The Paterson Podcast

A quest is a noble pursuit of truth and purpose. To search for something that was lost or taken, often in the face of great danger and risk. Great quest-ions do the same; the search us and pursue us, to find truth and things that are hidden.

Every story is a quest. It's a journey of great struggle, challenge, opportunity, and impact. Think of the story of your life; it's been a quest, and continues. What are you on the quest for? What are you seeking and searching for?

On the Paterson Podcast, we're exploring the quest and the questions we are facing today.

The greatest wasted resource in the world is human talent. It's a treasure that is buried all around us -- in our schools, businesses, churches, and families. Imagine a world where millions more people are awakened to their unique, creative purpose, unleashed to use their heart and talents in remarkable ways. How would that reality change your family, your company, and your community?

Through the Paterson Purpose Project, we're partnering with businesses, churches, and nonprofits, to launch and inspire a global movement of identity, purpose, and impact. Over the last 40 years, we've been able to help 10,000s of people and teams, but we believe the call of this moment is to help millions more.

There's buried treasure everywhere. Let’s go find it, together.

Along the path of life, we will all navigate moments of great joy and deep pain. If conflict is unavoidable, how might we approach the challenges we experience in this life to ultimately bring about transformation?

In this episode, David and Stephen discuss the reality that we will all encounter times of conflict, confusion and calamity. While we are unlikely to find the silver lining of our struggles in the moment, we will have the opportunity to look back on even the most painful experience with a heart of gratitude. Listen in as we share practical tips for those who wrestling with life’s challenges and an invitation to integrate conflict in a way that brings life and love to the world around us.

Parker Palmer encouraged us to “let your life speak.” So the question is, as your life speaks, what does your life story have to tell you?

We continue our series on Story this week, looking together at the themes of our story. As you look at your own story, what themes do you see rising to the surface? Perhaps themes of struggle and challenge. Or themes of loss and failure. Themes of success and breakthrough. And what about you, the protagonist — what themes do you learn about yourself in your story? Perhaps you see a theme of leadership. Or a theme of overcoming the odds. Or a theme of perseverance through trials.

Understanding the themes of our story helps each of us to understand what we’re made from, and what we’re made for.

We can so quickly race to the question, “where am I going?” but we can miss the invitation to pause and ask, “where am I from?” We invite you this week to pay attention to your story, and identify the themes therein, that have so much to teach you about your talents, heart, and purpose in the world.

In this week’s episode, we take a moment to consider the various settings of our story. From our earliest memories in our family home, to the encounters we will have tomorrow, each takes place in an enviroment that brings our senses to life. The rich landscapes --  filled with sights, sounds, textures, smells, and emotions -- provide meaningful context for the experiences that are stamped into our memory. Join us today as we take a look at our relationship to setting and why it really matters.

Join us this week on the Podcast as we embark on a new series; a series on story. In this first episode in the new series, we're talking about our own personal stories and the characters we meet along the way; the characters that challenge, support, or breathe life into our purpose and calling. We're also thinking about the characters that push against us; the characters who come alongside us; and the characters that we ourselves are pursuing.

Just as Anais Nin described years ago, “we do not see the world as it is, we see the world as we are.” We are the protagonist of our own story. We each have a goal inscribed on our soul; a compass pointing us forward. Yet we also experience the antagonist; something or someone inside or outside of ourselves, revealing a tension we must enter and integrate in order to move forward.

In this episode, we explore the different characters in our story, and how understanding those characters (including understanding ourselves) can help us live with greater purpose and impact.

Before he ever set out to publish his own titles, Mark Batterson consumed the published work of others. Reading over 3000 books over 13 years, he reverse engineered them to become self-taught in his own writing craft.Today, Mark is the lead pastor at National Community Church in Washington, DC and a New York Times bestselling author. His latest title, Win the Day, shares practical insights to harnessing the power of twenty-four hours. The vision at NCC is ever-expanding, and their impact on the DC community is tangible.In this week’s podcast episode, David Mitchell hosts Pastor Mark in a candid conversation that naturally gravitates to Mark’s ability to inspire others in their leadership. “What we’ve got to do I believe, is stand in the gap as peace-makers, grace-givers and tone-setters. This is the moment when leaders lead.”

Living out purpose within your community may feel difficult at first. But as we salvage where and how to replenish personally, clarifying where and how to most fully express our talent and heart becomes a simple extension of what we already do. Join us today as we explore ways to acknowledge our purpose, and bring what we find into calibration with our hunger for community.

It’s intimidating to discern your life purpose alone. It’s frustrating to know your purpose and not have a way to express it. It’s daunting to consider a way to express it in a practical and compensatory way. Join us today as we share simple and meaningful ideas for how to narrow the gap between your great delight in the world and the world’s great appreciation for it.

For many of us, we relegate our purpose in life to the area of life where we are most productive. We see our purpose as a means to an end – as a way to bring helpful compensation into our bank account. Join us today as we broaden our understanding of purpose to include the ripple effect it creates within our family.