Part 2 in this series.

Ruth Haley Barton (Doctor of Divinity, Northern Seminary) is founding president/CEO of the Transforming Center, a ministry dedicated to strengthening the souls of pastors and Christian leaders, and the congregations and organizations they serve. For over twenty years, she has ministered to the soul care needs of pastors and leaders based upon her conviction that the best thing we bring to leadership is our own transforming selves.

Ruth is the author of numerous books and resources on the spiritual life, including Invitation to Solitude and Silence, Sacred Rhythms, Longing for More, Pursuing God's Will Together, and Life Together in Christ. She continues to share her thoughts and perspectives on soulful leadership through an online resource called eReflections as well as a podcast entitled Strengthening the Soul of Your Leadership.

Ruth’s newest book, Embracing Rhythms of Work and Rest, will focus on rest and the need for leaders to take a Sabbath. 

If you are interested in learning more about Ruth's work with the Transforming Center please visit their website. You are invited to join their next Transforming Community:® A Two-year Spiritual Formation Experience for Leaders. 

On this brief episode, Steve lights a candle (water mint and eucalyptus), asks some questions that God asks and gives info about the Calm, Aware, Present Journal that is live on kickstarter for May 2022. 

If you've not had a chance to order a journal, would you do so now?

Would you also consider posting about it on your socials and sharing the link with anyone who might benefit?

Kickstarter is here.

Thanks! Back next week with Part 2 of Steve's chat with Ruth Haley Barton. 

Ruth Haley Barton (Doctor of Divinity, Northern Seminary) is founding president/CEO of the Transforming Center, a ministry dedicated to strengthening the souls of pastors and Christian leaders, and the congregations and organizations they serve. For over twenty years, she has ministered to the soul care needs of pastors and leaders based upon her conviction that the best thing we bring to leadership is our own transforming selves.

Ruth is the author of numerous books and resources on the spiritual life, including Invitation to Solitude and Silence, Sacred Rhythms, Longing for More, Pursuing God's Will Together, and Life Together in Christ. She continues to share her thoughts and perspectives on soulful leadership through an online resource called eReflections as well as a podcast entitled Strengthening the Soul of Your Leadership.

Ruth’s newest book, Embracing Rhythms of Work and Rest, will focus on rest and the need for leaders to take a Sabbath. 

If you are interested in learning more about Ruth's work with the Transforming Center please visit their website. You are invited to join their next Transforming Community:® A Two-year Spiritual Formation Experience for Leaders. 

Gina Cherion emailed me recently asking about Systems Theory in non white spaces, specifically how differentiation works in Asian culture. Gina is a pastor of Indian descent and when I received her email I knew I wanted to interview her and Marvin Williams who I have gotten to know through my Systems work and through Capable Life. Marvin is doing doctoral work at Fuller Seminary on Systems Theory, specifically on black presence in majority culture. I LOVED this conversation with these two pastors who led us on a great journey of managing expectations, carrying the weight of culture, shape shifting and more.

Gina Cherian has served the church in various roles, including serving as a campus pastor of a large multisite church and her current role as a pastor at Hope Community Church on the North Shore of Chicago. Gina longs to see every person discover the life-changing grace of Christ that has transformed her life. As an Indian-American woman, she is passionate about advancing the beautiful multiethnic community described in Revelation to our reality today. Gina is a devoted fan of all things related to her hometown of Chicago: sports, food, and even the weather. She resides in the Chicagoland area with her husband and two kids.

Marvin Williams has served as  the Lead Pastor of Trinity Church in Lansing, Michigan since February 2010. He is a graduate of Bishop College in Dallas, Texas, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, Illinois, and Grand Rapids Theological Seminary in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He and his wife Tonia have three children. 

In addition to his ministry at Trinity Church, he was a regular devotional author for Our Daily Bread and Our Daily Journey and was one of the Bible Teachers for Sports.org. He is also a contributor to Scott Williams’ best-selling book, Church Diversity. He regularly speaks at conferences, retreats, chapels and churches around the country.

Glenn Packiam is quite simply one of my favorite pastors and thinkers. Being an academic and a musician, a charismatic and an Anglican, as well as an immigrant gives Glenn a deep well of wisdom. Glenn is also one of the finest communicators I know. Profound, succinct, shepherding. 

That is probably why I keep hosting Glenn on this show. I just want to learn more and more from this gem of a human. 

Glenn’s latest book is the Resilient Pastor and he is also host of the podcast of the same name.

Dr. Steve Brown develops Jesus-centered leaders as president of Arrow Leadership, a ministry focused on developing leaders who are led more by Jesus, lead more like Jesus and lead more to Jesus. Over the last two decades Steve has spent thousands of hours alongside hundreds of Christian leaders from around the world.

Steve is the author of Jesus Centered - Focusing on Jesus in a Distracted World (2021), Leading Me - 8 Keys To A Christian Leader's Most Important Assignment (2015), Great Questions for Leading Well and free e-resources at www.sharpeningleaders.com

Connect with Steve at www.steveabrown.com or learn more about Arrow Leadership at www.arrowleadership.org

Steve talks with Mark Sayers about Systems Theory, leading with Bipolar and his upcoming book ‘Non Anxious Presence.’ 

Mark is the senior leader of Red Church in Melbourne, Australia. He is passionate about spiritual renewal and the future of the church. Mark is the author of a number of books including Strange Days and Reappearing Church.  Mark lives in Melbourne with his wife, Trudi, his daughter, Grace, and twin boys, Hudson and Billy.

This week Steve’s wife Lisa joins the show to tackle listener questions. Lisa Cuss is Licensed Professional Therapist who offers physiology, neurobiology and attachment tools for anxiety management. 

Our listeners sent 4 pages of questions this week so we will tackle many of them throughout the year, but we spent most of our time on physiology tools and the brain’s response to various threats. Then we addressed some listener questions in rapid fire responses. 

You can connect with Lisa at www.capablelife.me inside our community. 

We referenced Lisa Dion and the wonderful Synergistic Play Therapy Institute. You can explore their podcast here (LINK: https://synergeticplaytherapy.com/episode-14-lessons-playroom-podcast-four-threats-brain%E2%80%8B/)

And we also referenced Ben and Lynley Mandrell’s wonderful podcast ‘The Glass House’ where Steve was a recent guest. (LINK HERE: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-glass-house/id1584356771)

Angie Ward is a leadership teacher and author with over 30 years of experience in church, parachurch, and Christian higher education ministry. She is the editor of the Kingdom Conversations series for NavPress, author of I Am a Leader: When Women Discover the Joy of their Calling (2020, NavPress), and serves as Assistant Director of the Doctor of Ministry program at Denver Seminary.

Howard and Holly Satterthwaite have recently written a book Spiritual Detox, which invites you to rethink the way you see confession and discover greater joy through this spiritual discipline. They have been married for eleven years and have two children. Howard is the lead pastor of the world-famous and historic www.westminsterchapel.org.uk in London. Before that he worked as a barrister as well as engaging in human rights work in Kenya and the USA. Holly, having been a learning and development adviser in an international law firm in the city of London, is now a qualified career coach, www.thehopecoach.uk. She is also involved in the wider leadership of Westminster Chapel.