To diffuse the anger simmering in our world, pastor Scott Sauls reminds us there’s another solution: gentleness. Scott shares why giving a kind and gentle answer in the face of hurt and hostility, even when it’s hard, leads to greater compassion.

Quotes

“When we're able to see people rightly, when we're able to discern that there is hurt beneath sinful behavior or there is hurt beneath suffering, that tends to lead toward a greater compassion. And with greater compassion comes greater gentleness.” —Scott Sauls

“I am drawn toward gentleness in people, in communities, and in society, wherever it can be found.” —Scott Sauls

“[God’s] love can't change. It can't change because it's been fixed and it's been secured by what Christ has done in His death and His burial and His resurrection.” —Scott Sauls

Scott Sauls’ LinksScott Sauls’ website

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Resources Mentioned in This EpisodeChrist Presbyterian Church

A Gentle Answer by Scott Sauls

Proverbs 15:1 NIV

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Does God hear us when we hurt? As she’s walked through pain from an autoimmune disease and an abusive church experience, author and trauma therapist KJ Ramsey has discovered she meets Jesus in her story not in spite of her suffering, but because of it.

Quotes

“The suffering in our stories becomes a place where we get to encounter God—God Himself. Jesus made pain into a portal, and when I can sit down trying to find the purpose in my pain, I get to step through that portal again and again.” —KJ Ramsey

“My faith has ebbed and flowed and grown and changed so much over the years and will continue to.” —KJ Ramsey

“I've actually experienced Jesus come near to me and show me His own broken heart and broken body and it's been a process of getting to see Jesus again and again. It's not that my faith was small and then grew seeing Jesus once, but that every time that my heart is broken again, Jesus shows me His again, too.” —KJ Ramsey

KJ Ramsey’s LinksKJ Ramsey’s website

KJ Ramsey’s Facebook

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Resources Mentioned in This EpisodeThe Lord is My Courage: Stepping Through the Shadows of Fear Toward the Voice of Love by KJ Ramsey

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We all want more peace, but is it possible to find peace right where we are? Digital artist and bestselling author Morgan Harper Nichols thinks so. Morgan shares how, in the midst of a world filled with overwhelm, peace is available to us no matter where the day leads us—all we have to do is take the time to practice it.

Quotes

“Community and connection was always something I was craving and desiring and praying for. And at the same time, it often felt far away. One of the few things I have truly felt like God gave me as a gift was art and creativity, because throughout my life, there has been an opportunity to [use it to] connect with other people.” —Morgan Harper Nichols

“It's possible to encounter peace right here where we are, amid everything that's going on. And it's something that we can practice.” —Morgan Harper Nichols

“A peaceful place doesn't have to be a perfect place out in our most ideal location, our ideal scenario. It's that peaceful presence in grace that is available to us everywhere.” —Morgan Harper Nichols

Morgan Harper Nichols’ LinksMorgan Harper Nichols’ Website

Morgan Harper Nichols’ Facebook

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Resources Mentioned in This EpisodePeace is a Practice by Morgan Harper Nichols

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*Episode produced by Four Eyes Media*

Sometimes our relationship with God feels like looking through a foggy window. We can just make out a figure in the distance, but it feels just that: distant. Sometimes it takes a different lens to see a bit more clearly. As a spiritual director, Katie Haseltine offers that new lens to her clients. She shares how her own perspective of God was transformed when she began to notice her feelings and how they affected her view of God—and how much more connected to Him she felt when she realized He could hold all of those feelings for her.

Quotes

“It's so interesting for me to unpack with people their different interpretations of Jesus and religion, and what I've found is Jesus is so much more inviting and welcoming to them than they ever knew.” —Katie Haseltine

“A relationship with God is made up of your thoughts and feelings. And so if you're not exploring those, if you're not offering those to God, if you're not giving those to God, then you might not really be knowing God or having a relationship in that way.” —Katie Haseltine

“I really had nowhere to go because my theology at the time didn't allow for mess or mistake or gray or uncertainty or not knowing what was coming. And so for me, there really was this desperation to experience something more than words on a page and ideas and thoughts.” —Katie Haseltine

“As I grew in self-awareness, what I realized is how I have to know who I am in order to know God. . . . That self-awareness is so important to be able to go to Jesus with your anger, with your fear, with your shame, with your guilt, with your joy, with your hope, with your desires, and be with Him.” —Katie Haseltine

Katie Haseltine’s LinksKatie Haseltine’s Website

Katie Haseltine’s Facebook

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Resources Mentioned in This EpisodeSt. Ignatius

Prayer of Examen

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*Episode produced by Four Eyes Media*

When author Steve Pemberton was growing up, he suddenly found himself in the foster care system after his mother, who struggled with alcoholism, was unable to care for him. When all seemed dark, different adults shone a light for Steve along his journey to adulthood, and today he endeavors to be that same “lighthouse” by helping others with what he has to give.

Quotes

“I often get asked, ‘Well, who was the person who helped transform your life?’ And it's hard for me to point to that individual and say that there was that one person because it really wasn't. It was more the love of language and words and all that accompanied it.” —Steve Pemberton

“I think there's something instructive for all of us in recognizing that each day any of us can be a lighthouse to someone and we can also find one for ourselves.” —Steve Pemberton

“We can almost certainly touch and impact somebody else's life. I'm a really good example of what happens when you do.” —Steve Pemberton

Steve Pemberton’s LinksSteve Pemberton’s Website

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Resources Mentioned in This EpisodeA Chance in the World by Steve Pemberton

The Lighthouse Effect by Steve Pemberton

Work Human

Encyclopedia Brown 

Alfred Hitchcock

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*Episode produced by Four Eyes Media*

Therapist Dr. Judy Cha knows that God’s love can transform lives. As the director of Redeemer Counseling Services in New York City, she’s seen that when people can be present with their pain without judgment for what they’re feeling, they can put aside the shackles of shame to become a vessel for God’s goodness in ways they could’ve never imagined.

Quotes

“My relationship with God has definitely changed how I see people. No, they're not just objects of my curiosity. People are His most prized possession, His lost treasure He came to reclaim. So people are precious, highly regarded across all races, gender, socioeconomic status.” —Dr. Judy Cha

“Sin didn't just affect the human heart. It affected everything in creation. So we live in a broken world with broken people.” —Dr. Judy Cha

“By being attentive, by being present without judgment over and over again, this becomes a corrective experience for our clients. And it shifts the way that they see themselves, that they are valued, accepted, and loved, and they see us as loving, kind, and accepting people.” —Dr. Judy Cha“How we experience other people is highly correlated to how we experience God. So in order to change the way that they relate to God, people need these relational experiences that are different from their history that reflect and represent who God is.” —Dr. Judy Cha

“We can find rest because we know that He is with us and He loves us and we can reach a place of peace.” —Dr. Judy Cha

Resources Mentioned in This EpisodeRedeemer Counseling Services

Westminster Theological Seminary

1 Corinthians 13:1–2 NIV

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*Episode produced by Four Eyes Media*

When musical duo Shane & Shane first met in college, they never anticipated playing music professionally. But God works in mysterious ways, and as they’ve built a career and a ministry, they’ve learned that by showing up and saying “yes,” God has taken them on more adventures and touched more lives than they could’ve dreamed of.

Quotes

“I feel like the Lord is always talking and speaking through us, through His spirit, His people, His creation.” —Shane Barnard

“There's a lot of faith in just walking into a space, picking up a pen, picking up an instrument, and just going, ‘Lord, I'm just going to come and show up, and I'm just going to hope that the things and the thoughts that are about as high as the heavens are above the Earth, that they're going to be there waiting for me. So I'm just going to show up.’” —Shane Barnard

“There's no greater joy that we could ever have than to share this gospel story of redemption that's woven through scripture with the world in song.” —Shane Barnard

Shane & Shane’s LinksShane & Shane’s Website

Shane & Shane’s Facebook

Shane & Shane’s Instagram

Resources Mentioned in This EpisodeTexas A&M University

Psalms NIV

Colossians 3:16 NIV

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*Episode produced by Four Eyes Media*

When Cece Jones-Davis watched a documentary about a Black man and fellow Oklahoman who had been imprisoned for a crime he likely didn’t commit, she decided to act on faith and her love of justice to do something about it. A Yale-educated minister and justice advocate, Cece shares her convoluted journey through the US justice system, and how God can use what you love—and also what breaks your heart—to do His good in the world.

Quotes

“Justice, for me, is about making things right. It's important for people to remember or realize that this is a requirement for people of faith.” —Cece Jones-Davis

“Justice work shows you very quickly how injust the world is around us, how many people are suffering, how inhumane we can be to one another, how broken. A lot of our systems are. But because I have a faith center, I always have something to draw from.” —Cece Jones-Davis

“I honestly give God the glory and the honor and the praise for showing up so incredibly strong in the hearts and the minds of people.” —Cece Jones-Davis

“God is incredibly real, and people are stronger than systems when we come together, when we believe in a thing. When we commit ourselves to doing what is right, there is very little that can stop us.” —Cece Jones-Davis

Cece’s LinksCece’s website

Cece’s Facebook

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Cece’s Twitter

Resources Mentioned in This EpisodeJulius Jones

The Last Defense documentary

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*Episode produced by Four Eyes Media*

Nearly five years ago Rachael Prescott, already expecting a surprise set of twins, learned more news about the babies she was carrying: they’d be born with Down Syndrome. Rachael, the mom behind the popular @doublingdownmom Instagram account, shares how her girls have taught her how beautiful the world can be when we create space for everyone to thrive, and how God can use every single person for His good.

Quotes“It just gives me that warm feeling to think that God is going to use my daughters and other people with Down Syndrome in this world in ways that are going to be pivotal to sharing His goodness, His glory.” —Rachael Prescott

“We tend to be afraid of things that we don't know or understand. And pair that ignorance and fear joining up together that are really just stripping us of a huge community of joy, ultimately, that I think brings light to our world in a way that it would be a dimmer place without these people.” —Rachael Prescott

“We need to purposefully set into spaces and make them inclusive, and sit in the discomfort of what we don't understand long enough to build relationships with people who are different than us.” —Rachael Prescott

Rachael’s LinksRachael’s website

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Resources Mentioned in This EpisodeDown Syndrome

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*Episode produced by Four Eyes Media*

It takes courage to take a big leap and trust that God’s got you. Andres Quintero’s spent his whole life trusting God to catch him: after he moved from Colombia to the US, when he switched his career from architect to handbag designer, to switching the way his whole business ran during the pandemic. And amid the fear, Andres has seen God work every single thing out for good.

Quotes

“We always dreamt of these shiny and beautiful goods, manufacturing them in Colombia and also being able to show them to the rest of the world. Faith played a big role in that decision [to move forward] and we prayed about it, knowing that God is in control, He's sovereign.” —Andres Quintero

“The beautiful thing is that suffering and pain, we tend to avoid them at any chance. But God uses pain as a way to reconnect with Jesus. It’s an opportunity to say, ‘God, Your will be done. We trust in You.’ And man, that is an opportunity for growth and to know Him at a different level.” —Andres Quintero

“We believe that God uses aesthetic to show part of His nature, that He's a beautiful God and He's awesome, and He cares for all colors and proportions.” —Andres Quintero

Resources Mentioned in This EpisodeAndres' company, Min And Mon

University of Washington

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*Episode produced by Four Eyes Media*