In this episode, Nathan King, Mandi Wellington and Laura Arnold discuss an emotion that shows up in all of our lives, and that most of us have a complicated relationship with. Together they explore why anger works like a check engine light, not a green light to act out, but an invitation to look underneath and discover what the heart is really saying.

Laura opens up about the wake-up moment when her young son looked at her over breakfast and asked, "Why don't you smile much, Mom?" and what it cost her to realize her anger had been running her life without her noticing. Mandi shares what happened when she went to trusted church leaders looking for help naming a deep wrong and was met with "you just need to forgive" instead of space to feel what she was feeling. And together they unpack what actually changes when we stop silencing our anger and start letting it point us somewhere real.

In this episode, you'll discover:

• Anger as a Check Engine Light: Why the goal isn't to extinguish anger but to read what it's signaling underneath.
• The Hidden Cost of Silencing Anger: How suppressing anger also disappears the desires and feelings it was pointing to, and why that can quietly turn into numbness, depression, or pride.
• When "Just Forgive" Isn't the Answer: What happens when Christian communities short-circuit the conversation.
• Mom Anger and the Moment That Broke the Cycle: Laura's honest account of how becoming a parent exposed an anger she didn't know was there, and what it took to interrupt the pattern.
• The Safety of Community: Why a trusted friend can sometimes hold anger on your behalf better than you can hold it yourself.

About the Conversation

Mandi Wellington is the Operations Manager at Wellspring Group. Laura Arnold is the Director of Research and Development at Wellspring Group. Nathan King is a longtime volunteer and facilitator with Wellspring.

Resources Mentioned:

• The Voice of the Heart by Chip Dodd — the book Nathan quotes at the start, which describes anger as "possibly the most important feeling we experience as emotional and spiritual beings... the first step to authentic living."
• Wellspring Group: wellspringgroup.org
• Becoming Wholehearted by Larry Bolden and Anisa Sumlar: becomingwholehearted.org
• The Wholehearted Way Podcast: thewholeheartedway.transistor.fm

In this episode of The Wholehearted Way, host Nathan King and co-host Mandi Wellington sit down with Pastor Bobbi Lassiter, Associate Pastor at Covenant Methodist Church, to explore the life-changing shift from performance to presence.

Bobbi shares her powerful personal journey of confronting the "secret lies" that many leaders carry—specifically the gut-level belief of "I’m not enough"—and how those lies create a cycle of exhaustion and isolation. As a reluctant leader who once feared she didn't have a "seat at the table," Bobby discusses how true productivity in any organization—whether a church or a corporation—actually skyrockets when people feel known, cared for, and free to be human.

In this episode, we discuss:

• The Productivity Paradox: Why slowing down to care for your soul (and your team's) actually leads to better long-term results.
• Confronting the "I'm Not Enough" Lie: How identifying childhood survival techniques can break the cycle of self-sabotage in adulthood.
• The Power of the Feelings Wheel: Moving from being "scared" of emotions to using them as a tool for freedom and connection.
• Leading with Vulnerability: Why leaders must go first in admitting flaws to build authentic, trustworthy communities.
• A Marathon, Not a Sprint: Understanding that true spiritual and emotional transformation takes time and "mustard-seed" faith.

Whether you are a high-stakes executive, a ministry leader, or someone simply tired of the "human doing" treadmill, Bobby’s story offers a roadmap out of isolation and into a life where your heart is truly aligned with the person God created you to be.

Resources Mentioned:

• Deepen your journey: Learn more about the Wholehearted Living Discipleship Program and Wellspring Group at Wellspring Group.
• The Book: Discover the framework behind these conversations in Becoming Wholehearted by Larry Bolden and Anisa Sumlar.

Join the Conversation: Subscribe for more honest talks on leadership, faith, and the path to a whole heart.

#TheWholeheartedWay #Leadership #BobbyLassiter #Vulnerability #SpiritualGrowth #HumanDoing #EmotionalHealth #FaithAtWork #BecomingWholehearted

Most workplaces are an emotional desert. We are taught to check our feelings at the door, put our heads down, and focus solely on the bottom line. But what if bringing your whole heart to work is actually the secret to unprecedented team loyalty, engagement, and success?

In this episode of The Wholehearted Way, we sit down with Matt Armbruster, a corporate leader who decided to test a radical theory. After experiencing profound personal connection and emotional renewal at a retreat, Matt bravely brought those same principles of vulnerability and deep listening into his secular, high-pressure corporate environment.

The results speak for themselves. While his industry faced massive resignation spikes and turnover during the COVID pandemic, Matt’s team experienced zero turnover. Leadership took notice, ultimately creating an entirely new role for him centered around employee engagement.

If you are a leader, manager, or anyone tired of the dry, dusty corporate grind, this conversation will give you the courage and the tools to bring real humanity back to your workplace.

In this episode, we cover:

• The Corporate Desert: Why the "leave your emotions at home" mentality is actively harming your team's culture and your bottom line.
• The Power of Being Heard: How Matt implemented authentic, active listening in a secular business setting, and the dramatic shift it caused.
• The 3-Point Response Framework: A simple, actionable method to honor your employees when they share something difficult.
• Connection Groups at Work: How to successfully pilot small peer-support groups in the workplace without crossing professional boundaries.
• The Fear of Emotion: How to overcome the apprehension of "opening Pandora's box" when engaging with your team's real feelings.

Resources & Links:

• Learn more about our mission and listen to more episodes: https://wholeheartedwaypodcast.com
• Discover more about the retreats and programs mentioned in this episode at Wellspring Group.

Subscribe & Review: If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe to The Wholehearted Way on your favorite podcast platform and leave us a review! Your support helps us bring more of these vital conversations to leaders everywhere.