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What if inclusion is only the starting line—and belonging is the finish we’re called to run toward together? We sit down with a special guest, Emily Enockson, to explore how a life shaped by foster care, medical fragility, and a steadfast sister named Josie became a vocation at Zachariah’s Acres, a 175-acre sanctuary where people with disabilities don’t just attend events—they help design the experience. Through stories that are equal parts tender and funny, we unpack the daily practices that turn good intentions into genuine community.

Emily walks us through the quiet tug of calling—how it rarely arrives like a spotlight and more like a series of faithful steps. She shows how inclusion often keeps a hidden power gap in place, while belonging invites mutuality: not “we serve them,” but “we do life together.” From a volunteer who learns to embrace imperfection in the kitchen to students who grow and package produce for the farm store, we see dignity thrive when people are seen, named, and invited to shape the space. We talk eye contact, assumptions, processing time, and why speaking directly to the person (not only the parent) is a baseline act of respect toward those with special needs.

You’ll leave with four practices to try this week: be present, connect, keep showing up, and be courageous. Whether you’re a pastor, parent, volunteer, or someone unsure where to start, this conversation offers a pathway from awkwardness to authentic relationship. Along the way, we ground the journey in a simple theology of belonging: people are not projects; they are co-creators of community who reveal something of the Creator to us.

Ready to move beyond comfort and into connection? Listen now, share it with a friend, and tell us one step you’ll take this week. If the episode resonates, subscribe, leave a review, and help more people discover a vision of church where everyone belongs.

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What if “all are welcome” still leaves people standing alone? Statistically, chances are high that either you or someone close to you lives with a disability. Yet far too often, people with disabilities find themselves pushed to the margins. This special episode comes from The Leader's Journey Podcast, where Mac and Josie open up about parenting their son Griffin, who has Down syndrome and likely autism. His life has forced them to rethink ability, achievement, and what church is for.

They further explore how ableism shows up in ordinary moments: the rushed band tryout, the inaccessible bus plan, the Sunday greeting time where some are always left out. They talk candidly about the limits of inclusion, the harm of disability blindness, and why pity and programs can’t create the mutuality needed. Instead, they point to Jesus’ pattern of noticing, honoring dignity, and disrupting the crowd’s anxious order—and what that means for pastors, volunteers, and anyone who wants their community to reflect the kingdom.

If you’re a tired leader wondering how to start, take a breath. You don’t need another ministry to manage. You need a fresh lens and an asset-based posture that surfaces the gifts already in your congregation, especially from people with lived experience. Practical ways to guide attention, reduce anxiety, and build real friendships are shared. Along Mac and Josie's journey, Griffin has taught them that persistence opens doors, belonging transforms rooms, and joy can be loud, off-beat, and exactly what the body needs.

If this conversation resonates, follow the show, share it with a friend, leave a review, and be sure to check out The Leader's Journey Podcast for more great content.

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What if the only true measure of spiritual maturity is love—and not the easy versions? We bring our series on mental models for missional discipleship to a close by naming love as the plumb line that aligns everything: discipleship, mission, leadership, and daily life. Not the Hallmark fuzzies, not constant affirmation, not Midwest nice. We look to Jesus who had grace and truth in full measure, self-giving at the cross as the standard that straightens what our culture and our churches often bend.

Together we build a thicker vision of “God is love.” Love isn’t one attribute balanced against holiness, justice, or power; it’s the very nature through which God expresses all of them. That reframe changes how we read the Bible, how we think about divine power at Christmas, and how we set goals for our churches. From hospitals and universities to abolition and peacemaking, we celebrate the quiet, steady legacy of cruciform love. Then we tell the truth about our failures: empire-chasing politics, us-versus-them religion, judgmentalism, and scandals that misuse God’s name and wound the vulnerable.

Finally, we get practical. We share simple practices to receive before we try to give, because loved people love people. Try a daily examen of love to notice where God met you and where love flowed through you. Then, each morning, choose one person to intentionally love with words and actions calibrated by grace and truth. Over time, these small, steady moves align our lives to the straight edge of Jesus-shaped love and deepen our witness in a world hungry for the real thing.

If this conversation challenged or encouraged you, follow the show, share it with a friend, and leave a review so others can find it. What’s one way you’ll measure your day by love this week?

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What if the kingdom of God isn’t an exit plan but a present reality that disrupts our politics and reorders our lives? We open with a bold claim: God’s kingdom looks like Jesus’ ministry. That means good news to the poor, freedom for the oppressed, healing for the sick, and a reconciling community that previews the world to come. We unpack the “already and not yet,” grounding it in Luke 4, Luke 17, the Lord’s Prayer, and the sweeping arc of Scripture that refuses to pick between personal transformation and systemic change.

From there, we wade into contested terrain. We challenge the left’s impulse to pursue kingdom values without the King, outsourcing shalom to institutions while neglecting discipleship and abiding. We also confront the right’s habit of rejecting biblical terms—justice, peacemaking, reconciliation, creation care—because they sound “woke,” forgetting these are ancient, central commands. Policy is complex, and outcomes matter, but abandoning Scripture’s core is not an option. We show how overhearing and underhearing distort what’s said, and how to listen beyond soundbites with humility and courage.

The conversation lands with practices that move us from votes to vocation. Examine your loyalties and ask where party identity is discipling you more than Jesus. Act locally: engage foster care, food insecurity, mentoring, and community partnerships with a long obedience and real relationships. Rehumanize the “other side” by buying a meal and only asking questions. The kingdom advances through Spirit-filled people who embody justice and mercy right where they live, becoming a living preview of heaven meeting earth.

If this resonates, subscribe, leave a review, and share it with a friend who’s ready to trade outrage for presence. Then tell us: what one practice will you start this week?

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Holiday season or pressure cooker? Between the nonstop events, gift budgets, and Hallmark-level expectations, December can intensify everything—joy and grief, laughter and loneliness, unity and old wounds. We get candid about why family dynamics spike this time of year and map out a practical way to move through it with grace and truth.

We start by naming the hidden currents: idealized scripts that make real life feel lacking, grief that returns on anniversaries, and the logistics of blended schedules that stress even strong relationships. Then we dig into family systems—the unwritten rules, predictable roles, and the “togetherness force” that pressures us to go along to get along. When beliefs diverge, a comment about politics or health can secretly ask, “Are you still one of us?” Instead of cutting off or complying, we offer a better path: emotional maturity as being defined and connected at the same time.

You’ll hear clear, usable tools: how to set boundaries that serve relationship (not as excuses to disappear), how to listen deeply when your blood pressure spikes, and how to shift from fixing others to researching your own reactions. We look to Jesus as our model for calm clarity under pressure—from the temple at twelve to his composed presence before Pilate—showing that differentiation doesn’t require defensiveness.

Walk away with a simple holiday plan: decide your values in advance, notice your body’s triggers, choose healthier modes of communication, and prepare one-to-one questions to build real connection with each person. Assume everyone else will be who they’ve always been; focus on the one variable you can control—how you show up. If you can grow your maturity even a notch, you’ll feel it not only around the table but in your marriage, parenting, friendships, and work.

If this conversation helps, share it with a friend, subscribe for future episodes, and leave a quick review so more people can find the show. What’s one boundary you’ll set to protect connection this year?

Links

Navigating Grief During the Holidays - Praxis Episode

How to Slow Down When Life Speeds Up - Blog Post

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What if the most important work of your life happens where no one sees it? We dig into a core conviction of missional discipleship—God cares about the who, not just the do—and trace how that truth reframes leadership, mission, and everyday faith.

We start with Jesus’ own pattern: decades of hidden formation before three years of public ministry. That ratio alone confronts our bias for speed and scale. From calling the Twelve to be with him before sending them, to telling returning disciples to rejoice in belonging rather than power, Jesus centers identity over output. We connect these scenes to John 15’s abiding, clarifying that lasting fruit grows from union, not hustle. Along the way we name how the fruit of the Spirit is character, not competence, and why performative religion—clean cups on the outside, chaos within—erodes witness.

Then we get practical about the pressures we all feel: the midday pull to produce, the subtle ways church culture can celebrate results over reality, and the harm that follows when we measure leaders by charisma and numbers instead of character. We talk about building congruence so your public life matches your private life, treating people as co-stewards in God’s story rather than instruments in ours, and finding stability when identity is rooted in Christ instead of applause. Finally, we offer simple, repeatable practices: prioritize prayer over productivity, reflect daily to notice where you’re hurried or hiding, and invite honest feedback to close blind spots. Real transformation is slow and often invisible, but it’s the only path to durable fruit and trustworthy leadership.

If this resonates, share it with a friend, subscribe for more conversations like this, and leave a review to help others find the show. What “who before do” shift will you make this week?

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What if the order of your life is backwards? We’re tackling a simple idea with radical implications: trust leads and effort follows. Starting with Jesus’ baptism and temptation, we explore how identity received—not achievement earned—powered his ministry. From there, we trace how the New Testament consistently places grace before effort, and why that sequence frees us from the grind, clarifies our calling, and sustains real fruit.

We get honest about the cultural worship of hustle and how easily it sneaks into church life. From “pastorpreneur” pressures to BHAGs that sound holy but center ego, we challenge the metrics that define success. Instead of bigger buildings and busier calendars, we talk about character, faithfulness, and fruit that lasts. Along the way, we name the “religious false self,” the temptation to do impressive things for God without doing them with God, and the quiet erosion that happens when our worth rides on outcomes.

This conversation isn’t abstract. We share everyday moments where the order flips—sermon prep, worship leading, parenting, even a Sabbath gone sideways—and how small shifts recalibrate everything: prayer before action, rest before work, and identity before activity. Trust doesn’t cancel effort; it focuses it. When God initiates, God sustains. The result is a non-anxious presence, a deeper peace under pressure, and clearer discernment of where to put your best energy right now.

If this resonates, hit follow, share it with a friend who’s tired of running on empty, and leave a review. Tell us: where do you sense God inviting you to trust first this week?

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The kingdom of God was the centerpiece of Jesus' teaching, but what exactly does this kingdom look like? Far more than a distant heavenly realm we'll experience after death, God's kingdom is a present reality that Jesus embodied through his revolutionary ministry. When we understand that "God's kingdom looks like Jesus' ministry," we gain a powerful lens for discipleship today.

Jesus didn't just announce God's kingdom theoretically—he demonstrated it tangibly. He healed the sick, fed the hungry, forgave sins, welcomed outcasts, and consistently challenged systems of oppression. These weren't merely nice religious acts; they were disruptive to the social, economic, and political structures of his day. They revealed an alternative kingdom that upended hierarchies and offered liberation to the marginalized.

This paradigm challenges our tendency to spiritualize Jesus' message while ignoring its real-world implications. It also confronts our modern habit of filtering Jesus through our political preferences rather than allowing his life and teaching to shape our politics. God's kingdom is political—in that it addresses power structures and systems of injustice—but it's not partisan. It doesn't fit neatly into our contemporary political categories.

As disciples today, we're called to continue embodying this kingdom through both individual transformation and community action. Rather than outsourcing kingdom work to political parties or getting entangled in partisan debates, we can unite around Jesus' vision by becoming students of his way, creating spaces for mature dialogue across differences, and actively participating in kingdom work through our local communities.

What might happen if we truly let Jesus' ministry—not our political ideologies or cultural preferences—define what God's kingdom looks like? Join us as we explore this revolutionary conviction that shaped Jesus' life and can transform ours as well.

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What comes into our minds when we think about God shapes everything else in our lives. Yet most of us carry distorted images of God that we've picked up from our upbringing, painful experiences, or cultural messages—images that create barriers to authentic relationship with him.

In this episode, we unpack five common misconceptions about God that might be operating beneath the surface of your faith: the Distant Deity who remains uninvolved, the Sovereign Puppet Master who controls everything, the Cosmic Cop who's always disappointed, the Vending Machine God who exists to fulfill our wishes, and the Passive Enabler who never confronts our destructive patterns.

These false images create profound spiritual consequences. They make us hide when we fail, blame God when we suffer, and live as functional atheists in our daily lives. But what if there's a clearer, more accurate picture?

We explore how Jesus provides the perfect revelation of God's character. Looking at Jesus shows us a God of cruciform love—self-giving, non-coercive, and deeply present—who moves toward us in our brokenness rather than away. This truth doesn't just correct our theology; it heals our hearts.

Whether you're struggling with disappointment in God, battling shame, or simply longing for a more authentic connection with your Creator, this conversation offers practical ways to examine your core beliefs and make Jesus your interpretive key. Because when we see God as truly like Jesus, everything changes.

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What if God doesn't wait for us to clean up our act before loving us? What if He actually meets us exactly where we are—in all our messy, broken reality?

In a discussion about our second mental model for missional discipleship, we unpack the life-changing truth that "God bends to meet us in reality." This isn't just feel-good theology—it's the pattern we see throughout scripture and most vividly in Jesus himself.

From Genesis where God sought Adam and Eve after their sin to Jesus dining with tax collectors and sinners, we discover a God who consistently stoops down to meet humanity in their brokenness. The good news is that we don't need to fix ourselves before approaching God. The challenging news? We must be honest about where we truly are.

Many of us struggle with pretending, especially in church settings. We put on our "Sunday best" not just in clothes but in behavior and spiritual appearance. Yet authentic transformation begins only when we drop the masks and embrace reality—when we learn to "hug our cactus," as Mac puts it.

Whether you're wrestling with shame, struggling to trust God's grace, or finding it difficult to extend that grace to others, this episode offers practical wisdom for embracing reality and experiencing the freedom that comes with it. Because when we stop hiding, we discover God has been waiting there all along.

Listen now and discover how to live authentically in God's grace—no more pretending required.