In our season finale, David Achata sits down with legendary author Parker Palmer to explore what it means to live a rooted life. Discover the wisdom of prioritizing faithfulness to your true values over the pressure of external effectiveness, and how integrity deepens as we grow old.

In this episode, Parker Palmer quotes a poem by William Stafford. 

A Ritual to Read to Each Other

Jeff Vanderstelt is the Executive Director of http://saturatetheworld.com/ an organization committed to equipping the church to live out of its identity in every space and place. He also helped found the Soma Family of Churches and lives near Seattle, Washington with his wife Jayne, and their family. 

In this interview, Jeff shares his story of learning to be himself. After many years of personal work, Jeff reflects on his own life, changes, and his learning to be present to himself, to God and others. 

To support this podcast see http://davidachata.substack.com/

AND - don't forget to leave us a review. 

To connect with Jeff, listen for his email in the podcast. 

Tim Ross is a Cherokee teacher, retired pastor, missionary and current seminary teacher. In this episode Tim shares with us native ways of praying, as well as the concept of becoming a "Sticker" - meaning, someone who stays and invests in a community.

Tim's teaching work can be found at NAIITS, an an indigenous seminary. To learn more about Tim and his work, check out https://naiits.com/

If this podcast was helpful to you, please leave us a review by clicking here, scrolling to the bottom and leaving a rating and a note. 

To join an online conversation about this and other podcasts from this show support us at davidachata.substack.com - all the articles are free. For $8 monthly you can join the conversation. 

Lisa Sharon Harper is an author, theologan, teacher, and consultant. She is the founder of https://freedomroad.us/ and gives her life to helping others learn to do justice in just ways. 

This is Lisa's second appearance on this podcast. To listen to her first interview, go back to Season 2 and check out our season finale. 

In this episode, Lisa shares about a recent trip to Brazil to work with an influental church there, and talks with us about the importance of silence when cultivating a rooted life. 

Join Lisa's Substack page with nearly 10k others to track reguarly with her work: https://substack.com/@lisasharonharper

To support this podcast go on over to http://davidachata.substack.com/

Dr. Donna Burske serves as a Hospital Chaplain Manager in Orlando, Florida. She is a mother, teacher, contemplative, and a cancer survivor. In this episode Donna shares what it was like growing up adopted and eventually finding her biological family. 

She shares what it means to her to live a rooted life in this thought-provoking episode. To contact donna email her at [email protected] 

To support this podcast go to http://davidachata.substack.com/ 

Joe Steinke is a Spiritual Director, a former pastor, lifelong musician and co-founder of 24/7 Prayer USA. In this interview he shares what it was like to grow up in community in the midst of the Jesus Movement of the 1970's. He also shares practices people can engage in to find their rooting. Joe shares what it means to be a mystic and encourages us to find a "greater grace from a deeper well." 

To find out more about Joe Steinke and connect with his work visit http://www.souloftheshepherd.org/ 

To support this podcast go to davidachata.substack.com 

Ron Pickell is a retired pastor and chaplain. His most recent position was serving on the University Campus of UC Berkeley, California for 25 years. 

In this episode Ron talks with us about how being rooted means knowing what you’re about, where you’re going, and what’s most important. For Ron, that means understanding the presence and power of God among us right now. Ron shares his conversion story, his near death experience of a years ago and how that changed him.

As a special bonus, we’ve included a song of Ron’s from many years back called “The Wedding.” Stay till the end. 

To get into contact with Ron, check out his instagram page at https://www.instagram.com/rpig4wordoncampus/

To support his podcast go to davidachata.substack.com 

What does it mean to be a rooted person in a world that leaves so many of us feeling lost? To be rooted is to be connected — to God, to others, and to the larger story we’re part of.

This season, David Achata, author, leadership consultant, coach, and former pastor, takes listeners on a journey of listening, learning, and connecting with mentors and community. In this episode, he draws from the wisdom of Parker Palmer, Richard Rohr, and John O’Donohue, as well as Scripture and Indigenous traditions. David explores how rootedness can transform pain, restore connection, and reveal a better way to live.

Podcast music provided by Aaron Roche.

Support this podcast at davidachata.substack.com 

Andrew Holley was once a pastor and church planter. But then his house burned down. After picking up the pieces, he and his wife tried to keep going the way they always had, but something had changed. 

Some time later, at the urging of his friends, he entered a singer/songwriter contest. From there, he kept playing. Today, Andrew has embraced the music life and writes music that's full of soul, blues, and good ole' rock n' roll. 

He spoke on the How People Grow Podcast about this transition - listen and enjoy his wisdom about how important relationships are, life in community, and doing what you love. 

Hear his latest EP at https://onerpm.link/166172119066 

Find out more about Andrew at https://www.andrewholleymusic.com/ 

To support the podcast go to https://substack.com/@davidachata 

Tommy Rutledge began his career as an Engineer, but later in life felt the call to serve in pastoral work as a Church Planter. Tommy shares how it changed him and helped birth the most unusual kind of work.

To learn more about Tommy check out http://somaasheville.com/ and https://www.mountcarmelgoats.com/ 

To support this podcast go to http://davidachata.substack.com/ 

To join the Leadership renewal collective go to http://achatacoaching.com/ and click "coaching cohorts."