In this episode of the Presence in Practice podcast, I speak with Mark Scandrette, an author and spiritual leader focused on applying Jesus' teachings in everyday life. We discuss his book "Practicing the Way of Jesus" and his work with Reimagine to promote community-based learning. Mark shares insights on authentic relationships within faith communities, the importance of sustained learning, and actionable spiritual practices.

We explore Immanuel journaling as a transformative tool for deeper engagement with God and discuss how personal and communal spiritual growth can intertwine. Mark also highlights the role of family in shaping spiritual formation, drawing from his experience in fostering intentional family cultures. Our conversation invites listeners to cultivate authentic relationships with God and one another through intentional practice and community.

Chapters

0:14 Introduction to Presence in Practice Podcast

6:47 Transformative Learning Through Community

15:33 Engaging Practices for Spiritual Growth

22:51 Exploring Immanuel Journaling

43:37 The Journey Towards Deeper Connection

48:44 Family Culture and Spiritual Formation

0:00:10 Introduction to Interactive Gratitude and Manual Journaling
0:01:35 Embracing God's Loving Presence
0:01:50 Interactive Gratitude and Thought Rhyming Introduction
0:03:23 Living as God's Poetry and Rhyming His Thoughts
0:05:36 The Example of Exodus 3 and God's Heart Towards His People
0:07:47 God's Promise: Land of Milk and Honey
0:08:39 The God who knows our suffering and can deliver us
0:15:06 The importance of gratitude and interaction with God in good times
0:19:09 A Healing Moment of Connection
0:20:13 Encouragement to Share and Test Out with God
0:21:40 Cultivating Small Moments with God

In this episode, we explore interactive gratitude and thought rhyming. We discuss recording our thankfulness and feeling God's response. This helps align our thoughts with God's, especially in distress, fostering a sense of Jesus' affirmation and encouragement. The speaker reflects on God's care in challenging times, as shown in Exodus 3, and underscores His continual attention and support.

Thought rhyming is presented as a method to align with God's perspectives, offering wisdom and comfort. The speaker shares personal experiences with this practice, emphasizing the gratitude felt in connecting with Jesus.

Highlighting the importance of appreciating small joys, the speaker suggests that gratitude helps us recognize God's past and present role in our lives. They encourage conversations with God in all situations, acknowledging His constant care.

The episode concludes with the speaker offering support for those overwhelmed, promoting collaborative problem-solving with God. Listeners are encouraged to bring even minor matters to God, discovering His presence in every facet of life. The talk ends with a blessing, urging listeners to experiment with sharing daily experiences with God.

We integrate listening to God in our therapy, coaching and training.  If you are interested in learning more check us out at:

Loppnow Relationship Center
https://www.loppnowrelationshipcenter.com/

Presence + Practice
https://www.presenceandpractice.com/

WHAT DO WE DO?
Our Life Transforming Connections Training equips dedicated Christians to gain mastery over their emotions, empowering them to peacefully and effectively reconnect with their loved ones following conflicts.

https://www.loppnowrelationshipcenter.com/training 

Short intro to the extremely effective Couple's Training
https://youtu.be/Y4cmB-L1glU?si=S-rBdHY4S_wTIj0U

Discover the power of interactive gratitude to strengthen our relationship with God and find comfort in challenging times. Join us as we explore its transformative benefits.

Chapters
0:00:13 The Importance of Gratitude in Relationships
0:01:38 Strengthening Relationships Through Frequency and Quality of Interaction
0:03:58 The Brain's Negativity Bias and the Need for Positive Interaction
0:05:06 Interactive Gratitude as a Way to Build Relational Connection with God
0:06:07 Pausing to Notice and Receive God's Response in Gratitude
0:08:43 Building Positive Interactions with God for Hard Times
0:09:44 Example of Interactive Gratitude: Gratefulness and Relief
0:11:57 A Moment of Panic and Despair
0:12:41 God's Reassurance and Unwavering Presence
0:13:19 Embracing Gratitude as a Path to God's Presence
0:14:14 Gratitude Allows Space for Grieving and Healing
0:15:18 Implementing Interactive Gratitude in Daily Practice

Brief Summary

In this part of our conversation, we discuss the power of interactive gratitude in strengthening our relationship with God. We emphasize the importance of gratitude as the first step in the interactive journaling process. Interactive gratitude involves acknowledging something good and beautiful,  allowing God to respond. By increasing positive interactions with God, we can deepen our connection and build resilience. Even brief expressions of gratitude can be transformative. Practicing interactive gratitude opens us up to experience God's presence and find comfort in challenging times. Join us as we explore the goodness of God firsthand through interactive gratitude.



We integrate listening to God in our therapy, coaching and training.  If you are interested in learning more check us out at:

Loppnow Relationship Center
https://www.loppnowrelationshipcenter.com/

Presence + Practice
https://www.presenceandpractice.com/

WHAT DO WE DO?

Our Life Transforming Connections Training equips dedicated Christians to gain mastery over their emotions, empowering them to peacefully and effectively reconnect with their loved ones following conflicts.

https://www.loppnowrelationshipcenter.com/training 

Short intro to the extremely effective Couple's Training
https://youtu.be/Y4cmB-L1glU?si=S-rBdHY4S_wTIj0U

Chapters

0:00:11 Introduction to Immanuel Journaling and its Development
0:02:08 Desire to help people interact with God therapeutically
0:04:59 Introduction to IJ journaling and its differences from other practices
0:08:09 The relational and interactive nature of IJ journaling
0:08:57 The impact and benefits of practicing IJ journaling
0:15:19 Feeling stuck and immobilized in life
0:15:58 Experiencing the beauty and power of feeling unstuck


In this part of the conversation, we explore the origins of Immanuel Journaling and its unique approach to engaging with God. Sangshim noticed that people were more comfortable opening up to therapists than to God, which inspired her to create this therapeutic journaling practice.

Immanuel Journaling involves writing to God, expressing emotions, and listening for a response. We discuss its impact, including the deepened bond with God and the sense of peace it brings.

Additionally, we highlight its global reach and the surprise and delight it evokes. We also touch on the concept of feeling stuck and how IJ can help overcome it. We encourage listeners to try this interactive form of journaling and experience the freedom it brings.


We integrate listening to God in our therapy, coaching and training.  If you are interested in learning more check us out at:

Loppnow Relationship Center
https://www.loppnowrelationshipcenter.com/

Presence + Practice
https://www.presenceandpractice.com/

WHAT DO WE DO?

Our Life Transforming Connections Training equips dedicated Christians to gain mastery over their emotions, empowering them to peacefully and effectively reconnect with their loved ones following conflicts.

https://www.loppnowrelationshipcenter.com/training 

Short intro to the extremely effective Couple's Training
https://youtu.be/Y4cmB-L1glU?si=S-rBdHY4S_wTIj0U

Kutter Callaway - "Be Afraid" Podcast Conversation
Kutter is a Professor of Theology + Culture at Fuller Seminary

Be Afraid Podcast
This podcast isn’t about how to avoid fear, how to leverage it, or even whether or not it’s okay to be afraid. This podcast is an exercise in learning how to fear rightly. It’s an exploration of fear, faith, and stories that scare the daylights out of us.

https://www.kuttercallaway.com/podcast

This was a fun conversation about understanding our fears and anxiety in the context of community and discernment.

For more info on Kutter's work and ministry
https://linktr.ee/kuttercallaway



We integrate listening to God in our therapy, coaching and training.  If you are interested in learning more check us out at:

Loppnow Relationship Center
https://www.loppnowrelationshipcenter.com/

Presence + Practice
https://www.presenceandpractice.com/

WHAT DO WE DO?

Our Life Transforming Connections Training equips dedicated Christians to gain mastery over their emotions, empowering them to peacefully and effectively reconnect with their loved ones following conflicts.

https://www.loppnowrelationshipcenter.com/training 

Short intro to the extremely effective Couple's Training
https://youtu.be/Y4cmB-L1glU?si=S-rBdHY4S_wTIj0U

Peter Saddington is a wonderful human being seeking to love God and empower people to live fully alive.

• What does it mean to love God as a man and husband?
• How has adoption impacted Peter?
• Interesting learning about how Peter discovered he has "high-functioning Autism"
• How Peter's education helps inform his life (Masters in Education, counseling and World Views).  Very interesting stories here.

About

- Multiple Startup Founder - 1 acquisition, 3 early equity buy outs
- GP of a $2.5M Bitcoin Mining fund ('14/'15), $10M IoT fund ('18/'19), $16M (oversubscribed) Web3 fund in 2022.
- 3 books published - Scrum, Agile, Personal Branding
- 3 graduate degrees completed - Education, Counseling, Divinity
- Thousands trained in Agile/Scrum as a Certified Scrum Trainer (CST) since 2009
- Racecar driver (SCCA Radical SR3 & Club Sport) and gokart Dad

WHAT I LOVE:
- Investing in people and sharing my life on video. I want to be fuel for humans!
- Agile & Scrum Training - CSM, CSPO, A-CSM, Agile for Leadership, Agile for Startups
- Personal branding and community building - I've been building communities and creating educational videos for 15+ years




We integrate listening to God in our therapy, coaching and training.  If you are interested in learning more check us out at:

Loppnow Relationship Center
https://www.loppnowrelationshipcenter.com/

Presence + Practice
https://www.presenceandpractice.com/

WHAT DO WE DO?

Our Life Transforming Connections Training equips dedicated Christians to gain mastery over their emotions, empowering them to peacefully and effectively reconnect with their loved ones following conflicts.

https://www.loppnowrelationshipcenter.com/training 

Short intro to the extremely effective Couple's Training 
https://youtu.be/Y4cmB-L1glU?si=S-rBdHY4S_wTIj0U

Scot McKnight + Laura Barringer talk about PIVOT - book on toxic v. TOV (good) culture

In this enlightening episode, we sit down with the esteemed Dr. Scot McKnight to delve into the themes and insights from his latest work, "PIVOT." Co-authored with Laura Barringer, the book serves as a practical guide for nurturing a culture within churches and organizations that both resists abuse and fosters goodness. Our discussion navigates the pivotal practices, priorities, and gospel-centered qualities essential for cultivating what McKnight terms a "Tov Culture" - a milieu that champions goodness and opposes abuse.

Dr. McKnight elaborates on the transformative processes that challenge the quick-fix mentality often found in organizational cultures, steering them towards emotional health and goodness. Drawing from the experiences documented in their previous groundbreaking work, "A Church Called Tov," we explore the gritty, albeit rewarding journey of shifting from toxic to healthful organizational cultures.

This conversation promises to equip leaders and members of religious and other institutions with the knowledge and tools necessary for culture transformation, addressing common questions and hurdles encountered along the path to creating an environment that is, in essence, 'Tov' - good​1​​2​​3​​4​.

Here is some info about Jeff from his website.

Hi, I'm Jeff McCord.

My passion is the see the whole gospel of Jesus Christ impact the whole person. Soon after my conversion in 1996, the Lord laid a deep burden upon my heart to give my life over for the sake of serving His people. My story is one of redemption, of service, and of profound joy.

Beth and I have been married since 1995. We have two children, Nathan and Libby. We currently live in Franklin, TN, continuing to serve and love well.



More Than Your Number: A Christ-Centered Enneagram Approach to Becoming AWARE of Your Internal World

Have you wanted to dive deeper into the Enneagram but resisted because you don’t want to be labeled? Or do you ever wonder, Why does this part of me still get so easily stuck? What’s next? Discover a revolutionary and transformative approach to the Enneagram in this thoughtful, explorative guide to understanding all the remarkably unique ways you reflect the image of God . . . because you are more than your number.

More Than Your Number takes a deeper dive into the world of the Enneagram by moving past the quickly assigned and sometimes stereotypical Enneagram Types to consider and engage your unique, multidimensional personality that makes you so much more complex than just a number.   

Buy the book here.

Sungshim serves with Soul Shepherding as a Spiritual Director and Coach. She is also a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist working in private practice and as a church consultant. For over a decade she was a pastor’s wife at a Korean American megachurch. 

She has an M.S. degree in Marriage and Family Therapy from Fuller Theological Seminary and has received ministry coaching from Dr.’s Bill and Kristi Gaultiere. 

Sungshim’s ministry comes out of her own story of working through emotional deficits from childhood and the challenges of being an immigrant from Korea. Through her own emotional and spiritual growth process she and John developed a method of prayer called “Immanuel Journaling.” This tool was introduced in their book Joyful Journey and has become a widely used practice. Sungshim is fluent in Korean and English and has a special focus on ministry to Asian Americans.

Sungshim and her husband John live in Glendale, CA and have two children.

https://www.soulshepherding.org/

“I’m fine,” we say. Men especially do this to be “strong” — much to the disappointment of family and friends (especially women!) who want more connection. Burying emotions is actually a weakness that disrupts life and ministry. Bill Gaultiere and John Loppnow, fellow pastors and counselors, share how they connect with their emotions and with God. John introduces “Immanuel Journaling” as a tool for self-awareness and prayer.

https://www.soulshepherding.org/