"A Not So Ordinary Man," features host Dennis exploring the profound relationship between focus, faith, and personal growth. Throughout the program, Dennis shares his own experiences and challenges the traditional medical definition of ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder), suggesting that it is less about a "deficit" of attention and more about an overwhelming ability to receive and process information from numerous sources simultaneously.

• Reframing Focus: Dennis uses his own struggle with distractions to illustrate how what is often perceived as a deficit is actually a challenge in filtering the flood of incoming information. He shares personal anecdotes—including working in his backyard—to provide a living classroom for his insights on focus.

• The Spiritual Garden: Using the plants in his backyard as metaphors, Dennis reflects on the legacy and growth of faith. He discusses:

  • Transplanting Life: He shares stories about plants moved from his mother's home, illustrating how life—and by extension, faith—can be carried forward, nurtured, and spread.

  • The Master Pruner: He reflects on the necessity of "pruning" in life. Just as his fig tree and rose bush require cutting back to thrive, he suggests that spiritual and personal growth often require painful but necessary removals to foster new, healthier life.

• Original Music & Message: The program features three original songs that weave these themes together:

  • "Are You Distracted?": A narrative song about a student named "Little Jimmy" that questions whether modern distractions and chemical solutions are stealing a generation's identity and connection to the Creator.

  • "The Kingdom Surge": A high-energy anthem celebrating spiritual victory and the "nobodys" who find their voice in faith.

  • "Who You Are": A soulful reminder of individual worth, framing the listener as the "salt of the earth" and "light of the world."

• Final Teaching: Dennis concludes with a teaching from Luke 3, urging viewers to move away from the world's "static" and toward a "frequency of unity." He emphasizes that as members of the body of Christ, believers are called to walk in the same anointing as Jesus, moving from weakness to power, strength, and victory.

Key Themes and Segments

Bridget Bidnger and Dr. Maryam Mohammadkhani Share on Current Issues IN School Board Elections With ‘Changing Times' Host Mary Byrne & Lynn Morris.In this episode of Changing Times, hosts Lynn Morris and Dr. Mary Byrne sit down with Bridget Binger of the Nixa School Board and Dr. Miriam Mahmoodkhani of the Springfield Public School Board to discuss local control, educational technology, and the critical importance of school board elections.Motivations for Running & The Tech OverloadSounding the Alarm: Dr. Mahmoodkhani explains her journey into local politics, which started years ago when she noticed the negative behavioral impacts of personal gaming devices and screen time on children.The "Digital Dark Age": The panel shares deep concerns about the current over-reliance on educational technology. They argue that replacing traditional learning methods—like reading physical books front-to-back and writing in cursive—with tablets and screens deprives children of crucial sensory and motor development.Anti-Human vs. Anti-Tech: The guests clarify they are not anti-technology, but rather "pro-child," expressing worry over an educational shift that prioritizes interfacing with devices over human-centered instruction.The True Purpose of Public EducationLoss of Civic Focus: Dr. Byrne and the guests argue that the original, constitutional intent of public schooling was to build a literate populace capable of self-governance and preserving the republic.Beyond Workforce Development: They express concern that the modern educational system is overly focused on producing a compliant workforce for corporations, rather than cultivating informed, capable citizens who understand history and their constitutional rights.Election Reform and Senate Bill 10002Moving Election Dates: A major segment of the show focuses on a bill sponsored by Senator Adam Schnelting, which moves local school board elections in his district (affecting St. Charles County) from the off-cycle April ballot to the on-cycle November ballot.Increasing Voter Turnout: Because April elections historically suffer from very low turnout (often 8-12%), the panel strongly advocates for moving all local school board elections to November. They believe aligning these votes with presidential and mid-term elections will double or triple community participation.Optional Party Identity: The bill also includes a provision allowing candidates to list their political party preference on the ballot, providing voters with clearer information.A Call to the Broader CommunityEveryone's Responsibility: The panel stresses that the health of a local school district directly impacts the safety, economy, and future of the entire community.Engagement is Key: They urge all citizens—including grandparents and those without children currently in the system—to actively participate in school board elections, noting that the future of the country depends on the education of its youth.

Core Mission & Staggering StatisticsFosterAdopt Connect is one of the largest non-profit organizations in the Missouri and Kansas region working to address the growing foster care crisis. The organization connects foster children with stable environments, parents, grandparents, and kinship placements.The guests highlight the immense scale of the issue:Greene County, MO: The number of children in state care has recently risen to 800.State of Missouri: At any given time, there are between 12,000 and 14,000 children in the foster care system.Key Triggers: Children typically enter the system due to physical or sexual abuse, neglect, poverty, mental health struggles, substance abuse, family trauma, or unexpected parental deaths.Key Programs & Support ServicesFosterAdopt Connect runs nine core programs, all provided completely free of charge to families:Sammy’s Window: A highly tangible clothing and food pantry styled like a real retail store. Foster and kinship families can "shop" monthly for new or gently used clothes, diapers, socks, underwear, hygiene products, and food to help alleviate costs, as Missouri has some of the lowest foster care reimbursements in the country.30 Days to Family & Extreme Family Finding (EFF): Active investigative teams that build family trees and use public software to trace, locate, and contact extended family members, former coaches, or pastors to build a sudden support network or lifetime placement for children.Community Connections Youth Thrive (CCYT): A program helping young adults (ages 17–26) who are aging out of foster care. Staffed by individuals with lived foster experience, it teaches "adulting" skills like budgeting, college applications, job hunting, and driving.Youth Connect Center: A low-barrier, safe center in downtown Springfield for youth experiencing housing instability. It provides a space to play pool/video games, do laundry, and eat a hot meal.Behavioral Interventionist (BI) Program: Skilled, trained field staff who go directly into homes to handle extreme behavioral crises stemming from trauma, helping prevent recursive hospitalizations or residential disruptions.Kinship Navigator: Helps relatives (like grandparents) understand the complex child welfare legal system, court hearings, and administrative terminology.Inspiring Success StoriesThe guests share powerful breakthroughs made possible by their unique investigative methods:Keeping Sibling Groups Intact: Through the 30 Days to Family program, the team successfully located a local relative who had never met them to take in a massive sibling group of 10 children at once, ensuring they weren't separated.An Exceptional Re-Adoption: The EFF team worked with an 8-year-old boy who had suffered through 15 placement moves. They tracked down his biological mother, who had her rights terminated years prior but was now four years sober and remarried. Utilizing pro-bono legal help and internal grants, they successfully re-established her rights and reunited the family.Call to Action & Community InvolvementThe episode concludes with a plea for the community to get involved, reminding viewers that "our kids today don't look like our leaders today, but they will become our leaders."How to Help: You do not have to become a full foster parent to support the cause. The community can drop off clothing or drive donations (hygiene items, diapers, brand-new socks, and underwear), volunteer time, or support localized fundraising events like their upcoming fall gala.Where to Connect: For more details or to find a branch near you, visit their website at FosterAdopt Connect. (Note: The program spans 15 branches across Missouri and is expanding into Kansas).