S7 E08: Sacred Pathways with Gary Thomas

When it comes to spiritual formation, our individual temperament plays a large role in how we connect to God, one another and the world around us. There is not a one size fits all for how we approach the spiritual life. In fact, the same systems that bring us clarity and definition can also leave us frustrated or feeling confined to search for God in a manner contrary to our natural temperament.

Best-selling author and speaker, Gary Thomas insists that it’s better to discover the path God designed you to take–a path marked by growth and fulfillment, based on your unique temperament. In this conversation, Gary and I discuss his nine Sacred Pathways, where he strips away the frustration of a one-size-fits-all spirituality and guides you toward a style of relating to God that frees you to be you.

For the artist or the creative, understanding our unique make up and how we most easily connect with God enables us to live and create from a deeper authenticity. Instead of fostering a compulsion to imitate or conform to an exterior, homogenized form of faith, discovering the beauty of God’s unique path for our lives opens the way for greater possibility in our creative work.

S7 E06: The Discipline of Inspiration with Carey Wallace

Carey Wallace is the author of Stories of the Saints, The Blind Contessa’s New Machine, The Ghost in the Glass House, Choose, New Thing, and the forthcoming Discipline of Inspiration. Her work has appeared in Time, the Awl, The New Decameron, and Detroit’s Metro Times. She has spoken to students at Princeton, Yale, Julliard, Pratt, Emory’s Candler School of Theology, and the Festival of Faith and Writing, and taught at The Glen Workshop. She has released a dozen records with her brother as The Wallace Bros., and shown her fine artwork in Detroit and Brooklyn. She is the founder of the Working Artist’s Initiative, which helps emerging artists establish strong creative habits, and the Hillbilly Underground, which draws nationally-recognized filmmakers, writers, fine artists, and musicians to rural Michigan each summer. She lives and works in Brooklyn with her poorly-behaved Appenzeller, Bandit.

In this episode, Stephen talks with Carey LIVE in New York City (recorded October 2019) about the nature, the origins and discipline of inspiration.

S6 E15: A Benevolent Detachment with John Eldredge

John Eldredge is a New York Times bestselling author, a counselor, and a teacher. His latest book, Get Your Life Back, examines the breakneck pace at which we force our souls to exist—a pace that far exceeds God’s original design. In his book, John argues that a constant absorption of others’ worries through social media, paired with our own burdens and stresses, has left people overwhelmed and weary. In this season-finale episode, Stephen talks with John about the simple, yet profound spiritual disciplines that can heal our souls and nourish the creative spirit inside of us.