Podcast Name: Practicing the Art of Faithful Presence

Debbye Turner Bell - Veterinarian, Miss America 1990, Broadcast Media, Leadership Consultant

On this episode of Practicing the Art of Faithful Presence, Debbye Turner Bell joins host David Wright to speak about her faith, background, career, and much more. Debbye Turner Bell’s life has taken many surprising twists and turns.  All of which, she declares fit the plan of God for her life. 

To start the conversation, Debbye unpacks her journey into broadcasting. Growing up, her goal had always been to become a veterinarian and teach at a veterinary school. Many of the decisions that she made, including getting involved in pageants, were seen as steps on the way to this ultimate goal. After she finished her education, she was recruited by a pet food brand to be a spokesperson for a pet education. Her exposure during this time gained the attention of an agent who thought that Debbye could have a career in broadcast. After declining this offer several times, Debbye finally accepted and was able to establish a long career in broadcast media.

Even in media, her work was still centered around animals. Growing up, her mother was an animal lover, who would take in abandoned and abused animals into their home. This taught Debbye to learn to love and respect animals from a very young age. This, paired with a natural curiosity and love of science, created the perfect career goal for Debbye. As an adolescent, she began volunteering at her local veterinary office whenever she had free time. She did this throughout her teenage years until she began college at Arkansas State University. After graduating with a degree in agriculture, she ended up going to veterinary school at the University of Missouri.

Next, Dr. Wright asked Debbye what led her to get involved in pageants. She got involved in her first pageant as a part of a service program, where her high school was resurrecting an old pageant as a fundraiser. She volunteered to represent her organization in the pageant and ended up winning. One of the judges in this local pageant recruited her to get more involved in pageants, letting her know that she had the opportunity to receive college scholarships that could help her fulfill her ultimate goal of going to veterinary school. After some modest success in local and the Arkansas state pageant, she eventually won the Miss Missouri competition while in graduate school at the University of Missouri. She prayerfully competed in all of these competitions, setting to fulfill who God created her to be and reach her ultimate purpose. She came to her faith learning from her mother. Faith was interwoven into the fabric of her family and she credits everything she knows about God and his plan for her to her mother.

Today, Debbye is living in Grand Rapids, Michigan, leading a consulting business, and is a part-time staff member at her local church.

Learn more about Debbye Turner Bell

Learn more about Practicing the Art of Faithful Presence.

Learn more about host David Wright.

The Practicing the Art of Faithful Presence podcast, hosted by Dr. David Wright, president of Indiana Wesleyan University, features conversations on ways in which people of faith are actively making the world a better place.  In this episode, Dr. Wright has a conversation with IWU alumnus Luke Wright.  Luke is the founder and owner of Mud Love, a pottery business in partnership with Water for Good, an organization that provides clean water for the Central African Republic.  Luke believes that God called him to deny himself and start this business, and he has seen much fruit as he has developed his craft, sought to love people well, and grown in his faith through navigating the financial sacrifices required by his business model.

 

Luke never planned to become an entrepreneur, but the seeds of his business were laid from his youth when he developed a love for art.  As a high school student living a comfortable, middle class life in a Christian family, Luke lost track of his artistic inclinations, and in general lost his way as he chose a path of rebellion.  At the time when he started college, Luke really did not know himself well, and he lacked purpose and fulfillment.  It took him until his junior year of college to recall his love for art, which in turn began a rebirth of his faith.  In fact, his life turned a corner when he changed his major to ceramics; having his hands anointed also contributed to the sense of purpose he developed.  However, he continued to have one foot in his new life and one foot in the old until he reached a rock bottom moment his senior year at IWU.  At that point, he turned his life around, begged God to save him from himself, and sought solace in the mentorship of his ceramics professor and working in the ceramics studio.

 

Thus the connection between art and faith was deeply forged for Luke, as was his conviction that God can and does use people who are “blemished,” working in his own good timing.  Luke finds that his past allows him to relate with people who are struggling; his experience in business has also added to this ability, giving him a whole new form of struggle to navigate.  Luke has had to learn the ropes of running a business, figuring out how to strengthen sales and systems while managing setbacks and mistakes.  At the same time, Luke has been able to grow a sweet partnership with Water for Good, which allows him to participate in a loving cause that is bigger than himself.  He contributes to Water for Good with every sale he makes, donates a percentage of profits, and works to raise awareness for the cause.  While giving of himself comes with a cost, Luke finds that stepping out in faith to love other people ministers to him.  His concluding advice to any struggling listeners is to accept that life is a journey, not get sidetracked by a destination, and pursue loving people.

 

Links:

Learn more about Luke’s business at mudlove.com.

Connect with Luke at [email protected].

Learn about Water for Good.

Learn about Indiana Wesleyan University and its president, Dr. David Wright.

On this episode of Practicing the Art of Faithful Presence, Julianna Rubio Slager joins host David Wright to discuss her art, leadership, and faith. Julianna is the artistic director and co-founder of Ballet 5:8. The faith-based ballet studio is located just outside of Chicago and they perform in the city, and travel across the United States.

Julianna grew up in a musical household and at a very early age begged her parents to let her take a ballet class. She experienced tension in her adolescence because of her deep love of ballet and concern that it may turn into an idol that wouldn’t fit with her faith. God put many different dancers of faith in her path, and made her realize how her artform could be beautiful and full of truth. Now her ballets tell the story of faith in creative ways that honor the gifts but glorify God, the gift giver.

There were certainly times throughout her career and the studio’s founding that Julianna felt lost and wasn’t sure she would make it. God continued to make a way, she gave over the vision to Him and he makes streams in the desert. She finished her conversation with Dr. Wright by encouraging artists of faith that they are needed and there is a space for them in the performing arts world.

Learn more about Dr. Joanne Barnes

Learn more about host, David Wright

Learn more about Practicing the Art of Faithful Presence

Learn more about Ballet 5:8

On this, the first episode of Practicing the Art of Faithful Presence, meterologist Chuck Lofton joins host David Wright in dialogue about his career, his faith, and much more. To start their conversation, Lofton provides details about his background growing up in the suburbs of Chicago. His parents, who were both born in the South, moved to the Chicago area just before he was born, and he looks back on his childhood extremely fondly. Growing up watching Chicago news, weather, and sports, he knew even as a young boy that he wanted to follow a career in broadcasting. He describes broadcasting as both the desire of his heart and his life’s purpose. Throughout all of this, his Christian faith has played an important role in his journey. When his mother had children, she made the decision to rededicate her life to God in order to set an example for her children. Growing up, he was avoidant of making a personal decision to follow God himself, and it wasn’t until he was 17 years old that he accepted the Lord after watching a televangelist. His faith grew tremendously as he began attending college. He believes that each believer has watershed moments that define their relationship with God. In life’s struggles, there are times when people pull away from God and times when people draw near to him. In his life, these moments have been losses of loved ones and the experiences of broken relationships. In all of these moments, Lofton has leaned on God for comfort and guidance. He references John 14:6 as the passage of scripture that he always comes back to in times of trouble for a reminder of who his comfort comes from.

From here, the conversation shifts to Lofton’s career and his history with WTHR. He was recruited to WTHR to start the Sunrise show in 1985 and has been doing the show ever since. As he’s grown in his career, his responsibilities have broadened, and he’s been able to go new places and meet more people than he ever thought he would have the privilege to. On any given day, his show averages about 100,000 viewers, and he considers himself very lucky to be a part of the show and the organization. He views being a follower of Jesus in the public sphere as an incredible opportunity to share his faith with people from all walks of life. He believes that, no matter their background, all people have needs and hurts in their lives, and they need outlets to be supported. He loves the opportunity to bring them support and answers through Jesus Christ. He has found that these conversations and dialogues only come from genuine relationships and trust, and when these conversations do come, he views them as a blessing and opportunity to share his relationship with Christ and speak into their lives. As a member of the media, he is very aware of the way media is viewed and perceived in today’s climate, but he is confident in the work that WTHR does and the way he presents information. He truly views his occupation as an offering to the Lord and has a desire to work hard with integrity to represent God and his faith well. He encourages any young person who is interested in being a part of broadcast media to ‘go all in on it’, while trusting and relying on God.

Learn more about Chuck Lofton.

Learn more about WTHR.

Learn more about Practicing the Art of Faithful Presence.

Learn more about host David Wright.

Christians are in the news more than ever these days. But they are often described in one-dimensional terms. This podcast talks with Christians who are making the world a better place, often in unsung and quiet ways. Dr. David Wright, President of Indiana Wesleyan University, will speak with guests whose lives are examples of practicing the art of faithful presence.