Unhurried Living | Helping Christians Rest Deeper & Lead Better

Today we are visiting with Rick Miller, author of Be Chief: It's a Choice, Not a Title and discussing the difference between being in a POSITION of influence versus being a PERSON of influence. We’re very aware that key leaders in organizational setting have titles that begin with the word “chief”—chief financial officer, chief operating officer, chief executive officer and such. Rick’s point is that “being chief” in this way is not mainly about holding a position as it is about expressing a way of leading that serves others. Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

Are you hungry to hear from God? Do you long for a closer, more conversational relationship with him? Today we are talking about how Jesus offers a personal invitation to listen to his voice and live in a remembered companionship of Christ. God’s Spirit gives God’s people real, workable, useful knowledge—if they will listen. He desires to teach us how to live—really live—and to live well. God is speaking to us by his Spirit to give us counsel and insight we need to live our lives and do our work well. When we “set our hearts” or “set our minds” on things above, I don’t think Paul is saying, “Be always thinking God ideas” or “having God feelings.” I think he’s saying something closer to “live in the remembered companionship of Christ.” I’m being invited to remember that He is always with me and I am always with Him. Something dramatic happens when we trust Him and entrust ourselves to Him. Something dies, and a real, hidden life begins. My life does not consist in the obvious realities around me down here. I learn to live my life on two planes at once. Christ is my life. What a profound, simple statement. It doesn’t say that He gives me life, but that He is my life. I am alive with and in Him. Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

Sometimes in the middle of an ordinary circumstance we can find ourselves at odds with what is occurring, even when there is nothing to be at odds with. This podcast is about prayer and presence. Not prayers. But prayer. Openness to God in any and every circumstance is prayer. Because, as we’ve said before, prayer is not something you do so much as it is someone you are with. Presence is key in all of our interactions with others. Learning to catch yourself when you are not fully present can reduce your own stress and can show others that you are completely engaged with them. Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

One of the great hungers of the human heart is belonging. We want to be part of something. We want to be wanted by someone. “Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.” (Mark 3:35) The context of the passage is that Jesus is speaking to a crowd gathered in a house somewhere in the neighborhood of Galilee. The passage just before it is one in which the crowds who gathered were so large that often Jesus and his followers didn’t have even a moment to get a bite to eat. Listen now to Mark 3:31-35: Then Jesus’ mother and brothers arrived. Standing outside, they sent someone in to call him. A crowd was sitting around him, and they told him, “Your mother and brothers are outside looking for you.” “Who are my mother and my brothers?” he asked. Then he looked at those seated in a circle around him and said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.” We unpack that amazing last sentence: "Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.” With this knowledge and understanding we know we belong. Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

We talk about how Jesus trained his inner circle, and how they came to know him better through times alone with him. We also talk a bit about the strategic importance of Jesus being alone with his Father daily in the week leading to his crucifixion. Be sure you listen to parts 1 and 2 (episodes #52 and #53) for the full experience of this content. Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

This is the second episode in a three-part series on Paving the Way for Ministry Expansion in which I unpack Seven Key Moments in the Life of Jesus. If you missed Part 1, be sure to go back and listen to get up to speed. Today I’ll talk about Jesus’ pattern of stepping back to be with the Father then stepping out into more fruitful ministry. In today’s episode, which continues where I left off last week, I begin to unpack a pattern in the gospel of Luke that a friend of mine first pointed out to me. Every moment of ministry expansion or development in the life of Jesus is preceded by and grows out of a significant moment of His stepping back to be alone with His Father. You’ll see this as I talk about the first three of seven incidents of Jesus stepping back to be with the Father that are recorded in the gospel of Luke. Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

Recently, Gem and I led a training for a group of leaders. On the final morning, I talked Paving the Way for Ministry Expansion: Seven Key Moments in the Life of Jesus. Today I’m teaching on how prayer and leadership relate to each other and what this looks like in the life of Jesus. We’ve often said that one of our favorite parts of the work of Unhurried Living is consulting, training, or leading retreats for Christian leaders. And in those trainings, we always seek to include some unhurried time for each one to simply be alone in the presence of the Father. We see this as a way of following a strategic pattern in the life and leadership of Jesus. In today’s episode, I introduce a pattern in the gospel of Luke that a friend of mine, Shin Asami, first pointed out to me. Every moment of ministry expansion or development in the life of Jesus is preceded by and grows out of a significant moment of His stepping back to be alone with His Father. Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

Alan and I recently celebrated our 33rd wedding anniversary. About three weeks ago, I wrote a beautiful tribute to our long time love and sent it out to our email community. A week and a half later, we went on a celebratory trip that ended with us not speaking to each other on the plane all the way home. We’ll share the whole story with you today on the Unhurried Living Podcast! Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

In today’s episode, we're sharing a recent conversation between Alan and Tim Timmons. If you listen to Christian radio, you may already be enjoying his music. Alan enjoyed catching up with Tim, as it had been a while since they'd last spoken. Recently, Tim was nominated for a Grammy for writing the Mercy Me song, “Even If.” (Here's a YouTube music video of it). It’s a powerful vision of trusting God for God’s own sake, and not just when God seems to make things go the way you prefer. A little about Tim: Like Alan, he was born and raised in California. For the last three years, though, he’s lived in Franklin, TN with his beautiful wife, Hilary and their four kiddoes. He’s spends a lot of his time writing and recording music and playing concerts around the country. You can find out more about Tim’s work on either his music website at timtimmonsmusic.com or on his blog at 10000minutes.com. We talk about all of this in our conversation. Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

We are continuing our conversation on An Unhurried Life. We'll talk about the signs of hurry in every day life, the dynamics that accelerate our inner life and what good gets squeezed out when we are hurried inside. Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.