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The Pivot

The Pivot

By Andrew Osenga

Stories of people who have made a change.
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017 Al Andrews

The PivotJan 16, 2018

00:00
57:14
097 - Morgan Harper Nichols

097 - Morgan Harper Nichols

If you follow a Christian woman between the ages of 20 and 40 on Instagram, then you’ve 1000% seen Morgan’s work. She does these beautiful, inspiring, super shareable quotes and thoughts over wonderful artwork and once they get to the internet they just go EVERYWHERE.

I remember seeing Morgan play music once or twice when one of her previous careers overlapped with my orbit. But who would have thought that she’d one day call herself a POET and be doing what she’s doing now, running her own business with the books, journals, stickers, and who knows what else that flows from her current creativity.

She’s got a new book that comes out next week called “How Far You Have Come” and I loved hearing the story of how this book came about. In fact, I loved our whole interview.

I started this whole podcast because I was hearing a lot of stories of people’s big successes, but I was in the midst of my own personal failure, and I desperately needed to hear that my story wasn’t over. Her story is so inspiring because, while what she’s doing now is doing quite well, it’s a really human tale with a lot of wandering, failure, fear, questions and the tenacity of just NEEDING to keep trying until something works.

I’m so glad it did.

You can get Morgan’s new book, as well as the stickers and a bunch of other amazing things, plus her 4-minute daily podcast, at MorganHarperNichols.com

Follow her on Instagram!

Also, don’t forget to join the CHICKEN OF THE MONTH CLUB! FH.org/pivot

And get your tickets to the WhiteOwlMusicFest - Jars, Sandra, me and a bunch of others at a socially distant music festival outside Nashville on May 29.

Also, here’s a little Andy O music, too!

Thank you all!

Now go do something awesome.

Apr 20, 202101:02:37
096 - Douglas McKelvey

096 - Douglas McKelvey

MY GOODNESS. I loved this conversation.

Douglas McKelvey is a most fascinating human. He’s the author of two incredible books of liturgies, the second actually releases this week and is called Every Moment Holy, Vol. 2: Death, Grief and Hope. He’s also a fantastic songwriter who doesn’t sing or play music, but has penned the lyrics to over 350 songs recorded by a variety of artists including Switchfoot, Kenny Rogers, Sanctus Real, and Jason Gray. He’s been a scriptwriter and video director and a lot of things in between.

Like me, he’s a father of three daughters. Also, like me, he’s spent a lot of time doing whatever he could to just keep the lights on that, in retrospect, look like a full, inspiring and rich life.

And that work history is only part of the story. Beyond that there’s a deeper narrative of bravely and intentionally moving away from isolation and towards friendship and community. Doug’s a decade or so ahead of me and he got his start in Nashville with a close little group of friends, led by Charlie Peacock, who have pretty much all become heroes and mentors of mine.

All of that leads so clearly, now, to his work writing these liturgies in Every Moment Holy, and it is wonderful to see how astonishingly successful they are. These books mean a lot to a lot of people, and when you hear all the work and love that Doug puts into creating these, you’ll understand why.

I’ll say it again at the end, but go to everymomentholy.com to order your copy of Every Moment Holy and the new Volume 2: Death, Grief and Hope.

And please, friends, join us at the CHICKEN OF THE MONTH CLUB!!!

Go to fh.org/pivot to sign up today!

Get your tickets to the White Owl Music Fest!! Just outside of Nashville on May 29.

Also, here’s a little Andy O music, too!

Thank you all!

Now go do something awesome.

Apr 14, 202101:08:36
095 - Lynn Holloway
Mar 30, 202101:05:25
094 - Jill Phillips

094 - Jill Phillips

After 20 years as a singer/songwriter, Jill Phillips went back to school to get her Masters in counseling and is now a full-time Marriage and Family therapist (who still plays music!)

To anyone who knows Jill at all, this career transition is not surprising. She is an incredibly wise and empathetic friend to many, and even her songs are often based on the themes of carrying each other’s burdens, and holding grief and hope together in the same hand.

We were originally going to do this interview in her new counseling office, so I could sit on her couch and, you know, get the full experience, but then it was a beautiful Spring day and we decided to just sit on their back porch and catch up. You might hear a few airplanes flying over, but you also might hear a lot of birds chirping, too. It was worth it.

These days, when I see Jill, it’s usually while we’re working on music or in line at Ladybird Taco, so I’ve not gotten the full story until this chat. I’ve watched her sitting and doing homework in soundcheck the past four years, though, and it’s been inspiring to see how focused and driven she is on learning better and better how to love and care for people.

Glad you guys hit play on this one, I think you’re really going to enjoy it.

If you want to learn more about Jill or hear her wonderful music you can go to JillPhillips.com

Get your tickets to the White Owl Music Fest!! Just outside of Nashville on May 29.

And please, friends, join us at the CHICKEN OF THE MONTH CLUB!!! Go to fh.org/pivot to sign up today!

Also, here’s a little Andy O music, if you’re interested…

Thank you all!

Now go do something awesome.

Mar 23, 202153:23
093 - Rob Touchstone (Founder of The Well Coffeehouse)
Mar 16, 202101:02:13
092 - David Zach
Mar 09, 202154:23
091 - Michael Wear
Mar 02, 202151:47
090 - Justin McRoberts
Feb 23, 202153:52
089 - Stu G
Feb 16, 202152:14
088 - Cindy Morgan
Feb 09, 202101:00:34
087 - Dr. Paul C.H. Lim

087 - Dr. Paul C.H. Lim

FRIENDS!! It has been a long time!! I did not intend to take this long between episodes, but between the election and a little Christmas covid (all recovered now, thankfully) it’s felt like a good time to take a little break. But we’re back now with a GREAT one!!

Professor Paul C. H. Lim (PhD, Cambridge) is associate professor of the history of Christianity (Divinity School) and affiliate professor of history (College of Arts & Science) at Vanderbilt University, and is an award-winning historian of Reformation - and post-Reformation Europe. One of his books, Mystery Unveiled: The Crisis of the Trinity in Early Modern England, won the 2013 Roland H. Bainton Prize as the best book in history/theology by the Sixteenth Century Society and Conference.

I’ve been a part of a nine-month fellows program with the Nashville Institute for Faith and Work and Dr. Lim has been teaching us through some of the great works of historical Chrstianity (Luther, Calvin, Augustine) as well as current authors like Tim Keller, N.T. Wright and Latasha Morrison. It is, to put it politely, kicking my butt and is one of the highlights of my week right now.

Paul studied at Yale, Princeton and Cambridge before teaching at Gordon Conwell and now Vanderbilt. I’ve been a rising sophomore since 1998.

Getting to know Dr. Lim and learn from his wisdom in a small group setting this past number of months has been incredible and I can’t wait for you to get to know him over this next hour as the Pivot returns from hiatus!!

Hear more from Paul in this interview:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zJ9TfkdgeFc&ab_channel=DigAndDelve

You can find Paul’s books at:

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=paul+c.h.+lim&dc&ref=a9_asc_1

CLICK HERE TO JOIN THE CHICKEN OF THE MONTH CLUB!!!!

Click here to check out my music.

Thank you for listening! Now go do something awesome!

Feb 02, 202158:42
086 - Santosh John - Live from Hutchmoot 2020

086 - Santosh John - Live from Hutchmoot 2020

Santosh John is from India and now lives in Atlanta, where he recently founded the3CG.com - a ministry for people of a Third Culture, who don’t live in their birth or heritage country but also don’t quite fit into the culture in which they live in now.

This was the first ever LIVE episode of The Pivot. Santosh John and I got to have this conversation as a part of the Rabbit Room’s virtual 2020 Hutchmoot Homebound conference.

We got to talk about exile, family, science, 90’s radio jams, Rich Mullins and Caedmon’s Call, all in front of a small, kind and socially distant audience of the Rabbit Room community.

This was a powerful and moving interview that first aired during the conference a few weeks ago and I’m so thrilled to share it with you today.

You can find Santosh and his wife Shiny, at The3cg.com

CLICK HERE TO JOIN THE CHICKEN OF THE MONTH CLUB!!!!

Click here to check out my music.

Thank you for listening! Now go do something awesome!

Oct 27, 202052:44
085 - Barnabas Piper
Sep 30, 202052:44
084 - Tim Timmons
Sep 22, 202001:01:02
083 - Ben Young

083 - Ben Young

Ben Young is an author, a speaker, and a pastor at Second Baptist Church in Houston (one of the largest churches in Texas), But what’s super fun about this for me is that he is the brother of one of my former bandmates, Cliff Young, of Caedmon’s Call. I used to see Ben ALL the time, as the band really used Second Baptist as our headquarters. It’s where we rehearsed, borrowed musical gear (with at least the intent to eventually return it), and ate, as Cliff would always say, all the Nutter Butters a Baptist Church could give us.

Ben just released a book LAST WEEK called "Survive the Day: Thriving in the Midst of LIfe's Storms". It’s a good book for the Pivot Podcast if ever there was one. And most definitely a good book for whatever you want to call this hot mess of a year we’re all living through.

What I love about this book is that it’s relational and easy to read, but also really USEFUL. He takes his years of experience not only as a pastor, but also as a person who has lived through a lot of pain, to give practical tools and insight to actually help you navigate those metaphorical “storms” we all go through.

It was so fun to “virtually” see him again and to catch up, and to finally thank him for causing the emotional pain that went on to provide for my family in my 20’s.

CLICK HERE to get Ben’s book and HERE for his website

CLICK HERE TO JOIN THE CHICKEN OF THE MONTH CLUB!!!!

Click here to check out my music.

Thank you for listening! Now go do something awesome!

Sep 08, 202049:35
082 - Davy Baysinger

082 - Davy Baysinger

Davy Basinger was the lead singer of a band called Bleach. If you were in a youth group in an American church in 1998 then you know EXACTLY who I’m talking about. Bleach and my first band, The Normals, were on the same label and had the same manager, and so we found ourselves getting to play a bunch of shows with them when we were getting started. They were a few years ahead of us and they became like super cool older cousins to us.

Davy and I actually reconnected while working on the CHICKEN OF THE MONTH CLUB with Food For The Hungry, where he works now. He designed the amazing coffee mug I’m posting here with my adorable parents. It’s been so fun to catch up and this was really special to me.

We got to cover a lot of ground, from songwriting to his work with Food for the Hungry to living in an RV and starting over after divorce. This was a wild one and so fun.

Bleach / Normals reunion show after we get out of quarantine, Davy? I’ve got a super good feeling about it…

To catch up with Davy on your own, you can find his instagram HERE.

CLICK HERE TO JOIN THE CHICKEN OF THE MONTH CLUB!!!!

CLICK HERE to see Eric Brown’s beautiful garden prints.

Click here to check out my music.

Thank you for listening! Now go do something awesome!

Sep 01, 202001:07:56
081 - Christine Dente
Aug 24, 202055:01
080 - Chris Llewellyn
Aug 11, 202044:54
079 - Savannah Locke
Aug 04, 202053:40
078 - Janice Gaines
Jul 28, 202001:09:43
077 - Pete Marra
Jul 21, 202043:01
076 - Nancy Guthrie
Jul 14, 202059:34
075 - Jillian Edwards
Jun 30, 202001:08:09
074 - Michael Blanton
Jun 23, 202001:14:24
073 - Alvin Love
Jun 16, 202001:07:46
072 - Gabe Scott
Jun 09, 202058:09
071 - Rachael Lampa
Jun 02, 202058:50
REPLAY - Kevin Twit
Apr 28, 202056:45
070 - Ron Block

070 - Ron Block

Where do you even start with Ron Block. As a musician, he is an absolute legend. You know how many Grammys Taylor Swift has? Ten. John Legend? Ten. How many Grammys has Ron Block got? FOURTEEN!! You know how many Dove awards for best album packaging I have lost? Two.
Ron has won a lot of those awards, of course, from his tenure as banjo and guitar player for Alison Krauss and Union Station. He’s also a member of the Soggy Bottom Boys, who were featured in the Coen Brothers film, O Brother, Where Art Thou.
But for people who know Ron, you kind of forget pretty quickly that he’s a legend. Because he’s such an amazing guy. He’s a student who’s read more books than a lot of us have ever seen. If you follow him online you would know what a gift he has with the written word and the nuances of kindness and thoughtfulness. He is just overflowing with wisdom, and graciousness and our community is so much the better for it.
Personally, I don’t know how often we have started talking about guitars or recording gear and then all of a sudden we’re talking about being fathers and husbands, and from there it’s a quick hop over to C.S. Lewis and the Apostle John, and back to guitars and gear. It’s all one conversation because the se things are all a part of one well-lived life.
It was so fun to sit down with Ron and kick this off with a memory that has long stuck with me, of one of our first great conversations. I made an off the cuff remark, and his reply taught me more than many books I’ve read or sermons I’ve sat through. His faith in Jesus is practical and applicable in a way that shouldn’t be so surprising, but is. And it was a big game changer for me.
Join us for this one and I think you’ll start to understand why.
You can find Ron’s new album “A Light So Fair” AND sign up for online guitar or banjo lessons from the absolute master at:
ronblock.com
For more about me and my music or this podcast you can visit
andrewosenga.com
everybodypivots.com
Apr 14, 202057:28
069 - David Johnson (Silent Images)
Apr 07, 202034:34
068 - Mark Stuart
Mar 30, 202042:29
067 - Ben Shive
Mar 24, 202001:02:35
066 - Jeremy Cowart
Oct 15, 201901:01:30
065 - Andrew & Don Donahue - Listener Mail
Oct 08, 201955:28
064 - Nate Larkin

064 - Nate Larkin

Nate Larkin was a pastor, the son of a pastor, a young husband, and also a sex addict. His story is one of incredible sadness and also incredible hope. He has gone on to found an organization called the Samson Society, a fellowship of Christian men who are serious about authenticity, community, humility & recovery. It’s been a place of much healing for thousands of men walking through addiction. He is a fantastic storyteller with an infectious laugh and you’ll end up sitting in the parking lot, late for work, until this one’s done. Nate is the host of the Pirate Monk podcast and the Positive Sobriety podcast, alongside last week’s guest, David Hampton. I also need to give a big plug for the SamsonSociety.com website, where you can join virtual meetings pretty much any day and find friends around the world ready to help carry your burden. There are blogs, podcasts, ebooks, software, and a thousand different tools and resources to help guys walk out of isolation and shame and into healing and recovery. Sponsor a child through Compassion International today!! http://www.compassion.com/thepivot Get your tickets for Andrew Peterson's "Behold the Lamb" tour: https://www.andrew-peterson.com/tour Andrew's links: http://www.andrewosenga.com/ https://www.everybodypivots.com/
Sep 24, 201901:18:39
063 - David Hampton
Sep 21, 201901:06:55
062 - Garett and Carrie Buell
Sep 10, 201901:13:32
061 - Don Donahue

061 - Don Donahue

Don Donahue might not be a familiar name to most of you, and that’s how he likes it. But as a kid reading liner notes in his bedroom in Illinois, there were three or four names that always seemed to pop up on album after album and Don Donahue was one of them. Turns out he was A&R on some of the most important albums of my youth, Michael W Smith’s “Change Your World”, Rich Mullins “The World As Best As I Remember It” and “Liturgy, Legacy”. I do that exact job now, A&R, but I didn’t know then what it was. Turns out Don might not have either. There’s a lot more here, to starting a new label, called Rocketown, with Michael. And then having to close it down, too. Like pretty much everybody, Don has had to reconfigure, reinvent, and reinvest himself in different roles and the communities that spring up around them. And he’s not done. What’s super fun is that he’s brought himself to the podcast to not only share his story, but also to open himself up to let you and me speak into what’s next. The end of this one is going to lead us to a different kind of episode, that will happen in about a month or so. We’re going to hear Don’s story and then if you have any thoughts or ideas or questions after our conversation, you can send them to me and Don and I will talk through them on an upcoming episode. That’s part of a larger discussion I’ve been having about how we can make the podcast more useful and more collaborative. I’m excited to see how it goes and I encourage you to dig in and send us your questions and your thoughts. For now, enjoy this fun and lively discussion covering a wide range of music, faith, business and community. Sponsor a child through Compassion International today!! http://www.compassion.com/thepivot Andrew's links: http://www.andrewosenga.com/ https://www.everybodypivots.com/
Aug 27, 201901:01:03
060 - My (anonymous) friend from Eritrea
Aug 20, 201901:07:31
059 - Diana Beach Batarseh
Jul 16, 201956:50
058 - Charlie Peacock

058 - Charlie Peacock

Jul 09, 201901:14:48
057 - Nathan Tasker
Jul 02, 201901:14:36
056 - Dennis Parker
Jun 18, 201901:07:25
055 - Kelly Corday
Jun 11, 201901:04:19
054 - Eric Peters
Jun 04, 201901:21:30
053 - Trillia Newbell
May 29, 201950:16
052 - Jody Davis
May 21, 201901:10:07
051 - Amanda Lindsey Cook
May 14, 201901:02:16
Season 4 - PREVIEW

Season 4 - PREVIEW

Friends! The Pivot is coming back next week for SEASON 4!
We're going to have some amazing guests: More CCM legends, some dear old friends, dear new friends, authors, musicians, and other folks willing to share their stories as they figure out what's next.
We're super excited to announce that we're partnering with Compassion International to bring you this season. We have some incredible stories to tell of some of the greatest pivots of all, as lives are changed around the world, and here at home, through the great work of Compassion.
This is going to be great. Check back every Tuesday morning for new episodes.
Now go do something awesome.
May 07, 201902:07
050 - John Delony
Feb 12, 201901:03:15