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Authenticity is everywhere right now, but most definitions feel thin the moment real relationships get hard. We sit down to start a new Praxis series and name a more grounded, Jesus-centered picture: authenticity is being real rather than counterfeit, becoming whole rather than divided, and closing the gap between your inner life and your outer life.

We talk through what authenticity is not, especially the idea that it means unfiltered self expression. Saying whatever you feel and calling it “my authentic self” can turn into a shield against growth and a licence to harm. Instead, we frame honesty as the starting point for spiritual formation, the kind of truth telling that invites transformation into Christlike love. Along the way we tease out the difference between authenticity, transparency, and vulnerability, including the practical wisdom of sharing the right information with the right person at the right time.

Then we ask the bigger question: does Jesus actually value authenticity, or is this just a modern self help trend. We look at Jesus’ honesty with the Father, his vulnerability in suffering and grief, and his direct confrontation of hypocrisy when people polish the outside while neglecting the heart. We also share how pressure and expectations can distort leaders and families, and how anchoring to values aligned with Jesus helps us stop outsourcing our discernment to other people’s reactions.

We close with concrete practices you can try this week: get fully honest with God, examine where you feel incongruent, and take one small courageous step that matches your convictions. If this helps, subscribe, share the episode with a friend, and leave a review so more people can find the podcast.

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Belonging is not the same thing as being allowed to attend. We talk about disability in the church all the time as a matter of access and inclusion, but what happens when someone is “welcomed” and still treated like a project, a problem to solve, or a person to hover over? That gap is where real discipleship gets tested, and it is where our conversation with Nilda Rivera begins.

Nilda is a minister and missions associate with Special Touch Ministry, and she also lives with spina bifida. She shares her story with honesty: growing up in foster care, navigating daily life with a wheelchair, and carrying real wounds from abuse. We slow down to talk about healing as a process, what a trustworthy church response can look like, and why minimizing someone’s pain can do lasting damage. Her journey also highlights God’s grace in surprising places, including mentors, pastors, and a community that made room for her voice.

From there we move into the heart of disability ministry and church culture: the difference between being ministered to and ministering with. We unpack why repeated “Are you sure you don’t need help?” can feel small but demeaning, how people with disabilities are often overlooked, and what it looks like to restore agency and mutuality. We also talk about worship, and how people with disabilities often model a freer, more embodied love for God that the rest of us need to learn.

If you want a clear next step, we offer one: become a friend. Listen, then share this with someone who serves in your church, and tell us what practice you want to try this week. Subscribe, leave a review, and pass the episode along to help more churches move from inclusion to true belonging.

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What if the measure of a healthy church isn’t polish, but belonging? We sit down with Emily Robillard, leader of disability ministry at Woodridge Church and longtime staff at Hammer Residences, to explore how communities can move past surface-level inclusion toward a culture where people with disabilities are seen, empowered, and invited to contribute.

Emily’s story starts with proximity: a childhood shaped by neighbors from a group home and parents who treated difference as ordinary. That early formation became a vocation she never planned, guiding her into residential care where coaching daily skills—budgeting, cooking, work readiness—replaces pity with possibility. She shares vivid snapshots of life in group homes, the staffing and rhythms that make growth possible, and why the same mindset can (and should) shape church life.

We then step into Tuesday nights, a weekly service alive with flags, shakers, spontaneous prayers, and zero shame. Seventy adults worship in their own ways without being hushed, and volunteers learn that belonging is discovered through contribution: an autistic fifth grader thrives as part of a safety team; a hockey-loving congregant is welcomed on the ice at a fundraiser. Along the way, we name barriers churches cite, such as time, space, or volunteers, and answer them with Scripture’s urgency (think Mark 2 and a roof turned into a doorway) and practical tools: buddies, sensory spaces, family collaboration, and training focused on individuals rather than labels.

This conversation blends pastoral warmth with missional clarity: people with disabilities represent a vast, often unreached community. When we trade performance for presence and programs for relationships, everyone changes. You’ll leave with concrete next steps—pray, notice who’s already near, read the Gospels through a disability lens—and a renewed vision for a church where joy is louder than perfection.

Mentioned in this episode

• Accessible Church by Sandra Peoples
• Jesus and Disability by Chris H. Hulshof
• Abilities Ministry https://abilityministry.com/

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What if inclusion is only the starting line—and belonging is the finish we’re called to run toward together? We sit down with a special guest, Emily Enockson, to explore how a life shaped by foster care, medical fragility, and a steadfast sister named Josie became a vocation at Zachariah’s Acres, a 175-acre sanctuary where people with disabilities don’t just attend events—they help design the experience. Through stories that are equal parts tender and funny, we unpack the daily practices that turn good intentions into genuine community.

Emily walks us through the quiet tug of calling—how it rarely arrives like a spotlight and more like a series of faithful steps. She shows how inclusion often keeps a hidden power gap in place, while belonging invites mutuality: not “we serve them,” but “we do life together.” From a volunteer who learns to embrace imperfection in the kitchen to students who grow and package produce for the farm store, we see dignity thrive when people are seen, named, and invited to shape the space. We talk eye contact, assumptions, processing time, and why speaking directly to the person (not only the parent) is a baseline act of respect toward those with special needs.

You’ll leave with four practices to try this week: be present, connect, keep showing up, and be courageous. Whether you’re a pastor, parent, volunteer, or someone unsure where to start, this conversation offers a pathway from awkwardness to authentic relationship. Along the way, we ground the journey in a simple theology of belonging: people are not projects; they are co-creators of community who reveal something of the Creator to us.

Ready to move beyond comfort and into connection? Listen now, share it with a friend, and tell us one step you’ll take this week. If the episode resonates, subscribe, leave a review, and help more people discover a vision of church where everyone belongs.

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What if “all are welcome” still leaves people standing alone? Statistically, chances are high that either you or someone close to you lives with a disability. Yet far too often, people with disabilities find themselves pushed to the margins. This special episode comes from The Leader's Journey Podcast, where Mac and Josie open up about parenting their son Griffin, who has Down syndrome and likely autism. His life has forced them to rethink ability, achievement, and what church is for.

They further explore how ableism shows up in ordinary moments: the rushed band tryout, the inaccessible bus plan, the Sunday greeting time where some are always left out. They talk candidly about the limits of inclusion, the harm of disability blindness, and why pity and programs can’t create the mutuality needed. Instead, they point to Jesus’ pattern of noticing, honoring dignity, and disrupting the crowd’s anxious order—and what that means for pastors, volunteers, and anyone who wants their community to reflect the kingdom.

If you’re a tired leader wondering how to start, take a breath. You don’t need another ministry to manage. You need a fresh lens and an asset-based posture that surfaces the gifts already in your congregation, especially from people with lived experience. Practical ways to guide attention, reduce anxiety, and build real friendships are shared. Along Mac and Josie's journey, Griffin has taught them that persistence opens doors, belonging transforms rooms, and joy can be loud, off-beat, and exactly what the body needs.

If this conversation resonates, follow the show, share it with a friend, leave a review, and be sure to check out The Leader's Journey Podcast for more great content.

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What if the only true measure of spiritual maturity is love—and not the easy versions? We bring our series on mental models for missional discipleship to a close by naming love as the plumb line that aligns everything: discipleship, mission, leadership, and daily life. Not the Hallmark fuzzies, not constant affirmation, not Midwest nice. We look to Jesus who had grace and truth in full measure, self-giving at the cross as the standard that straightens what our culture and our churches often bend.

Together we build a thicker vision of “God is love.” Love isn’t one attribute balanced against holiness, justice, or power; it’s the very nature through which God expresses all of them. That reframe changes how we read the Bible, how we think about divine power at Christmas, and how we set goals for our churches. From hospitals and universities to abolition and peacemaking, we celebrate the quiet, steady legacy of cruciform love. Then we tell the truth about our failures: empire-chasing politics, us-versus-them religion, judgmentalism, and scandals that misuse God’s name and wound the vulnerable.

Finally, we get practical. We share simple practices to receive before we try to give, because loved people love people. Try a daily examen of love to notice where God met you and where love flowed through you. Then, each morning, choose one person to intentionally love with words and actions calibrated by grace and truth. Over time, these small, steady moves align our lives to the straight edge of Jesus-shaped love and deepen our witness in a world hungry for the real thing.

If this conversation challenged or encouraged you, follow the show, share it with a friend, and leave a review so others can find it. What’s one way you’ll measure your day by love this week?

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What if the kingdom of God isn’t an exit plan but a present reality that disrupts our politics and reorders our lives? We open with a bold claim: God’s kingdom looks like Jesus’ ministry. That means good news to the poor, freedom for the oppressed, healing for the sick, and a reconciling community that previews the world to come. We unpack the “already and not yet,” grounding it in Luke 4, Luke 17, the Lord’s Prayer, and the sweeping arc of Scripture that refuses to pick between personal transformation and systemic change.

From there, we wade into contested terrain. We challenge the left’s impulse to pursue kingdom values without the King, outsourcing shalom to institutions while neglecting discipleship and abiding. We also confront the right’s habit of rejecting biblical terms—justice, peacemaking, reconciliation, creation care—because they sound “woke,” forgetting these are ancient, central commands. Policy is complex, and outcomes matter, but abandoning Scripture’s core is not an option. We show how overhearing and underhearing distort what’s said, and how to listen beyond soundbites with humility and courage.

The conversation lands with practices that move us from votes to vocation. Examine your loyalties and ask where party identity is discipling you more than Jesus. Act locally: engage foster care, food insecurity, mentoring, and community partnerships with a long obedience and real relationships. Rehumanize the “other side” by buying a meal and only asking questions. The kingdom advances through Spirit-filled people who embody justice and mercy right where they live, becoming a living preview of heaven meeting earth.

If this resonates, subscribe, leave a review, and share it with a friend who’s ready to trade outrage for presence. Then tell us: what one practice will you start this week?

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Holiday season or pressure cooker? Between the nonstop events, gift budgets, and Hallmark-level expectations, December can intensify everything—joy and grief, laughter and loneliness, unity and old wounds. We get candid about why family dynamics spike this time of year and map out a practical way to move through it with grace and truth.

We start by naming the hidden currents: idealized scripts that make real life feel lacking, grief that returns on anniversaries, and the logistics of blended schedules that stress even strong relationships. Then we dig into family systems—the unwritten rules, predictable roles, and the “togetherness force” that pressures us to go along to get along. When beliefs diverge, a comment about politics or health can secretly ask, “Are you still one of us?” Instead of cutting off or complying, we offer a better path: emotional maturity as being defined and connected at the same time.

You’ll hear clear, usable tools: how to set boundaries that serve relationship (not as excuses to disappear), how to listen deeply when your blood pressure spikes, and how to shift from fixing others to researching your own reactions. We look to Jesus as our model for calm clarity under pressure—from the temple at twelve to his composed presence before Pilate—showing that differentiation doesn’t require defensiveness.

Walk away with a simple holiday plan: decide your values in advance, notice your body’s triggers, choose healthier modes of communication, and prepare one-to-one questions to build real connection with each person. Assume everyone else will be who they’ve always been; focus on the one variable you can control—how you show up. If you can grow your maturity even a notch, you’ll feel it not only around the table but in your marriage, parenting, friendships, and work.

If this conversation helps, share it with a friend, subscribe for future episodes, and leave a quick review so more people can find the show. What’s one boundary you’ll set to protect connection this year?

Links

Navigating Grief During the Holidays - Praxis Episode

How to Slow Down When Life Speeds Up - Blog Post