The Puddcast

Ruth Chou Simons, author & popular creator of inspirational artwork joined me this week to talk beauty, truth, art, history, trends in wallpaper, the industrialization of modern education, how to have a conversation with your children, and surviving the moment by moment hopelessness that besets all of us while we await our own maturity. Sound packed? It sure is! Listen today and enter the giveaway to win a copy of Ruth’s latest book, Beholding & Becoming: The Art of Everyday Worship.

Resources mentioned:

Support my work at patreon.com/jonathanpuddle
Order Beholding and Becoming: The Art of Everyday Worship, by Ruth Chou Simons
Win a free copy of the book by entering my giveaway.
gracelaced.com - Ruth’s shoppe
ruthchousimons.com

Follow Ruth on Twitter and Instagram.

Sarah Ball is a highly energetic, “can-do” mother of 5 who was floored by crippling panic attacks and generalized anxiety. The kind of person who just didn’t understand depression was riddled by it until God drew her into healing, a journey which included therapy, emotional counselling, spiritual healing, physical health and fitness, and more. Sarah is the author of Fearless in 21 Days: A Survivor’s Guide to Overcoming Anxiety, which we discussed in this interview.

Resources mentioned:

Support my work at patreon.com/jonathanpuddle
Fearless in 21 Days: A Survivor’s Guide to Overcoming Anxiety, by Sarah E. Ball
saraheball.com
The Fearless Traveler - Sarah’s guided tour out of anxiety
My group book study on Sarah’s book Fearless.

Follow Sarah on Twitter and Instagram.

Aundi Kolber is a licensed therapist and author who I’ve been following online for the last couple of years. We finally managed to schedule some time together and the result is a really helpful conversation on trauma, what it does in our bodies and brains, and how God designed our bodies and brains to give us the feedback we need in order to heal. As Aundi says, you can become a partner with God in his healing of you. Listen and share today!

Resources mentioned:

Support my work at patreon.com/jonathanpuddle
Pre-order Try Softer: A Fresh Approach to Move Us out of Anxiety, Stress, and Survival Mode--and into a Life of Connection and Joy, by Aundi Kolber.
bravelyimperfect.com- Aundi’s website
Sign up for Aundi’s free “Grounding” training
Follow @aundikolber on Twitter and Instagram

Mary DeMuth is the author of over 30 books including popular fiction and Christian living titles. A survivor of sexual abuse at a young age, Mary has devoted much of her life to helping people walk out healing, and now she has turned her sights on the church itself. In this powerful discussion she shared deep truths about where the church is failing, and why, and practical tips on how we can all do better. We discuss her latest book, We Too, which is part expose, part memoir, part healing guide, and predominantly a clarion call for the church to do better. Check out the resources below and please consider sharing this important message with others.

Resources mentioned:

Support my work at patreon.com/jonathanpuddle
The Day I Met Jesus, by Frank Viola & Mary DeMuth
We Too: How the Church Can Respond Redemptively to the Sexual Abuse Crisis, by Mary DeMuth
Boz Tchividjian - GRACE: Godly Respond to Abuse in the Christian Environment
WeToo.org
Predators, by Anna Salter
Mary’s 21 Days to Healing Email Series for Sexual Abuse Recovery
marydemuth.com

Priscilla Shirer came back on the show to discuss finding our identity and significance in God, both major themes of Overcomer, the new film from the Kendrick Brothers which she stars. Priscilla shared about some events in her life that exposed her own identity issues, while I pointed out that in her last film she played a music teacher and now she’s playing a principal. Promotion!

Resources mentioned:

Support my work at patreon.com/jonathanpuddle

Find a screening of Overcomer.

Order Defined (Ephesians 1 & 2 Bible study) by Priscilla Shirer

Order Radiant by Priscilla Shirer

Friends, I’m taking a little break for the summer to recoup and spend time with family and friends. I’ve got lots of great guests coming up in the fall, some have already been recorded and I can tell you they are amazing. We’ll be back on air in August! Please consider supporting the show (and my writing) at patreon.com/jonathanpuddle

Our series for pastors and church leaders continues with Rohadi, a Canadian church planter, entrepreneur, author and speaker hailing from Calgary. We discussed the importance of creating safe spaces for people to live out the gospel in their unique racial, cultural and neighbourhood contexts. Rohadi argues that many Canadians have deflected issues of race and culture as being American problems, and that Canada, and the Canadian church, are just as much in need of waking up.

Resources mentioned:

Thrive: Ideas for Leading the Church in Post-Christendom, by Rohadi
Rohadi.com
Support the show at patreon.com/jonathanpuddle

Curtis Hinds is an evangelist who dislikes the word evangelism and wants to help Christians be normal human beings again. Currently serving as the Pastor of Evangelism & Outreach at Catch The Fire Church in Toronto, Curtis joined me to discuss how to stop assaulting people with the truth, and instead building genuine, vulnerable relationships that naturally display the power of God in our lives. If you’ve ever felt ashamed for not doing enough work to spread the gospel then listen to this today.

Resources mentioned:

How to run a multi-generational family church service
Support the show at patreon.com/jonathanpuddle

Michael Brodeur is a pastor to pastors, and the brains behind pastorscoach.com. We discussed church growth vs church health, evangelism, the megachurch model, and the differences between family churches and factory churches. Michael told me that part of the spiritual responsibility of leaders is to help people discover their unique gift mix, their unique passions and dreams, and to get them on a path towards that outcome. If you’re in pastoral ministry of any kind, you need to listen to this.

Resources mentioned:

pastorscoach.com
destinyfinder.com
michaelbrodeur.com
Revival Culture: Prepare for the Next Great Awakening, by Michael Brodeur & Banning Liebscher
Destiny Finder: A Practical Approach to Unlocking Your Destiny, by Michael Brodeur.
Support the show at patreon.com/jonathanpuddle

Chad Bird is an author, theologian, teacher and truck driver and someone I just really like talking to. I was super pumped to have Chad back on the show after a year to discuss his brand new book, Upside-Down Spirituality: The 9 Essential Failures of a Faithful Life. We talked about God’s perspective versus our own, our goals for marriage versus God’s goals for marriage, and we riffed at length on the nature of freedom in Christ. There’s something here for just about everyone!

Resources mentioned:

My YouTube Channel
Chadbird.com
Christ in the Old Testament Course (1517 Academy)
Chad’s podcast: 40 minutes in the Old Testament
Upside-Down Spirituality: The 9 Essential Failures of a Faithful Life, by Chad Bird
Night Driving: Notes from a Prodigal Soul, by Chad Bird
Your God is Too Glorious: Finding God in the Most Unexpected Places, by Chad Bird
Support the show at patreon.com/jonathanpuddle