Episodes
In this episode, Justin McRoberts and Dan Portnoy discuss Chapter 12 of the book 'Sacred Strides' titled 'I'm Not Running to Win.' They explore the importance of recognizing the dangers of exhaustion in ministry and the need for self-care. They highlight the impact of urgency and importance on mental health and the importance of prioritizing health and wellbeing. The conversation concludes with a prayer emphasizing the need to never sacrifice one's health on the altar of productivity.
Published 04/04/24
Published 04/04/24
In this episode, Justin McRoberts and Dan Portnoy discuss Chapter 11 of the book 'Sacred Strides.' They explore the importance of leading with love and true compassion in advocacy work. Justin shares a personal story of his experience as an MC at a music festival and how he initially struggled to connect with the audience. He reflects on the need to meet people where they are and tap into their desires and experiences. The conversation also touches on the pitfalls of manipulative advocacy and...
Published 03/28/24
In this episode, Justin and Dan discuss Chapter 10 of the book 'Sacred Strides' titled 'Quitting the Race for Good' or 'Disconnect and Repair'. They start by talking about technology and its metaphorical significance. Justin shares his experiences with tech issues and the need for intentional disconnection. He explains the analogy of Bluetooth connections and the importance of forgetting certain connections to reconnect in a healthier way. Justin also discusses his journey of disconnecting...
Published 03/21/24
Dan and I have been walking through my most recent book, Sacred Strides. We're going chapter by chapter providing some insights into the stories and some add-ons. You know, kind of not quite behind the scenes of the making of it per se, but more like, what are the themes and why are they important? And do I still believe the things I said when I published this book. This week we go through Chapter 9.
Published 02/15/24
Today, we're embarking on a unique exploration not just of what's written, but of the stories and insights that lie beneath the surface of each chapter. Joining me on this adventure is none other than Dan Portnoy, a dear friend, and producer. Check it out.
Published 02/09/24
We are walking through the book Sacred Strides. Dan is asking questions, and we're re-narrating this book because it's cool. And I'd like to get it in your life somehow, shape, or form. So Dan has known me for a very long time; we've been partners for, goodness gracious, like a couple of decades, and we've done many different works together. And so he has a unique take on my work and what I'm doing with it. And it's been fun to walk through these chapters, have Dan point stuff out, and show...
Published 02/01/24
This week we take a look at Chapter 6 of Sacred Strides. There's a turn in this chapter and it has to do with value. I get a glimmer of what it is to work hard on something and to do that with friends, true friends. It's been a minute as the holidays and all kinds of stuff happened. I turned 50 this month and in this episode, we explored a bunch - Check it out.
Published 01/25/24
Welcome to the odd, like a spiral, like a downward spiral of information and conversation that has become this podcast because, in essence, I am the host, and I am hosting Dan Portnoy, who is playing host to me. Let's start calling a media company, Meta. There are lots of triggers going off right now. Some of them are justified, but not all of them. Today, Dan and I walk through the book Sacred Strides, digging into the story and talking about the themes, giving you an opportunity if you...
Published 12/28/23
We are marching back through the book Sacred Strides, looking at different chapters, chapter by chapter. We're on Chapter Four, digging into elements of the book that will just kind of follow the arrows that the book provides. Because when I write, and I wrote this book, I never really intended for a book to be a whole thing. I intend for a book to point to other stuff and you are in the culture around you. So we're following those arrows and having the conversations around him. So welcome.
Published 12/01/23
Another episode with producer, Dan Portnoy, marching through the book Sacred Strides. We're going to dive into Chapter 3 today - Staying In My Lane.
Published 11/16/23
We are doing a series in and by which we're digging back into and through the book Sacred Strides - chapter by chapter talking about the dominant themes in the book or extras on top of the book what you know what it looks like to apply some of the things that I get to in the book. Dan, who's been a friend for a long time and has produced this podcast from its beginning, has a really unique perspective on my work and on me as a worker. And so it's fun to talk about my stuff and have Dan poke...
Published 11/03/23
Producer, Dan Portnoy and I are doing a series of podcasts focused on my book. Reintroducing folks to the book Sacred Strides. We began last week with an overview of the book before it got into the introduction.
Published 10/26/23
Welcome specifically to this new series. It's going to be a deeper dive into the book sacred strides, which I released earlier in the year. And I get to spend some time talking with my friend Dan Portnoy, who is also the producer of this show. So if you've been around the ATSI podcast for any amount of time you have benefited from and enjoy Dan Portnoy his work, I deeply value him as a friend and really add value him also as a work partner. So what's gonna happen is instead of me just talking...
Published 10/13/23
Several years ago, six-ish, I think I don't really remember. Years ago, I started making myself available to artists, to ministers, to entrepreneurs, folks who had worked in fields that I had worked in, and I started doing so for free. And I wasn't calling it coaching. At the time, I was just making actual meetings to answer questions, and they were questions that had been coming up. And if you've been in an industry for long enough, this happens to you, as folks start asking you, Hey, how...
Published 10/05/23
I used to think the phrase, everything in moderation sounded like wisdom. I mean, it was the piece of wisdom folks would dole out when we talked about work-life balance and we talked about alcohol. And we talked about video games, everything in moderation, everything in moderation seemed like the thing that one would say that the goal would be to find the correct balance between all of these things. And that meeting in the middle of all things is still his dominant value. I just got an email,...
Published 09/28/23
A few weeks ago, I was in the middle of a call with a client, an artist I'm coaching. When? Well, we talked about the project he was doing, which is a project, by the way, that he'd been dying to do for three or four years. We finally created the time we got some money involved. And he was able to put this project together. And what he said to me in the conversation, he said I know that it's good. I just wished that it was great. So we dove into that. But what's the difference between this...
Published 09/21/23
During the first round of the 2023 playoffs, Stephon Curry of the Golden State Warriors, my favorite team, was on the sideline, and his head coach, Steve Kerr, came to him and said, I'm going to rest you for a little while to save your energy. Now, let me hit pause here and confess, admit to pointing out, yes, you are getting a sports analogy. And so if you're not a sports See, type person, and you're not down with the sports ball, I'm sorry, I'm sorry for several reasons, one of which is...
Published 08/31/23
One of the conversations that I've been in for many years led to the desire to put together the book, Sacred Strides. And one of the conversations that comes up now that the book is out in the world has to do with burnout; you have most likely been around or been privy to or been in a conversation about burnout. One of the pivotal scenes or moments in the book sacred strides is one in which I point out how many folks actually experienced burnout in the ministry field.
Published 08/24/23
I have had a somewhat unusual summer. And so far as I've taken a little bit of actual vacation time, I actually don't vacation much. I've never been one to enjoy vacation very much. Which isn't to say I don't like getting away. I do like the getaway; I like having days off. I like adventure, all that kind of stuff, vacation. It just has had historically this really odd association to it.
Published 07/27/23
The more conversations I have about the book Sacred Strides and dig into the themes in the stories, the more I find myself going back to some of my own source material, which is not to say the stories I wrote about my own life, but the words and the reflections and the teachings of the people who informed that life again, it's not experience that we learn from it is a reflection upon experience.
Published 07/13/23
My last couple of weeks, two weeks really almost at the mark right now, have been turbulent; I would say they'd been rough. But that's mostly just been turbulent. It's been hard. Not because I wasn't a part of and doing some really great things, I was. I had a wonderful time in Green Bay, Wisconsin, and I was in Santa Cruz with Young Life staff. And I was doing things that were wonderful. I was only somewhat present in some of those things. Because internally, I was really having a hard time.
Published 06/29/23
I have been, in some way, shape, or form, engaged in conversation about AI technology and our relationship with technology for a really long time. In 1999, or 2000, I read Ray Kurtzweil, his book, The Age of Spiritual Machines. And I was shocked if it was way beyond my understanding the terms he was using the vision he was painting of how life would work in relationship with technology like I didn't have a context for it. And then as time went on, and this is part of what good books do as...
Published 06/16/23
You have used the phrase or heard the phrase, 'let's make some memories' or 'let's make some moments.' If you pay attention to the podcast, you know that for the last few weeks, I've been thinking a lot about the passage of time. It's one of the things that came up a lot as I wrote the book Sacred Strides. I'm not just thinking about the way we experience time; I'm thinking especially about how we experienced the time that has passed. And I think, less than experiencing time, the way the...
Published 06/08/23
It has been said, and I've come to believe this as a truth, that writing for an author is as much as anything else, a process of self-discovery, that one of the things that happen necessarily, in the process of writing, actually writing is that I see myself, I look into my own soul, I recognize things about my own life patterns, history, my moments, I learned me as I write. And I've been asked a few times, including last night at the book release party for Sacred Strides. What are the things...
Published 06/01/23