Today we are visiting with Rick Miller, author of Be Chief: It's a Choice, Not a Title and discussing the difference between being in a POSITION of influence versus being a PERSON of influence.

We’re very aware that key leaders in organizational setting have titles that begin with the word “chief”—chief financial officer, chief operating officer, chief executive officer and such. Rick’s point is that “being chief” in this way is not mainly about...

Are you hungry to hear from God? Do you long for a closer, more conversational relationship with him? Today we are talking about how Jesus offers a personal invitation to listen to his voice and live in a remembered companionship of Christ.

God’s Spirit gives God’s people real, workable, useful knowledge—if they will listen. He desires to teach us how to live—really live—and to live well. God is speaking to us by his Spirit to give us counsel and insight...

A few weeks ago, I wrote a post about obedience. It’s one of those words that is definitely out of fashion these days. It sounds like nothing but bad news.

A while back, I was reading through the book of Joshua. It tells the story of a young Joshua taking over leadership of God’s people from Moses. He is leading them into a land God had promised to them through Abraham.

As the Joshua and Israel story nears its end and this promised land has become theirs, Joshua gives these...

Sometimes in the middle of ordinary circumstances we can find ourselves resistant (at odds) versus relaxed, with what is occurring, even when there is nothing to be at odds with.

This podcast is about prayer and presence. Not prayers. But prayer. Openness to God in any and every circumstance is prayer. Because, as we’ve said before, prayer is not something you do so much as it is someone you are with.

Presence is key in all of our interactions with others. Learning to catch yourself...

Reading the Bible isn’t just a “learn about God” activity. It is a “listen to God and respond” practice. When I hear that “the word of God is alive and active (Heb 4:12),” this is what I think about.

A while back, when I was still writing An Unhurried Leader, I wrote this prayer in response to a few verses in Psalm 51:

Create in me a pure heart, O God,
and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Do not cast me from your presence
or take your Holy Spirit from...

With God we can enjoy the grace of belong. One of the great hungers of the human heart is belonging. We want to be part of something. We want to be wanted by someone.

“Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.” (Mark 3:35)

The context of the passage is that Jesus is speaking to a crowd gathered in a
house somewhere in the neighborhood of Galilee. The passage just before it is
one in which the crowds who gathered were so large that often Jesus and his
...

In today’s episode, which continues where Alan left off the past two weeks, talking about how Jesus trained his inner circle, and how they came to know him better through time alone with him. He also talks a bit about the strategic importance of Jesus being alone with his Father daily in the week leading to his crucifixion.

Be sure you listen to parts 1 and 2 (episodes #52 and #53) for the full experience of this content as this is the third episode in a three-part series on Paving the...

In today’s episode, which continues where Alan left off last week, he begins to unpack a pattern in the gospel of Luke that a friend of his first pointed out to him. Every moment of ministry development or expansion in the life of Jesus is preceded by and grows out of a significant moment of His stepping back to be alone with His Father.

This is the second episode in a three-part series on Paving the Way for Ministry Expansion in which Alan unpacks Seven Key Moments in the Life of...

Recently, Gem and I led a training for a group of leaders. On the final morning, I talked Paving the Way for Ministry Expansion: Seven Key Moments in the Life of Jesus. Today I’m teaching on how prayer and leadership relate to each other and what this looks like in the life of Jesus.

We’ve often said that one of our favorite parts of the work of Unhurried Living is consulting, training, or leading retreats for Christian leaders. And in those trainings, we always seek to include...

Alan and I recently celebrated our 33^rdwedding anniversary. About three weeks ago, I wrote a beautiful tribute to our long time love and sent it out to our email community (it's also in this blog post). A week and a half later, we went on a celebratory trip that ended with us not speaking to each other on the plane all the way home. We’ll share the whole story with you today on the Unhurried Living Podcast!

Let’s begin by letting you know that in our very own Mission Statement we...