266: What Jesus Intended (Alan with Todd Hunter)
It’s been nearly 45 years ago that I attended a jazz concert sponsored by a Sacramento area church. I was invited to it by my boss, Jim. I had been working for him for a year or two at the Magic Tunnel Car Wash. It was at that concert that Jim’s life, shaped as it was by his love for Jesus, came to make sense to me. When someone asked me why I’d come forward at the end of the concert, my answer was simply, “I want what Jim has.”
It was that simple focus on Jesus in Jim’s life and in that little community that drew me into a new way of living and, eventually, into the vocational focus of my life. And refocusing on Jesus along my journey has been what has renewed me, even revived me, when my life began to feel heavy, or wayward, or empty.
All of this is why I’m so happy to be talking with Todd Hunter, my bishop and my friend, about his new book What Jesus Intended: Finding True Faith in the Rubble of Bad Religion. Doesn’t that title speak to where so many of us find ourselves these days?
The Rt. Rev. Dr. Todd Hunter is the founder of The Center for Formation, Justice and Peace. He is past president of Alpha USA, former national director for the Association of Vineyard Churches, and retired founding pastor of Holy Trinity Anglican Church in Costa Mesa, CA. He is the author of many books, including Christianity Beyond Belief: Following Jesus for the Sake of Others, Giving Church Another Chance, Our Character at Work and Deep Peace. He writes a weekly newsletter, The Gospel of the Kingdom, that you can find on Substack. Todd also happens to be my bishop and my friend.
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Alan consults and coaches leaders and their organizations in the U.S. and around the world, helping them work towards long-term productivity that lasts rather than settling for quick fixes that don’t. He is the award-winning author of five books, including An Unhurried Life, An Unhurried Leader, and A Non-Anxious Life.
Gem is the co-host of the Unhurried Living Podcast as well as the author of Hold That Thought and co-author of What Does Your Soul Love? Her work has appeared in Propel Women and Our Daily Bread.
