In this episode of …We Have a Spiritual Problem, Dr. Jeff Armstrong explores how our personal and collective struggles—political division, social tension, relational friction, and inner conflict—are not detours from spiritual growth but the very conditions that make it possible. Drawing from Pierre Teilhard de Chardin’s concept of the Omega Point, the SPIES model of holistic wellness, physiological principles of adaptation, and the teachings of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount, Dr. Armstrong reflects on how life’s pressure and resistance serve as catalysts for spiritual evolution. Through personal stories of marriage, family, and work, he invites listeners to consider that the friction we resist might actually be forming us into something higher—something more whole, connected, and divine.

In a world where image is everything, we’ve become masters at performance. We curate our feeds, filter our flaws, and craft public versions of ourselves that are more polished than true. But beneath the surface—beneath the filters, the branding, and the professional polish—something deeper is happening. We’re losing touch with who we really are.In this episode of …We Have a Spiritual Problem, Dr. Jeff Armstrong explores The Human Facade—why we present masks to the world, how it shapes our relationships, corrodes our leadership, and ultimately impedes our spiritual evolution. Drawing on the SPIES model of whole-person wellness and insights from both psychology and spirituality, Dr. Armstrong invites us to rediscover authenticity not as an aesthetic, but as a spiritual practice.

American leadership is at a crossroads. Public life and many institutions celebrate power, performance, and personality — and too often those traits are labeled “service.” In this episode Dr. Jeff Armstrong diagnoses the rise of what he calls “self-servant leadership” and contrasts it with true servant leadership as taught by Ken Blanchard and modeled by Jesus. Drawing on Martha C. Stewart’s biography of Ken Blanchard (Episode 44), Blanchard’s practice of “catch people doing things right,” Teilhard de Chardin’s vision of spiritual evolution toward the Omega Point, and the SPIES framework (Spiritual, Physical, Intellectual, Emotional, Social), we explore why servant leadership is both a practical leadership model and a spiritual practice. Jeff revisits his conversation with Greg Stewart about how “What Would Jesus Do?” was reshaped into political and religious postures like Christian Nationalism, and considers the cultural cost when leaders substitute spectacle for service. Practical takeaways include ways to cultivate servant posture in homes, workplaces, churches, and civic life — because leadership rooted in service accelerates spiritual evolution while self-serving leadership deepens division.