Faithwalking English

In this episode, Ken wraps up his series on polarization and the question of how we manage our anxiety so as not to be polarizers. He points out that Jesus was regularly invited to polarize and consistently resisted. "When we make enemies of fellow human beings," Ken states, "we are out of alignment with Jesus's way." He invites his listeners to reflect on the story of the Good Samaritan — and in light of that story, on the political situation in the US — and ask ourselves, "Am I a loving neighbor to those with whom I disagree?"

This episode was recorded on October 2nd, 2026.

In this episode Ken reminds his listeners of the importance of learning to be patient with ourselves as we go through the process of growing in emotional maturity. It's in the practice — slowly but surely — that we grow in emotional maturity day by day. We have to keep pushing forward with that practice.

Ken then shares a personal story of a situation in which he recognized his own anxiety and then worked through the internal process to manage it, to help remind us how we can practice managing our own anxiety in the moment.

This episode was recorded on September 25th, 2026.

In this episode, Ken continues unpacking the six characteristics of a "safe person" and how we can become a safer presence for others. This week he focuses on the competency of curiosity. To be a safe person, we must stay curious. Developing curiosity about other people means approaching every conversation with a genuine desire to learn rather than to judge or to perform. Curiosity is a habit that can be built — in fact, it can become a way of life. We can build this habit with some simple practices Ken shares with his listeners.

This episode was recorded on September 18th, 2026.

In this episode, Ken continues the conversation about becoming a safe person by discussing how to avoid relational triangles — or manage our anxiety when we find ourselves in one. Once again the tremendously insightful work of Ronald Richardson (this time in Couples in Conflict) helps frame the discussion. Ken unpacks for listeners what a triangle is, how to recognize when we are triangling or find ourselves in a triangle, and what being neutral looks like. Then he shares three practical ways we can avoid triangles in the first place or manage our anxiety when we discover ... whoops! ... we're already in one.This episode was recorded on September 11th, 2026.

Last week Ken told the group that to be a safe person we have to become less anxious. So in this episode Ken asks the group to share practices that help them become less anxious. Then he builds on these by providing practical guidance of his own — practices he has learned really help someone grow in their ability to be a less anxious presence. He divides these recommendations into three categories — prep work, awareness work, and self-regulation work — and shares this essential wisdom with the group and his listeners.

This episode was recorded on September 4th, 2026.

In this episode, Ken shares more wisdom from Ronald Richardson in "Polarization and the Healthier Church," this time on how to become a safe person in the midst of so much polarization. "To become a safe person," Ken states as he paraphrases Richardson, "you have to increasingly become less anxious." This is the first of six really helpful, really practical pointers Ken shares on becoming an increasingly safe person (Ken will be teaching on becoming less anxious in our next episode). Ken also shares an illuminating story about Jesus from Luke 4. "The people got anxious," Ken says, "but Jesus did not. Jesus remained calm."

This episode was recorded on August 28th, 2026.

In this episode, Ken speaks with Renee' Jelsma, a pastor andlongtime Faithwalking leader, about her Faithwalking journey. Renee' lives in Holland, MI and is a Faithwalking adjunct facilitator, coach, and former Circle leader. In fact, she will be launching a FWF Module 1 next month!

Renee' shares with Ken how Faithwalking has transformed her relationships—especially her marriage, her relationships with her adult children, and her relationship with God. The wounds of her first formation, her shame voice, the lies she believed, and her anxious reactivity no longer have the final say in how she shows up in the world. She describes Faithwalking as“tough work that hurts so good”—work that draws us deeper into following Jesus and opens us to more freedom than we ever imagined possible.

Renee' emphasizes that the ultimate goal of Faithwalking isnot to make our lives easier, reduce our anxiety, or improve our relationships, but to live on mission with God as agents of wholeness in the world. Instead of living “small, safe, and defensive” as she once did, through Faithwalking shehas learned to recognize and respond boldly to the missional opportunities God places before her. She calls this “the deepest part of the abundant life God invites us into.”

“Faithwalking changed the trajectory of how I live out myfaith,” she declares. She no longer holds God at a distance due to feeling unworthy of God’s love. Instead, she has experienced God’s passionate pursuit of her and has begun practicing what it means to live as though God’s word istrue. As she puts it, "I practice the courage to respond to what God has invited me into — space, places, relationships, and positions that were not necessarily easy and not necessarily safe, but they were sacred spaces of working towards reconciliation or restoration and seeing and being part of what God is up to in our world — and that has been amazing!” Her testimony is compelling. “I truly live with more peace, more fulfillment, more abundance, and more flourishing.”

This episode was recorded in October 2025.

In this episode, Ken continues his series on polarization. The best way not to polarize, he says, is to grow in our self-differentiation. And self-differentation is a direction we are moving in, not a destination we attain.

In Ronald Richardson's book "Polarization and the Healthier Church," Richardson states, "Differentiation is primarily about your actions, not your words." He lays out six goals we need to move toward as we grow in our self-differentation, and Ken unpacks each of these goals, inviting the group to discuss them. One is "Refuse to criticize the beliefs of others." We'll let that be a teaser for the rest!

This episode was recorded on August 7th, 2026.

In this episode, Lou returns to last week's theme of living both in reality and hope as followers of Christ. Jesus gives us the ability to live in the world as it is, not the world as we wish it would be. Lou takes the group to the story of Jesus' temptation in the wilderness in John 14:25-31 and to words of Christ that offer perspective for living in this world.

What we see in the world is not just politics and human power struggles, but the world in the grip of God's enemy. Lou states that it's only as we understand the adversary in relationship to Jesus that we see the hope Jesus is offering his followers in John 14. Christ came into the world to defeat the power of Satan, and he has chosen to include us – the Church – in this purposefully long, slow work. Listen as Lou describes how Christ engages and empowers the Body of Christ in defeating the ruler of this world.

This episode was recorded on July 31st, 2026,

In this episode, Lou shares a Substack post with the group by Pastor Benjamin Cremer called "Life in the Weeds," which is about learning to live in both reality and hope. It reflects on the parable of the weeds in Matthew 13 and helps us widen our lens and see the world with the perspective that Jesus offers to us. "Notice that the farmer does not deny the existence of weeds" Cremer writes, "Nor does he abandon the field because weeds are present. The field remains worth tending and the wheat remains worth cultivating. Life itself remains worth nurturing." We can trust that the God who planted good seed has not abandoned the field, and that the harvest is coming. "The weeds are real. The suffering is real. The heartbreak is real. Yet so is the wheat. So is goodness. So is mercy, courage, and compassion. So is every act of love offered in a world that often rewards cruelty."

This episode was recorded on July 24th, 2026.