What do we do when God no longer feels as close as He used to feel?

Many sincere believers experience seasons when prayer feels empty, Scripture feels quiet, and God seems strangely absent. For leaders especially, those seasons can feel confusing, discouraging, and even shameful.

In this episode of the Unhurried Living Podcast, Alan Fadling sits down with theologian and spiritual formation professor Kyle Strobel to discuss the new book When God Seems Distant, coauthored with John Coe.

Together, they explore:
Why spiritual dryness is a normal part of mature faith
The danger of equating spiritual feelings with God’s presence
How suffering and helplessness can become places of formation
The subtle ways we avoid God—even through our spirituality
Why love, rather than striving, is what truly transforms us

This conversation offers a compassionate and deeply hopeful vision for anyone walking through uncertainty, weariness, disappointment, or spiritual distance.

Whether you are a pastor, leader, spiritual director, or simply someone longing to remain near to God in difficult seasons, this episode offers wisdom and encouragement for the journey.

Connect with Alan on LinkedIn or learn more about Unhurried Living programs on their website. 

Learn about PACE: Certificate in Leadership and Soul Care

What do we do when God no longer feels as close as He used to feel?
Many sincere believers experience seasons when prayer feels empty, Scripture feels quiet, and God seems strangely absent. For leaders especially, those seasons can feel confusing, discouraging, and even shameful.
In this episode of the Unhurried Living Podcast, Alan Fadling sits down with theologian and spiritual formation professor Kyle Strobel to discuss the new book When God Seems Distant, coauthored with John Coe.
Together, they explore:
<ul>
<li>Why spiritual dryness is a normal part of mature faith</li>
<li>The danger of equating spiritual feelings with God&rsquo;s presence</li>
<li>How suffering and helplessness can become places of formation</li>
<li>The subtle ways we avoid God&mdash;even through our spirituality</li>
<li>Why love, rather than striving, is what truly transforms us</li>
</ul>
This conversation offers a compassionate and deeply hopeful vision for anyone walking through uncertainty, weariness, disappointment, or spiritual distance.
Whether you are a pastor, leader, spiritual director, or simply someone longing to remain near to God in difficult seasons, this episode offers wisdom and encouragement for the journey.
<hr>
Connect with Alan on&nbsp;<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/alanfadling/">LinkedIn</a>&nbsp;or learn more about&nbsp;<a href="https://www.unhurriedliving.com/alan">Unhurried Living programs</a> on their website.&nbsp;
Learn about <a href="https://www.unhurriedliving.com/pace">PACE: Certificate in Leadership and Soul Care</a>

Many of us feel hurried, and hurry is costing us more than we realize. The Unhurried Living Podcast with Alan and Gem Fadling provides resources and training to help Christian leaders learn to live and lead from fullness rather than on empty. Great influence begins on the inside, in your soul. Learning healthy patterns of rest and work can transform your life—your daily influence. Built on more than twenty-five years of experience at the intersection of spiritual formation and leadership development, Unhurried Living seeks to inspire people around the world to rest deeper so they can live fuller and lead better.

If this podcast helps you be an unhurried leader, be sure to check out our website https://www.unhurriedliving.com/, where we have books, resources, and featured membership communities so you can learn with fellow leaders how to lead from abundance instead of lack.

Many of us feel hurried, and hurry is costing us more than we realize. The Unhurried Living Podcast with Alan and Gem Fadling provides resources and training to help Christian leaders learn to live and lead from fullness rather than on empty. Great influence begins on the inside, in your soul. Learning healthy patterns of rest and work can transform your life—your daily influence. Built on more than twenty-five years of experience at the intersection of spiritual formation and leadership development, Unhurried Living seeks to inspire people around the world to rest deeper so they can live fuller and lead better.
If this podcast helps you be an unhurried leader, be sure to check out our website <a href="https://www.unhurriedliving.com/">https://www.unhurriedliving.com/</a>, where we have books, resources, and featured membership communities so you can learn with fellow leaders how to lead from abundance instead of lack.

Unhurried Living | Helping Christians Rest Deeper & Lead Better

Many of us feel hurried, and hurry is costing us more than we realize. The Unhurried Living Podcast with Alan and Gem Fadling provides resources and training to help Christian leaders learn to live and lead from fullness rather than on empty. Great influence begins on the inside, in your soul. Learning healthy patterns of rest and work can transform your life—your daily influence as well as your leadership. Built on more than twenty-five years of experience at the intersection of spiritual formation and leadership development, Unhurried Living seeks to inspire people around the world to rest deeper so they can live fuller and lead better.

If this podcast helps you be an unhurried leader, be sure to check out our website https://www.unhurriedliving.com/, where we have books, resources, and featured membership communities so you can learn with fellow Christian leaders how to lead from abundance instead of lack.

Many of us feel hurried, and hurry is costing us more than we realize. The Unhurried Living Podcast with Alan and Gem Fadling provides resources and training to help Christian leaders learn to live and lead from fullness rather than on empty. Great influence begins on the inside, in your soul. Learning healthy patterns of rest and work can transform your life—your daily influence as well as your leadership. Built on more than twenty-five years of experience at the intersection of spiritual formation and leadership development, Unhurried Living seeks to inspire people around the world to rest deeper so they can live fuller and lead better.
If this podcast helps you be an unhurried leader, be sure to check out our website <a href="https://www.unhurriedliving.com/">https://www.unhurriedliving.com/</a>, where we have books, resources, and featured membership communities so you can learn with fellow Christian leaders how to lead from abundance instead of lack.

When God Seems Distant (Kyle Strobel)

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/5e27a451-e6e6-4c51-aa03-a7370003783c/clips/bba04581-1043-4a84-9b87-b45b0130bef5/transcript

What if the Holy Spirit is not distant or confusing—but closer than you think?

 

In this replay episode of the Unhurried Living Podcast, Alan Fadling sits down with pastor and author Tyler Staton to explore what it means to grow in discernment and recognize God’s voice through the presence of the Holy Spirit. Drawing from Tyler’s book The Familiar Stranger, this conversation invites us beyond ideas about God into a lived, relational experience with him.

 

Many leaders sense a gap between what Scripture describes about the Spirit’s power and what they experience in daily life. Together, Alan and Tyler gently explore how that gap can begin to close—not through striving, but through growing familiarity with God’s voice, learning to discern what is truly from him, and opening ourselves to a more vibrant, Spirit-led life.

 

Whether you feel curious, uncertain, or quietly hungry for more, this conversation offers a hopeful path forward.

 

Connect with Alan on LinkedIn or learn more about Unhurried Living programs on their website. 

Learn about PACE: Certificate in Leadership and Soul Care

What if the Holy Spirit is not distant or confusing&mdash;but closer than you think?
&nbsp;
In this replay episode of the Unhurried Living Podcast, Alan Fadling sits down with pastor and author <a href="https://www.tylerstaton.com/">Tyler Staton</a> to explore what it means to grow in discernment and recognize God&rsquo;s voice through the presence of the Holy Spirit. Drawing from Tyler&rsquo;s book <a href="https://www.tylerstaton.com/the-familiar-stranger">The Familiar Stranger</a>, this conversation invites us beyond ideas about God into a lived, relational experience with him.
&nbsp;
Many leaders sense a gap between what Scripture describes about the Spirit&rsquo;s power and what they experience in daily life. Together, Alan and Tyler gently explore how that gap can begin to close&mdash;not through striving, but through growing familiarity with God&rsquo;s voice, learning to discern what is truly from him, and opening ourselves to a more vibrant, Spirit-led life.
&nbsp;
Whether you feel curious, uncertain, or quietly hungry for more, this conversation offers a hopeful path forward.
&nbsp;
<hr>
Connect with Alan on&nbsp;<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/alanfadling/">LinkedIn</a>&nbsp;or learn more about&nbsp;<a href="https://www.unhurriedliving.com/alan">Unhurried Living programs</a> on their website.&nbsp;
Learn about <a href="https://www.unhurriedliving.com/pace">PACE: Certificate in Leadership and Soul Care</a>

How to Recognize God's Voice: Growing in Discernment Through the Holy Spirit (Unhurried Favorite with Tyler Staton)

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/5e27a451-e6e6-4c51-aa03-a7370003783c/clips/1f37f36f-8f1e-4fae-9a6e-b48100d7c04a/transcript

What does it really mean to become the best version of yourself in God?

 

In this episode of the Unhurried Living Podcast, Gem Fadling sits down with therapist and bestselling author Dr. Alison Cook to talk about Christian boundaries, finding your voice, healing trauma, and facing emotional pain with faith.

 

Dr. Alison shares a deeply personal story that shaped her book The Best of You, and we explore why so many Christian women struggle to recognize their needs, speak up in relationships, and set healthy boundaries without guilt. We also look at how Jesus modeled a strong sense of self, and why facing your pain is essential to spiritual growth and emotional healing.

 

If you’ve ever wondered:
Is it selfish to focus on my needs?
How do I set boundaries as a Christian?
Why is it so hard to use my voice?
How do I heal from past wounds with God?

This conversation will encourage you to rest deeper, live fuller, and lead better.

_________________________________________

Connect with Gem on Instagram and learn more on the Unhurried Living website and her new book, Hold That Thought: Sorting Through the Voices in Our Heads

Learn about PACE: Certificate in Leadership and Soul Care

What does it really mean to become the best version of yourself in God?
&nbsp;
In this episode of the Unhurried Living Podcast, Gem Fadling sits down with therapist and bestselling author <a href="https://www.dralisoncook.com/">Dr. Alison Cook</a> to talk about Christian boundaries, finding your voice, healing trauma, and facing emotional pain with faith.
&nbsp;
Dr. Alison shares a deeply personal story that shaped her book&nbsp;<a href="https://www.dralisoncook.com/books">The Best of You</a>, and we explore why so many Christian women struggle to recognize their needs, speak up in relationships, and set healthy boundaries without guilt. We also look at how Jesus modeled a strong sense of self, and why facing your pain is essential to spiritual growth and emotional healing.
&nbsp;
If you&rsquo;ve ever wondered:
<ul>
<li>Is it selfish to focus on my needs?</li>
<li>How do I set boundaries as a Christian?</li>
<li>Why is it so hard to use my voice?</li>
<li>How do I heal from past wounds with God?</li>
</ul>
This conversation will encourage you to rest deeper, live fuller, and lead better.
_________________________________________
Connect with <a href="https://www.instagram.com/gemfadling/">Gem on Instagram</a> and learn more on the <a href="https://dashboard.simplecast.com/accounts/c807b8df-15a1-423a-8649-9db69f7aa374/shows/2a294677-14cc-4597-8409-8efcedfed2cd/episodes/1ff79710-f260-475a-8a39-22315b98892e/www.unhurriedliving.com/gem">Unhurried Living website</a> and her new book, <a href="https://dashboard.simplecast.com/accounts/c807b8df-15a1-423a-8649-9db69f7aa374/shows/2a294677-14cc-4597-8409-8efcedfed2cd/episodes/c6bd1beb-251f-42f0-92ea-21c6790a5380/www.unhurriedliving.com/holdthatthought">Hold That Thought: Sorting Through the Voices in Our Heads</a>
Learn about <a href="https://www.unhurriedliving.com/pace">PACE: Certificate in Leadership and Soul Care</a>

Finding Your Voice Without Feeling Selfish (Dr. Alison Cook)

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/5e27a451-e6e6-4c51-aa03-a7370003783c/clips/bc285f8b-0e9d-4e28-b6be-b47c014a598d/transcript

It’s one thing to understand the kind of leadership that helps people flourish. It’s another thing to sustain it—especially over time.

 

In this episode of the Unhurried Living Podcast, Alan Fadling continues his reflections on Wendell Berry’s wisdom, turning from the life we cultivate in leadership to the life we must become to sustain it.

 

Drawing from Berry’s insights on character, familiarity, and discipline, Alan explores the deeper work of leadership formation—the kind of inner life that holds steady under pressure and grows through experience.

 

You’ll discover:
Why good intentions and knowledge are not enough for lasting leadership
How character is formed through everyday choices and responses
What your reactions reveal about your inner life
How reflection helps you grow in wisdom over time

 

This episode is for pastors, team leaders, and anyone who wants to become the kind of leader who can stay with the work long enough to see it bear fruit.

 

Connect with Alan on LinkedIn or learn more about Unhurried Living programs on their website. 

Learn about PACE: Certificate in Leadership and Soul Care

It&rsquo;s one thing to understand the kind of leadership that helps people flourish. It&rsquo;s another thing to sustain it&mdash;especially over time.
&nbsp;
In this episode of the Unhurried Living Podcast, Alan Fadling continues his reflections on Wendell Berry&rsquo;s wisdom, turning from the life we cultivate in leadership to the life we must become to sustain it.
&nbsp;
Drawing from Berry&rsquo;s insights on character, familiarity, and discipline, Alan explores the deeper work of leadership formation&mdash;the kind of inner life that holds steady under pressure and grows through experience.
&nbsp;
You&rsquo;ll discover:
<ul>
<li>Why good intentions and knowledge are not enough for lasting leadership</li>
<li>How character is formed through everyday choices and responses</li>
<li>What your reactions reveal about your inner life</li>
<li>How reflection helps you grow in wisdom over time</li>
</ul>
&nbsp;
This episode is for pastors, team leaders, and anyone who wants to become the kind of leader who can stay with the work long enough to see it bear fruit.
&nbsp;
<hr>
Connect with Alan on&nbsp;<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/alanfadling/">LinkedIn</a>&nbsp;or learn more about&nbsp;<a href="https://www.unhurriedliving.com/alan">Unhurried Living programs</a> on their website.&nbsp;
Learn about <a href="https://www.unhurriedliving.com/pace">PACE: Certificate in Leadership and Soul Care</a>

The Formation of a Leader Who Lasts 

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/5e27a451-e6e6-4c51-aa03-a7370003783c/clips/5f91135c-122a-4a3d-90b9-b45b013a8823/transcript

When God Seems Distant (Kyle Strobel)

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