New Canaan Society Franklin Podcast

For more information on the Franklin, TN chapter of the New Canaan Society, go here: https://newcanaansociety.org/franklin/

There’s a tension in the Christian life that’s easy to miss: we tend to think of freedom as the ability to do what we want. Scripture often points us in the opposite direction.

This week we’re hearing from one of our own, Jeff Valdes. For more than three decades Jeff has built a career as a commercial real estate broker while simultaneously doing something seemingly unrelated on the side: traveling the world teaching pastors and church leaders how to read and understand the Bible.

Jeff is the founder of The Berean Way, an author, international speaker, and lifelong student of Scripture. His deep cultural background fuels a passion for God’s truth and for helping others better understand His Word.

But this week isn’t a Bible lesson. Jeff is going to share his own testimony and what he has learned about the relationship between obedience, freedom, and the love of God. His story challenges an assumption many of us carry: that obedience is primarily about restriction.

What if, instead, obedience is one of the ways God leads us into freedom?

For more information on the Franklin, TN chapter of the New Canaan Society, go here: https://newcanaansociety.org/franklin/

Have you ever wondered why, even after a vacation, you still feel tired? I know I’ve felt that.

This week we have the privilege of hearing from Curtis “CZ” Zackery.

Curtis is a city pastor, author, and founder of Find Rest, a ministry dedicated to helping people discover the kind of rest that can’t be found in a vacation, a slower schedule, or another achievement.

Let’s be honest: we know how to work hard. Many of us don’t know how to truly rest.

His message is rooted in a simple but often overlooked truth: our deepest rest isn’t found in doing less, but in abiding more deeply in Christ.

If you’ve ever felt worn down, distracted, or like you’re running on empty, maybe the thing you need most isn’t another day off. Maybe it’s a different kind of rest.

For more information on the Franklin, TN chapter of the New Canaan Society, go here: https://newcanaansociety.org/franklin/

Scott has served in influential churches in both New York City and Nashville and is the author of several widely read books on faith, leadership, and spiritual formation.

He’s known for bringing theological depth together with honesty about the pressures men face—ambition, success, failure, identity, and grace. He has helped many navigate what it means to follow Christ with conviction and humility in a complicated cultural moment, and today he's working with the Sycamore Community to continue that work.

For more information on the Franklin, TN chapter of the New Canaan Society, go here: https://newcanaansociety.org/franklin/

L. Gregory Jones (he goes by Greg) is currently the President of Belmont University, with the vision to be "the leading Christ-centered university in the world, radically championing the pursuit of life abundant for all people."

He's overseen a lot of growth there and continues to strengthen the University's role in creating positive change both locally and globally. He has a long track record of leadership at both Baylor University and Duke University, including serving as the Dean of Duke Divinity School. He's also authored a number of books on Christian living and theology.

For more information on the Franklin, TN chapter of the New Canaan Society, go here: https://newcanaansociety.org/franklin/

Have you ever felt like you knew what life with God was all about? Have you ever been surprised by His voice disrupting everything you thought you knew—inviting you deeper?

Bryan Josey went from playing football at Vanderbilt to leading in his community, including serving as chairman of the board for FCA in Rutherford County. After decades of leadership, 29 years of marriage, and two grown sons, Bryan’s story—and his walk with God—are still developing. It’s a powerful reminder that faith and purpose don’t stop when life feels successful or comfortable.

Bryan is passionate about men’s ministry, so come ready to be encouraged, challenged, and connected with other men chasing the same thing—a life that matters.

For more information on the Franklin TN chapter of the New Canaan Society, go here: https://newcanaansociety.org/franklin/

How often have you prayed, "God, I'll go where you send me"? How often have you meant it?

Jon Petersen's story starts with missionary parents in Tokyo, but he describes himself as a product of the Jesus Revolution in California where he began church planting among counter-culture youth in the 1970s. Since then God has led him and his family to serve prostitutes, drug addicts, and Satanists in Amsterdam, then to evangelism, church planting, and prayer ministry in Russian Siberia, Eastern and Western Europe, and finally back here to the United States.

For the last 7 years he's been following God's call to minister to cities. Today, through City Table and Greenhouse Training, Jon equips church, business, and government leaders to bring transformation to their communities.

For more information on the Franklin TN chapter of the New Canaan Society, go here: https://newcanaansociety.org/franklin/

Steve Cummings, founder of Bringing Kingdom, has a passion for helping men fully realize their true identity as beloved sons and live out of it daily. He’s been doing it for over 30 years, and as an extension of this passion, he’s also helping to restart the Atlanta chapter of NCS.

Steve spent 16 years as a radio producer for such programs as “Breakpoint” with Chuck Colson and “Insight for Living” with Chuck Swindoll. Currently he’s employed with Redeemer City to City, which was co-founded by Tim Keller. He and his wife Julia are the hosts of The Parent Pivot Podcast, which helps parents of adult children pivot from parenting to partnering.

Most of us have struggled with a sense of purpose at one point or another.

How do you reconcile the ugly parts of yourself with the work of the Holy Spirit?

This week we're joined by George Tolbert, who will share about the need for God to heal the three parts of our soul: the sanctimonious, the straying, and the suffering.

Come hear his story about how God is continually doing this in his own life, and the joy and satisfaction it's created.

We are living longer than our grandparents. Are you ready for the gift of being older? “Late adulthood” said a recent article in Atlantic Monthly, “is a time when the potential for grandparenting, mentoring, and volunteering peaks. It can be a time when zero-sum goals such as social competition and personal ambition yield to positive-sum pursuits such as building community and nurturing relationships.” Are you ready for it? Sounds good to me! What are the opportunities, pleasures, challenges, and heartbreaks of growing older? Charles McGowan, who is in his mid-80s and a dear friend of many of us, will be with us Thursday to give a glimpse of what’s ahead. Charles is a retired Senior Pastor of churches in Georgia, Alabama, and Tennessee -- most recently at Christ Presbyterian Church. After retiring from the pastorate, he founded McGowan Global Institute with a mission of helping churches thrive. Ten years ago Charles and Neil Anderson told us what it was like being primary caregiver for their wives. Alice McGowan began her life in heaven nearly seven years ago. Whether “late adulthood” is years off, just around the corner, or if you are in it now, you will enjoy and benefit this Thursday from the wisdom and experience of a Nashville treasure, Charles McGowan.