The Pulpit and Porch

What happens when you spend decades chasing success, only to discover that success may not be what you thought it was?

Neo Wright joins Tony Marr to share his journey through entrepreneurship, repeated setbacks, anxiety, faith, and the search for purpose.

From growing up in California's Central Valley to moving to Berkeley, trying multiple businesses, and discovering the importance of vulnerability, Neo's story raises questions about ambition, sacrifice, family, and what it really means to live a successful life.

In this conversation, we explore:

• Growing up with big dreams and limited resources

• The pursuit of financial success and entrepreneurial ambition

• Repeated business failures and learning to keep moving forward

• Struggling with anxiety and finding the courage to ask for help

• How honest conversations helped others open up about their struggles

• The difference between outward achievement and inner peace

• Faith, purpose, and becoming the person you were meant to be

About Neo Wright

Cornelius "Neo" Wright is an author and entrepreneur, founder of CDJ Enterprises, and author of Eugene the Wayward Frog and Black Boy from the Barrio.

Learn more about Neo and his work:
https://cdjbooks.com

About The Pulpit & Porch

The Pulpit & Porch Podcast explores the stories behind the people we meet. Through honest conversations about life's defining moments, challenges, faith, and transformation, we seek to discover the deeper story that makes us who we are.

Subscribe and join us on the porch.

#ThePulpitAndPorch #NeoWright #Purpose #Faith #Success

What if the very things that helped you survive your past are now keeping you from moving forward?

Dawn Cazedessus grew up in circumstances that could have defined her future. Instead, she built a successful career, but along the way, she discovered that success doesn’t necessarily silence our fears or answer the deeper questions about who we are.

In this conversation, Dawn shares the experiences that shaped her, the unexpected turns that challenged her identity, and what she’s learning about faith, surrender, and trusting God when the next step isn’t clear. And it all connects to a simple, powerful image from her childhood: a handful of stones.

Dawn Cazedessus is an author, entrepreneur, and business leader whose work explores leadership, personal growth, and faith.

Her book, Trailer Park CEO: 12 Leadership Cornerstones to Becoming a Godly Woman of Influence, draws on her life experiences and the lessons that shaped her approach to leadership.

Thanks for listening to The Pulpit & Porch Podcast—conversations about the stories beneath the story.

Connect with Dawn Cazedessus

Get Dawn’s Book

Trailer Park CEO: 12 Leadership Cornerstones to Becoming a Godly Woman of Influence

• Buy the book on Amazon

Follow Dawn on Social Media

• Instagram

• Facebook

• LinkedIn

• YouTube

What would you do if someone you barely knew needed a kidney, and you discovered you might be able to save their life?

When Jono Dorsey received a message from a former coworker asking for a donor for his wife, he decided to get tested. He never expected to be a match, but when he was, he faced a decision that would require major surgery and a significant personal sacrifice.

But this conversation goes deeper than organ donation. Jono reflects on how his Christian faith shapes his understanding of generosity, why he doesn't see himself as a hero, and what he hopes his children learn from watching him put his beliefs into practice.

Together, they explore sacrificial love, empathy, generosity, and the difference between talking about faith and living it out.

What are we willing to sacrifice when someone else's need is placed in front of us?

You don't have to give a kidney to make a difference. But Jono's story may challenge you to reconsider what it means to love your neighbor.

If this conversation encourages you, share it with someone who believes in making a difference in the lives of others.

Subscribe to The Pulpit & Porch for honest conversations about faith, life, purpose, and the stories beneath the stories.

#ThePulpitAndPorch #JonoDorsey #KidneyDonation #LivingDonor #ChristianFaith #SacrificialLove #Generosity

What if we stopped trying to sound good when we pray?

In this Pulpit & Porch Rewind, we sit down with author, storyteller, and longtime friend Steven James for a conversation about prayer, pain, vulnerability, and what it really means to know God.

Steven is the author of A Heart Exposed, a collection of honest, raw prayers written over decades. But this conversation quickly becomes about much more than a book.

Steven shares the story of the childhood burns that left him with permanent scars, and the surprising moment years later when those scars helped another child begin to heal. He talks about why our prayers can become stale, how we can develop a deeper “vocabulary” for prayer, and the difference between knowing about God and actually knowing God.

They also talk about the masks we wear, the pressure to maintain an image, and what happens when we finally bring God our real questions, pain, joy, grief, doubt, and hope.

This is an older conversation from the Pulpit & Porch archives, but the questions feel as relevant as ever:

Can we really be completely honest with God?

And what might happen if we were?

In this episode:

• Honest and vulnerable prayer
• Why our prayer life can become stale
• Steven's story of childhood scars and Alex
• Storytelling, imagination, and faith
• The difference between knowing about God and knowing God
• Taking off the masks we wear
• Bringing doubt, grief, joy, and pain to God
• What prayer reveals about us

Steven James: A Heart Exposed

What happens when you sit down with someone you've never met and simply start asking questions?

In this episode of The Pulpit & Porch, Tony Marr sits down with Neal Osborne, Vice Mayor of Bristol, Virginia, for a conversation that goes far beyond his public life.

Neal has served on Bristol City Council since 2018 and has served as both mayor and vice mayor. He also works with United Way of Southwest Virginia and is a father to a teenage daughter.

But this conversation isn't really about politics.

It's about the person behind the public role.

Neal shares about growing up in Bristol, surviving kidney failure as a young child, living with Type 1 diabetes, his relationship with his father, and how his father's battle with cancer and death in 2016 changed the direction of his life.

We talk about community, leadership, fatherhood, faith, loss, public service, and the things that shape us long before anyone knows our name or our title.

Most of all, this is a conversation about getting to know someone, not because we already know their story, but because we're willing to sit down and listen.

Neal Osborne is Vice Mayor of Bristol, Virginia and works as Development Coordinator for United Way of Southwest Virginia.

What happens when the life you planned isn't the life God has planned for you?

In this episode of The Pulpit & Porch, Tony Marr sits down with retired pastor David Clark for a deeply personal conversation about calling, faith, ministry, sacrifice, family, leadership, retirement, and learning to trust the life you've been given.

David originally planned to become a lawyer. At 20 years old, a Christian conference changed the direction of his life, and he entered vocational ministry. What followed was more than 50 years of preaching, leadership, relationships, church growth, struggle, humor, missions, and learning what it really means to follow a calling.

David shares the difficult seasons of ministry, including depression after moving to Florida, moments when he wanted to quit, the personal cost ministry had on his family, the fear of disappointing church leaders, and the challenge of discovering who you are when the title you've carried for decades is suddenly gone.

We also talk about his 22 years at Boones Creek Christian Church, why he believes pastors should genuinely love the people they serve, the importance of friendships within the church, his ministry in Haiti, retirement, and why he believes a calling doesn't retire.

And near the end of the conversation, David is asked a simple question:

Did you live the life you chose, or the life you were given?

His answer says a lot about the story of his life.

This is a conversation about following God's calling, trusting Him when the path changes, finding purpose in every season, and learning to look back at your life and see the story God was writing all along.

Crawl Into My Story by David Clark
David's collection of humorous and meaningful stories from a lifetime of ministry and life.

David's Haiti Ministry
David and his wife support a ministry in Haiti serving children, families, education, and the church.

Want to talk with David about calling or ministry?
David invited listeners who are struggling with their calling or feeling discouraged in ministry to reach out to him directly. His contact information is shared during the episode.

What if the very things that made you successful are also the things keeping you from the relationships, connection, and significance you really want?

In this episode of The Pulpit & Porch, Tony Marr sits down with leadership coach, speaker, entrepreneur, and author Tyler Dickerhoof for a conversation about leadership, insecurity, success, vulnerability, faith, relationships, and the things we hide.

Tyler shares the deeply personal story of losing his three-year-old brother in a farming accident when he was just 14 years old, and how that experience shaped the way he approached life, work, achievement, and relationships.

We talk about the difference between success and significance, why our greatest strengths can sometimes become our greatest weaknesses, and what happens when the walls we build to protect ourselves eventually keep other people out.

This conversation goes far beyond leadership. It's about becoming honest about what's really driving us, and learning to lead, live, and connect without hiding.

Connect with Tyler Dickerhoof:

The Things We Hide — Tyler's Book

Impact Driven Leader — Leadership Coaching, Community & Resources

The Tyler Dickerhoof Podcast

The Pulpit & Porch is a podcast about the stories beneath the stories. The experiences, people, struggles, faith, and moments that shape who we become.

Subscribe, follow, and share this episode with someone who needs to hear it.

#TylerDickerhoof #TheThingsWeHide #Leadership #PersonalGrowth #AuthenticLeadership #Success #Significance #Vulnerability #Faith #ThePulpitAndPorch

What does it really mean to live a life of service?

In this episode of The Pulpit & Porch Podcast, Tony Marr sits down with Bryan for a conversation about service, purpose, leadership, and the decision to dedicate your life to something bigger than yourself.

Bryan shares his personal story and the experiences that shaped the way he sees service, responsibility, and leadership. We talk about what draws people toward a life of service, what it means to see yourself as a servant, and how those choices can become part of your identity.

This isn't simply a conversation about what someone does for a living. It's a conversation about why we serve, what motivates us to keep showing up, and what happens when service becomes part of who we are.

Along the way, Tony and Bryan explore questions about calling, sacrifice, responsibility, leadership, faith, and the kind of life worth building.

What makes someone choose a life of service? And why do some people feel called to serve in the first place?

That's the question at the heart of this conversation.

What Does It Actually Mean to Be a Man?

Our culture has given men plenty of answers: be strong, provide, lead, don't show weakness, never cry. But what if we've been asking the wrong question?

Anthony Curnutt has spent years helping men wrestle with what it means to be a husband, father, leader, and follower of Jesus. In this conversation, we talk about masculinity, loneliness, fatherhood, vulnerability, failure, and why Anthony believes the heart of biblical masculinity isn't strength at all, it's servanthood.

Anthony also shares the powerful story of the moment his father looked at him as a rebellious teenager and simply said, "Jesus died for you." Years later, that moment still shapes the man he became.

This is a conversation about what it really means to become the kind of man your family, your friends, and your faith are calling you to be.

Real Men Ministries
https://www.realmenministries.us

Real Men Talk Podcast
Available wherever you listen to podcasts.

Framework for Biblical Masculinity
Anthony's book is available on Amazon. Search "Framework for Biblical Masculinity" by Anthony Curnutt.

Email: [email protected]

#ThePulpitAndPorch #AnthonyCurnutt #BiblicalMasculinity #ChristianMen #MensMinistry #BiblicalManhood #ChristianFatherhood #ChristianLeadership #RealMenTalk #TonyMarr

Who decides what becomes news?

Why does it feel like half the country is living in a completely different reality than the other half?

And what if the greatest influence on your faith isn't your church... but your phone?

In this episode of The Pulpit & Porch, Tony Marr sits down with veteran religion journalist Terry Mattingly, founder of GetReligion, creator of Rational Sheep, syndicated columnist, professor, and one of America's foremost voices on journalism and religion.

Together, they explore how the modern media landscape has changed, why objective journalism is disappearing, how algorithms quietly shape our beliefs, and why Christians need to become more discerning consumers of media.

This conversation goes far beyond politics. It's about attention, discipleship, truth, and learning to recognize the stories that are quietly shaping our lives.

Whether you're interested in journalism, culture, media, faith, technology, or simply understanding why our society feels so divided, this is a conversation you won't soon forget.

• Why journalism has fundamentally changed
• The collapse of objective news
• How social media algorithms shape what you believe
• What Terry calls "Religion Ghosts" and why they matter
• Why Hollywood tells stories the Church can't ignore
• Smartphones and screen culture
• The future of journalism
• How Christians can become wiser media consumers
• Why truth requires humility
• Terry's unforgettable stories interviewing Mother Teresa, Bono, Denzel Washington, and more

If this conversation encourages you, please subscribe, leave a review, and share it with someone who values thoughtful conversations about faith and culture.

CONNECT WITH TERRY

Rational Sheep: https://tmattingly.substack.com

tmatt.net