In this episode, Ken Shuman circles back to three characteristics of shalom he had shared with the group previously - that where shalom is, everyone has enough, no one is afraid, and there is inclusive, loving community - and responds to a group member's question about how to actually live out these things in real life and real time. His practical, powerful, and wholehearted suggestions point a way forward for us to embody shalom in a world ripped apart by division and violence.

This episode was recorded on January 16th, 2026.

In this episode Lou Huesmann talks about one of the sources of our anxiety as human beings - the feeling that we should do more and be more. We face limitations - we are creatures created to be dependent on God, other people, and the earth. In our culture dependence is viewed negatively, yet God created us this way and declared it good - and Jesus took on our humanity and our finitude! God endorses our humanity! Our limitations therefore are not failures on our part, but the way we were created to be; we are designed for relationship and interdependence.

This episode was recorded on December 19, 2025.

In this episode, Ken Shuman interviews Scott Hescht, a Faithwalking coach and facilitator and a bivocational pastor, about the impact Faithwalking has had on his life and his ministry.

Scott shares that one way Faithwalking has had a major impact on his life is by helping him learn how to manage his anxiety, particularly by teaching him to slow down and reflect. As someone who is constantly thinking, processing, and analyzing, Faithwalking has given him healthier ways to engage these tendencies.

When it comes to his ministry, Scott shares, "Faithwalking has changed who I am as a pastor and helped me to pastor in a healthy way." One key shift has been learning to listen rather than fix. "I'm a much better listener now, rather than a fixer...Before, I thought it was my job to listen a little bit, give the answers, and wrap everything in a pretty bow" and send people on their way. Faithwalking helped him confront a deep fear of being responsible for people and their outcomes. " As a result, he has learned to love, listen to, and shepherd others without carrying a weight that was never his to bear. When asked what he would say to someone considering Faithwalking, Scott responds, "Think about the ways that you show up in life that you would rather show up differently, and imagine a world where it's actually possible to do that." Before Faithwalking, he says he often assumed those patterns were simply “just the way that I am” and would never change. "It's what following Jesus is all about - he defines us as new creations" and invites us to learn how to live into that reality. Faithwalking, he says, equips people to do exactly that. "It's what the Kingdom of God is all about."

This episode was recording in September 2025.

In this episode, Ken Shuman continues his series on shalom, inviting us to shift our focus away from our present reality—all the problems and everything that looks bleak and hopeless—and toward the vision of shalom. He encourages us to trust that God is still at work faithfully fulfilling his vision, and to live as people full of faith, hope, joy, grace, and love.

Two thousand years ago, people were waiting for the fulfillment of God’s shalom, and we are still waiting for its fullness today. Just as Jesus sent out his disciples, he continues to send us now—to be vision casters and equippers of shalom. Even as we wait for what is yet to come, we are invited to partner with him in creating shalom in the places where we live, work, and play today.

This episode was recorded on December 12th, 2025.

In this episode, Ken Shuman expands on his belief that the Old Testament idea of shalom is the same as the New Testament concept of the Kingdom of God. He notes, “Jesus came preaching the gospel of the Kingdom; he didn’t come preaching the plan of salvation.” He quotes John Franke, who says, “The Kingdom of God is a community of love where everyone has enough and no one needs to be afraid....The good news of the gospel is peace in the world and the end of violence and hostility that leads to death.”

Ken poses two questions to the group: “What does it look like to align our lives with shalom, with the Kingdom?” and “Who are the shalom makers?” Using scripture, he explores these questions and connects them to the work of Faithwalking, which is to "come alongside people and help them experience wholeness [shalom] in places in their lives where there is currently brokenness." "And," he says, "when our own wholeness begins to be restored, it opens the opportunity for us to be whole in our relationships with other people as well. So the good news is about God helping you get alignment in your life with his design, and then part of that design is we are going to live in relationship with other people - even people we disagree with - in ways that are more whole."

This episode was recorded on December 5th, 2025.

In this episode Ken continues his series on the Old Testament concept of shalom and what he argues is God's intended design for the world, further unpacking this beautiful vision. He talks about the idea of sin as shalom breaking (ref. Cornelius Plantinga) and explores a different way of thinking about sin - as corporate versus individual.

Imagine a world that is safe, free, whole, secure, prosperous (for everyone), just, reconciled, and complete, with all of creation living in harmony. This is the vision of shalom in scripture that we have to look forward to and we partner on mission with God to create!

This brief episode was recorded on November 21st, 2025.

In this episode Ken Shuman launches a series on the biblical vision of shalom, which reflects God’s intended design for the whole world. Shalom means wholeness, justice, and well-being for everyone, and this dream of shalom is filled with hope for a better future. When we get discouraged or depressed, we are reminded to return to this vision and have hope that God is at work; that we are invited to join God in this work; and that shalom can come and will come.
We are also reminded that we can't put our hope or trust in government and politicians to create shalom. When the Israelites were exiled in Babylon, the prophet Jeremiah urged them to seek the welfare of the city and to pray for it, because if Babylon experienced shalom, they too would share in that peace. We are called to do the same.This episode was recorded on November 14th, 2025.

In this episode Ken speaks with Willemina Zwart about her Faithwalking journey. Willemina is a pastor, ministry leader, and long-time Faithwalking Circle leader, facilitator, and coach who lives in Ontario, Canada.
Willemina highlights two Faithwalking tools that have particularly impacted her - addressing integrity gaps and the powerful work we do with vows. Speaking about integrity gaps she remarks, "If all of us in the Church world learned how to clean up our messes and live into new promises, that right there would change the nature of the Church in big ways." And knowing the language of vows has allowed her to be authentic with people more quickly, and she has discovered that people are naturally drawn to authenticity and to "wounded healers."
Willemina also speaks of the power of growing in awareness of our "meaning making." Realizing that we can choose the meaning we make in interpersonal situations has been pivotal for her. "What I love about meaning making is I choose the meaning that helps me show up with my best self in Christ." This has allowed her to give others the benefit of the doubt, and she now has the courage to step into a relationship and to be curious about what the story is...." She says this has been a game changer for her.
Looking back on her Faithwalking journey as a whole, Willemina affirms, "Faithwalking has really given me a framework and a community in which to be actively engaged in transformation regularly. And part of the reason why I stay in Faithwalking is - very selfishly - it's the way for me to keep learning, keep growing, keep reflecting - keeping me honest."
This episode was recorded in August 2025.

In this episode, Lou Huesmann unpacks a Substack post by Kathleen Smith called "Turning Off Your Anxious Scanner." In it Smith talks about the anxious habit of "scanning" - the emotionally driven monitoring of others - where, she states, the boundaries between our responsibility and others' blur. Lou connects scanning with overfunctioning - looking for something to fix in someone else - and points out that anxiety triggers us to focus on others and try to control them.

He shares, "I think it's easy to see people as characters - actors - in our own story and then to treat them as such as opposed to seeing them as people who inhabit their own unique stories." We get anxious when we perceive that others are not playing the role we want them to play in our story, so we try to fix them. Lou, and Smith, challenge us to learn how to show up differently in the midst of our anxiety and share some suggestions for doing so.

Lou wraps up by reflecting on the life of Jesus and how he always connected with people within their own unique stories, never anxiously scanning their behavior as if they were merely characters in his.

This episode was recorded on November 7th, 2025.

In this episode, Ken spends some time with the group in Luke. He points out that in spite of the threats posed to him by the religious leaders and by living under Roman occupation, Jesus was a consistently non-anxious presence. Moreover, he did not let himself get sucked into theological or political debates of the day. Rather, he regularly and consistently defined himself and the way of the Kingdom and stayed engaged, yet remained above the fray.

Ken shares with the group 7 ways we can define ourselves as followers of Jesus. He asks us to consider how we can live our lives in such a way that we are not at the mercy of anxiety. How can we show up daily as the best version of ourselves, no matter what is happening in the world around us? How can we exchange our expectations for our nation, the world, and our lives for hopes, accepting what is and managing ourselves well in the midst of it?

This episode was recorded on October 31st, 2025.