Today we’re talking with Don Follis about his work supporting pastors and preventing ministry burnout.

Kelly and Don also explore how to live mindfully, understanding the natural rhythms of life, the real self-care you need, and the Daily Examen.

The Daily Examen is a technique of prayerful reflection on the events of the day in order to detect the presence of the Divine in each moment and interaction described by Ignatius Loyola in his Spiritual Exercises.  The Examen is an ancient practice that can help us see God’s hand at work in our whole experience.

Don walks us through the way he prays, the benefits of quiet time, and awareness.

MEET DON

You may know Don Follis from his regular columns in the News Gazette about faith and religion. But you may not know that he’s a graduate of the University of Illinois. He served as a campus pastor for more than 20 years, then transitioned into administrative work with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship and pastoral care at Vineyard Church in Urbana.

Since 2011, he’s directed a small nonprofit called Pastor-to-Pastor Initiatives, supporting pastors, church leaders and congregations through counseling, mentoring, coaching, and spiritual direction. He has open and honest talks about all the “behind-the-scenes” stuff involved with being a human in a spiritual job and basically encourages pastoral leaders to stay the course. Over the years, Pastor-to-Pastor has served more than 200 pastors. He has offered classes on spiritual formation, marriage retreats for pastors and spouses with his wife Jennifer, seminars on emotional health for church staff, classes on grief, and retreats on silence and solitude. In 2019, Soul Care worked with Don to put on a seminar on how to better understand and incorporate the Enneagram in the life of the pastor and church.

Learn more about Don and Pastor-to-Pastor Initiatives at donfollis.com.

Feel free to email him at [email protected].

You can follow Don on Facebook, Twitter (@donfollis), and Instagram (@dondfollis).

RESOURCES 

Eugene Peterson, The Message (modern wording Bible) https://messagebible.com/

5 Steps of the Examen 

Taking a Pause

Learn more about The Examen and how to practice it at a Mini-Contemplative Prayer Retreat offered each week at Soul Care

DID YOU ENJOY THIS EPISODE?

Please drop a comment below or leave a review on iTunes to let us know. We value knowing what you think and this helps other east-central Illinois folks find the podcast as well.

Sign up for the Soul Care Insider weekly email

Follow Soul Ca

Lyndsey Scott is an artist, a weaver, a sacred space holder. Through her example, she has taught the people she engages with to open their hearts more with compassion and grace and to lean on the strength of ancestors. Kelly & Lyndsey have a fascinating conversation about rekindling kinship with the earth, the power of song and other spiritual technologies, and anchoring anti-racism as a contemplative and embodied practice. 

During the episode, we talk about:

Permaculture and plants

Her early Christian years and deconstructing/reconstructing

Power of forgiveness to liberate

Who is the beloved in me? And the people I interact with?

The positive practice of loss and grief

Spiritual technologies

Being contemplative and embodied in racial justice, art, and work

What does love mean for you?

Song as a spiritual practice and community singing

Meet Lyndsey

Lyndsey is well-versed in social and spiritual practices that support enjoyable, sustainable societal transformation: yoga, song-weaving, visual art, dancing, and gardening. Educated as a painter and trained as a yogi, Lyndsey spent a decade as a community artist in St. Louis before returning to the area to run a yoga studio in Rantoul.  She enjoys designing projects to feed her inquiry about life while attracting adventures and connecting with tribes that grace her journey with experiential wisdom in creative healing and joyful sustainability. Her passions are catalyzing radically simple + beautiful + fun intentional community, sparking spontaneous collaborative singing and dancing, long journey bike-abouts throughout the Heartland, permaculture, and loving children.

Creating and leading Song has taught her to hold each moment as prayer, whatever the task at hand.  She loves to honor thresholds, bring beauty to gatherings, tend the grief in our bones, liberate the pleasure in our bodies ~ all woven in Song, all in service of this great big Coming Home. When she leads Song, she has a deep desire to nourish each person as they claim and wake into our divine birthright, Freedom. Her current growth edge, with mentorship from Holistic Resistance, is leaning into Song as a tool to dismantle internalized white supremacy.

Her song teachers and mentors include Liz Rog, Lisa Littlebird, Laurence Cole, and Barbara McAfee who model the path of singing as heart-opening.

Learn more about Song Power Hour and other events led by Lyndsey.

You can follow Lyndsey on Instagram (@lila.gaia) and YouTube and follow the We Belong! Community of Song on Facebook  You can support Lyndsey’s Sacred Song work on Patreon.

Resources We Mention

My Grandmother’s Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Pathway to Mending Our Hearts and Bodies by Resmaa Menakem

The On Being podcast

Lyndsey Scott is an artist, a weaver, a sacred space holder. Through her example, she has taught the people she engages with to open their hearts more with compassion and grace and to lean on the strength of ancestors. Kelly & Lyndsey have a fascinating conversation about rekindling kinship with the earth, the power of song and other spiritual technologies, and anchoring anti-racism as a contemplative and embodied practice.

Daniel talks about the meaning of LOVE—the essential ingredient in building authentic relationships and community. He shares a message of inclusion, acceptance, and belonging in the church for LBGTQIA+ people and allies.

Daniel Guerra is the founder of Bridge of Hope, an organization that focuses its ministry on inclusion, acceptance, and belonging. He graduated from Christ For the Nations Institute in Dallas Texas and was ordained under the AOG Association. Daniel has pastored successful organizations in Texas, Missouri, and Illinois. He is a musician, writer, and sought-after public communicator with a passion to love, encourage, and empower people to live their authentic truth.

Dr. Nicole Anderson Cobb is an amazing woman with a rich background as a researcher, professor, activist, journalist, award-winning playwright, community volunteer, and a wife and mom. She’s a staff writer for the online magazine Smile Politely covering race relations & governance, gun violence, and economic disparities. In 2019, she created a series called “When Faith Speaks” exploring the intersections of faith leaders and communities, politics, and society. 

Nicole is a world traveler and a lifelong learner. She is currently part of the Newbigin Fellowship seminary program equipping people to embody the way of Jesus, the call to peace, and the work of justice.

Books, Podcasts, Poets, and Resources Nicole references:

When Christians Were Jews by Paula Fredriksen

Pete Ens - The Bible for Normal People podcast, The Bible Tells Me So book

Theologian Howard Thurman

Poet Pádraig Ó Tuama at the Church of the Heavenly Rest

Theologian James Cohn

Frank Thomas sermons on YouTube

The Bible Project podcast

Yoga with Adrienne

Dr. Nicole Anderson Cobb is an amazing woman with a rich background as a researcher, professor, activist, journalist, award-winning playwright, community volunteer, and a wife and mom. She’s a staff writer for the online magazine Smile Politely covering race relations & governance, gun violence, and economic disparities. In 2019, she created a series called “When Faith Speaks” exploring the intersections of faith leaders and communities, politics, and society. 

Nicole is a world traveler and a lifelong learner. She is currently part of the Newbigin Fellowship seminary program equipping people to embody the way of Jesus, the call to peace, and the work of justice.

Books, Podcasts, Poets, and Resources Nicole references:

When Christians Were Jews by Paula Fredriksen

Pete Ens - The Bible for Normal People podcast, The Bible Tells Me So book

Theologian Howard Thurman

Poet Pádraig Ó Tuama at the Church of the Heavenly Rest

Theologian James Cohn

Frank Thomas sermons on YouTube

The Bible Project podcast

Yoga with Adrienne

Beth Walker is a mom of 2, a writer, a content marketing professional, a ministry leader, and much more. But she’s also the wife of a football coach and has partnered with her husband for twenty years, in leadership and ministry both on and off the football field.

Beth is passionate about encouraging women to pursue their individual callings from God. She is a contributor to Friday Night Wives and The Glorious Table. In her recently published book, Lessons from the Sidelines, she shares personal stories as a coach’s wife as well as interviews with other women in supporting roles. On her blog by the same name, Beth offers practical advice for other coaches’ wives as well as a behind-the-scenes look at her family’s life as they serve their football players and their community.

Join the Mighty Network for Lessons from the Sidelines - https://lessonsfromthesidelines.com/mighty-network-access/

Thriving In Your Sweet Spot 7 Step Action Plan & other resources from Lessons from the Sidelines - https://lessonsfromthesidelines.com/book-resources/

Enneagram - The Road Back to You by Ian Morgan Crone & Suzanne Stabile 

Cultivate What Matters and Powersheets by Lara Casey

 

Please leave a review of the episode on your favorite podcast platform. Learn more about Soul Care at experiencesoulcare.com

Beth Walker is a mom of 2, a writer, a content marketing professional, a ministry leader, and much more. But she’s also the wife of a football coach and has partnered with her husband for twenty years, in leadership and ministry both on and off the football field.

Beth is passionate about encouraging women to pursue their individual callings from God. She is a contributor to Friday Night Wives and The Glorious Table. In her recently published book, Lessons from the Sidelines, she shares personal stories as a coach’s wife as well as interviews with other women in supporting roles. On her blog by the same name, Beth offers practical advice for other coaches’ wives as well as a behind-the-scenes look at her family’s life as they serve their football players and their community.

Join the Mighty Network for Lessons from the Sidelines - https://lessonsfromthesidelines.com/mighty-network-access/

Thriving In Your Sweet Spot 7 Step Action Plan & other resources from Lessons from the Sidelines - https://lessonsfromthesidelines.com/book-resources/

Enneagram - The Road Back to You by Ian Morgan Crone & Suzanne Stabile 

Cultivate What Matters and Powersheets by Lara Casey

 

Please leave a review of the episode on your favorite podcast platform. Learn more about Soul Care at experiencesoulcare.com