In many churches, 20% (or less) of the people are doing 100% of the work? Why is that?

What are your primary giftings? How do you know where to apply them once you find out?

How do you position an organization to grow? What about one that has stopped growing?

Michael Brodeur has the answers to these questions.

Michael is one of the founders of the Vineyard Church in San Francisco, CA. He’s authored the books, Destiny Finder and Revival Culture, and is the founder of destintyfinder.com. It’s a tool to discover your destiny through finding out your primary ministry gift and how you function best in service, work and relationships. Michael also works with Global Legacy, which provides resource and support for thousands of leaders, churches and organizations around the world. Michael is ALSO the founder of pastorscoach.com, a tool used to mentor equip pastors to lead the next generation into their purpose.

There is so much wisdom covered in this episode. Enjoy.

There is incredible power in being transparent, open, and vulnerable – hiding nothing. It can be a catalyst to heal pain, restore marriages, and strengthen relationships. It’s also a difficult area for so many people. It forces us to face shame, pain, and brokenness. How can we do it? How can we truly live with nothing hidden? Enter Barry and Lori Byrne.

Barry and Lori are the founders of Nothing Hidden Ministries, which develops resources, tools and events that help people experience deeper connection in their relationships and with God.  It’s the goal of Barry and Lori, along with their team at Nothing Hidden Ministries, to help others learn how to deepen their connection with themselves, God and others, while experiencing freedom and fullness in all areas of their life!  Barry has been a marriage and family therapist for over 30 years, while Lori is a fourth-generation pastor with a strong gift of discernment and the prophetic.  Their life experience and wise counsel has deeply impacted many couples and families, and we know their wisdom will impact each one of us as well.

What does it really mean to follow Jesus? Do Justin Bieber and Caitlyn Jenner have a relationship with Him? What if following Jesus and being a Son of God are different than we’ve thought? One thing we’ve learned with Carlos Rodriguez is that he’s not afraid to ask questions like these or to challenge our old ways of thinking. His own journey of becoming a son and following Jesus will challenge you to step out of the box and see things from a different perspective.

Carlos is the creator of happysonship.com, a popular blog about real Christianity, and the adventure of living life with a loving father God. He is also the creative and campus ministries pastor at Catch the Fire Raleigh, and has written an amazing book titled, Designed for Inheritance. He is constantly challenging the status quo of what it means and looks like to be a Christian today, and sharing the message of truly being a son of God. We hope you enjoy this episode. You WILL be challenged.

If you know anything about Christian rock music in the last 15+ years, then you might be familiar with Chad Johnson. His story is an incredible one. Through his love for music, Chad started a record label and quickly signed on a few bands. He eventually garnered the attention of Tooth and Nail Records, who offered him a position in the company. It was a great gig, where he worked with bands such as Underoath, Anberlin, and many others. But Chad felt pulled toward something more. His real passion wasn’t the music itself, but the people – the singers and musicians. They are a group of people who get lots of attention and love from adoring fans and the media, but are in desperate need for real connection and mentoring.

Chad is one of the founders of Come and Live, an organization whose vision is to create a worldwide mission community that will provoke and inspire Christian artists to use their God-given creativity to revolutionize the world for Jesus.  Come and Live is a worldwide, face to face, and online community committed to impacting the world with the love of Jesus using art and music.  Chad and the team at Come and Live are seeking to disciple, teach and befriend artists and musicians to help them navigate the sometimes difficult landscape of the music industry. Chad’s journey will bring clarity to your own story, and reveal to you how following your true passion puts you in front of the people you are called to help.

“Vision gives pain a purpose.” – Kris Vallotton

Jason Vallotton has been through pain. A lot of pain. Divorce, heartbreak, confusion, hopelessness, loneliness…pain. It changes you. You have to make a choice. Either choose to harden yourself to future pain, or embrace forgiveness, and with it, healing and redemption. Jason chose forgiveness.

Jason is the author of The Supernatural Power of Forgiveness and the co-author of Moral Revolution. He is a sought after counselor and speaker, and he and his wife Lauren are Pastoral Care Overseers at Bethel Redding. Jason’s personal journey is a powerful illustration of God’s grace, healing and redemption. You will learn about the true power of forgiveness, and how to use your story to lead others to healing.

 “In a fallen world, pain is a reality. None of us escape unscarred. We often feel out of place, searching for somewhere to belong. There is something inside of us that craves redemption, because we were made in the image of a God who is at work redeeming creation. He is making all things new, inviting us to rip up the scripts that we have been handed and re-write our lives into more beautiful stories. The only problem is, there is often a disconnect between the stories we tell and the stories we dream of telling with our lives.” – Jared Stump

Who is Jared Stump? Maybe you haven’t heard of him…yet. His story is one we all can relate to, and he’s found a way to put words to the internal struggle that happens in our hearts.

Jared is a gifted twenty-something author and speaker who is passionate about the Kingdom of God, the local church, and helping people discover who they were created and redeemed to be. He is the author of several books, including Creation & Redemption, a book that delves into the journey of discovering the love and redemption of God, and the tension between where we are and where we are going. It’s a powerful take on his own journey and walk with God, that we can all learn and grow from. He is also a writer, editor, and speaker with Battle Ground Creative, his publishing company.

Enjoy this powerful conversation.

“God is making all things new—including our greatest fears and deepest pain.”

What would it take to get you to move you and your family to Iraq? What would compel you that much?

If you’re like most people, especially Americans, it would take a lot – a whole lot. But Jeremy Courtney did just that. What compelled him so strongly?

Love.

Jeremy is cofounder and executive director of the Preemptive Love Coalition, an international development organization based in Iraq that provides lifesaving heart surgeries to Iraqi children and training for local doctors and nurses, creating peace between communities at odds. Despite death threats, bombings, imprisonments, and intense living conditions, Jeremy and his team persevered to overcome years of hostilities and distrust in an effort to eradicate the backlog of thousands of Iraqi children waiting in line for much-needed heart surgery. Jeremy’s life is driven by a love for God and a desire to fulfill Jesus’ mission of healing and reconciliation in the world. He is also passionate about discovering ways that people can build meaningful bridges of understanding and reconciliation across cultures through music and storytelling. His story will inspire and challenge you to see the world differently, and to love preemptively.

http://www.jeremycourtney.com

http://www.preemptivelove.org/

https://www.facebook.com/preemptivelove

The Art of Love: Brian Peterson has always loved art. He was recognized for his gift throughout his life and into college, where he studies design. As his career as a car designer took off, he let his art drift to the back-burner of his life. He hadn’t really painted in years, but he met someone who changed that…someone who was homeless. So, Brian started painting again, and what has happened since is literally changing many people’s lives.

Brian is the creator of Faces of Santa Ana, a project in which he paints portraits of those in the homeless community in Santa Ana, California and sells the paintings to help support the rehabilitation of those people. Inspired to simply love and find a way to help, Brian has gathered the attention and support of many around the country. This conversation will inspire you to use your gifts to touch the world and make a difference.

facesofsantaana.com

https://www.facebook.com/Facesofsantaana/

Embracing Grace and Choosing Love: Amy Ford was a model teenager. She went to a Christian School and grew up knowing all the right things to do. Her world was flipped upside down when she became pregnant. A teenager with an unplanned pregnancy – she used to judge girls in this situation before; now it was her reality. Amy’s journey through that led her to choose love, defeat shame, and embrace grace. Today she is helping other women do the same.

Amy is one of the Co-Founders of Embrace Grace, a “Pro-Love” Organization whose mission is to help every girl, or woman, with an unintended pregnancy to have church community for spiritual, emotional and physical support.  Embrace Grace not only ministers to women who are facing the challenges that come along with unintended pregnancy, but is also actively teaching and encouraging the church to be the place that provides the care, and love, that each woman deserves. Her story and the story of Embrace Grace will teach you some valuable lessons about unconditional love, and truly supporting and helping those around us in need.

http://embracegrace.com

http://www.amyford.com

Her Book: A Bump in Life

Have you ever seen a miracle? Have you ever experienced one? You would be surprised how many people have…even doctors. (In fact, 74% of the US population thinks miracles can happen. 73% of doctors think they can.) But is that enough? There’s been a gap between the scientific and the miraculous, between the intellectual and the supernatural. To bridge that gap we need more than just inspiration and more than statistics of “thinking” miracles can happen. We need evidence.

So, Is there evidence of miracles? Evidence of healing? If so, where is it? Elijah Stephens is asking these questions…and finding answers. He’s finding real evidence, and sharing it with the world. How does someone get to that place in life? Elijah’s story is powerful, and the journey he’s on is impacting countless other lives, those here now, and generations to come. Listen to the podcast to hear his incredible story.

http://simplykingdom.com

https://twitter.com/elijahestephens

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/simplykingdom/miracle-evidence-documentary

Integrity by Henry Cloud