“These people in the first century had the same issues, the same struggles, the same questions, the same concerns that we do now. And if you can identify with those struggles and concerns then ideally, you’ll identify with the solution.” If you don’t know about the television series The Chosen, you need to know about it! Dallas Jenkins is the creator, director, and co-writer of The Chosen, and I’ve been excited to talk with him for a long time! Dallas comes from a creative background and his dad...
Nov 17, 2021•25 min
“It’s okay to name your desire to the Lord, and it’s okay to speak your disappointment to Him.” Mitchel Lee is a Maryland native and has served as Lead Pastor since August 2016. His passion is to be a bridge-builder between generations and ethnicities both in the US and internationally through leadership development and church-planting. Mitchel’s first book, Even If, was released in August of this year! This conversation cuts deep. We talk through a lot of “Even if” scenarios and how important i...
Nov 12, 2021•49 min
“If you don’t believe that you’re known, seen, loved, if you feel like God doesn’t see you, you’re gonna look to be seen by others.” That one line can pretty much wrap up this whole interview. MŌRIAH is a Latinx recording artist, actress and academic born and raised in Los Angeles, CA. At age 17, she left a pre-law program in California to free fall into pursuing music in Nashville. Since then, she has released several albums and has become a champion for seeing diversity in the industry and mak...
Nov 10, 2021•38 min
“Jesus gave up being adored by the crowds for the sake of something better and truer. And that ‘better and truer’ was to love you and to love the people around you more faithfully than the crowds could ever allow Him to.” That was just one of the many times Jesse Eubanks’ words helped me see a deeper version of Christ, and I have a feeling you’ll love this conversation as much as I did. Jesse Eubanks launched Love Thy Neighborhood in January 2014 and amongst all the things they do, I love that t...
Nov 05, 2021•33 min
“Productivity is not about doing more, it’s doing what is most important.” Let me tell you right now - this conversation with Tanya Dalton shook me to my CORE. What I love about this episode is that Tanya talks about something so many of us experience - wanting to dive into our purpose but not knowing what that is. I think so many of us go through life without taking a moment to think about the things that naturally fulfill us and how the strengths God gave us can lead us into a deeper purpose. ...
Nov 03, 2021•41 min
“We’re the already-reached, but not reaching for our Bibles.” What powerful and convicting words. I always love chatting with the ladies at She Reads Truth and hearing about what they’re doing to develop a community of women who are committed to reading their Bibles together every day. Raechel Myers joined me on this episode and breaks down elements of the church calendar, such as Lent and Advent! SRT has so many incredible resources to dive into the Word and take time to remember and worship. W...
Oct 29, 2021•42 min
*TRIGGER WARNING: This episode mentions sexual abuse, assault, and suicide. Please listen with caution. “The walk has not been easy, but there’s nowhere else I’d rather be. With everything that comes with the walk, this is where I want to be.” No matter what we’ve been through, our walk with Christ is never easy - and Rosie Rivera’s story is a clear example of that. Rosie Rivera is a speaker and preacher, mom of 3 and married to a worship leader. Her newest book God Is Your Defender shares her b...
Oct 27, 2021•29 min
“Confession is not a ‘guilt’ confession. It’s an ‘aligning with God’ confession. I want to get in line with what is true so I am confessing that this has been untrue, and now I want to believe truly from this core place.” Heather MacFadyen wrote online before Facebook existed. After years of blog entries, in 2013 she launched a trailblazing podcast called God Centered Mom. In 2018, the show rebranded to the Don’t Mom Alone podcast, and she has a book out NOW of the same name! What I love about H...
Oct 22, 2021•36 min
“The goal is not to have a perfect teenager...our goal was that they’d love Jesus and love their neighbor.” This was the interview I needed. Dave and Ann Wilson, founders of a multi-campus church and family coaches, talk all about parenting and launching kids into their identity. Their newest book No Perfect Parents shares easy-to-apply principles that can help foster strong parent-child relationships through adulthood. I always say that being a parent will go down as my hardest job ever, and it...
Oct 20, 2021•44 min
“These deep cries of our heart, these places of pain, anguish, hurt, anger. The place to bring that, first and foremost, is to God in prayer.” Jamin Goggin serves as a pastor at Mission Hills Church in San Marcos, California. Back in 2017, Jamin released the book "The Way of the Dragon or the Way of the Lamb" with his co-author Kyle Strobel. When they first released the book, it was after a journey of realizing that maybe their whole approach to ministry was actually at odds with the heart of Go...
Oct 15, 2021•51 min
“Jesus came as a teacher to give us new mental maps to reality so that we can follow Him, live under His teaching, and show up to reality in such a way that we flourish and we thrive and we have eternal life.” What a beautiful reminder from today’s guest, John Mark Comer. John Mark Comer is the founding pastor of Bridgetown Church in Portland, Oregon, and the bestselling author of The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry and recently released Live No Lies: Recognize and Resist the Three Enemies that Sa...
Oct 13, 2021•53 min
Today's episode is a special sneak-peek into the podcast that I co-host with Aaron, On The Other Side! We were so blown away by this conversation that I decided to share it with my happy hour listeners! 30 years ago, Amy Grant released her iconic album Heart In Motion, which launched her career into new heights. Her music is a huge reason for the rise of the contemporary Christian genre and became the first artist in Christian music to have a platinum record. This is Amy’s story of being on the ...
Oct 08, 2021•35 min
My very first kids’ book is officially out in the world! God Made You To Be You released yesterday and I am so proud of this work. People have asked what inspired me to write a children’s book and it was actually the book I released last October, You Be You! Chapter 8 of You Be You is all about blooming where you’re planted, and that chapter sparked an idea for sharing this message with children. I want the kids in your life to know that God made them with a purpose to fulfill, and it’s importan...
Oct 06, 2021•36 min
“No healing takes place without side effects.” A true and powerful statement from today’s guest, Dr. Curt Thompson. Curt is a professional psychiatrist with who I became friends recently after joining his confessional community. I was so blown away by his community and the work he’s doing to help people tell their stories more truly. Whether it’s overcoming shame, childhood wounds, or the stories we’ve told ourselves, Curt’s passion is to remind you that you are never completely alone. I had to ...
Oct 01, 2021•46 min
My guest for The Happy Hour #429 is Skye Jethani. Skye Jethani is the host of The Holy Post podcast and an author of several incredible books, including What If Jesus Was Serious? In today’s show, Skye dives into how crucial discipleship is in the church and why homogenous communities cause us to miss out on the ways God can change us through other people. So many things we consume form our views, and it causes us to look for excuses to dismiss the teachings of Christ. I really appreciated when ...
Sep 29, 2021•37 min
Jackie Hill Perry is back for The Happy Hour #428! In today’s show, Jackie and I chat all about the holiness of God, what it means, and why it’s important to understand. I love how Jackie reminds us that understanding God’s holiness changes the way we see Him. She says, “If God can’t sin against me, that means that all of His dealings towards me are good. All of His words towards me are wise and perfect.” Seeing Him as holy truly reminds us that He is a good, good God. For full summary and links...
Sep 24, 2021•40 min
My guest for The Happy Hour #427 is Clarissa Moll. Clarissa Moll is an award-winning writer who helps grieving people find flourishing after loss. She co-hosts Christianity Today's "Surprised by Grief" podcast and hosts hope*writers' "The Writerly Life" podcast where she encourages writers to craft their own joyful new stories. Clarissa dove into how her life pivoted after her husband’s sudden death, and her journey through grief. She shares that grief is a companion that shows up unwelcomed but...
Sep 22, 2021•38 min
My guest for The Happy Hour #426 is Dustin Nickerson! Dustin Nickerson is a stand-up comedian and SUCH a delight to have on the show - I needed a good laugh! He has a comedy special that’s now available on YouTube and I HIGHLY recommend it. In this episode, Dustin talks about his past in ministry and how he picked up stand-up on a whim! He spent years traveling to cities for shows, sleeping at airports, but always made it back home in time for work on Monday mornings. Laughter is such an importa...
Sep 17, 2021•36 min
My guest for The Happy Hour #425 is Mike Todd, pastor of Transformation Church! His newest book Crazy Faith comes out next week and is loaded with truth and encouragement. Mike joined me on the podcast last year and it was such a blast, I just had to have him back! We caught up on the importance of sabbatical, and welcoming his new daughter into the world! Mike also dives deep into the concept of crazy faith, what it looks like and why we do it. Crazy faith feels scary because sometimes we think...
Sep 15, 2021•39 min
My guest for The Happy Hour #424 is Max Lucado. Max Lucado is a San Antonio-based pastor and best-selling author with more than 145 million products in print. His latest book is You Were Made for This Moment: Courage for Today and Hope for Tomorrow, which comes out next week! In today’s show, Max dives into what it really looks like to stand up for our faith and how we sometimes use that as a reason to be hostile to others. We see it a lot online and in conversations with the heaviness of the wo...
Sep 10, 2021•35 min
My guest for The Happy Hour #423 is Mike Cosper. Mike Cosper is the Director of Podcasts at Christianity Today and the creator and host of The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill. In this episode, Mike breaks down the premise of the podcast and what the overall goal is for sharing the story of Mars Hill. We talk about church wounds and why our culture continues to platform people whose charisma outweighs their character. We also talk about some of the backlash Mike has received by sharing this story, and...
Sep 08, 2021•38 min
My guest for The Happy Hour #422 is Jeannie Cunnion. Jeannie Cunnion is a Jesus lover and a grace clinger. She is the author of Don’t Miss Out and Mom Set Free. In today’s episode, Jeannie dives into her newest book, which is a whole book about The Holy Spirit: who He is, what He does, and why it matters so much. It’s beautiful to know that The Holy Spirit is always working in our lives, even when we don’t know He’s working. I love when she says “The same Holy Spirit who empowered Jesus is the s...
Sep 03, 2021•38 min
My guest for The Happy Hour #421 is my dear friend, Lisa Whittle. Lisa Whittle is an author, speaker and ministry leader. She has written several books and bible studies, including her newest book The Hard Good, which releases next week! Lisa dives into grief and loss, and the reality that life is hard and good. The thing about “hard” is that it doesn’t care if it’s an inconvenient time or if you’ve invested so much into something - it just comes because it’s a part of life. But we also have to ...
Sep 01, 2021•54 min
My guest for The Happy Hour #420 is Rasool Berry. Rasool Berry serves as teaching pastor at The Bridge Church in Brooklyn, New York. He also is the Director of Partnerships & Content Development with Our Daily Bread Ministries. We dove into the intersection of faith and culture, and how important it is for the Church to celebrate the diversity of cultures within the body of Christ. The reality is that it’s hard work to remove ourselves from the bubble of our own culture, traditions and pract...
Aug 27, 2021•39 min
The Happy Hour #419 is a special episode in partnership with Love Thy Neighborhood! I had the opportunity to guest host, and we talk about where the Gospel meets human trafficking. Christians say we should care for the vulnerable, but what happens when the vulnerable are being exploited in our own communities? The story of a Christian boys choir that wasn’t what it seemed and how one seminary student is fighting back. This episode features Nita Belles, Rebecca Bender and Raleigh Sadler. Connect ...
Aug 25, 2021•54 min
My guest for The Happy Hour #418 is Rachel Jones. Rachel Jones is the author of A Brief Theology of Periods (Yes, Really), and Is This It? In this episode, Rachel talks about what scripture says about women’s periods and how we’ve been culturally raised to be secretive about it. Rachel also dives into the topic of another book she wrote called Is This It? which talks about the infamous quarter-life crisis and feeling like “is this really all there is?” It’s easy for us to be unhappy or dissatisf...
Aug 20, 2021•35 min
My guest for The Happy Hour #417 is Kaitlyn Schiess. Kaitlyn Schiess is the author of The Liturgy of Politics: Spiritual Formation for the Sake of Our Neighbor, and her writing has appeared at Christianity Today, The New York Times, RELEVANT, and more! In this episode, Kaitlyn shares about the ways that theology affects the solutions we pursue on political topics and problems, and the reality that Christians have always had Bible verses to back up bad theology. I love when she speaks directly to...
Aug 18, 2021•45 min
My guest for The Happy Hour 416 is Lolo Jones. Lolo Jones is an Olympic athlete in Bobsledding and Track & Field. She is currently training for the 2022 Winter Olympics which will take place in Beijing! Lolo also recently released a book called Over It which is loaded with encouragement, overcoming failure and pursuing thankfulness. In today’s episode, Lolo shares about her childhood that led to her Olympic journey - from running personal bests in 2008 Beijing to losing the gold medal after ...
Aug 13, 2021•40 min
My guest for The Happy Hour #415 is Hosanna Wong. Hosanna Wong is an international speaker, author, and spoken word artist sharing captivating stories of a powerful God with churches, conferences, prisons, & other events around the world. Her latest book How (Not) to Save the World releases next week, 8/17! In this episode, Hosanna shares about her father who was a heroin addict and pimp, and the radical way that God transformed his life. She also talks about how her book How Not To Save The...
Aug 11, 2021•38 min
My guest for The Happy Hour #414 is Kelli Masters. Kelli Masters is an attorney and sports agent. She has represented athletes in every NFL Draft since 2005! Kelli was named by Bleacher Report as one of the 25 Most Influential Women in Sports Business, and her first book, High Impact Life, just released! In this episode, she shares how Christ became real to her, winning the Miss Oklahoma Pageant to pay off law school (respect!), and pouring everything she had into becoming a certified NFL agent....
Aug 06, 2021•53 min
