Sandbox Cooperative Podcast

We're live on location in Houston for the ELCA (Evangelical Lutheran Church in America) Youth Gathering. Each day of this gathering there are themes, and today's theme is Hope. Here are a few of our thoughts and some insights from a variety of youth and adults at the gathering.

We're live on location in Houston for the ELCA (Evangelical Lutheran Church in America) Youth Gathering. Each day of this gathering there are themes, and today's theme is Grace. Here are a few of our thoughts and some insights from a variety of youth and adults at the gathering.

We're live on location in Houston for the ELCA (Evangelical Lutheran Church in America) Youth Gathering. Each day of this gathering there are themes, and today's theme is Love. Here are a few of our thoughts and some insights from a variety of youth and adults at the gathering.

In our contentious society, it seems like we really have no idea how to share our thoughts, ideas, fears, hopes and dreams. How can we do this better? We’ve had several fascinating conversations with professional communicators recently, and over the next few months, we’ll be sharing these conversations. Part one of this series contains our conversation with Karen Ortloff, a psychologist at Bluestem with powerful insight into good communication.

We featured a conversation with Samir Selmanović a few weeks ago in Episode 62. We had so much fun with him, that we figured it was time for another round!

Samir is a “secular pastor for business leaders” and focuses on the humanization of business. He loves his home country of Croatia, the streets and humans of New York City, and the changing seasons in Central Park, which sits next to his apartment where we caught up with him last year.

Learn more about Samir at Wisdom Workroom.

Have you ever been asked the question, “Where are you from?” One way of thinking about that question could also be “When you come back to yourself, to your core, Where are your roots?” Things like our family, our religious traditions, or even the town where we grew up can have a significant impact on the way that we think or the things we do. But those things don’t have to define us.

A lot of religious traditions teach that you are lacking, that you are not enough. But others teach that you already have “it.” You have what you need. Perhaps the job of a leader in a community is to help bring that to the surface – to help bring your gift and strength forward so you can share it. And maybe when that happens we can live more abundantly – right now.

In Episode 62, we talk with Samir Selmanović about how meals and other rituals sit at the center of relationships that help us continue to learn and grow. (Note: this episode does contain explicit language)

Existence is sacred; nothing is ordinary; work is intimacy. As a “secular pastor for business leaders” Samir is focusing on the humanization of business. Samir loves his home country of Croatia, the streets and humans of New York City, and the changing seasons in Central Park, next to which he lives with his wife Vesna and daughters Ena and Leta. When the going gets tough, Samir goes into his kitchen and cooks up kindness for family, friends, and strangers. Learn more about Samir at Wisdom Workroom.

“Wait until you get to the real world.” Many of us hear that phrase as a young person, but what do we miss if we discredit youth and don’t hear their voices? Youth aren’t waiting for the real world (because where else would we live?). They’re in it and have valuable insight to share in our conversations.

For today’s episode, we’re revisiting our live event with Science Mike McHargue. To dig deeper, visit SandboxCooperative.com and click on the discussion tab.

Mike McHargue (better known as Science Mike) is an author, podcaster, and speaker who travels the world helping people understand the science of life’s most profound experiences. His bestselling debut book, Finding God in the Waves, has helped thousands understand faith in the 21st century.

Mike hosts Ask Science Mike, a weekly question and answer podcast helping hundreds of thousands explore the questions they’ve always been afraid to ask. He cohosts The Liturgists Podcast with his friend Michael Gungor. With over a million downloads per month, The Liturgists Podcast is reshaping how the spiritually homeless and frustrated relate to God.

Mike lives in Los Angeles, CA with his wife Jenny and two daughters.

More about Science Mike at mikemchargue.com, theliturgists.com, @mikemchargue.