep. Tensley Almand — And I can just see, i can see progression through our program. I can see healthy exits. We’ve defined what are healthy exits. I can see, ah you know, are people getting stuck? That was a big thing we were we were learning is like, people are just getting stuck in our program and we’re committing to somebody. You’re going to be at this phase of the program 30 days. Well, then they spend 60 days. Rich Birch — Right. Tensley Almand — And what we were finding. We were, so this, this probably long winded way of saying this, but what we, we didn’t know what was happening or why it was happening and it felt good. But you know, you’re like, I don’t know. Tensley Almand — And so what we were finding is it’s like, Hey, so that’s an example. Like, somebody gets stuck in our program. We promised them 30. It takes 60. All of a sudden, we were able to track that, hey, there’s a certain amount of fallout rate at this stage of the program. Why is that happening? Oh, people are stuck. They’ve been here too long. Rich Birch — Right. Tensley Almand — We got to fix that. And so it it enabled us to know what needed to be fixed and and not fixed. Rich Birch — Yeah, that’s good. Tensley Almand — And probably the the best real-time example of that is just recently. So I keep telling you the 70% number of graduates are successful. That’s kind of our historical data. Rich Birch — Yep. Yep. Tensley Almand — Well, this year, that number fell for the first time ever. It’s gotten better every year. Rich Birch — Wow. Tensley Almand — This year it fell and it fell like dramatically. And this is one of those I don’t like to talk about it because it doesn’t look good. Rich Birch — Interesting. Yes. Tensley Almand — I mean, like it fell down to almost like 45, 50 percent. Rich Birch — Oh, wow. Tensley Almand — You’re like, what’s happening? Rich Birch — Almost inverse. Yeah, yeah. Wow. Tensley Almand — Exactly. And so at first, you’re like, our program is no good. We got rewrite our program. Well, thankfully, we had been tracking all of the kind of whys and we understood what was happening in people’s lives. And what we have found out is no, like the economy shifted. You can’t get a job in 30 to 60 days anymore. Rich Birch — Interesting. Tensley Almand — And so a gate in our program is when you graduate, you have 60 days to get a job. If you don’t get a job, you can’t move into our transitional housing because if we just allow you to stay, beds back up and then more people can’t get in. Tensley Almand — Well, our clients then would stop taking our advice and stop waiting for a good job. And at day like 50, they would just go get that job that doesn’t pay well. Rich Birch — Ohhh. Tensley Almand — And they knew it wasn’t going to be a career builder job. It was just going to keep them sheltered. Rich Birch — Right, right. Tensley Almand — And so it was our our like metrics were actually driving a behavior we didn’t like. Rich Birch — That’s interesting. Tensley Almand — And so we’re in the process now of like, hey, we’ve got to change this. The length of time it takes to get a job now takes longer. and Rich Birch — Right. Tensley Almand — The job market’s more you know fierce right now. Rich Birch — Right. Tensley Almand — And so we don’t want nothing against these types of jobs. We don’t necessarily want our client leaving to go get a job at McDonald’s Rich Birch — Right. Tensley Almand — But for them, leaving it to go get a job at McDonald’s versus not having a place to stay, I’ll take the McDonald’s job… Rich Birch — Right. Yes. Tensley Almand — …even though I know I’m only going to be there three months. Rich Birch — Right. Right. Tensley Almand — And so it was throwing off all of our numbers and it’s because we were incorrectly driving a behavior that we don’t want to drive. So. Rich Birch — Wow. That’s cool. That’s a great, very vivid example. And there’s lots of that in the church world. I know you I know you know that. There was a church I was doing some work with last year, large church, 10,000-person church. And they were we were talking one of the numbers I obsess with my clients over is documented first-time guests, the actual number of people that come every single weekend. And I was convinced that this church was just was missing a whole bunch of first time guests. And so they were telling me about how great their, their, their assimilation numbers were. They were like, Oh, this is so great. And I was like, I just don’t believe it. I’m like, because, because if you are not capturing the number of, of documented first time guests, then yeah and you’re comparing against half of what you probably actually have coming into your church, then then every number be below that, all your integration stuff looks twice as good as it actually is. Tensley Almand — Yeah. Rich Birch — And you know that that happens in lots of places across our numbers. We’ve got to get real clear and benchmark against other people. Tensley Almand — If I could go back and if I could go back, no, no, it’s just, like I’ve often thought like, what would I do different if I was a church leader now? Rich Birch — Yeah, yeah, yeah. That’s a good question. Tensley Almand — And I would I would measure so much differently. Rich Birch — Yeah, interesting. Tensley Almand — You know, historically we’ve measured nickels and noses, right? Like how much money’s coming in and how many people are sitting in the pews. But it’s like, those are important. Rich Birch — Yeah. Tensley Almand — I wouldn’t stop measuring them, but I would pay attention to like this. I would try to find a way to measure progression, you know. Rich Birch — Yes, 100%. Tensley Almand — It’s like to your point how many first-time guests are you having okay well then of those first-time guests how many of them are actually moving to your small groups. Rich Birch — Yeah, 100%. Tensley Almand — Of those who moved your small groups do any of them ever volunteer like and and really understand the behaviors you want. And then measure to those behaviors and i think especially in a world where just church attendance looks so much so much different, we could gauge health of our churches so much more effectively if we were Rich Birch — Yeah, it’s so true. I’d love to I’d love to kind of pivot for a few minutes in a slightly different direction. Tensley Almand — Okay. Rich Birch — So we have a lot of church leaders that are listening in and I’d love to understand how Atlanta Mission partners with churches. What does that look like? How do you work together? So specifically at Atlanta misha, and then what would you, Mission, and then what would you say to churches in general? Hey, um what advice would you give now that you’re on this side of the equation of actually partnering with an organization like Atlanta Mission? How can you be kind of the best partner? How do we what are what are people on your side of the table actually looking for from a church like ours? Because I’m sure there’s all kinds of stories of like, yeah, that didn’t work well. Talk us through what that looks like, partnerships specifically, and then kind of in general, how can we be better at that? Tensley Almand — Yeah, and partnership is one of our pillars of our strategic plan. I think I think for nonprofits, especially when you’re large and you’re self-funded, you can it’s easy to get siloed. And we we fell into that category, not just with outside partners that wanted to come in and help us, but also with other service providers across the the, you know, continuum of care in our city. is It’s just it’s easy to kind of put your head down and do your own thing. Rich Birch — Right. Tensley Almand — And so this is a huge emphasis for us, mainly because it’s really woven into the vision of our organization. Our organization is a community that’s united to end homelessness one person at a time. Well, I mean, it’s like partnership has to be built into that. Rich Birch — Right. Yes, baked into it. Yeah. Tensley Almand — So what who are we to then go get siloed? Like, that’s like, wow, you can’t even accomplish what you said you wanted to do. And so um we… I’ll back into this answer by telling you one of the things we’ve discovered at Atlanta Mission is that this isn’t this, you know, this isn’t novel, but, you know, material poverty, we all know is debilitating. Relational poverty is just as debilitating as material poverty. Rich Birch — That’s so true. Tensley Almand — And what we find with our clients is that almost 100 percent obviously are struggling with some version of material poverty, but they are just relationally broken and poor. They are void of healthy relationships. And so this is this is so much where partnership comes in, because we we literally have a metric that we track of how many healthy contacts does a client have in their phone before they graduate our program. And what we were finding is I mean we were their only healthy contact. Rich Birch — Oh, wow. Tensley Almand — And it’s wait this is this is not good. And this is such a great place for churches to partner with us because we have so many opportunities that we just call we call them “be with” opportunities there’s like there’s “do for” service projects but there’s also “be with” service projects. And they’re just designed for you to establish healthy community with our clients, build relationships, throw a birthday party for somebody… Rich Birch — That’s so good. Right. Tensley Almand — …have a Christmas party at one of our shelters. Come, you know, we’re moving into the holiday season, you know, come and build gingerbread houses together with our kids who are staying with us and just create an hour in somebody’s life that’s normal. Rich Birch — Right. Tensley Almand — And I feel like churches are better at this than anybody. Our corporate partners are fantastic at the “do for” projects. They can then come in and beautify our campuses in 30 minutes in a way that none of us can. Rich Birch — Right. Tensley Almand — You know, Home Depot comes in and it’s like, we’re going to transform your landscape. Great. This is awesome. Rich Birch — Yeah, yeah. Tensley Almand — I love it. But a church can come in and just be authentic and be real and be with our clients. Rich Birch — That’s good. Tensley Almand — And you would be amazed at how different somebody’s life looks after just that hour. And so, and I think that’s a huge thing. And then what I would tell churches, I think even as a church leader, I I probably overlooked how vital we were to nonprofits. You just you know, you think it’s an hour, but you know, even the day of, you know, you wake up that morning and you’re like, they don’t really need me. Like, I don’t know. Rich Birch — Right. Tensley Almand — This is, am I not really going to make a difference? Yes, you are. Rich Birch — That’s good. Tensley Almand — You are going to make a huge difference. It is worth the hour. It is worth the drive. Tensley Almand — And we we tell people all the time, and I’ve seen this in my own life. The thing that happens at Atlanta Mission is there’s always two stories of transformation happening. There’s the story of transformation that’s happening in a client’s life. But God transforms my life every day. Rich Birch — That’s so true. Tensley Almand — And it’s that’s the part I didn’t expect, Rich, is that… Rich Birch — Right. Tensley Almand — …my life is being changed as much as anybody else’s. And so I would, I would tell a church, Hey, our clients need you. But you need this as well. Rich Birch — Yes. Yeah. Yeah. Tensley Almand — Like God’s going to do something in your life. Tensley Almand — And then the other is just, um I think, especially for really big churches, it’s easy to think like, I bet they need my expertise. It’s like, actually, that’s not like. We need your partnership. Rich Birch — Yes. Yes. Tensley Almand — You know, we, we know how to do this. Come put wind in our sails. Rich Birch — Yeah. Yeah, Tensley Almand — Come just serve, be a part of what we’re doing. Rich Birch — Yeah, it’s so good. That’s super helpful. Love love that. Well, just as we’re coming to land, any kind of final words or encouragement you’d you’d say to church leaders that are listening in today that are, you know, wrestling with maybe clarity or wrestling with some of the stuff we’ve talked about today? This has been a really fruitful conversation. Thank you for it. Tensley Almand — Yeah, I think the, you know, probably the biggest thing I would say, and I have to tell myself this all the time. I mean, I’m an entrepreneurial type A. I’m going to like, you know, go conquer the world in a day is that, you know, remind yourself, you know, more than likely what you can accomplish in 90 days is nowhere near what you think it is, you know. But what you can accomplish in a year or two years is probably way more than you ever imagined you could. Rich Birch — Right. So true Yeah, that’s good. Tensley Almand — And so just again, kind of back to the strategy thing, it takes time. It’s messy. You know, you’re going to feel like, is this worth it? It creates conflict on your team. It feels uncomfortable. We were, we were joking as a senior team the other day. There was, it was about a year where I just, every Tuesday morning, I thought I want to cancel this meeting because I just didn’t enjoy, like we were just, we were at conflict because we were… Rich Birch — Right. Yes. Tensley Almand — …hashing out who we are and why we exist and what are we going to do and why are we going to do it? Rich Birch — Yes. Tensley Almand — But now it’s my favorite hour of the week. Like, I just love it. And so, you know, I would say that… Rich Birch — That’s good. Tensley Almand — …you know, and I think, yeah, I don’t know that I have anything, you know, much more. Rich Birch — That’s good. Tensley Almand — Yeah. Rich Birch — No, that’s good. Well, I really appreciate being on the show today. Where do we want to send people if they want to connect with you or with Atlanta Mission? Where are the best places for us to send people online? Tensley Almand — Probably the easiest place is just our website, atlantamission.org. You can find everything you want to about us. If you want to know more, you can email info@atlantamission.org. And that actually goes right to my assistant and we’ll get you connected to the right person. And you can, you know, next time you’re in town, you partner with us. You can help us. You can be happy to give you a tour, show you what we do. Rich Birch — That’s great. Thanks so much, Tensley. Appreciate you being here today. Tensley Almand — Thanks.

Fierce Grace Series: Feminine Leadership Archetypes - (#3 of 8)  "Insight drops in when we create space. Possibility reveals itself when we stop pushing." In this episode, we welcome in the Weaver Connector — the feminine leadership archetype who sees the patterns, possibilities, and connections that open pathways for wisdom, insight, and co-creation. She is the part of you who helps you move through the world not by pushing or over-efforting, but through resonance, relational intelligence, and spacious presence. Here's a partial transmission of the Weaver Connector ... notice what resonates...  "I see the connections between people, possibilities, and things. I make connections others don't always see. I move through the world best when I'm connecting with others — and connecting others with each other. Part of my creative power and success comes from my ability to connect with those I'm truly here to connect with." (Full transmission in episode & on website here.) Why this matters now We live in a world that glorifies productivity, speed, metrics, and constant output — and undervalues the relational and creative "fields" and "invisible" work that actually makes meaningful results possible. The Weaver Connector illuminates that nothing meaningful is created alone. Insight, timing, synchronicity, and possibility arise when we create from spacious presence, resonance, and connection — not force, toxic pressure, or over-efforting. We'll explore: • Intuitive superpower of Weaver Connector — pattern-seeing and the "overview channel." • Power Spectrum of Connection Competition that rises us into Conscious Collaboration  • Resonance as a compass for discerning aligned - and mis-aligned - collaborations. • Relational + creative energy fields - how they work and what's needed to bring synchronicity, insight, and opportunity into form. • Tender spots & "love cracks" that make us resist or chase connection and our desires   • Cultivating your web of connection + support for sustainable, easeful creation. P.S. ✨ Get the full transmission, inquiries, practices and other other episodes in this series here on the Feminine Power Time Wisdom Library. *** Making this real and practical in your life:  INVITATION: Invite one person to join you for season 10 and this podcast. Conversate on the inquiries and practices to make it practical & poweful in your life.  ELEVATION PRACTICES  Play with your Overview Pattern-Seer 4 Points of Connection to Re-Center Resonance Check - right fit vs wishful thinking  ILLUMINATION INQUIRIES:  What's a project/intention/desire that seems stuck?  What's the pattern or internal interference holding it back? What action can I take to open the flow? How do I discern whether I'm drawn to a connection or collaboration from true resonance… or from an old wound, love crack, fear or shadow frequency What's the  web of connection +support I need in this next cycle? Where's my resistance? What action would create flow?  CONNECT:  Subscribe to Christine's Monthly Wisdom Letters Connect with Christine on LinkedIn Join us in the Feminine Wisdom Cafe, a private online community Watch on YouTube

Dreading the holiday season? In this episode we discuss why the holidays can be filled with conflict and ways to make this the best holiday season yet.    Want to watch the video? Check out the discussion on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@mentalmapspodcast   Mental Maps is brought to you by Arukah Well, a virtual holistic mental health service. To learn more check out www.arukahwell.co or on Instagram @arukahwelllife   Keywords: holidays, thanksgiving, Christmas, adventure, expectations, roles, interactions, imperfection, experience

Today's post was taken from the book Relationship Authority, Authentic Leadership, written by Clay Nash. You can learn more about Clay at ClayNash.org.Learn more about the podcast hereLearn more about Give Him Fifteen hereSupport the show

In this episode of the WillPower Podcast, Will sits down again with cohost Rick Segal to unpack one of the most underrated skills in business: the ability to read people and close deals through authentic relationship building — not pressure or tactics.Rick breaks down:How elite dealmakers read emotional cues, motivations, and unspoken fearsWhy deals are rarely won on spreadsheets — they're won in conversationsHow to identify who you're really negotiating with (the “person behind the position”)The difference between trust-based influence vs. transactional persuasionThe subtle signals that reveal if someone is serious, stalling, or hiding somethingHow relational intelligence can outperform traditional negotiation strategiesStories from Rick's career working with top founders, CEOs, and high-stakes dealsWhether you're raising capital, buying real estate, selling your product, or building partnerships, this episode will change the way you approach every conversation.Get your copy of Rick Segal's book, The Heart of It here: https://amplifypublishinggroup.com/product/nonfiction/business-and-finance/entrepreneurship/the-heart-of-it/

Dr. Jure Leskovec is the Chief Scientist at Kumo.AI and a Stanford professor, working on relational foundation models and graph-transformer systems that bring enterprise databases into the foundation-model era.Relational Foundation Models: Unlocking the Next Frontier of Enterprise AI // MLOps Podcast #348 with Jure Leskovec, Professor and Chief Scientist, Stanford University and Kumo.AI.Join the Community: https://go.mlops.community/YTJoinInGet the newsletter: https://go.mlops.community/YTNewsletter// AbstractToday's foundation models excel at text and images—but they miss the relationships that define how the world works. In every enterprise, value emerges from connections: customers to products, suppliers to shipments, molecules to targets. This talk introduces Relational Foundation Models (RFMs)—a new class of models that reason over interactions, not just data points. Drawing on advances in graph neural networks and large-scale ML systems, I'll show how RFMs capture structure, enable richer reasoning, and deliver measurable business impact. Audience will learn where relational modeling drives the biggest wins, how to build the data backbone for it, and how to operationalize these models responsibly and at scale.// BioJure Leskovec is the co-founder of Kumo.AI, an enterprise AI company pioneering AI foundation models that can reason over structured business data. He is also a Professor of Computer Science at Stanford University and a leading researcher in artificial intelligence, best known for pioneering Graph Neural Networks and creating PyG, the most widely used graph learning toolkit. Previously, Jure served as Chief Scientist at Pinterest and as an investigator at the Chan Zuckerberg BioHub. His research has been widely adopted in industry and government, powering applications at companies such as Meta, Uber, YouTube, Amazon, and more. He has received top awards in AI and data science, including the ACM KDD Innovation Award.// Related LinksWebsite: https://cs.stanford.edu/people/jure/https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=jure+leskovecPlease watch Jure's keynote:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rcfhh-V7x2U~~~~~~~~ ✌️Connect With Us ✌️ ~~~~~~~Catch all episodes, blogs, newsletters, and more: https://go.mlops.community/TYExploreJoin our Slack community [https://go.mlops.community/slack]Follow us on X/Twitter [@mlopscommunity](https://x.com/mlopscommunity) or [LinkedIn](https://go.mlops.community/linkedin)] Sign up for the next meetup: [https://go.mlops.community/register]MLOps Swag/Merch: [https://shop.mlops.community/]Connect with Demetrios on LinkedIn: /dpbrinkmConnect with Jure on LinkedIn: /leskovecTimestamps:[00:00] Structured data value[00:26] Breakdown of ML Claims[05:04] LLMs vs recommender systems[10:09] Building a relational model[15:47] Feature engineering impact[20:42] Knowledge graph inference[26:45] Advertising models scale[32:57] Feature stores evolution[38:00] Training model compute needs[42:34] Predictive AI for agents[45:32] Leveraging faster predictive models[48:00] Wrap up

Today's post was taken from the book Relationship Authority, Authentic Leadership, written by Clay Nash. You can learn more about Clay at ClayNash.org.Learn more about the podcast hereLearn more about Give Him Fifteen hereSupport the show

Why is it that cuisines have historically been dismissed as a serious field of study? How have social factors, such as cultural norms and class, influenced people's perceptions of the prestige or disgust of different foods across different times? And how are acquired tastes and market demands for food shaped by the broader food landscape that people are situated within?In this episode, Green Dreamer's kaméa chayne speaks with Thomas Parker, whose latest book is Paranatures in Culinary Culture: An Alimentary Ecology.Join us as we explore what is possible when we deepen our connections with the sources of our foods, and what it means to understand taste as multi-sensorial, experiential, and context-dependent — not just based on the objective biochemical compositions of what we ingest.We invite you to…tune in and subscribe to Green Dreamer via any podcast app;tap into our bonus extended and video version of this conversation on Patreon here;and read highlights from these conversations via Kaméa's newsletter here.

✨ E429 – INNER VOICE: A Heartfelt Chat with Dr. Foojan & Dr. Gina Chiriac | Integrative Psychotherapy, Neuroscience & Healing Join Dr. Foojan Zeine in this deeply inspiring and emotionally rich conversation with Dr. Gina Chiriac (Gina Kiriak)—a leading European psychologist, integrative psychotherapist, researcher, and founder of Romania's first accredited Integrative Psychotherapy Training Institute. In this episode, we explore psychotherapy, trauma healing, hypnosis, neuroscience, brain mapping, meditation, emotional regulation, early childhood development, and the future of mental health.

Rob sits down with longtime softball coach Suzanne Unruh to unpack how coaching has changed over the past decade—and why today's athletes require a different kind of leadership. Suze shares how she evolved from a win-driven, blunt young coach to a purpose-focused mentor, emphasizing emotional intelligence, individualized coaching, and building identity beyond the game.The conversation highlights how showcase culture has impacted competitiveness, the importance of connection off the field, and why faith and relational trust have become central to her coaching philosophy. For anyone leading this generation—on the field or beyond—it's a timely, honest look at what it takes to coach well today.Key Themes:Coaching evolution: Suze reflects on how her approach has shifted from winning at all costs to leading with purpose, patience, and trust.Showcase culture and shifting motivation: Today's athletes often come from environments where exposure matters more than winning. Coaches must reframe the meaning of competition and team success.Individualized leadership: Modern athletes expect relational coaching. Knowing how each athlete wants to be coached is key to earning buy-in.Mental health and emotional awareness: Athletes today are more open about emotions. Coaches need emotional discipline and active presence, especially in high-pressure moments.Rebuilding identity: When athletes don't get the role they want, identity can crack. Coaches play a central role in helping athletes understand their value beyond the lineup.Relational trust: Off-field connection strengthens on-field performance. Suze shares practical ways she invests in athletes as whole people.Faith and long-term impact: Suze views coaching as ministry and mentorship—emphasizing purpose, relationships, and post-college connection as her deepest success markers.Notable Moments:01:10 – Suze on early coaching: “I was good, so I thought I'd just make them good” 03:20 – Becoming a head coach at age 22, unexpectedly 07:55 – Mistakes made early on—blunt honesty without relational context 12:40 – Comparing JUCO and four-year athletes: mindset, priorities, and approach 16:13 – The showcase era and its impact on competitiveness and team dynamics 18:20 – Athletes say they love competition—but do they mean it? 20:14 – The rise of emotional transparency in today's athlete 22:30 – How Suze keeps the bottom 10 on the roster valued and engaged 24:00 – Building identity outside the game to prepare for post-athletic life 27:42 – The cost of showing visible stress on the field 29:10 – What Suze wants it to feel like to be coached by her 32:45 – A coaching failure that almost made her quit—and what pulled her back 36:00 – Rapid fire: books, mistakes, success, and favorite coachesBooks mentioned: Tony Dungy's leadership books, Pat Summitt's coaching philosophyPractical Takeaways:Rebuild the team-first mindset. In the showcase era, many athletes arrive focused on visibility, not competition. Reframe the value of team success and shared goals.Coach the individual. Modern athletes need coaching tailored to how they receive feedback. One-size-fits-all approaches don't work.Establish identity beyond the sport. When roles change or playing time decreases, identity gaps can become emotional gaps. Use relationship to fill them.Manage your presence. Your emotional regulation sets the tone. Athletes quickly absorb your body language and energy.Value the whole roster. The culture often depends more on how the “non-stars” are treated than how the stars perform.Lead with relationship. Know their story. Trust and influence grow when athletes feel seen beyond the field.Keep faith at the center (if it aligns with your context). For Suze, purpose flows from faith—and that purpose informs how she coaches, leads, and supports her athletes long-term.Notable Quotes:Suzanne Unruh “They need to know I know how they want to be coached—and how not to coach them.” “Being told you're appreciated and you have a purpose is one of the most important things an athlete needs today.”Connect with the Impactful Coaching Project: X: @ICP_Project Instagram: @impactful_coaching_project LinkedIn: Impactful Coaching Project

In the final episode of our Leadership Growth Wheel series, Kate and Ryan welcome back the brilliant Anu Smalley to unpack the eighth domain: Facilitative Leadership.  After months journeying through Self, Relational, Strategic, Team, Adaptive, Operational, and Partnership Leadership, we close the wheel by exploring the three skills that transform good leaders into catalytic ones: Coaching, Mentoring, and Facilitation.Join Team KatAnu as we talk about shifting from command-and-control to empowerment, from Chess Master to Gardener, and from giving orders to creating the conditions where people discover their own brilliance.  You'll hear personal stories, practical techniques, favorite facilitation tools, and the “share stories, not solutions” mindset that unlocks growth in others.If you want to lead in a way that elevates people, accelerates learning, and transforms meetings into collaborative powerhouses then this is your episode.

Pastor David Fleming taught part one of a two part class: How to Deal with Relational Conflict—A Biblical Approach. Today's Road Map 1. The inevitability of Relational Conflict * You aren't the only one * Jesus dealt with relational conflict * If you are a peacemaker, others need you 2. The nature of Relational Conflict The steps people consider in resolving relational conflict and how to glorify God. 3. Points for home. Prepare for conflict resolution * A spiritual perspective * A mirror to reflect our emotions * The choice to love * The power of prayer * Wisdom to discernment Pastor David shows us how to handle and how not to handle relational conflict by seeking peace. Conflict resolution is an act of love.

SummaryIn this conversation, Pastor Tim discusses the concept of discipleship within Christianity, emphasizing its importance and the practical steps involved in making disciples. He outlines the four phases of discipleship: personal obedience, relational modeling, relational responsibility, and personal accountability. Each phase is explored in detail, highlighting the role of individual believers and the church community in fostering spiritual growth and fulfilling the Great Commission.TakeawaysDiscipleship is a core element of the Christian faith.Personal obedience is the first phase of discipleship.Relational modeling involves older believers guiding younger ones.The church community is essential for living out Christianity.Mature believers should model the Christ life for others.Discipleship involves both teaching and practicing faith.The process of making disciples is a shared responsibility.Accountability is crucial in the discipleship journey.Fellowship Church emphasizes community and relational growth.The ultimate goal is to make disciples of all nations.Chapters00:00 Understanding Discipleship10:00 The Four Phases of Discipleship20:01 Relational Responsibility and Accountability

Given the challenges higher education is facing right now, we need models of leadership that are mission-driven, student-centered, and nimble and adaptable. Dr. Brian Bruess, is the first president of both the College of St Benedict and St. John's University. He is leading what they call strong integration and putting systemness into practice to bring a more interconnected and relational way of leading.

On today's podcast, I am talking about “4 ACTIONS THAT MAKE EVERY RELATIONSHIP STRONGER.” Taking these valuable actions that I am going to share with you will strengthen every relationship in your life. Hello everyone, it is so great to have you join me today. Last week's podcast was so helpful for all of us because we talked about “4 Relational Values For Your Life, Family, Church, and Workplace.”Relational values move us to interact with people in the right way.  I highlighted the relational values of: LOVE, CARE, HONOR, AND WELCOME. On this week's podcast, I am talking to you about “4 ACTIONS THAT MAKE EVERY RELATIONSHIP STRONGER.” Taking these valuable actions that I am going to share with you will strengthen every relationship in your life. Simultaneously, it will also strengthen your family, church, and workplace. Furthermore, the relational values I am about to highlight on this podcast are powerful and impactful in every way. Please share this podcast episode with other people. So, let's get started! Today is about: “4 ACTIONS THAT MAKE EVERY RELATIONSHIP STRONGER.” 

Today on the Invest In Her podcast, host Catherine Gray talks with Dr. Stacy Feiner, a relational psychologist, family advisor, and author who supports founders and family enterprises in resolving conflicts and strengthening team dynamics for long-term success. In this episode, Dr. Feiner explains how emotional conditions within teams and families can either block or unlock progress. She shares her transformative coaching model that brings clarity and cohesion to business leaders, helping them prepare for succession, growth, and long-term impact. With experience working across Fortune 500 companies, higher education, and her own firm, Dr. Feiner blends psychological insight with strategic leadership. She also discusses her bestselling books, the power of women's psychology, and how to foster healthy legacies in business and life. https://www.showherthemoneymovie.com www.sheangelinvestors.com    Follow Us On Social Facebook @sheangelinvestors Twitter (X) @sheangelsinvest Instagram @sheangelinvestors & @catherinegray_investinher LinkedIn @catherinelgray & @sheangels   #InvestInHer #FinancialWellness #WomenInFinance #FinancialEmpowerment #MoneyMindset #InclusiveFinance #FintechForGood #BehavioralEconomics #WealthBuilding #FinancialHealth #EmpowerWomen #MoneyMatters #SheAngelInvestors #InvestInYourself #FinancialFreedom  

When Ron Blue joins us, it's always a masterclass in biblical wisdom. He's co-founder of Kingdom Advisors, a best-selling author, and a trusted mentor to many. Ron has spent decades helping believers apply God's principles to every area of life and business.Today, Ron unpacks what Scripture teaches about partnerships and how faith should shape the way we enter, manage, and exit them.The Broader Meaning of “Partnership”When the Apostle Paul warned believers about being “unequally yoked,” he wasn't speaking only about marriage. As Ron explains, “Paul was talking about partnerships—and there are so many kinds.”From professional firms and small businesses to investment ventures and partnerships, they can take many forms. And while they can be incredibly fruitful, they also carry spiritual and relational risks.Ron pointed out that partnerships often last a long time—sometimes decades. “The CPA firm I founded has been operating as a partnership for 50 years,” he said. “But not all partnerships endure well. Like marriage, many end in conflict.”Principle #1: Protect Your TestimonyRon's first principle is about spiritual integrity. “You have to ask what the partnership will do to your testimony,” he said. “If you're unequally yoked with someone whose values fundamentally differ from yours, you could lose your witness in the process.”He recalled being asked whether a Christian OB-GYN should enter a business partnership with a doctor who supports abortion. “Only you and God can answer that,” he said, “but it's a big question. Your witness is always at stake.”Principle #2: Plan Your Exit Before You Begin“Have your exit strategy in place before you form the partnership,” Ron advises.Just as couples prepare for challenges in marriage, business partners should anticipate potential separation. A clear exit plan protects both parties, ensures fairness, and helps maintain peace when the time comes to move on.“When you have that in place,” Ron said, “you avoid a lot of conflict and preserve your testimony if you're the believer who's leaving.”Principle #3: Preserve the Mission Beyond the RelationshipPerhaps the most powerful insight Ron shared was this: the mission must outlive the partnership.Ron recalled his own experience leading a financial planning firm. “After 23 years, I left—but no one left with me,” he said. “They were committed to the mission. That's what you want to see happen.”A strong exit strategy and shared vision help ensure that the work—and the witness—continue long after any individual departs.The Bottom LineShared faith isn't just good for business—it's essential for a lasting witness. Partnerships grounded in biblical principles reflect God's wisdom and preserve peace amid challenges.As Ron put it, “The most critical thing you want to preserve is your testimony. Everything else flows from that.”On Today's Program, Rob Answers Listener Questions:I'm concerned about vendors and service providers who want my bank account information for automatic withdrawals. I've been paying my lawn service with money orders, but now they require my account number. I told them we'd have to stop doing business because I'm not comfortable giving out that information. Isn't this kind of intrusive? What do you think about vendors wanting access to our accounts?My spouse and I are both 70 and ready to retire. I own 10 rental houses, but managing them has become too much. Once I sell the properties, what should I do with the proceeds? I understand the basics about capital gains and selling real estate, but I don't want the responsibility of managing individual stock investments myself.I've saved about $15,000 for a car, but have kept my current vehicle running as long as possible. It's a 2007 with 235,000 miles and is starting to have more issues. I found a good used car for about $8,500 and am wondering if I should buy it now or keep driving my current one until it dies, even though repairs may be on the horizon.My parents' health is declining, and we're moving them closer to family. Their current home is in an irrevocable trust, but we've found a condo they can buy before selling that house. Can the new condo be added to the same irrevocable trust? And when the old home sells, what happens to the proceeds?Resources Mentioned:Faithful Steward: FaithFi's Quarterly Magazine (Become a FaithFi Partner)Wisdom Over Wealth: 12 Lessons from Ecclesiastes on MoneyLook At The Sparrows: A 21-Day Devotional on Financial Fear and AnxietyRich Toward God: A Study on the Parable of the Rich FoolFind a Certified Kingdom Advisor (CKA)FaithFi App Remember, you can call in to ask your questions every workday at (800) 525-7000. Faith & Finance is also available on Moody Radio Network and American Family Radio. You can also visit FaithFi.com to connect with our online community and partner with us as we help more people live as faithful stewards of God's resources. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Welcome to Smoketalk!If you haven't listened to the previous episode "Deadly Math: Movement, Kinship, & Action" with Chris Matthews, I recommend going there first then coming back to smoketalk to listen to the Pod Team's takes and expanded conversation about this episode.This episode Emil & Kori welcomed Brendon Many Bears who brought insights about tipi aerodynamics and Blackfoot mathematics.Check out ATSIMA (Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Mathematics Alliance), an amazing organization that we donated to for this episode as requested by Chris. They are an Aboriginal-led charity creating new ways of teaching and learning mathematics by connecting mathematics to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and culturesIf you want more Indigenous Mathematics Pod episodes:"Hunting Mathematics" with Philip Stevens "Change Making, Anishnawbek Mathematics, & Surgeon Legs" with Cheyenne Sego"Wayfinding through Relational Trigonometry of Stars, Swells, & Spirit" with Dr. Kamuela Yong"Reconciliation Science through Tipi Math & Indigenous Sound Baths" with Brendon Many Bears & Darren Rea"Mathematics is Creation, Being, & Medicine" with Dr. Edward Doolittle"Ethnomathematics solves Real World Problems" with Dr. Linda FurutoAncestral Science Podcast WebsiteAncestral Science Podcast MerchFollow us on IG and FBPlease like, share, follow, all the things...helps us to get these important conversations out there."Knowledge that isn't shared isn't knowledge" (Casey Eagle Speaker, Kainai) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Located in the heart of downtown Maryville, Coram Deo Baptist Church (formerly Pleasant Grove at College Street) was founded as a church plant of Pleasant Grove Baptist Church in 2017.

Patients don't stay for a tax deduction — they stay because they feel known. That's something no federal incentive can legislate.

Send us a textIn this transformative session of the Apostolic Prayer Pattern series, Zac unpacks the often-overlooked power of relational intercession and how authentic friendship fuels kingdom advancement. Drawing from 2 Corinthians 1:3-11 and other key passages, this teaching reveals how prayer becomes most effective when rooted in genuine relationship and mutual investment.Key topics covered:Prayer-based relationships: Moving beyond detached intercession to praying from authentic connection and shared lifeThe power of vulnerability: How transparency and openness create space for effective prayer partnershipsKingdom impact through intercession: Why Paul consistently invited churches to partner in his mission through prayer—and what that means for us todayThe economy of God: Understanding how generosity, giving, and prayer work together to advance the gospelBearing one another's burdens: Practical insights on rejoicing and weeping with others as an expression of authentic communityFrom isolation to collaboration: How local churches, ministry leaders, and marketplace believers can work together through prayer and mutual supportThis episode challenges the common perception of prayer as a solitary, supplemental activity and repositions it as central, relational work that advances God's mission. Zac shares candidly about his own journey learning to lift his eyes beyond personal ambition to partner with others in prayer—and the breakthrough that followed.Perfect for intercessors, ministry leaders, and anyone longing to see their prayers make a tangible difference in the lives of others and the advancement of God's kingdom.Support the show

Send us a textIn this engaging discussion episode, Zac and Brennan unpack the powerful concept of "relational intercession"—a term they admit to making up, but one deeply rooted in Scripture. Moving beyond the formal teaching, they process together what it looks like when prayer flows from authentic friendship rather than religious duty.Key conversation topics:What is relational intercession? Exploring how Paul's letters reveal prayer partnerships built on genuine relationship, not just spiritual assignmentsThe role of emotions in prayer: Wrestling with how love, care, and burden-bearing shape our intercession—and when emotional investment becomes too muchPrayer as real work: Challenging the hierarchy that elevates some ministry roles over others and recognizing prayer as equal partnership in kingdom advancementThe economy of God: A profound discussion on how those enriched in prayer and those enriched in finances can work together in a beautiful cycle of generosity and thanksgivingPractical steps forward: Simple, actionable ways to start praying relationally—meeting monthly, praying weekly with others, interceding dailyThe shift from inward to outward: How prayer communities can stop building their own platforms and start serving the visions God has given othersThis conversation gets refreshingly honest about the challenges of prayer ministry, the pitfalls of self-ambition, and the breakthrough that comes when we learn to "join in helping" one another through prayer and generosity. Zac shares vulnerably about PyHop's journey from isolation to collaboration, while Brennan offers theological insights on partnership that will challenge how you view both prayer and giving.Perfect for anyone exploring what it means to pray beyond the prayer room walls and partner with what God is doing in their city through authentic, relational intercession.Support the show

Text: Ruth 1  A message from our Black Hills Jubilee 

What I am sharing with you now on this For Leaders Podcast Episode #70 is Leadership Gold! Not because of me, but because of the dynamic content that will benefit you personally, your family, your church, and your workplace. I am going to share with you today: 4 Relational Values for Your Life, Family, Church, and Workplace.  Introduction: Relational values matter. Relational values move us to interact with other people in the right way. As followers of Jesus, we should derive these values from Scripture and apply them in every area of our lives, including our personal lives, family life, church community, and workplace culture.

Bobby Gruenewald, innovation pastor at Life.Church and creator of the YouVersion Bible app talks about the growth of Bible reading globally, and celebrates the 1 billionth download of the YouVersion app as part of Global Bible Month celebrations.  Psychologist Debra Fileta helps us develop the people skills as we look at our holiday gathering interactions, especially with family and others we may be in tension with.   Faith Radio podcasts are made possible by your support. Give now: Click here  

11/12/2025 PODCAST Episode #3094 GUESTS: Phill Kline, John Findlay, Rep. Morgan Griffith, Michael Pack+ YOUR CALLS! at 1-888-480-JOHN (5646) and GETTR Live! @jfradioshow #GodzillaOfTruth #TruckingTheTruth

In part two of this couple's therapeutic conversation, they deepen their work from surface struggles into childhood roots, body awareness, and self-recovery. The wife describes crashing after the previous session, discovering that missed medication and hormonal shifts had amplified her anxiety. That moment, she says, forced her to confront how fragile she felt—and how much fear lived beneath her irritation and exhaustion. She opens up about being a late-diagnosed autistic woman, her lifelong role as “the feeler,” and the early trauma that shaped her relationship with her body. The husband, in turn, shares the story of his complex, multi-dad upbringing and the formative moment when he finally received consistent love at age five—the same age his wife's world fell apart. Zach draws a profound connection between those two five-year-olds: one rescued, one wounded. From there, the conversation moves toward reparenting—the practice of showing compassion, guidance, and safety to the parts of ourselves that never got them. They explore how self-care, faith, and embodiment intersect; how sobriety means far more than avoiding alcohol; and how healing requires both personal responsibility and partnership. By the end, Zach offers his distilled “two-part secret” to a healthy marriage. The result is a conversation about growing up inside your own marriage—and learning to parent yourselves, together. Key Takeaways Reparenting heals the roots – Both partners revisit their five-year-old selves to offer compassion, stability, and perspective that was missing the first time. The body is part of the marriage – Hormones, trauma, and neurodivergence live in the body; tending to them is relational work, not self-indulgence. Sobriety expands beyond alcohol – Clarity, honesty, and freedom from distraction are part of becoming emotionally sober. Faith and embodiment can align – The husband reframes yoga and self-care as spiritual practices that connect him to others and to God. Self-care supports connection – The wife recognizes that when she prioritizes herself, she's better resourced for partnership. Relational recovery is lifelong – True sobriety includes recovery from anger, resentment, and inherited family patterns. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A tribe is a group of people that share an identity marker. Every affinity group, every fan club, every self-selected group of insiders is a tribe.Last week we talked about Business-to-Business advertising (B2B) and Niche Marketing with a long purchase cycle (Niche-L).Today we talk about Niche Marketing with a short purchase cycle (Niche-S) and Business-to-Consumer advertising (B2C).Let's talk first about (Niche-S):Niche Marketing with a Short purchase cycle will always be targeted to an affinity group. A Niche market is any self-selected group of insiders that has chosen to spend time, attention, and money on something that most people don't care about.Short-cycle Niche Marketing is mostly consumable products and services that are purchased on a regular basis by a self-selected group. Some examples of this would be bullets, fish hooks, tubes of oil paint, and those little cloth foot coverings worn by medical professionals in hospitals and air conditioning technicians in your home.Niche Marketing with a Short purchase cycle is similar to B2B advertising: Features. Benefits. Price.Now let's talk about Business-to-Consumer advertising with a Short purchase cycle. (B2C-S)Do you sell a small-ticket consumable product or service that a high percentage of the population will purchase regularly? You are selling Business-to-Consumer with a Short purchase cycle. Food, gasoline, and entertainment compose the majority of this category.If you own a grocery store, a restaurant, a convenience store, a gas station, a hardware store, or an “everything” store that competes with Amazon and Wal-Mart, all you need is a high-visibility location, legendary signage, and a staff that delivers a positive customer experience. That's it. That's your advertising.NOTE: If you want to drive immediate traffic, you will need(1.) an irresistible offer(2.) credible urgency(3.) high-frequency repetitionIf your ad doesn't drive traffic,(1.) your offer was weak(2.) your urgency was not credible, or(3.) you didn't pound the drums loud enoughNow let's talk about Business-to-Consumer advertising with a Long purchase cycle. (B2C-L)If you sell a big-ticket product or service that a lot of Americans will buy “someday,” but only a fraction of one percent of the public is looking for it “today,” then you are in a B2C category with a Long purchase cycle.This category requires patience, commitment, and mass media: primarily broadcast radio, broadcast television, or billboards.You can use short-term-impact Transactional ads or long-term brand-building Relational ads.The objective of a Transactional ad is to make the sale. You can measure the Return-On-Ad-Spend (ROAS) of short-term-impact Transactional ads because they offer no long-term benefits.The objective of a long-term Relational ad is to create connection, relationship, and trust in your brand. Relational ads cannot be measured with ROAS because there is no moment when the benefits of relationship strengthening have been exhausted.Business people are instinctively attracted to Transactional ads because Transactional ads are more easily measured. This feels good in the short term, but in the long term it leads to frustration as you ask, “Why aren't we growing like we should?”Now let's talk about Business-to-Consumer advertising with a Mixed purchase cycle....

Legacy isn't about what you leave for people but what you leave in them through relationships. Influence grows when we share our stories, struggles, victories, and faith with authenticity and openness. Our lives become examples that inspire and shape the people around us.

Legacy isn't about what you leave for people but what you leave in them through relationships. Influence grows when we share our stories, struggles, victories, and faith with authenticity and openness. Our lives become examples that inspire and shape the people around us.

Welcome to Christ Community's Online Service! When it comes to relationships, conflict is unavoidable—but how we respond makes all the difference. In Acts 21–22, the Apostle Paul faces intense relational tension and shows us both what damages relationships and what can restore them. In this message, Pastor Alan unpacks four ways we often hurt the people around us—avoidance, assumptions, accusations, and judgments—and four ways to move toward peace and reconciliation. Listen to discover how following Jesus can transform the way we navigate conflict and become true peacemakers. For prayer and to stay connected, please visit: https://www.cccgreeley.org For Giving: https://www.cccgreeley.org/give/ Discussion guide: https://cccgreeley.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/2025-Nov-8-9-Group-Discussion-Questions.pdf Find Family at our Engage Lunch!

All throughout both the Old and New Testaments, we see a clear pattern of people in Scripture turning to prayer and fasting in times of uncertainty, brokenness, and need. And in those examples, we find that prayer and fasting are not just religious obligations but natural responses to desperation. And we find that moments of crisis can lead to spiritual renewal when approached with humility and dependence on God. And we find that whether you and I are facing the unknown road ahead or the ruins of life, the invitation is to pray and fast, recognizing that our deepest hunger can only be satisfied by God. SPEAKERS: Jay Kim (Saratoga), video (South Hills) Bible Passage(s): Ezra 8:21,23, Nehemiah 1:3-4

www.coastalchurch.tv

Located in the heart of downtown Maryville, Coram Deo Baptist Church (formerly Pleasant Grove at College Street) was founded as a church plant of Pleasant Grove Baptist Church in 2017.

In this special Business of Woo-themed episode of The Skeptical Shaman podcast, host Rachel White (of TOTEM Readings) chats with friend Kristen Pavle (of Relational and Ember) all about her work in creating and managing community, both online and in-person, for various businesses, nonprofits and community organizations.The crux of this episode? How can we-- either in the Business of Woo, at our "normal" day jobs, or just in society in general-- identify, build and maintain community? Kristen breaks down the definition of community, why it matters for small businesses (and for us as human beings!), and how it's changed in the strange last five years. She also gets into the nitty gritty of what makes a community work or NOT work, and Rachel and Kristen dig into the nuances within the realm of "spiritual community" and its classic pitfalls: spiritual narcissists, grifters, unstable Cluster-B types, and those suffering from "Main Character Syndrome". In a post-Covid, work-from-home, gig economy world, creating community has never been harder-- but it's also never been more important! Thankfully, Kristen shares incredible insights, practical solutions, and the all-important dose of hope to get us going.LINKS:Rachel's Website: https://www.totemreadings.comTOTEM Readings Substack: https://totemrach.substack.comRachel's Other Links: https://linktr.ee/totemrachPlease support the Sponsors of The Skeptical Shaman Podcast:The TOTEM Flower Essence Deck: https://a.co/d/gw16LsGThe TOTEM Tarot Deck: https://totemreadingsatx.etsy.com/listing/1492934343The TOTEM Flower Essences: https://www.etsy.com/shop/TotemReadingsATXTOTEM Spiritual Transformation Coaching: https://www.totemreadings.com/coachingTOTEM Business of Woo Mentoring: https://www.totemreadings.com/business-of-wooKristen's Links:Website: https://www.emberconsulting.co/Email: kristen@relational.orgLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kpavle/Please note: The views and opinions expressed on The Skeptical Shaman do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the podcast. Any content provided by our guests, bloggers, sponsors or authors are of their opinion and are not intended to malign any religion, protected class, group, club, organization, business individual, anyone or anything. And remember: sticks and stones may break our bones, but words—or discussions of religious or spiritual topics-- will never hurt us.

To schedule an Intro Call with Luke 10, go to: https://LK10.com/introIn this episode of Stories from the Revolution, host John White sits down with his long-time friend, Kent Larson, to discuss the pitfalls of traditional church leadership structures. Kent shares his experiences of feeling silenced and undervalued in a megachurch environment and how he found renewed purpose and joy through the LK10 community. This engaging conversation sheds light on the dangers of narcissistic leadership and emphasizes the importance of relational community where every voice is heard. 00:00 Introduction and Painful Leadership Experiences01:06 Welcome to Stories from the Revolution02:02 Kent Larson's Journey in Church Leadership03:13 C hallenges in Traditional Church Structures12:30 Discovering Luke 10 and Relational Communities16:48 Freedom and New Beginnings18:57 Conclusion and Invitation to Luke 10----------

This episode continues the Heal NPD Seminar Series, featuring Dr. Mark Ettensohn and his associates, Deanna Young, Psy.D., and Danté Spencer, M.A. In this session, the group discusses Narcissistic Personality Disorder: Progress in Understanding and Treatment by Igor Weinberg, Ph.D., and Elsa Ronningstam, Ph.D. The conversation examines recent advances in how clinicians conceptualize and treat narcissistic personality disorder, moving beyond fixed trait models toward a dynamic, relational understanding of the self and its development. Themes include the interplay between grandiose and vulnerable self-states, the interdependence of self-esteem regulation, affect, cognition, empathy, and interpersonal functioning, and the recognition that narcissistic pathology evolves through cumulative disruptions in early attunement and relational safety. The discussion also explores how developmental misattunements - whether through neglect, overindulgence, or inconsistency - shape defensive adaptations and contribute to the oscillation between self-inflation and shame. Throughout the seminar, the team reflects on the therapeutic process of working with narcissistic patients, emphasizing empathy, reflective capacity, and the slow, relational work of rupture and repair that makes genuine transformation possible. This series is designed for clinicians, students, and anyone interested in a nuanced, compassionate understanding of narcissism, personality, and psychological change. To learn more about our work, visit www.HealNPD.org Additional Resources: Newsletter: https://healnpd.substack.com Assessment and therapy inquiries: https://healnpd.org/contact Purchase Unmasking Narcissism: A Guide to Understanding the Narcissist in Your Life here: https://amzn.to/3nG9FgH SUBSCRIBE HERE: https://rb.gy/kbhusf LISTEN ON APPLE PODCASTS: https://rb.gy/cklpum LISTEN ON GOOGLE PODCASTS: https://rb.gy/fotpca LISTEN ON AMAZON MUSIC: https://rb.gy/g4yzh8 BECOME A MEMBER: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHeT5kujD1JqHRAi-x8xD-w/join Citation for the article discussed: Weinberg I, Ronningstam E. Narcissistic Personality Disorder: Progress in Understanding and Treatment. Focus (Am Psychiatr Publ). 2022 Oct;20(4):368-377. doi: 10.1176/appi.focus.20220052. Epub 2022 Oct 25. PMID: 37200887; PMCID: PMC10187400. Full text of the article: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10187400/

Learning to live in relationship is a skill, and one that many of us have not learned, let alone even considered. But to have the intimate, connected relationships we innately crave, it is imperative we learn to move into 'we' thinking, considering our spouse and our relationship just as much as we consider ourselves. When we can deeply desire our spouse's happiness and fulfillment just as much as our own, when we truly desire to understand them and be a part of making their life significantly better, then we are on the path to living relationally. If we just want to do what we want, we have no business being in relationship because choosing another person in our lives means we are also choosing to stop asking who is right, and instead focus on what is right for the relationship. Thanks for listening!  Want to learn more about this concept?  Check out these podcasts: #110 The Cost of Being Right on Apple on Spotify #156 The Benefits of Being Wrong on Apple on Spotify #217 Self-Respect and Being Wrong on Apple on Spotify #216 One Up and One Down Relationships on Apple on Spotify #244 The Relationship Circle on Apple on Spotify #295 Safety in the Relationship Circle on Apple on Spotify #296 Creating More Safety in Your Relationship on Apple on Spotify #326 Stop Being Right, Start Being Safe on Apple on Spotify #331 Sense of Self on Apple on Spotify #332 Sense of Self – It's All In Your Head on Apple on Spotify #333 Sense of Self and Dating on Apple on Spotify #334 Sense of Self and Marriage on Apple on Spotify #335 Sense of Self and Parenting on Apple on Spotify #336 Sense of Self and Our Spirituality on Apple on Spotify #337 Sense of Self and Our Sexuality on Apple on Spotify #375 Sense of Self and the Relationship Circle on Apple on Spotify Are you curious about what it would be like to work with me? Here are three options: Group coaching classes are available at tanyahale.com/groupcoaching Talk with Tanya is a free monthly webinar where you can ask me anything and we can have a great discussion.  You can sign up for that at tanyahale.com/groupcoaching Interested in a free 90-minute coaching/consult with me?  Access my calendar at: https://tanyahalecalendar.as.me/

Self-worth is the operating system running your relationships, career, stress, sex life—even your biology. Update it and everything upgrades.Self-worth ≠ self-esteem. Dr. John maps 5 realms that shape love, success, health, and meaning—plus simple practices to feel enough now.Self-worth isn't a warm fuzzy—it's the master switch for how you love, lead, and live. In this episode, Dr. John breaks down The 5 Realms of Self-Worth — Inner, Relational, Achievement, Embodied, and Existential—and shows why chasing self-esteem (external approval) keeps you stuck while building self-worth (inherent value) sets you free. Expect science, stories, irreverence, and real-world practices men actually use.You'll learn: The clean split between self-esteem (weather) and self-worth (climate) How self-worth changes your nervous system, not just your mood Why achievement-based value leads to burnout—and what to do instead Repair > defend: the 30-second reset that deepens connection Two micro-practices that start rewiring “not enough” todayPerfect for: high-performing men, partners who love them, and anyone tired of hustling for approval. 03:10 Self-esteem ≠ self-worth (and why that matters) 07:20 Realm 1—Inner: upgrading the voice in your head 14:05 Realm 2—Relational: love, boundaries, repair 20:40 Realm 3—Achievement: worth beyond output 27:15 Realm 4—Embodied: your body's self-worth story 33:30 Realm 5—Existential: meaning, purpose, service 40:00 Close: one realm up, all realms riseIf this hits home, share it with a guy who's crushing goals but starving for “enoughness.”Connect Like An Evolved Caveman: TheEvolvedCaveman.com GuideToSelf.com

November asks us to move more slowly, more deliberately, and often in directions we didn't expect to.This is a month that comes with a looming, menacing sense of dread.But not all hopes are lost. In fact, it'll present the perfect opportunities for practice. Over and over again.In this episode, we dive into: How to heal a heart that's broken (again).What to do when you can't do it all.Healing as noticing the mismatch between perception and reality.How small moves are the biggest. If you've enjoyed and benefited from the podcast, I invite you to apply for private mentorship and coaching with me. This is an intensive container, designed to support you in refining your self-leadership skills, moving through important life thresholds with grace, and expanding your capacity for creative expansions.Try the incredible breathwork and meditation app Open for 30 days free using this special link. This podcast is hosted, produced, and edited by Jonathan Koe. Theme music is also composed by me! Connect with me through my newsletter, my Instagram @jonathankoeofficial, and my music. For podcast-related inquiries, email me at healingthespiritpodcast@gmail.com.

I continue to interest myself with the concept of “attachments.” How and why we attach to anything. In this episode, I'm focusing specifically on relational attachments again.The concept is that in our childhood, we learned how to best attach to our primary caregivers and others. As no parent or caregiver or person is perfect, we have to hypothesize that nobody learns how to attach in perfect health. We adapt and cope. And unless you have given specific attention and done the work to understand yourself, chances are high, if not 100%, that you have some attachment styles and habits that are not serving your relationships best today. I start off questioning how attached we should be, at all, and looking first at how we attach to ourselves. My expert guest is Jessica Baum. Jessica is a renowned psychotherapist who has specialized in trauma, attachment theory, and interpersonal neurobiology. Jessica feels that connection—to ourselves and others—is at the heart of healing, and she uses a range of modalities to help individuals and couples find wholeness. She is the founder of the Relationship Institute of Palm Beach, a private group practice, and she leads a global coaching company offering support to clients worldwide. Jessica previously authored the bestselling book, Anxiously Attached: Becoming More Secure in Life and Love, which established her as a trusted voice in the healing of attachment wounds and building secure, fulfilling relationships. Her new book is, Safe: An Attachment-Informed Guide to Building More Secure Relationships, which was the catalyst for the conversation you are about to hear. Type “Jessica B-A-U-M” in anywhere and you'll find her. If you buy her book she has some free gifts at her website Sign up for your $1/month trial period at shopify.com/kevin Go to shipstation.com and use code KEVIN to start your free trial. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ever had someone freeze you out of a group text? Spread just enough gossip to make you doubt yourself? Smile to your face while subtly undermining you behind your back? That's not just “drama,” it's a form of bullying called relational aggression, and it can wreck friendships, families, and entire communities if it's left unchecked. It's not just drama. It's emotional sabotage. Today, I'm breaking down what relational aggression really is, why it's so destructive, and the research-backed strategies to protect yourself and stop the cycle, whether you're dealing with family gatherings, sorority politics, or your neighborhood book club._________ Full blog and show notes: https://abbymedcalf.com/relational-aggression-how-to-recognize-it-and-stop-itGet the Relational Aggression Response Scripts: https://abbymedcalf.com/aggression-scripts Join my online community, One Love Collective, on Substack: https://abbymedcalf.com/substack. You'll get...✨ Early drops + ad-free podcast episodes✨ Worksheets, journal prompts, downloads, and guided visualizations✨ Community chats and live Q&A calls with Abby_________ Subscribe to the Love Letter and get my little messages each week! https://abbymedcalf.com/loveletter-opt-in/