We’ve seen the news stories and heard the rumors. Maybe we ourselves have been hurt by a narcissistic church leader. It’s easy to throw the term around and diagnose others from afar—but what is narcissism, really? And how does it infiltrate the church? 

Chuck DeGroat has been counseling pastors with narcissistic personality disorder, as well as those wounded by narcissistic leaders and systems, for over twenty years. He knows firsthand the devastation...

Alan loved getting the opportunity to talk with a fellow author about the challenge of hurry in our world today. Today, we're sharing his recent conversation with Jeff Bethke, author of To Hell With the Hustle. In today’s episode, you’ll gain insight into how we can reclaim our lives in an overwhelmed, overspent, and overconnected world. 

Jeff is the New York Times bestselling author of Jesus > Religion and It’s Not What You Think. He and his...

Many of us treat suffering like a problem to fix. Simply put, we’d rather not suffer at all, but if we do, we prefer it to be short. But what if our pain or suffering linger? What if it doesn’t go away quickly or at all?

We may wonder if God sees us or if we’ve somehow failed God. We may question God’s very nature. If God loves us, why does he allow us to hurt? Today, I’m talking with KJ Ramsey who has suffered with pain every day for the last 11 years....

The radical changes to our lives and our work continue as we stay home and distance ourselves to slow the spread of the coronavirus. We don’t know how this has impacted your emotions, but we’ve wrestled with anxious thoughts and feelings many times since our stay-at-home orders began in mid-March. 

On Sunday after Easter, Alan spoke for our online church service on the theme of peace. We needed it then, and we need it now. The good news of Jesus brings us peace in...

According to our guest, Josh Larsen, “Films and faith have been intertwined in my head since childhood. As a practicing film critic, I hope to encourage other Christians in a nuanced, aesthetically focused, and theologically rooted exploration of the art of cinema.”

Movies Are Prayers explores how modes of prayer—praise, confession, lament—are modeled by all types of films. In this fashion, Josh’s book illuminates the richness of both cinema and...

We are living in one of the most polarizing times in terms of the public conversation that I can remember in forty years of adult life. And we are being invited to be the people of God in this very world. What is Jesus inviting us to? What is on the heart of Jesus for his people in such a time as this. And how does Jesus’ prayer that we would be one as he and the Father are one provide guidance for us now? 

Alan recently enjoyed a conversation with Greg Holder about his...

 “A celebration of hope. An encounter with grace. A restoration of the heart. A healing of wounds. An anthem of freedom. All Along You Were Blooming is the ultimate love letter from the pen of popular Instagram poet Morgan Harper Nichols to your mind, to your heart, to your soul, and to your body.” 

This is a description of Morgan’s new book, All Along You Were Blooming. But it’s an even greater way to describe Morgan herself. A hopeful, gracious, restoring...

We know that you all have been inundated with information about COVID-19 this past week. Our intention in this brief podcast is to come alongside you as you process what is occurring in the world around you, in your community, your home, and especially within yourself.

We care about your mental, emotional and soul well-being and that’s where we will focus today. We hope that what we share can be added to what you are already learning and doing, and that our words will encourage you to...

Over the years, one of my great challenges as a leader has been the dynamic of anxiety: my own and the anxiety of those I serve. Too often in the past, anxiety has been an engine that drove my leadership activity.

So I’m glad to be able to share a recent conversation I had with Steve Cuss about his important book, Managing Leadership Anxiety: Yours and Theirs.

Reading from the back cover of Managing Leadership Anxiety, Steve Cuss asks a simple question: “Does...