Pete Richardson joins us for the next episode of the Find Your Calling Podcast. In this conversation, Pete shares how discovering and following his true calling of “map maker” has led to true clarity for his life.

For eight years years, Pete served on the leadership team for the national movement Promise Keepers, helping steer the organization until 2000. It was there that Pete met Tom Paterson from the Paterson Center who introduced him to what would become his future path of life planning—helping individuals and organizations figure out where they are, where God wants them to go and then creating maps for moving them in that direction. Since 1993, Richardson has done 800+ LifePlans. Today, he is a partner and lead trainer at the Paterson Center. In the podcast excerpt below, Pete talks about the importance of understanding and grasping our core identity—the “be” part of the personal calling framework I write about in my book, More.

“I call the ‘be’ component the Intel chip. The desire from God for us as human beings, as His creations, is that our Intel chip would be defined by how He thinks and feels about us. In life planning, we call that our core identity—if how I really think and feel about myself is aligned with how God thinks and feels about me. I find with Christians, we may mentally know the biblical answers to the question [How does God think and feel about me?], but we haven’t really let that truth seep deep into the soul. Are we operating out of a core identity that really believes and impacts how we think, live, and relate in our lives? And is that identity aligned with God’s? So if there’s a big gap between how God feels and thinks about me and how I feel and think about me, we’ve got to start there. Out of that Intel chip comes everything—how you relate to people, how you navigate life, how you make decisions, how you respond to fear, how you take risks, how you follow your calling.”

Check out Pete Richardson’s web site www.convergenceplanning.com.

Pete Richardson is a partner and lead trainer at the Paterson Center and a facilitator of both StratOps and LifePlans. He has taken hundreds of individuals and organizations through the StrapOp process, most notably Otterbox. Pete was the fifth employee hired at Promise Keepers and stayed with the company until 2000, serving as vice president of communications and creative services. He then worked with a law firm and literary agency, where he worked with top-selling authors to develop their content and publishing plans. Pete has been married to his best friend, Janet, since 1985 and they have two children, Jordan and Pearce. The Richardsons live in Louisville, Colorado.

The post Pete Richardson: Find Your Calling Podcast appeared first on toddwilson.org.

Carey Nieuwhof joins us for the next episode of the Find Your Calling Podcast. Carey shares how he fell backwards into his ministry calling, going from law school graduate poised to work in a top firm, to a student pastor among three area churches, one of which had 16 people.

Since age 12, Carey has been passionate about reaching unchurched people. He always dreamed about starting a church his unchurched friends would like. As founder and teaching pastor of Connexus Church near Toronto, Canada, Carey has seen that dream become reality. Over the last several years, he has become known for his insights and focus on serving leaders, regularly writing and speaking to Christian leaders. In the podcast excerpt below, Cary talks about the impact of pursuing our calling even when we don’t have full clarity on it.

“A lot of people get paralyzed by calling. The one thing I think is true over these last 30-plus years is that even when I was confused, I never stopped. I think if you take what you believe in faith is the next right step, God’s a pretty good chess player and He will out move you. If you’re going in the wrong direction, He’ll counter you. He’ll check you and bring you back to the right path. There is a beautiful sovereignty of God thing in calling.”

Check out Carey Nieuwhof’s web site www.careynieuwhof.com.

Carey Nieuwhof is the founding and teaching pastor of Connexus Church north of Toronto, Canada. As part of his passion to come alongside leaders, he regularly writes one of today’s most widely read Christian leadership blogs, hosts a leadership podcast, and is the author of several best-selling books, including Lasting Impact: 7 Powerful Conversations That Will Help Your Church Grow (rethink Group, Inc.). Carey is husband to Toni, and dad to two sons and a daughter-in-law.

The post Carey Nieuwhof: Find Your Calling Podcast appeared first on toddwilson.org.

Francis Chan: Find Your Calling Podcast Read More »

Introduction: Find Your Calling Podcast Read More »

Alan Hirsch joins us for the next episode of the Find Your Calling Podcast. As a pastor, author, and leading missional voice for the church, Alan shares some of his backstory that ultimately led him to the United States as a missionary. Alan says he’s always been a bit of a rebellious dreamer. When God got a hold of him and redeemed his calling, a prophetic, “holy rebel” emerged.

Alan grew up under the Apartheid system of racial segregation in South Africa. The unfair system shaped his values and thinking from an early age. He often found himself in fights because he spoke up for the underdogs. He describes himself as a “scrapper.” Alan says, “I now have great respect and love for the edges and fringe in society because that’s where I was.”

During his time in the South African army, Alan and his buddies often withdrew to smoke marijuana. The leader of this rebellious group found Jesus and introduced Alan to him. As Alan says, “my friend Murray never left the rest of us after he experienced the life-changing power of Jesus. Murray’s example left a lasting impression on me for how we need to remain in the culture to reach those far from God.”

In this edition of the Find Your Calling Podcast, Alan explains his journey to gaining clarity on his personal calling. Alan says, “At the heart of calling is getting in touch with the unique purposes God has for you as a unique individual that no one else can fulfill. It’s a sense of your particular destiny.” His calling emerged after he became a Christian and moved from South Africa to Australia with his family. As Alan notes, “When we moved to Australia I had a defining encounter with God. The idea of being commissioned and sent was embedded in the experience. This solidified and grounded my calling.” Alan describes his unique calling as, “I’m called to help the church get into the ‘sent’ equation. That is to help the church become a movement again. I feel a prophetic call to challenge the current system and bring it into account.” Join Alan as he explains his journey.

Alan Hirsch is the founding director of Forge Mission Training Network and 100 Movements. Currently he co-leads Future Travelers, an innovative learning program helping megachurches become missional movements. Known for his innovative approach to mission, Alan is considered to be a thought-leader and key mission strategist for churches across the Western world. Hirsch is the author of The Forgotten Ways and The Forgotten Ways Handbook; co-author of The Shaping of Things to Come, ReJesus and The Faith of Leap (with Michael Frost); Untamed (with Debra Hirsch); Right Here, Right Now (with Lance Ford): On the Verge (with Dave Ferguson); and The Permanent Revolution (with Tim Catchim). His experience includes leading a local church movement among the marginalized, developing training systems for innovative missional leaders, and heading up the mission and revitalization work of his denomination.

The post Alan Hirsch: Find Your Calling Podcast appeared first on toddwilson.org.

Brandon Cox joins us for the next episode of the Find Your Calling Podcast. As a pastor and friend to other pastors, Brandon shares some of his backstory that ultimately led him to full-time vocational ministry. Most recently, his calling brought him to Bentonville, Arkansas where he and his wife, Angie, planted Grace Hills Church.

Brandon has pursued his calling from an early age. At age 17, equipped by several generations of family involved in business, Brandon dreamed of his future making money. While riding on a bus to a Future Business Leaders of America gathering, Brandon felt God nudging him toward ministry. After reading Jeremiah 1, Brandon wrote down in his Bible the sense he was feeling: “called to ministry”.

In this edition of the Find Your Calling Podcast, Brandon shares his journey of following that nudge on the bus. After his first few ministry assignments, he was feeling drained and never wanting to be a senior pastor. However, that wasn’t God’s plans. Brandon led his next church through the 40 Days of Purpose study and gained fresh perspective on ministry. Eventually a passion for creative communication and social media emerged. Brandon was hand picked by Rick Warren’s Saddleback team to oversee the Pastors.com online community. After being on staff with Rick, a passion was ignited for planting a church. Rick explained that some people are “called to Saddleback” while other are “called through Saddleback.” Join Brandon as he explains his journey.

Brandon Cox became a pastor at age nineteen and has served in that role in small churches, as well at Saddleback Church, one of America’s largest and most influential churches. He’s now planting Grace Hills Church in northwest Arkansas. Brandon also serves as editor, mentor, and community facilitator for Pastors.com and Rick Warren’s Pastor’s Toolbox, one of the world’s largest online communities of church leaders. He’s an avid, top 100 blogger (according to Kent Shaffer’s semiannual list) and lives in Bentonville, Arkansas with his wife, Angie, and their three awesome kids.

The post Brandon Cox: Find Your Calling Podcast appeared first on toddwilson.org.

Jim Putman joins us for the next episode of the Find Your Calling Podcast. In this thoughtful interview, Jim shares his personal story of finding God and the Church (after years of bitterness and resentment toward both), as well as how he found his unique calling as a “coach of unique coaches.”

A former All-American wrestler, high school teacher and coach, and now leader of the Relational Discipleship Network, Jim urges churches to think relationally about discipleship. In the podcast excerpt below, Jim identifies what he believes is one of the greatest culprits of Christians forsaking their calling and how helping others find and follow their calling is essential to discipleship.

“One of the problems I think most Christians have is that they don’t understand calling. They think they’re going to get some sort of personal call from God. They’ve never gotten that, so they think they must not be called. But we all are a holy nation and a royal priesthood. Part of disciple making is to help people understand how to see their calling, how you, as a leader, got your calling—so they don’t just assume you got yours from on high. You share with them how people played a part in helping you find your calling, and how you want to play a part in theirs.”

“So it’s not just introducing people to Jesus, giving them a Bible and sending them on their way. Discipleship is about helping people understand what a relationship with Jesus and other people looks like; helping them understand that God has saved them for a purpose; and then helping them figure out their calling, the gifts they’ve been given, and how those gifts fit into the mission of God.”

Jim Putman is the founder and senior pastor of 17-year-old Real Life Ministries in Post Falls, Idaho, and the founding leader of the Relational Discipleship Network, committed to equipping church leaders to follow the model of discipleship Jesus practiced. He is also the author of Church Is a Team Sport, Real Life Discipleship, and DiscipleShift (with Bobby Harrington and Robert Coleman). He, his wife and three sons live in scenic northern Idaho.

The post Jim Putman: Find Your Calling Podcast appeared first on toddwilson.org.

Ron Edmondson: Find Your Calling Podcast Read More »