Category: Leadership

Leader: Are you Weary in the Wilderness?

Desert and Camels

God uses the hard realities of life to expose our deepest fears and internal struggles. These experiences make us more self-aware so we can cultivate the spiritual disciplines necessary to lead ourselves and others well. Consider what happened to Moses, the humblest person on earth (Num. 12:3). After the people complained about their misfortunes yet again in the wilderness, Moses was miserable. He cried out to the Lord: “What have I done to displease you that you put the burden of all these people on me? Did I conceive all these people? Did I give them birth? Why do you tell me to carry them in my arms, as a nurse carries an infant, to the land you promised? … If this is how you are going to treat me, please go ahead and kill me” (Num. 11:11–12, 15).

Who would have thought that the humblest man in the world could fall so deep into despair? Have you ever found yourself in such a state of weariness? There are many days in my life when I find myself praying: “God, please don’t let me become weary in doing good, for I know that at the proper time I will reap a harvest if I don’t give up. Help me to press on and do good to all people, especially to those who belong to your family” (see Gal. 6:9–10). This prayer is particularly helpful when I’m going through a wilderness experience or dealing with difficult people. Prayer disciplines us to humble ourselves before God, and it also provides revelation for how to move forward.
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The Formation of Our Stories with Jo Saxton (A Sojourner’s Truth podcast)

Here is a summary of our first podcast interview with Jo Saxton! Subscribe today:

Blog Announcement

We will be publishing new podcasts on Thursdays, and they’re going to syndicate on iTunes, Spotify, SoundCloud, and YouTube.

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Welcome to A Sojourner’s Truth podcast: Conversations for a Changing Culture! I’m your host Natasha Sistrunk Robinson, and I’m glad you’re joining us for Season One where the theme is: Our Stories:

 

Natasha: Hello Beautiful People!

 

I am thrilled to welcome my first guest to A Sojourner’s Truth Podcast. Leader, pastor, and author Jo Saxton. How are you my dear friend? Thank you so much for joining us.

S1E2_Jo Saxton

JO SAXTON: Thank you so much for having me. That’s such a gracious introduction.

 

Natasha: It’s wonderful to have you. What I love, especially about the people I’m inviting to the table up throughout this season, is our willingness to share our stories, and I have invited people  that have directly or indirectly impacted my life. Jo stands out as a leader, influencer, and mobilizer of women.

 

Jo’s short biography: Jo Saxton is an author, speaker, leadership coach, and visionary. Born to Nigerian parents and raised in London, England, Jo brings a multi-cultural and international perspective to leadership. She has served on staff in multiple churches in the United Kingdom and the United States. Today, Jo co-hosts the popular podcast Lead Stories: Tales of Leadership and Life with Steph O’Brien. She is also the founder of the Ezer Collective, an initiative that creates intensives and experiences to invest in women who lead. Jo’s most recent book is called, The Dream of You: Let Go of Broken Identities and Live the Life You Were Made For.

Jo and her husband, Chris, live in Minneapolis with their two daughters. She loves Starbucks, running, her people, and the everyday stuff, like good music, good food, and good books, and Target. She really, really loves Target!

 

This season of the podcast, we are talking about our stories, and to guide our conversation, I’m using the outline of my upcoming book, A Sojourner’s Truth: Choosing Freedom and Courage in a Divided World. We will talk about the FORMATION of Our Stories, the HISTORY of Our Stories, Our Stories in the WILDERNESS, and Our REDEMPTION Stories.

 

Jo is here to talk today about the formation of our stories because what happens in our formative years really has an impact on who we become, how we grow into adulthood, what we do, how we see ourselves and how others view us. As a matter of setting the stage for our conversation, I want to read an excerpt from the book.

 

The Negro is the child of two cultures—Africa and America. The problem is that in the search for wholeness all too many Negros seek to embrace only one side of their natures.

Martin Luther King, Jr.

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Book Review: “Start, Love, Repeat” by @dorcas_ct

StartLoveRepeat_9781478920748_HC.indd

Why I picked up this book:

I was given the opportunity to review this book because the book’s author, Dorcas Cheng-Tozun, and I have been in a writing community together. Also, I thought the idea of book was smart, and opened doors for important conversations for people to have before taking the plunge of entrepreneurship. I also love the beauty and simply elegance of book’s cover!

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