Stephen Bargatze (Magician)

How to be content with what you have and strive for what’s next at the same time, the 4 questions Ruth asks to help her see her circumstances the way God does, and how she is currently processing the disappointing slowdown in her once rapidly growing businessLinks Mentioned:Ruth Chou SimonsRuth Chou Simons BooksRuth Chou Simons on InstagramRuth Chou Simons on YouTubeNow and Note Yet Book WebsiteNow and Not Yet: Pressing in When You’re Waiting, Wanting, and Restless for MoreGraceLacedGraceLaced on FacebookGraceLaced on InstagramGraceLaced on Pinterest2020 Episode: Ruth Chou Simons (Founder of GraceLaced)The Gospel Primer: Learning to See the Glories of God's LoveThe New Menopause: Navigating Your Path Through Hormonal Change with Purpose, Power, and FactsEpisode: Chassie Anders (Founder of Crown of Glory Beauty)Jordan Raynor

What it means to Stephen that Satan had no idea what Nate Bargatze would become, how magic can create awe and wonder that leads to belief in God, and the gospel-centered mental shift he credits for the salvation of his mom on her deathbed.Links Mentioned:Stephen BargatzeStephen Bargatze on InstagramStephen Bargatze on YouTubeNate Bargatze The International Brotherhood of MagiciansJason MichaelsAndre KoleThe Crown: RuritaniaThe Sacredness of Secular WorkRedeeming Your TimeContact JordanJordan Raynor

The dangers in the Church’s culture of giving, what Christian peer groups might have looked like in the first century, and how to create “mini Bema Seat moments” to judge your work before God does.Links Mentioned:Mike Sharrow on LinkedInMike Sharrow on XC12 Business ForumsC12 Business Forums on YouTubeCURRENT25WalgreensUnoffendableThe Sacredness of Secular WorkRedeeming Your TimeContact JordanJordan Raynor

How God is using ballets about faith to reach non-Christians, how to not undersell the power of the Holy Spirit at work, and Jordan’s favorite This Is Us scene that powerfully illustrates the gospel.Links Mentioned:Julianna Rubio SlagerJulianna Rubio Slager (5:8 Ballet)Julianna Rubio Slager on LinkedInJulianna Rubio Slager on InstagramJulianna Rubio Slager on Linktr.eeBallet 5:8Julianna Slager (Co-founder of Ballet 5:8 2019)The School of American BalletBallet MagnificatKathy Thibodeaux on LinkedInAll God’s ChildrenOlivier MessiaenMakoto FujimuraSlow ProductivityThis Is UsSteve CussManaging Leadership Anxiety: Yours and TheirsRedeeming Your Time: 7 Biblical Principles for Being Purposeful, Present, and Wildly ProductiveJordan Raynor

How to discern what God wants to renew in your workplace, 3 positive things boasting in weakness produces, and Jordan’s new vocational dream for the New Earth.Links Mentioned:Jenna Barret on LinkedInJenna Barret on InstagramChoice HotelsJenna Fortier (Student & Founder of PASTA) (Episode 61)Jordan Raynor (Host of Mere Christians) (Episode 100)Aliyah Boston on InstagramPaige Bueckers on InstagramTamika Catchings on InstagramCalled to Create: A Biblical Invitation to Create, Innovate, and RiskThe Sacredness of Secular WorkPracticing the Way: Be with Jesus. Become like him. Do as he did.Mere Christians CommunityJordan Raynor

5 practices for ensuring your work doesn’t become an idol, why “gratitude is the on-ramp to adoration” of God, and why Jesus said he is the “bread of life” and not the “grain of life.”Links Mentioned:Joe RigneyJoe Rigney on XJoe Rigney on LinkedInStrangely BrightLive Like A Narnian: Christian Discipleship in Lewis's ChroniclesThe Sacredness of Secular WorkLeaf by Niggle‘Mythopoeia’The Great DivorceLetters to MalcolmJordan Raynor

What Jen envisions her work looking like on the New Earth, how the “dangerous light” in you makes every Christian’s work sacred, and why it’s significant that gold will be trampled on for eternity.Links Mentioned:Jen WilkinJen Wilkin on InstagramJen Wilkin on XRevelation - Bible Study Book with Video Access: Eternal King, Everlasting KingdomJen Wilkin BooksAndy CrouchThe Sacredness of Secular WorkArt and Faith: A Theology of MakingThe Knowledge of the HolyThe Holiness of GodJordan Raynor

How Christ redeemed Anne after horrific trauma and abuse, how her trauma gave her purpose and ambition for Auntie Anne’s, and how to stop overcomplicating the presence of God.This episode originally aired on August 23, 2023. Because you all loved it so much, we are re-releasing it as a part of our Fan Fave Flashbacks series this summer! Would you like to be a guest on the Mere Christians podcast when we begin new episodes this fall? Share your story with our producers at jordanraynor.com/mcLinks Mentioned:Auntie Anne Beiler on InstagramAuntie Anne BeilerAuntie Anne’sTwist of FaithHe Will Hold Me Fast on YouTubeEmerge Counseling MinistriesCome to the TableDisciplines for the Inner LifeOvercome and LeadJordan Raynor

What the “dirty jobs” of God mean for you and me, the power of dwelling on what God has saved you from, and how to “choose joy” in a job you don’t love.This episode originally aired on July 19, 2023. Because you all loved it so much, we are re-releasing it as a part of our Fan Fave Flashbacks series this summer! Would you like to be a guest on the Mere Christians podcast when we begin new episodes this fall? Share your story with our producers at jordanraynor.com/mcLinks Mentioned:Janitor JoshThe Adventures of Janitor Josh on AmazonThe Power of a Praying WifeJordan Raynor

How the truth that “God’s will is much more a way than a thing” leads to a radical freedom in life and work, the difference between “justifying your legitimacy” and “expressing your belovedness” through your work, and the most brilliant interpretation of Ecclesiastes I’ve ever heard.This episode originally aired on July 5, 2023. Because you all loved it so much, we are re-releasing it as a part of our Fan Fave Flashbacks series this summer! Would you like to be a guest on the Mere Christians podcast when we begin new episodes this fall? Share your story with our producers at jordanraynor.com/mcLinks Mentioned:Dave Evans on LinkedInDave Evans on TwitterDesigning Your LifeDesigning Your LifeElectronic ArtsStanford UniversityStanford Life Design LabChristian Companion to Designing Your LifeBill Burnett on LinkedInTrip HawkinsGuy KawasakiThe Will of God as a Way of LifeA Grace DisguisedAbandonment to Divine ProvidenceThomas MertonTod Bolsinger on LinkedInEcclesiastesWay of the HeartLet Your Life SpeakMindsightBryan Stevenson on LinkedInThe Creator in YouJordan Raynor