SMALLEY INSTITUTE

Karl and I met in Guatemala with Compassion International. That's enough said! You don't want to miss this interview.  He knows things about me because I overshared on the trip!

Karl’s heart is to help pastors of small churches (up to 90 percent of us) find the resources to lead well, and to capitalize on the unique advantages that come with pastoring a small church – something virtually every pastor will spend at least some of their ministry years doing. He also believes that big and small churches can and should work together more often – to the benefit and blessing of everyone.

Karl has been in pastoral ministry for over 30 years. He is the teaching pastor of Cornerstone Christian Fellowship, a healthy small church in Orange County, California, where he has ministered for over 25 years with his wife, Shelley.

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You have chosen an excellent day to listen in because today, I have the honor of interviewing Sam Lamott, creator and host of the How to Human podcast which if you like listening to him today you can subscribe for free to his podcast on iTunes.

But we’re going to give you something else for free today, something Sam likes to call, “a Mood Altering Substance”.

Can I be honest and authentic with you? In a million years I never thought I'd get Sam Lamott to be on the show. That’s why I had my assistant reach out to him so I didn’t have to feel the sting of failure and rejection!

Now that he's on, I realized, “cripes!” I need to come up with some really thoughtful and interesting questions. Then I started obsessing over my writing. Basically I’m just a neurotic mess but somehow the interview survived. Who is Sam Lamott:

• Author of Some Assembly Required with Anne Lamott.
• At one point Sam shared, “Ever felt like...

"It's the sin we don't struggle with that we tend to vilify most." That's just one of the great lines from Preston Sprinkle and my latest interview. Preston and I get into the topic of how to love someone well you don't agree with and what does it look like from a biblical perspective. You don't want to miss this episode because every one of us has someone in our life we could love better. Of course, I end up oversharing about my own issues, thankfully Preston is a kind man!

You need to check out Preston and his two main ministries:

https://www.prestonsprinkle.com

https://www.centerforfaith.com

Equipping Christian leaders, churches and organizations to engage questions about faith, sexuality & gender with theological faithfulness and courageous love.

Today is a special day because I got to interview Seth and Melanie Studley! They have the Anatomy of Marriage Podcast that is a huge success!  Here's a little bit of information about them:

We are Melanie and Seth Studley, the crazy couple behind the Anatomy Of Marriage Podcast, a show that helps couples make sense of messy marriages.

Seth is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and I (Melanie) am a Professional Audio Engineer and the Producer of this Podcast. Together we share the story of how we fixed our own nearly failed 13 year marriage to help couples realize that they are not alone.

We rethink some of the biggest topics in marriage like Communication, Sex, Expectations, Domestic Violence, Identity, Mental Health, Divorce and then we talk through those ideas with amazing professionals in the marriage space!

This show is something special.  Hear what it takes to turn your relationship around no matter what has happened in the past.  Seth and Melanie are...

Tim and Nancy's story should inspire anyone about what it takes to stay committed to each other through "sickness and in health"!

Tim wrote:

Since 1979 I have lived with the consequences of a brain-based mental health challenge called bipolar disorder. Through these years I have experienced episodes of extreme mania, protracted periods of dark depression, as well as eruptions of psychosis.

Dr. Kay Redfield Jamison, a leading authority and herself a diagnosed bipolar, clearly expresses the effects of this brain disorder in her book, “Touched with Fire.” She wrote that bipolar illness “encompasses the extremes of human experience. Thinking can range from florid psychosis, or ‘madness,’ to patterns of unusually clear, fast, and creative associations, to retardation [slowing down] so profound that no meaningful activity can occur.”* This very succinctly and accurately describes how I have often experienced bipolar disorder.

Hear their story through...