In today’s episode, we share a recent phone conversation I (Alan) had with Pete Scazzero. We focused especially on his most recent book, The Emotionally Healthy Leader. It came out when I was writing the first draft of my latest book, An Unhurried Leader. I purposely waited to start reading it because I had a sense that there would be many points of resonance. I wanted to give voice to what was on my heart before hearing what God had put on Pete’s heart.

I was right. I think...

Most of us know how to teach for information, but how do you lead a team or group for transformation? On this week’s podcast we will share with you our approach and our methods, drawing on our 25 years of experience. We are talking about Leading for Transformation.

Here are a few bullet points from our conversation:

• The importance of preparing who you are.
• Spiritual leadership as hospitality. Holding space for others.
• Making space for spiritual practices &...

In this podcast, I'll share a little personal story about my own daily engagement with scripture in my spiritual journey. I want to talk a bit about unhurried ways I’ve been seeking to come to the Bible in recent years.

Last Spring, about 15 months ago, I began engaging a chronological Bible reading plan. I hadn’t ever read through the Bible that way and thought it might be a life-giving practice for me.

Basically, what I did was listen to the chapters for a particular day while...

I’m sitting here in my room at the Prince of Peace Abbey in Oceanside, CA on a cool and beautiful Tuesday morning. Gem and I are here for our monthly solitude retreat. I’ve enjoyed hundreds of days like this over the last 27 years. It’s a life-giving rhythm that we both would say has saved our lives, saved our marriage, saved our ministry. And it’s a major element of our ministry to others these days with Unhurried Living.

I wanted to write a bit about this experience...

Since we are in between Season 1 and Season 2, Alan and I decided to provide you with a couple of mini-episodes. Today, I am going to walk you through a spiritual practice I’ve developed called, “SLOW.” It is an an acronym for STOP, LINGER, OBSERVE and WONDER.

SLOW is a practice you can engage, in just a couple of minutes at any point in your day. It’s a helpful process of re-focusing and re-engaging.

It’s very difficult to be truly productive when you feel...

“We need not have a position of influence to be a person of influence.”

Join Alan and Gem as they wrap up Season 1 with a conversation on Alan's book, An Unhurried Leader. A few highlights:

This isn’t a book just for people who are in organizational leadership roles. Leaders are influencers. God entrusts to each of us the privilege and responsibility to be persons of kingdom influence wherever he has planted us and in whatever relationships we find ourselves.

One chapter is...

Shrink wrap. That was the only thing between me and the latest smooth tones of Karen Carpenter. I’d peel the plastic, feel the cover and, with great anticipation, open the album jacket.

If I was lucky, it was a double cover and would open up like a book. Faded images of Karen and her brother, Richard, in the background, words spread from left to right, and I would read every single one.

I’d set the record onto the turntable, place the needle in the first groove, turn it up really...

Recently, Alan had the opportunity to speak in all three weekend services at The Church at Rocky Peak as a pre-release event for An Unhurried Leader. The talk was more conversation than sermon. You can get a front row seat for the interaction between Alan and Pastor Dave Cox on the topic of unhurried influence. This is probably the best summary yet of the substance of this book. We hope you’ll enjoy listening.

If you scroll down past the podcast player, you can...

Is it possible to have a busy life that is also unhurried? Can our life with God and our work with God become more and more connected and fruitful? Listen to this week’s conversation with Dr. Carol Taylor, president of Evangel University in Springfield, Missouri, as we talk about what she’s learned in years of leadership.

In our conversation with Carol we talked quite a bit about what a growing integration of our personal spiritual formation in Christ and our roles and...

Where do we find the abundant joy that Jesus promised to those who trust him? Do we work to acquire joy, or do we bring joy with us as we do our work? Listen to this week’s conversation with Jeff Spadafora of Halftime Institute as we discuss his new book “The Joy Model” to gain practical insights that will help you live a more joyful life.

Jeff Spadafora is the Director of Global Coaching Services and Product Development for The Halftime Institute. He spent 20 years as a...