One Another: for Group Leaders

18. Leadership Hot Tips Part 2 w/ Kate Jackson On this part 2 of 2 episodes on Leadership Hot Tips, Scott and Kate continue to talk about the importance of self-awareness that fuels authentic leadership. Tips 3, 2, and 1 include talk of fruit baskets, how nothing leads to being loved, and how we can't be everything to everyone and still be our true selves (thanks Netflix and The Crown!). If you haven't listened to part 1 yet, please push pause, and checkout episode 17 first. Kate Jackson has worked at one of the largest churches in the country, gaining invaluable leadership experience and wisdom, and is currently on the executive team at Flood Church San Diego. Kate and her husband Michael have three kids—that is, three future leaders. Recommended Resources: Pray-as-you-go (APP) Lent Summary, by Jon Jorgenson (YouTube) The Gift of Being Yourself, by David Benner In the Name of Jesus, by Henri J.M. Nouwen

17. Leadership Hot Tips Part 1 w/ Kate Jackson On this episode, Scott has a conversation with Kate Jackson about the most important aspects of leadership. These "Leadership Hot Tips" are both practical and essential for any leader regardless of vocation. On this part one, we talk about the responsibility of leadership and the necessity of leading one's self. I.e., your true self is your best self and the self that others need. Kate Jackson has worked at one of the largest churches in the country, gaining invaluable leadership experience and wisdom, and is currently on the executive team at Flood Church San Diego. Kate and her husband Michael have three kids—that is, three future leaders. Recommended Resources: Lent Summary, by Jon Jorgenson (YouTube) On The Road with St. Augustine, by James K.A. Smith The Gift of Being Yourself, by David Benner In the Name of Jesus, by Henri J.M. Nouwen Your Ego Is Not Your Amigo T-shirt (Amazon)

15. How to Read the Bible and Lead Better Part 1 w/ Dr. Mark Strauss On this episode, I have the honor of talking with renowned New Testament Scholar, Dr. Mark Strauss. Mark earned his Ph.D. from the University of Aberdeen in 1992 and has been teaching New Testament ever since. He has authored approx. 20 books and many more articles. I’ve listed a link to his author page and books in the show notes below. Part One of this conversation with Dr. Strauss begins with the a priori leadership principle of love. Or, as Mark calls it, "The Heart of God Hermeneutic". As he says, "Before we can lead others, we have to love them. Before we cast vision, we need to shepherd people." Want to learn more from Dr. Mark Strauss?  Zondervan Academic has a 12-session online course for a fraction of the price of normal seminary class. Visit Dr. Strauss' class page, Four Portraits, One Jesus. Recommended Resources: Dr. Mark Strauss Amazon Author Page, and Bethel Seminary Page.  Notable works:  Four Portraits, One Jesus,  Introducing Jesus,  Jesus Behaving Badly,  Leadership in Christian Perspective,  The Essential Bible Companion,  How to Read the Bible in Changing Times.

16. How to Read the Bible and Lead Better Part 2 w/ Dr. Mark Strauss Welcome back to this second part of my conversation with renowned New Testament scholar Dr. Mark Strauss. If you missed the first part of our conversation: How to Read the Bible and Lead Better, please listen to part 1 first, as this episode is a continuation. Part Two of this conversation with Dr. Strauss focuses on how to read the Bible better, touching on the nature of translation, knowledge, and practical principles for anyone to read the Bible better. Want to learn more from Dr. Mark Strauss?  Zondervan Academic has a 12-session online course for a fraction of the price of normal seminary class. Visit Dr. Strauss' class page, Four Portraits, One Jesus. Recommended Resources: Dr. Mark Strauss Amazon Author Page, and Bethel Seminary Page.  Notable works:  Four Portraits, One Jesus,  Introducing Jesus,  Jesus Behaving Badly,  Leadership in Christian Perspective,  The Essential Bible Companion,  How to Read the Bible in Changing Times.

14. Emotionally Healthy Leadership Part 2 w/ Matt Hammett On this episode Scott Wildey and Matt Hammett continue the conversation about emotionally Healthy Discipleship. As Peter Scazzero writes in his book Emotionally Healthy Spirituality, "There is no spiritual maturity without emotional maturity." Matt shares more about two core groups we now offer based on Scazzero's work, intended to develop our lives of loving God and loving others. Experiencing this training in community is integral to our lives with one another. As the saying goes, "If we want to go fast, go alone, if we want to go far, go together." The Emotionally Healthy Spirituality group focuses on slowing down and growing in our relationship with God. The Emotionally Healthy Relationships group cultivates our capacity to love others. Each group helps to develop a vocabulary of emotions, enhancing our ability to be response-able vs. reactionary. The more we learn to pay attention to our inner lives, the more awareness we attain for those around us. Recommended Resources EmotionallyHealthy.org, Emotionally Healthy (YouTube), Emotionally Healthy Leader (Podcast0

13. Emotionally Healthy Leadership Part 1 w/ Matt Hammett On this episode Scott Wildey and Matt Hammett continue the conversation about discernment through the lens of emotional health and its impact on leadership. The word “emotional” may have baggage for some. But make no mistake, as Peter Scazzero writes in his book Emotionally Healthy Spirituality, "There is no spiritual maturity without emotional maturity." Recognizing the activity of God happens at the deepest level of our being, beyond our surface level thoughts and emotions. In other words, if we lack awareness of our inner life, we will be driven by our hidden emotional wounds and unhealthy relational patterns. As Dr. Henri Cloud describes in his book, Integrity, like a boat traveling through life, we all leave a wake—we all impact people—either positively or negatively. The good news is that God wants us whole and will use our health as a means of grace to bring about hope and healing to others, which is the purpose of ministry, and the purpose that Matt and his wife Roxanne have given their lives to. Recommended Resources EmotionallyHealthy.org, Emotionally Healthy (YouTube)

12. Recognizing and Responding to God Part 2 w/ Grace Wilkinson On this episode, Scott and Grace continue the conversation about Discernment. If you haven’t listened to Part 1, please pause and listen first as this discussion builds off of the last one. If you have listened, here’s a quick recap: Discernment is a word that is used a lot, but equally misunderstood. In fact, we typically use the term deciding or decision-making as a synonym for discernment. It’s the class square-rectangle scenario—A square is a rect-angle, but a rectangle is not a square—in the same way that discernment involves decisions, but decisions are not the same thing as discernment. So, what is discernment? Great question! We borrowed a working-definition from a shared mentor of ours, Ruth Haley Barton. In her book, Pursing God’s Will together, she describes discernment as: "An increasing capacity to both recognize and respond to God in the ordinary moments and the major decisions. I.e., it’s a way of being attentive in life that develops over time into the ability to sense God’s heart and purpose in any given moment." Recommended Resources: Ruth Haley Barton's, Pursuing God's Will Together Spiritual Practices to seek God together: http://www.DIVEintoFLOOD.com/Rest Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Mural (San Diego) Seeing Church History: The Color of Compromise, by Jemar Tisby

11. Recognizing and Responding to God Part 1 w/ Grace Wilkinson In this new season of One Another, Scott and Grace discuss the all important, yet often confused topic of discernment. Most of us think of discernment as solely decision making. However, the biblical discernment is both recognizing and responding to God in ordinary, everyday life—not just in big decisions. Or, as St. Ignatius writes, "Finding God in all things in order that we might love and serve God in all." This means that the heart of discernment is relationship. That is, regardless of the outcome, the key question in recognizing and responding to God is, "Am I closer to God, myself, others, etc.?" And closeness to God is equivalent to life itself. Recommended Resources: Ruth Haley Barton Pursuing God's Will Together: A Discernment Practice for Leadership Groups, by Ruth Haley Barton;   Discernment, God's Will & Living Jesus: Christian Discernment as a Way of Life, by Larry Warner; Desiring God's Will, by David Benner; Hearing God, by Dallas Willard

10. Delving Difficult People Part 3: The King's Speech Befriends the (False) Self Via Welcoming Prayer On this part 3 of 3 of Delving Difficult People, Scott wraps up Emotional Programs for Happiness by moving towards practice, specifically Welcoming Prayer, what Fr. Thomas Keating calls "divine therapy". Though our instincts may tell us to self-protect (false self), avoid, or attempt to get rid of afflictive emotions, such as anger, fear, sadness, etc., our truer self invites us in with hospitality and compassion. That is, it's vital that we befriend our false self this way. Why? Because that which we ignore tyrannizes us. A great example of this is the Oscar Award winning film, The King's Speech. There are at least two types of Welcoming Prayer: A preparatory kind that involves praying to be rooted and established in God's love (Ephesians 3:14-21); and one that is in the moment, at ground zero. Supported by Psalm 139, this Welcoming Prayer has three stages of: Focusing and Feeling, Welcoming & Befriending, and Releasing—surrendering to God in trust. As a reminder, this is the last episode of Season 1 of the One Another podcast. We will have all new episodes in January 2020, with some great guests, offering insight, wisdom, and much love to our leaders! Recommended Resources: The King's Speech

9. Delving Difficult People Part 2: Shakespeare and Negative Sentiment Override

On this second part of delving difficult people we continue to unpack the implications of what Thomas Keating describes as our emotional programs for happiness. Specifically, what happens inside our heart and mind when we are triggered, including the internal dialogue that ensues.

Using Shakespeare's Othello as an example of "Negative Sentiment Override," Scott unpacks the dangers of giving into the "stories we tell ourselves" uncritically with the help of Scott Gornto's book of the same name. The good news, as Dr. John Gottman prescribes, is that just as we are not blind to the flaws and failures of difficult people, we can also see their gifts, and re-engage a virtuous and sustainable cycle of relationship.

The Gottman Institute Blog (The Four Horsemen); The Human Condition, by Thomas Keating; The Stories We Tell Ourselves, by Scott Gornto.