LAB the Podcast

2020 will go down in history with a unique list of stats and facts for sure. Some of that data and analysis will be helpful, some will not. There is one statistic that has been weighing particularly heavy on my mind. 34 percent. 34% represents a surge in divorces that took place from March to June in 2020. 34% higher than that same period in 2019. And sadly, numbers don’t tell the whole story. They don’t share the tears and tough conversations. They don’t reflect honest hopes and hurts. And there is no way to quantify the true weight couples and families have been facing over the last few months. 34% does tell us what we already know. 2020 has been tough and we would be foolish or lying to say it hasn’t pressed and revealed things in each of us and our relationships that is good to give voice to. 

Marriage. That’s what brought Gio Llerena and I together for a conversation on love, resentment, and laying foundations that will hold fast under great pressure. 

Gio and Suzy have been serving the Lord faithfully their entire married life.  In the early years, Gio and Suzy invested in youth and helped start a Hispanic church.  Following that, Gio went on staff with a ministry called Baseball Chapel for 14 years where he served as the chaplain for the Tampa Bay Rays; oversaw International Ministries in Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Cuba, and Venezuela; and recruited and trained MLB chaplains.  During this time, Gio and Suzy invested in the lives of players and their wives with a focus on discipleship.  This is where they were first introduced to the Two Becoming One material.  The faith principles found in the curriculum impacted their marriage to such a degree that they want to share them with every couple they meet.  Gio spent the last year on staff at South Tampa Fellowship as the Associate Pastor and Married Life Pastor where he and Suzy helped implement a marriage discipleship culture.  

Gio and Suzy met in college and have three grown children:  Ashley, Daniel, and Jonathan.  They have focused on the discipleship and equipping of couples throughout their ministry and are excited about joining CFL to continue to invest in marriages locally and globally.

Christian Family Love: www.Christianfamilylife.com

Contact Gio: [email protected]

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Inspired by three precious lives, Dr. Andrew DeCort founded The Neighbor-Love Movement in Addis, Ethiopia in 2019. The movement is founded on the simple but revolutionary idea that seeing and treating others as neighbors is our best response to hatred, injustice, and poverty. Since 2019, the movement has reached almost ten million people on social media and been recognized by the U.S. Embassy in Ethiopia, the European Institute of Peace, Bank of America and partners around the world. 

I sat down with Dr. DeCort to talk about Neighbor-Love and hear the incredible stories that inspired him to act in the direction of his hope. This is a do not miss episode for our current cultural moment. Enjoy. Share. Respond. 

Share the episode and check out: nlmglobal.org

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Seth Elliott joins me for a LAB Session to celebrate his new book, The Merlin Advantage and talk about cultivating life and beauty within the organizations, systems and communities we inhabit each day. Seth is a writer, coach and consultant helping leaders rediscover their greatest ally and reduce the cumulative effect of unresolved interpersonal tensions, misunderstanding, and emotional injuries incurred in the pursuit of economic, social, and political gain. He is also a trusted advisor, wise friend and my older brother. 

Get your copy of the book and join us for the conversation! Visit amazon to find - The Merlin Advantage: Rediscovering the Leader's Greatest Ally

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Makoto Fujimura is a leading contemporary artist whose process driven, refractive “slow art” has been described by David Brooks of New York Times as “a small rebellion against the quickening of time.” His books Culture Care and Silence and Beauty: Hidden Faith Born of Suffering are essential reads for our time. Makoto joins me for a conversation on slowing down, beauty from tragedy and culture, and care in the age of COVID. 

Share the episode and check out his books and work: www.makotofujimura.com/

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From economics and politics to the arts and education, we are experiencing widespread cultural disruption. What a critical time for careful thought, wise leadership and deep compassion. I sat down with Dr. Joseph Clair, author of On Education, Formation, Citizenship and the Lost Purpose of Learning (Reading Augustine), to talk about his book and the importance of education as we walk forward together.  Please take a listen & share…

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Dr. Clair serves as dean of the College of Christian Studies, liberal arts, and honors, and as an associate professor of theology. Before joining the George Fox faculty in 2013, he earned his PhD  in the religion, ethics and politics program at Princeton University while also working as an assistant in instruction. His efforts were rewarded with a Department of Religion Teaching Award (2011-12) and a Graduate Prize Fellowship from Princeton’s Center for Human Values (2012-13).

Prior to Princeton, Clair earned an MPhil at the University of Cambridge as a Gates Cambridge Scholar. He also holds master’s degrees from Fordham and Duke University as well as a bachelor’s degree from Wheaton College. His research and teaching interests include Christian thought and ethics and the role of religion in public life. He is the author of Discerning the Good in the Letters and Sermons of Augustine (Oxford UP, 2016) and Reading Augustine: On Education, Formation, Citizenship, and the Lost Purpose of Learning (Bloomsbury, 2018).

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Best selling author, Nancy Pearcey, joins me for LAB Sessions to talk about her book Love Thy Body, and the real world consequences of mind-body dualism. Ideas matter and this is an idea worth considering. 

Nancy Pearcey is the author of Love Thy Body: Answering Hard Questions about Life and Sexuality, as well as The Soul of Science, Saving Leonardo, Finding Truth, and Total Truth. She has been highlighted as one of the five top women apologists by Christianity Today and hailed in The Economist as "America's pre-eminent evangelical Protestant female intellectual.” 

For more information: www.nancypearcey.com/

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11 years ago, Dave Turin began searching for gold on Discovery Channel’s hit show, Gold Rush. He is now in Season 3 of his own show Gold Rush: Dave Turin’s Lost Mines. I caught up with Dave in the Rocky Mountains to hear his story and talk about work, pride and searching for treasure without losing your soul. Dave is one of the most honest and true men I know. I can’t wait for you to meet him! 

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I share some time with my friends Brad and Kathleen McLeroy, owners and proprietors of Ayres Vineyard. Hear how a dream shared over coffee led to a multigenerational family farm way out west. We talk about seasons, welcoming strangers and working together to cultivate and share a little more life and beauty. Brad and Kathleen’s humility and generosity is felt the moment you meet them and I can’t wait to share our conversation with you!  

You can follow @ayresvineyard on Instagram & Facebook and learn more about their work at www.ayresvineyard.com 

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I had the honor of sitting down with Derek France to talk leadership, faith, family and life at Mach 2. Derek is a career Air Force officer and fighter pilot.  He grew up in an Air Force family and after graduating high school in Las Vegas, Nevada, he followed his father’s footsteps to the Air Force Academy where he graduated in 1992. He has served over 28 years and has over 2,500 hours primarily in the F-15C Eagle and F-22 Raptor.  Derek has commanded at the Squadron, Group and Wing level and has served in 18 assignments including overseas locations in Korea, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.  He and his wife, Amanda have been married over 23 years and have three fantastic daughters - Erin, Mattie and Clara.  He is currently finishing up an assignment at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida and moving to Ramstein Air Base in Germany.

Don’t miss the opportunity to hear and learn from one of our country’s most capable and compassionate leaders. And yes….a couple thoughts on flying fighter jets. 

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I love to read the writings of John Muir and you may even hear a little John Denver in the background when you read this one, “Allow nature’s peace to flow into you as sunshine flows into the trees.” Beautiful but true? Well, there is a growing body of scientific evidence that affirms what we feel intuitively when we enter the forest. Mental, respiratory, immune system and cardiovascular health can all be strengthened by time in the woods. There is power in our God designed relationship with nature. 

Recently I sat down with my friend Chris Breithaupt to learn from his experience homesteading in the wonderland of the Pacific Northwest. Chris and his wife Theresa call Oregon’s Chehalem Mountain home, where they enjoy raising five children and running their small business, Work of Our Hands Woodcraft. Chris is an artist, craftsman, and a wise and trusted friend. Don’t miss the conversation and get ready, you may end up heading into the woods! 

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