Potter's Inn Soul Care Conversations: Recent Episodes
Potter's Inn
Potter’s Inn Soul Care Conversations is a place where our souls meet the world. We invite you into a relevant, vulnerable and courageous conversation with us. We’ll explore key Soul Care issues facing us in work, health, relationships and God. In our busy lives, we all need a space to reflect, be inspired, and get some needed resources to help us navigate the white water of life. This podcast is provided by Potter’s Inn, a ministry dedicated to the care of the soul for leaders in the ministry and the marketplace. Our hosts: Stephen and Gwen Smith, Joe Chambers, Kaylene Derksen, and Jeremy Frye. Thank you for tuning in!
SHOW NOTES Each year we hear about New Year’s Resolutions – we make plans to lose weight, become more organized, be on time more. All great goals, but how many times have those goals been forgotten in February? (I raised my hand too!)
In today’s podcast we discuss “The Great Annual Examen,” a simple question and answer exercise to help you reflect on the past year and anticipate the year to come.
There are several different categories given for you to reflect on:
- My Physical Health.
- My Emotional Health.
- My Relational Health.
- My Vocational Health.
- My Spiritual Health.
As you reflect upon this past year, it’s our hope that it will give you a clearer GPS—a sort of marker that will help you discern where you are and how you are and where you want to go this next year.
RESOURCES MENTIONED IN PODCAST
- The Great Annual Examen - DOWNLOAD this PDF with more details on the exercise.
- The Space Between Us by John O’Donahue
- Moment to Breathe
For a New Beginning by Stephen W. Smith
+ Text
+ Audio SUPPORT THE PODCAST Donate Here for an individual contribution or on Patreon to set up monthly support.
CONTACT US podcast@pottersinn.com
INTERESTED IN MORE SOUL CARE RESOURCES? Check out our recommended reading, books on spiritual growth, and our soul care blog. Want to experience soul care in person? Learn more about our soul care intensives and retreats.
SEND US YOUR FEEDBACK! Leave a comment below or send our co-host team a message at podcast@pottersinn.com
SHOW NOTES In this episode we are treated to a special preview of the Potter’s Inn Soul Care Institute where Gwen Smith teaches on Sabbath Keeping: God’s Design For Our Dilemma. The discussion includes the origin of Sabbath, why we feel so much guilt concerning Sabbath, and why God gave us Sabbath in the first place. Gwen also introduces her 4 Pillars of Sabbath:
- Rhythm - Sabbath is God’s built-in way of giving us rhythm in our lives instead of just running full-steam continuously.
- Protection - In a sense, Sabbath protects us from ourselves and the violence that we inflict on ourselves, driving ourselves to work harder and harder. Sabbath gives us rest.
- Joy, Delight, and Celebration - Sabbath is a blessed and holy day, when God rests in His creation and He delights and celebrates in you.
- Belovedness - Taken altogether, Sabbath is a reminder that we are beloved by a good and gracious God who truly cares for us and our well-being.
RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THE PODCAST Soul Care Institute program information
The 4 Pillars of Sabbath Drawing
“Trough” poem by Judy Sorum Brown View here.
The Sea Accepts All Rivers and Other Poems by Judy Sorum Brown
For more on Judy Sorum Brown, her poems, books and other work, please see https://www.judysorumbrown.com/books
Article by Parker Palmer, The Self inflicted Violence of Over-Work
Free Resource for Download: The Sabbath Reader
Support the Podcast: Donate Here for an individual contribution or on Patreon to set up monthly support.
Sign up to receive email notifications as future episodes are available: Sign Up Here
This cool breeze by the river bank.
A great blue heron feeding in the shallows.
The pilated woodpecker serenading the forest with its haunting song.
I think I need one hundred days like this!
Slowly, ever so slowly. Here. Now. This!
Bit by bit and little by little, I feel a twinge of what may be life.
A steady erosion has happened in me.
It’s taken time to do this damage.
It will take more time to regain what’s been lost.
The locust have ravaged much I feel now.
Sad stories, and far too many of them, have layered my heart with deep grief.
I think I need one hundred days like this.
But today, I just may have felt my heart again.
As I let this breeze wash over me, is this a baptism of love?
And as silence does what only the deep quiet does,
I sit here and stay here for a while this beautiful morn.
Soaking. Marinating. Feasting . Healing.
Discernment is the process of gaining clarity on finding direction for the next step of our journey. SHOW NOTES Today’s podcast is part two of a discussion between Steve and Spiritual Director Martie McMane. Martie is a retired minister, artist, and spiritual director who used a collage process with Steve & Gwen to help them make some crucial life decisions during a period of repositioning. They continue the conversation today about how the collage process can work in each of our own lives
Thank you for joining us in today’s conversation!
ABOUT MARTIE MCMANE Rev. Martie McMane, MA, M.Div, is an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ and was the Senior Minister of First Congregational Church in Boulder from 2000-2016. As a certified Enneagram teacher for 25 years, Martie has reached well over 1,000 people with her in-depth knowledge of the Enneagram and how its understanding can be transformative for our lives. In retirement, she enjoys creating pastels and mixed media, using it as a way to express the connection with the Divine as witnessed in nature and what it means to be human.
- Martie’s Website
Mentioned in the Podcast
- SoulCollage Evolving: An Intuitive Collage Process for Self-Discovery and Community by Seena B. Frost
- Discernment: Reading the Signs of Daily Life by Henri Nouwen
- Merton’s Prayer: Finding God’s Will
This is the Soul Collage that Steve did in the retreat with Marty.
MUSIC USED IN PODCAST * Music Break at 23:13 - A Gaelic Blessing: Meditation by John Rutter * Music Break at 39:50 - There will be Rest by Frank Ticheli - performed by Kantorei
SUPPORT THE PODCAST
Please consider a gift to support our ministry. We have a few ways to make it easy for you:
- Use our Donation Page on our Website
- Donate using our new App
- Send by mail (Potter’s Inn, PO Box 35, Divide, Colorado 80814 - make sure you make note that your gift is for the podcast)
FIND US ON FACEBOOK AND INSTAGRAM
- Soul Care Conversations Group Page
- Potter’s Inn Main FB Page
CONTACT US
podcast@pottersinn.com
INTERESTED IN MORE SOUL CARE RESOURCES?
Check out our recommended reading, books on spiritual growth, and our soul care blog. Want to experience soul care in person? Learn more about our soul care intensives and retreats.
Discernment is the process of gaining clarity on finding direction for the next step of our journey. SHOW NOTES Last year Steve and Gwen went through a period of repositioning: changes were on the horizon but any clarity about what to do next was clouded by the realization that they were not on the same page. They reached out to a trusted Spiritual Director for help and the result was what they called a “Discernment Retreat.” They needed clarity. They needed discernment.
Today’s podcast is a discussion between Steve and the Spiritual Director they called on for help, Martie McMane. A retired minister, artist, and spiritual director, Martie used a collage process that helped Steve & Gwen in making those crucial, life decisions. Today they dive deep into the process.
Thank you for joining us in today’s conversation!
ABOUT MARTIE MCMANE Rev. Martie McMane, MA, M.Div, is an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ and was the Senior Minister of First Congregational Church in Boulder from 2000-2016. As a certified Enneagram teacher for 25 years, Martie has reached well over 1,000 people with her in-depth knowledge of the Enneagram and how its understanding can be transformative for our lives. In retirement, she enjoys creating pastels and mixed media, using it as a way to express the connection with the Divine as witnessed in nature and what it means to be human.
- Martie’s Website
Mentioned in the Podcast
- SoulCollage Evolving: An Intuitive Collage Process for Self-Discovery and Community by Seena B. Frost
- Discernment: Reading the Signs of Daily Life by Henri Nouwen
- Merton’s Prayer: Finding God’s Will
This is the Soul Collage that Steve did in the retreat with Marty. MUSIC USED IN PODCAST * Music Break at 33:22 & 36:32 - Waltz for the Broken Hearted Written and performed by Jeff Wahl.
SUPPORT THE PODCAST Please consider a gift to support our ministry. We have a few ways to make it easy for you:
- Use our Donation Page on our Website
- Donate using our new App
- Send by mail (Potter’s Inn, PO Box 35, Divide, Colorado 80814 - make sure you make note that your gift is for the podcast)
FIND US ON FACEBOOK AND INSTAGRAM
- Soul Care Conversations Group Page
- Potter’s Inn Main FB Page
CONTACT US
podcast@pottersinn.com
INTERESTED IN MORE SOUL CARE RESOURCES?
Check out our recommended reading, books on spiritual growth, and our soul care blog. Want to experience soul care in person? Learn more about our soul care intensives and retreats.
I am simply humbled at this stage in my career, to have the privilege to tell Walter’s story and to help amplify his amazingly relevant voice. Getting to know Walter has been a healing and restorative experience for me as a former pastor and a professor deeply committed to social justice when so much of the church and society has forgotten what the biblical text says about God’s care for the marginalized. — Conrad L. Kanagy SHOW NOTES Steve’s chats with Conrad Kanagy, the author of coming soon book Walter Brueggemann's Prophetic Imagination: A Theological Biography. (releases Oct 24, 2023) Steve and Conrad focus on the book and how it reveals the most complete portrait to date of this remarkable prophet, pastor, preacher, teacher, and friend.
Thank you for joining us in today’s conversation!
ABOUT CONRAD L. KANAGY Conrad L. Kanagy is professor of sociology at Elizabethtown College, Pennsylvania. He holds an undergraduate degree from Wheaton College (Illinois) and a PhD from Penn State. He is the author of eight books and numerous scholarly articles. His primary area of expertise is American and global Christianity. He hosts the podcast A Church Dismantled--A Kingdom Restored.
- Books by Conrad
MENTIONED IN THE PODCAST * Walter Brueggemann's Prophetic Imagination: A Theological Biography (Releases Oct 24, 2023) * Conrad’s Podcast A Church Dismantled--A Kingdom Restored.
MUSIC USED IN PODCAST * Music Break at 33:00 - The Feast of St Augustine * Music Break at 47:28 - Kyrie Eleison with Audrey Snyder
SUPPORT THE PODCAST Please consider a gift to support our ministry. We have a few ways to make it easy for you:
- Use our Donation Page on our Website
- Donate using our new App
- Send by mail (Potter’s Inn, PO Box 35, Divide, Colorado 80814 - make sure you make note that your gift is for the podcast)
FIND US ON FACEBOOK AND INSTAGRAM
- Soul Care Conversations Group Page
- Potter’s Inn Main FB Page
CONTACT US
podcast@pottersinn.com
INTERESTED IN MORE SOUL CARE RESOURCES?
Check out our recommended reading, books on spiritual growth, and our soul care blog. Want to experience soul care in person? Learn more about our soul care intensives and retreats.
I came to the conclusion that I could not stay in that role and be healthy. So I chose to be a healthy person over a megachurch pastor, and it was an incredibly hard choice. — Pete Briscoe SHOW NOTES In today’s conversation, Steve talks with Pete Briscoe about why Pete no longer calls himself an “evangelical.”
You’ll hear Pete’s story, filled with pain and struggles, as he discovers more beautiful ways to live the Christian life. While you may not agree with his path, we think there’s something here to learn in his story.
Thank you for joining us in today’s conversation!
ABOUT PETE BRISCOE After leading Bent Tree Bible Fellowship church for nearly three decades and preaching for Telling the Truth ministry for more than a decade, God led Pete to a new season of life.
With his wife Libby, they sold their home, donated most of their stuff, and bought an RV. They drove west into the sunset, took a couple of months to catch their breath, and then started to work from the road.
Pete now coaches pastors and business owners/leaders in communications and self-care. He is also the host of the podcast Kindavangelical, a podcast for folks who have spent time in the evangelical culture but it isn’t working for them anymore.
Learn more about Pete on his website: www.petebriscoe.org
MENTIONED IN THE PODCAST * Kindavangelical Podcast * The Christian Journey
MUSIC USED IN PODCAST * Music Break at 31:40 - Gratitude by Scott Lamlein. * Music Break at 56:05 - Luminous Night of the Soul by Ola Gjeilo. Performed by Central Washington University Chamber Choir.
SUPPORT THE PODCAST Please consider a gift to support our ministry. We have a few ways to make it easy for you:
- Use our Donation Page on our Website
- Donate using our new App
- Send by mail (Potter’s Inn, PO Box 35, Divide, Colorado 80814 - make sure you make note that your gift is for the podcast)
FIND US ON FACEBOOK AND INSTAGRAM
- Soul Care Conversations Group Page
- Potter’s Inn Main FB Page
CONTACT US
podcast@pottersinn.com
INTERESTED IN MORE SOUL CARE RESOURCES?
Check out our recommended reading, books on spiritual growth, and our soul care blog. Want to experience soul care in person? Learn more about our soul care intensives and retreats.
I have learned to prize holy ignorance more highly than religious certainty and to seek companions who have arrived at the same place. We are a motley crew, distinguished not only by our inability to explain ourselves to those who are more certain of their beliefs than we are but in many cases by our distance from the centers of our faith communities as well. Like campers who have bonded over cook fires far from home, we remain grateful for the provisions that we have brought with us from those cupboards, but we also find them more delicious when we share them with one another under the stars.
—Barbara Brown Taylor
_____________________________________________________
“Bible-believing religious people often miss the gospel. Just because you believe in the Bible doesn't mean you understand it. Over and over the tax collectors, prostitutes, and the amoral come to Jesus, while the religious miss who he is.”
These are the words of well known and lived Tim Keller. Steve and Brandon Cook explore how our view and opinions about the Bible ought to grow and deepen as we grow and deepen!
About Brandon Cook
Brandon is a husband and father and passionate about family and relationships. He is also a writer, trainer, and business/personal coach.
Originally from Alabama, he attended Wheaton College (IL) and studied in Jerusalem, Israel before graduating magna cum laude from Brandeis University near Boston. He also received a Master’s degree in ancient Judaism from Oxford University in the UK.
After graduate school, he moved to Long Beach, California and had an incredibly rich and transformative experience for over 14 years working as a pastor, coach, and trainer. Brandon and his wife Rebecca have three amazing children and now live in Brevard, North Carolina.
Brandon's Website
MUSIC
- Native Tongue by David Wilcox (from Into the Mystery, 2003)
- Lyrics
- Ancient Words by Michael W. Smith (from Worship Again, 2002)
- Lyrics
SUPPORT THE PODCAST Please consider a gift to support our ministry. We have a few ways to make it easy for you:
- Use our Donation Page on our Website
- Donate using our new App
- Send by mail (Potter’s Inn, PO Box 35, Divide, Colorado 80814 - make sure you make note that your gift is for the podcast)
FIND US ON FACEBOOK AND INSTAGRAM
- Soul Care Conversations Group Page
- Potter’s Inn Main FB Page
CONTACT US
podcast@pottersinn.com
INTERESTED IN MORE SOUL CARE RESOURCES?
Check out our recommended reading, books on spiritual growth, and our soul care blog. Want to experience soul care in person? Learn more about our soul care intensives and retreats.
Note From Steve: We are living in a day and age of distractions. We are bombarded with choices, options and desires. This podcast lays out the way to to cultivate peace and contentment. It's about practicing the daily Examen. This is an ancient practice developed by Ignatius of Loyola. He said this ONE spiritual practice would change your life for the good. It's true. My life has thoroughly changed by learning to incorporate this one spiritual practice. It's my final recommendation for the summer.
SHOW NOTES The art of reflecting on our day is almost a lost art in our busy and over-committed life. However, in this week’s podcast, Steve explores an ancient spiritual exercise called The Daily Examen. In this podcast, Steve walks us through five easy steps used to reflect back upon our day, to see where God was in our midst that we might have missed because of our busyness, and to foster a heart of gratitude.
RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THE PODCAST * Five Steps to the Daily Examen * Moment to Breathe: Matthew 11: 28-30 (MSG)
SUPPORT THE PODCAST
We have two ways to make it easy for you:
- Use our Donation Page on our Website
- Donate using our new App
CONTACT US
podcast@pottersinn.com
INTERESTED IN MORE SOUL CARE RESOURCES?
Check out our recommended reading, books on spiritual growth, and our soul care blog. Want to experience soul care in person? Learn more about our soul care intensives and retreats.
Note From Steve: This conversation for me was like having a trusted friend do the deep excavation of my heart. There is nothing like a good question to allow one to feel safe and begin to open up. Steve Macchia and I had a lovely conversation which I commend to you this summer. There's a lot in this wide ranging conversation. I hope you'll enjoy!
SHOW NOTES I (Steve) recently sat down with Steve Macchia of Leadership Transformations to have an honest conversation and assess where we are today in light of all that has been happening.
I was able to reflect backwards and think forward through Steve Macchia’s thoughtful questions. I felt liberty to just open my heart; this podcast is the result. I hope you’ll find the space to listen.
We want to thank Steve Macchia and Leadership Transformations, Inc (LTI) for allowing us to edit and air this episode (Season 15, Episode 3).
- The Discerning Leader Podcast
MENTIONED IN PODCAST * The Jesus Life by Stephen W. Smith * SOLO: Creating Space with God by Stephen W. Smith and Peter Ivey * Divine Conspiracy by Dallas Willard * The State of my Soul * Psalm 103
MUSIC USED IN PODCAST * First Music Break at 17:24: Till That Blessed Day by JOYSPRING. From the Album Quiet My Soul. With Permission from Epidemic Sound. * Second Music Break at 49:31: Abide with Me (Arr. Cleobury) - Performed by Choir of King's College, Cambridge.
SUPPORT THE PODCAST
We have two ways to make it easy for you:
- Use our Donation Page on our Website
- Donate using our new App
CONTACT US
podcast@pottersinn.com
INTERESTED IN MORE SOUL CARE RESOURCES?
Check out our recommended reading, books on spiritual growth, and our soul care blog. Want to experience soul care in person? Learn more about our soul care intensives and retreats.
NOTE FROM STEVE: I love this particular podcast because it is foundational to understanding the care of the soul. In this podcast, I explain what the soul is and how we can participate in the caring for our soul. As I’ve said , this message is needed because the message of soul care gets lost in our busyness and all the issues of life hitting us day by day!
I hope you’ll listen and pass this along to a few friends you think could really benefit by listening to it!
Summer blessings!
Steve
SHOW NOTES Join co-hosts Steve Smith and Joe Chambers as they give more definition to what soul care is and how it relates to icebergs and the Brooklyn Bridge! Steve Smith shows us the stress of living divided lives and lays out the importance of caring for all aspects of the human experience: physical, emotional, relational, vocational, and spiritual. Plus enjoy an interview with Joe Walters, head of the Soul Care Institute and learn how you can take part in a 2 year journey to better soul health.
LINKS AND RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THE PODCAST * Understanding the Soul with Icebergs: View and Download * Article: Five Reasons Soul Care Matters by Stephen W. Smith: View and Download * Poem: For One Who Is Exhausted by John O’Donohue. This poem is available in his book To Bless The Space Between Us: A Book of Blessings. Learn more about John O’Donohue at www.johnodonohue.com
BOOKS RECOMMENDED * The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk M.D. * Conjectures of a Guilty Bystander by Thomas Merton * Building Below the Waterline: Shoring Up the Foundations of Leadership by Gordon MacDonald
SUPPORT THE PODCAST Donate Here for an individual contribution.
CONTACT US podcast@pottersinn.com
INTERESTED IN MORE SOUL CARE RESOURCES? Check out our recommended reading, books on spiritual growth, and our soul care blog. Want to experience soul care in person? Learn more about our soul care intensives and retreats.
FROM STEVE: Until we answer life’s deepest questions, we will remain stuck— unable to live with freedom and vitality. This podcast is one where Gwen and I explore three core questions. Remember this: we can never hear this message too much because living with soul and by soul is counter cultural and for many, counter intuitive!
SHOW NOTES In this episode we join Steve and Gwen for two sessions of their Soul Care 101 course recorded at the retreat center known as Potter’s Inn at Aspen Ridge. Enjoy this fireside conversation with pops and crackles from the fireplace, as they examine the three core questions of every soul. In the first session they talk about:
Question 1 - Am I Loved?
Every person everywhere wants to know if they are loved. Some (or all) of us may have love wounds where we either didn’t get the love we needed or we looked for love in all the wrong places. Learn what it means to be beloved and how to rest in the truth of God’s love for us.
Question 2 - Am I Safe?
What fears do we carry with us that shape us? How do these fears affect our image of God? If we don’t feel safe how does that affect how we relate to others? Also it’s good to ask, am I a safe person? Do I listen to others or am I quick to judge?
Question 3 - Do I Belong?
It is evident from an early age that we all want to belong to a group, a community. Where are we finding our safe community? Is it the right place? Are we able to be our true selves there or do we feel that we have to act or look a certain way? Do we change our behavior depending on where we are or who we are with?
RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THE PODCAST * Download a Study Guide for Question 1 and Questions 2 and 3 * Soul Care 101 Course * Scripture reading: Deuteronomy 7:7-9 * Moment to Breathe: The Inner Voice by Henri Nouwen. Read the excerpt here. * Why Am I Afraid to Tell You Who I Am? by John Powell
SUPPORT THE PODCAST Donate Here for an individual contribution.
CONTACT US podcast@pottersinn.com
This is a way of praying that just helps! And help is what most of us seem to need these days. How do we find words to form in prayer when we are knotted up inside; when we are speechless? The Welcome Prayer is a prayer of letting go and holding palms up in sweet surrender. I use this prayer often and this podcast is about learning to mouth the words and find meaning each time we pray it! Enjoy!
MENTIONED IN PODCAST * The Welcome Prayer by Father Thomas Keating * Matthew 6:5-13 (The Message) * Lectio Divina
SUPPORT THE PODCAST Donate Here for an individual contribution.
CONTACT US podcast@pottersinn.com
INTERESTED IN MORE SOUL CARE RESOURCES? Check out our recommended reading, books on spiritual growth, and our soul care blog. Want to experience soul care in person? Learn more about our soul care intensives and retreats.
FROM STEVE: I consider Belden Lane to Be among the most important voices in the 21st century. For the next two weeks listen deeply to his wisdom and insight. I relish in his books and find him to be among the most authentic voices I've ever heard!
**SPECIAL GUEST BELDEN C. LANE** Belden and his dog Joey
Belden C. Lane is a Presbyterian theologian who teaches on a Jesuit faculty at Saint Louis University. His interests include the relationship between geography and faith, wilderness backpacking in the Ozarks, the magic of storytelling, desert spirituality, exposing students to urban poverty through the Catholic Worker community, and the poetry of Rumi. He also works with men, helping to lead initiation rites through Richard Rohr's program for Men as Learners and Elders in Albuquerque.
He lives with his wife Patricia, a spiritual director and retired school teacher, in Saint Louis. Drawn to sacred places around the world, his travels have involved camping in Egypt, Ireland and the Virgin Islands; hiking in Greece, Hawaii, and Australia; and study in England, Israel and Mexico. For six years I served in the pastorate, from a village parish in western New York State to the historic First Presbyterian Church of Philadelphia. Some time ago he found himself delightfully introduced as a *Presbyterian minister teaching at a Roman Catholic university telling Jewish stories* at the Vedanta Society.
More about Belden
Belden’s Books:
- The Solace of Fierce Landscapes: Exploring Desert and Mountain Spirituality
- Ravished by Beauty: The Surprising Legacy of Reformed Spirituality
- Backpacking with the Saints: Wilderness Hiking as Spiritual Practice
- The Great Conversation: Nature and the Care of the Soul
MENTIONED IN PODCAST * + Apophatic and Cataphatic Tradition + Walter Brueggemann on Psalms of Disorientation + Richard Rohr’s Center for Action and Contemplation + Illuman - Richard Rohr Ministry for Men + Paula D’Arcy - Red Bird Foundation + Paula D’Arcy’s book The Gift of the Red Bird
**CONTACT US**
podcast@pottersinn.com
INTERESTED IN MORE SOUL CARE RESOURCES?
Check out our recommended reading, books on spiritual growth, and our soul care blog. Want to experience soul care in person? Learn more about our soul care intensives and retreats.
FROM STEVE: I consider Belden Lane to Be among the most important voices in the 21st century. For the next two weeks listen deeply to his wisdom and insight. I relish in his books and find him to be among the most authentic voices I've ever heard!
**SPECIAL GUEST BELDEN C. LANE** *Belden and his dog Joey*
Belden C. Lane is a Presbyterian theologian who teaches on a Jesuit faculty at Saint Louis University. His interests include the relationship between geography and faith, wilderness backpacking in the Ozarks, the magic of storytelling, desert spirituality, exposing students to urban poverty through the Catholic Worker community, and the poetry of Rumi. He also works with men, helping to lead initiation rites through Richard Rohr's program for Men as Learners and Elders in Albuquerque.
He lives with his wife Patricia, a spiritual director and retired school teacher, in Saint Louis. Drawn to sacred places around the world, his travels have involved camping in Egypt, Ireland and the Virgin Islands; hiking in Greece, Hawaii, and Australia; and study in England, Israel and Mexico. For six years I served in the pastorate, from a village parish in western New York State to the historic First Presbyterian Church of Philadelphia. Some time ago he found himself delightfully introduced as a *Presbyterian minister teaching at a Roman Catholic university telling Jewish stories* at the Vedanta Society.
More about Belden
Belden’s Books:
- The Solace of Fierce Landscapes: Exploring Desert and Mountain Spirituality
- Ravished by Beauty: The Surprising Legacy of Reformed Spirituality
- Backpacking with the Saints: Wilderness Hiking as Spiritual Practice
- The Great Conversation: Nature and the Care of the Soul
MENTIONED IN PODCAST * Richard Rohr quote “from disorder to reorder to new order” - from his book The Wisdom Pattern: Order, Disorder, Reorder. * Thomas Berry book on the Great Conversation - Befriending the Earth: A Theology of Reconciliation Between Humans and the Earth * SNEAK PEAK: 30 Days with the Potter Devotional reading - Foundational Love of God (Text)
CONTACT US
podcast@pottersinn.com
INTERESTED IN MORE SOUL CARE RESOURCES?
Check out our recommended reading, books on spiritual growth, and our soul care blog. Want to experience soul care in person? Learn more about our soul care intensives and retreats.
**NOTE FROM STEVE:**
We all need spiritual diodes to help us find the way. I consider Trevor to be a Spiritual Master. In todays world, I am suspicious of people who are not credible-- who are too young, too inexperienced and too unbroken. The voices I trust and listen to are seasoned women and men who know the landscape of the inner journey. Trevor Hudson is one voice I trust and respect. His two podcasts are stellar and should be listened to many times. Repetition is the mother of all learning!
Steve
**ABOUT OUR GUEST** **Trevor Hudson** has been part of the Methodist movement for over 40 years. Serving primarily around Johannesburg, he is deeply committed to the work of spiritual formation within local congregational contexts. A significant part of his weekly work presently consists of leading people through the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius and offering spiritual direction. Besides his local commitments, Trevor travels widely, preaching and teaching. He lectures at Fuller Seminary, the Renovaré Institute, the Dallas Willard Center for Christian Spiritual Formation, and the Jesuit Institute in South Africa. He is the author of 22 books including *Discovering Your Spiritual Identity* (IVP) and *Beyond Loneliness* (Upper Room). His most recent book is ***Seeking God-Finding Another Kind of Life* *with St. Ignatius and Dallas Willard*.**
RESOURCES MENTIONED IN PODCASTS * Episode 10: Discernment: The Journey to Discover God’s Will * Episode 12: Cultivating Daily Shalom: Using the Daily Examen * Dallas Willard
MUSIC USED IN PODCAST PART 1 * Music Break at 22:50: Mellow Celtic Style Acoustic Duet - Envato Elements * Music Break at 37:49: Beautiful Choir Requiem – Blue Sky Audio
PART 2 * Music Break at 16:27: Gregorian Chant - Artist unknown * Music Break at 32:08: Beautiful Choir Requiem – Blue Sky Audio
FIND US ON FACEBOOK AND INSTAGRAM
- Soul Care Conversations Group Page
- Potter’s Inn Main FB Page
CONTACT US
podcast@pottersinn.com
INTERESTED IN MORE SOUL CARE RESOURCES?
Check out our recommended reading, books on spiritual growth, and our soul care blog. Want to experience soul care in person? Learn more about our soul care intensives and retreats.
Steve's Podcast List for Summer 2023
If there is one podcast that defines my life message and legacy, surely it is this one. This has the key to unlock all the years of trying and performance to get it right. I explore why reading the “red letters of Jesus “ is so important and some thoughts to inspire us upward and onward!
Could you PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW AND THEN SHARE THIS WITH FIVE OF YOUR FRIENDS WHO NEED IT? We would appreciate it!
MENTIONED IN PODCAST * SOLO: Creating Space with God by Stephen W. Smith and Peter M. Ivey * The Jesus Life by Stephen W. Smith * Pray as you Go - APP for Lectio Divina
MUSIC USED IN PODCAST * Music Break at 33:36 My Yoke Is Easy by John Michael Talbot
CONTACT US
podcast@pottersinn.com
INTERESTED IN MORE SOUL CARE RESOURCES?
Check out our recommended reading, books on spiritual growth, and our soul care blog. Want to experience soul care in person? Learn more about our soul care intensives and retreats
The trapeze artist free falls into the hands of trust and love. Jesus let go, while on the cross and surrendered his life into good hands of his Father. — Henri Nouwen SHOW NOTES It’s hard work to let go. Ask Moses, Peter, Paul, Mary the mother of Jesus, or really—any character in the Scriptures. Like it or not, letting go is one of the big scholastic courses you sign up for in being born.
Today we explore Letting Go—it all comes together in our May Issue of our new resource, the Soul Care Ezine. Steve talks about how the whole process of Letting Go is such an important part of your own soul journey.
This episode is the final one for this season. We will be taking a break this summer, but will be back in the Fall with more podcasts!
MENTIONED IN PODCAST * Read Issue 2 of the Soul Care Ezine on Letting Go * Poem read by Steve - The Welcome Prayer by Father Thomas Keating * Subscribe to the Soul Care Ezine * Pay it Forward - Donate to the Soul Care Ezine
MUSIC USED IN PODCAST * Music Break at 38:46 - Cathedral of the Pines by Tim Janis · from Flowers in October * Music Break at 45:25 - I Won’t Break by Elyssa Smith
SUPPORT THE PODCAST Please consider a gift to support our ministry. We have a few ways to make it easy for you:
- Use our Donation Page on our Website
- Donate using our new App
- Send by mail (Potter’s Inn, PO Box 35, Divide, Colorado 80814 - make sure you make note that your gift is for the podcast)
FIND US ON FACEBOOK AND INSTAGRAM
- Soul Care Conversations Group Page
- Potter’s Inn Main FB Page
CONTACT US
podcast@pottersinn.com
INTERESTED IN MORE SOUL CARE RESOURCES?
Check out our recommended reading, books on spiritual growth, and our soul care blog. Want to experience soul care in person? Learn more about our soul care intensives and retreats.
We carry these desires, our deepest longings, with us. It’s part of what it means to be human, and they are drivers in our lives whether or not we acknowledge them. — Jeff Crosby SHOW NOTES Today’s guest is Jeff Crosby, the author of the new book (releases May 23, 2023) Language of the Soul. For over fifteen years, Jeff has been searching for a language of the soul--a way to articulate our deepest longings. Through the years he gathered clues from within global music styles, from different cultures, from his own Christian tradition and its sacred texts--and from deep within himself.
Jeff explores the ways in which God meets us in our deepest longings of the heart – our longing for home, friendship, forgiveness, spiritual transformation, and more – not by satisfying our every desire but by granting us what we genuinely need.
SPECIAL GUEST JEFF CROSBY Jeff Crosby is the president and CEO of ECPA, the trade association of Christian publishing, and has spent nearly four decades working in the world of words as a bookseller, publisher, and author. His writing has appeared in numerous magazines and journals including CRUX, Conversations Journal, Books & Culture, Urban Faith, and Living Lutheran. He is the editor and compiler of "Days of Grace Through the Year" (a collection of writings by Lewis B. Smedes) and the author of The Language of the Soul, which is released May 23, 2023.
Crosby earned an undergraduate degree in journalism and a master's degree in leadership development, where his area of special emphasis was creating mentoring cultures in organizations. He has been married to Cindy Crosby, a writer, educator, and naturalist, for more than 40 years, and has two grown children and six grandchildren.
You can find more at JeffreyCrosby.net.
MENTIONED IN PODCAST * The Language of the Soul: Meeting God in the Longings of our Heart by Jeff Crosby * Jeff’s Website
MUSIC USED IN PODCAST * Music Break at 52:25 - Always With Me (Song for Anxiety) - IAMSON
SUPPORT THE PODCAST Please consider a gift to support our ministry. We have a few ways to make it easy for you:
- Use our Donation Page on our Website
- Donate using our new App
- Send by mail (Potter’s Inn, PO Box 35, Divide, Colorado 80814 - make sure you make note that your gift is for the podcast)
FIND US ON FACEBOOK AND INSTAGRAM Facebook
- Soul Care Conversations Group Page
- Potter’s Inn Main FB Page
CONTACT US
podcast@pottersinn.com
INTERESTED IN MORE SOUL CARE RESOURCES? Check out our recommended reading, books on spiritual growth, and our soul care blog. Want to experience soul care in person? Learn more about our soul care intensives and retreats.
Be responsible, serve, and protect. — Kyle Meyaard-Schaap SHOW NOTES Have you ever looked at the effects of climate change and the apathy of so many around you and wondered, "What are we missing here?"
Today’s guest Kyle Meyaard-Schaap understands this feeling from personal experience. He is the author of the recently released book, Following Jesus in a Warming World, a field guide for Christian climate action. Steve and Kyle discuss the book and how climate change should not be grounded in a sense of guilt or drudgery, but in the joy of caring for creation.
Thank you for joining us today!
SPECIAL GUEST KYLE MEYAARD-SCHAAP Kyle is vice-president of the Evangelical Environmental Network. Previously, he was the national organizer and spokesperson for Young Evangelicals for Climate Action, and he has been featured in news outlets such as CNN, PBS, NPR, NBC News, and U.S. News & World Report. He lives in Grand Rapids, Michigan, with his wife and two children.
Kyle’s Website (Order his new book, read more of his bio, and contact him directly) https://kylemeyaardschaap.com/
MENTIONED IN PODCAST * Climate Vigil Songs from The Porter’s Gate * Kyle’s Website * Genesis 1 (MSG) * Download Beauty and Nature Reader for $1
MUSIC USED IN PODCAST * Music Break at 58:47 - My Father's World by Jadon Lavik · from Roots Run Deep
SUPPORT THE PODCAST Please consider a gift to support our ministry. We have a few ways to make it easy for you:
- Use our Donation Page on our Website
- Donate using our new App
- Send by mail (Potter’s Inn, PO Box 35, Divide, Colorado 80814 - make sure you make note that your gift is for the podcast)
FIND US ON FACEBOOK AND INSTAGRAM Facebook
- Soul Care Conversations Group Page
- Potter’s Inn Main FB Page
CONTACT US podcast@pottersinn.com
INTERESTED IN MORE SOUL CARE RESOURCES? Check out our recommended reading, books on spiritual growth, and our soul care blog. Want to experience soul care in person? Learn more about our soul care intensives and retreats.
“There is no house like the house of belonging.” — David Whyte SHOW NOTES Every soul needs to belong. We look for our sense of belonging in our families, tribes, nations, and friendships
Today we explore the place of our home—that place where you actually live and the role and influences that this place has on our spiritual lives.
It all comes together in our new resource, the Soul Care Ezine. Steve shares why we decided to create the Ezine, what will be included in each issue, and how it can be a part of your own soul journey.
MENTIONED IN PODCAST * The House of Belonging by David Whyte * Subscribe to the Soul Care Ezine * Pay it Forward - Donate to the Soul Care Ezine
MUSIC USED IN PODCAST * Music Break at 26:33 - Resurrexi by Juliano Ravanello · from Music of Silence: Gregorian Chants
We are continuing the conversation today with Steve and Roger Housden. It was Roger who opened the portal for Steve to get and understand poetry. Roger is a prolific writer, poet, speaker and teacher and speaks with a grace and appreciation of self-discovery and exploration . Thank you for joining us today!
Our Special Guest - Roger Housden Roger Housden is an author and has been featured many times in The Oprah Magazine, The New York Times, and the Los Angeles Times. His first book was published in the U.K. in 1990, and as of 2018, he has published twenty six books, including four travel books, a novella, Chasing Love and Revelation, and the best-selling Ten Poems series, which began in 2001 with Ten Poems to Change Your Life and ended with the publication in 2018 of Ten Poems for Difficult Times. A native of England, he lives in Marin County, California, and teaches around the world.
- Roger’s Website
- Roger’s Books
Mentioned in Podcast Come Before Winter Retreat
A Brief for the Defense by Jack Gilbert
Sorrow everywhere. Slaughter everywhere. If babies are not starving someplace, they are starving somewhere else. With flies in their nostrils. But we enjoy our lives because that’s what God wants. Otherwise the mornings before summer dawn would not be made so fine. The Bengal tiger would not be fashioned so miraculously well. The poor women at the fountain are laughing together between the suffering they have known and the awfulness in their future, smiling and laughing while somebody in the village is very sick. There is laughter every day in the terrible streets of Calcutta, and the women laugh in the cages of Bombay. If we deny our happiness, resist our satisfaction, we lessen the importance of their deprivation. We must risk delight. We can do without pleasure, but not delight. Not enjoyment. We must have the stubbornness to accept our gladness in the ruthless furnace of this world. To make injustice the only measure of our attention is to praise the Devil. If the locomotive of the Lord runs us down, we should give thanks that the end had magnitude. We must admit there will be music despite everything. We stand at the prow again of a small ship anchored late at night in the tiny port looking over to the sleeping island: the waterfront is three shuttered cafés and one naked light burning. To hear the faint sound of oars in the silence as a rowboat comes slowly out and then goes back is truly worth all the years of sorrow that are to come.
————-
From Collected Poems by Jack Gilbert. Copyright © 2012.
Unholy Sonnet 11 by Mark Jarman
Half asleep in prayer I said the right thing
And felt a sudden pleasure come into
The room or my own body. In the dark,
Charged with a change of atmosphere, at first
I couldn’t tell my body from the room.
And I was wide awake, full of this feeling,
Alert as though I’d heard a doorknob twist,
A drawer pulled, and instead of terror knew
The intrusion of an overwhelming joy.
I had said thanks and this was the response.
But how I said it or what I said it for
I still cannot recall and I have tried
All sorts of ways all hours of the night.
Once was enough to be dissatisfied.
——————
From Questions for Ecclesiastes by Mark Jarman. Copyright © 1997.
MUSIC USED IN PODCAST * Music Break at 47:35 - Armenian Tradition: Surb (Holy, Holy, Holy) - Performed by Harpa Dei.
SUPPORT THE PODCAST Please consider a gift to support our ministry. We have a few ways to make it easy for you:
- Use our Donation Page on our Website
- Donate using our new App
- Send by mail (Potter’s Inn, PO Box 35, Divide, Colorado 80814 - make sure you make note that your gift is for the podcast)
FIND US ON FACEBOOK AND INSTAGRAM
- Soul Care Conversations Group Page
- Potter’s Inn Main FB Page
CONTACT US
podcast@pottersinn.com
INTERESTED IN MORE SOUL CARE RESOURCES?
Check out our recommended reading, books on spiritual growth, and our soul care blog. Want to experience soul care in person? Learn more about our soul care intensives and retreats.
Todays podcast has very special meaning for Steve as he had the opportunity to speak with Roger Housden. It was Roger who opened the portal for Steve to get and understand poetry. He’s a prolific writer and poet and the podcast became a soul enriching experience. We pray you are enriched as well!
OUR SPECIAL GUEST - ROGER HOUSDEN Roger Housden is an author and has been featured many times in The Oprah Magazine, The New York Times, and the Los Angeles Times. His first book was published in the U.K. in 1990, and as of 2018, he has published twenty six books, including four travel books, a novella, Chasing Love and Revelation, and the best-selling Ten Poems series, which began in 2001 with Ten Poems to Change Your Life and ended with the publication in 2018 of Ten Poems for Difficult Times. A native of England, he lives in Marin County, California, and teaches around the world.
- Roger’s Website
- Roger’s Books
MUSIC USED IN PODCAST * Music Break at 38:13 - Minha Alma tem Sede de Deus (My soul thirsts for God) - with Juliano Ravanello.
LYRICS (in English)
My soul thirsts for God
And longs for the living God
Pilgrim and happy walking
To the house of God
Amid shouts, praise and joy
Of the jubilant multitude
Send your light your truth
They will be my guide
Lead me to your holy mountain
To your dwelling place
Then I will go to the altars of the Lord
God of my joy
I will sing Your praise with the sound of the harp
My Lord and my God
When I shall have the joy of seeing
The face of God.
SUPPORT THE PODCAST Please consider a gift to support our ministry. We have a few ways to make it easy for you:
- Use our Donation Page on our Website
- Donate using our new App
- Send by mail (Potter’s Inn, PO Box 35, Divide, Colorado 80814 - make sure you make note that your gift is for the podcast)
FIND US ON FACEBOOK AND INSTAGRAM
- Soul Care Conversations Group Page
- Potter’s Inn Main FB Page
CONTACT US
podcast@pottersinn.com
INTERESTED IN MORE SOUL CARE RESOURCES?
Check out our recommended reading, books on spiritual growth, and our soul care blog. Want to experience soul care in person? Learn more about our soul care intensives and retreats.
We are continuing the conversation with Steve in Part 2 of 12 Foundations to Care for your Soul.
STEVE: These days, I find myself bothered by multiple voices all trying to be heard. I’m realizing that the only voices I want to, need to and trust these days are the ones who have credibility. They must have lived life; revealed a brokenness in their souls and walk with a limp to have credibility. I need to just pass on the many social influencers and newbies yelling through their posts to be heard. I find myself growing deaf to such clamor. How about you?
Thank you for joining us today!
Resources Mentioned in Podcast * The Jesus Life by Stephen W. Smith * Soul Custody by Stephen W. Smith * Inside Job by Stephen W. Smith
Podcasts on Dignity
- Ep. 10: Exploring Dignity of the Soul
- Ep. 59: Dignity Matters!
MUSIC USED IN PODCAST * Music Break at 21:48 - Guardai-me ó Deus - with Juliano Ravanello.
LYRICS (in English)
Keep me, O God, because in you I take refuge!
Keep me, O God, because in you I take refuge!
O Lord, you are my inheritance and my cup My destiny is safe in your hands I always have the Lord before my eyes Because if I have you by my side, I do not hesitate
This is why my heart is in celebration
My soul rejoices with joy
And even my body at rest is calm
For you will not leave me delivered to death Nor will your friend know corruption
You teach me your way to life
Eternal delight and joy at your side
Together with you unlimited happiness
Eternal delight and joy at your side
Bless the Lord, O my soul
SUPPORT THE PODCAST Please consider a gift to support our ministry. We have a few ways to make it easy for you:
- Use our Donation Page on our Website
- Donate using our new App
- Send by mail (Potter’s Inn, PO Box 35, Divide, Colorado 80814 - make sure you make note that your gift is for the podcast)
FIND US ON FACEBOOK AND INSTAGRAM
- Soul Care Conversations Group Page
- Potter’s Inn Main FB Page
CONTACT US
podcast@pottersinn.com
INTERESTED IN MORE SOUL CARE RESOURCES?
Check out our recommended reading, books on spiritual growth, and our soul care blog. Want to experience soul care in person? Learn more about our soul care intensives and retreats.
Today’s podcast is with Steve, in a message that he felt could contribute to a deeper understanding of soul care.
These days, I find myself bothered by multiple voices all trying to be heard. I’m realizing that the only voices I want to, need to and trust these days are the ones who have credibility. They must have lived life; revealed a brokenness in their souls and walk with a limp to have credibility. I need to just pass on the many social influencers and newbies yelling through their posts to be heard. I find myself growing deaf to such clamor. How about you?
Thank you for joining us today!
RESOURCES MENTIONED IN PODCAST * The Jesus Life by Stephen W. Smith * Inside Job by Stephen W. Smith * Podcast on Body/Health: The Body-Soul Connection, Part 1 & Part 2 * Podcasts on Dignity
+ Ep. 10: Exploring Dignity of the Soul
+ Ep. 59: Dignity Matters!
MUSIC USED IN PODCAST * Music Break at 40:21 - Lento assai, cantante e tranquillo from String Quartet No. 16 in F Major Op. 135 - Written by Ludwig Van Beethoven · Performed by Danubius Quartet
SUPPORT THE PODCAST Please consider a gift to support our ministry. We have a few ways to make it easy for you:
- Use our Donation Page on our Website
- Donate using our new App
- Send by mail (Potter’s Inn, PO Box 35, Divide, Colorado 80814 - make sure you make note that your gift is for the podcast)
FIND US ON FACEBOOK AND INSTAGRAM
- Soul Care Conversations Group Page
- Potter’s Inn Main FB Page
CONTACT US
podcast@pottersinn.com
INTERESTED IN MORE SOUL CARE RESOURCES?
Check out our recommended reading, books on spiritual growth, and our soul care blog. Want to experience soul care in person? Learn more about our soul care intensives and retreats.
Many of us seemed hard wired to do, do, and do more. Changing this requires a long, slow rewiring of our minds at the cellular level.
It is not acquired by reading quotes, attending conferences or transferring an addiction of accomplishing more and more to the spiritual life.
Steve talks with author Alan Fadling about his beautiful book, A Year of Slowing Down: Daily Devotions for Unhurried Living
A year of slowing. I like it and you will also!
TODAY’S GUEST - ALAN FADLING Alan is a founding partner of Unhurried Living, Inc, a non-profit that trains people to rest deeper, live fuller and lead better. Alan is a trained spiritual director and leadership consultant, and the author of the award-winning books An Unhurried Life and An Unhurried Leader, which was honored with a Christianity Today Award of Merit in spirituality. He is also coauthor (with Gem Fadling) of What Does Your Soul Love?
- Learn more about Alan & his books, podcast, coaching, and Unhurried Living on his website - www.unhurriedliving.com
RESOURCES MENTIONED IN PODCAST * A Year of Slowing Down: Daily Devotions for Unhurried Living by Alan Fadling * Unhurried Living, Inc.
MUSIC USED IN PODCAST * Music Break at 33:23: Sanctus (De Angelis) - Juliano Ravanello * Music Break at 50:21: Heavenly Violin - Beautiful Relaxing Violin Music
SUPPORT THE PODCAST Please consider a gift to support our ministry. We have a few ways to make it easy for you:
- Use our Donation Page on our Website
- Donate using our new App
- Send by mail (Potter’s Inn, PO Box 35, Divide, Colorado 80814 - make sure you make note that your gift is for the podcast)
FIND US ON FACEBOOK AND INSTAGRAM
- Soul Care Conversations Group Page
- Potter’s Inn Main FB Page
CONTACT US
podcast@pottersinn.com
INTERESTED IN MORE SOUL CARE RESOURCES?
Check out our recommended reading, books on spiritual growth, and our soul care blog. Want to experience soul care in person? Learn more about our soul care intensives and retreats.
Today we are continuing the conversation with special guest Wesley Vander Lugt and Steve, as they continue to discuss beauty as oxygen and Kinshop Plot, a mission that is all about the deep belonging, resonant relationships, and entangled identities that bring us fully alive.
Thanks for joining us in today’s conversation!
TODAY’S GUEST - WESLEY VANDER LUGT Wes is a pastor, theologian, writer, educator, nonprofit leader, and arts advocate with a passion for beauty, slowness, cultivation, kinship, and theodramatics.
Wes currently works as the Acting Director of the Leighton Ford Center for Theology, the Arts, and Gospel Witness and Adjunct Professor of Theology at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in Charlotte. He is also the Co-Founder of Kinship Plot, a community of learning and practice who imagine and embody resonant relationships of every kind.
Wes holds a PhD in Theology, Imagination, and the Arts from the University of St Andrews. His publications include Living Theodrama: Reimagining Theological Ethics, and he is currently working on a book called Beauty is Oxygen: How Buffered, Battered, and Bored Souls Can Breathe Again.
- Learn more about Wes on his website - www.WesleyVanderLugt.com
RESOURCES MENTIONED IN PODCAST * Kinship Plot - founded by Wes and his wife Stephanie
MUSIC USED IN PODCAST * Music Break at 16:05: Serse (Xerxes), HWV 40: Larghetto - from the Album Klassiska Favoriter * Music Break at 33:43: Create In Me- written by Terry Talbot.
SUPPORT THE PODCAST Please consider a gift to support our ministry. We have a few ways to make it easy for you:
- Use our Donation Page on our Website
- Donate using our new App
- Send by mail (Potter’s Inn, PO Box 35, Divide, Colorado 80814 - make sure you make note that your gift is for the podcast)
FIND US ON FACEBOOK AND INSTAGRAM
- Soul Care Conversations Group Page
- Potter’s Inn Main FB Page
Oxygen is essential to our survival. Did you ever think that Beauty might also be essential to our survival? Special guest Wesley Vander Lugt and Steve dig deep into how Beauty is not just about decoration in our lives or as an illustration of truth, but something deep in us that longs to not only enjoy beauty, but to be drawn into it and participate in it.
Thanks for joining us in today’s conversation.
TODAY’S GUEST - WESLEY VANDER LUGT Wes is a pastor, theologian, writer, educator, nonprofit leader, and arts advocate with a passion for beauty, slowness, cultivation, kinship, and theodramatics.
Wes currently works as the Acting Director of the Leighton Ford Center for Theology, the Arts, and Gospel Witness and Adjunct Professor of Theology at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in Charlotte. He is also the Co-Founder of Kinship Plot, a community of learning and practice who imagine and embody resonant relationships of every kind.
Wes holds a PhD in Theology, Imagination, and the Arts from the University of St Andrews. His publications include Living Theodrama: Reimagining Theological Ethics, and he is currently working on a book called Beauty is Oxygen: How Buffered, Battered, and Bored Souls Can Breathe Again.
- Learn more about Wes on his website - www.WesleyVanderLugt.com
RESOURCES MENTIONED IN PODCAST * Kinship Plot - founded by Wes and his wife Stephanie
MUSIC USED IN PODCAST * Music Break at 20:35: Peace - Unknown * Music Break at 47:32: Miserere mei - composed by Gregorio Allegri. Performed by New College Choir, Oxford.
SUPPORT THE PODCAST Please consider a gift to support our ministry. We have a few ways to make it easy for you:
- Use our Donation Page on our Website
- Donate using our new App
- Send by mail (Potter’s Inn, PO Box 35, Divide, Colorado 80814 - make sure you make note that your gift is for the podcast)
FIND US ON FACEBOOK AND INSTAGRAM
- Soul Care Conversations Group Page
- Potter’s Inn Main FB Page
We are approaching a new season. The days will get longer now. The darkness will be more and more dispelled. The days of Lent are near. Easter is coming, but not yet.
Lent is a time for self-examination and reflection - it is the 40 days leading up to Easter. In these 40 days, we are invited to look deeper and to look within. It's a time of humbling ourselves and recognizing what is most dead in us -- and with that, what needs to come alive in us!
And that is why Potter’s Inn and Steve has created a resource that will guide you in those 40 days of self-examination and reflection, called 40 Days, 40 Miles, 40 Questions: A Lenten Journey.
On today’s podcast episode, Steve explains this new resource in depth and why 40 Questions in 40 Miles for 40 Days: A Lenten Journey is a spiritual practice that engages the body, heart, mind, and soul.
Thanks for joining us today!
RESOURCES MENTIONED IN PODCAST * 40 Days, 40 Miles, 40 Questions: A Lenten Journey by Stephen W. Smith
MUSIC USED IN PODCAST * Music Break at 25:50: Agnus Dei from Missa Papae Marcelli from the album Classical Music for Contemplation.
SUPPORT THE PODCAST Please consider a gift to support our ministry. We have a few ways to make it easy for you:
- Use our Donation Page on our Website
- Donate using our new App
- Send by mail (Potter’s Inn, PO Box 35, Divide, Colorado 80814 - make sure you make note that your gift is for the podcast)
FIND US ON FACEBOOK AND INSTAGRAM
- Soul Care Conversations Group Page
- Potter’s Inn Main FB Page
CONTACT US
podcast@pottersinn.com
INTERESTED IN MORE SOUL CARE RESOURCES?
Check out our recommended reading, books on spiritual growth, and our soul care blog. Want to experience soul care in person? Learn more about our soul care intensives and retreats.
Aspen trees are a beautiful sight in the Western US. But did you know you will never find an aspen tree growing alone in a natural setting? Aspen trees grow in community. Their roots are intertwined under the ground, making a grove of trees into one big tree.
The story of Lazarus echoes the spiritual lesson of the aspen grove: we cannot grow alone. We were never meant to remain alone as we emerge from the tomb. As we learn from Lazarus, we see that our roots intertwine with others. Jesus calls us to embrace a “grove” of people and allow a community of friends to help us change.
Join us in this conversation on the importance of community in each of our lives.
RESOURCES MENTIONED IN PODCAST The Lazarus Life: Spiritual Transformation for Ordinary People by Stephen W. Smith
- John 1:14
- Luke 10:34-35 MSG
-
Romans 15:7
-
John 11:43
- Philippians 2:1-4 MSG
- I Kings 6:24-33
MUSIC USED IN PODCAST * Music Break at 42:45: Bring Us, O Lord God by William Harris - performed by VOCES8.
SUPPORT THE PODCAST Please consider a gift to support our ministry. We have a few ways to make it easy for you:
- Use our Donation Page on our Website
- Donate using our new App
- Send by mail (Potter’s Inn, PO Box 35, Divide, Colorado 80814 - make sure you make note that your gift is for the podcast)
FIND US ON FACEBOOK AND INSTAGRAM
- Soul Care Conversations Group Page
- Potter’s Inn Main FB Page
CONTACT US
podcast@pottersinn.com
How do we live with difficult people and how do we live when we’ve been hurt in a relationship? Today Joe Chambers is reading from Steve’s book “The Jesus Life” and it unpacks those very subjects. It’s Steve at his most raw, honest, and vulnerable.
Thank you for joining us for this challenging discussion!
RESOURCES MENTIONED IN PODCAST * The Jesus Life: Eight Ways to Recover Authentic Christianity by Stephen W. Smith * John 2:24 NIV * Mark 3:13 NIV * Ps. 8:3-4 MSG * Eph. 1:4 MSG * John 15:15 MSG * Mark 3:14 NIV * Gen 2:18 NIV * Luke 24:32 MSG * Acts 17:27 MSG * Luke 18:15-17 MSG * Matt. 15:19-20 NIV * John 2:23-25 NIV * Psm. 133:1 NIV * Romans 15:7 NIV
MUSIC USED IN PODCAST * Music Break at 44:51: What A Friend We Have In Jesus - Hymns Of Comfort from the Classic Worship Series. Performed by Eric Wyse & Paul Nelson
SUPPORT THE PODCAST Please consider a gift to support our ministry. We have a few ways to make it easy for you:
- Use our Donation Page on our Website
- Donate using our new App
- Send by mail (Potter’s Inn, PO Box 35, Divide, Colorado 80814 - make sure you make note that your gift is for the podcast)
FIND US ON FACEBOOK AND INSTAGRAM
- Soul Care Conversations Group Page on FB
- Potter’s Inn Main FB Page
CONTACT US
podcast@pottersinn.com
INTERESTED IN MORE SOUL CARE RESOURCES?
Check out our recommended reading, books on spiritual growth, and our soul care blog. Want to experience soul care in person? Learn more about our soul care intensives and retreats.
Today Joe Chambers joins us in reading from Steve’s Book “Soul Custody.” It’s a discussion about Soul Companions and how the four quadrants of the human heart offer us a picture of the four levels to friendship. Being made in the image of God--the Trinity--we are most fully ourselves when we live life together.
Thank you for joining us in today's discussion!
RESOURCES MENTIONED IN PODCAST * Soul Custody: Choosing to Care for the One and Only You by Stephen W. Smith * Proverbs 27:19 TLB * Ruth 1:16-17 MSG * 2 Samuel 1:26 MSG * Luke 24:32 * Exodus 3:3 KJV * 1 Peter 1:22 * Mark 7:14-23 MSG * 1 Cor. 13:4-7 MSG
MUSIC USED IN PODCAST * Music Break at 52:05: Entreat Me Not To Leave You, performed by Atlanta Master Chorale
FIND US ON FACEBOOK AND INSTAGRAM
- Soul Care Conversations Group Page
- Potter’s Inn Main FB Page
CONTACT US
podcast@pottersinn.com
INTERESTED IN MORE SOUL CARE RESOURCES?
Check out our recommended reading, books on spiritual growth, and our soul care blog. Want to experience soul care in person? Learn more about our soul care intensives and retreats.
SHOW NOTES Welcome to Season 9 of the Soul Care Conversations Podcast!
We are beginning Season 9 with a 3-part series on Friendship, and today will be a reading from a book that Steve contributed to, The Transformation of a Man’s Heart. The Chapter is written by David G. Benner and is titled “Friendships: Experiencing Others on the Journey.”
This chapter has such depth and wisdom on the importance of friendship in our lives. Take some time as you listen - take notes, contemplate the friendships in your life, and meditate on the scriptures that are mentioned. It will give you a new perspective on the soul friends in your life.
RESOURCES MENTIONED IN PODCAST * The Transformation of a Man’s Heart - Compiled and Edited by Stephen W. Smith * List of Scriptures mentioned (PDF Document)
MUSIC USED IN PODCAST * Music Break at 52:15: Anam Cara, performed & written by Caitlin Grey
FIND US ON FACEBOOK AND INSTAGRAM
- Soul Care Conversations Group Page
- Potter’s Inn Main FB Page
CONTACT US
podcast@pottersinn.com
INTERESTED IN MORE SOUL CARE RESOURCES?
Check out our recommended reading, books on spiritual growth, and our soul care blog. Want to experience soul care in person? Learn more about our soul care intensives and retreats.
SUPPORT THE PODCAST It takes a lot to create our podcast episodes! Please consider a gift to support this vital ministry.
We have a few ways to make it easy for you:
- Use our Donation Page on our Website
- Donate using our new App
- Send by mail (Potter’s Inn, PO Box 35, Divide, Colorado 80814 - make sure you make note that your gift is for the podcast)
________________________________________________________
SHOW NOTES On our final podcast for this season, Steve has a remarkable and soulful conversation with author, teacher, and leader Majorie Thompson. They discuss her long friendship with Henri Nouwen and her roles as an author, spiritual director, publisher, and eventual care giver to her own mother and mother in law, which shifted her role and required sacrifices and humility. It’s a beautiful conversation and we look forward to you joining us for it!
ABOUT OUR GUEST Marjorie J. Thompson is an ordained minister of the Presbyterian Church USA. She received her Bachelor of Arts in religious studies from Swarthmore College, and her Master of Divinity degree from McCormick Theological Seminary. Following a post-graduate pastoral internship, she became a Research Fellow at Yale Divinity School where she studied Christian spirituality with Henri Nouwen and did independent research in ecumenical traditions of prayer.
She has served as director of the Pathways Center for Spiritual Leadership and as spiritual director to Companions in Christ, a program outgrowth of the Pathways initiative of The Upper Room.
She is the author of Family, The Forming Center and Soul Feast: An Invitation to the Christian Spiritual Life.. She is a widely sought retreat leader, teacher, and speaker in the area of Christian spirituality. She and her husband John live in Kingston Springs, Tennessee.
- Courage for Caregivers: Sustenance for the Journey in Company with Henri J. M. Nouwen by Marjorie Thompson
- All of Marjorie’s books
RESOURCES MENTIONED IN PODCAST * Henri Nouwen Website * A Spirituality of Caregiving by Henri Nouwen
MUSIC USED IN PODCAST * Music Break at 34:52: Cathedral of the Pines by Tim Janus * Music Break at 1:09:07: Be Thou My VIsion - Nathan Pacheco
FIND US ON FACEBOOK AND INSTAGRAM
- Soul Care Conversations Group Page
- Potter’s Inn Main FB Page
CONTACT US
podcast@pottersinn.com
INTERESTED IN MORE SOUL CARE RESOURCES?
Check out our recommended reading, books on spiritual growth, and our soul care blog. Want to experience soul care in person? Learn more about our soul care intensives and retreats.
SHOW NOTES How many times have you thought you were completely alone in this stress-filled world - financial issues, family conflicts, marital struggles, depression… the list is long and exhausting.
The big question is, does God care about all that? Does he care that your kids are misbehaving and making you lose your mind? That at night you can’t get your mind to shut off and goes further into depression and anxiety? That you and your spouse can barely talk to each other?
The answer is so much more complex than a simple “yes.” Listen in as Steve speaks to this very question.
RESOURCES MENTIONED IN PODCAST
-
John 1:43-48
-
Psalm 143:8
Moment to Breathe - Thomas Merton’s Prayer
- Text
- Audio
Find more resources on Soul Care and our podcast on Potter’s Inn Social Media channels
SUPPORT THE PODCAST It takes a lot to create our podcast episodes! Please consider a gift to support this vital ministry.
We have a few ways to make it easy for you:
- Use our Donation Page on our Website
- Donate using our new App
- Send by mail (Potter’s Inn, PO Box 35, Divide, Colorado 80814 - make sure you make note that your gift is for the podcast)
SHOW NOTES “Beauty. Some forms of beauty calm us, others excite us, but all tend to grab our attention and intrigue us enough to have an affect. Beauty of course comes in many forms beyond the human face and form. From the landscape, seascape, and skyscape to the wonders of music, art, math, and science, we’re surrounded by reminders of the deeper things, the higher things, the truest things in life and beyond. Let’s make sure we steep ourselves in a recognition and enjoyment of the many and varied beauties around us, small and large. Then, we'll be likelier to act in more beautiful ways, in all things.” —Tom Morris
The first part of our podcast is the rest of the discussion on Beauty with Steve and Tom Morris in this inspiring and rich conversation on Beauty.
The second half of the podcast is a reading and discussion of John O’Donahue’s poem A New Beginning. Joe and Steve have a heartfelt talk about it’s meaning for all of us.
Thanks for joining the Conversation today!
ABOUT OUR GUEST Tom Morris has become one of the most active public philosophers in the world due to his unusual ability to bring the greatest wisdom of the past into the challenges of the present.
A native of Durham, North Carolina and a Distinguished Alumnus of Durham Academy, Tom was a Morehead-Cain Scholar at the University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill, which has honored him, along with Michael Jordan, as a recipient of their "Distinguished Young Alumnus Award." He holds two masters degrees as well as a joint Ph.D. in both Philosophy and Religious Studies from Yale University, as well as other, honorary doctorates in recognition of his public work of bringing practical philosophy back into the cultural mix. Tom served for fifteen years as a Professor of Philosophy at the University of Notre Dame, where he quickly became a campus legend, in many years having an eighth of the entire student body in his classes. Recent projects involve novels, nonfiction books, and a script for an immersive theatrical experience featuring AI and the robotics of five hundred years in the future. He is a firm believer that ideas rock the world. Tom is now Chairman of the Morris Institute for Human Values in Wilmington, NC.
- Tom’s Website
- If Aristotle Ran General Motors by Tom Morris
- The Everyday Patriot by Tom Morris
RESOURCES MENTIONED IN PODCAST * Beauty: The Invisible Embrace by John O’Donohue * Reading & Discussion of “For a New Beginning” By John O’Donohue from To Bless the Space Between Us * Previous episodes with Tom Morris:
+ The Closing of the American Mind, Part 1
+ The Closing of the American Mind, Part 2
MUSIC USED IN PODCAST * Music Break at 17:30: A New Beginning by Peder B. Hellend * Music Break at 31:00: The King's Singers - When All Falls Silent (Geert D'hollander)
FIND US ON FACEBOOK AND INSTAGRAM
- Soul Care Conversations Group Page
- Potter’s Inn Main FB Page
CONTACT US
podcast@pottersinn.com
INTERESTED IN MORE SOUL CARE RESOURCES?
Check out our recommended reading, books on spiritual growth, and our soul care blog. Want to experience soul care in person? Learn more about our soul care intensives and retreats.
SUPPORT THE PODCAST It takes a lot to create our podcast episodes! Please consider a gift to support this vital ministry.
We have a few ways to make it easy for you:
- Use our Donation Page on our Website
- Donate using our new App
- Send by mail (Potter’s Inn, PO Box 35, Divide, Colorado 80814 - make sure you make note that your gift is for the podcast)
________________________________________________________
SHOW NOTES “Beauty. Some forms of beauty calm us, others excite us, but all tend to grab our attention and intrigue us enough to have an affect. Beauty of course comes in many forms beyond the human face and form. From the landscape, seascape, and skyscape to the wonders of music, art, math, and science, we’re surrounded by reminders of the deeper things, the higher things, the truest things in life and beyond. Let’s make sure we steep ourselves in a recognition and enjoyment of the many and varied beauties around us, small and large. Then, we'll be likelier to act in more beautiful ways, in all things.” —Tom Morris
Join Steve and Tom Morris in this inspiring and rich conversation on Beauty.
ABOUT OUR GUEST Tom Morris has become one of the most active public philosophers in the world due to his unusual ability to bring the greatest wisdom of the past into the challenges of the present.
A native of Durham, North Carolina and a Distinguished Alumnus of Durham Academy, Tom was a Morehead-Cain Scholar at the University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill, which has honored him, along with Michael Jordan, as a recipient of their "Distinguished Young Alumnus Award." He holds two masters degrees as well as a joint Ph.D. in both Philosophy and Religious Studies from Yale University, as well as other, honorary doctorates in recognition of his public work of bringing practical philosophy back into the cultural mix. Tom served for fifteen years as a Professor of Philosophy at the University of Notre Dame, where he quickly became a campus legend, in many years having an eighth of the entire student body in his classes. Recent projects involve novels, nonfiction books, and a script for an immersive theatrical experience featuring AI and the robotics of five hundred years in the future. He is a firm believer that ideas rock the world. Tom is now Chairman of the Morris Institute for Human Values in Wilmington, NC.
-
Tom’s Website
-
If Aristotle Ran General Motors by Tom Morris
- The Everyday Patriot by Tom Morris
RESOURCES MENTIONED IN PODCAST * Illuminated Life: Monastic Wisdom for Seekers of Light by Joan Chittister * Beauty: The Invisible Embrace by John O’Donohue * Previous episodes with Tom Morris:
+ The Closing of the American Mind, Part 1
+ The Closing of the American Mind, Part 2
MUSIC USED IN PODCAST * Music Break at 14:49: Children’s Choir - Composed by PinkZebra. * Music Break at 39:53: Beauty – Snow Music Studio
**FIND US ON FACEBOOK AND INSTAGRAM**
- Soul Care Conversations Group Page
- Potter’s Inn Main FB Page
CONTACT US
podcast@pottersinn.com
INTERESTED IN MORE SOUL CARE RESOURCES?
Check out our recommended reading, books on spiritual growth, and our soul care blog. Want to experience soul care in person? Learn more about our soul care intensives and retreats.
SUPPORT THE PODCAST It takes a lot to create our podcast episodes! Please consider a gift to support this vital ministry.
We have a few ways to make it easy for you:
- Use our Donation Page on our Website
- Donate using our new App
- Send by mail (Potter’s Inn, PO Box 35, Divide, Colorado 80814 - make sure you make note that your gift is for the podcast)
SHOW NOTES Jesus promised, “Seek and you will find!”
Today we are continuing the conversation with Trevor Hudson on Seeking God. The conversation takes us over to the deep side of the boat where many fish are swimming. They talk about Dallas Willard, Ignatius of Loyola and the deeper journey to see God in all things! Please join us!
ABOUT OUR GUEST Trevor Hudson has been part of the Methodist movement for over 40 years. Serving primarily around Johannesburg, he is deeply committed to the work of spiritual formation within local congregational contexts. A significant part of his weekly work presently consists of leading people through the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius and offering spiritual direction. Besides his local commitments, Trevor travels widely, preaching and teaching. He lectures at Fuller Seminary, the Renovaré Institute, the Dallas Willard Center for Christian Spiritual Formation, and the Jesuit Institute in South Africa. He is the author of 22 books including Discovering Your Spiritual Identity (IVP) and Beyond Loneliness (Upper Room). His most recent book is Seeking God-Finding Another Kind of Life with St. Ignatius and Dallas Willard.
RESOURCES MENTIONED IN PODCAST * Episode 10: Discernment: The Journey to Discover God’s Will * Episode 12: Cultivating Daily Shalom: Using the Daily Examen * Dallas Willard
MUSIC USED IN PODCAST * Music Break at 22:50: Mellow Celtic Style Acoustic Duet - Envato Elements * Music Break at 37:49: Beautiful Choir Requiem – Blue Sky Audio
FIND US ON FACEBOOK AND INSTAGRAM
- Soul Care Conversations Group Page
- Potter’s Inn Main FB Page
CONTACT US
podcast@pottersinn.com
INTERESTED IN MORE SOUL CARE RESOURCES?
Check out our recommended reading, books on spiritual growth, and our soul care blog. Want to experience soul care in person? Learn more about our soul care intensives and retreats.
SUPPORT THE PODCAST It takes a lot to create our podcast episodes! Please consider a gift to support this vital ministry.
We have a few ways to make it easy for you:
- Use our Donation Page on our Website
- Donate using our new App
- Send by mail (Potter’s Inn, PO Box 35, Divide, Colorado 80814 - make sure you make note that your gift is for the podcast)
SHOW NOTES Jesus promised, “Seek and you will find!”
Today we are continuing the conversation with Trevor Hudson on Seeking God. The conversation takes us over to the deep side of the boat where many fish are swimming. They talk about Dallas Willard, Ignatius of Loyola and the deeper journey to see God in all things! Please join us!
ABOUT OUR GUEST Trevor Hudson has been part of the Methodist movement for over 40 years. Serving primarily around Johannesburg, he is deeply committed to the work of spiritual formation within local congregational contexts. A significant part of his weekly work presently consists of leading people through the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius and offering spiritual direction. Besides his local commitments, Trevor travels widely, preaching and teaching. He lectures at Fuller Seminary, the Renovaré Institute, the Dallas Willard Center for Christian Spiritual Formation, and the Jesuit Institute in South Africa. He is the author of 22 books including Discovering Your Spiritual Identity (IVP) and Beyond Loneliness (Upper Room). His most recent book is Seeking God-Finding Another Kind of Life with St. Ignatius and Dallas Willard.
RESOURCES MENTIONED IN PODCAST * Episode 10: Discernment: The Journey to Discover God’s Will * Episode 12: Cultivating Daily Shalom: Using the Daily Examen * Dallas Willard
MUSIC USED IN PODCAST * Music Break at 22:50: Mellow Celtic Style Acoustic Duet - Envato Elements * Music Break at 37:49: Beautiful Choir Requiem – Blue Sky Audio
FIND US ON FACEBOOK AND INSTAGRAM
- Soul Care Conversations Group Page
- Potter’s Inn Main FB Page
CONTACT US
podcast@pottersinn.com
INTERESTED IN MORE SOUL CARE RESOURCES?
Check out our recommended reading, books on spiritual growth, and our soul care blog. Want to experience soul care in person? Learn more about our soul care intensives and retreats.
**SUPPORT THE PODCAST** ***It takes a lot to create our podcast episodes! Please consider a gift to support this vital ministry.***
We have a few ways to make it easy for you:
- Use our Donation Page on our Website
- Donate using our new App
- Send by mail (Potter’s Inn, PO Box 35, Divide, Colorado 80814 - make sure you make note that your gift is for the podcast)
SHOW NOTES Jesus promised, “Seek and you will find!”
We are all seeking, but how do we move beyond insight to truly encounter the living God in your life? Join Steve and Trevor as they discuss what a seeking life looks like and how we can join in the adventure.
Thank you for joining us in today’s conversation!
ABOUT OUR GUEST Trevor Hudson has been part of the Methodist movement for over 40 years. Serving primarily around Johannesburg, he is deeply committed to the work of spiritual formation within local congregational contexts. A significant part of his weekly work presently consists of leading people through the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius and offering spiritual direction. Besides his local commitments, Trevor travels widely, preaching and teaching. He lectures at Fuller Seminary, the Renovaré Institute, the Dallas Willard Center for Christian Spiritual Formation, and the Jesuit Institute in South Africa. He is the author of 22 books including Discovering Your Spiritual Identity (IVP) and Beyond Loneliness (Upper Room). His most recent book is Seeking God-Finding Another Kind of Life with St. Ignatius and Dallas Willard.
RESOURCES MENTIONED IN PODCAST * Episode 10: Discernment: The Journey to Discover God’s Will * Episode 12: Cultivating Daily Shalom: Using the Daily Examen * Dallas Willard
MUSIC USED IN PODCAST * Music Break at 22:50: Mellow Celtic Style Acoustic Duet - Envato Elements * Music Break at 37:49: Beautiful Choir Requiem – Blue Sky Audio
FIND US ON FACEBOOK AND INSTAGRAM
- Soul Care Conversations Group Page
- Potter’s Inn Main FB Page
CONTACT US
podcast@pottersinn.com
INTERESTED IN MORE SOUL CARE RESOURCES?
Check out our recommended reading, books on spiritual growth, and our soul care blog. Want to experience soul care in person? Learn more about our soul care intensives and retreats.
**SUPPORT THE PODCAST** ***It takes a lot to create our podcast episodes! Please consider a gift to support this vital ministry.***
We have a few ways to make it easy for you:
- Use our Donation Page on our Website
- Donate using our new App
- Send by mail (Potter’s Inn, PO Box 35, Divide, Colorado 80814 - make sure you make note that your gift is for the podcast)
SHOW NOTES Jesus promised, “Seek and you will find!”
We are all seeking, but how do we move beyond insight to truly encounter the living God in your life? Join Steve and Trevor as they discuss what a seeking life looks like and how we can join in the adventure.
Thank you for joining us in today’s conversation!
ABOUT OUR GUEST Trevor Hudson has been part of the Methodist movement for over 40 years. Serving primarily around Johannesburg, he is deeply committed to the work of spiritual formation within local congregational contexts. A significant part of his weekly work presently consists of leading people through the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius and offering spiritual direction. Besides his local commitments, Trevor travels widely, preaching and teaching. He lectures at Fuller Seminary, the Renovaré Institute, the Dallas Willard Center for Christian Spiritual Formation, and the Jesuit Institute in South Africa. He is the author of 22 books including Discovering Your Spiritual Identity (IVP) and Beyond Loneliness (Upper Room). His most recent book is Seeking God-Finding Another Kind of Life with St. Ignatius and Dallas Willard.
RESOURCES MENTIONED IN PODCAST * Episode 10: Discernment: The Journey to Discover God’s Will * Episode 12: Cultivating Daily Shalom: Using the Daily Examen * Dallas Willard
MUSIC USED IN PODCAST * Music Break at 22:50: Mellow Celtic Style Acoustic Duet - Envato Elements * Music Break at 37:49: Beautiful Choir Requiem – Blue Sky Audio
FIND US ON FACEBOOK AND INSTAGRAM
- Soul Care Conversations Group Page
- Potter’s Inn Main FB Page
CONTACT US
podcast@pottersinn.com
INTERESTED IN MORE SOUL CARE RESOURCES?
Check out our recommended reading, books on spiritual growth, and our soul care blog. Want to experience soul care in person? Learn more about our soul care intensives and retreats.
SUPPORT THE PODCAST It takes a lot to create our podcast episodes! Please consider a gift to support this vital ministry.
We have a few ways to make it easy for you:
- Use our Donation Page on our Website
- Donate using our new App
-
Send by mail (Potter’s Inn, PO Box 35, Divide, Colorado 80814 - make sure you make note that your gift is for the podcast)
SHOW NOTES What if rest has already been created and all we have to do is find ways to participate?
Listen in to Steve and Ruth as they discuss how Sabbath is more than a practice, but a way of life ordered around God's invitation to regular rhythms of work, rest, and replenishment that will sustain us for the long haul.
**ABOUT OUR GUEST** **Ruth Haley Barton** (Doctor of Divinity, Northern Baptist Theological Seminary) is founder of the Transforming Center, a ministry dedicated to strengthening the souls of pastors, Christian leaders and the congregations and organizations they serve. A sought-after teacher, retreat leader, and trained spiritual director, Ruth is the author of numerous books and articles on the spiritual life.
Educated at Northern Seminary, the Shalem Institute for Spiritual Formation and Loyola University Chicago Institute for Pastoral Studies, she has served on the pastoral staff of several churches including Willow Creek Community Church and is Professor of Spiritual Transformation at Northern Seminary.
- Ruth’s Website (includes all her books. blog, and podcast)
- HER LATEST BOOK: Embracing Rhythms of Work and Rest: From Sabbath to Sabbatical and Back Again by Ruth Haley Barton
FIND US ON FACEBOOK AND INSTAGRAM
- Soul Care Conversations Group Page
- Potter’s Inn Main FB Page
CONTACT US
podcast@pottersinn.com
INTERESTED IN MORE SOUL CARE RESOURCES?
Check out our recommended reading, books on spiritual growth, and our soul care blog. Want to experience soul care in person? Learn more about our soul care intensives and retreats.
**NOTE: We had some technical issues with the previously released audio file this morning - this release is the corrected file. Thank you for your patience!****
When it comes to understanding the Enneagram, it's time to consider a shift and deepening of how this tool can enhance our spiritual journey. There's been such a 'fad phase' in the past decade about the Enneagram that it has left many of us wondering... what is the real point of knowing ourselves better?
Marilyn Vancil and Steve discuss this much needed shift and her new book, Beyond the Enneagram. Steve and Marilyn explore the themes of the book--a re-centering of our self orientation to a God orientation. They discuss:
- Moving from What I am to Who I am
- Moving from Reaction to Responsive
- From bondage to Freedom
- From Wounded to Whole
- From Shakable to unshakable
- And from Being burdened to rested--Steve's favorite chapter and worth the price of the book in one chapter!
About Our Guest
Marilyn Vancil is a certified Enneagram Professional in the Narrative Tradition through Enneagram Worldwide, a certified spiritual director, and a trained life coach through Coach Training Alliance. She has also completed coursework on the Enneagram at Loyola University and the Deep Coaching Institute. Vancil facilitates workshops and retreats on the Enneagram, focusing on how it can be used to deepen one’s life with God and improve relationships. She lives in Seattle with her husband, Jeff.
- Marilyn's Website
- Beyond the Enneagram by Marilyn Vancil
- Self to Lose, Self to Find by Marilyn Vancil
More information on the Enneagram
- Podcast Episode 39 - A Deeper Understanding of the Enneagram with Adele and Doug Calhoun
- Podcast Episode 46 - How the Enneagram Informs us in Crisis with Adele and Doug Calhoun
- The Enneagram: A Self Awareness Spiritual Tool
SUPPORT THE PODCAST It takes a lot to create our podcast episodes! Please consider a gift to support our ministry.
We have a few ways to make it easy for you:
- Use our Donation Page on our Website
- Donate using our new App
- Send by mail (Potter’s Inn, PO Box 35, Divide, Colorado 80814 - make sure you make note that your gift is for the podcast)
Contact Us at podcast@pottersinn.com
SUPPORT THE PODCAST It takes a lot to create our podcast episodes! Please consider a gift to support this vital ministry.
We have a few ways to make it easy for you:
- Use our Donation Page on our Website
- Donate using our new App
- Send by mail (Potter’s Inn, PO Box 35, Divide, Colorado 80814 - make sure you make note that your gift is for the podcast)
________________________________________________________
SHOW NOTES How can we reclaim a faith that is simple— free from religious paraphernalia and church clutter? Is it even possible? In the complex times we are living in and in the new cadence of urgency and emergency, what can we do to reclaim our “first love?”
This is the subject of today’s Soul Care Conversation -we encourage you to join the conversation!
Sign up to subscribe at HERE or get the APP. Search for “Potters Inn” wherever you get your apps!
MENTIONED IN PODCAST * Pew Research Report “Modeling the Future of Religion in America” * Revelations 2:2-5 (MSG) * Mysteries, Yes - poem by Mary Oliver * 2 Corinthians 11:3 (MSG) * Matt 6:31-33 (MSG) * Seven ways to implement simplicity
-
Live with Jesus in mind and heart
-
Read the Red letters of the Bible
-
Be quiet
-
Detachment- To uncomplicate and to untangle your life to experience inner freedom.
-
Do less
-
Practice Sabbath (Practice ceasing)
-
Declutter - Marie Kondo
MUSIC USED IN PODCAST * Music Break at 16:00 Simple Gifts sung by Judy Collins for the February 1963 TV broadcast of Dinner with the President in Washington, D.C. Song and lyrics by Elder Joseph Brackett (1797–1882) of the Alfred, Maine Shaker community. * Music Break at 25:40 Give me Jesus sung by Fernando Ortega.
FIND US ON FACEBOOK AND INSTAGRAM
- Soul Care Conversations Group Page:
- Potter’s Inn Main FB Page
SUPPORT THE PODCAST It takes a lot to create our podcast episodes! Please consider a gift to support this vital ministry.
We have a few ways to make it easy for you:
- Use our Donation Page on our Website
- Donate using our new App
- Send by mail (Potter’s Inn, PO Box 35, Divide, Colorado 80814 - make sure you make note that your gift is for the podcast)
________________________________________________________
SHOW NOTES Welcome to Season 8 of the Soul Care Conversations podcast!
Today Steve delves into Matthew 11:28-30 and the question of being ‘yoked to Jesus.‘
Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. Matthew 11:28-30 (ESV)
Thanks for joining us in the conversation!
MENTIONED IN PODCAST * SOLO: Creating Space with God by Stephen W. Smith and Peter M. Ivey * The Jesus Life by Stephen W. Smith * Pray as you Go - APP for Lectio Divina
MUSIC USED IN PODCAST * Music Break at 33:36 My Yoke Is Easy by John Michael Talbot
CONTACT US
podcast@pottersinn.com
INTERESTED IN MORE SOUL CARE RESOURCES?
Check out our recommended reading, books on spiritual growth, and our soul care blog. Want to experience soul care in person? Learn more about our soul care intensives and retreats.
The Soul Care Conversation is a much beloved resource across the world. But to continue this work depends upon your support.
This link takes you to a list of some of our on-going expenses and how you, your small group, church, or organization could take a “bite-size “ chunk out of our monthly costs. Take a look and help us, would you?
SUPPORT THE PODCAST **\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_** **This is the last episode of our Summer 2022 Replays. We will be back in September with a brand new season!**
SHOW NOTES How many times have you thought you were completely alone in this stress-filled world - financial issues, family conflicts, marital struggles, depression… the list is long and exhausting.
The big question is, does God care about all that? Does he care that your kids are misbehaving and making you lose your mind? That at night you can’t get your mind to shut off and goes further into depression and anxiety? That you and your spouse can barely talk to each other?
The answer is so much more complex than a simple “yes.” Listen in as Steve speaks to this very question.
RESOURCES MENTIONED IN PODCAST
-
John 1:43-48
-
Psalm 143:8
Moment to Breathe - Thomas Merton’s Prayer
- Text
- Audio
Find more resources on Soul Care and our podcast on Potter’s Inn Social Media channels
The Soul Care Conversation is a much beloved resource across the world. But to continue this work depends upon your support.
This link takes you to a list of some of our on-going expenses and how you, your small group, church, or organization could take a “bite-size “ chunk out of our monthly costs. Take a look and help us, would you?
SUPPORT THE PODCAST
SHOW NOTES
“Meanwhile, be content with obscurity, just as Christ was.” Colossians 3:4 (MSG)
Isolation - something most of us are experiencing right now.
Today's podcast is about unwanted isolation - the type God uses to accomplish what only living in obscurity can do and how God uses obscurity to shape and mold us for greater things; things that we are not always aware of.
Joe reads the profoundly personal chapter “Life of Hiddenness” from Steve’s book “The Jesus Life.” It’s a look at Jesus' life of hiddenness, and how we can take the steps toward that same life.
The last few minutes of the podcast has some ideas to seed your thinking and help spark your creativity about establishing your own ways of learning to live with obscurity as Jesus did. It is our Moment to Breathe this week and more information is listed in the Resources section below.
Blessings to you all as you listen and join us in the conversation.
RESOURCES
- The Jesus Life: Eight Ways to Recover Authentic Christianity by Stephen W. Smith a
- Colossians 3:4 (MSG)
-
Moment to Breathe - Questions for Living in Obscurity like Jesus
- Audio
- Text
-
Creating Space for our Souls in a Critical Time - this is a new portion of the podcast where our hosts show how they are practicing soul care in the midst of chaos
-
Today we will hear from Kaylene on how she cares for her body and keep moving during quarantine - baking!
- Audio
- Kaylene’s Easy Biscuit Recipe
Find more resources on Soul Care and our podcast on Potter’s Inn Social Media channels
The Soul Care Conversation is a much beloved resource across the world. But to continue this work depends upon your support.
This link takes you to a list of some of our on-going expenses and how you, your small group, church, or organization could take a “bite-size “ chunk out of our monthly costs. Take a look and help us, would you?
**DONATE TO PODCAST** **Show Notes** In this episode we join Steve and Gwen for two sessions of their Soul Care 101 course recorded at the retreat center known as Potter’s Inn at Aspen Ridge. Enjoy this fireside conversation with pops and crackles from the fireplace, as they examine the three core questions of every soul.
Question 1 - Am I Loved?
Every person everywhere wants to know if they are loved. Some (or all) of us may have love wounds where we either didn’t get the love we needed or we looked for love in all the wrong places. Learn what it means to be beloved and how to rest in the truth of God’s love for us.
Question 2 - Am I Safe?
What fears do we carry with us that shape us? How do these fears affect our image of God? If we don’t feel safe how does that affect how we relate to others? Also it’s good to ask, am I a safe person? Do I listen to others or am I quick to judge?
Question 3 - Do I Belong?
It is evident from an early age that we all want to belong to a group, a community. Where are we finding our safe community? Is it the right place? Are we able to be our true selves there or do we feel that we have to act or look a certain way? Do we change our behavior depending on where we are or who we are with?
Resources mentioned in the podcast * Download a Study Guide for Question 1 and Questions 2 and 3 * Soul Care 101 Course: Purchase here at the Potter’s Inn Bookstore * Scripture reading: Deuteronomy 7:7-9 * Moment to Breathe: The Inner Voice by Henri Nouwen. Read the excerpt here. * Why Am I Afraid to Tell You Who I Am? by John Powell
Celebrate with us as we hit a BIG milestone for the podcast! Thank you all for your continued support and prayers - we are blessed!
SPECIAL REQUEST: For us to continue our work on the podcast, we are asking you to help us with a one time gift, or even better a monthly donation, to help us. There are monthly obligations for all the work, all the technology, the podcast hosting, etc.
Whatever you can give will be such a help - it will be a great blessing!
>>DONATE HERE<<
SHOW NOTES Join co-hosts Steve Smith and Joe Chambers as they give more definition to what soul care is and how it relates to icebergs and the Brooklyn Bridge! Steve Smith shows us the stress of living divided lives and lays out the importance of caring for all aspects of the human experience: physical, emotional, relational, vocational, and spiritual. Plus enjoy an interview with Joe Walters, head of the Soul Care Institute and learn how you can take part in a 2 year journey to better soul health.
LINKS AND RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THE PODCAST Understanding the Soul with Icebergs: View and Download Here
Article: Five Reasons Soul Care Matters by Stephen W. Smith: View and Download Here
Poem: For One Who Is Exhausted by John O’Donohue. This poem is available in his book To Bless The Space Between Us: A Book of Blessings. Learn more about John O’Donohue at www.johnodonohue.com
BOOKS RECOMMENDED The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk M.D.
Conjectures of a Guilty Bystander by Thomas Merton
Building Below the Waterline: Shoring Up the Foundations of Leadership by Gordon MacDonald
“When human beings are devalued, everything in society turns sour. Women are humiliated and children despised. The sick are regarded as a nuisance, and the elderly as a burden. Ethnic minorities as discriminated against. The poor are oppressed and denied social justice…labour is exploited in the mines and factories. There is no freedom, no dignity, no carefree joy. Human life seems not worth living because it is scarcely human any longer…people matter…because every man, woman, and child has worth and significance as a human being made in the God’s image and likeness.”
—John Stott “The Contemporary Christian"
Understanding is the Way Forward
A riot is the language of the unheard.--Dr. Martin Luther King
Understanding is the way forward. Understanding will help everyone breathe. Understanding will help everyone care. Understanding will help us know what needs to change and how we can transform culture together.
We will never care for our soul until we understand the soul. That was my journey--a journey of understanding of how complex I am; how unique I am; how fearfully and wonderfully made I am--and you too. This changed everything for me and will change everything for all of us as well. We will not care for anything--a plant--a dog--a hamster or a tomato plant until we understand what that living "thing" needs. The same is true of caring for a human being. We will not care until we understand. Dallas Willard said, 'Understanding is the beginning of care." I believe him on this!
Until I understand human dignity I will not honor human life of any color or any age or any ethnicity. Until I understand love-- I cannot really love and I will not offer love. Until I understand the high costs of not forgiving and not being forgiven, I will not forgive.
And the beginning of all understanding is listening. To listen is to love. Let me say it again, to listen is to love. I've learned that in my marriage, in my parenting, in my friendships and now I must learn this in this global pandemic disease of racism. I must listen. I must shut my mouth; not offer my opinions as a white male who was educated in great schools and just listen.
Understanding is the only way forward. And when we understand one another we will finally learn to love each other.
When George Floyd cried out, "I can't breathe!" What do you really understand he might have been saying? What can we listen to? What can we now understand?
I felt compelled today to record a new podcast for Potter's Inn Soul Care Conversation Podcast on "Understanding Human Dignity." Spoiler alert: When I give this talk around the world, it normally results in a standing ovation... Why? Because perhaps this talks helps articulates for some of us what we might be feeling but can't yet say--what might still be pre-verbal in our watching the news these days and feeling so saddened yet so paralyzed by thinking through what can I do?
MENTIONED IN THE PODCAST
- Soul Care Institute
SHOW NOTES The art of reflecting on our day is almost a lost art in our busy and over-committed life. However, in this week’s podcast, Steve explores an ancient spiritual exercise called The Daily Examen. In this podcast, Steve walks us through five easy steps used to reflect back upon our day, to see where God was in our midst that we might have missed because of our busyness, and to foster a heart of gratitude.
RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THE PODCAST
- Five Steps to the Daily Examen
- Moment to Breathe: Matthew 11: 28-30 (MSG)
SEND US YOUR FEEDBACK! Leave a comment below or send our team a message at podcast@pottersinn.com
INTERESTED IN MORE SOUL CARE RESOURCES? Check out our recommended reading, books on spiritual growth, and our soul care blog. Want to experience soul care in person? Learn more about our soul care intensives and retreats.
We are all on a critical journey. We are all finding our way in a broken world and hearts that are always being transformed.
The two conversations on The Critical Journey that I had with Joe Chambers will anchor us into knowing a path that gives us clarity, direction, and assurance. In the podcast, Joe and I discuss a model of our own journeys to help us find our way forward through confusing times. In the two podcasts, we work through six identifiable stages of our pilgrimage in life. This week, you get "two" podcasts that you can enjoy, take your time in listening, and taking notes.
Since we began the podcast four years ago, we've recorded hundred of hours of stellar conversations about the care of our soul. It's always so encouraging to get a text, email or letter from someone in the world who has benefited from them.
One man wrote this:
I started listening to a podcast called Potter's Inn Soul Care Conversations. Every single message resonated deep within me and was really helpful for me to reconstruct my faith around the principles that Jesus actually taught. It is a podcast of encouragement instead of conversation. It was full of hope instead of guilt and shame.
A woman from Brazil wrote this to us:
Although I am a member of a church, I feel that I don't quite fit in there at the moment. I had been feeling a bit alone spiritually and praying for God to send me people that had beliefs more aligned with what he had been leading me towards, and your podcast felt like an answer to my prayers. I remember listening to every episode and just weeping as I felt God's love and care for me.
The family of listeners around the world continues to grow and by utilizing podcasts, we are able to offer stimulating conversations and opportunities to grow and mature in these challenging times.
Please SHARE the podcasts to those in your spheres of circles that you think would benefit.
We are watching the downloads edge closer and closer to 200,000 episodes being listened to since we started! What a milestone that will be for being a global resource in soul care!
Thank you for your support! As summer continues, I will write you each week with a highly recommend podcast that you might have missed or didn't know about.
Every blessing!
Steve
**SUPPORT THE PODCAST**
\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_
**SHOW NOTES** How do we determine where we are on the spiritual journey? It can be 1 step forward, 2 steps back! This is what we call the ***Critical Journey,*** a model that includes 6 stages in our journey in Soul Care that we all experience in our journey with the Lord, moving toward a place of absolute being, and filled with the Father’s love.
-
The Converted life – we become very aware of God and yield our life to his control.
-
The Disciples life - Very hungry with the things of god. Necessary to understand an understanding to walk with God.
-
The Productive life – we take the information we learned in phase 2 and begin to put it to work in serving the lord. The danger is an addiction to success, which eventually leads us to hitting the “wall.”
-
The Journey Inward - Moving from doing to being and letting go of the idea of “success” – complete surrender.
-
The Journey Outward - A renewed sense of calling and an integration of soul and role. Content with a more hidden life.
-
The life of Love - Deep, vibrant inner life that embraces your true self.
**Download a helpful illustration that shows all six stages
RESOURCES MENTIONED The Critical Journey, Stages in the Life of Faith by Janet O. Hagberg and Robert A. Guelich
6 Stages of Faith and Spiritual Formation Chart - DOWNLOAD
John 21 - Peter and the disciples are fishing
Dallas Willard Bio
Return of the Prodigal Son - Luke 15:11-32
Moment to Breathe, Ep. 17 - Instructions for the Journey by Pat Schneider
Moment to Breathe, Ep 18 - Between the Dreaming and Coming True by Robert Benson
This summer we will be replaying episodes that Steve chooses and sees as “stellar and vital in the care of our souls.” It’s our hope that you’ll listen and then share the podcast around in your community, family, and spheres of influence.
SHOW NOTES
We struggle to identity ourselves, but what is the real truth about our Identity?
Today Dustin is talking about Identity with David Sachsenmaier, a trained and certified executive coach whose identity was challenged by a family crisis as a child and now focuses on identity as a cornerstone in his work with others.
Dustin and David discuss the Three Lies we tend to believe about who we are:
- I am what I do: Our job defines us, we find worth/identity in our work.
- I am what I have: Identity is wrapped around what we have and own. “I brought nothing into this world, and I will take nothing with me when I leave this world”.
- I am what others think of me: Our view of ourselves is being shaped the day we are born, by our interactions with others, and especially our relationship with our parents.
About David Sachsenmaier
David is a trained and certified executive coach with over ten years coaching corporate and non-profit executives and has 30 years of international experience working with US and European business executives and managers in both the corporate banking and nonprofit world.
David has a Masters in Divinity with a concentration in counseling. This graduate degree and continued coaching training provide critical foundations that enable David to see deeply into the lives of business executives. Undergraduate degree in international business and French from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
David and his wife Margaret and their six children moved to Colorado in 2009 after working in Hampshire, U.K. for several years.
Learn more about David
RESOURCES MENTIONED IN PODCAST
- The Daily Examen - listen to Episode 12 on more about the Daily Examen
- Echo Within: Finding your True Calling by Robert Benson
- Gorillas of Grace: Prayers for the Battle by Ted Loder
- Moment to Breathe - Empty Me: A Prayer by Ted Loder
Before there was "original sin" there was original blessing! This is a conversation that may challenge much of what you have believed and help you reframe what the Bible actually says.
This is a deep and rich conversation with Author Danielle Shroyer about our true identity as men and women. We talk about reclaiming our blessing and birthright that some theology have taken from us. We talk about parenting with blessing; marriage and blessing; and troubled/broken friendships and blessing.
*This will be our final episode for Season 7! We are taking a break this summer, but will be back in the fall. Wishing you all a lovely summer of rest and respite.*
SPECIAL GUEST DANIELLE SHROYER Danielle Shroyer spent over a decade in pastoral leadership and was a founding member of the emerging church movement. She speaks often across the country on issues of theology, faith, culture, and story, and blogs at www.danielleshroyer.com. A graduate of Baylor University and Princeton Theological Seminary, Danielle is the author of *Original Blessing: Putting Sin in its Rightful Place*; *Where Jesus Prayed: Illuminations on the Lords Prayer in the Holy Land;* and *The Boundary Breaking God: An Unfolding Story of Hope and Promise.*
* Website: DanielleShroyer.com
-
More of Danielle’s Books
MENTIONED IN PODCAST * Original Blessing: Putting Sin in Its Rightful Place by Danielle Shroyer
CONTEMPLATIVE PRAYER RESOURCES * Audio of Danielle’s Prayer in podcast -DOWNLOAD * Ascending the Mountain Within: Experiencing God Through Contemplative Prayer by Stephen W. & Gwen Smith
**SUPPORT THE PODCAST** **MUSIC USED IN PODCAST** * **Music Break at 26:24:** Letter From Home - Artist unknown.
- Music Break at 53:02: Medie noctis tempus est - Composed by John Tavener - Performed by Anonymous 4.
Today is our third, and final episode in a series called Managing Transitions. And if you've been listening over the course of the last couple of weeks you've heard a lot about the terms of our own internal shifting amid transitions. Change is inevitable, but transitions is really our internal work to the external change that we've been going through. Today we're going to be talking about aging with special guest Alice Fryling.
Alice is the author of Aging Faithfully: The Holy Invitation of Growing Older, a beautiful book that addresses aging: how we all age differently and how God calls each of us to new spiritual birth as we mature. Whether you are approaching the beginning, middle, or end of your senior years, you are invited to today’s conversation.
SPECIAL GUEST ALICE FRYLING Alice Fryling is a spiritual director and a bestselling author of ten books on relationships and spiritual formation, including her new book Aging Faithfully: The Holy Invitation of Growing Older. Alice received training in Spiritual Direction from the Christos Center in Minneapolis, and training in the Enneagram at Loyola University. She has been leading Enneagram workshops for thirty years, teaching participants how to use the Enneagram to know God and themselves more deeply.
She is also certified to teach the Myers Briggs Temperament Inventory. She and her husband, Bob, have two married daughters and four grandchildren. They live in Monument, Colorado.
- Website: AliceFryling.com
- More of Alice’s Books
MENTIONED IN PODCAST * Aging Faithfully: The Holy Invitation of Growing Older by Alice Fryling * Luke 19:41-42 NLT, Mark 4:26-29 MSG, Isaiah 46, Matthew 25:1-30 MSG * Lectio Divina * Daily Examine * Janet K. Ruffing RSM * Chapter 9 from Inside Job Workbook Session - a way to work through this series and transitions - FREE DOWNLOAD
MUSIC USED IN PODCAST * Music Break at 29:04: Joie De Vivre by Frederic Chopin - Performed by George Davidson. * Music Break at 50:49: Down to the River to Pray - Attributed to George H. Allan in the Slave Songbook of 1867 - Performed by The Apex Singers.
SUPPORT THE PODCAST
We have two ways to make it easy for you:
- Use our Donation Page on our Website
- Donate using our new App
CONTACT US
podcast@pottersinn.com
There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens... — Ecclesiastes 3
We are on the second part of our series on Transitions, and Steve will be talking to us about the many ways we change and transition. Using personal examples and sharing from his heart, this is a podcast to not miss!
MENTIONED IN PODCAST * Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 (NIV) * Chapter 9 from Inside Job Workbook Session - a way to work through this series - FREE DOWNLOAD * The Inside Job: Doing the Work Within the Work by Stephen W. Smith * Managing Transition: Making the Most of Change by William and Susan Bridges * The Critical Journey, Part 1 and The Critical Journey, Part 2 (Podcasts with Steve and Joe Chambers) * To Re-position or to Retire by Stephen W. Smith (Blog Post) * The State of My Soul Wheel * SOLO: Creating Space with God by Stephen W. Smith and Peter M. Ivey * DONATE TO THE PODCAST
**MUSIC USED IN PODCAST** * **Music Break at 53:48**: *Turn, Turn, Turn* by Pete Seeger - Performed by Ilse DeLange.
SUPPORT THE PODCAST
We have two ways to make it easy for you:
- Use our Donation Page on our Website
- Donate using our new App
CONTACT US
podcast@pottersinn.com
INTERESTED IN MORE SOUL CARE RESOURCES?
Check out our recommended reading, books on spiritual growth, and our soul care blog. Want to experience soul care in person? Learn more about our soul care intensives and retreats.
It’s been said that the only constant in life is change. While that’s true, it’s not always reassuring.
Change, as William Bridges explains it, is “situational: the move to a new site, the retirement of the founder, the reorganization of the roles on a team.” It can be the end of a relationship, the death of a parent, the move of your best friend. Any change brings with it a gap, some-thing called a transition. These in-between times are hard, even in the best of circumstances, because they represent moving from one phase of life to another.
Today we begin a new series on Managing Transitions and the podcast is a reading from Steve’s book Inside Job, The Leaders Transitions: Understanding Change (Chapter 9).
Thank you for joining us in this conversation!
Mentioned in podcast * Chapter 9 from The Inside Job (Purchase for $1!) * Chapter 9 Workbook Session - a Way to work through this series - FREE DOWNLOAD * The Inside Job: Doing the Work Within the Word by Stephen W. Smith
MUSIC USED IN PODCAST * Music Break at 42:12: Sing Joyfully by William Byrd (c.1540 - 1623) - set from Psalm 81. Performed by The King’s Singers.
SUPPORT THE PODCAST
We have two ways to make it easy for you:
- Use our Donation Page on our Website
- Donate using our new App
CONTACT US
podcast@pottersinn.com
INTERESTED IN MORE SOUL CARE RESOURCES?
Check out our recommended reading, books on spiritual growth, and our soul care blog. Want to experience soul care in person? Learn more about our soul care intensives and retreats.
I (Steve) recently sat down with Steve Macchia of Leadership Transformations to have an honest conversation and assess where we are today in light of all that has been happening.
I was able to reflect backwards and think forward through Steve Macchia’s thoughtful questions. I felt liberty to just open my heart; this podcast is the result. I hope you’ll find the space to listen.
We want to thank Steve Macchia and Leadership Transformations, Inc (LTI) for allowing us to edit and air this episode (Season 15, Episode 3).
- The Discerning Leader Podcast
MENTIONED IN PODCAST * The Jesus Life by Stephen W. Smith * SOLO: Creating Space with God by Stephen W. Smith and Peter Ivey * Divine Conspiracy by Dallas Willard * The State of my Soul * Psalm 103
MUSIC USED IN PODCAST * First Music Break at 17:24: Till That Blessed Day by JOYSPRING. From the Album Quiet My Soul. With Permission from Epidemic Sound. * Second Music Break at 49:31: Abide with Me (Arr. Cleobury) - Performed by Choir of King's College, Cambridge.
SUPPORT THE PODCAST
We have two ways to make it easy for you:
- Use our Donation Page on our Website
- Donate using our new App
CONTACT US
podcast@pottersinn.com
INTERESTED IN MORE SOUL CARE RESOURCES?
Check out our recommended reading, books on spiritual growth, and our soul care blog. Want to experience soul care in person? Learn more about our soul care intensives and retreats.
The only foundation for lasting change is love.
— 30 Days with the Potter Devotional by Stephen W. Smith
The podcast this week is with a man who lost 125 pounds and reclaimed his health. It’s an incredible story of change with Paul Matthies - you’ll want to listen because it’s just so encouraging!
Change is what the Gospel of Jesus is all about. We change or we die. We can live like never before or we will be the living dead!
ABOUT PAUL MATTHIES Paul is all about living LIFE -- love, integrity, faith, and empowerment. He likes acronyms too.
A graduate of Hardin-Simmons University, Paul has served as an elder at Hilltop Christian Fellowship, served as a pastor at The Village Church in Dallas, TX, and as a missionary to Asia. He now works in the business world, primarily in Administration Management.
Paul has completed 3 Life Time 60 day programs and earned 5 martial arts belts, and was named a Grand Prize Winner of the Fall 2019 National Life Time Fitness 60 Day Challenge. (Selected out of 20,000 participants!)
- Paul’s Video & Story (from Lifetime Fitness)
MENTIONED IN PODCAST * 30 Days with the Potter Devotional * Blackbelt Training * Cane Fu (self defense and exercise system for seniors and those who need to use a cane in their daily lives). * Philippians 2:12 (NIV): Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, * Deuteronomy 30:19 (NIV): This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live
MUSIC USED IN PODCAST * First Music Break at 21:49: 3 Bagatelles Op. 1 (2005) by Valentin Silvestrov. Performed by Peter Bannister - piano. * Second Music Break at 45:18: My Shepherd Will Supply My Need, performed by Anonymous 4. From American Angel - songs of redemption, hope and glory. (LYRICS)
SUPPORT THE PODCAST
We have two ways to make it easy for you:
- Use our Donation Page on our Website
- Donate using our new App
CONTACT US
podcast@pottersinn.com
The theme of sabbatical is so much more than finding the time to take a break. A weekend away is not enough to help us return to our former selves, we need a reorientation to time… to reacquaint ourselves with our heart and soul.
We continue the discussion with Jason and Mary Vandel Young about Sabbaticals, and it gets practical and emotional.
As you listen to the podcast, think broader beyond just your work. Your fatigue might not be due to your work at all, it might look altogether different.
ABOUT MARY VANDEL YOUNG & JASON YOUNG Mary Vandel Young’s passion for transformational ministry and soul care has guided her participation, study, leadership and ministry in the area of Christian spiritual formation for more than 20 years. God blessed Mary’s life with JourneyMates in 2006 and has served as Executive Director since 2012.Mary graduated from Baylor University in 1990. She served on Young Life staff nationally and internationally until 2000 and completed a M.Div. from Fuller Theological Seminary in 2003.
Dr. Jason Young has been working as a psychotherapist since 1997, and has worked in full-time private practice since 2005. Dr. Young has extensive experience, academically and clinically, in the integration of Psychology and Theology. His areas of therapeutic expertise are men’s issues, anxiety, depression, sexual trauma, marital conflict, crises of faith, stressors related to pastoral ministry, and sports psychology.
Mary and Jason live in Raleigh, NC and have two teenage sons, Luke and Tobias, and a precious Shi-Tzu named Petey.
- More about JourneyMates
- More about Jason’s Practice
- Suggested Book from Mary (not mentioned in the podcast) - The Listening Life by Adam McHugh
MENTIONED IN PODCAST * FREE RESOURCE from Partners in Pastor Renewal. FREE guide and a free hour of consultation for planning your sabbatical. (Mention Potter’s Inn when you contact them for the free hour consultation. Contact info is in the Guide) * Prayer in the Night by Tish Harrison Warren * The Lilly Foundation * Reading: The Wisdom of Enough by Gwen Harding Smith. (Read Poem) * Mary’s Sabbatical Phases (the R’s)
+ **1st Stage: Release and relinquish** - pre-sabbatical. Two weeks handing things off: communicating to partners, constituents, etc. Planning for the sabbatical with staff, family, etc.
+ **2nd Stage: Rest and recovery** - Ceasing all activity.
+ **3rd Stage: Rest, recreation, and relationships**
+ **Final stage: Rest again, and realignment.** Continuing to rest, to engage in deeper reflection, prayer, and discernment around the influences of the sabbatical in vocational call.
MUSIC USED IN PODCAST * First Music Break at 17:44: Japanese Dawn by Daniel Kaede. Provided by Epidemic Sound. * Second Music Break at 40:33: A Prayer for Ukraine by Ukrainian composer and pianist Valentin Silvestrov. Performed by the Bamberg Symphony.
SUPPORT THE PODCAST
We have two ways to make it easy for you:
- Use our Donation Page on our Website
- Donate using our new App
CONTACT US
podcast@pottersinn.com
INTERESTED IN MORE SOUL CARE RESOURCES?
Check out our recommended reading, books on spiritual growth, and our soul care blog. Want to experience soul care in person? Learn more about our soul care intensives and retreats.
This week’s podcast is about the value and need for sabbaticals. There’s just no doubt that the past few years have drained us! Who isn’t exhausted? Who isn’t depleted?
If we think that a weekend away Is enough to help us return to our former selves, then we are in for a crash and burn!
Steve talks with Mary Vandel Young and her husband Jason, about their journey of needing, planning, and taking a sabbatical. This is not a “ how to” podcast. It’s much deeper than that!
ABOUT MARY VANDEL YOUNG & JASON YOUNG Mary Vandel Young’s passion for transformational ministry and soul care has guided her participation, study, leadership and ministry in the area of Christian spiritual formation for more than 20 years. God blessed Mary’s life with JourneyMates in 2006 and has served as Executive Director since 2012.Mary graduated from Baylor University in 1990. She served on Young Life staff nationally and internationally until 2000 and completed a M.Div. from Fuller Theological Seminary in 2003.
Dr. Jason Young has been working as a psychotherapist since 1997, and has worked in full-time private practice since 2005. Dr. Young has extensive experience, academically and clinically, in the integration of Psychology and Theology. His areas of therapeutic expertise are men’s issues, anxiety, depression, sexual trauma, marital conflict, crises of faith, stressors related to pastoral ministry, and sports psychology.
Mary and Jason live in Raleigh, NC and have two teenage sons, Luke and Tobias, and a precious Shi-Tzu named Petey.
- More about JourneyMates
- More about Jason’s Practice
- Suggested Book from Mary (not mentioned in the podcast) - The Listening Life by Adam McHugh
MENTIONED IN PODCAST * FREE RESOURCE from Partners in Pastor Renewal. FREE guide and a free hour of consultation for planning your sabbatical. (Mention Potter’s Inn when you contact them for the free hour consultation. Contact info is in the Guide)
* Taylor Leonhardt song Hold Still.
* Organizations that provide Soul Care:
- Soul Care Institute
- Renovaré
- Leadership Transformations
- Transforming Center
* Reading: For One Who Is Exhausted – A Blessing by John O'Donohue. From his book, To Bless the Space Between Us.
MUSIC USED IN PODCAST * First Music Break at 20:58: The Night is so Moonlit (Lyrics)
Note: The Night is so Moonlit is a Ukrainian folk song composed by Mykola Lysenko, a nineteenth century composer, to the lyrics of a poem written by Mykhailo Starytsky, a contemporary of Lysenko’s. It has subsequently become one of Ukraine’s most popular folk songs. This particular performance was dedicated to all brave Ukrainian people, who will never surrender. Their freedom is our freedom. Their lives are our lives!
* Second Music Break at 42:49: In Thy Kingdom (from the Liturgy) · Performed by Kyiv Chamber Choir, A Thousand Years of Ukrainian Sacred Music.
SUPPORT THE PODCAST
We have two ways to make it easy for you:
- Use our Donation Page on our Website
- Donate using our new App
CONTACT US
podcast@pottersinn.com
INTERESTED IN MORE SOUL CARE RESOURCES?
Check out our recommended reading, books on spiritual growth, and our soul care blog. Want to experience soul care in person? Learn more about our soul care intensives and retreats.
Today, we continue this conversation with Father David. It’s an incredible story— so relevant to today’s world crisis in Ukraine. What motivates Father David to become Eastern Orthodox, and now a priest? What are the gifts we, in the west , can receive by our brothers and sisters in the East? A stunning, moving, and hopeful conversation where our soul meets the world!
ABOUT FATHER DAVID MORRISON Fr. David Morrison is parish priest at St Anthony Orthodox Church in Bozeman, MT. He received his Master of Divinity degree at St. Tikhon’s Orthodox Theological Seminary and a B.A. in History from Trinity University in San Antonio. He spent his first year of marriage teaching high school in Guatemala, is a professional musician, and likes good Tex-Mex food. He and his wife have 3 children, and are grateful to live and hike in beautiful Montana.
- St Anthony Orthodox Church on the web
- St Anthony on Facebook & YouTube
MENTIONED IN PODCAST * Book: The Mountain of Silence: A Search for Orthodox Spirituality * Reading: Let this Darkness be a Bell Tower by Rainer Maria Rilke * Learn more about the Eastern Orthodox Church * Icons and the Holy Mysteries/Sacraments
MUSIC USED IN PODCAST * First Music Break at 16:14: Hymn of the Cherubim (Excerpt) – Performed by State Symphony Capella of Russia. Composer: Peter Tchaikovsky * Second Music Break at 33:16: Now the Heavenly Power, performed by Хор Сретенского монастыря. Composer: Peter Tchaikovsky
SUPPORT THE PODCAST
We have two ways to make it easy for you:
- Use our Donation Page on our Website
- Donate using our new App
CONTACT US
podcast@pottersinn.com
INTERESTED IN MORE SOUL CARE RESOURCES?
Check out our recommended reading, books on spiritual growth, and our soul care blog. Want to experience soul care in person? Learn more about our soul care intensives and retreats.
SHOW NOTES The podcast this week is so timely and so needed!
Steve talks with Father David, a Russian Orthodox priest living and working as a priest in Bozeman, Montana. This is a 2-part podcast that will educate, inspire, and help us to embrace another perspective on the faith.
This is a timely conversation as we watch the people of Ukraine face the perils of today. But it is also for those of us eager to learn more, know more, and do more.
ABOUT FATHER DAVID MORRISON Fr. David Morrison is parish priest at St Anthony Orthodox Church in Bozeman, MT. He received his Master of Divinity degree at St. Tikhon’s Orthodox Theological Seminary and a B.A. in History from Trinity University in San Antonio. He spent his first year of marriage teaching high school in Guatemala, is a professional musician, and likes good Tex-Mex food. He and his wife have 3 children, and are grateful to live and hike in beautiful Montana.
MENTIONED IN PODCAST * St Anthony Orthodox Church * The Lazarus Life by Stephen W. Smith * Reading: I No Longer Pray for Peace by Ann Barr Weems * More about the Eastern Orthodox Church * Dr. Tom Morris podcasts - Part 1 & Part 2 * The sign of the cross (as mentioned by Father David - picture below!)
MUSIC USED IN PODCAST * First Music Break at 19:09 - Hymn to the Theotokos - Russian Kazan Cathedral * Second Music Break at 33:47 - Meeting and Vesting of Bishop: A Mercy Of Peace – Performed by Novospassky Monastery Choir
CONTACT US
podcast@pottersinn.com
INTERESTED IN MORE SOUL CARE RESOURCES?
Check out our recommended reading, books on spiritual growth, and our soul care blog. Want to experience soul care in person? Learn more about our soul care intensives and retreats.
Our world needs kindness right now. Social media is flooded with anger, frustration, fear, despair, and negativity. Technology allows us to interact instantly, but people feel ignored, unheard, misunderstood, discouraged, alone. What if we choose to change that? What if we use digital media to connect, build relationships, and better understand our fellow human beings? — Lauren Hug
I think many of us can agree that digital media can be an overwhelming space. So many different opinions, yet very little respect, or kindness, is shown to one another. The question really is, how do we practice kindness on digital media?
Pam is our host this week and will be talking with Lauren Hug, a lawyer & mediator who now works as a community engagement strategist. Her background as a lawyer gives her a unique perspective on how we can develop community in our online worlds by practicing kindness, grace, and advocacy.
ABOUT LAUREN HUG An accomplished speaker, author, and strategist, Lauren Hug has helped people reach and motivate markets and audiences for 20 years. In 2012 she founded HugSpeak, a community engagement firm that develops participatory communication strategies, empowering vibrant communities in both digital and physical spaces. Her academic credentials include an LL.M. with merit from the University of London, a J.D. with honors from the University of Texas School of Law, and a Bachelor of Journalism and Bachelor of Arts in Spanish from the University of Texas. She is the author of Digital Kindness: Being Human in a Hyper-Connected World, The Professional Woman’s Guide to Getting Promoted and The Manager’s Guide to Presentations.
- Lauren’s Website
- Book: Digital Kindness: Being Human in a Hyper-Connected World
MENTIONED IN PODCAST * Culinary Distancing COS (FB Group) * Conjectures of a Guilty Bystander by Thomas Merton * Factfulness by Hans Rosling * Colossians 3:12-14 MSG
MUSIC USED IN PODCAST * First Music Break at 18:43 – Fulfill by Heath Cantu – from Epidemic Sound * Second Music Break at 43:47: There is a Light by Stonekeepers – Epidemic Sound
SUPPORT THE PODCAST
We have two ways to make it easy for you:
- Use our Donation Page on our Website
- Donate using our new App
CONTACT US
podcast@pottersinn.com
INTERESTED IN MORE SOUL CARE RESOURCES?
Check out our recommended reading, books on spiritual growth, and our soul care blog. Want to experience soul care in person? Learn more about our soul care intensives and retreats.
SHOW NOTES “So deconstruction is not demolition, demolition is easy. You just rent a bulldozer, knock it all down. That’s easy. That’s not all that courageous - you can knock things down. But deconstruction, to say there is some good here and there is some toxicity here. How do I do the work to humbly enter in to take this piece, pull this layer back to explore? It’s more about curiosity. But it’s also so difficult. People underestimate the pain. The pain that initiates deconstruction, and then the pain of doing the deconstruction. — Aaron Niequist
Aaron Niequist is our guest today, and his discussion with Steve is vulnerable, honest, and courageous. Steve asks, what will the church of the future look like? (and Aaron gives an answer that might surprise you!) And what can we envision now to help us lay the foundation for a church we both need and want? We were deeply moved and encouraged by what Aaron had to say, and believe you will be also. Welcome to our conversation with Aaron Niequist.
ABOUT AARON NIEQUIST Aaron Niequist is a liturgist, writer, and pastor in New York City. After leading worship at Mars Hill Church (Grand Rapids, MI) and Willow Creek Church (Barrington, IL), he created A New Liturgy - a collection of modern liturgical worship recordings. He then curated a discipleship-focused, formational, ecumenical, practice-based community at Willow Creek called “The Practice”. Aaron has written his first book, The Eternal Current, about a practice-based faith, and creating resources to help others flesh it out. The best part of his life is his wife Shauna, and their sons Henry and Mac.
- AaronNiequist.com
- A New Liturgy Project
- The Eternal Current Podcast
- BOOK: The Eternal Current: How a Practice-Based Faith Can Save Us From Drowning
MENTIONED IN PODCAST * Shauna Niequist * The Divine Conspiracy by Dallas Willard * Phyllis Tickle * Eugene Peterson * Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7) * A meditation on the beatitudes (Liturgy Project) * Red-Letter Edition of the Bible
MUSIC USED IN PODCAST * First Music Break at 32:06 – Drowning (Instrumental) by Haakon Haug * Second Music Break at 55:58 – The Road Home by Stephen Paulus, performed by Stanford Chamber Chorale
SUPPORT THE PODCAST
We have two ways to make it easy for you:
- Use our Donation Page on our Website
- Donate using our new App
CONTACT US
podcast@pottersinn.com
INTERESTED IN MORE SOUL CARE RESOURCES?
Check out our recommended reading, books on spiritual growth, and our soul care blog. Want to experience soul care in person? Learn more about our soul care intensives and retreats.
The Bible is sort of like a means of grace. It’s almost like it’s not a sacrament, but it’s almost like a sacrament. It’s something you engage and by the act of engaging it and even struggling with it, you’re actually communing with God in some way. — Pete Enns
This is an honest and invigorating conversation with Dr. Peter Enns, scholar and author. Steve explores What is the Bible? How do we interpret the Bible in today’s world?
Controversial evangelical Bible scholar, popular blogger, podcast host of The Bible for Normal People, and author of The Bible Tells Me So and The Sin of Certainty, Dr. Peter Enns explains that the Bible is not an instruction manual or rule book but a powerful learning tool that nurtures our spiritual growth by refusing to provide us with easy answers but instead forces us to acquire wisdom.
Is the Bible authoritative in our daily life and world events?
What did God have in mind in offering us 66 books?
This is a conversation that will disturb some of us and challenge others. It’s time to re-think the Bible in light of the Bible becoming a weapon to beat up each other with.
ABOUT PETER ENNS Dr. Peter Enns (PhD, Harvard University) is Abram S. Clemens professor of Biblical Studies at Eastern University, St. Davids, PA. He has taught courses at several other institutions including Harvard University, Fuller Theological Seminary, and Princeton Theological Seminary. Enns is a frequent contributor to journals and encyclopedias, and is the author of several books, including The Sin of Certainty, How the Bible Actually Works, and The Bible Tells Me So.
- Learn more about Pete
- Pete’s Website
- The Bible for Normal People Podcast
MENTIONED IN PODCAST * Psalms 26:4-5 * Psalms 13 * Psalms 139:12 * Psalm 73 * Beldon Lane Podcast “Nature and the Soul.”
MUSIC USED IN PODCAST * First Music Break at 38:46: River Flows in You by James Bartholomew * Second Music Break at 1:02:07: Cantate Domino – Performed by Abbaye Notre-Dame de Fidélité.
SUPPORT THE PODCAST
We have two ways to make it easy for you:
- Use our Donation Page on our Website
- Donate using our new App
CONTACT US
podcast@pottersinn.com
INTERESTED IN MORE SOUL CARE RESOURCES?
Check out our recommended reading, books on spiritual growth, and our soul care blog. Want to experience soul care in person? Learn more about our soul care intensives and retreats.
**SHOW NOTES** ***“Once you've learned the power of perspective, you can just eventually put your telescope down and look at things as they really are and know that you have the power and the ability to deal with whatever crosses your path.”***
We’ve got Part 2 of our conversation with Tom Morris today - so much wisdom in 34 minutes! Take some time to slow down and listen in to this great discussion on embracing uncertainty.
SPECIAL GUEST TOM V. MORRIS Tom Morris has become one of the most active public philosophers in the world due to his unusual ability to bring the greatest wisdom of the past into the challenges of the present.
A native of Durham, North Carolina and a Distinguished Alumnus of Durham Academy, Tom was a Morehead-Cain Scholar at the University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill, which has honored him, along with Michael Jordan, as a recipient of their "Distinguished Young Alumnus Award." He holds two masters degrees as well as a joint Ph.D. in both Philosophy and Religious Studies from Yale University, as well as other, honorary doctorates in recognition of his public work of bringing practical philosophy back into the cultural mix. Tom served for fifteen years as a Professor of Philosophy at the University of Notre Dame, where he quickly became a campus legend, in many years having an eighth of the entire student body in his classes. Recent projects involve novels, nonfiction books, and a script for an immersive theatrical experience featuring AI and the robotics of five hundred years in the future. He is a firm believer that ideas rock the world. Tom is now Chairman of the Morris Institute for Human Values in Wilmington, NC.
- Tom’s Website
MENTIONED IN PODCAST * Action Step - Read Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7) * Tom’s books mentioned:
+ The Oasis Within
+ If Aristotle Ran General Motors
- Leadership Next Podcast with Alan Murray (Fortune)
-
Books by British scientist and philosopher Michael Polanyl
- Personal Knowledge
- Tacit Knowing
-
Books by Adam Smith
-
Wealth of Nations
- Treatise on the Virtues (aka The Theory of Moral Sentiments)
- Inside Job: Doing the Work Within by Stephen W. Smith
MUSIC USED IN PODCAST * First Music Break at 11:13 – Stolen Land by Line Neesgaard. From www.Epicsound.com * Second Music Break at 32:06 – There Will Be Rest by Frank Ticheli. Based on a poem by Sara Teasdale, Performed by Kantorei.
Download our NEW APP and get quick, easy access to all of our Podcast Episodes!
- You can download the App from Apple, Google, or Amazon - just search for Potter's Inn.
- You can also download any of the versions from one page here - https://subsplash.com/pottersinn/app-download
SUPPORT THE PODCAST
We have two ways to make it easy for you:
- Use our Donation Page on our Website
- Donate using our new App
CONTACT US
podcast@pottersinn.com
INTERESTED IN MORE SOUL CARE RESOURCES?
Check out our recommended reading, books on spiritual growth, and our soul care blog. Want to experience soul care in person? Learn more about our soul care intensives and retreats.
Download our NEW APP and get quick, easy access to all of our Podcast Episodes!
- You can download the App from Apple, Google, or Amazon - just search for Potter's Inn.
- You can also download any of the versions from one page here - https://subsplash.com/pottersinn/app-download
SHOW NOTES Welcome to the 7th Season of the podcast! We are excited to begin the season with our special guest Tom Morris a prolific author and philosopher who will discuss how uncertainty is the canvas on which all our lives are painted.
Special Guest Tom V. Morris
Tom Morris has become one of the most active public philosophers in the world due to his unusual ability to bring the greatest wisdom of the past into the challenges of the present.
A native of Durham, North Carolina and a Distinguished Alumnus of Durham Academy, Tom was a Morehead-Cain Scholar at the University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill, which has honored him, along with Michael Jordan, as a recipient of their "Distinguished Young Alumnus Award." He holds two masters degrees as well as a joint Ph.D. in both Philosophy and Religious Studies from Yale University, as well as other, honorary doctorates in recognition of his public work of bringing practical philosophy back into the cultural mix. Tom served for fifteen years as a Professor of Philosophy at the University of Notre Dame, where he quickly became a campus legend, in many years having an eighth of the entire student body in his classes. Recent projects involve novels, nonfiction books, and a script for an immersive theatrical experience featuring AI and the robotics of five hundred years in the future. He is a firm believer that ideas rock the world. Tom is now Chairman of the Morris Institute for Human Values in Wilmington, NC.
- Tom’s Website
MENTIONED IN PODCAST * Tom’s books mentioned:
The Oasis Within
Plato's Lemonade Stand - Stirring Change Into Something Great
* Anti-Intellectualism in American Life by Richard Hofstadter
* Two Cultures by C.P. Snow
* Moment to Breathe: Book of the Heart: Meditations for the Restless Soul by Meister Eckhart.
Poem: Opening the Heart's Door
Ours is not the work
of seeking You here
or there where we
think You might be,
but of opening
the heart’s door,
and when we do this
You cannot resist
coming in, since
our opening and Your
entering are one: You
knock and wait, and
when we open we
find that You were
there all along and
will not leave us.
MUSIC USED IN PODCAST * First Music Break at 19:50 – A Daisy in December by Mick MCauley & Winifred Horan. From the Album Serenade. * Second Music Break at 30:34 – Angelic Choir by Allen Grey. Licensed by Envato Elements.
CONTACT US
podcast@pottersinn.com
INTERESTED IN MORE SOUL CARE RESOURCES?
Check out our recommended reading, books on spiritual growth, and our soul care blog. Want to experience soul care in person? Learn more about our soul care intensives and retreats.
Season 7 Ep 103 Transcript.pdf
Download our NEW APP and get quick, easy access to all of our Podcast Episodes... plus a weekly devotional & access to lots of great soul care resources !
- You can download the App from Apple, Google, or Amazon - just search for Potter's Inn.
- You can also download any of the versions from one page here - https://subsplash.com/pottersinn/app-download
SHOW NOTES Today we are bringing a bit of Christmas peace and soul care to each of you - much needed as we all get busy with the season.
This podcast has so many beautiful songs of the season, plus encouragement and moments of reflection from Steve. When you listen, try to find a quiet place where you can forget your stresses and anxieties of the day.
We have included a Christmas with Potter's Inn Guide for the episode, which includes all the songs lyrics and readings, and links to mentioned resources. Sing along/read along if you feel like it!
MENTIONED IN PODCAST * DOWNLOAD our new APP!
READINGS & SCRIPTURE IN PODCAST * A Liturgy to Mark the Start of the Christmas Season by Douglas McKelvey from Every Moment Holy * Isaiah 9:6-7 (NIV) * The Winter of Listening by David Whyte – from the book Essentials
MUSIC USED IN PODCAST * First Music Break at 00:52:48 – Away in a Manger (Piano Version) by Johannes Bornlōf / courtesy of www.epidemicsound.com * Second Music Break at 8:13 – O Holy Night (Piano Version) by Johannes Bornlōf /courtesy of www.epidemicsound.com * Third Music Break at 21:41 – Silent Night, arranged Dan Forrest / from Beckenhorst Press * Fourth Music Break at 38:28 – My Lord has Come, performed by Voces8 on the Album Lux / Decca Music Group limited / Words and Music by Will Todd
SUPPORT THE PODCAST
Please consider Potter’s Inn for your year-end giving - we have two ways to make it easy for you:
- Use our Donation Page on our Website
- Donate using our new App
CONTACT US
podcast@pottersinn.com
INTERESTED IN MORE SOUL CARE RESOURCES?
Check out our recommended reading, books on spiritual growth, and our soul care blog. Want to experience soul care in person? Learn more about our soul care intensives and retreats.
We are taking a break this week to spend time with family and will not have a new podcast. We will be back next week with a brand new episode!
Happy Thanksgiving!
Steve, Gwen, and Pam
SHOW NOTES Today's conversation is about Steve's new book 30 Days with the Potter. The book is an invite for you to explore the story of your clay—the awakening of your own spiritual formation and the formation of others around you.
Learn why Steve wrote 30 Days with the Potter and hear Steve read from his favorite sections. It’s the accumulation of 67 years of learning and growing with the Potter!
MENTIONED IN PODCAST * 30 Days with the Potter: A Daily Meditation - Individual copies in paperback, hardcover, and Kindle. * 30 Days with the Potter: A Daily Meditation - BULK Orders
MUSIC USED IN PODCAST
- First Music Break at 17:42 - Ya Eres Mia (Now you are mine) from the Chamber Choir of Europe - Music by Morten Lauridsen | Words by Pablo Nerudo.
- Second Music Break at 40:43 – Deep Peace written by Bill Douglas, from the album Eternity's Sunrise.
SUPPORT THE PODCAST
Donate Here for an individual contribution or on Patreon to set up monthly support.
CONTACT US
podcast@pottersinn.com
INTERESTED IN MORE SOUL CARE RESOURCES?
Check out our recommended reading, books on spiritual growth, and our soul care blog. Want to experience soul care in person? Learn more about our soul care intensives and retreats.
SHOW NOTES “ I can either pretend and say things I don't really believe so that I'll fit in or I will be honest, even knowing that that's going to create some difficulties for me.” - Brian McLaren
We're in the midst of a conversation with Steve and Brian McLaren, talking about the four beautiful heart stages and phases that all of us go through in life.
This episode is our 100th! And to celebrate we will have a giveaway of Steve’s NEW book 30 Days with the Potter. Head on over to our Potter’s Inn Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/pottersinn and look for a post celebrating our 100th episode - it will be up later today!
You are the reason we do this podcast, and we are so grateful you have been here, with us, for this soul care journey.
Special Guest Brian McLaren Brian D. McLaren is an author, speaker, activist, and public theologian. A former college English teacher and pastor, he is a passionate advocate for “a new kind of Christianity” – just, generous, and working with people of all faiths for the common good. He is a faculty member of The Living School and podcaster with Learning How to See, which are part of the Center for Action and Contemplation. He is also an Auburn Senior Fellow and is a co-host of Southern Lights. His newest book is Faith After Doubt, and his next release, Do I Stay Christian? (May 2022) can be preordered now.
Brian is married to Grace, and they have four adult children and five grandchildren. His personal interests include wildlife and ecology, fly fishing and kayaking, music and songwriting, and literature.
Brian McLaren’s Website
Mentioned in podcast * Faith After Doubt by Brian McLaren * Moment to Breathe — from An Approach to God by Rev. Dr. Doug Gay * The Four Stages of Faith Development that Brian described:
-
Simplicity (Stage of Dualism) — You’re either for us or against us. It’s all or nothing.
-
Complexity — There’s more than one way to do things. Learning to think for yourself.
-
Perplexity — Everyone has an opinion. Who knows who is right?
-
Harmony/Humility — Seek first God’s Kingdom; love God, love neighbors; unity.
MUSIC USED IN PODCAST
- First Music Break at 15:41 - Artist: Christian Andersen | Title: Big Passion | courtesy of www.epidemicsound.com
- Second Music Break at 35:05 – Artist: Johannes Bornlof | Title: Godsend | courtesy of www.epidemicsound.com
SUPPORT THE PODCAST
Donate Here for an individual contribution or on Patreon to set up monthly support.
CONTACT US
podcast@pottersinn.com
INTERESTED IN MORE SOUL CARE RESOURCES?
Check out our recommended reading, books on spiritual growth, and our soul care blog. Want to experience soul care in person? Learn more about our soul care intensives and retreats.
And so a big part of my life has been helping people find a way to stay Christian when the forms of Christianity they grew up with feel like a really badly fitting suit of clothes. -Brian McLaren
SHOW NOTES Steve had an incredible conversation with author, pastor, theologian, and activist Brian McLaren and today is Part 1! Brian’s story resonates with so many of us who feel lost, confused, and in tension about all that is happening in the world and in our hearts.
This podcast will help you feel not so alone - we found Brian incredibly humble, honest, and wise. There's so much truth here - dive in and please, talk to us below in the comments. We would love to hear what you thought about today’s conversation.
Special Guest Brian McLaren
Brian D. McLaren is an author, speaker, activist, and public theologian. A former college English teacher and pastor, he is a passionate advocate for “a new kind of Christianity” – just, generous, and working with people of all faiths for the common good. He is a faculty member of The Living School and podcaster with Learning How to See, which are part of the Center for Action and Contemplation. He is also an Auburn Senior Fellow and is a co-host of Southern Lights. His newest book is *Faith After Doubt*, and his next release, *Do I Stay Christian?* (May 2022) can be preordered now.
Brian is married to Grace, and they have four adult children and five grandchildren. His personal interests include wildlife and ecology, fly fishing and kayaking, music and songwriting, and literature.
Brian McLaren’s Website
MENTIONED IN PODCAST * Faith After Doubt by Brian McLaren * The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill * Divine Conspiracy by Dallas Willard * A Prayer for Enemies by Nikolaj Velimirović * Moment to Breathe Music - from Psalms from Scotland: Psalm 139, set to the tune Highland Cathedral. * The First 2 Stages of Faith Development that Brian described:
-
Simplicity (Stage of Dualism)— You’re either for us or against us. It’s all or nothing.
-
Complexity — There’s more than one way to do things. Learning to think for yourself.
(Stages 3 and 4 will be discussed next week in Part 2)
SUPPORT THE PODCAST
Donate Here for an individual contribution or on Patreon to set up monthly support.
CONTACT US
podcast@pottersinn.com
INTERESTED IN MORE SOUL CARE RESOURCES?
Check out our recommended reading, books on spiritual growth, and our soul care blog. Want to experience soul care in person? Learn more about our soul care intensives and retreats.
SHOW NOTES Today is a don't miss of Part 2 of Steve’s conversation with Winn Collier. They discuss The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill Podcast, The Message, how Peterson navigated criticism, and more. You will want to pass this one along to your friends and family!
SPECIAL GUEST WINN COLLIER In addition to A Burning in My Bones, Winn Collier has authored four books (Restless Faith, Let God: The Transforming Wisdom of François Fénelon, Holy Curiosity, and Love Big, Be Well) and contributed to numerous other volumes. He has written for multiple periodicals including Christianity Today, Christian Century, Relevant, and the Washington Post.
A pastor for twenty-five years, Winn was the founding pastor of All Souls Charlottesville in Virginia. He now directs the Eugene Peterson Center for Christian Imagination at Western Theological Seminary in Michigan. He holds a PhD from the University of Virginia, where he focused on the intersection of religion and literary fiction. Winn and his wife, Miska, a spiritual director, live in Holland, Michigan, with their two sons.
Winn’s Website
Winn’s books:
- A Burning in my Bones: An Authorized Biography of Eugene Peterson
- Love Big and Be Well
- Restless Faith: Hanging On To a God Just out of Reach
- Let God: Spiritual Conversations with François Fénelon
MENTIONED IN PODCAST * A Burning in my Bones: An Authorized Biography of Eugene Peterson * Eugene Peterson’s Books * The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill * Divine Conspiracy by Dallas Willard * Eugene Peterson Center for Christian Imagination * The Message * Let God: Spiritual Conversations with Francois Fenelon * Moment to Breathe with Joe Chambers
+ Excerpt from *In the Name of Jesus* by Henri Nouwen.
+ Link to purchase In the Name of Jesus by Henry Nouwen
+ Henri Nouwen’s Books
SUPPORT THE PODCAST
Donate Here for an individual contribution or on Patreon to set up monthly support.
CONTACT US
podcast@pottersinn.com
INTERESTED IN MORE SOUL CARE RESOURCES?
Check out our recommended reading, books on spiritual growth, and our soul care blog. Want to experience soul care in person? Learn more about our soul care intensives and retreats.
If you want to cut to the core of who I am, I’d say this: I’m husband to the beautiful and graceful Miska Tolleson Collier. Miska is a spiritual director and yoga teacher, a poet-mystic and the person I most respect in this world. I’m dad to Wyatt and Seth, the two who’ve pulled strands of love out of me that I didn’t know existed. I’m friend to a few misty-eyed men and a few courageous women. I prefer what’s slow over what’s efficient. I’m suspicious of anyone who’s cock-sure. I’m weary of all the bullhorns. I’m partial to things that are worn and a bit ragged. I think truth is best told slant. I believe in hope. — Winn Collier
SHOW NOTES Winn Collier is a pastor & author whose most recent book is “A Burning in my Bones,” an authorized biography of Eugene Peterson. While Winn does delve into Eugene’s life and the book, this podcast is really about Winn Collier: who he is, where he came from, how he got to this point in his life, and the difficult times we are living in.
Listen in and hear the heart of this man of faith.
Winn & Eugene Peterson **SPECIAL GUEST WINN COLLIER** In addition to *A Burning in My Bones,* **Winn Collier** has authored four books (*Restless Faith, Let God: The Transforming Wisdom of François Fénelon, Holy Curiosity,* and *Love Big, Be Well*) and contributed to numerous other volumes. He has written for multiple periodicals including *Christianity Today, Christian Century, Relevant,* and the *Washington Post.*A pastor for twenty-five years, Winn was the founding pastor of All Souls Charlottesville in Virginia. He now directs the Eugene Peterson Center for Christian Imagination at Western Theological Seminary in Michigan. He holds a PhD from the University of Virginia, where he focused on the intersection of religion and literary fiction. Winn and his wife, Miska, a spiritual director, live in Holland, Michigan, with their two sons.
Winn’s Website
Winn’s books mentioned:
- Restless Faith: Hanging On To a God Just out of Reach
- A Burning in my Bones: An Authorized Biography of Eugene Peterson
- Love Big and Be Well
- Let God: Spiritual Conversations with François Fénelon
MENTIONED IN PODCAST
- Eugene Peterson Center for Christian Imagination
- Book of Lamentations
- Wendell Berry's Books
- Subversive Spirituality by Eugene Peterson
- Chuck DeGroat - Chuck has been a guest on our podcast twice
- The Message
- Moment to Breathe with Kaylene Derksen
- What to Remember When Waking by David Whyte
**SUPPORT THE PODCAST**Donate Here for an individual contribution or on Patreon to set up monthly support.
CONTACT US
podcast@pottersinn.com
INTERESTED IN MORE SOUL CARE RESOURCES?
Check out our recommended reading, books on spiritual growth, and our soul care blog. Want to experience soul care in person? Learn more about our soul care intensives and retreats.
SHOW NOTES We are FINALLY continuing the conversation with Steve and Belden Lane today!
Belden and Steve discuss why lament is absolutely necessary for each of us, and how lament is the way out of our national meltdown, our constant state of living on the edge in a frazzled world.
It is stunning, sobering, and powerfully hope filled - don’t miss this conversation!
**SPECIAL GUEST BELDEN C. LANE** Belden C. Lane is a Presbyterian theologian who teaches on a Jesuit faculty at Saint Louis University. His interests include the relationship between geography and faith, wilderness backpacking in the Ozarks, the magic of storytelling, desert spirituality, exposing students to urban poverty through the Catholic Worker community, and the poetry of Rumi. He also works with men, helping to lead initiation rites through Richard Rohr's program for Men as Learners and Elders in Albuquerque. He lives with his wife Patricia, a spiritual director and retired school teacher, in Saint Louis. Drawn to sacred places around the world, his travels have involved camping in Egypt, Ireland and the Virgin Islands; hiking in Greece, Hawaii, and Australia; and study in England, Israel and Mexico. For six years I served in the pastorate, from a village parish in western New York State to the historic First Presbyterian Church of Philadelphia. Some time ago he found himself delightfully introduced as a *Presbyterian minister teaching at a Roman Catholic university telling Jewish stories* at the Vedanta Society.
More about Belden
Belden’s Books:
- The Solace of Fierce Landscapes: Exploring Desert and Mountain Spirituality
- Ravished by Beauty: The Surprising Legacy of Reformed Spirituality
- Backpacking with the Saints: Wilderness Hiking as Spiritual Practice
- The Great Conversation: Nature and the Care of the Soul
MENTIONED IN PODCAST * Apophatic and Cataphatic Tradition * Walter Brueggemann on Psalms of Disorientation * Richard Rohr’s Center for Action and Contemplation * Illuman - Richard Rohr Ministry for Men * Paula D’Arcy - Red Bird Foundation * Paula D’Arcy’s book The Gift of the Red Bird
**SUPPORT THE PODCAST**
Donate Here for an individual contribution or on Patreon to set up monthly support.
CONTACT US
podcast@pottersinn.com
INTERESTED IN MORE SOUL CARE RESOURCES?
Check out our recommended reading, books on spiritual growth, and our soul care blog. Want to experience soul care in person? Learn more about our soul care intensives and retreats.
This season is all about **Complex Conversations** and how these conversations can help us buffet the fierce winds that are blowing in our lives.
**SHOW NOTES** **Warning: this podcast is not for the faint of heart!**
It is not for those who attend church and equate that with the pilgrimage of the 4th century, when those who did not want to be swallowed by culture fled to the desert to not survive, but thrive!
It might undo you as it has undone me.
I talk with Belden Lane about the difference in being a spiritual pilgrim and a spiritual tourist. A tourist is one who sees enough to take a photo proving that they had been there. A pilgrim is one who pays the price of entering the wilderness, only to find themselves and God.
We speak of the dangers of social media where soul care is watered down by selling things, being merely consumers of the spiritual life rather than embracing wilderness. Emptying our self to live empty, broken, and void of ego. We spoke of “the greening of our faith.” Honoring nature as a portal to God the Creator.
It was like sitting with a prophet who was speaking out about the church, who has lost its soul.
Join us!
**SPECIAL GUEST BELDEN C. LANE** Belden C. Lane is a Presbyterian theologian who teaches on a Jesuit faculty at Saint Louis University. His interests include the relationship between geography and faith, wilderness backpacking in the Ozarks, the magic of storytelling, desert spirituality, exposing students to urban poverty through the Catholic Worker community, and the poetry of Rumi. He also works with men, helping to lead initiation rites through Richard Rohr's program for Men as Learners and Elders in Albuquerque.
He lives with his wife Patricia, a spiritual director and retired school teacher, in Saint Louis. Drawn to sacred places around the world, his travels have involved camping in Egypt, Ireland and the Virgin Islands; hiking in Greece, Hawaii, and Australia; and study in England, Israel and Mexico. For six years he served in the pastorate, from a village parish in western New York State to the historic First Presbyterian Church of Philadelphia. Some time ago he found himself delightfully introduced as a *Presbyterian minister teaching at a Roman Catholic university telling Jewish stories* at the Vedanta Society.
More about Belden
Belden’s Books:
- The Solace of Fierce Landscapes: Exploring Desert and Mountain Spirituality
- Ravished by Beauty: The Surprising Legacy of Reformed Spirituality
- Backpacking with the Saints: Wilderness Hiking as Spiritual Practice
- The Great Conversation: Nature and the Care of the Soul
MENTIONED IN PODCAST * Richard Rohr quote “from disorder to reorder to new order” - from his book The Wisdom Pattern: Order, Disorder, Reorder. * Thomas Berry book on the Great Conversation - Befriending the Earth: A Theology of Reconciliation Between Humans and the Earth * SNEAK PEAK: 30 Days with the Potter Devotional reading - Foundational Love of God (Text)
**SUPPORT THE PODCAST**
Donate Here for an individual contribution or on Patreon to set up monthly support.
CONTACT US
podcast@pottersinn.com
INTERESTED IN MORE SOUL CARE RESOURCES?
Check out our recommended reading, books on spiritual growth, and our soul care blog. Want to experience soul care in person? Learn more about our soul care intensives and retreats.
This season is all about Complex Conversations and how these conversations can help us buffet the fierce winds that are blowing in our lives. SHOW NOTES We have Part 2 of The Evangelical Diaspora: Getting Out of our Boxes for you today. And honestly, it’s even better than Part 1!
NOTE: We highly recommend you listen to Part 1 first and then come back to hear the rest of the story in Part 2.
Part 2 continues with Greg and Steve, where Greg shares his story of change and breaking out of boxes that don't fit and beliefs that simply did not work for him any more.
Can you identify?
There are few show notes. But listen well and listen often as this conversation just might become a road map for you to take some steps to deconstruct some boxes--which may be different from Greg's boxes or Steve's boxes but will help you to find the language and love to join in the process of deconstructing boxes you may be finding.
The pandemic, politics, racial stress, and economic challenge have all required new ways of thinking for all of us. No one gets a pass on not feeling like "something is not right...something is not working any more." We hope this particular podcast will give you something to think about, something to argue with, and some much needed HOPE… plus some courage to take some steps that await you for a new beginning.
Special Guest Greg Farrand
Greg is the Executive Director at Second Breath Center, a Servant leadership school that focuses on moving beyond mere intellectual understanding of God, faith, and love to actually experiencing them with mind, heart, and body.
Greg attended Reformed Theological Seminary and worked in several unique ministry settings, including as a missionary in Uganda, and in campus ministry. Greg also served as founder and lead pastor of Spring Garden Community Church and as co-director of Selah Spiritual Formation, a nonprofit committed to facilitating spiritual direction and retreats.
Greg spent most of his early life living in Japan and Taiwan. He now lives in Greensboro, NC with his wife Beth, who works as a spiritual director. They have three grown sons. In his free time, Greg enjoys hiking and being in nature.
**MENTIONED IN PODCAST** * Dallas Willard
- City of God by St. Augustine
- Richard Rohr
- The Five Solas (includes Sola Scripture mentioned in podcast)
- Last Chapter of the Book of Romans
-
More of Greg’s Story - My Journey from a Conservative Presbyterian to a Progressive Episcopal Priest
-
Second Breath Center
- 30 Days With The Potter Devotional (SNEAK PEAK) - The Place of Becoming (Text only)
**SUPPORT THE PODCAST**
Donate Here for an individual contribution or on Patreon to set up monthly support.
CONTACT US
podcast@pottersinn.com
INTERESTED IN MORE SOUL CARE RESOURCES?
Check out our recommended reading, books on spiritual growth, and our soul care blog. Want to experience soul care in person? Learn more about our soul care intensives and retreats.
This season is all about **Complex Conversations** and how these conversations can help us buffet the fierce winds that are blowing in our lives. **SHOW NOTES** **The Evangelical Diaspora: Getting Out of our Boxes** is a raw, honest, and lively discussion between Steve and Greg Ferrand. It is a conversation where Greg shares his story of change and breaking out of boxes that don't fit and beliefs that simply did not work for him any more.
Can you identify?
There are few show notes. But listen well and listen often as this conversation just might become a road map for you to take some steps to deconstruct some boxes--which may be different from Greg's boxes or Steve's boxes but will help you to find the language and love to join in the process of deconstructing boxes you may be finding.
The Pandemic, politics, racial stress, and economic challenge have all required new ways of thinking for all of us. No one gets a pass on not feeling like "something is not right...something is not working any more." We hope this particular podcast will give you something to think about, something to argue with, and some courage to take some steps that await you for a new beginning.
**SPECIAL GUEST GREG FARRAND** Greg Farrand is the Executive Director at Second Breath Center, a Servant leadership school that focuses on moving beyond mere intellectual understanding of God, faith, and love to actually experiencing them with mind, heart, and body.
Greg attended Reformed Theological Seminary and worked in several unique ministry settings, including as a missionary in Uganda, and in campus ministry. Greg also served as founder and lead pastor of Spring Garden Community Church and as co-director of Selah Spiritual Formation, a nonprofit committed to facilitating spiritual direction and retreats.
Greg spent most of his early life living in Japan and Taiwan. He now lives in Greensboro, NC with his wife Beth, who works as a spiritual director. They have three grown sons. In his free time, Greg enjoys hiking and being in nature.
MENTIONED IN PODCAST * More of Greg’s Story - My Journey from a Conservative Presbyterian to a Progressive Episcopal Priest
- Second Breath Center
-
30 Days With The Potter Devotional SNEAK PEAK - The Messy Art of Being Transformed (TEXT from reading in podcast)
SUPPORT THE PODCAST
Donate Here for an individual contribution or on Patreon to set up monthly support.
CONTACT US
podcast@pottersinn.com
INTERESTED IN MORE SOUL CARE RESOURCES?
Check out our recommended reading, books on spiritual growth, and our soul care blog. Want to experience soul care in person? Learn more about our soul care intensives and retreats.
**SHOW NOTES** Welcome to our sixth season of the ***Soul Care Conversations Podcast***! Steve is anchoring the season with a thoughtful discussion on our theme of **Complex Conversations** – and how these conversations can help us buffet the fierce winds that are blowing in our lives. It’s all in learning to live with our soul and mind, while trying to find, with each other, foundational places where we can anchor ourselves. It’s a great discussion and introduction to what this season will be about.
Also included is a reading from our new devotional, 365 Days with the Potter, which will be launching this fall with our new Potter’s Inn App!
MENTIONED IN PODCAST * Book - Faith After Doubt: Why Your Beliefs Stopped Working and What to Do About It by Brian McLaren * Book - Backpacking with the Saints by Beldon Lane * Poem read in podcast - The Landscape is my Innerscape by Stephen W. Smith * SNEAK PEAK: 30 Days with the Potter Devotional reading - Foundational Love of God
**SUPPORT THE PODCAST**
Donate Here for an individual contribution or on Patreon to set up monthly support.
CONTACT US
podcast@pottersinn.com
INTERESTED IN MORE SOUL CARE RESOURCES?
Check out our recommended reading, books on spiritual growth, and our soul care blog. Want to experience soul care in person? Learn more about our soul care intensives and retreats.
**SHOW NOTES**
Important Information Regarding This Particular Podcast: We do not consider this podcast to be an introduction to the Enneagram. We assume in the podcast that the listener will have some orientation and understanding of the Enneagram. We have listed some books and a previous podcast below for you as resources to discover more about the Enneagram.
—————————
In these days of global crisis, we felt it was imperative for us to have a conversation with seasoned experts and trusted authors, Doug and Adele Calhoun on how the Enneagram helps us understand how each of us react differently under stress, fear and the pandemic facing us at the present moment.
For those of you who have been introduced to the Enneagram and understand your own type and the types of those you love who are around you, this podcast will prove valuable, if not invaluable. See if you don’t agree with us while listening! There is something for every single person in this podcast.
This is a longer than usual podcast, but worth every minute! We added a break in the middle so you can stretch your legs, get a drink of water, or pause it to listen to later.
The Enneagram has been used by Potter’s Inn for over a decade to help each of us understand ourselves. It was the great reformer, John Calvin who wrote in the opening pages of the Institute that *“The greatest way to know God is to know ourselves.”*
The diagram below shows the Enneagram numbers and their relationship to other numbers and types.
**SPECIAL GUESTS DOUG AND ADELE CALHOUN** Adele and Doug Calhoun have served on the pastoral staff of four churches and are currently co-pastors of spiritual formation at Highrock Covenant Church in Arlington, Massachusetts. As certified Enneagram instructors, they enjoy resourcing spiritual leaders and pastors through spiritual direction and teaching the Enneagram.
Adele is the author of Spiritual Disciplines Handbook, Invitations from God, and coauthor of True You. Doug is adjunct faculty at the Transforming Center and at Potter’s Inn Soul Care Institute, and he is board chair of Del Camino Connection.
- Adele and Doug’s Ministry Website
USEFUL RESOURCES
- Previous podcast with Doug and Adele Calhoun on the Enneagram - You may find it beneficial to listen to this podcast first before you listen to this particular podcast.
-
RECOMMENDED BOOKS
- FROM OUR GUESTS: Spiritual Rhythms for the Enneagram by Adele & Doug Calhoun and Clare & Scott Loughrige
- The Enneagram Made Easy by Elizabeth Wagele
- The Sacred Enneagram by Christopher L. Heuertz
- The Smith’s own “go to book” to always have on hand: Essential Enneagram: The Definitive Personality Test and Self-Discovery Guideby David Daniels
- The Complete Enneagram: 27 Paths to Greater Self-Knowledge by Beatrice Chestnut
- OTHER RESOURCES
The Potter’s Inn Soul Care Institute offers in-depth one-week training on the Enneagram during their two-year program. Learn more at www.soulcareinstitute.com
Moment to Breathe - Prayers for each Enneagram
- Audio
Support the Podcast: Donate Here for an individual contribution or on Patreon to set up monthly support.
Sign up to receive email notifications as future episodes are available: Sign Up Here
SEND US YOUR FEEDBACK! Leave a comment below or send our co-host team a message at **podcast@pottersinn.com**
This is WEEK 9 of our summer series The Roaring Summer of ‘21 Series: The Best of the Best! We have gone back thru all 5 of our seasons and come up with 10 episodes that have been our most listened to and will be airing those episodes over the next 10 weeks.
Today is our 2nd most popular podcast (one more week until #1!) - Cultivating Daily Shalom: Using the Daily Examen with Steve as host. Enjoy!
SHOW NOTES The art of reflecting on our day is almost a lost art in our busy and over-committed life. However, in this week’s podcast, Steve explores an ancient spiritual exercise called The Daily Examen. Steve walks us through five easy steps used to reflect back upon our day, to see where God was in our midst and to foster a heart of gratitude.
SHOW NOTES The art of reflecting on our day is almost a lost art in our busy and over-committed life. However, in this week’s podcast, Steve explores an ancient spiritual exercise called The Daily Examen. Steve walks us through five easy steps used to reflect back upon our day, to see where God was in our midst that we might have missed because of our busyness, and to foster a heart of gratitude.
RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THE PODCAST * Episode 11 - Discernment: The Journey To Discover God’s Will * DOWNLOAD: Five Steps to the Daily Examen * Moment to Breathe: Matthew 11: 28-30 (MSG)
Support the Podcast: Donate Here for an individual contribution or on Patreon to set up monthly support.
This is WEEK 8 of our summer series The Roaring Summer of ‘21 Series: The Best of the Best! We have gone back thru all 5 of our seasons and come up with 10 episodes that have been our most listened to and will be airing those episodes over the next 10 weeks.
Today is our 3rd most popular podcast, What is a Soul Friendship? Kaylene was joined by Special Guest Tara Owens in the episode.
SHOW NOTES Today we are talking about friendship. Not just any kind of friendship, but a spiritual, soul friendship. What is a soul friend? (In Gaelic it is known as Anam Cara). And how does it tie in to having a spiritual director? Listen in on this conversation with Kaylene and Tara Owens, founder of Anam Cara Ministry, and learn!
RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THE PODCAST Today’s Guest - Tara Owens
Tara was born in Montreal to British parents who moved to Canada for a better life for their growing family. Canadian by birth and British by blood, she has lived all over the US, and now lives in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
Tara discerned the call to spiritual direction while completing a Master of Theological Studies in Spiritual Formation at Tyndale Seminary in Toronto. She was captured by the incredible privilege it is to companion someone as they discern the voice of the Loving Creator in their lives.
Tara founded Anam Cara Ministries in 2007 as a place of where true soul friendship can be found. ‘Anam Cara’ is an ancient Celtic word meaning ‘soul friend,’ one of the essential qualities of a spiritual director.
Suggestions on where to find a Spiritual Director:
- Your local church
- A local seminary
- Retreat Centers
- Anam Cara Ministry
- Potter’s Inn
Moment to Breathe - A Friendship Blessing by John O’Donohue - from his book Anam Cara: A Book Of Celtic Wisdom
SUPPORT THE PODCAST Donate Here for an individual contribution or on Patreon to set up monthly support.
SEND US YOUR FEEDBACK! Leave a comment below or send our co-host team a message at **podcast@pottersinn.com**
*This is* ***WEEK 7*** *of our summer series* ***The Roaring Summer of ‘21 Series: The Best of the Best!*** *We have gone back thru all 5 of our seasons and come up with 10 episodes that have been our most listened to and will be airing those episodes over the next 10 weeks.*
Today is our 4th most popular podcast, and is one of our very first episodes (#2!) - What is Soul Care?
SHOW NOTES Join co-hosts Steve Smith and Joe Chambers as they give more definition to what soul care is and how it relates to… icebergs and the Brooklyn Bridge? Yup, both of those! Steve shows us the stress caused by living divided lives and lays out the importance of caring for all aspects of the human experience: physical, emotional, relational, vocational, and spiritual.
LINKS AND RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THE PODCAST * Understanding the Soul (with Icebergs illustration): View and Download Here * Article: Five Reasons Soul Care Matters by Stephen W. Smith: View and Download Here * Poem: For One Who Is Exhausted by John O’Donohue. This poem is available in his book To Bless The Space Between Us: A Book of Blessings. Learn more about John O’Donohue at www.johnodonohue.com
BOOKS RECOMMENDED * The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk M.D. * Conjectures of a Guilty Bystander by Thomas Merton * Building Below the Waterline: Shoring Up the Foundations of Leadership by Gordon MacDonald
Support the Podcast: Donate Here for an individual contribution or on Patreon.
Sign up to receive email notifications as future episodes are available: Sign Up Here
This is WEEK 6 of our summer series The Roaring Summer of ‘21 Series: The Best of the Best! We have gone back thru all 5 of our seasons and come up with 10 episodes that have been our most listened to and will be airing those episodes over the next 10 weeks.
Today is our 5th most popular podcast, and originally aired just last year in September 2020 - Soul Care in Exhaustion.
SHOW NOTES This week’s episode is Steve sharing his recent struggles with exhaustion… that deep in the heart, soul weary exhaustion that many of us are struggling with now. It’s a beautiful episode that will speak to your heart and soul and help you find the unforced rhythms of grace.
What Steve did to help his recovery
-
Pulled away from the news
- Let go of newspaper
- Limited tv news/ads
-
Delete, snooze, and hide toxic people from social media
-
Took off to Blue Ridge Mountains for time away
- Made a dam at creek - a symbol for the things damned in him that needed to get out
-
Let nature bring healing and rest
-
Put ourselves out in God’s glory – do daily detoxing
- Read the red letters of Jesus – focused on Jesus and nothing else
MENTIONED IN THE PODCAST * Matthew 11:28 (MSG) * A Timbered Choir: The Sabbath Poems by Wendell Berry * POEM: A Blessing for one who is Exhausted by John O’Donohue * POEM: I Think I Need One Hundred Days Like This! by Stephen W. Smith * Blog Post from Steve that started the idea of this episode - Finding the Courage to be Exhausted
SUPPORT THE PODCAST Donate Here for an individual contribution or on Patreon to set up monthly support.
CONTACT US podcast@pottersinn.com
INTERESTED IN MORE SOUL CARE RESOURCES? Check out our recommended reading, books on spiritual growth, and our soul care blog. Want to experience soul care in person? Learn more about our soul care intensives and retreats.
This is WEEK 5 of our summer series The Roaring Summer of ‘21 Series: The Best of the Best! We have gone back thru all 5 of our seasons and come up with 10 episodes that have been our most listened too and will be airing those episodes over the next 10 weeks.
Today is our 6th most popular podcast, and originally aired just last year in October, 2021 - Belovedness: The Core Truth that Changes Everything.
SHOW NOTES Today’s Verse’s: Mark 1:9-11 (NIV)
Friends, the message of this podcast is a game changer. It’s that profound and it’s that simple.
I’ve spent years of my life and ministry trying to wrap my head and heart around what I’m talking with you about this week in this particular podcast.
For sure, if you listen to one podcast this week—let this ONE be it!
Share it with some friends and try to listen to it with your spouse, family, or friends.
I’m going to send the link to some specific men and women that I, myself, have been on the journey of understanding the profound truth of what it means to call oneself, the Beloved of God.
Three years ago, our Board of Potter’s inn mandated Gwen and I to capture the key message—the essence of the ministry of Potter’s Inn. They asked us to take the time to record these messages so that the message might outlive us. This one message would be what I can honestly tell you is THE message that has altered so many lives in our work around the world. We hope that you’ll be greatly blessed and encouraged by this. Goodness…what days these are—that we simply need the good news! This, dear friends is the good news we can savor!
It is with this great and profound seriousness—that we send you this week’s podcast!
Thank you for your support and prayers these days.
Every blessing!
Steve and Gwen Smith
MENTIONED IN THE PODCAST * Mark 1:9-11 (NIV) * Priest and Author Romano Guardini - Essay We've Got Some Work to Do * Author Macrina Wiederkehr * Pastor and Swiss Psychologist Walter Trobisch * Romans 8 (The Message) * Reading from Life of the Beloved by Henry Nouwen
BOOKS/Resources MENTIONED toward end of podcast
- Love Yourself: Self-Acceptance and Depression by Walter Trobisch
- Life of the Beloved by Henry Nouwen
- The Gift of Being Yourself by David Benner
- Soul Custody: Choosing to Care for the One and Only You by Stephen W. Smith
SUPPORT THE PODCAST Donate Here for an individual contribution or on Patreon to set up monthly support.
CONTACT US podcast@pottersinn.com
INTERESTED IN MORE SOUL CARE RESOURCES? Check out our recommended reading, books on spiritual growth, and our soul care blog. Want to experience soul care in person? Learn more about our soul care intensives and retreats.
This is WEEK 4 of our summer series The Roaring Summer of ‘21 Series: The Best of the Best! We have gone back thru all 5 of our seasons and come up with 10 episodes that have been our most listened too and will be airing those episodes over the next 10 weeks.
Today is our 7th most popular podcast, and originally aired during Season Two in September 2019 - How Jesus Lived in Rhythm.
SHOW NOTES We are looking at the Model of Rhythm in the life of Jesus… the perfect example, the way, the truth, and the life for each of us. This is one of the most important topics we share and a game changer for so many! Steve will then lead us in a reflection on 1 Corinthians 2:12-13 and 1 Corinthians 7:5-6.
- I Corinthians 2:12-13 (The Message)
- I Corinthians 7:5-6 (NIV)
RESOURCES/SCRIPTURE MENTIONED IN THE PODCAST * FREE DOWNLOAD of the Rhythm Reader, a resource for you to reflect on how to live in Rhythm. Take time to circle or underline key words that stir something inside you while using this resource. * Moment to Breathe - Taken from Chapter 4 in the “The Jesus Life” where Steve explains rhythm in more detail. You can buy it for just $10! - www.pottersinn.com/bookstore/the-jesus-life * To learn more about rhythm and what it can mean in each our lives, listen to the podcast “The Rhythm of Life.” * John 14:6 (NIV) * Luke 2:41 (NIV) * Luke 4:16 (NIV) * Luke 4:42 (NIV) * Luke 5:15-16 (NIV) * Psalm 46:10 (NIV) * Luke 9:10 (NIV) * Luke 21:37-38 (NIV)
SUPPORT THE PODCAST Donate Here for an individual contribution or on Patreon to set up monthly support.
This is WEEK 3 of our summer series The Roaring Summer of ‘21 Series: The Best of the Best! We have gone back thru all 5 of our seasons and come up with 10 episodes that have been our most listened too and will be airing those episodes over the next 10 weeks.
Today is our 8th most popular podcast, and was our 5th episode back in May 2019 - Three Core Questions of Every Soul.
SHOW NOTES In this episode we join Steve and Gwen for two sessions of their Soul Care 101 course recorded at the retreat center known as Potter’s Inn at Aspen Ridge. Enjoy this fireside conversation with pops and crackles from the fireplace, as they examine the three core questions of every soul. In the first session they talk about:
Question 1 - Am I Loved?
Every person everywhere wants to know if they are loved. Some (or all) of us may have love wounds where we either didn’t get the love we needed or we looked for love in all the wrong places. Learn what it means to be beloved and how to rest in the truth of God’s love for us.
Question 2 - Am I Safe?
What fears do we carry with us that shape us? How do these fears affect our image of God? If we don’t feel safe how does that affect how we relate to others? Also it’s good to ask, am I a safe person? Do I listen to others or am I quick to judge?
Question 3 - Do I Belong?
It is evident from an early age that we all want to belong to a group, a community. Where are we finding our safe community? Is it the right place? Are we able to be our true selves there or do we feel that we have to act or look a certain way? Do we change our behavior depending on where we are or who we are with?
RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THE PODCAST * Download a Study Guide for Question 1 and Questions 2 and 3 * Soul Care 101 Course: Purchase here at the Potter’s Inn Bookstore * Scripture reading: Deuteronomy 7:7-9 * Moment to Breathe: The Inner Voice by Henri Nouwen. Read the excerpt here. * Why Am I Afraid to Tell You Who I Am? by John Powell
Support the Podcast: Donate Here for an individual contribution or on Patreon to set up monthly support.
This is WEEK 2 of our summer series The Roaring Summer of ‘21 Series: The Best of the Best! We have gone back thru all 5 of our seasons and come up with 10 episodes that have been our most listened too and will be airing those episodes over the next 10 weeks.
Today is our 9th most popular podcast, which was recorded at the beginning of the pandemic and originally aired in March 2020 and called Lamenting through the Pandemic.
SHOW NOTES
How can we ever find words for all our groaning’s stirring inside of us?
Steve has an engaging and helpful conversation with Tara Owens about Grief, Lament, and the Pandemic. The podcast will offer a unique way to actually write your own lament--to get 'this’ out of you.
We are offering Tara’s guide on Lament “French Pantoum-An Exercise for Lament” in the RESOURCES below that is a guide to help you write your own personal lament.
And please head over to our "Soul Care Conversation Facebook Page” and share your lament with us.
**SPECIAL GUEST TARA OWENS** Tara was born in Montreal to British parents who moved to Canada for a better life for their growing family. Canadian by birth and British by blood, she has lived all over the US, and now lives in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
Tara discerned the call to spiritual direction while completing a Master of Theological Studies in Spiritual Formation at Tyndale Seminary in Toronto. She was captured by the incredible privilege it is to companion someone as they discern the voice of the Loving Creator in their lives.
Tara founded Anam Cara Ministries in 2007 as a place of where true soul friendship can be found. ‘Anam Cara’ is an ancient Celtic word meaning ‘soul friend,’ one of the essential qualities of a spiritual director.
- Anam Cara Ministries
- Tara also joined us in the conversation in Episode 21 on Soulful Friendships - LISTEN
RESOURCES
-
French Pantoum-An Exercise for Lament - DOWNLOAD
- Head over to our "Soul Care Conversation Facebook Page” and share your lament with us. You can record it on video or make a post - whatever you feel comfortable with.
- Hard Times Require Furious Dancing by Alice Walker
- Joshua 5 (NIV)
-
Creating Space for our Souls in a Critical Time - this is a new portion of the podcast where our hosts show how they are practicing soul care in the midst of chaos
-
Today we will hear from Gwen on finding Beauty in watercolors
*This is the beginning of our summer series* ***The Roaring Summer of ‘21 Series: The Best of the Best!*** *We have gone back thru all 5 of our seasons and come up with 10 episodes that have been our most listened too and will be airing those episodes over the next 10 weeks.*
Today we start the countdown with #10 - Discernment: The Journey to Discover God’s Will. It was originally aired in May 2019 (our 11th episode!) and Steve chats with Father Tim Corbley about discernment and the Ignatian Exercises. Enjoy as we jump back to 2019!
SHOW NOTES All of us are looking to discover God’s will. We all need clarity in making decisions. This exciting conversation between Steve and Father Tim Corbley unpacks spiritual discernment, defined as the art of finding clarity. Through discernment, our goal is to “find God in all things.” Father Tim was Steve Smith’s spiritual guide for year long journey Steve took in 2017, called **The Ignatian Exercises.** This conversation is like listening to two seasoned souls talk of deep things.
Four Movements of the Ignatian Exercises
- The first movement concentrates on how much we are loved by God, how he thinks of us as his beloved.
- The second movement is a realization of our sin. The Ignatian tradition defines sin not as morality based but based on our ability to hear God. As we are more attuned to God, we hear his plan for us and are given discernment on the decisions we must make.
- The third movement is about how our desire to please God is the will of God; our surrender to Gods voice is freedom. Living with open hands and knowing that God will open the way gently.
- The final movement is about Holy Indifference… the act of surrender. Holding your hands out and up without clinching and grabbing or holding on.
Rev. Dr. Timothy L. Corbley I.V. Dei
The Reverend Doctor Timothy Corbley was ordained to the Roman Catholic priesthood in May 1993 and is a co-founder of Heart of God Hermitage, a contemplative center of spirituality near Woodland Park Colorado. He brings with him a passion for helping others to grow more deeply in their spiritual lives. Fr. Timothy has ministered in a variety of settings. He has served the people of God as a pastor, hospital chaplain, teacher of pastoral care, retreat director, preacher of parish missions, and is a trained spiritual director in the Ignatian tradition. Fr. Timothy’s current passion is providing spiritual guidance, pastoral care, and leadership to the faithful of Teller County Catholic Community.
RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THE PODCAST Moment to Breathe: Merton Prayer
Sleeping with Bread by Matthew Linn, Dennis Linn, Sheila Fabricant Linn
Finding my own GPS for my Soul (or Why I spent a year of my life doing the Ignatian Exercises) - blog post by Stephen Smith
SUPPORT THE PODCAST
Donate Here for an individual contribution or on Patreon to set up monthly support.
CONTACT US
podcast@pottersinn.com
INTERESTED IN MORE SOUL CARE RESOURCES?
Check out our recommended reading, books on spiritual growth, and our soul care blog. Want to experience soul care in person? Learn more about our soul care intensives and retreats.
SHOW NOTES Prayer - it eludes people.
The original disciples didn’t get prayer. Most of us don’t get it either.
And Contemplative Prayer? That really confuses people!
The modern world has lost sight of this vital practice. So Steve and Gwen set out to study, learn and even unlearn what they thought they knew about contemplative prayer. The journey was life changing. The book “Ascending the Mountain Within” is the fruit of that long journey, and today we have the privilege of hearing Joe Chambers read the book for us.
Please join us! And share with your friends - it’s a book that can change how we all practice prayer.
Please Note: This will be our last episode of the season. We will be on break for the summer and look forward to seeing you again for Season 6!
**PURCHASE BOOK!** **Available on Amazon in Kindle and Paperback on Amazon**
MENTIONED IN PODCAST * **“Practice the Presence of God.”** - This phrase was coined by Brother Lawrence, a 17th century Carmelite friar. It is also the title of a small book by him which we highly recommend.
-
Practical Guidelines - Take a 20-minute window of time to practice and experience contemplative prayer.
- Sacred Word
- Become Present
- Accept Distraction
- Release
- Return
- Savor and Return
-
Music - An ancient Jewish Prayer - Mi'mekomcha by Rabbi Carlebach
-
Lyrics (In Hebrew and English)
SCRIPTURE MENTIONED IN PODCAST * Revelation 21:3 (NIV) and (MSG) * Zephaniah 3:17 (ESV) * Luke 9:28 (ESV) * Luke 17:21 (KJV) * Matthew 6:5-13 (MSG) * Colossians 3:3 (MSG)
* Galatians 2:20(MSG)
- Acts 17:22-28 (ESV)
- Isaiah 30:15 (NAB)
- Luke 5:16 (NIV)
- Psalm 139:1,13,14 (MSG)
-
Luke 4:1-11 (MSG)
SUPPORT THE PODCAST
Donate Here for an individual contribution or on Patreon to set up monthly support.
CONTACT US
podcast@pottersinn.com
INTERESTED IN MORE SOUL CARE RESOURCES?
Check out our recommended reading, books on spiritual growth, and our soul care blog. Want to experience soul care in person? Learn more about our soul care intensives and retreats.
SHOW NOTES How do you “do” the invisible work of caring for your soul?
The Soul Care Institute was created to do just that -to help you discover what your soul has been longing for.
Kaylene Derksen, the President of the Soul Care Institute (and previous co-host for the podcast!) joins today’s podcast and chats with 3 students who are in the middle of their own journeys. Listen as they describe how they made the decision to join the Soul Care Institute and what they are learning through their journey.
Once you have listened to the podcast, go visit SoulCareInstitute.com to learn more about the Institute and to sign up for Cohort 10!
MENTIONED IN PODCAST * Soul Care Institute * Jeremiah 6:16 (MSG) - “…and you will find rest for your soul.” * Lectio Divina
+ Podcast about Lectio Divina
+ DOWNLOAD the Lectio Divina Guide
- Competitive Edge International
-
Retreat Locations
- St. Francis Springs Prayer Center, nestled in a forest in North Carolina.
- Geneva Camp and Retreat Center right on the coast of Lake Michigan.
- The Hideaway Inn with views of Pikes Peak in Colorado.
- Above All Else (the previous retreat for Potter’s Inn, run by new owners)
- Music in podcast: Sweet Hour of Prayer sung by Sounds Like Reign
Sweet hour of prayer
Sweet hour of prayer
That calls me from a world of care
And bids me at my Father's throne
Make all my wants and wishes known
In seasons of distress and grief
My soul has often found relief
And oft escaped the tempter's snare
By Thy return, sweet hour of prayer
Sweet hour of prayer
Sweet hour of prayer
The joys I feel, the bliss I share
Of those whose anxious spirits burn
With strong desires for Thy return
With such I hasten to the place
Where God my Savior shows His face
And gladly take my station there
And wait for Thee, sweet hour of prayer
Sweet hour of prayer
Sweet hour of prayer
And wait for Thee
Sweet hour of prayer
SUPPORT THE PODCAST
Donate Here for an individual contribution or on Patreon to set up monthly support.
**CONTACT US**
podcast@pottersinn.com
**INTERESTED IN MORE SOUL CARE RESOURCES?**
Check out our recommended reading, books on spiritual growth, and our soul care blog. Want to experience soul care in person? Learn more about our soul care intensives and retreats.
**SHOW NOTES** The Soul Care Conversation in this episode is ***"Exposing the Soul of the Pastor!"*** We live in a day of tension, frustration, and alienation - and no people group faces the brunt of the discord we navigate more than pastors of the local church.
We've gathered four pastors to have a candid conversation, which will be a portal for us to listen and understand the soul of the pastor in today's environment.
A pastor told me recently that "Pastoring today is like pastoring the United States which is now the fragmented states. We have the Anti-maskers, Pro-Maskers; the Anti this and the Pro that every time we meet. We have Blue people and Red People and every one matters people and I don't give a rip people.”
Imagine what this tension does inside the soul of the pastor!
Please help us by sharing this podcast with anyone you know who works in and for the local church. Perhaps this Podcast will help a pastor, somewhere, feel not so alone and or alienated. Perhaps these words and voices might give voice to their own inner rumblings.
It's honest and raw - it's clarifying and helpful.
Take a listen. Pass it around!
Every blessing,
Stephen W. Smith
HOST & SPECIAL GUESTS Joe Chambers is today’s host and the pastor of Mountain Heights Baptist Church in Buena Vista, CO. He studied at Oklahoma Baptist University, completed a two-year certification program in Soul Care from the Potter’s Inn Soul Care Institute and Fuller Seminary and is currently an apprentice with Anam Cara in Spiritual Direction. Living with his wife Lynette at the base of Mt. Princeton, Joe is an avid reader and writer, loves to tell stories and spend time in the wilderness.
**Zach Bearss** is the lead pastor of Clearview Community Church in Buena Vista, Colorado. He is married to Catherine and they have four children: Anna, Isaac, Noah and Joe. Pastor Zach has a passion to lead people into a transforming relationship with Jesus and authentic community with one another so that the light of the gospel can shine through their lives to the world.
**Jason Tippetts** is married to Sarah and they live in Buena Vista, Colorado where they try to figure out how to have time together weekly as they raise 5 kids and two dogs. Jason is ordained in the PCA and is planting his second church in Colorado. Favorite hobbies are trying to decide with his wife what we feed the kids for dinner, looking for a quiet place to read in our house, and watching his weather app. Sometimes all at one time.
**Leslie Quilico** is a daughter of God, wife to Steve, mother to three, & pastor & friend to many. She is a passionate learner who loves coffee, books, walks, & conversation. Her favorite conversations are with Jesus, & her biggest hope is to be a part of God's kingdom coming to earth on the daily.
MENTIONED IN PODCAST * A Burning in my Bones by Winn Collier - Eugene Peterson Biography * The Writing Life by Annie Dillard * Joe’s Reading of poem Exposed by Sarah Bourns * Field Notes on the Jesus Way by Joe Chambers * Music in podcast: When All Falls Silent by Geert D'hollander, sung by The King’s Singers
When all falls silent,
And the breath of life
Flows from the source
And calms the stormy sea,
My heart-song,
Always sung but seldom heard,
Rises from the mist,
Calling, calling…
Then, slowly,
I turn my gaze,
Drawn toward beauty
And the song’s amber light;
I open my soul,
And I am at peace,
I am in harmony,
Listening, listening.
SUPPORT THE PODCAST
Donate Here for an individual contribution or on Patreon to set up monthly support.
**CONTACT US**
podcast@pottersinn.com
**INTERESTED IN MORE SOUL CARE RESOURCES?**
Check out our recommended reading, books on spiritual growth, and our soul care blog. Want to experience soul care in person? Learn more about our soul care intensives and retreats.
**SHOW NOTES** What will church look like and be like in the post pandemic era? We discuss pastors inner worlds and implications for the new wine that is coming!
A stirring, provocative conversation which will rattle and stretch us from these two seasoned veterans who work in the subterranean world of helping church leaders!
MEET SPECIAL GUEST DR. CHUCK DEGROAT Chuck is Professor of Counseling and Christian Spirituality at Western Theological Seminary Holland MI, and Co-Founder and a Senior Fellow at Newbigin House of Studies, San Francisco. He is a licensed therapist, author, retreat leader, and spiritual director. Chuck has been married to Sara for 25 years, and has two daughters.
Chuck has spent the last 20+ years in a dynamic combination of pastoral ministry, seminary teaching, and clinical counseling. His books are practical and pastoral, meeting readers at the intersection of our spiritual journeys and the very real struggles we experience.
- Chuck’s Website
- Chuck on Twitter
- Chuck’s Books
- Listen to Chuck’s previous podcast episode “Distinctives of Soul Care: A Counselors Point Of View”
MENTIONED IN PODCAST * Matthew 9:14-17 (NIV) - Jesus mentioning wine and wine skins * Hebrews 12 (MSG) - Endurance * Chuck’s Latest book “When Narcissism Comes to Church: Healing Your Community From Emotional and Spiritual Abuse”
Mentioned by Chuck
-
Scott McKnight
- About Scott McKnight
- New Book about the church - “A Church Called TOV: Forming a Goodness Culture that Resists Abuses of Power and Promotes Healing”
-
Diane Landberg, Ph.D.
-
About Diane Landbert
- New Book about the church - “Redeeming Power: Understanding Authority and Abuse in the Church”
-
Wade Mullen
-
About Wade Mullen
- New Book about the church - “Something's Not Right: Decoding the Hidden Tactics of Abuse--and Freeing Yourself from Its Power”
Mentioned by Steve
- Julia Cameron’s book “The Artist's Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity”
- Pray as You Go app
**SUPPORT THE PODCAST**
Donate Here for an individual contribution or on Patreon to set up monthly support.
**CONTACT US**
podcast@pottersinn.com
**INTERESTED IN MORE SOUL CARE RESOURCES?**
Check out our recommended reading, books on spiritual growth, and our soul care blog. Want to experience soul care in person? Learn more about our soul care intensives and retreats.
“No issues touch us more profoundly or more universally. No themes are more inseparably intertwined. No topics caused more controversy. No human realities have greater power to bless or to curse. No three things have been sought after or more in need of a Christian response: money, sex, and power.
— Richard Foster, from Challenge of the Disciplined Life: Money, Sex, and Power We are continuing the conversation today with Steve and Special guest Hayne Steen - “The Trap of Money, Sex, and Power, Part 2”
MEET SPECIAL GUEST HAYNE STEEN, MAMFT, LMHC Hayne grew up on the north Florida coast and met his wife at Flagler College in St. Augustine, Florida where they were both students and Young Life leaders. Since 1992 they have been serving together in full time ministry with Young Life and the local church all over the southeast.
Hayne worked in private practice as a Marriage and Family Therapist for six years while co-directing The SoulCare Project, serving as the Director of Counseling and Care. In 2017, he started his own practice, Elbow Tree Christian Counseling, LLC.
Hayne is a Flagler Alumnus (‘95) and did his graduate work at Richmont Graduate University (‘11). He lives in Saint Augustine, FL with his wife, three children, and one grandchild.
Contact Info for Hayne at Elbow Tree Christian Counseling:
- Website | www.elbowtreeflorida.com
- Office | 904.559.1944
- Email | turnhere@elbowtreeflorida.com
MENTIONED IN PODCAST * Proverbs 11:14 (NIV) * Proverbs 12:15 (NIV) * Proverbs 15:22 (NIV) * Family of Origin exercise - 6 questions:
+ What were the negative characteristics that you experienced in your caregiver (In the growing up years when you were just being formed)? Whether that was a mom, dad, or a grandparent that was charged with your care.
+ What were the positive characteristics that you experienced in that caregiver?
+ What were the unmet needs that went unmet. Like, what were the needs that you had, like physical, emotional, spiritual, that just did not get met?
+ What were the words that never were said, that needed to have been said over you that you long to hear?
+ When we think back on positive experiences in your family: vacations weekends, special birthdays, holidays--positive experiences in the family, what were the warm emotions that you felt in that season?
+ When things were not going well in the family; when things were blowing up; when things were breaking down—How did you cope? Where would we find you? What did you do?
- Challenge of the Disciplined Life: Money, Sex, and Power by Richard Foster
- READING: Excerpt from In the Name of Jesus by Henri Nouwen - [READ]
***SOLO: CREATING SPACE WITH GOD*** by Stephen W. Smith and Peter Ivey
SHOW NOTES
“No issues touch us more profoundly or more universally. No themes are more inseparably intertwined. No topics caused more controversy. No human realities have greater power to bless or to curse. No three things have been sought after or more in need of a Christian response: money, sex, and power."
— Richard Foster, from Challenge of the Disciplined Life: Money, Sex, and Power This quote from Richard Foster is the perfect introduction to today’s podcast. Join Steve and Special guest Hayne Steen on today’s new podcast “The Trap of Money, Sex, and Power.”
MEET SPECIAL GUEST HAYNE STEEN, MAMFT, LMHC Hayne grew up on the north Florida coast and met his wife at Flagler College in St. Augustine, Florida where they were both students and Young Life leaders. Since 1992 they have been serving together in full time ministry with Young Life and the local church all over the southeast.
Hayne worked in private practice as a Marriage and Family Therapist for six years while co-directing The SoulCare Project, serving as the Director of Counseling and Care. In 2017, he started his own practice, Elbow Tree Christian Counseling, LLC.
Hayne is a Flagler Alumnus (‘95) and did his graduate work at Richmont Graduate University (‘11). He lives in Saint Augustine, FL with his wife, three children, and one grandchild.
MENTIONED IN PODCAST * Challenge of the Disciplined Life: Money, Sex, and Power by Richard Foster * Family of Origin exercise - 6 questions:
1. In your growing up years when you were just being formed, what were the negative characteristics that you experienced in your caregiver?
2. Whether that was a mom, dad, or a grandparent that was charged with your care - what were the positive characteristics that you experienced in that caregiver?
3. What were the unmet needs that went unmet. Like, what were the needs that you had, like physical, emotional, spiritual, that just did not get met?
4. What were the words that never were said, that needed to have been said over you that you long to hear?
5. When we think back on positive experiences in your family: vacations weekends, special birthdays, holidays--positive experiences in the family, what were the warm emotions that you felt in that season?
6. When things were not going well in the family; when things were blowing up; when things were breaking down—How did you cope? Where would we find you? What did you do?
- Ephesians 1:3 (MSG)
- Brene Brown - The Daring Way
-
“A Prayer for the Church” by Rev. Emily Swan reading - words to meditate and pray on
- From the book “Rhythm of Prayer” by Sarah Bessey
- O Ignis Spiritus (Music) - Lyrics translated to English
*SOLO: CREATING SPACE WITH GOD* by Stephen W. Smith and Peter Ivey
SHOW NOTES Dear Friends,
This podcast is about “The Soul of Sex.” This is an honest, vulnerable, and transparent conversation. I talk with Jim Cress, a licensed professional and trained counselor who specializes in the soul of sex.
PLEASE NOTE: This is a conversation you need to exercise wisdom with in terms of who listens to this. It’s a mature conversation not intended for children.
But is is a conversation to enter with your friends and spouse.
When we say “where soul meets the world” in this podcast, this is a particular conversation we need to find the light and way forward.
Blessings as you listen!
Stephen W Smith
Meet Special Guest Jim Cress
Jim is a Licensed Professional Counselor, Certified Sex Addiction Therapist, Certified Multiple Addictions Therapist, and a Certified Daring Way Facilitator with Dr. Brene’ Brown’s The Daring Way Organization. For three years, he studied with and was trained by Dr. Patrick Carnes, the founder of the sex addiction field. Jim specializes in counseling those struggling with sex addiction, partners of sex addicts, marital counseling, trauma, abuse, and experiential group therapy. Jim is in private practice in Matthews, NC, and is a group leader for Onsite Workshops near Nashville, TN. He led sexual addiction workshops for Bethesda Workshops in Nashville for six years. Jim is also a national conference speaker with The American Association of Christian Counselors. He leads regular weekly men’s therapy groups, and speaks at churches in the Charlotte, North Carolina area.
As a 34 year veteran broadcaster and radio talk show host, Jim formerly hosted and cohosted the national call-in talk shows, “The Minirth-Meier Clinic”, “Turn It Around” with the American Association of Christian Counselors, and “Hope in the Night” with June Hunt. Jim is currently the host of his own radio program called, “Conversations of Life”.
Jim has been married to his wife Jessica since 1985, and has two adult sons, an adult daughter, and daughter-in-law. Jim and Jessica are also proud grandparents to Lincoln and Paxton.
Where to contact Jim:
Jim Cress Counseling & Consulting
1136 Sam Newell Road, Suite D
Matthews, NC 28105
(704) 707-3959
RESOURCES SUGGESTED BY STEVE AND JIM Steve’s suggestions
- Challenge of the Disciplined Life: Money, Sex, and Power by Richard Foster
-
The Transformation of a Man's Heart - Chapter by John Pierce called Learning to Tell Your Sexual Story.
- On Potter's Inn
- On Amazon
Jim’s Suggestions
- Surfing for God by Michael Cusack
- Intimate Deception by Dr. Sheri Keffer
MENTIONED IN PODCAST * The Daring Way Organization & Dr. Brené Brown * 3000 Questions to Ask of Me * Genesis 2 * Genesis 3 * Hebrews 13:4 * 1st Corinthians 7 * Ephesians 5 * Jeremiah 2:13 * Acts 1:8
***SOLO: Creating Space with God*** by Stephen W. Smith and Peter Ivey
**SUPPORT THE PODCAST**
Donate Here for an individual contribution or on Patreon to set up monthly support.
**CONTACT US**
podcast@pottersinn.com
**INTERESTED IN MORE SOUL CARE RESOURCES?**
Check out our recommended reading, books on spiritual growth, and our soul care blog. Want to experience soul care in person? Learn more about our soul care intensives and retreats.
SHOW NOTES Dear Friends of the Soul Care Podcast:
I love hanging out with smart people. That's what happened in this conversation with Dr. Bob Mayer. We talked about how the Bible has become a club which we have weaponized to beat one another up with these days. We quote a Scripture; use a Bible verse to prove our point and to establish a basis of believing rather than accepting the Bible as a book of rescue stories.
Bob Mayer explains that the Bible is a book of rescue stories. Stories --that help us in our own rescue to come home.
When we unlearn what may have gathered as "fact" about our view of what the Bible and relearn that the Bible is a spiritual book and must be learned in a spiritual way.
You'll want to listen to this with a pen in hand and paper to take some notes. It's like going back to school.
And this is the reason I really like THIS podcast. We need to unlearn and relearn so much because so much is not working for us anymore. THIS conversation will help you so much and I hope you'll listen in and join the conversation where the soul meets the world.
As you listen, Bob's trusted voice will become a beacon to help you find your way home about what you will WANT to believe about the Bible. The Bible is a series of stories about a rescue mission with the similar them of a loving God who wants us to come home! We are all slow learners--I know I am. This particular podcast is foundational and so very important. I commend it to you.
As you listen this week, Gwen and I will be on retreat with a brand new cohort of men and women who will begin a two year journey with the Soul Care Institute. We'd appreciate your prayers .
Every blessing dear friends!
Steve
**SPECIAL GUEST DR. ROBERT MAYER** Dr. Mayer joined Gordon-Conwell in 1997 as Senior Librarian and Director of the Gordon-Conwell libraries, and Director of the Harold Lindsell Library at the Charlotte campus.
Dr. Mayer’s scholarly interests include American church history, Advent Christian Church history and theology, and 20th century American evangelicalism - with a B.S. at the University of San Francisco; M.A. at Fuller Theological Seminary; D.Min. at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and an MLIS at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.
He enjoys visiting historical sites, which he does often with his wife, Renee, and has been an avid supporter of the San Francisco 49ers football team since he was nine. His other personal interests include collecting campaign buttons (of which he has over 70) and attending concerts and the theater.
MENTIONED IN PODCAST * 2 Timothy 3: 15-16 (MSG) * Shaped by the Word by Robert Mulholland * Reading: Beloved is Where We Begin by Jan Richardson. Read by Joe Chambers. * Ancient Words by Lynn DeShazo, performed by Michael W. Smith
+ Lyrics
- SOLO: CREATING SPACE WITH GOD by Stephen W. Smith and Peter Ivey LEARN MORE ABOUT THE BOOK!
SHOW NOTES This week, Steve continues his conversation with Sarah Bessey, taking a deeper look into some of the issues they raised last week.
Sit back and enjoy - it’s a great conversation between two lovely people.
**SPECIAL GUEST SARAH BESSEY** Sarah Bessey is the author of the best-selling and critically acclaimed books *Jesus Feminist* (2013); *Out of Sorts: Making Peace with an Evolving Faith* (2015); and *Miracles and Other Reasonable Things* (2019).
Her new collaborative book, the New York Times bestselling A Rhythm of Prayer: A Collection of Meditations for Renewal is now available everywhere books are sold.
Along with her friends, the late Rachel Held Evans and Jim Chaffee, Sarah co-founded Evolving Faith. She now co-leads the community and conference alongside Jeff Chu. Sarah is also the co-host of The Evolving Faith Podcast which debuted at the top of the charts for Religion and Spirituality Podcasts.
Sarah was born and raised in the prairies and foothills of western Canada. Now living in Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada (on the traditional land of the Stó:lō) home, Sarah and her husband of twenty years have four children ranging in age from high school to kindergarten.
Get to know Sarah at SarahBessey.com.
Sarah’s Books mentioned in the podcast:
- Her new book: A Rhythm of Prayer
- Miracles and Other Reasonable Things
- Jesus Feminist
- Making Peace with an Evolving Faith
- All of Sarah’s books
ALSO MENTIONED IN PODCAST * Evolving Faith - Ministry founded by Sarah * SOLO: Creating Space with God by Stephen W. Smith and Peter Ivey
**SUPPORT THE PODCAST**
Donate Here for an individual contribution or on Patreon to set up monthly support.
**CONTACT US**
podcast@pottersinn.com
**INTERESTED IN MORE SOUL CARE RESOURCES?**
Check out our recommended reading, books on spiritual growth, and our soul care blog. Want to experience soul care in person? Learn more about our soul care intensives and retreats.
SHOW NOTES This week Steve has a two part conversation with best selling author, Sarah Bessey. Sarah's work is well known in some circles of faith while she is still unknown to many in various circles. Steve and Sarah sat down for a moving, faith probing conversation about all things real; all things spiritual; all things you'll want to hear!
Her brand new book, The Rhythm of Prayer is one that we discuss. It's really a compilation of the prayers of many people who pray and the book is moving and organized in three parts which is the focus of the conversation.
We've divided this into 2 parts so listen in, relax, and soak it in.
**SPECIAL GUEST SARAH BESSEY** Sarah Bessey is the author of the best-selling and critically acclaimed books *Jesus Feminist* (2013); *Out of Sorts: Making Peace with an Evolving Faith* (2015); and *Miracles and Other Reasonable Things* (2019).
Her new collaborative book, the New York Times bestselling A Rhythm of Prayer: A Collection of Meditations for Renewal is now available everywhere books are sold.
Along with her friends, the late Rachel Held Evans and Jim Chaffee, Sarah co-founded Evolving Faith. She now co-leads the community and conference alongside Jeff Chu. Sarah is also the co-host of The Evolving Faith Podcast which debuted at the top of the charts for Religion and Spirituality Podcasts.
Sarah was born and raised in the prairies and foothills of western Canada. Now living in Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada (on the traditional land of the Stó:lō) home, Sarah and her husband of twenty years have four children ranging in age from high school to kindergarten.
Get to know Sarah at SarahBessey.com.
Sarah’s Books mentioned in the podcast:
- Her new book: A Rhythm of Prayer
- Miracles and Other Reasonable Things
- Jesus Feminist
- Making Peace with an Evolving Faith
- All of Sarah’s books
ALSO MENTIONED IN PODCAST * The Making of Dallas Willard * Found byRev. Emmy Kegler * Evolving Faith - Ministry founded by Sarah * SOLO: Creating Space with God by Stephen W. Smith and Peter Ivey
**SUPPORT THE PODCAST**
Donate Here for an individual contribution or on Patreon to set up monthly support.
**CONTACT US**
podcast@pottersinn.com
*“Solitude is not a private therapeutic place. Rather, it is the place of conversion, the place where the old self dies, and the new self is born…”*
—Henri Nouwen
**SHOW NOTES** *Being able to offer more of our true selves to those around us after a Solo Retreat is a gift to others and a gift of freedom to ourselves. Yet the ultimate prize to be found on retreat is Jesus Himself… We get Jesus.*
We have a special podcast today! We get to listen in as Steve chats with Peter Ivey about their new book (AVAILABLE TODAY!) Solo: Creating Space With God. Find out more about the book, what it means to craft your own SOLO day - and above all else, hear from Steve and Peter as they talk from the heart about WHY they wrote this book. It’s a compelling conversation, and we are so thrilled you joined us!
PURCHASE Solo: Creating Space with God – www.solowithgod.com
**MENTIONED IN PODCAST** * **The State of My Soul Wheel**
**SHOW NOTES** Gwen and Steve recorded the podcast today about a prayer that took on great meaning and deeper insight during a difficult and dark time.
Their conversation today is an exploration of “The Welcome Prayer.” At a dark and tumultuous time in their lives, when they lost their grandson Tommy in death, they slid into a dark night. This one prayer offered light in the darkness. The writer Thomas Keating opened their hearts up to the power of this prayer and the consolation of letting go.
To just listen to the podcast is but one thing. But to share with others whom you know need this prayer is sharing the love! Please share!
MENTIONED IN PODCAST * The Welcome Prayer by Father Thomas Keating * Matthew 6:5-13 (The Message) * Lectio Divina
STEVE’S NEW BOOK! *Available February 15, 2021!***
Solo: Creating Space with God – www.solowithgod.com
**SUPPORT THE PODCAST** **Donate Here** for an individual contribution or on **Patreon** to set up monthly support.
CONTACT US podcast@pottersinn.com
INTERESTED IN MORE SOUL CARE RESOURCES? Check out our recommended reading, books on spiritual growth, and our soul care blog. Want to experience soul care in person? Learn more about our soul care intensives and retreats.
“Dying is surrendering to a goodness that takes our breathe away in the end."
**SHOW NOTES** What does God have for each of us as we grow older? How do we embrace our aging in a culture that worships youth?
Steve chats with Sherill Hostetter today, and the conversation is a beautiful and honest look at what each of us will likely experience in our lives… and how we can all decide to grow older with grace and wisdom and approach aging as a spiritual pilgrimage.
Thanks for joining us in today’s conversation!
TODAY’S GUEST SHERILL HOSTETTER Sherill Hostettler is an accredited Spiritual Director and Certified Leadership Coach. Sherill and her husband Darrel served with Eastern Mennonite Missions for over 35 years and live in Lancaster, PA. She has an M.A. in Congregational Leadership with concentrations in pastoral care/counseling and spiritual formation (EMS); and a Certificate in Gestalt Pastoral Care (Tilda Norberg).
**MENTIONED IN PODCAST** * **Aging with Wisdom and Grace** by Wilke and Noreen Au
- A New Way of Struggling by Susan W.N. Ruach
- Prayer for the Grace to Age Well by Pierre Teilhard de Chardin
- Steve’s reading of A Liturgy for the Death of a Dream from Every Moment Holy.
- Sherill’s life verse: Philippians 3:10
STEVE’S NEW BOOK! *Available February 15, 2021!***
Solo: Creating Space with God – www.solowithgod.com
**SUPPORT THE PODCAST** **Donate Here** for an individual contribution or on **Patreon** to set up monthly support.
CONTACT US podcast@pottersinn.com
INTERESTED IN MORE SOUL CARE RESOURCES? Check out our recommended reading, books on spiritual growth, and our soul care blog. Want to experience soul care in person? Learn more about our soul care intensives and retreats.
SHOW NOTES Welcome back! Take a seat, grab a warm cup of tea or coffee, and join us for the first podcast of our 5th Season.
Today’s podcast is a concoction of voices, with several friends sharing how they have found comfort in these times. Included is encouragement from Steve, with scriptures and some exercises in self-care.
We are happy to be back and joining you today in the conversation!
MENTIONED IN PODCAST * Scriptures read by Steve: Psalm 46:1-3, Psalm 23:4, Phil 4:6-7, Matt 11:28, John 16:33 * Song mentioned by Steve - Deep Peace written by Bill Douglas, from the album Eternity's Sunrise. Used with Permission. * Steve’s reading of A Liturgy for the Death of a Dream from Every Moment Holy. * Joe’s reading: Prayer of Blessing for Those Who Need Courage by John O’Donohue * Joe’s song mentioned: Mercy Now – Mary Gauthier
SUPPORT THE PODCAST Donate Here for an individual contribution or on Patreon to set up monthly support.
CONTACT US podcast@pottersinn.com
INTERESTED IN MORE SOUL CARE RESOURCES? Check out our recommended reading, books on spiritual growth, and our soul care blog. Want to experience soul care in person? Learn more about our soul care intensives and retreats.
WILL YOU HELP? Each week you join us in our conversations and together we are learning how to navigate today’s changing world. For this, we are so very grateful! You make it possible to explore these challenging and soul giving topics right here on the internet.
As we move to the end of the year, will you help us continue through 2021?
2 Ways to contribute:
- For an individual contribution at www.pottersinn.com/donate
- To start monthly support, visit us at www.patreon.com/pottersinn.
Thank you dear friends!
**SHOW NOTES** If there was ever a time for hope of a new beginning in the coming new year, it would be now! 2020 has been a challenge (yes, the understatement of the year), and today’s discussion is all about how we raise awareness, in our own hearts, of how God has moved in the midst of the past year.
It's a practical and timely conversation The Great Annual Examen and John O’Donohue’s poem “For a New Beginning” are discussed, and we pray that this will assist you in beginning this new year with renewed hope and readiness for the New Year... and a New Beginning!
ps- This is our last episode of the year, but we will be back in mid-January with all new episodes!
MUSIC - IN ORDER OF AIRING * Engravings II by Ira Stein & Russel Warder - from "A Winter's Solstice"(1985) Windham Hill Records * In the Bleak Midwinter - written by Christina Georgina Rossetti, performed by Choir of Kings College, Cambridge * A Daisy in December · with Mick McAuley & Winifred Horan, from the album Serenade
MENTIONED IN PODCAST * The Great Annual Examen - DOWNLOAD * PURCHASE: The State of My Soul Wheel * Reading & Discussion of “For a New Beginning” By John O’Donohue from To Bless the Space Between Us
SUPPORT THE PODCAST Donate Here for an individual contribution or on Patreon to set up monthly support.
CONTACT US podcast@pottersinn.com
INTERESTED IN MORE SOUL CARE RESOURCES? Check out our recommended reading, books on spiritual growth, and our soul care blog. Want to experience soul care in person? Learn more about our soul care intensives and retreats.
Good morning! You’re beautiful with God’s beauty, Beautiful inside and out! God be with you. Luke 1:26
SHOW NOTES Scripture: Luke 1:26-39
Our usual Christmas traditions - the lights, the festivities, our plans, our gatherings… it's all going to be different. And yet there's something deep in this advent, in this pandemic, that is for us to gain understanding.
Grab a cup of warm, soothing tea and join Steve as he discusses the story of Mary and Joseph and how to live in the blessing of what might be called a Covid Christmas Blessing.
QUESTION: What could we say are some blessings that we are experiencing in this Covid Christmas? What are some blessings that we're experiencing?
MUSIC - IN ORDER OF AIRING * What Child is This · House of Bread Church Live Concert 2013 * O Holy Night (Cantique de Noel) · London Chamber Orchestra * O Come O Come Emmanuel · Benedictines Of Mary, Queen Of Apostles * Silent Night in German (Stille Nacht) · Dresdner Kreuzchor
MENTIONED IN PODCAST * BOOK READING BY STEVE: Consolations: The Solace, Nourishment and Underlying Meaning of Everyday Words by David Whyte - The word Steve read is "Disappointment". * Learn More about The State of My Soul Wheel * The Great Annual Examen - DOWNLOAD * SOLO: CREATING SPACE WITH GOD (Steve’s new book with Peter Ivey -To Be Released in early 2021) * Soul Care Conversations Facebook Page
CONTACT US podcast@pottersinn.com
INTERESTED IN MORE SOUL CARE RESOURCES? Check out our recommended reading, books on spiritual growth, and our soul care blog. Want to experience soul care in person? Learn more about our soul care intensives and retreats.
WILL YOU HELP? Each week you join us in our conversations and together we are learning how to navigate today’s changing world. For this, we are so very grateful! You make it possible to explore these challenging and soul giving topics right here on the internet.
As we move to the end of the year, will you help us continue through 2021?
2 Ways to contribute:
- For an individual contribution at www.pottersinn.com/donate
- To start monthly support, visit us at www.patreon.com/pottersinn.
Thank you dear friends!
SHOW NOTES This week’s podcast is ready and available!
Steve sits down with Peter Ivey and together they talk about The State of the Soul---and how to use the brand new tool they developed for you.
Today’s episode is far more than a podcast: it's the distillation of what Steve and Peter both know about the soul, and how to try to get our hands around our souls--if that is even possible.
We are so excited to share this with you. Please help us share this around, would you?
Special Guest Peter Ivey Peter M. Ivey is the North Carolina Director for Thrive Adventures, an outdoor ministry that uses adventures and retreats as a means to encourage deeper intimacy with others and with Christ. Peter earned a Master’s in Leadership from Denver Seminary and a Bachelor of Arts in Religion from Furman University. He and his wife, Becca, live in Asheville with their three beautiful children. Peter enjoys all things outdoors, perusing local bookstores, and connecting with friends. To learn more about Thrive Adventures, visit www.thriveadventures.org.
Mentioned in Podcast * PURCHASE: The State of My Soul Wheel * Thrive Adventures * SOLO: CREATING SPACE WITH GOD (Steve’s new book with Peter Ivey -To Be Release in early 2021)
SUPPORT THE PODCAST Donate Here for an individual contribution or on Patreon to set up monthly support.
CONTACT US podcast@pottersinn.com
INTERESTED IN MORE SOUL CARE RESOURCES? Check out our recommended reading, books on spiritual growth, and our soul care blog. Want to experience soul care in person? Learn more about our soul care intensives and retreats.
**Today is GIVING TUESDAY**
Would you consider Potter's Inn for a year-end gift? Thank you in advance dear friends!
MAKE DONATION
**SHOW NOTES** Greetings dear friends! As I finished polishing this particular podcast with Pam, I just felt so strongly and so deeply that **THIS** particular conversation is one you just don't want to miss--perhaps can't afford to miss.
This message is vital and central. It's about how to recharge your inner batteries. In so many ways, it's urgent to just listen and reflect upon this conversation. That's why I'm asking you to just stop what you're doing and schedule a time right now to just listen.
Then, if you felt encouraged, send the link and share the podcast with folks in your circles that you believe would benefit.
I mention in the podcast the all new The State of My Soul Tool that is now ready for you to take a look at and download. See what you think. The feedback is strong and convincing that this new tool is a much needed gateway to help us all talk on a deeper level and to become more aware of the state of our soul---how we are "really" doing.
PURCHASE The State of My Soul Tool
I also mention in the podcast a new book that I'm completing with a friend called SOLO: CREATING SPACE WITH GOD. This new book is not ready just yet but will be soon--I'm hoping by January. But I'll let you know as soon as it is available.
I'm taking time these days to pray with you, and for you, as we navigate uncertain times. Gwen and I spoke early this morning of the 800 years the children of God were forced to wait before the very first Christmas. They had to navigate so much of what we are facing these days: uncertainty, tension, false illusions, and instability. Yet, in their hope they held fast to the hope. We can do the same.
I am with you on this challenging journey. You are not alone. God is with us and his star that guided the Wise Men will now guide us.
Every blessing,
Steve
MENTIONED IN PODCAST * The State of My Soul Wheel * SOLO: CREATING SPACE WITH GOD (Steve’s new book with Peter Ivey -To Be Release in early 2021)
CONTACT US - podcast@pottersinn.com INTERESTED IN MORE SOUL CARE RESOURCES? Check out our recommended reading, books on spiritual growth, and our soul care blog. Want to experience soul care in person? Learn more about our soul care intensives and retreats.
**WILL YOU HELP?** Each week you join us in our conversations and together we are learning how to navigate today’s changing world. For this, we are so very grateful! You make it possible to explore these challenging and soul giving topics right here on the internet.
As we move to the end of the year, will you help us continue through 2021?
2 Ways to contribute:
- For an individual contribution at www.pottersinn.com/donate
- To start monthly support, visit us at www.patreon.com/pottersinn.
Thank you dear friends!
**SHOW NOTES** **Today’s Verse’s**: Luke 6:12-19 (NIV)
This week's podcast comes at the perfect time for me, and offers each of us a new rhythm in our life. It's all about these three words: solitude, community, and mission.
Join us today in the latest conversation.
The Three Rhythms:
- Solitude
- Community
- Mission
MENTIONED IN PODCAST * Luke 6:12-19 * Mark 3:14
SUPPORT THE PODCAST Donate Here for an individual contribution or on Patreon to set up monthly support.
CONTACT US podcast@pottersinn.com
INTERESTED IN MORE SOUL CARE RESOURCES? Check out our recommended reading, books on spiritual growth, and our soul care blog. Want to experience soul care in person? Learn more about our soul care intensives and retreats.
**SHOW NOTES** **Today’s Verse’s**: Ephesians 3:14-21
- NIV Version
- The Message Version
How do you experience the Love of God? Not just know about the Love of God, but to truly experience it?
For many of us, unlearning how we experience love may be necessary to begin understanding the true love of God. And when you experience this love, it can be the greatest antidote to anxiety, worry, and fear.
How to experience the love of God
- Silence/Reflection
- Look for beauty
- Reading scripture - Lectio Divina
- Daily Examen
Join Steve for this beautiful conversation on what true love really means.
MENTIONED IN PODCAST * Ephesians 3:14-21 + NIV Version + The Message Version * Emotionally Healthy Spirituality: It's Impossible to Be Spiritually Mature, While Remaining Emotionally Immature by Peter Scazzero * Pray as you Go – Prayer and reflection App * Galatians 2:20
SUPPORT THE PODCAST Donate Here for an individual contribution or on Patreon to set up monthly support.
CONTACT US podcast@pottersinn.com
INTERESTED IN MORE SOUL CARE RESOURCES? Check out our recommended reading, books on spiritual growth, and our soul care blog. Want to experience soul care in person? Learn more about our soul care intensives and retreats.
SHOW NOTES Today’s Verse’s: Luke 9:28-36 (NIV)
Movement: Journeying from one place to the next.
What does it mean to ‘move to’ soul care and to begin to practice it in each of our lives?
We begin by moving from how we used to do life to a new understanding of life. And that is today’s podcast- the movement and journey of understanding the care of the soul.
Thanks for join us in the Conversation!
MENTIONED IN THE PODCAST We wish to thank St. Bartholomew's Episcopal Church in Nashville, for allowing us to use their performance of Fernando Ortega's "Grace and Peace" in this week's podcast.
Words: Philippians 1:2. Music by John Andrew Schreiner and Fernando Ortega.
© 2006 Curb Songs, Cerdo Verde Music, and John Andrew Schreiner Music; admin. Curb Records, Lori Kelly Rights & Licenses, and Curb Music Publishing. Used by permission. CCLI#4854694
Lead vocal: George Rowe Instrumentalists: Bethany Bordeaux (violin), Doug Carpenter (viola), Mark Lickey (flugelhorn), Paul Nelson (cello), Joy Pratt (clarinet). Musical adaptation and video production/editing by David Madeira. Audio mixed by Tim Lauer. Videography by Matthew Shepherd and David Madeira.
- Luke 9:28-36 (NIV)
- The Benefits of Being Jarred - Episode 68
The Ten Movements
- Movement from Presence to Absence
- Movement from Deafness to Listening
- Movement from Strategy to Encounter
- Movement from Stagnation to Journey
- Movement from Striving to Belovedness
- Movement from Competing Priorities to No One But Jesus
- Movement from Being Asleep to Being Awake
- Movement from Hearing to Listening
- Movement from Leading to Being Led
- Movement from Information to Experience
TIME STAMP OF PODCAST
- 0:17 - STEVE begins podcast
- 1:53 - SCRIPTURE READING of Luke 9:28-36 (NIV)
- 3:34 - MUSIC BREAK
- 5:38 - STEVE Resumes podcast
- 27:04 - MUSIC BREAK
- 30:46 - CLOSING
SUPPORT THE PODCAST Donate Here for an individual contribution or on Patreon to set up monthly support.
CONTACT US podcast@pottersinn.com
INTERESTED IN MORE SOUL CARE RESOURCES? Check out our recommended reading, books on spiritual growth, and our soul care blog. Want to experience soul care in person? Learn more about our soul care intensives and retreats.
PODCAST SURVEY: We're planning the new season and need your input. Please take a moment and fill out our 5-minute survey, with questions specific to the podcast. The more folks who speak into the podcast, the better able we can meet the needs - thank you!
➠ FILL OUT SURVEY __________________________________________________________
SHOW NOTES Have you ever thought about getting away and having a personal retreat, a way to disconnect from the world and reconnect with God? Today’s podcast is all about that, with practical tips to help you begin this amazing journey.
Sit back and enjoy, this is a great conversation that all of us need to listen to!
MENTIONED IN THE PODCAST KEY STEPS TO PLANNING YOUR SOLO DAY
Plan your solo day:
- Choose the date and calendar it. Clear it with your spouse, your friends, your community, your team, your manager, your boss. Being intentional about your Solo Day is the first and necessary step.
Work through a few logistics:
- Find a place to have a day to be alone. Think through where you could go in your city, in your town, in the region in which you live, and make sure it is just an hour drive away from home. Too much travel time can cause some exhaustion and stress.
- Figure out how you're going to handle technology. Set your phone to automatically respond that you are not available that day, and then turn it off.
The day before your solo day:
- Gather what you will need - food, drink, clothes. A journal, Bible, pen, art supplies, something to exercise in. Get ready for the day!
- Make it a goal to sleep well the night before you go away: So that you're not exhausted on your time off.
Take a moment before you do your solo day and work through these questions.
- What do you envision for your own retreat?
- What do you want in your day or time away?
- What obstacles seem to stand in the way of your solo time?
SUGGESTED SCHEDULE FOR YOUR SOLO DAY
8:00 am: Leave for the one-hour drive to you chosen location.
9:00 am: Arrive at destination, get settled in and engage in 30 minutes of absolute quiet and stillness. Psalm 46: To be still and know God.
9:30 am: Take your journal and write down the title The State of My Soul. Then write down five descriptor words that would describe your soul - five adjectives.
10:00 am: Lectio Divina, the slow, slow, slow reading of Scripture - a single passage that you would read three or four times.
10:30 am: Take a break.
10:45 am: Spiritual reading - take a book or article and read slowly for an hour, underlying what you're reading. Do that for 45 minutes or an hour, but make sure it is a spiritual book.
11:45 am: 30 minutes in intentional prayer. Not just speaking but also listening to God.
12:15 pm: 45 min - 1 hour Lunch Break - slowly and deliberately in a quiet place. If you're doing this retreat with your team or with your friend or with your spouse, then this would be a time you could check in and say, How's the morning been? What's been stirring in you so far this morning?
After lunch: The great spiritual discipline of Napio Divina - taking a rest, taking a nap. And give yourself permission to rest.
2:15 pm: Engage your body with physical exercise. And this is the beautiful thing about a retreat like this: that it's holistic, that you're trying to appeal to your body, mind and soul.
3:15 pm: An hour of creative art, creative expression. Write, journal, read poetry, listen to some beautiful music, paint, etc.
End the day: Daily Examin - Ask yourself two questions: what's been beautiful in my day and what's been brutal in my day?
4:30 pm: Departure time. Go back home, get ready to re-engage with your children, with your spouse,
SHARE YOUR STORY: Tell us your personal story of when you have had a Solo Day - comment below OR on leave it on SPEAK PIPE, where you can tell us a five-minute story.
➠ RECORD YOUR STORY ON SPEAK PIPE SUPPORT THE PODCAST Donate Here for an individual contribution or on Patreon to set up monthly support.
CONTACT US podcast@pottersinn.com
INTERESTED IN MORE SOUL CARE RESOURCES? Check out our recommended reading, books on spiritual growth, and our soul care blog. Want to experience soul care in person? Learn more about our soul care intensives and retreats.
JOIN US! If you are on Facebook - Join our Soul Care Conversations Podcast Facebook Group for more discussion and community.
**SHOW NOTES**
Rediscover your heart and learn the ancient paths that lead to spiritual wholeness.
Today we get to revisit with an old friend to the podcast - Kaylene Derksen! Kaylene is the new President of the Soul Care Institute (SCI) and will be talking to Steve about what SCI is all about, and how they are reimagining SCI in the midst of a Pandemic.
The second half of the podcast is a reading and discussion of John O’Donahue’s poem A New Beginning, with Joe and Steve talking about it’s meaning for all of us.
Thanks for joining the Conversation today!
**Kaylene Derksen** grew up a farm girl in northern Wisconsin to parents who loved God and loved people. After college, she felt a call to spend her life in mission work. This call has taken her to Central America, the southern United States, the Netherlands, and Germany.
While in the midst of her productive life she became aware of a deep longing for a more sustainable rhythm. Going further on the journey inward, Kaylene became a student of the Soul Care Institute. This altered the course of her life by awakening a desire to live the Jesus way as wholehearted and integrated person. She and her husband, Jimm, are both Soul Care Providers and are now leading the Institute as President (Kaylene) and Vice-President (Jimm).
**MENTIONED IN THE PODCAST** * Soul Care Institute Website
- Soul Care Institute Cohorts
- Soul Care Institute Events
- Reading & Discussion of “For a New Beginning” By John O’Donohue from To Bless the Space Between Us
SUPPORT THE PODCAST Donate Here for an individual contribution or on Patreon to set up monthly support.
CONTACT US podcast@pottersinn.com
INTERESTED IN MORE SOUL CARE RESOURCES? Check out our recommended reading, books on spiritual growth, and our soul care blog. Want to experience soul care in person? Learn more about our soul care intensives and retreats.
SHOW NOTES Today’s Verse’s: Mark 1:9-11 (NIV)
Friends, the message of this podcast is a game changer. It’s that profound and it’s that simple.
I’ve spent years of my life and ministry trying to wrap my head and heart around what I’m talking with you about this week in this particular podcast.
For sure, if you listen to one podcast this week—let this ONE be it!
Share it with some friends and try to listen to it with your spouse, family, or friends.
I’m going to send the link to some specific men and women that I, myself, have been on the journey of understanding this profound truth—what it means to call oneself The Beloved of God.
Three years ago, our Board of Potter’s Inn mandated that Gwen and I capture the key message—the essence of the ministry of Potter’s Inn. They asked us to take the time to record these messages so that the message might outlive us. This one message would be what I can honestly tell you is THE message that has altered so many lives in our work around the world. We hope that you’ll be greatly blessed and encouraged by this. Goodness…what days these are—that we simply need the good news! This, dear friends is the good news we can savor!
It is with this great and profound seriousness—that we send you this week’s podcast!
Thank you for your support and prayers these days.
Every blessing!
Steve and Gwen Smith
MENTIONED IN THE PODCAST * Mark 1:9-11 (NIV) * Priest and Author Romano Guardini - Essay We've Got Some Work to Do * Author Macrina Wiederkehr * Pastor and Swiss Psychologist Walter Trobisch * Romans 8 (The Message) * Reading from Life of the Beloved by Henry Nouwen
BOOKS/Resources MENTIONED toward end of podcast
- Sit Quietly - start with 10 minutes of quiet.
- Love Yourself: Self-Acceptance and Depression by Walter Trobisch
- Life of the Beloved by Henry Nouwen
- The Gift of Being Yourself by David Benner
- Soul Custody: Choosing to Care for the One and Only You by Stephen W. Smith
TIME STAMP OF PODCAST * 0:22 - STEVE begins podcast * 2:46 - SCRIPTURE READING of Mark 1:9-11 * 4:29 - MUSIC BREAK * 5:21 - STEVE Resumes podcast * 29:34 - MUSIC BREAK * 31:00 - Steve reading an excerpt from The Life of the Beloved by Henri Nouwen * 33:39 - MUSIC BREAK * 34:30 - ALLISON’S STORY * 38:39 - MUSIC BREAK * 39:36 - SUGGESTED RESOURCES * 46:27 - CLOSING
SUPPORT THE PODCAST Donate Here for an individual contribution or on Patreon to set up monthly support.
CONTACT US podcast@pottersinn.com
INTERESTED IN MORE SOUL CARE RESOURCES? Check out our recommended reading, books on spiritual growth, and our soul care blog. Want to experience soul care in person? Learn more about our soul care intensives and retreats.
SHOW NOTES Today’s Verse’s: 2 Corinthians 7: 8-11 (The Message)
"... you were jarred into turning things around."
What is the benefit that you are receiving through this difficult, perilous time that we're navigating? Have you ever thought it might be an invitation to change your life around?
Join Steve as he shares his own personal journeys through Being Jarred, and how the result was all gain and no loss.
"Sometimes it's necessary to unmake a living in order to have the life you really want."
MENTIONED IN THE PODCAST * 2 Corinthians 7: 8-11 (The Message) * Poem: "Sometimes" by David Whyte
REFLECTION: What is the benefit that you are receiving through this difficult, perilous time that we're navigating?
TIME STAMP OF PODCAST * 0:21 - STEVE begins podcast
- 4:40 - SCRIPTURE READING
- 8:20 - MUSIC BREAK
- 9:12 - STEVE Resumes podcast
- 36:20 - MUSIC BREAK
- 37:17 - LEIGHTON SMITH sharing story
- 42:06 - MUSIC BREAK
- 42:57 - STEVE discusses poem "Sometimes"
- 42:53 - POEM READING
- 49:40 - MUSIC BREAK
- 50:42 - CLOSING
SUPPORT THE PODCAST Donate Here for an individual contribution or on Patreon to set up monthly support.
CONTACT US podcast@pottersinn.com
INTERESTED IN MORE SOUL CARE RESOURCES? Check out our recommended reading, books on spiritual growth, and our soul care blog. Want to experience soul care in person? Learn more about our soul care intensives and retreats.
SHOW NOTES Today’s Verse’s: 2 Corinthians 2:12-13 (NIV) and 2 Corinthians 7:5-6 (AMP)
When my soul becomes anxious, your consolation brought joy to my heart.
Do you have a Titus in your life? Someone that can come along side you and help ease your anxiety? Today Steve takes an intimate look at Paul in 2 Corinthians, and how in our anxious and stressful lives, we all need a Titus.
Takeaway: Write a letter in this pandemic time to your future self. Put it in a envelope and read it in about a year. What do you want to tell yourself a year from now that you don't want yourself to never forget? This little exercise of cultivating peace of mind are so important, to imagine and see ourselves and the beautiful presence of God.
MENTIONED IN THE PODCAST * 2 Corinthians 2:12-13 (NIV) * 2 Corinthians 7:5-6 (AMP) * Galatians 5:22 * Daily Examen Guide * The River of no Agenda - Poem by Steve
Time Stamp of Podcast * 00:19 – Podcast with Steve * 18:23 – Music Break * 18:26 - Steve: The River of no Agenda * 27:05 - Music Break * 28:00 – Zach’s Soul Care Story * 36:14 – Music Break * 45:56– Closing
SUPPORT THE PODCAST Donate Here for an individual contribution or on Patreon to set up monthly support.
CONTACT US podcast@pottersinn.com
INTERESTED IN MORE SOUL CARE RESOURCES? Check out our recommended reading, books on spiritual growth, and our soul care blog. Want to experience soul care in person? Learn more about our soul care intensives and retreats.
SHOW NOTES Today’s Verse: Jeremiah 18 (MSG)
In Steve’s talk today, he discusses the major movements that help us understand change and transformation. They are all based on the timeless image and metaphor of the potter and clay.
-
Form
-
Reform
-
Transform
-
Conform
These four movements are the story of our lives. In one way or in a mixture of these movements, we are all going to find ourselves on the potter’s wheel.
MENTIONED IN THE PODCAST * Jeremiah 18 (MSG) * Galatians 4:19 * Poem by Tami Stordahl * Hymn - Have Thine Own Way, Lord * Serenity Prayer * The Jesus Life by Stephen W. Smith * Soul Custody by Stephen W. Smith * Streams in the Desert by L. B. Cowman
TIME STAMP OF PODCAST * 00:20 – Intro with Steve * 2:33 – Reading of Scripture Jeremiah 18 (MSG) * 4:41 - Music Break * 5:49 – Main Podcast * 33:29 – Music Break * 33:41 - Takeaway’s from Podcast * 39:15 - Music Break * 40:11 – Tami’s Soul Care Story * 45:47 - Tami’s reading of her poem * 46:48 – Music Break * 47:45 – Closing
SUPPORT THE PODCAST Donate Here for an individual contribution or on Patreon to set up monthly support.
CONTACT US podcast@pottersinn.com
INTERESTED IN MORE SOUL CARE RESOURCES? Check out our recommended reading, books on spiritual growth, and our soul care blog. Want to experience soul care in person? Learn more about our soul care intensives and retreats.
PLEASE SHARE WITH YOUR FRIENDS! Our “Starter Pack” is 10 of our favorite episodes on one page and a great way to introduce someone you know to the podcast and soul care: www.PottersInn.com/starter
JOIN US! Join the podcast discussion with others! There are two ways to do this:
- Leave a comment - Scroll down to the comment section and share your questions, comments, prayers, etc.
- If you are on Facebook - Join our Soul Care Conversations Podcast Facebook Group for more discussion and community.
SHOW NOTES Today’s Verse: Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 (MSG)
Everything is always changing - it’s a given. You could even say that this year there have been more changes than usual!
Ecc. 3:1-8 is all about change - how we need to understand that change is not on our own timetable; that we're not the ones in control of the clock of the universe. This perspective of time in God's hands is what is needed to help us really embrace Soul Care in Difficult, Changing, and Anxious Times.
It’s a lovely conversation with Steve - won’t you join us?
Reflection: Take a moment, sit with the hymn “Count Your Blessings” lyrics, and try to count your blessings - name them one by one.
TIME STAMP OF PODCAST * :20 – Intro with Steve * 4:14 – Reading of Scripture Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 * 5:15 - Music Break * 6:53 – Main Podcast * 26:28 – Music Break * 26:50 – Tim’s Soul Care Story * 31:50 – Music Break * 32:49 – Steve reads the lyrics from “Count Your Blessings” * 34:02 – Closing
MENTIONED IN THE PODCAST * Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 (MSG) * “Lamenting During the Pandemic” Podcast with Steve and Tara * “Count Your Blessings” lyrics * Five Steps to the Daily Examen - DOWNLOAD
+ Listen to our podcast on the Daily Examen
SUPPORT THE PODCAST Donate Here for an individual contribution or on Patreon to set up monthly support.
CONTACT US podcast@pottersinn.com
INTERESTED IN MORE SOUL CARE RESOURCES? Check out our recommended reading, books on spiritual growth, and our soul care blog. Want to experience soul care in person? Learn more about our soul care intensives and retreats.
JOIN US! Join the podcast discussion with others! There are two ways to do this:
- Leave a comment - Scroll down to the comment section and share your questions, comments, prayers, etc.
- If you are on Facebook - Join our Soul Care Conversations Podcast Facebook Group for more discussion and community.
SHOW NOTES Share with your friends our “Starter Pack” - 10 of our favorite episodes on one page. A great way to get started with the podcast and soul care - www.PottersInn.com/Starter
Today’s Verse: 2 Corinthians 1:1-11 (NIV)
We've all lived through many challenging times in life. And if there ever was a time you might need grace and you might need peace- it's today. It's this week. It's this season of our lives.
Steve weaves this verse and Paul’s story in with our own troubles, and asks the question, how have you experienced the compassion of God in a difficult, anxious time?
It’s easy to lose perspective in anxious times. We pray this resource is a comfort, a reassurance, some peace, some grace.
Reflection: How have you experienced the compassion of God in a difficult and anxious time?
TIME STAMP OF PODCAST * :57 – Intro with Steve * 5:23 – Music Break * 6:38 – Main Podcast on Exhaustion * 23:23 – Music Break * 24:39 – Joe’s Soul Care Story * 28:29 – Music Break * 29:14 – Joe reads “Blessing for the Brokenhearted” by Jan Richardson * 30:35 – Closing
MENTIONED IN THE PODCAST * 2 Corinthians 1:1-11 (NIV) * Soul Custody by Stephen W. Smith * Poem recited by Joe: Blessing for the Brokenhearted by Jan Richardson (from her book The Cure for Sorrow) * Soul Care from an African American Perspective - Episode from Season 3
SUPPORT THE PODCAST Donate Here for an individual contribution or on Patreon to set up monthly support.
CONTACT US podcast@pottersinn.com
INTERESTED IN MORE SOUL CARE RESOURCES? Check out our recommended reading, books on spiritual growth, and our soul care blog. Want to experience soul care in person? Learn more about our soul care intensives and retreats.
Dear Subscribers of the Soul Care Conversation Podcast:
Welcome to a new season—we sure need a new season, don’t we! For the next 14 weeks, I (Steve) will be your host and we will be talking about the issues surfacing in our hearts in anxious times. 14 podcasts—14 topics—14 weeks for you and friends to listen, glean, process and work through.
We’ve made this season to fit more of a contemplative theme… knowing that through all the action we are taking politically, racially, economically, and relationally we need to find ways to cocoon, to reflect, think, and process. I hope these podcasts in particular will become a great source of encouragement.
Friends, these are ideal conversations for you to consider listening to with a friend or perhaps in a small group. More than just a curriculum, this is a spark to get a deeper conversation going—a conversation that is below the waterline—a conversation the soul needs to have to thrive.
In addition, I am proud and happy to share that if you are a patron—and if not, I hope you will become one, especially after me sharing this with you—that in each podcast we are making available a TRANSCRIPT for you to read and reflect on. Underline, circle or put question marks when you find yourself wondering what I meant or wanting more clarification. We’ve also including a 5-minute story from a person who has been sitting on the potter’s wheel and is sharing their own story of what they experienced and the benefits of sitting at the potter’s wheel.
This first podcast is on Exhaustion. I get real. I make it personal. I do this to present my own confession to be a portal into your own story. My story is different. My story is not unique, however. I believe one of the diagnosis' of the soul for so many is utter and complete exhaustion. Rather than offer a left brain, 7 steps to Avoid Exhaustion :-) - I chose to be confessional and more right brain/ non-linear to help you think through your own dashboard, to see if exhaustion might fit as an adjective you would use to describe your soul.
By the way, what are the four words you’d use right now to describe the state of your soul?
- Listen.
- Reflect.
- Ponder.
- Marinate.
Be blessed!
Steve
_____________________________________________________________
SHOW NOTES This week’s episode is Steve sharing his recent struggles with exhaustion… that deep in the heart, soul weary exhaustion that many of us are struggling with right now. It’s a beautiful episode that will speak to your heart and soul and help you find the unforced rhythms of grace.
What Steve did to help his recovery
-
Pulled away from the news
- Let go of newspaper
- Limited tv news/ads
-
Delete, snooze, and hide toxic people from social media
-
Took off to Blue Ridge Mountains for time away
- Made a dam at creek - a symbol for the things damned in him that needed to get out
-
Let nature bring healing and rest
-
Put ourselves out in God’s glory – do daily detoxing
- Read the red letters of Jesus – focused on Jesus and nothing else
MENTIONED IN THE PODCAST * Matthew 11:28 (MSG) * A Timbered Choir: The Sabbath Poems by Wendell Berry * POEM: A Blessing for one who is Exhausted by John O’Donohue * POEM: I Think I Need One Hundred Days Like This! by Stephen W. Smith * Blog Post from Steve that started the idea of this episode - Finding the Courage to be Exhausted
SUPPORT THE PODCAST Donate Here for an individual contribution or on Patreon to set up monthly support.
CONTACT US podcast@pottersinn.com
INTERESTED IN MORE SOUL CARE RESOURCES? Check out our recommended reading, our books on spiritual growth, and soul care blog. Want to experience soul care in person? Learn more about our soul care intensives and retreats.
This is the final week of our Summer series "Best of Summer Conversations."**
Next week we begin Season 4 of the podcast, with 12 weeks of all new episodes!
SHOW NOTES Today we are talking about friendship. Not just any kind of friendship, but spiritual, or soul friendship. What is a soul friend (in Gaelic known as Anam Cara)? And how does it tie in to having a spiritual director? Listen in on this conversation with Kaylene and Tara Owens, founder of Anam Cara Ministry, and learn!
RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THE PODCAST
Today’s Guest - Tara Owens
Tara was born in Montreal to British parents who moved to Canada for a better life for their growing family. Canadian by birth and British by blood, she has lived all over the US, and now lives in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
Tara discerned the call to spiritual direction while completing a Master of Theological Studies in Spiritual Formation at Tyndale Seminary in Toronto. She was captured by the incredible privilege it is to companion someone as they discern the voice of the Loving Creator in their lives.
Tara founded Anam Cara Ministries in 2007 as a place of where true soul friendship can be found. ‘Anam Cara’ is an ancient Celtic word meaning ‘soul friend,’ one of the essential qualities of a spiritual director.
Suggestions on where to find a Spiritual Director:
- Your local church
- A local seminary
- Retreat Centers
- Anam Cara Ministry (https://anamcara.com/spiritual-direction/)
- Potter’s Inn (https://www.pottersinn.com/)
Moment to Breathe - A Friendship Blessing by John O’Donohue - from his book Anam Cara: A Book Of Celtic Wisdom
SUPPORT THE PODCAST Donate Here for an individual contribution or on Patreon to set up monthly support.
Show Notes This is week 8 of our Summer series "Best of Summer Conversations." It's a look back at our best and most listened to podcasts from our first 3 seasons. It will be a great primer for anyone who is new to Soul Care. For those of you who are not so new to Soul Care, it's a great refresher to the core values of soul care - you might even learn something new!
Enjoy!
Last week we laid the foundation and discussed what Rhythm means in our lives. This week we are looking at the Model of Rhythm in the life of Jesus… the perfect example, the way, the truth, and the life for each of us. This is one of the most important topics we share and a game changer for so many! Steve will then lead us in a reflection on I Corinthians 2:12-13 and I Corinthians 7:5-6.
I Corinthians 2:12-13 | Reflection from The Message by Eugene Peterson
Now when I went to Troas to preach the gospel of Christ and found that the Lord had opened a door for me, I still had no peace of mind, because I did not find my brother Titus there. So I said goodbye to them and went on to Macedonia.
I Corinthians 7:5-6 | Reflection from the NIV Version
For when we came into Macedonia, we had no rest, but we were harassed at every turn—conflicts on the outside, fears within. But God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us by the coming of Titus.
Resources/Scripture Mentioned in the Podcast FREE DOWNLOAD of the Rhythm Reader, a resource for you to reflect on how to live in Rhythm. Take time to circle or underline key words that stir something inside you while using this resource.
Moment to Breathe - Taken from Chapter 4 in the “The Jesus Life” where Steve explains rhythm in more detail. You can buy it for just $10! - www.pottersinn.com/bookstore/the-jesus-life
- I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes to the Father except through me. - John 14:6
- Every year Jesus’ parents went to Jerusalem for the Festival of the Passover. - Luke 2:41
- He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. - Luke 4:16
- At daybreak, Jesus went out to a solitary place. - Luke 4:42
- Yet the news about him spread all the more, so that crowds of people came to hear him and to be healed of their sicknesses. But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed. - Luke 5:15-16
- Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations. - Psalm 46:10
- When the apostles returned, they reported to Jesus what they had done. Then he took them with him and they withdrew by themselves. - Luke 9:10
- Each day Jesus was teaching at the temple, and each evening he went out to spend the night on the hill called the Mount of Olives, and all the people came early in the morning to hear him at the temple. - Luke 21:37-38
PODCAST SPECIAL OFFER We are discounting our Soul Care 101 Online Streaming sessions, which includes a study guide, for listeners to our podcast! Normally $47, it is now $29 for a limited time. - you can purchase it below!
Soul Care 101 is a simple tool to help you become familiar with the essential themes of soul care.
PURCHASE IT HERE
Support the Podcast: Donate Here for an individual contribution or on Patreon to set up monthly support.
This is week 7 of our Summer series "Best of Summer Conversations." It's a look back at our best and most listened to podcasts from our first 3 seasons. It will be a great primer for anyone who is new to Soul Care. For those of you who are not so new to Soul Care, it's a great refresher to the core values of soul care - you might even learn something new!
Enjoy!
What is the rhythm of our life/the speed in which we live in? This week’s podcast will help you look at your own rhythm and how the urgency in today’s world should not dictate how you manage and care for your own soul. Steve will also walk through the scriptures mentioned below and will then lead us in a reflection on Matthew 11:28-30.
Mathew 11:28 Reflection from The Message by Eugene Peterson
Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.
RESOURCES
- FREE DOWNLOAD of the Rhythm Reader, a resource for you to reflect on how to live in Rhythm
- Inside Job (Chapter 7) by Stephen W. Smith
- Moment to Breathe - Keeping Quiet by Pablo Neruda
- Genesis 1:5
- Genesis 1:14
- Genesis 8:22
- Psalm 104:19-20, 23
This is week 6 of our Summer series "Best of Summer Conversations." It's a look back at our best and most listened to podcasts from our first 3 seasons. It will be a great primer for anyone who is new to Soul Care. For those of you who are not so new to Soul Care, it's a great refresher to the core values of soul care - you might even learn something new!
Enjoy!
SHOW NOTES How many times have you thought you were completely alone in this stress-filled world - financial issues, family conflicts, marital struggles, depression… the list is long and exhausting.
The big question is, does God care about all that? Does he care that your kids are misbehaving and making you lose your mind? That at night you can’t get your mind to shut off and goes further into depression and anxiety? That you and your spouse can barely talk to each other?
The answer is so much more complex than a simple “yes.” Listen in as Steve speaks to this very question - please join us.
**RESOURCES MENTIONED IN PODCAST**
- John 1:43-48
- Psalm 143:8
Moment to Breathe - Thomas Merton’s Prayer
- Text
- Audio
Support the Podcast: Donate Here for an individual contribution or on Patreon to set up monthly support.
This is week 5 of our Summer series "Best of Summer Conversations." It's a look back at our best and most listened to podcasts from our first 3 seasons. It will be a great primer for anyone who is new to Soul Care. For those of you who are not so new to Soul Care, it's a great refresher to the core values of soul care - you might even learn something new!
Enjoy!
_______________________________
In our heads, we know that being is more important than doing. But the reality of our day-to-day life is that we easily drift into a performance-based relationship with God and others. Jesus modeled a different way to live. In today’s episode, we learn how Jesus lived a life that began with acceptance by his Heavenly Father and ended by achieving more than any human being ever has. He has shown us the way---living as the beloved of God.
RESOURCE · The Sacred Cycle Summary – Free Download RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THE PODCAST * Moment to Breathe: Belovedness from You Are the Beloved: Daily Meditations for Spiritual Living by Henri J.M. Nouwen * Life of the Beloved by Henri J.M. Nouwen * Clinical Theology by Frank Lake * The Cycle of Grace by Trevor Hudson and Jerry P Haas
Support the Podcast: Donate Here for an individual contribution or on Patreon to set up monthly support.
Sign up to receive email notifications as future episodes are available: Sign Up Here
This is week 4 of our Summer series "Best of Summer Conversations." It's a look back at our best and most listened to podcasts from our first 3 seasons. It will be a great primer for anyone who is new to Soul Care. For those of you who are not so new to Soul Care, it's a great refresher to the core values of soul care - you might even learn something new!
Enjoy!
_________________________________________________
The art of reflecting on our day is almost a lost art in our busy and over-committed life. However, in this week’s podcast, Steve explores an ancient spiritual exercise called The Daily Examen. In this podcast, Steve walks us through five easy steps used to reflect back upon our day, to see where God was in our midst that we might have missed because of our busyness, and to foster a heart of gratitude.
RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THE PODCAST * Moment to Breathe: Matthew 11: 28-30 (MSG) * Five Steps to the Daily Examen
Send Us Feedback: https://www.pottersinn.com/feedback
Support the Podcast: https://www.pottersinn.com/donate/
This is week 3 of our Summer series "Best of Summer Conversations." It's a look back at our best and most listened to podcasts from our first 3 seasons. It will be a great primer for anyone who is new to Soul Care. For those of you who are not so new to Soul Care, it's a great refresher to the core values of soul care - you might even learn something new!
Enjoy!
_________________________________________________________
In this episode we are treated to a special preview of the Potter’s Inn Soul Care Institute where Gwen Smith teaches on Sabbath Keeping: God’s Design For Our Dilemma. The discussion includes the origin of Sabbath, why we feel so much guilt concerning Sabbath, and why God gave us Sabbath in the first place. Gwen also introduces her 4 Pillars of Sabbath:
- Rhythm - Sabbath is God’s built-in way of giving us rhythm in our lives instead of just running full-steam continuously.
- Protection - In a sense, Sabbath protects us from ourselves and the violence that we inflict on ourselves, driving ourselves to work harder and harder. Sabbath gives us rest.
- Joy, Delight, and Celebration - Sabbath is a blessed and holy day when God rests in His creation and He delights and celebrates in you.
- Belovedness - Taken altogether, Sabbath is a reminder that we are beloved by a good and gracious God who truly cares for us and our well-being.
RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THE PODCAST Soul Care Institute program information
The 4 Pillars of Sabbath Drawing
“Trough” poem by Judy Sorum Brown View here.
The Sea Accepts All Rivers and Other Poems by Judy Sorum Brown
For more on Judy Sorum Brown, her poems, books and other work, please see https://www.judysorumbrown.com/books
Article by Parker Palmer, The Self inflicted Violence of Over-Work
Free Resource for Download: The Sabbath Reader
Support the Podcast: Donate Here for an individual contribution or on Patreon to set up monthly support.
Sign up to receive email notifications as future episodes are available: Sign Up Here
In this episode we join Steve and Gwen for two sessions of their Soul Care 101 course recorded at the retreat center known as Potter’s Inn at Aspen Ridge. Enjoy this fireside conversation with pops and crackles from the fireplace, as they examine the three core questions of every soul. In the first session they talk about:
Question 1 - Am I Loved?
Every person everywhere wants to know if they are loved. Some (or all) of us may have love wounds where we either didn’t get the love we needed or we looked for love in all the wrong places. Learn what it means to be beloved and how to rest in the truth of God’s love for us.
In the second session they discuss:
Question 2 - Am I Safe?
What fears do we carry with us that shape us? How do these fears affect our image of God? If we don’t feel safe how does that affect how we relate to others? Also it’s good to ask, am I a safe person? Do I listen to others or am I quick to judge?
Question 3 - Do I Belong?
It is evident from an early age that we all want to belong to a group, a community. Where are we finding our safe community? Is it the right place? Are we able to be our true selves there or do we feel that we have to act or look a certain way? Do we change our behavior depending on where we are or who we are with?
RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THE PODCAST * Download a Study Guide for Question 1 and Questions 2 and 3 * Soul Care 101 Course: Purchase here at the Potter’s Inn Bookstore * Scripture reading: Deuteronomy 7:7-9 * Moment to Breathe: The Inner Voice by Henri Nouwen. Read the excerpt here. * Other Books Mentioned * Why Am I Afraid to Tell You Who I Am? by John Powell
Support the Podcast: Donate Here for an individual contribution or on Patreon to set up monthly support. Sign up to receive email notifications as future episodes are available: Sign Up Here
Today is the beginning of our Summer series "Best of Summer Conversations." It's a look back at our best and most listened to podcasts from our first 3 seasons. It will be a great primer for anyone who is new to Soul Care. For those of you who are not so new to Soul Care, it's a great refresher to the core values of soul care - you might even learn something new!
Today's episode is from the very beginning of the podcast (the 2nd episode) - "What is Soul Care?"**
Enjoy!
___________________________________________________
Join co-hosts Steve Smith and Joe Chambers as they give more definition to what soul care is and how it relates to icebergs and the Brooklyn Bridge! Steve Smith shows us the stress of living divided lives and lays out the importance of caring for all aspects of the human experience: physical, emotional, relational, vocational, and spiritual. Plus enjoy an interview with Joe Walters, head of the Soul Care Institute and learn how you can take part in a 2-year journey to better soul health.
LINKS & RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THE PODCAST Be sure to click 'Subscribe' to see the embedded links:
Understanding the Soul with Icebergs: View and Download Here
Free Giveaway: Five Reasons Soul Care Matters by Stephen W. Smith: View and Download Here
Poem: For One Who Is Exhausted by John O’Donohue
This poem is available in his book To Bless The Space Between Us: A Book of Blessings.
Learn more about John O’Donohue at www.johnodonohue.com
BOOKS MENTIONED: The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk M.D.
Conjectures of a Guilty Bystander by Thomas Merton
Building Below the Waterline: Shoring Up the Foundations of Leadership by Gordon MacDonald
Support the Podcast: Donate Here for an individual contribution or on Patreon.
Sign up to receive email notifications as future episodes are available: Sign Up Here
JOIN US! Join the podcast discussion with others! If you are on Facebook - Join our Soul Care Conversations Podcast Facebook Group for more discussion and community.
SHOW NOTES Today is our final part on "The Resilient Life” (Listen to Part 1, The Resilient Life: In The Wilderness and Part 2, The Resilient Life: Living and Leading the Resilient Life)
It’s a conversation between Steve and Kelley Mossburg, a market leader, on how he learned to rebuild his life with resilience. It's such an honest witness to how a man hit a wall--then learned to rebuild his entire life. You will not want to miss this.
This is a longer than usual podcast, but worth every minute! We added a break in the middle so you can stretch your legs, get a drink of water, or pause it to listen to later.
ABOUT KELLEY MOSSBURG Born and raised in Washington DC, Kelley has spent the last 30 years in the corporate world, with executive jobs at some of the largest corporations in America. Married for 40 years to his wife Debbie, they have 2 adult sons and live at the beach in beautiful Florida.
**MENTIONED IN THE PODCAST** * **The Lazarus Life: Spiritual Transformation for Ordinary People** by Stephen W. Smith
- A Self- Assessment Exercise on The State of Your Soul - DOWNLOAD
- Inside Job: Doing the Work Within the Work by Stephen W. Smith
- More information about Soul Care Intensives
Become a patron and receive special benefits at www. patreon.com/pottersinn.com.
So truth fails, and he who departs from evil makes himself a prey. Then the Lord saw it, and it displeased Him That there was no justice. - Isaiah 59:15 (NKJV)
**SHOW NOTES** Today’s conversation is between Steve and Dr. Barbara Peacock, the author of Soul Care In African American Practice. It’s a timely conversation on current struggles and past practices, and how the development of spiritual direction and soul care in African American context emerged out of an oppressive reality.
It’s a beautiful conversation about God’s grace - please consider sharing with your friends!
“Come to the river to draw deeply for your soul's refreshment.”
SPECIAL GUEST DR. BARBARA PEACOCK An experienced preacher, teacher and minister of discipleship and prayer, Dr. Peacock trains in spiritual direction/coaching and soul care for ministry leaders. Dr. Peacock has a God-given call and desire to serve as spiritual coach for individuals and groups. The goal is for them to experience a deeper relationship with God that can lift their spirits and thus propel them to accomplishing all that God has called them to be and do.
Dr. Peacock holds a Doctorate of Ministry from Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary. Her dissertation emphasis was Spiritual Direction and Soul Care.Dr. Peacock lives in North Carolina with her husband, Mr. Gilbert Peacock and together they have a daughter, son-in-love, granddaughter, and grandson. Barbara Peacock Website
Author: Soul Care In African American Practice
Facebook
Instagram
MENTIONED IN THE PODCAST
* Soul Care In African American Practice by Dr. Barbara Peacock
* A Hidden Wholeness: The Journey Toward an Undivided Life by Parker Palmer
- What Color is God’s Skin - Lyrics
We are taking a break from our three-part series on “The Resilient Life” and moving Part 3 to June 29. This week’s episode, "Dignity Matters!", was inspired by a post Steve wrote recently.
“When human beings are devalued, everything in society turns sour. Women are humiliated and children despised. The sick are regarded as a nuisance, and the elderly as a burden. Ethnic minorities as discriminated against. The poor are oppressed and denied social justice…labour is exploited in the mines and factories. There is no freedom, no dignity, no carefree joy. Human life seems not worth living because it is scarcely human any longer…people matter…because every man, woman, and child has worth and significance as a human being made in the God’s image and likeness.” —John Stott “The Contemporary Christian”
This conversation with Stephen W. Smith is core and foundational to working through our thoughts, feelings, reactions and strongholds about racism. Steve believes this conversation is the way to begin. We can’t talk about forgiveness or really anything else until we understand that dignity matters. This Conversation helps us to begin a conversation below the water line where we can find one another and understand how valuable every life is in God’s heart.
We’d really appreciate your help this week in doing a “SHARE” on your social media platforms. With your “SHARE”, you can help others gain an understanding and a way to begin talking, healing and moving forward together.
Mentioned in Podcast
- Soul Care Institute
Dear Podcast Friend:
What times we are living in! We continue to want our Soul Care Conversation podcast to be a RESOURCE for you. Goodness! How we all need help to navigate these turbulent times.
If you could take 5 minutes to simply answer a few questions for us—it would greatly help us know how to improve our podcast as we plan now for our fourth season?
It’s simple and you can be anonymous or put your name in. You candid responses will help shape the future and help us know how to make this unique podcast be a place where our soul meets the world!
Every blessing as we move forward!
Do it within the next 7 days(by June 9)would you? That would help us so much to plan effectively!
Stephen W. Smith, Potter’s Inn
**JOIN US!** Join the podcast discussion with others!
- If you are on Facebook - Join our Soul Care Conversations Podcast Facebook Group for more discussion and community.
SHOW NOTES
A pandemic, protests, riots, racial unrest… the world is in conflict. How do we fight the urge to give in to the underlying sense of inertia? How do we go thru each day as if nothing is happening? How do we live a resilient life in the midst of chaos and heartache?
Today’s podcast is from Steve’s book “An Inside Job” about living and leading a resilient life. Timely information during a challenging time, and we invite you to listen to Joe as he reads this chapter.
The 5 components of a resilient life:
-
a physical life
-
an emotional life
-
a vocational life
-
a relational life
-
a stewarding life.
Five Stages of Rest
The first stage of rest: stop. Before you rest, you must first stop. Stop doing and start being. After all, we are not human doings, we are human beings.
The second stage of rest: slow down. Practice slowing down as an art form. For one thing, do not start reading anything. Why? Because you need a bit of transition time to let the swirling wind settle within and without.
The third stage of rest: arrival. In the death and burial of Jesus, by the third day there was resurrection. If you have truly stopped, if you have slowed down, then the long-awaited, hoped-for, and primal truth of your own resurrection is right around the corner.
The fourth stage of rest: play. This is the indulgence of that simple urge to enjoy, laugh and bask. It is truly recreation. We recreate the loss of time and space in our lives. We find each other through games and doing those things that are life-giving.
The fifth stage of rest: remember. Did you know that in the Ten Commandments, the only commandment we are told to “remember” is the Sabbath. Why is this? Most likely because God knew we would quickly forget to rest.
Contemplative Question: In looking at the five components, where do you feel you need the most work?
Mentioned in the Podcast
- A Self- Assessment Exercise on The State of Your Soul - DOWNLOAD
- Inside Job: Doing the Work Within the Work by Stephen W. Smith
From Episode 57 "The Resilient Life, Part 1: The Wilderness"
Each week our Soul Care Conversation Podcast features a Moment to Breathe - it gives listeners a chance to take a deep breathe and contemplate the truth being spoken. We decided to provide each of those Moment to Breathe’s separately for use with your private meditation and contemplation practice.
PRESS PAUSE - and join us for a Moment to Breathe.
__________________
A Blessing For One Who Is Exhausted by John O’Donohue
When the rhythm of the heart becomes hectic,
Time takes on the strain until it breaks;
Then all the unattended stress falls in
On the mind like an endless, increasing weight,
The light in the mind becomes dim.
Things you could take in your stride before
Now become laboursome events of will.
Weariness invades your spirit.
Gravity begins falling inside you,
Dragging down every bone.
The tide you never valued has gone out.
And you are marooned on unsure ground.
Something within you has closed down;
And you cannot push yourself back to life.
You have been forced to enter empty time.
The desire that drove you has relinquished.
There is nothing else to do now but rest
And patiently learn to receive the self
You have forsaken for the race of days.
At first your thinking will darken
And sadness take over like listless weather.
The flow of unwept tears will frighten you.
You have travelled too fast over false ground;
Now your soul has come to take you back.
Take refuge in your senses, open up
To all the small miracles you rushed through.
Become inclined to watch the way of rain
When it falls slow and free.
Imitate the habit of twilight,
Taking time to open the well of colour
That fostered the brightness of day.
Draw alongside the silence of stone
Until its calmness can claim you.
Be excessively gentle with yourself.
Stay clear of those vexed in spirit.
Learn to linger around someone of ease
Who feels they have all the time in the world.
Gradually, you will return to yourself,
Having learned a new respect for your heart
And the joy that dwells far within slow time.
Excerpt from, 'For One Who is Exhausted.'
BENEDICTUS (Europe) / TO BLESS THE SPACE BETWEEN US (US)
JOIN US! Join the podcast discussion with others! If you are on Facebook - Join our Soul Care Conversations Podcast Facebook Group for more discussion and community.
SHOW NOTES
Today begins a three-part series on resilience; how we can begin to understand how to navigate our inner world with the outer world of the pandemic.
Part one is a personal message from Steve, using the metaphor of spiritual wilderness; the best and most apt description of what is happening in our inner world. He talks from his heart of his own struggles during the pandemic and how we can each understand the reality of coping in a time of wilderness.
We welcome you in joining us in this important conversation.
Mentioned in the Podcast
- A Self-Assessment Exercise on The State of Your Soul - DOWNLOAD
-
Moment to Breathe - A Blessing For One Who Is Exhausted by John O’Donohue
- Audio
- Text
Taken from Episode 56 "I See You, I am Here"
Each week our Soul Care Conversation Podcast features a Moment to Breathe - it gives listeners a chance to take a deep breathe and contemplate the truth being spoken. We decided to provide each of those Moment to Breathe’s separately for use with your private meditation and contemplation practice.
PRESS PAUSE - and join us for a Moment to Breathe.
LOVE DOES THAT by Meister Eckhart
All day long a little burro labors, sometimes
with heavy loads on her back and sometimes just with worries
about things that bother only
burros.
And worries, as we know, can be more exhausting
than physical labor.
Once in a while a kind monk comes
to her stable and brings
a pear, but more
than that,
he looks into the burro’s eyes and touches her ears
and for a few seconds the burro is free
and even seems to laugh,
because love does
that.
Love frees.
Show Notes
In this episode Kaylene and Atlanta Airport Chaplain, Barbara Pendergrast talk about the power of providing spacious presence for others so they are truly seen. This hospitality is demonstrated through showing up, attentive listening, and also silence. Join them as their conversation takes us from the world's busiest and largest airport to the singular importance of every person in the world. We hope you feel seen today.
About Barbara Pendergrast
Barbara Pendergrast is a cradle Episcopalian who grew up on the water in Charleston, SC. She and her husband have been married for thirty-six years and are the parents of two adult children. Barbara is a board-certified chaplain with the Association of Professional Chaplains and is a commissioned lay chaplain in the Episcopal Church. She received her M.Div. from Candler School of Theology at Emory University before serving as a lay chaplain in the Episcopal Church at Hartsfield - Jackson Atlanta International Airport. Barbara offers retreats, leads Quiet Days and facilitates pastoral care education in the Diocese of Atlanta.
Mentioned in the Podcast
Icon referred to in podcast - Trinity by Andrei Rublev
The Jesus Life: Eight Ways to Recover Authentic Christianity by Stephen W. Smith - Includes teachings on silence.
Soul Feast: An Invitation to the Christian Spiritual Life by Marjorie J. Thompson - In particular, read Chapter 9 Entertaining Angels Unaware; The Spirit of Hospitality, about providing space and spaciousness for others.
Moment to Breathe - Love Does That by Meister Eckhart
- Audio
- Text
From Episode 55 "The Imposter: Discovering your True and False Self
Good-morning, impostor. Surely you are surprised by the cordial greeting, you probably expected, "Hello, you little jerk." since I have hammered you from day one of this retreat. Let me begin by admitting that I have been unreasonable, ungrateful, and unbalanced in my appraisal of you. (Of Course, you are aware, puff of smoke, that in addressing you, I am talking to myself. You are not some isolated, impersonal entity living on an asteroid but a real part of me.)
I come to you today not with rod in hand but with an olive branch. When I was a little shaver and first knew that no one was there for me, you intervened and showed me where to hide. (In those Depression days of the thirties, you recall my parents were doing the best they could with what they had just to provide food and shelter.)
At that moment in time, you were invaluable. Without your intervention I would have been overwhelmed by dread and paralyzed by fear. You were there for me and played a crucial, protective role in my development. Thank you.
When I was four years old, you taught me how to build a cottage. Remember the game? I would crawl under the covers from the head of the bed to the footrest and pull the sheets, blanket, and pillow over me - actually believing that no one could find me. I felt safe. I am still amazed at how effectively that worked. My mind would think happy thoughts, and I would spontaneously smile and start to laugh under the covers. We built that cottage together because the world we inhabited was not a friendly place.
But in the construction process you taught me how to hide my real self from everyone and initiated a lifelong process of concealment, containment, and withdrawal. Your resourcefulness enabled me to survive. But then your malevolent side appeared and you started lying to me "Brennan," you whispered, "if you persist in this folly of being yourself, your few long-suffering friends will hit the bricks, leaving you all alone. Stuff your feelings, shut down your memories, withhold your opinions, and develop social graces so you'll fit in wherever you are."
And so, the elaborate game of pretense and deception begin. Because it worked, I raised no objection. As the years rolled by, you - I got strokes from a variety of sources. We were elated and concluded the game must go on.
But you needed someone to bridle you and rein you in. I Had neither the perception not the courage to tame you, so you continued to rumble like Sherman through Atlanta, gathering momentum along the way. Your appetite for attention and affirmation became insatiable. I never confronted you with the lie because I was deceived myself.
The bottom line, my pampered playmate, is that you are both needy and selfish. You need care, love, and safe dwelling place. On this day in the Rockies my gift is to take you where, unknowingly, you have longed to be - into the presence of Jesus. Your days of running riots are history. From now on, you slow down, slow very down.
In His presence notice that you have already begun to shrink. Wanna know somethin’, little guy? Your much more attractive that way. I am nicknaming you "Pee-Wee". Naturally, you are not going to roll over suddenly and die. I know you will get disgruntled at times and start to act out, but the longer you spend time in the presence of Jesus, the more accustomed you grow to His face, the less adulation you will need because you will have discovered for yourself that He is Enough. And in the Presence, you will delight in the discovery of what it means to live by grace and not by performance.
Your friend,
Brennan
No man [woman], for any considerable period, can wear one face to
themselves, and another to the multitude, without finally getting bewildered as to which may be true.
~ Nathaniel Hawthorne
**SHOW NOTES**
For many of us, the Pandemic has served as a mirror, forcing us to take a hard, long look at ourselves. And it might have revealed somethings you do not like very much, as well as the best in each of us. It is a back and forth that is known in spiritual terms as the True and False Self and is the topic of today’s podcast.
Jeremy interviews Fil Anderson about the complexity of our true and false self, how we can recognize the difference, and find grace in the midst of confronting our own “imposter.” It’s a beautiful, freeing, and engaging conversation that gives each of us insights that will help us navigate these turbulent times and help us finally claim our identity as God’s child and experience His pure pleasure in who we are.
A Contemplative Question: Think back to a time or event where you struggled being your true self; saying what was really on your heart or acting in a way that was consistent with who you are on the inside.
ABOUT FIL ANDERSON Fil Anderson is Executive Director of Journey Resources, based in Greensboro, NC. He’s a frequent conference speaker and spiritual director, and he directs retreats and workshops nationally and internationally. A member of the pastoral staff of St. Mark’s Church and the Spiritual Care Team for Samaritan’s Purse, he provides on-site soul care to their staff and volunteers.
Fil is the author of Running on Empty: Contemplative Spirituality for Overachievers (Waterbrook) and Breaking the Rules: Trading Performance for Intimacy with God (InterVarsity). He also contributed to Transformation of a Man’s Heart: Reflections on the Masculine Journey (InverVarsity).
A graduate of the University of North Carolina at Wilmington and Fuller Theological Seminary, he also completed the Graduate Program in Christian Spiritual Guidance at the Shalem Institute for Spiritual Formation. Fil worked with Young Life for 25 years, serving as area director and regional director before becoming national director of training.
Learn more about Fil
Mentioned in the Podcast
- Abba’s Child: The Cry of the Heart for Intimate Belonging by Brennan Mannings
-
Moment to Breathe - Brennan’s letter to his Imposter
- Audio
- Text
Salvation Oracles on Reading Isaiah 43:1-5 by Walter Brueggemann
There is a long list of threats around us:
terror,
cancer,
falling markets,
killing,
others unlike us in all their variety,
loneliness,
shame,
death--
the list goes on and we know it well.
And in the midst of threat of every kind,
you appear among us in your full power,
in your deep fidelity,
in your amazing compassion.
You speak among us the one word that could matter:
"Do not fear."
And we, in our several fearfulnesses, are jarred by your utterance.
On a good day, we know that your sovereign word is true.
So give us good days by your rule,
free enough to rejoice,
open enough to change,
trusting enough to move out of new obedience,
grace enough to be forgiven and then to forgive.
We live by your word. Speak it to us through the night,
that we may have many good days through your gift.
~Walter Brueggemann
from Prayers for a Privileged People
***Join our Soul Care Conversations Podcast Facebook Group for more discussion and community.***
SHOW NOTES
The pandemic has changed many things for each of our lives, yet our “real life” is still happening - children are graduating from HS, weddings continue to take place, and so on. How do we balance “Real Life” with everything happening around us?
Jeremy talks to Joel Roberts about how the pandemic is affecting us and how to stay sane and centered. They discuss some practices to engage in and put in place to stay grounded or centered during these times.
Suggestions
Union & Harmony W/God
- Meditate
- Pray- Healthcare Workers, Leaders, etc. Scripture
Union & Harmony with Others
- Attending to family
- Call or text single friends-2 or 3/day Meals together with your family if possible
- Do a Zoom dinner with friends
Union & harmony with Nature
- Barefoot in Grass, Touch a tree or Rock. Grounding in Nature and Beauty. Feel Rain, or Breeze or Sun. Look closely @something natural
- Short walks, Alone or with Someone in your immediate family.
Naming → speaking truth
- Grief
- Fear
- Loneliness
- Despair
- Joy
- Closeness
- Reduced "Busyness" / Restoration of slowing Down.
A Contemplative Question: What practices are you engaging in during this time that help you find union and harmony with God? Others? Nature?
What are some things that you need to name concerning how you are feeling, good, bad or otherwise in the midst of this pandemic? Are there things that you have been unwilling to name? Why?
ABOUT JOEL A. ROBERTS, MA, LPC, NCC Joel is a counselor and life coach dedicated to inviting people to discover their truest self, cultivate their hopes and dreams, and enter into their deeper story.
He received a Master of Arts in Counseling from Denver Seminary and specializes in men's issues, couples, trauma, military life, spiritual abuse, and the complex intersection of faith and sexuality.
Learn more about Joel at Deeper Stories
**Mentioned in the Podcast**
- Moment to Breathe - Salvation Oracles on Reading Isaiah 43:1-5
Audio
Text:
There is a long list of threats around us:
terror,
cancer,
falling markets,
killing,
others unlike us in all their variety,
loneliness,
shame,
death--
the list goes on and we know it well.
And in the midst of threat of every kind,
you appear among us in your full power,
in your deep fidelity,
in your amazing compassion.
You speak among us the one word that could matter:
"Do not fear."
And we, in our several fearfulnesses, are jarred by your utterance.
On a good day, we know that your sovereign word is true.
So give us good days by your rule,
free enough to rejoice,
open enough to change,
trusting enough to move out of new obedience,
grace enough to be forgiven and then to forgive.
We live by your word. Speak it to us through the night,
that we may have many good days through your gift.
~Walter Brueggemann
from Prayers for a Privileged People
JOIN US! Join the podcast discussion with others! If you are on Facebook - Join our Soul Care Conversations Podcast Facebook Group for more discussion and community.
SHOW NOTES
In this podcast, author and licensed professional counselor Michael Cusick talks about our souls need to be restored! Cusick founded RESTORING THE SOUL, a ministry devoted to soul care. His work with men and women around the world has been life saving and profound.
Steve and Gwen Smith met Michael in 2002 and did a week long intensive with Michael which helped them in life, marriage, and the work of Potter’s Inn.
In this podcast, Michael explores the Four “S’s” of the Soul—as they all start with an S—making them easy to remember.
- To be Seen
- To be Soothed
- To be Safe
- To be Secure
ABOUT MICHAEL JOHN CUSICK, M.A., L.P.C. Michael is a Licensed Professional Counselor, spiritual director, speaker, and author of two books including Surfing for God: Discovering the Divine Desire Beneath Sexual Struggle, a major work on helping men and women transform from pornography addiction; and Somebody's Daughter: An Experiential Guide. Having experienced the restoring touch of God in a deeply broken life and marriage, Michael’s passion is to connect life’s broken realities with the reality of the gospel.
In addition to leading Restoring the Soul, Michael holds an MA in Biblical Counseling from Colorado Christian University and an MA from the College of Education at the University of Denver.
**Mentioned in the Podcast**
* Surfing for God: Discovering the Divine Desire Beneath Sexual Struggle by Michael John Cusick
-
Try Softer by Aundi Kolber
* The Spiritual Disciplines Handbook by Adele Calhoun -
Restoring the Soul Ministry
-
Moment to Breathe - Prayer of Relaxation with Gwen Smith
- Audio
Lord Have Mercy
Nathan Grieser
Psalm 86
These prayers ring with urgency
Lord, turn your ear
We can’t say just what we need
Our words are scarce
You are our God
You lift us up
Lord have mercy, here we are
Have mercy on us all
Lord have mercy, in these storms
Let peace make landfall
When we’ve reached the end of what we know
When we’ve reached the end of our control
Lord have mercy
Lord have mercy
Lord have mercy
Lord have mercy
You are our God
You are our strength
You lift us up
To glimpse a new day
Listen to more of Nathan's music at nathangrieser.bandcamp.com
© 2017 Nathan Grieser
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/.
**JOIN US!** Join the podcast discussion with others! **If you are on Facebook** - Join our **Soul Care Conversations Podcast Facebook Group** for more discussion and community.
SHOW NOTES
Kaylene chats with Nathan and Kate Grieser about the loss of Nathan’s sister Hannah in a tragic car accident. They share their emotional and timely story and grief journey – a journey they are still on.
*Hannah and her husband Caleb*
This conversation was recorded a few weeks before the Pandemic broke out. We didn’t know what was coming then, yet somehow it seems fitting to share this now at a time when many are dealing with the loss of loved ones while being isolated and in quarantine.
We hope this is a meaningful and encouraging conversation for you today.
ABOUT NATHAN AND KATE GRIESER **Nathan and Kate Grieser** live in Lancaster, PA with their daughters Ivy and Juniper, where they love to garden in their small backyard. Nathan is the director of The Shalom Project, which empowers young people to pursue God’s wholeness and peace for themselves and the Lancaster community. He is passionate about living simply and sustainably, connecting with people on the margins, and creatively participating in God’s work of peace and restoration.
Kate works with Eastern Mennonite Missions, where she supports the Development director in cultivating relationships with donors, planning events, and dreaming about the future of EMM.
They both enjoy playing and singing music. Kate includes crocheting, cooking, and sharing time with friends and neighbors as what she enjoys most, while Nathan enjoys bicycle commuting and woodworking.
RESOURCES
-
Moment to Breathe - Lord have Mercy, written by Nathan Grieser, sung by Nathan and Kate Grieser
- Audio
- Lyrics
- Check out more of Nathan's Music - nathangrieser.bandcamp.com
Become a patron and receive special benefits at www. patreon.com/pottersinn.com. Find more resources on Soul Care and our podcast on Potter’s Inn Social Media channels
-
Facebook
Creating Space for our Souls in a Critical Time - Steve shares with us how he copes with being quarantined by reading poetry.
JOIN US! Join the podcast discussion with others! If you are on Facebook - Join our Soul Care Conversations Podcast Facebook Group for more discussion and community.
SHOW NOTES
NOTE: We are returning to our previous schedule of one podcast a week, every Tuesday. However, our topics will continue to address the challenges we are currently facing.
In today’s world of accusations of “fake news” and the erosion of “who can you trust?”—this podcast is important. Steve sits down with author, counselor, and teacher Sharon Hersh in a truthful and personal conversation about what is like to be diagnosed, live with, and recover from Covid-19. Sharon's voice and work is important in the world of soul care and her books have impacted us at Potter’s Inn because of her honest, Scriptural, and insightful way she talks about addiction, recovery, our true identity, and being the Beloved.
In this world of pandemic fears, this conversation is one that we’d ask you to SHARE to your social networks and people in your sphere of influence. Why are we asking this of you? Because SHARING is the best way to get the word out about the podcast and its resources! Please, listen first! Then think of four or five friends you can pass this along to this week. It’s important and you’ll see why once you listen!
ABOUT SHARON HERSH
Sharon A. Hersh M.A., LPC is a licensed professional counselor, speaker, and author. She has written several books, including the popular Bravehearts: Unlocking the Courage to Love with Abandon, four books in the Hand-in-Hand Parenting Series, and The Last Addiction: Why Self-Help is Not Enough. Her latest book Belonging: Finding the way back to One Another will be released in Fall 2020. She is an adjunct professor in graduate counseling courses, including Sex and Sexuality and Addiction at Colorado Christian University, Mars Hill Graduate School, and Reformed Theological Seminary. She is a sought-after speaker at conferences and retreats. Hersh lives in Lone Tree, Colorado.
RESOURCES
- Sharon’s Website
- Belonging: Finding the Way Back to One Another - new book from Sharon, available August 2020
-
Creating Space for our Souls in a Critical Time - Steve shares with us how he copes with being quarantined by reading poetry.
- Audio
*I never suspected
Resurrection
and to be so painful
to leave me weeping*
With Joy
to have met you, alive and smiling, outside an empty tomb
With Regret
not because I’ve lost you
but because I’ve lost you in how I had you –
in understandable, touchable, kissable, clingable flesh
not as fully Lord, but as graspably human.
I want to cling, despite your protest
cling to your body
cling to your, and my, clingable humanity
cling to what we had, our past.
But I know that … if I cling
You cannot ascend and
I will be left clinging to your former self
… unable to receive your present spirit.
Mary Magdala’s Easter Prayer by Ron Rolheiser in Holy Longing
Picture Above: The Supper at Emmaus by Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, 1601 Oil and tempera on canvas - National Gallery, London, United Kingdom.
JOIN US! Join the podcast discussion with others! If you are on Facebook - Join our Soul Care Conversations Podcast Facebook Group for more discussion and community.
SHOW NOTES
Easter feels different this year, doesn’t it? The loss of a tangible place to come together in community feels like a loss. Is this how the disciples felt when Jesus died on the cross? Did they feel alone, scared, and helpless?
Join us as we discuss Easter and the struggles we all face during this time of isolation. This is a beautiful, vulnerable, and honest conversation with all our hosts. They share what Easter means to each of them in 2020 and how Easter can offer us a sense of hope, as God is saying “I am here, trust me.”
Please join us in the conversation.
RESOURCES
- Meet the Hosts
-
Moment to Breathe - Mary Magdala’s Easter Prayer by Ron Rolheiser
- Audio
- Text
Such Silence by Mary Oliver
As deep as I ever went into the forest
I came upon an old stone bench, very, very old,
and around it a clearing, and beyond that
trees taller and older than I had ever seen.
Such silence.
It really wasn’t so far from a town, but it seemed
all the clocks in the world had stopped counting.
So it was hard to suppose the usual rules applied.
Sometimes there’s only a hint, a possibility.
What’s magical, sometimes, has deeper roots
than reason.
I hope everyone knows that.
I sat on the bench, waiting for something.
An angel, perhaps.
Or dancers with the legs of goats.
No, I didn’t see either. But only, I think, because
I didn’t stay long enough.
– Mary Oliver, “Such Silence,” from Blue Horses
**JOIN US!** Join the podcast discussion with others! If you are on Facebook, join our **Soul Care Conversations Podcast Facebook Group** for more discussion and community.
SHOW NOTES
In a time of stress, crisis and the pandemic, one of the greatest needs that is being uncovered in us is simply this: We need a WAY to get through this? That’s the question we tackle in this important podcast with Chad Hollowell. Chad is the Global Director for United World Mission located in Charlotte. Steve and Chad are forging a friendship and this conversation is the fruit of their questions about how to we find a way to move forward.
This conversation is based on the historic way of life called, a “Rule of Life” developed by St. Benedict 1600 years ago. Benedict developed a “regula” or “rule” to help establish healthy boundaries for people intending to live in community.
This conversation is deep and we offer a FREE PDF of how to develop a rule of life which you’ll want to download and work on as soon as you can - it is in the notes.
We hope and trust that this podcast will be a helpful encouragement as well as much needed resource.
It may be helpful to do an EMERGENCY RULE OF LIFE right now during our world pandemic but what we already know is that you’ll want to return to this time and time again when the “new normal” is defined for you!
**ABOUT CHAD HOLLOWELL** Chad has the dual roles of Director of Field Leadership and the Director of Christian Spiritual Formation at United World Missions. As Director of Field Leadership, he oversees seven UWM Regional Leaders based in Asia, Europe, Africa, and Latin America. As Director of Spiritual Leadership, he provides an organizational strategy for a UWM DNA of spiritual formation. His role is to equip their missionaries to work with nationals in spiritually formative ways, to offer spiritual formation as a core ministry of UWM with other Christian organizations within each of their regions. Chad is married to Serina and they have four kids; Avery, Claire, Bridget, Andrew, and one grandchild.
RESOURCES
- Developing a Rich Spiritual Regula (Rule of Life) Workbook - DOWNLOAD
-
Moment to Breathe - Such Silence by Mary Oliver - combined with Creating Space for our Souls in a Critical Time, where we listen to the snowy footsteps of Joe and he shares how he creates space with a walk outside.
- Audio
- Text - Moment to Breathe only
Here are some ideas to seed your thinking and help spark your creativity about establishing your own ways of learning to live with obscurity as Jesus did.
- Do a postmortem on a season of obscurity, wilderness, and anonymity that you've experienced in the past. Ask yourself the three questions following this paragraph. Journal your responses, and get together with a few of your friends, asking them to do the same; then share your experiences. See what common ground might surface among you for insights, lessons, and encouragement.
a. What do you think God was up to in your season of obscurity?
b. What lessons did you gain from this time?
c. What honest feelings surfaced in this time about God, yourself, friends, and your faith?
-
A sabbatical is an extended time of being unplugged and unavailable and ceasing from your routine and normal life. It can be a week, a month, a quarter of a year, or longer. If you were to plan your own sabbatical right now, what would you see yourself doing and not doing? Where would you be? What resources would you take with you? Could you make this happen in the next phase of your life? Why or why not?
-
Read Shelley Trebesch's Isolation: A Place of Transformation in the Life of a Leader with your group or class and plan a time to share your insights and observations.
-
What are some creative ways that you can be secluded for a while? Take a week and unplug yourself from technology and people and be alone with God. Or consider a twenty-four-hour silent retreat with a few friends but be careful to remain totally silent during the time. At the end come together and share your insights and feelings about the experience. Try it for longer and see what happens.
-
Interview someone you know who has experienced an extended time of wilderness and anonymity. Ask the person what he or she learned. Find out what the person found valuable and what he or she regretted. What did the person learn about God after that time?
-
Read a biography of someone who has written about an experience of isolation. See what insights you can glean from the person's experience and how his or her story can inform your own.
This is a new portion of the podcast where our hosts show how they are practicing soul care in the midst of chaos
Today we will hear from Kaylene on how she cares for her body and keep moving during quarantine - baking!
-
-
- Kaylene’s Biscuit Recipe
-
JOIN US! Join the podcast discussion with others on Facebook - join our Soul Care Conversations Podcast Facebook Group for more discussion and community.
SHOW NOTES
“Meanwhile, be content with obscurity, just as Christ was.” Colossians 3:4 (MSG)
Isolation - something most of us are experiencing right now.
Today's podcast is about unwanted isolation - the type God uses to accomplish what only living in obscurity can do and how God uses obscurity to shape and mold us for greater things; things that we are not always aware of.
Joe reads the profoundly personal chapter “Life of Hiddenness” from Steve’s book “The Jesus Life.” A look at Jesus' life of hiddenness, and how we can take the steps toward that same life.
The last few minutes of the podcast has some ideas to seed your thinking and help spark your creativity about establishing your own ways of learning to live with obscurity as Jesus did. It is our Moment to Breathe this week and more information is listed in the Resources section below.
Blessings to you all as you listen and join us in the conversation.
RESOURCES
- The Jesus Life: Eight Ways to Recover Authentic Christianity by Stephen W. Smith - At a discounted price of $10, normally $15!
- Colossians 3:4 (MSG)
-
Moment to Breathe
- Audio
- Text
-
Creating Space for our Souls in a Critical Time - this is a new portion of the podcast where our hosts show how they are practicing soul care in the midst of chaos Today we will hear from Kaylene on how she cares for her body and keep moving during quarantine - baking!
-
Audio
- Kaylene’s Easy Biscuit Recipe
We have added a segment at the end of each podcast that will be a "hand-on" illustration of how our hosts are practicing soul care during these troubled times. This week's is from Gwen, who talks about the soothing affect of working with watercolors.
JOIN US! Join the podcast discussion with others! Join our Soul Care Conversations Podcast Facebook Group for more discussion and community.
SHOW NOTES
How can we ever find words for all our groaning’s stirring inside of us?
Steve has an engaging and helpful conversation with Tara Owens about Grief, Lament, and the Pandemic. The podcast will offer a unique way to actually write your own lament--to get 'this" out of you.
We are offering Tara’s guide on Lament “French Pantoum-An Exercise for Lament” in the RESOURCES below that is a guide to help you write your own personal lament.
SPECIAL GUEST TARA OWENS
Tara was born in Montreal to British parents who moved to Canada for a better life for their growing family. Canadian by birth and British by blood, she has lived all over the US, and now lives in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
Tara discerned the call to spiritual direction while completing a Master of Theological Studies in Spiritual Formation at Tyndale Seminary in Toronto. She was captured by the incredible privilege it is to companion someone as they discern the voice of the Loving Creator in their lives.
Tara founded Anam Cara Ministries in 2007 as a place of where true soul friendship can be found. ‘Anam Cara’ is an ancient Celtic word meaning ‘soul friend,’ one of the essential qualities of a spiritual director.
- Anam Cara Ministries
- Tara also joined us in the conversation in Episode 21 on Soulful Friendships - LISTEN
RESOURCES
-
French Pantoum-An Exercise for Lament - DOWNLOAD
- Head over to our "Soul Care Conversation Facebook Page” and share your lament with us. You can record it on video or make a post - whatever you feel comfortable with.
- Hard Times Require Furious Dancing by Alice Walker
- Joshua 5 (NIV)
-
Creating Space for our Souls in a Critical Time - this is a new portion of the podcast where our hosts show how they are practicing soul care in the midst of chaos
-
Today we will hear from Gwen on finding Beauty in watercolors
Prayers for each Enneagram - with Steve & Gwen Smith and Doug and Adele Calhoun
From Podcast 46: How the Enneagram Informs us in Crisis
JOIN US! Join the podcast discussion with others! There are two ways to do this:
- Leave a comment - Go to the comment section and share your questions, comments, prayers, etc.
- If you are on Facebook - Join our Soul Care Conversations Podcast Facebook Group for more discussion and community.
SHOW NOTES
Important Information Regarding This Particular Podcast: We do not consider this podcast to be an introduction to the Enneagram. We assume in the podcast that the listener will have some orientation and understanding of the Enneagram. So, to be clear, this is NOT a 101-level conversation. We’d encourage you to skip this podcast until you have gathered a bit more understanding. We have listed some books and a previous podcast below for you as resources to discover more about the Enneagram.
In these days of global crisis, we felt it was imperative for us to have a conversation with seasoned experts and trusted authors, Doug and Adele Calhoun on how the Enneagram helps us understand how each of us react differently under stress, fear and the pandemic facing us at the present moment.
For those of you who have been introduced to the Enneagram and understand your own type and the types of those you love who are around you, this podcast will prove valuable, if not invaluable. See if you don’t agree with us while listening. There is something for every single person in this podcast!
This is a longer than usual podcast, but worth every minute! We added a break in the middle so you can stretch your legs, get a drink of water, or pause it to listen to later.
The diagram below shows the Enneagram numbers and their relationship to other numbers and types.
SPECIAL GUESTS DOUG AND ADELE CALHOUN Adele and Doug Calhoun have served on the pastoral staff of four churches and are currently co-pastors of spiritual formation at Highrock Covenant Church in Arlington, Massachusetts. As certified Enneagram instructors, they enjoy resourcing spiritual leaders and pastors through spiritual direction and teaching the Enneagram.
Adele is the author of Spiritual Disciplines Handbook, Invitations from God, and coauthor of True You. Doug is adjunct faculty at the Transforming Center and at Potter’s Inn Soul Care Institute, and he is board chair of Del Camino Connection.
- Recent Book: Spiritual Rhythms for the Enneagram by Adele & Doug Calhoun and Clare & Scott Loughrige
- Their Website
USEFUL RESOURCES
- Previous podcast with Doug and Adele Calhoun on the Enneagram - You may find it beneficial to listen to this podcast first before you listen to this particular podcast.
-
RECOMMENDED BOOKS
- FROM OUR GUESTS: Spiritual Rhythms for the Enneagram by Adele & Doug Calhoun and Clare & Scott Loughrige
- The Enneagram Made Easy by Elizabeth Wagele
-
- The Sacred Enneagram by Christopher L. Heuertz
- Essential Enneagram: The Definitive Personality Test and Self-Discovery Guide by David Daniels -The Smith’s own “go to book” to always have on hand:
-
- The Complete Enneagram: 27 Paths to Greater Self-Knowledge by Beatrice Chestnut - By far, the most resourceful book we use on the Enneagram
OTHER RESOURCES
-
The Potter’s Inn Soul Care Institute offers in-depth one-week training on the Enneagram during the two year program. Please consider the two new cohorts now: www.soulcareinstitute.com
-
Moment to Breathe - Prayers for each Enneagram
- Audio
From Episode 45 Loneliness and the Soul
Prayer of Relaxation with Gwen Smith
Gwen walks us through how to do this prayer practice with your body each day.
JOIN US! Join the podcast discussion with others! There are two ways to do this:
- Leave a comment - Scroll down to the comment section and share your questions, comments, prayers, etc.
- If you are on Facebook - Join our Soul Care Conversations Podcast Facebook Group for more discussion and community.
“IN SOLITUDE IS THE PLACE WHERE I AM LEAST ALONE.” SHOW NOTES
Social Distancing – a word that is all too familiar right now. If you are quarantined at home, you may be experiencing some side effects from your attempt at social distancing… loneliness, isolation, fear, insecurity. Yet relationships and social connection is crucial to our physical and emotional self – especially during these trying times. How do we achieve true community while stuck at home?
Today will be a beautiful discussion with Steve and Gwen on how to move from loneliness and isolation to solitude and experiencing the presence of God.
Things we can do practically to re-order our life:
-
Read Psalms of lament – Deep, moving, courageous prayers and poems we can use in our grief.
-
Think of this time as a benefit, to either ourselves or others.
-
Pray for the vulnerable and lonely.
-
Reach out to others – example: send an card or email saying “I’ve been thinking about you.”
-
Sit in quietness – alone and with God, at least 15 minutes - “A Deep Abiding”
a. Read “Ascending the Mountain Within”
- Prayer of Relaxation – SEE Moment to Breathe below
a. Prayer to practice with your body each day
NOTE: During this critical time, we will begin releasing two podcasts a week (Tuesday and Friday). Each will be in relation to this new reality we are experiencing. This Friday’s podcast will be on the Enneagram and how each of us, with our own unique number, deals with these times.
Email us at podcast@pottersinn.com with any prayer requests - we will make sure it is lifted up.
RESOURCES MENTIONED IN PODCAST
- Lamentations 3 (The Message)
- “Inside Job” by Stephen W. Smith
- “Wholeheartedness” by Chuck DeGrott
- Three Core Questions of Every Soul Podcast from Season 1
- “Ascending the Mountain Within” by Stephen W. and Gwen Smith
- “Stand together, yet not too near together, Where the pillars of the temple stand apart, and the oak tree and the cypress grow not in each other’s shadow.” –From The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran (Knopf, 1923).
Moment to Breathe - Prayer of Relaxation with Gwen Smith
- Audio
by Jan Richardson
Let us agree for now that we will not say the breaking makes us stronger or that it is better to have this pain than to have done without this love.
Let us promise we will not tell ourselves time will heal the wound, when every day our waking opens it anew.
Perhaps for now it can be enough to simply marvel at the mystery of how a heart so broken can go on beating, as if it were made for precisely this—
as if it knows the only cure for love is more of it,
as if it sees the heart’s sole remedy for breaking is to love still,
as if it trusts that its own persistent pulse is the rhythm of a blessing we cannot begin to fathom but will save us nonetheless.
From The Cure for Sorrow: A Book of Blessings for Times of Grief © Jan Richardson (Wanton Gospeller Press, 2016). janrichardson.com
Good day everyone. . Now is a time when personal connection is more needed than ever, and the online community has become our pipeline to community. Because of this need, we have created a Facebook group for our Podcast listeners. We will be discussing not only each week's podcast, but also want you to feel it is a safe place to share your fears, your prayers, your joys.
Join the Potter's Inn podcast community on our New Facebook Group here - https://www.facebook.com/groups/soulcareconversations/
We look forward to "seeing" you there!
Soul Care Conversations Podcast Team
SHOW NOTES
How do we find a sense of peace and consolation when we are facing so much in our life? Using scriptures and practical applications, Steve speaks to each of us on how to handle the stresses of today. If you are feeling the burden of the world in the midst of a pandemic, this is exactly what you need to hear. Join Steve in this encouraging and timely conversation.
Steve’s Acronym for TRUST
T-Thanksgiving
R-Relinquish what is not mine to control
U- Usurping God’s role is not what I need to be doing.
S-Surrender what is causing me stress back to God.
T-Turn my palms up and open to God releasing what I need and want to release
Stress Busters
- Practice the spiritual discipline of slowing down – turn off cell phone and computer
a. Begin a meeting or the dinner table with silence
b. Combine silence with taking deep breathing
-
Identify the stress – do a DNA of what is causing it. To know is to be armed
-
Incorporate humor in your life
-
Give yourself some space where you don’t talk about the situation
-
Develop rituals that help you relax
a. Listen to news for only 30 minutes a day
b. Long baths
c. Soothing tea (no caffeine!)
d. Shut everything off 30 minutes before you go to bed
e. Light a candle
f. Listen to soothing music
-
Take a walk in the outdoors every single day. Nature grounds us and we can soak in the balm and peace.
-
Invite friends over for a comfort food meal
-
Do the Daily Examen at the end of your day.
-
Start a gratitude list of what you’re already realizing, now in this precise time, that you can be thankful for.
-
Spend time in prayer resting in the Presence. Not trying to beg for God to be bear you. God is present. What’s missing is awareness.
If you have something that you would like prayer for, email us at podcast@pottersinn.com with your prayer request - we will make sure it is lifted up.
RESOURCES MENTIONED IN PODCAST
- Embracing Soul Care by Stephen W. Smith
- Soul Custody by Stephen W. Smith
- Psalm 94:19
- 2 Corinthians 6:5-7
- 2 Thessalonians 3:16
Moment to Breathe - Blessing for the Brokenhearted by Jan Richardson
- Audio
- Text
SHOW NOTES
“To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.”
-1 Peter 2:21 (NIV)
There is perhaps no greater challenge to life than the presence of pain and suffering in the world. We wrestle with the question “Why does suffering happen?”
Just last week a catastrophic tornado hit Nashville, Tennessee; the COVID 19 is spreading quickly around the world and causing panic; and there is an uncertain financial climate. Combined with our own personal struggles, many of us are overwhelmed with heavy burdens.
Today’s podcast was recorded with the prayer that it will bring hope and encouragement to you during these times of uncertainty and fear, and help you embrace lessons during suffering that transform us to truly experience a joy that is beyond ourselves to muster.
As you listen to the conversation, if you think of something in your life that you would like prayer for and then email us at podcast@pottersinn.com with your prayer request - we will make sure it is lifted up.
RESOURCES MENTIONED IN PODCAST
- Acts 14:20-23
- The Jesus Life: Eight Ways to Recover Authentic Christianity by Stephen W. Smith
This week, we are offering the chapter “The Way of Suffering” exclusively to our patrons! Become a patron and receive special benefits like this at www. patreon.com/pottersinn.com.
Moment to Breathe from Episode 42: Redefining Success Through Doing Your Inside Job
Lord of Creation, create in us a new rhythm of life composed of hours that sustain rather than stress, of days that deliver rather than destroy, of time that tickles rather than tackles.
Lord of Liberation, by the rhythm of your truth, set us free from the bondage and baggage that breaks us, from the Pharaohs and fellows who fail us, from the plans and pursuits that prey upon us.
Lord of Resurrection, may we be raised into rhythms of your new life, dead to deceitful calendars, dead to fleeting friend requests, dead to the empty peace of our accomplishments.
To our packed-full planners, we bid, "Peace!" To our over-caffeinated consciences, we say, "Cease!" To our suffocating selves, Lord, grant us release.
Drowning in a sea of deadlines and death chimes, we rest in you, our lifeline.
By your ever-restful grace, allow us to enter your Sabbath rest as your Sabbath rest enters into us.
In the name of our Creator, our Liberator, our Resurrection and Life, we pray. Amen
Taken from: Common Prayer: A Liturgy for Ordinary Radicals by Shane Claiborne and Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove.
“Secret of the spiritual life is to ruthlessly eliminate hurry.” Dallas Willard
NOTE: We want to thank World Radio for giving us permission to re-air this broadcast on our podcast.
Effective leaders work very hard to succeed, but often at the cost of their own souls. They are challenged to keep themselves emotionally and spiritually healthy in order to survive success to keep their humanity intact. This is the work within the work, and the topic of today’s podcast.
Today we turn the tables as we re-air an interview Steve gave to Warren Smith, publisher of "WORLD "magazine, and producer and host of the nationally syndicated radio program "Listening In." The contents of the interview are timeless and perhaps more compelling now than when it was recorded a few years ago. Please join the conversation.
FOR OUR LISTENERS - A Self-Assessment Exercise on The State of Your Soul: Doing a self-assessment of the State of your Soul requires taking a look in the mirror to see how you are REALLY doing. By “really doing,” I mean in all aspects of your life. By reflecting on these questions, you’ll have an opportunity to survey your life and gain awareness of what is going on and how things are.
DOWNLOAD The four chambers of the human/spiritual heart:
1st Quadrant—surface, acquaintance
2nd Quadrant- many friends, social, small group
3rd Quadrant- only a few know this chamber and
for some no one.
4th Quadrant- not even ourselves know what is really “deep within”…this was the area that most concerned Jesus.
The Inner Life:
The Inner life—the great space where we encounter, experience and are embraced by God.
The Inner life—the place of great struggle, torment and reservoir of shame, guilt and pain.
The Inner life—the place of great peace, satisfaction and contentment…the seedbed of the abundant life.
RESOURCES MENTIONED IN PODCAST
DOWNLOAD – A Self-Assessment Exercise on The State of Your Soul
Inside Job: Doing the work within the work
Dallas Willard Ministry
Moment to Breathe - Prayer to Welcome the Sabbath
- Text
- Audio