How much of your spiritual struggle comes from trying to manage your sin instead of trusting your identity?

In this episode, Bill and Scott unpack why so many believers live stuck in shame, hiding, and sin-management even though they’ve been given a new identity. Through stories, Scripture, and vulnerable examples, they show how experiencing love—not effort—is what transforms the heart. 

Topics Bill Thrall and Scott Boyd discuss in this episode: 

(01:00) Scott shares how misunderstanding grace left him feeling imprisoned during his wife’s cancer battle.

(02:40) How trying to use the law to become godly cuts Christians off from grace.

(04:20) Bill describes the years he believed God loved him but never experienced that love personally.

(06:00) How conflict with others can impact whether we view ourselves as a saint.

(08:00) How passiveness was secretly the voice of Bill’s anger. 

(09:50) How transformation means the old patterns no longer own you, even if reactions still occur.

(11:20) How hiding sin made Bill a slave to it. 

(15:20) Scott describes a leadership program that revealed how his self-protection was rooted in fear.

(18:40) How shame awakens hopeless striving, and why a new reality is the only solution. 

This episode was brought to you by Bill Thrall, Scott Boyd, and the Living Influence team. 

Learn about Living Influence: https://www.livinginfluence.com/ 

Subscribe to the Living Influence podcast: 

* YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@LivingInfluencePodcast 

* Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/4kP9Mm2 

* Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2F2RSvXKfU08Q5LVTCyIYI 

Learn about Bill Thrall’s books: https://www.livinginfluence.com/books 

Follow and like the Living Influence podcast on social media: 

* Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/livinginfluencepodcast 

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This episode was produced by Story On Media: https://www.storyon.co/ 

How do I move from seeing myself as a sinner to living as someone dead to sin?

This episode explores what it truly means to be dead to sin and alive in Christ. Bill and Scott challenge the deeply ingrained belief that Christians are still defined by their sin, revealing how that mindset robs us of joy and love. Together, they unpack how trusting God with your new identity leads to freedom, love, and a life rooted in grace instead of fear.

Topics Bill Thrall and Scott Boyd discuss in this episode: 

(00:29) How believers can move from seeing themselves as sinners to being dead to sin.

(01:04) How seeing yourself as a sinner keeps sin your focus, but seeing yourself as a saint makes love your focus.

(03:42) Faith in Christ gives believers a new identity under grace.

(05:33) Why being dead to sin means living out righteousness through love.

(07:05) How churches often reinforce a sinner mindset instead of grace.

(10:49) Bill explains that the Christian life is not behavior change—it’s death to the old self.

(14:03) What it means to trust Jesus not just with sin, but with your whole life.

(18:51) Success comes from loving people.

This episode was brought to you by Bill Thrall, Scott Boyd, and the Living Influence team. 

Learn about Living Influence: https://www.livinginfluence.com/ 

Subscribe to the Living Influence podcast: 

* YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@LivingInfluencePodcast 

* Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/4kP9Mm2 

* Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2F2RSvXKfU08Q5LVTCyIYI 

Learn about Bill Thrall’s books: https://www.livinginfluence.com/books 

Follow and like the Living Influence podcast on social media: 

* Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/livinginfluencepodcast 

* TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@livinginfluencepodcast 

* Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/61576202821527 

This episode was produced by Story On Media: https://www.storyon.co/ 

How have you been influenced by grace?

In this episode, Bill and Scott reflect on how grace has shaped their lives, leadership, and communities. Scott shares how discovering grace changed his business culture, replacing control with trust and empowerment. Bill tells stories of how grace led to the founding of Open Door Fellowship, where commitment, love, and valuing people created a movement of transformation and freedom.

Topics Bill Thrall and Scott Boyd discuss in this episode: 

(01:40) How Scott’s company built a culture where people felt valued and empowered.

(03:20) How grace-based leadership helps businesses thrive.

(06:30) Seeing value in people, and how that challenges old frameworks of sin management.

(11:30) On choosing to be “for, not against,” and how that simple conviction is transformative. 

(18:10) How grace expands people’s potential and inspires communities built on love, trust, and possibility.

This episode was brought to you by Bill Thrall, Scott Boyd, and the Living Influence team. 

Learn about Living Influence: https://www.livinginfluence.com/ 

Subscribe to the Living Influence podcast: 

* YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@LivingInfluencePodcast 

* Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/4kP9Mm2 

* Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2F2RSvXKfU08Q5LVTCyIYI 

Learn about Bill Thrall’s books: https://www.livinginfluence.com/books 

Follow and like the Living Influence podcast on social media: 

* Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/livinginfluencepodcast 

* TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@livinginfluencepodcast 

* Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/61576202821527 

This episode was produced by Story On Media: https://www.storyon.co/ 

Have you ever thought about how your theology is influencing you?

This episode explores how many Christians have unknowingly built their theology around sin management rather than grace. Bill and Scott reflect on the harm caused by striving to become godly instead of trusting who God already says we are. Through personal stories and heartfelt reflection, they reveal that transformation begins not with working on sin, but with receiving and living from love.

Topics Bill Thrall and Scott Boyd discuss in this episode: 

(00:03) The idea that theology shapes how people see themselves and God.

(01:15) How sin management creates pride or despair, depending on whether someone feels they’re “winning” or “failing” at holiness.

(02:43) How striving to sin less never works; instead, love naturally reduces sin’s grip.

(05:49) A personal story about how sin management led to painful separation from friends in pursuit of false godliness.

(09:38) The discussion exposes how fear-based theology leads Christians to isolate from the world rather than engage it with grace.

(13:12) How legalism grows from a theology that refuses to see saints as saints.

(15:27) Sin management never touches our reality—only grace does.

(16:03) Scott shares a personal story about how grace began transforming him during his wife’s cancer journey.

This episode was brought to you by Bill Thrall, Scott Boyd, and the Living Influence team. 

Learn about Living Influence: https://www.livinginfluence.com/ 

Subscribe to the Living Influence podcast: 

* YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@LivingInfluencePodcast 

* Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/4kP9Mm2 

* Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2F2RSvXKfU08Q5LVTCyIYI 

Learn about Bill Thrall’s books: https://www.livinginfluence.com/books 

Follow and like the Living Influence podcast on social media: 

* Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/livinginfluencepodcast 

* TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@livinginfluencepodcast 

* Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/61576202821527 

This episode was produced by Story On Media: https://www.storyon.co/ 

Are you discovering solutions to the lies that you've believed were true about you?

This episode explores how the lies we believe about ourselves are often discovered within the stories we tell. Bill and Scott reveal the powerful connection between permission, trust, and the discovery of truth. Through vulnerability, questions, and grace, they invite listeners to move from false realities into a new way of seeing themselves and others.

Topics Bill Thrall and Scott Boyd discuss in this episode: 

(00:17) Discovering lies happens through telling and hearing our stories.

(01:27) How permission grants genuine access to another person’s story.

(02:09) Asking thoughtful questions becomes a key way to gain trust.

(05:09) The danger of “fixing” others without permission. 

(06:03) How shame can keep learning and asking for help out of reach.

(07:39) Knowledge used humbly can build trust.

(10:17) Bill shares childhood memories of false family stories that created a false sense of reality.

(12:55) Discovering truth through faith in Jesus becomes a turning point for freedom and identity.

This episode was brought to you by Bill Thrall, Scott Boyd, and the Living Influence team. 

Learn about Living Influence: https://www.livinginfluence.com/ 

Subscribe to the Living Influence podcast: 

* YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@LivingInfluencePodcast 

* Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/4kP9Mm2 

* Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2F2RSvXKfU08Q5LVTCyIYI 

Learn about Bill Thrall’s books: https://www.livinginfluence.com/books 

Follow and like the Living Influence podcast on social media: 

* Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/livinginfluencepodcast 

* TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@livinginfluencepodcast 

* Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/61576202821527 

This episode was produced by Story On Media: https://www.storyon.co/

What are some of the lies you've believed? Are there some convictions that you believe in that actually might be lies?

This episode explores the deep and personal lies we believe about ourselves—and how love, not effort, is what truly heals them. Bill and Scott share intimate stories of loneliness, shame, and healing through trust, friendship, and being known. Together they reveal that grace through love is the only path to freedom from the lies that once defined us.

Topics Bill Thrall and Scott Boyd discuss in this episode: 

(01:02) How early lies can shape identity and self-worth.

(02:39) The cycle of shame and insecurity. 

(03:55) How love, not self-effort, begins to dismantle lifelong lies.

(05:31) Experiencing love for the first time. 

(06:45) How the fear of being hurt leads to putting conditions on love and acceptance.

(09:25) The healing power of being loved without conditions. 

(11:19) A reflection on hiding and shame leads to the realization that safety, not effort, ends the cycle of hiding.

(13:22) How vulnerability in a trusted community builds compassion.

This episode was brought to you by Bill Thrall, Scott Boyd, and the Living Influence team. 

Learn about Living Influence: https://www.livinginfluence.com/ 

Subscribe to the Living Influence podcast: 

* YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@LivingInfluencePodcast 

* Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/4kP9Mm2 

* Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2F2RSvXKfU08Q5LVTCyIYI 

Learn about Bill Thrall’s books: https://www.livinginfluence.com/books 

Follow and like the Living Influence podcast on social media: 

* Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/livinginfluencepodcast 

* TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@livinginfluencepodcast 

* Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/61576202821527 

This episode was produced by Story On Media: https://www.storyon.co/ 

Who in your life is taking a risk on you? Also, who in your life has influenced you?

This episode explores how influence is born out of trust, vulnerability, and the willingness to take risks for someone else’s benefit. Through honest stories and reflections, Bill and Scott show how the people who have most shaped our lives are those who dared to believe we were worth the risk. Influence, they reveal, is not about control or teaching—it’s about choosing to love and trust in a way that invites transformation.

Topics Bill Thrall and Scott Boyd discuss in this episode: 

(01:22) The idea that both positive and negative influences can shape us. 

(03:06) How the influence of Bill’s wife, Grace, changed his life through love and honesty.

(04:35) A pivotal moment unfolds when Grace tells Bill, “You won’t let me love you.” 

(06:04) Many people hide parts of themselves because they fear rejection if truly known.

(07:38) The myth of self-sufficiency. 

(09:48) How hiding our needs keeps us from experiencing true relationship and healing.

(12:19) The phrase “love can handle sin” reframes what it means to be known. 

(15:59) How influence extends outward. 

This episode was brought to you by Bill Thrall, Scott Boyd, and the Living Influence team. 

Learn about Living Influence: https://www.livinginfluence.com/ 

Subscribe to the Living Influence podcast: 

* YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@LivingInfluencePodcast 

* Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/4kP9Mm2 

* Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2F2RSvXKfU08Q5LVTCyIYI 

Learn about Bill Thrall’s books: https://www.livinginfluence.com/books 

Follow and like the Living Influence podcast on social media: 

* Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/livinginfluencepodcast 

* TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@livinginfluencepodcast 

* Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/61576202821527 

This episode was produced by Story On Media: https://www.storyon.co/

Are you willing to risk trusting the influence of God in you for the benefit of others?

This episode explores what it means to risk trusting God’s influence within you for the benefit of others. Through stories of business, family, and faith, the conversation reveals how courage, grace, and trust reshape how we lead and love. Bill and Scott invite you to act upon the truth that God’s influence in you is meant to influence others.

Topics Bill Thrall and Scott Boyd discuss in this episode: 

(0:00) Risking trust in God’s influence for the benefit of others.

(1:18) How fear of failure keeps people from stepping into the game of life and leadership.

(4:27) Coaching children to take small risks and how it shaped leadership philosophy.

(5:53) Creating cultures of trust and removing fear of mistakes in business environments.

(7:19) The power of believing in others and helping them feel valued.

(8:25) How trusting people transformed a company’s growth and culture.

(11:45) The danger of minimizing God’s work within us through “worm theology.”

(13:44) A story about leading a young Jewish man to Christ and the lessons that followed.

(17:17) The lifelong influence that came from helping others grow in purpose, not just direction.

(21:04) The call to act upon the reality of God’s influence in us—and risk trusting it.

This episode was brought to you by Bill Thrall, Scott Boyd, and the Living Influence team. 

Learn about Living Influence: https://www.livinginfluence.com/ 

Subscribe to the Living Influence podcast: 

* YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@LivingInfluencePodcast 

* Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/4kP9Mm2 

* Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2F2RSvXKfU08Q5LVTCyIYI 

Learn about Bill Thrall’s books: https://www.livinginfluence.com/books 

Follow and like the Living Influence podcast on social media: 

* Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/livinginfluencepodcast 

* TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@livinginfluencepodcast 

* Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/61576202821527 

This episode was produced by Story On Media: https://www.storyon.co/ 

Do you live your life looking for opportunities and open doors, or do you live it based on your convictions?

Bill and Scott unpack the difference between living by open doors of opportunity versus living by convictions rooted in truth. Bill shares formative stories of discovering conviction, divine interruption, and learning to trust God without knowing outcomes. Together, they invite you to consider how God’s influence shapes your past, present, and future.

Topics Bill Thrall and Scott Boyd discuss in this episode: 

(00:24) How Satan can use opportunity to distract from God’s purpose.

(01:53) Mother Teresa’s decades of silent struggle were lived through conviction.

(03:59) Bill recounts being invited to Bible college after becoming a Christian.

(08:43) The importance of looking back at life to see God’s influence.

(10:36) How our Creator’s presence is in our hearts to trust.

(11:20) Bill’s first experience sensing God’s presence as a teenager.

(16:53) How God brings people through suffering when they trust Him.

(19:08) Unless we experience grace, we won’t truly understand God or ourselves.

This episode was brought to you by Bill Thrall, Scott Boyd, and the Living Influence team. 

Learn about Living Influence: https://www.livinginfluence.com/ 

Subscribe to the Living Influence podcast: 

* YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@LivingInfluencePodcast 

* Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/4kP9Mm2 

* Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2F2RSvXKfU08Q5LVTCyIYI 

Learn about Bill Thrall’s books: https://www.livinginfluence.com/books 

Follow and like the Living Influence podcast on social media: 

* Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/livinginfluencepodcast 

* TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@livinginfluencepodcast 

* Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/61576202821527 

This episode was produced by Story On Media: https://www.storyon.co/ 

How are you influenced? Also, do you disregard influence and purpose based on circumstances, or do you remain undeterred by struggle?

In this episode, Bill and Scott share personal stories of how God has influenced and interrupted their lives in unexpected ways. They also reflect on the difference between blessing and success, and how true blessing always leads to purpose—sometimes through suffering. Together, they remind us that trusting God’s interruptions is the path to discovering our destiny and learning to influence others with humility and authenticity.

Topics Bill Thrall and Scott Boyd discuss in this episode: 

(00:03) How blessing is often mistaken for success and shows how true purpose involves suffering.

(03:41) God is always the initiator and introduces the idea of divine interruption.

(06:51) Why God values humility more than excellence.

(09:56) How Bill’s brothers were first influenced through a boys’ club.

(11:13) Bill’s salvation at 17 after being asked, “What are you going to do with Jesus?”

(13:31) Scott contrasts his Lutheran roots with how his wife and stepmother’s influence deepened his faith.

(17:57) Trusting God when He interrupts and redirects life.

(19:43) Obedience means trusting God and surrendering the results to Him.

This episode was brought to you by Bill Thrall, Scott Boyd, and the Living Influence team. 

Learn about Living Influence: https://www.livinginfluence.com/ 

Subscribe to the Living Influence podcast: 

* YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@LivingInfluencePodcast 

* Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/4kP9Mm2 

* Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2F2RSvXKfU08Q5LVTCyIYI 

Learn about Bill Thrall’s books: https://www.livinginfluence.com/books 

Follow and like the Living Influence podcast on social media: 

* Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/livinginfluencepodcast 

* TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@livinginfluencepodcast 

* Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/61576202821527 

This episode was produced by Story On Media: https://www.storyon.co/