Go Outside with Alton Lee Webb: Recent Episodes
Alton Lee Webb
Welcome to Go Outside with your host Alton Lee Webb. Go Outside is a catalyst, helping everyday people and hesitant starters get up, get out, and find their God given calling. Go Outside is full of inspirational stories, practical application, and the motivation needed to get in the game.
Throughout this five-part journey towards recovering curiosity, have you noticed a common theme? Curiosity calls for change and action -- and usually against a backdrop of uncertainty.
In this final episode of our Curious series, I pause to reflect on the role curiosity has played in my personal call to Go Outside across the past 10 years and share a few changes on my family’s horizon. In spite of not knowing exactly what’s coming in our next season of life, let’s center ourselves in the security of who Jesus is and what He has done.
Episode Highlights 0:00 Have you noticed curiosity and times of transition tend to go hand-in-hand? I share a passage of Scripture we can cling to in times of new growth and change 1:16 How curiosity is leading to a change in Rachel’s and my life right now 1:54 “I wasn’t trained in it, and I didn’t see it on my horizon.” What I remember most about making the decision to plant Christ Community Church in Shelbyville ten years ago 3:38 What happened when Going Outside seeped into my family life and my career 4:27 “It was self-therapy.” How a “horrible manuscript” exploring the Go Outside lifestyle became a published book and podcast series 5:38 What do we believe about Jesus again? How Jesus’ actions on earth author and sustain our next steps 6:44 So where are we, and what’s next? I share my gratitude and hopes for this podcast and the Go Outside journey
Are you curious about discovering how to use your unique gifts to share Christ with your local community but struggling with the fear of leaving the safety of the sidelines?
Welcome to Curious, a five-part series of conversations inviting all tired Christians to rediscover and reclaim their God-given gift of curiosity.
In this episode, Rob Perez, owner of DV8 Kitchen and Saul Good restaurants, shares why he’s glad they didn’t wait until they had it all figured out before Going Outside and starting their social enterprise. Now with over 20 employees in early stages of drug and alcohol recovery, Rob gets real about the hard balance of loving people and making a profit in business -- and what makes the risk so worth it.
Episode Highlights 0:00 How curiosity led Rob Perez to start a business designed to “invest in recovery” 0:18 “It’s been bad on the pocketbook but the most rewarding experience my wife and I have ever had.” Rob shares how the mission behind DV8 Kitchen first came about 2:42 “I didn’t bring Christ to work with me at all.” Where Rob was spiritually when his wife suggested they take on this social enterprise 3:45 Can we love people and be profitable? Lee and Rob get practical about how to balance and sustain a social enterprise 6:31 The three “bottom line” questions Rob’s team asks themselves every week to keep them focused on what matters most 7:33 What Rob realized was wrong about their financial model when he first “put his hands in the dough” 10:14 Rob and Lee call out a faulty philosophy: you don’t have to have all the details figured out before you Go Outside! 12:29 “I’m not positive I’m doing the right thing.” Rob gets real about the paychecks, tough choices, and hard conversations necessary to keep DV8 going 16:07 Rob’s encouragement to anyone who feels a tug to Go Outside but doesn’t know where to start 18:23 Calling all cinnamon roll lovers… What DV8 Kitchen has in the works for starting a new bakery
Episode Resources DV8 Kitchen - https://dv8kitchen.com/ Saul Good Restaurant & Pub - http://saulgoodpub.com/ On giving people a second chance - https://www.thefix.com/restaurant-gives-second-chances-people-recovery-gets-rave-reviews
When was the last time you asked someone more experienced, “What advice would you give me?”
Welcome to Curious, a five-part series that invites all tired Christians to rediscover and reclaim their God-given gift of curiosity.
In this episode, I share something inspired by a conversation I had with several college students, hungry to learn more. Tune in to hear the top 20 lessons I’ve cultivated after 20 years in business. You’ll leave challenged to ask others what God has taught them through their work -- and to share your own experience with others as well.
Episode Highlights 0:00 The question I was asked by curious college students that inspired this episode: what advice do you have after being in business for 20 years? 1:33 One opportunity you have once everyday 1:58 Be distinct (and how it’s paid off for me) 2:42 Be fluid (and some Scripture to help you stay open to the unexpected) 2:48 It’s not all about us looking good. 4:34 “Owner absenteeism doesn’t work, but persistence does.” 4:52 Develop a system (and what my workflow looks like) 5:33 I share the friend who inspired #9: Drive a different way home 6:13 “Almost everything can wait one night.” 7:25 One way you can help people decide if they want to join in on your vision 7:44 Big opportunities are the same as small opportunities. 8:49 “When the time comes to take a big risk, you’ll be ready.” Why it’s best to stay low 9:20 Are you using your gifts to help others? 9:38 What I do every day before leaving the office
What if I told you that reading well could actually help make you a better steward of language on Twitter?
Welcome to Curious, a five-part series of conversations inviting all tired Christians to rediscover and reclaim their God-given gift of curiosity.
In this continuation of Episode 1, I’m joined by Dr. Karen Swallow Prior, author of On Reading Well, to talk about how being curious in reading literature is necessary preparation for navigating our culture of polarized thinking. Dr. Prior reminds us that Christians are “people of the Word” and that as Outsiders, we have the responsibility to own and steward the language we speak, type, and interpret every day.
Episode Highlights 0:00 Reading as a virtue? I set us up for Part 2 of my conversation with Dr. Karen Prior 0:25 My reactions to what The Great Gatsby teaches on the virtue of temperance, as discussed in On Reading Well 1:57 “On Twitter, you have become a target for extremists on both sides.” Dr. Prior explains why studying virtue through literature equips her for navigating our polarized culture 3:31 “When we try to avoid one error that we should avoid, we swing to the opposite side and commit another error.” Dr. Prior on what she’s observed from extreme stance-taking in both the classroom and the church 5:54 What allegory and Pilgrim’s Progress has to teach us about the language we use (and interpret) on social media 9:36 Why I believe Dr. Prior’s theory on virtue in literature is a framework for faith leaders everywhere 10:40 You could call us modern-day monks. Why Dr. Prior says it’s the responsibility of Christians, the people of the Word, to preserve literacy in our decaying world 13:15 Where you can find Dr. Prior and how you can contribute to the Reading Well movement 14:30 Now it’s Dr. Prior’s turn: her question for me about reading and writing
Episode Resources Part One of this episode On Reading Well Dr. Prior’s Twitter Dr. Prior’s Speaking Engagement Schedule The Great Gatsby A Tale of Two Cities Pilgrim’s Progress The Outsiders
What if I told you that you could live counter-culturally today just by reading extra slowly?
We’ve all heard that leaders are readers, but nobody actually enjoys plunging through a long checklist of titles as fast as they can.
Outsiders, we need a new approach. It’s time to slow down and be curious again.
Welcome to Curiosity, a series of five conversations that explore the recovery and rediscovery of our curiosity, the God-given fuel behind Go Outside. In Part 1 of this first episode, Dr. Karen Swallow Prior, the author of one of my favorite books, On Reading Well, is here to help us rethink how and why we read. Together, Karen and I explain how reading well is a straight-out rebellion against our fast-paced culture but also a deeply rewarding virtue that slows us down, opens us up to notice, and makes us powerful stewards of language.
Episode Highlights 0:00 Would you call yourself curious? Why curiosity is foundational for Go Outside 0:40 Any bookworms tuning in? I share my latest curiosity: literature (and introduce a guest who’s got quite the appetite for reading herself!) 1:10 “I don’t think most people dare to go that far.” Dr. Prior’s response after I asks about the most important thing we have in common 3:25 A week-in-the-life: Dr. Prior talks her chaotic schedule of traveling, teaching, and living in rural Virginia 5:50 The story behind how Dr. Prior’s book ended up in my hands 9:21 Do you also struggle to enjoy reading in our fast-paced world? Dr. Prior talks about the time, patience, and attention it takes to read well 11:10 “Reading good literature is a radical, rebellious act against our culture.” What Dr. Prior says a counter-cultural mindset towards reading should look like and feel like 13:31 Reading is a virtue? Dr. Prior gives us a refresher on what it means to live in tension between having too much and not enough 17:00 Karen Prior shares her 4 favorite virtues (as of today, at least) 18:55 The young adult novel that inspired both me and Dr. Prior 20:45 Christians should read more than self-help books? Dr. Prior explains why she chose the books she did for her top 100 reading list
Resources - On Reading Well by Karen Swallow Prior - Karen Swallow Prior on Twitter: https://twitter.com/ksprior - Her website: www.karenswallowprior.com - The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton - The History of Tom Jones by Henry Fielding - The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Every couple of months a group of Christian businessmen and leaders get together for something called “The Lunch.”
It’s an informal gathering where someone shares about the ups and downs of operating in the business world, and how they navigate the gray areas. From real failures, like bankruptcy and family problems, to successes, like acquisitions and IPOs, the lunch is a safe place for these men to come together and talk about real life.
Find out how it got started, why you can start something similar where you live, and what makes this different from any other “networking” event you’ve ever been to.
0:11 - What happens at the informal meeting called “The Lunch” 0:40 - How “The Lunch” started, and why 1:39 - The 3 key elements that make this gathering different from other networking groups 3:41 - How the term “netweaving” is different from “networking” 5:53 - The connection between generations that is hard to find somewhere else 8:04 - The mindset that allowed the lunch to flourish with a “hands-off” approach from the leaders 9:23 - Why Lee keeps coming to the lunch, even though it’s 45 minutes away 11:10 - The scripture that motivates Ryan Hilliard to connect people to each other 12:20 - The plan Jesus modeled regarding mentoring and leadership
To find people who are well-acquainted with operating in life’s messy gray-area, we need to look no further than the dedicated men and women of our educational system. In this episode of Operating in the Gray, I invite Kentucky educators Tina Tipton and Artavia Acklin to share their experience in navigating how to be God’s light in the classroom. Whether you’re an educator yourself or not, every Outsider will benefit from hearing how these two women came to recognize teaching as a ministry and how we too can live out God’s love, even when we’re operating in the gray.
Episode Highlights
0:08 - How do we operate in the gray in the classroom? Welcome educators Tina Tipton and Mrs. Artavia Acklin
1:40 - Impact over income: why Mrs. Acklin chose to come back and teach in her small hometown
3:49 - Flashback to 1968! What 50 years has taught Tipton about teaching as a passion (and how its ministry goes hand-in-hand with Going Outside)
5:08 - “I just want the babies at school and to know that they’re safe.” How God called Mrs. Acklin and her staff to step out and extend love to immigrant families
8:40 - From tradition to technology: the one thing that Tipton says hasn’t changed in education since the sixties
10:50 - What inspired Lee the most about his conversation with Tipton
11:39 - Want some wisdom? What Mrs. Acklin and Tipton want to tell you about operating in the gray
As an Outsider called to be God’s love in a messy world, do you ever run into situations that have no clear right answer? In this episode, Lee opens up 1 Timothy and shares 3 things we should remember and implement in our daily ministry at work, challenging us to reflect upon how we can fight the good fight of our faith in a world that’s anything but black and white.
Episode Highlights 0:10 - You’re not the only Outsider! The many entrepreneurs Lee has met after 20 years in real estate 0:35 - The 3 things 1 Timothy 6:12 is teaching Lee about fighting the good fight of our faith in the workplace 1:15 - Taking ahold of eternal life in the ordinary day-to-day 1:41 - A calling from work to church: Why what you do through the week is just as important as what you do on the weekends 2:26 - You are in the presence of many. Are you waiting for an opportunity to share Christ with someone? 3:41 - Introducing Operating in the Gray: an Outsider’s world is not black and white 4:54 - What gray-area looks like for Lee in the real estate world 5:52 - 240 days of gray. How do we fight the good fight of our faith in a world we can’t control?
The performing arts world is known for being difficult to live in as a follower of Christ. From deciding what shows to audition for to interacting with your co-workers to balancing family, there are plenty of situations that don’t have a clear black and white answer.
That’s where Darian Sanders comes in. He’s a husband, father, cabaret performer, pastor and worship leader. With all of those responsibilities, he is constantly operating in the gray and has come on the show to share how he lives in all of those tensions.
Episode Highlights
1:15 - What song Darian has performed the most (and who he performed in front of) 3:19 - How Darian become involved in singing (even though he played the trumpet) 6:21 - How Darian balances working on staff as a church with a calling to Go Outside 7:47 - The musical theater’s response to Darian having a family and being a minister 9:40 - Peanut butter, the University of Kentucky, and the Gospel 10:54 - What led Darian to give up a full-ride scholarship to the University of Kentucky 17:52 - What a woman said to Darian after his performance that provided much-needed confirmation 20:05 - Darian’s encouragement for you: “It’s not arrogant, but it’s authorized.” 25:20 - About Darian’s family and how he and his wife have decided to live their life