Bassist John Patitucci retraces his life through faith and Fenders. For show notes and more, click here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Once upon a time there was a music industry without streaming music. Songwriting duo JJ and Dave Heller remember this day well. They once had sixty thousand of JJ’s CDs in their garage to prove it.  This week on The Slow Work, host Sandra McCracken sits down with JJ and Dave to talk about how they have built their music careers outside of the traditional music industry. Prioritizing artistic independence, family time, and intentional ambition, the Hellers talk about what collaboration looks...

Most of us move at a frantic pace with little time for intentional rest. As author and artist Justin McRoberts works to balance his work and creative life with his spiritual and family life, he understands this pull toward frenetic anxiety. Leaning into the truth of our belovedness in Christ, McRoberts invites readers and others to slow down and pay attention. This week on The Slow Work, McRoberts joins host Sandra McCracken to talk about work, rest and responding to the call of our...

Author Bret Lott once held five majors in college; but he quit halfway through and learned the discipline of writing by pounding pavement as an RC Cola salesman. It is, perhaps, this salt of the earth quality that makes his writing so captivating and inspires others to the craft as well. This week on The Slow Work, host Sandra McCracken talks with Lott about the way you become a writer -- from the ethic required for the daily grind to the value of being around people and paying attention....

Dave Barnes has been a Nashville fixture for more than 20 years now, and he’s still writing melodies that are new and creative. How does he keep doing it year after year? For Dave, it's pretty simple: respect the past and love the present. In this week’s episode of The Slow Work, host Sandra McCracken sits down with singer-songwriter and producer, Dave Barnes to discuss what makes a tune stick in your head. Growing up in rural Mississippi, Dave played drums in the marching band and drew...

Growing up as mountain folk in East Tennessee, two-time GRAMMY nominee and 13 time Dove award winner Cindy Morgan, learned to write and play music with its roots in gospel. Today, Cindy’s writing is arriving at fans in a new way, in the form of her first novel, The Year of Jubilee. She joins host Sandra McCracken in this week’s episode to talk all about it. In this episode of The Slow Work, Sandra and Cindy talk about returning to our roots, untangling difficult family stories, and finding a...

This week we wanted to share a new song that Sandra recorded with her friends at The Porter's Gate. Slow Me Down songwriters: Leslie Joran, Sandra McCracken, Matthew Kaemingk, Wendell Kimbrough, Kate Bluett. Special thanks to Isaac Wardell. Be sure to subscribe and we'll be back with more episodes of The Slow Work in a few weeks! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Who serves the servers? As it turns out, very few do. In the midst of serving others, those working in the hospitality industry -- waitresses, maids, line cooks and hotel front desk attendants -- often struggle to make ends meet. When crises come, few have the safety nets they need to weather the storms. This week, host Sandra McCracken visits with Jen Seger, City Director of Big Table Nashville, to talk about the slow work of collaborative care, and the capacity building that can lift...

In a culture of loneliness, charisma and freewheeling rootlessness seduce with empty promises. We are all looking for meaning, but few stop long enough to consider where it might be found in rich supply. In this week’s episode, host Sandra McCracken sits down with author and podcaster Mike Cosper to talk about the slow work of confessional living. Discussion winds from the viral podcast The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill to Cosper’s transformative experience of visiting sacred hills in the Holy...

The pandemic changed how all creatives produced and marketed their work, but as restrictions have lifted many are holding onto the lessons learned from that season of limitations. Whether it’s saying “no” to technological advances in favor of stripped down recordings or shrugging off the frenetic nature of show business for a slower pace, musicians, artists, and others are discovering the surprising filling that comes in empty spaces. In this week’s episode, host Sandra McCracken talks with...

Trauma may be a buzzword today, but it’s no simple concept to untangle. For many who experience abuse or trauma at the hands of church leaders, their pain becomes the breeding ground for doubt, deconstruction, and despair. Thankfully, God’s Spirit persists in bringing new life from the ashes of our suffering. Sandra McCracken talks with trauma-informed counselor Colleen Ramser about the intersection between theology and therapy on this episode of The Slow Work. Ramser participates in perhaps...

Singer-songwriter Sara Groves knows a thing or two about storytelling. However, in the experience of these recent years, Sara realized she still had much to learn about the narratives that shape us. In this episode of The Slow Work, host Sandra McCracken welcomes Sara for a thoughtful, honest conversation about the stories we tell and how we tell them. The two explore how to tend the slow fires of creativity and how to bear witness to the hard stories within and around us. From songwriting...

In this first episode of The Slow Work, host Sandra McCracken sits down with husband and wife team, Makoto and Haejin Shim Fujimura, to discuss commitment, kintsugi, and creative justice. Learn how a unique marital commitment has focused the Fujimuras’ professional ambitions and how building in the midst of brokenness has the power to redeem generational pain. If you’ve been striving or struggling and need a better way, this conversation promises a deep dose of release and hope. Listen in as...

We are all creatives at heart, no matter what career or calling we find ourselves in. Inspiration can happen in a second, but the work of creativity only happens when we are patient enough to stay with it. It takes grit to see it through.  Enjoy this short preview of The Slow Work with songwriter and host Sandra McCracken launching January 5, 2023. Subscribe today! The Slow Work is a production of Christianity Today Executive Producer: Mike Cosper Host: Sandra McCracken Producers: Luke...

The Slow Work is a podcast connecting the creative process and spirituality. Join songwriter and host Sandra McCracken along with a talented array of guests as they explore the pursuit of beauty, grace and justice. Launching January 5, 2023. Subscribe today! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This finale episode of Steadfast season two features Bob Goff and latest book Dream Big. Bob is a best-selling author, storyteller, speaker, coach, and lawyer. Through this book and in his own life, Goff draws upon our ability to be patient and steadfast in all circumstances, holding tightly to a bright hope for the future. Steadfast is a production of Sandra McCracken in partnership with Christianity Today. Produced by Sandra McCracken, Leslie Eiler Thompson Written by Leslie Eiler...

Dr. Curt Thompson is a therapist, speaker, and the author of The Anatomy of the Soul and The Soul of Shame. As a psychiatrist, Curt’s work in recent years has helped others develop authentic relationships through interpersonal neurobiology and the Christian worldview. While Thompson comes to the table with scientific research and knowledge of how God designed our brains to function, his perspective on patience carries the inflection of a pastor. Steadfast is a production of Sandra McCracken...

Goldenwood, a ministry that seeks to cultivate a new vision of faith and work, is the creation of Dr. David Kim and Amilee Watkins. Goldenwood offers quarterly reflective retreats, daily practice, and listening prayer exercises in community. Kim and Watkins join Sandra to discuss renewal and patience in a world that demands immediate gratification. This episode emphasizes seeing God’s work played out over time. Steadfast is a production of Sandra McCracken in partnership with Christianity...

One of the areas hardest-hit by COVID was the restaurant industry. This episode features a conversation with Mark Canlis, whose family restaurant has been a longtime favorite in Seattle. In order to survive, Canlis tried many different creative solutions over the last year. Mark and his wife, Anne Marie, joined Sandra to talk about patience—in their work as restaurant owners, in parenthood, in hospitality, and in leaning toward the good in times of great uncertainty. Steadfast is a production...

When the pandemic began last year, there was no way to predict how profoundly it would affect all of us. This episode touches on some of the most difficult moments of a quarantined reality as Sandra talks to her dear friend Andi Ashworth. Andi and her husband, producer Charlie Peacock, officially established Art House in Nashville in 1991. Art House was not only a recording studio for Charlie, but it served as a place for artists to find rest while recording. Andi’s role was to care for those...

Season two of Steadfast will center on patience and endurance, themes Sandra painstakingly experienced and highlighted in her newest record Patient Kingdom.Jay and Catherine Wolf’s calling is to encourage families through difficult seasons of suffering. This work began in 2007 when Catherine survived a catastrophic stroke a few months after giving birth to her first child. Miraculously, she survived. After a 16-hour brain surgery, 40 days in the ICU, a year in neuro rehab, and 11 operations,...

Steadfast is back with a new season of conversations between Sandra and writers, artists, thinkers, and friends reflecting together on the idea of patience. Tune in to the trailer for a glimpse of what's ahead, and subscribe today so you don't miss an episode.

For the last episode of Steadfast season one, Sandra sits down in Nashville with producer and longtime friend Cason Cooley to talk about their experiences in recording music and how God's steadfastness shows up in the process. Steadfast is a production of Harbor Media and the Narrativo Group Produced and edited by Mike Cosper and TJ Hester Mixed by Mark Owens Recorded in Nashville, TN