Make Life Matter

Heated arguments between keyboard warriors, “unfriending” family or friends who believe differently than us, and wars on the international stage—our world is full of conflict. Dr. Oletha Barnett believes God created diversity far beyond race and that He designed diversity, which can often lead to conflict, to grow us, and give us opportunities to practice biblical principles. Through that, we can find unity. Dr. Oletha Barnett is a theologian, lawyer, and conflict resolution specialist who has directed the conflict resolution ministry at Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship in Dallas, TX for decades.  

 Season 5 is sponsored by AGTS and Evangel University. If God is calling you to take your ministry to the next level, visit agts.edu/mlm to learn how the experienced scholars at AGTS can equip and empower you for your Christ-centered service. Connect with Angela at www.angeladonadio.com.  

Get ready for real-life talk about all the things Christians aren’t sure we’re supposed to say and why they matter to God. Blake Guichet is a safe space to talk about hard things. Today’s episode is a much-needed candid conversation for anyone who is tired of hustling and never feeling enough and longing to truly embrace grace. Blake helps us know how to take a bold stand for Christ in today’s contentious culture. “When you don’t let the Bible tell you who God is and therefore who you are, someone or something else will.”

Season 5 is sponsored by AGTS and Evangel University. If God is calling you to take your ministry to the next level, visit agts.edu to learn how the experienced scholars at AGTS can equip and empower you for your Christ-centered service. Connect with Angela at www.angeladonadio.com.

Whether you’re leading a church, a business, or your family, it starts with leading yourself well. Jenni Catron is a leadership coach, author, and speaker with a passion to cultivate healthy leaders to lead thriving corporations. Founder and CEO of The 4Sight Group with 20 years’ experience in corporate and non-profit organizations, Jenni is here to help us know how to:

• Understand and flourish in our God-designed leadership style.
• Manage and even embrace tension to lead well even through seasons of uncertainty and confusion.
• Cast fresh vision for ourselves especially if we feel stuck.
• Navigate working or serving under an uninspiring or fearful leader.

Jenni can befound on social media at @jennicatron and at www.get4sight.com.

Season 5 is sponsored by AGTS and Evangel University. If God is calling you to take your ministry to the next level, visit agts.edu/mlm to learn how the experienced scholars at AGTS can equip and empower you for your Christ-centered service. Connect with Angela at www.angeladonadio.com.

What do you do when parenting breaks your heart? Carol Kent knows what it’s like to discover a life of unshakable faith in unthinkable circumstances. Carol Kent is a bestselling author of over twenty-five books, international speaker, and the executive director of the Speak Up Conference. She and her husband, Gene, have founded the nonprofit organization Speak Up for Hope, which benefits inmates and their families.

Carol shares her powerful story and helps us:

• Make hope-filled choices during crisis.
• Understand the value of community.
• Relinquish control and trust God with our children and circumstances.

Connect with Carol at www.CarolKent.org

Season 5 is sponsored by AGTS and Evangel University. If God is calling you totake your ministry to the next level, visit agts.edu/mlm to learn how the experienced scholars at AGTS can equip and empower you for your Christ-centered service. Connect with Angela at www.angeladonadio.com.

What is your “something?” Angie Grant teaches us that not everyone is called to foster and adopt, but we can all do something. Angie is a mom, a pastor’s wife, an educator, and a certified health coach. She is an advocate for foster kids and families, a mom to four, including three biological and one through the gift of adoption, and serves as the Executive Director of Cloverhill Christian Academy on staff at Cloverhill Church where her husband, Stan, is lead pastor.

Angie helps us bring our healthiest self to the table, so we can engage in kingdom purpose, identify and overcome fear, and embrace our “something.” Find out how you or your church can become involved in fostering and adoption at [email protected].

Season 5 is sponsored by AGTS and Evangel University. If God is calling you to take your ministry to the next level, visit agts.edu/mlm to learn how the experienced scholars at AGTS can equip and empower you for your Christ-centered service. Connect with Angela at www.angeladonadio.com.

Monica Swanson has served millions of parents through encouragement and guidance to know what matters most when raising sons. A homeschool mom of four boys, she is the author of Boy Mom and the host of the Boy Mom Podcast. Her popular website offers blogs and tips for parenting and healthy living. This episode is for anyone raising or mentoring the next generation of men who want to:

• develop trust from a young age and parent with grace
• know how to set healthy boundaries and appropriate freedoms in today’s culture
• steward their identity and passions and affirm their significance

Season 5 is sponsored by AGTS and Evangel University. If God is calling you to take your ministry to the next level, visit agts.edu/mlm to learn how the experienced scholars at AGTS can equip and empower you for your Christ-centered service. Connect with Angela atwww.angeladonadio.com.

Molly DeFrank helps families reset and intentionally unhook from technology. She is a stay-at-home mom and foster mom to six kids ages twelve and under and the founder of the online Digital Detox, where she helps free families from their addictions to devices. 

This episode is for parents who:

• are tired of their children being grumpy, distracted, disobedient and dependent on tech
• want to prioritize family time by removing the temptation and distraction of technology
• don’t know how to unhook their family from technology and are fearful of the outcome

Season 5 is sponsored by AGTS and Evangel University. If God is calling you to take your ministry to the next level, visit agts.edu to learn how the experienced scholars at AGTS can equip and empower you for your Christ-centered service. Connect with Angela at www.angeladonadio.com.

While the Make Life Matter podcast is on a summer break, enjoy this repost of one of my favorite episodes!

Like many who’ve weathered the storms of life, author and licensed marriage and family therapist Nicole Zasowski lived her life terrified of celebrating. After experiencing prolonged seasons of hurt and disappointment, she had become highly suspicious of joy, afraid to enjoy the good things in life for fear they would be snatched away. But in her new book, What If It’s Wonderful?: An Invitation to Release Your Fears, Choose Joy, and Find the Courage to Celebrate, Nicole shares how she chose to pursue a life of anticipation and invites readers to join her on the quest to release fear that hinders our delight, savor the joy of our present life, and find our God-given courage to celebrate. www.nicolezasowski.com

While the Make Life Matter podcast is on a summer break, enjoy this repost of one of my favorite episodes!

After 9 years of being involved in the fitness industry and human services, Tony Nuñez now serves in full-time ministry as the Student Pastor at River of Life Church. In the same month he was offered the position, he was diagnosed with ALS, Lou Gehrig’s Disease. Tony and his wife Cori have been married since August of 2013 and they have three beautiful girls together. Cori, a full-time wedding photographer; serves alongside him with the students. While ALS continues to add physical limitations to Tony and has deteriorated his body; Tony and Cori know God is faithful and has a purpose in all things and are pressing forward through this diagnosis to serve the students and further the gospel at all costs. 

While the Make Life Matter podcast is on a summer break, enjoy this repost of one of my favorite episodes!

“We don’t need more willpower. We need more Spirit power.” When it comes to the third person of the Trinity, many Christians’ views are murky at best. The Holy Spirit has been misunderstood, marginalized, and even maligned. But what if a relationship with the Holy Spirit is the missing link to a fulfilling spiritual life?

Jeannie Cunnion, a pastor’s kid and life-long Jesus follower who became a Christian at the age of eight, found herself knee-deep in questions that led her to discover more about the Holy Spirit and become fully reliant on Him for the answers. In Don’t Miss Out: Daring to Believe Life Is Better with the Holy Spirit, Jeannie takes us on her journey to re-discover God’s love through a better understanding of the Holy Spirit, unveiling 30 benefits of being in relationship with God’s divine presence.