Life is a long and winding road.  It’s interesting how God takes our experiences, His refinement and opportunities to get us to the place He wants us.  It often isn’t the path we’d choose, but it’s the path that transforms us into exactly who God wants us to be.  

Elliot sits down with Pastor Andrea of Lead Bold and they chat about that winding road, leadership principles and how we can purposefully build diversity of thought into our teams.  Listen in on their conversation.

Lead Bold

Lead Bold Bay Area Conference

Crosswinds Church

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Show up as your best self.  Be all you can be.  Live your best life.  All great sayings, but sometimes that’s not attainable, we can’t be everywhere all at once, and we don’t always have the perfect words for the situation.  Truth is, sometimes just showing up, being present, being consistent in somebody’s life is exactly what it takes to live an extraordinary life.   

Author and Moody Publishers Editor Drew Dyck joins the podcast to discuss his new book:  “Just Show Up:  How Small Acts of Faithfulness Change Everything.”  It is easy to fall into the trap of believing we have to do everything just right, always have the right words, read your Bible everyday and make sure you’re reading the whole Bible every year, attend and serve at church every Sunday, take a meal to every sick person in the church-the list goes on.  We think we have to do ALL that, plus have a career, take care of our families, exercise and more.  All of those things are really good, but sometimes we can’t do all of these things, all of the time. 

Drew discusses what it looks like to pull back a little, be realistic about what we commit to, and know that many times you won’t have the perfect words, but being there will be absolutely perfect.  And when we keep showing up consistently, that’s when we start to really make an impact.  This podcast will give you some freedoms to say “no” and to consider pulling back in certain areas, so you can focus on the most important areas of your life.

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Just Show Up:  How Small Acts of Faithfulness Change Everything

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Do you feel disconnected in your own community?  Are your children meeting students from different cultures and ethnicities in their classrooms?  Have you ever unknowingly offended somebody from a different background?  There are tools and skills that you can implement to help you and your children connect in your community and school classrooms.  

Michelle Reyes is an author, speaker and CQ (Cultural Intelligence) trainer that has been featured in the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, USA Today, and Good Morning America.  She is an expert in helping people navigate diverse cultures in our own communities.  This podcast is full of practical tips and hints to help you navigate our ever changing world.

If you’re a parent with young children, you won’t want to miss this podcast.  As the demographics in the U.S. change it is even more important that our children are prepared to navigate the world around them.  This podcast will give you some practices you can do every day to widen your children’s view of the world and the people around them.

Michelle Reyes Links:

Michelle Reyes Website

30-day Cultural Adventure Challenge

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Humans tend to move into their tribes.  Their political, ethnic, ideological, sports teams tribes and so many more.  It’s easy and safe to be with people that think like you, look like you, talk like you and live like you.  This attitude contributes to so many of the ills in our society, because we can categorize people as the “less thans” because they're not part of your tribe.  

Author Dr. Terence Lester, founder of Love Beyond Walls joins the Live Faith First: Groundswell podcast.  They discuss what solidarity looks like, how we can have a voice for those that can’t speak up for themselves, and even dive into lament and how that is an important step as we move from tragedy to action.

We think you’ll enjoy their conversation about Dr. Lester’s Book:  “All God’s Children:  How Confronting Buried History Can Build Racial Solidarity”

Dr. Terence Lester’s links:

Dr. Terence Lester

Love Beyond Walls

All God’s Children:  How Confronting Buried History Can Build Racial Solidarity

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Joy can be illusive, but when we’re experiencing it-there’s nothing better.  Joy is more than happy, which can be circumstantial.  Joy is communal, joy is relational, joy gets us through the hard times, and we’re filled with joy in the great times.  If you want some more joy in your life listen to this podcast.

Author and practitioner, Chris Coursey, joins the podcast.  Chris has written over 10 books about joy, and how we cultivate that in ourselves, our kids, our marriages and in every realm of our lives.  Elliot and Chris navigate through what joy is, how we get joy in our lives and the brain science behind joy.  

I think we can all agree, joy is great, and we’d like more of it in our lives.  Check out this podcast and learn how to cultivate a life full of joy.

Thrive Today

Four Habits

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Sometimes we make it harder than it needs to be, Pastor and Author Dr. Derwin Gray joins the podcast to discuss building an ethnically diverse church, and how crossing societies divides can be pretty straight forward.

The U.S. Church remains one of the most ethnically monolithic structures in our society with 76% of pastors reporting that their churches are one racial or ethnic group. It seems we try to make the solution more difficult than it needs to be. Elliot and Pastor Gray discuss what simple steps we can take to build relationships across ethnic lines.

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Transformation Church

Pastor Derwin Grey's Books and Content

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A collector of amazing stories, from living in remote Mali at 22, to navigating the multi-cultural region of the Silicon Valley Pastor Corinna talks about what she's learned along the way. It's not easy to navigate culture and differences but by observing and asking questions we can learn and grow ourselves. As a self-proclaimed introvert we think you'll love hearing about her journey.

Make sure to check-out Corinna's Groundswell videos too.

Corinna Girard

Westgate Church

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Remember days on the playground being bullied by somebody that should be your friend?... was it just me? Life is constantly throwing opportunities to be offended, or to overcome offense. The more we ask questions, and learn about people overcoming offense can be the norm.

Elliot and LeTesha discuss striving to listen to understand, rather than be understood. To seek out what's below the surface that may be causing a person to act that way. Finding the words and strength to be an ally for somebody that may not have the same position, influence or authority as you. They even discuss what it was like growing up in the 80's as a child from an ethnically mixed home and getting her first Barbie that was her skin color.

It's a fun conversation that should keep you smiling, and thinking about how we can better approach the world around us-by putting Jesus first and living faith first.

LeTesha Wheeler

Half Breed

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Asking questions and being curious can be all it takes to build a bridge with somebody that you might otherwise think you're opposed to. As we try to break down barriers, having a stance of openness and curiosity can lead down a path of connectedness that you never would have expected.

Elliot sits down with Pastor Fred Mok of Quicksilver Church in San Jose, California. Fred launched his church on the idea that asking questions, being vulnerable and giving people an opportunity to listen and be heard might be what it takes to help people find Jesus.

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Quicksilver Church

Finding Your Best Identity by Andrew Bunt

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The Surgeon General just announced that the U.S. has an epidemic of loneliness and isolation.  Studies have found that having friends decreases cholesterol levels, and has amazing health benefits.  In fact, having a friend that you see on a regular basis gives you the same happiness boost of getting a $100k annual raise.  How amazing is that?

Elliot sits down with author and professor Heather Holleman to discuss her book “The Six Conversations.”  They discuss the benefits of having warm connections, and how we can foster that through great conversations.  They discuss how people can connect across generational gaps, and move from surface conversation to something that creates lasting connections.  

Check it out now!!

Heather Holleman website

The Six Conversations

100 Questions list

Conversation Starters

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