Working with Dan Doriani

For those who have ever felt discouraged by the relentless feed of news, The Pour Over delivers news to your inbox with an eternal perspective. Kathleen Wadkins, Head of Content, joins Dan on this episode to talk about how faith in Jesus informs her and her organization as they read and communicate world news to their readers.

Briarwood Ballet has been training girls and boys in classical ballet since 1980. Ballet Exaltion, the performing arm, has been performing around the world since 1993. Executive Director Peggy Baker Townes joins Dan this week to talk about ballet from a Christian perspective–dancing as a response to the King who made us, because He made us able to dance.

This week, Dan is joined by professional golfer Webb Simpson to talk about the pressures of playing golf on the PGA tour–playing in adverse conditions, facing intense pressure in the public eye, and being on the road, away from his family. Being a follower of Jesus influences every part of Webb’s game, from the longest drives to the shortest putts. On the course and off, Webb is looking to use his talents to influence his sphere of the world for God’s Kingdom.

The Bible Caddie Podcast:

We bring all of who we are into our jobs, including our emotions. We might feel like emotions have no place in the workplace, but this is unrealistic and might lead to some unintended emotional consequences. Jonathan Pennington, author of “Jesus the Great Philosopher,” joins Dan to talk about our emotions, and why they should lead us to deep questions about ourselves and about God.

Should we leave our every day lives at the door when we come to worship? Is there a way for us to worship in a way that’s unique to our work? Matthew Kaemingk, Associate Professor at Fuller Theological Seminary and founder of Worship for Workers, joins Dan to talk about how God’s people in the past have connected their work to their worship, and how we might do the same.

David Bahnsen has built a career over the past 20+ years in finance and investment, having previously worked for Morgan Stanley, he then formed The Bahnsen Group which now oversees over 5 billion in assets. David has written several books, including his latest, Full Time: Work and the Meaning of Life. In today’s conversation, Dan and David talk about some of those books including his latest, his philosophy of investment and money management, and how his faith uniquely impacts his work. 

Tom Gibbs joins Dan in today’s episode to discuss the unique challenges of ministry leadership. Tom began his career planting a chapter of RUF (Reformed University Fellowship) on Baylor University's campus, and then a few years later planted Redeemer Presbyterian Church, a multicultural church in the heart of San Antonio. Redeemer blossomed under Tom’s leadership, and he pastored there for 19 years. In 2021, Tom came to Covenant Theological Seminary as president, at the height of the pandemic. At each spot along the way, there were unique challenges and different requirements for leadership, and in today’s episode, Tom shares some of the insights gained throughout his nearly 3-decade long career. 

Mike Duke spent years in senior leadership for Walmart, ultimately serving as CEO from 2009-2013. At the moment he took over the global economy was in the midst of significant upheaval, and rapid change was affecting the retail industry. In the early years, he pioneered a push for more online sales, bringing Walmart into a new era of growth and profitability. But more than the practical aspects of his leadership, Mike has always been marked by two principal characteristics, his humility and his love for his employees. Join us today and listen as Dan explores with Mike what it’s like to lead a company of 2 million employees while doing justice and loving mercy. 

Alan Barnhart inherited his family's business and, alongside his brother, has grown a relatively small regional business into a nationwide one. Over the past 34 years, he developed several principles that are at the core of how they operate. They give away nearly half their yearly profit, and they task their employees with helping determine where the money goes. Alan sees this as good stewardship and a way to love the communities in which his company operates. As you will hear in today’s episode, he cares deeply about his employees, community, and business. He feels a tremendous sense of responsibility for the work that God has entrusted him with. We hope you enjoy today’s conversation.

Season 9 episode 1 

Joel Salatin gained national purchase through his appearance in the 2006 book, The Omnivore’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan. Joel had been known for years prior due to his pioneering work in regenerative farming. Joel has been at the forefront of a unique movement in American farming and husbandry that sought to bring sustainability to an economically and ecologically challenging profession - and all of it through his perspective as a believer. In today’s episode, Dan digs into all the aspects that make Joel’s unique perspective such a clarion call for believers. It is no longer merely about sustenance but about our creational responsibility to the created world. It is a prescient challenge in a turbulent time.

We are fascinated by restaurant culture; from celebrity chef’s, to cooking competitions, to fancy food photography, or finding out the latest hottest place to open in our neighborhood. But behind the facade is the hard day to day work of running a restaurant, managing people, and perhaps most importantly offering true hospitality. Today, Dan talks with two restaurateurs from St. Louis, Jim Fiala and Mike Duffy. They run quite different styles of establishments, one fine dining, the other a casual sports pub. Despite the difference in their establishments, they are both informed and shaped by their faith. Join us and listen to today’s fascinating conversation. 

What is work life balance? Is it something to strive for, or is it merely something we have been inculturated to? In today’s podcast, Dan talks with Brent Harriman, the founding pastor of Resurrection Presbyterian Church in Knoxville and former campus minister with RUF about the specific challenges of ministry life. What are the expectations towards those in ministry as it relates to work, and how can those in ministry rightly challenge their own community. Dan and Brent talk openly about their own experiences, from their own unique perspectives; we think you will enjoy this candid conversation, so please join us. 

Building and maintaining work culture is one of the most challenging, yet important, facets of running a successful business. Both today’s guests, Matt Darr and Peggy Demetri have years of experience in doing exactly that. They share insights and lessons learned on how best to cultivate the kind of healthy work environment that allows employees to thrive. Join us today as Dan talks with Matt and Peggy, and explores workplace culture, building a team and how their faith makes them better leaders.

Can the shape of a building, the design, use of materials, even the play of light in its corridors and rooms actually shape us as people? Can it influence our mood? Can it create a sense of awe? Point us toward worship? In today’s conversation with Tyler and Sarah, Dan explores how architecture and design can express personality, advance cultural goals, even impact and build relationships. At the heart of it though, is how their faith informs their work. Join us for this fascinating conversation, we hope you are both challenged and informed by it. 

In today’s podcast Dan interviews Rico Tice, an Anglican evangelist and perhaps best known for his book, Christianity Explored. Mr. Tice was born in Chile, raised in Uganda, and educated in England. He joined All Souls church in London, under the leadership of John Stott in 1994. Dan and Rico discuss why evangelism is so hard, the courage it takes to remain faithful to the gospel, and how reading scripture together with non-believers helps to create a pathway for conversation and conversion.

Mentorship is much like planting a seed and nurturing it’s growth, tending to it until it bears fruit. As Steven Garber says, mentorship is the act of bringing one into vocation over the course of their life. As part of the burden of mentorship there is a deeper recognition that all of life falls under the Lordship of Christ. Dan and Steven acknowledge their influences from Lesslie Newbigin to Michael Polyani to Abraham Kuyper, and along the way they discuss everything from marketing, to knowing, hiking, politics, and their aesthetic sensibilities. Join us as we conclude season 7 with this profound and stimulating conversation on faith and work.

Katherine Alsdorf has been at the forefront of the Faith and Work movement since she joined Redeemer’s Center for Faith and Work in 2002. Prior to her work for Redeemer, she spent years leading various firms in tech and entrepreneurial spaces in Silicon Valley and New York City. She co-authored Every Good Endeavor with Tim Keller in 2012. In today’s episode, Katherine joins Dan to discuss her career in hi-tech, her perspective on Faith and Work, and some of the unique challenges women face in the workplace. 

Elliot Kellner was “gifted” a love of the outdoors by a childhood spent exploring his family’s Appalachian farm with siblings and cousins. Those early impactful years shaped him into an adult with a profound love of creation, and also for the people who inhabit creation. Dr. Kellner has been a youth pastor, a professor at the University of West Virginia, and is now director of commercial innovation at the Danforth Plant Science Center in St. Louis. Dan talks with Elliott about trees, water, creation care, and how in his current role at the Danforth Center Elliott brings together his academic discipline with practical application.  

Also, check out the brief interview at the end with Zac Waggener, a recent participant in one of CFW’s cohorts and how his experience helped him to make a difference in his corner of the world.

Read more about Dr. Kellner’s position with the Danforth Center here: https://www.danforthcenter.org/news/danforth-center-expands-innovation-team/

To be human is to desire, and that capacity can be directed toward things both sinful and holy. Jen Pollack Michel says desire  “can bring us most honestly and vulnerably into the presence of God, and He is the one who rightly orders our desires.” In this wonderfully vulnerable discussion, Dan and guest host Abby Karsten discuss the nature of desire, how God shapes and orders the longings of our heart, and what it means when even our rightly ordered desires are not granted. 

It thrills us, challenges us, moves us, frightens us, fills us with awe, wonder and hope: art. The creative impulse is a vibrant and wonderful thing, fully mysterious in the ways in which it has inhabited individuals throughout human history. On this week’s episode of Working w. Dan Doriani, Dan talks with pastor and noted author Russ Ramsey about his latest book, Rembrandt is in the Wind. Russ addresses the transcendence of art, but also the vulnerability of the wounded humans behind our great masterpieces. What does art, and the broken lives of artists, tell us about the world? More fully, how can we see the gospel threaded through the miasma of their pain? 

Music has the ability to comfort, to inspire, to bring us to a place of worship. Sandra McCracken has been making music that does all of that for several decades. Sandra has had a successful solo career and has been a member of several influential and well-known groups. Perhaps best known for her recent work crafting songs from the Psalms intended for congregational singing, Sandra and Dan discuss the nature of songcraft in this episode. How does inspiration strike – or does it? And why the Psalms are such fertile ground to compose modern hymns.

“Our creativity is better with seasons of rest,” says Kelly Kapic, author of You’re Only Human: How your limits reflect God’s Design and Why That’s Good News and today's guest on Working with Dan Doriani. Rest is a reflection of our limitations, and limitations are more broadly a sign of our humanness. God made us finite, with boundaries to what we can accomplish. Our creatureliness, our dependency, and our finitude lead us toward humility, or at least it ought to. Dan and Kelly work through all the implications of being human in this illuminating conversation.

Suffering is at the core of the Christian story, yet our experience of suffering as Christians creates all kinds of cognitive, spiritual, and emotional dissonance. Tim Challies, Dan's guest on this episode of Working with Dan Doriani, explicitly identifies this tension when he asks: "When we faced this time of tragedy, it was the time to ask: what is all this theology going to do for you? In your moment of need, are you going to turn away from it, or are you going to go deeper into it?"

Not only did Tim go deeper into it, but he also channeled his grief through his work. The resulting product was his book Seasons of Sorrow. Listen as Dan and Tim discuss the death of Tim's son, the gospel hope behind the sorrow of that loss, and how work – particularly writing – was Tim's way of processing and publicly healing.

What are the challenges that female executives face in today's business climate? What is the likelihood of female entrepreneurs finding the funding they need to start their businesses? Is it possible to lead a business when your partner is also your spouse? Lisa Nichols, Dan's guest on Working with Dan Doriani, addresses these questions and more. Her experience leading Technology Partners over the last 30 years has given her incredible insight and understanding into a believer's role in shaping the workplace culture and providing much-needed mentorship to women in business.

The stories always come out afterward: churches fall apart, ministries fail, and congregants carry hurt with them for years. The issue of spiritual abuse in the church is both deeply painful but also relevant. We have heard the stories, listened to the podcasts, and seen or experienced the damage ourselves. In this episode of Working with Dan Doriani, Dan talks with Michael Kruger, author of the recently published Bully Pulpit: Confronting the Problem of Spiritual Abuse in the Church. They discuss the book, the nature of abuse in churches, and what there is to be done about it. For instance, could it be possible to prevent abuse before it even begins by writing job descriptions featuring firm accountability and deep transparency and emphasizing servanthood over power and humility over stardom?

Addiction has a pervasive impact on our culture, ranging from legally available opioids and alcohol to illicit narcotics; addiction even manifests itself in mundane areas of our lives as well. 

The challenge to overcome and conquer addiction can seem overwhelming to those held captive by it. And it is too often the case that relapse is experienced as an all-encompassing failure. In this episode of Working with Dan Doriani, Dan talks with Dr. Nii Addy, a professor at Yale and an expert in the neurobiology of addiction. On a hopeful note, Dr. Addy argues that relapse is but one step along the way to success; in fact, repeated attempts are the greatest indicator of success in breaking addiction. Listen as Dan and Nii discuss our brain's role in addiction, recovery, and the healing power of prayer.

Olasky explains the world of publishing and offers his definition of conservatism. The author of many books about faith and politics revisits the concept of compassionate conservatism, which he championed for decades. 

Watson practices law for a large firm litigating judicial decisions that seem both mistaken and strategic enough to challenge. Watson explains how his firm decides to take up a case and how they work to reverse judicial mistakes in areas like free speech and the so-called wall between church and state.

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With degrees and mentoring in traditional physical therapy, in treating chronic pain, and in “manual training,” Josh Borgmyer is one of the go-to therapists in his region. Josh marvels at the design of the human body and aims to work with God’s design to help many people regain muscular and skeletal health without surgery. He also reflects on the experience of seeing things about the body that no one else sees (yet).

Matt Pierson has played bass on over a thousand studio albums and for countless

concerts, often with essentially no time to prepare. Matt tells us how that is

possible, how things really work in a recording studio and how years of experience

shape his skills. He explains how his faith shapes his musicianship and enabled

him to recover from a catastrophic injury to his hand.

Dave Jump, President of American Milling, is an entrepreneur with a reputation for nurturing successful businesses. Though Dave primarily works, very successfully, to transfer grain up and down the Mississippi River, his eye for business and heart for his workers has made him successful at most things he’s set his hand to—from his revitalization of St. Louis’s beloved City Museum to the emergency production of much needed ventilators during the Covid-19 pandemic. Through his creativity, hard work and dignifying care for and compensation of his employees, Dave is an excellent model for what it looks like to use your God given talents, treasure, and position for the glory of God and good of neighbor.

Tony Bancroft is the animator and director who has brought you some of your favorite childhood characters like Pumba and Kronk!  Dan and Tony talk Disney, disappointment, and seeing God, even in the midst of your failure.

"There's a romantic idea of being creative. Shut the door and create. But creating is communal."

Steph Hubach is a Research Fellow in Disability Ministry with Covenant Seminary, author of two books on disability in the church, and formerly the director of Mission to North America's Special Needs Ministries. Steph offers a theologically robust and deeply personal vision for what the gospel tells us about disability in both its physical and social dimensions. She reminds us that we are all a mix of both the blessedness of creation and the brokenness of the fall; we all have capacities as well as vulnerabilities--and it is especially in those places of weakness that God delights to work.