The Being Formed Podcast

Episode Summary
In this episode, Adam sits down with Stephen W. Smith, author and founder of The Potter’s Inn and a long-time voice in the world of soul care. Steve shares about his new book of poetry, Greening, and the inner awakening he’s been experiencing in recent years. Together, Adam and Steve explore the role of poetry in spiritual formation, the journey of discovering one’s true self, and the ongoing invitation to live from a deep heart.
About Stephen W. Smith
Author of many books on spiritual formation, soul care, and leadership health
Founder (with his wife Gwen) of The Potter’s Inn, a ministry that profoundly influenced Adam’s own life and the formation of LifePoint Resources
Longtime retreat leader and spiritual guide
Writes regularly on Substack
Resources Mentioned
Greening: Poems in the Unfolding of Our LivesStephen W. Smith (Purchase Hardcover and Kindle on Amazon)
Potter's Inn (PottersInn.com)
Steve’s Substack (Read and engage with Steve's latest work)
Key Themes
How poetry opens the heart to God in unique ways
Navigating seasons of transition and inner resurgence
The spiritual symbolism of pilgrimage
The urgent need for slowness in our chaotic world
The Being Formed Podcast is a soul care ministry of LifePoint Resources.

In this special Advent episode of The Being Formed Podcast, Adam Ormord sits down with two fellow spiritual directors — Niecy LoCricchio and Lynn Biskner — to explore how we can enter this Advent season with greater attentiveness, creativity, and openness to God’s presence.
Conversation with Niecy LoCricchioAdam first welcomes author and spiritual director, Niecy LoCricchio, whose new book—The Journey of Christmas Love: A Coloring Nativity Adventure and Advent Calendar for Families—invites children and adults alike into a creative, contemplative journey through the story of Jesus’ birth.
CLICK HERE to purchase The Journey of Christmas Love on Amazon.
Bonus Conversation with Lynn Biskner (plus FREE Resource)Adam and Lynn Biskner (Spiritual Direction Coordinator and Volunteer Writer for LifePoint Resources) reflect on what it means to wait with hopeful anticipation during Advent and how this season can be a gentle invitation to slow down and listen more deeply.
The subject of our conversation is the FREE Advent Retreat, written by Lynn Biskner, called “Advent: The Dawn of New Creation.”
CLICK HERE to download LifePoint's FREE Advent Retreat.
Connect With Us
Subscribe to The Being Formed Podcast wherever you listen.
Learn more about LifePoint Resources and opportunities for soul care.
The Being Formed Podcast is a soul care ministry of LifePoint Resources.

Adam Ormord (Podcast Host, Co-founder of LifePoint Resources) invites Cyd and Geoff Holsclaw to the Being Formed Podcast to discuss their latest book, Landscapes of the Soul: How the Science and Spirituality of Attachment Can Move You into Confident Faith, Courage, and Connection.
Cyd Holsclaw & Geoff Holsclaw, PhD, are coauthors of Does God Really Like Me? and codirectors of the doctor of ministry in spiritual formation and relational neuroscience at Western Theological Seminary. They are the cofounders of the Center for Embodied Faith and cohosts of the Attaching to God podcast. Cyd is a coach, pastor, and spiritual director, integrating embodied neuroscience and spiritual practices. Dr. Geoff Holsclaw is a pastor and a visiting professor of theology at Western Theological Seminary.
What We Cover
The intersection of attachment theory, neuroscience, and spiritual formation — how our relational wiring (to God, self, others) shows up in our faith life.
Their new book Landscapes of the Soul: How the Science and Spirituality of Attachment Can Move You into Confident Faith, Courage, and Connection (2025) — key themes: the four “landscapes” (jungle, desert, war zone, pasture) as metaphors for how we live spiritually and relationally
How to discern where we are (habits, patterns, unconscious strategies) and how to move toward secure attachment with God.
Listener Application
Pause and ask: Where do I feel emotionally/spiritually – in a pasture, jungle, desert or war zone?
Reflect: What survival strategy (anxious, avoidant, fearful) is at work in me?
Consider: How might God be inviting a new “terrain” of secure attachment — what embodied practice (breathing, contemplative silence, relational prayer) might help shift me?
Read the Holsclaws’ book and explore their podcast for deeper integration.
Resources & Links
Book: Landscapes of the Soul - Amazon
Website / Center: The Center for Embodied Faith (Geoff & Cyd Holsclaw) — Center for Embodied Faith
Podcast: Attaching to God: Neuroscience‑informed Spiritual Formation — https://www.embodiedfaith.life/podcast
The Being Formed Podcast is a soul care ministry of LifePoint Resources.

Educator, pastor, spiritual director, and author Afrika Afeni Mills joins me to talk about her upcoming book Sowing the Seeds of Shalom.
Afrika is the author of Open Windows, Open Minds: Developing Antiracist, Pro-Human Students, and her TED-Ed talk Four Ways to Have Healthy Conversations About Race has reached hundreds of thousands of viewers. Her widely shared essay, A Letter to White Teachers of My Black Children, continues to inspire and challenge educators around the world.
Afrika’s ministry and writing invite us into healing and flourishing through the way of Jesus and the practice of shalom. We explore how racial healing and spiritual formation belong together, and what it looks like to live into wholeness, reconciliation, and flourishing in our everyday lives.
Connect with Afrika:
Website: afrikaafenimills.com
Missio Alliance: An Invitation to Racial Healing as Spiritual Formation
TED-Ed Talk: Four Ways to Have Healthy Conversations About Race
Book: Open Windows, Open Minds
Substack: Shalom Seeds
If this episode encouraged you, share it with a friend and subscribe to The Being Formed Podcast for more conversations about spiritual formation and flourishing.
Chapter Markers — Ep38: Sowing the Seeds of Shalom (with Afrika Afeni Mills)Total length: ~1:02:07
00:00:00 — Welcome & Introduction
00:04:35 — Afrika’s Story and Early Inspirations
00:12:42 — Defining Shalom: More Than Just Peace
00:21:18 — Education, Justice, and Planting Seeds of Change
00:34:05 — The Power of Community and Collective Work
00:46:11 — Challenges Along the Way: Resistance and Hope
00:55:27 — Practical Ways to Sow Seeds of Shalom Today
01:00:15 — Closing Reflections & Blessing
The Being Formed Podcast is a soul care ministry of LifePoint Resources.

"We live in an empathy-starved world. And with increased social fractures, we are always being formed to normalize disconnection from others. How do we receive empathy? How do we give it? What does this all have to do with God? I'm immensely grateful that Bill and Kristi Gaultiere have taken the time to respond to these critically important questions. We were created to live deeply loved in this world. But this journey has to start somewhere. What Bill and Kristi offer here is just the place to begin. I highly recommend this book." - Rich Villodas (lead pastor of New Life Fellowship; author of The Narrow Path and The Deeply Formed Life)
Our host, Adam Ormord (LifePoint Resources), sits down with Bill & Kristi Gaultiere (Soul Shepherding) to discuss their brand new book, "Deeply Loved: Receiving and Reflecting God's Great Empathy for You."
Bill and Kristi Gaultiere have been counseling and ministering to people for 30 years and are the authors of Journey of the Soul and Healthy Feelings, Thriving Faith. Bill is a psychologist and Kristi is a marriage and family therapist. They are AACC leaders and have served in private practice and church ministries.
They are the founders of Soul Shepherding, a nonprofit ministry to help believers discover their next steps for growing in intimacy with Jesus, emotional health, and loving relationships.
In their new book, Deeply Loved (Revell, Sept. 2025), Bill and Kristi weave together engaging true stories with compelling insights from Scripture and modern psychology to help readers:
Grow in self-empathy and calm emotional triggers
Learn how to release worries, comfort hurts, and overcome distress
Practice the "four A's of empathy" for yourself and others
Engage Bible-based empathy practices to know you are deeply loved by Jesus
Visit soul shepherding.org to learn more.
The Being Formed Podcast is a soul care ministry of LifePoint Resources.

"It's less about what we do, but it is about who we are becoming...The process of making that decision is actually the point." (Emily P. Freeman)
Join Adam Ormord as he sits down with New York Times bestselling author and spiritual director, Emily P. Freeman.
In this episode, Adam and Emily explore the art of decision-making and discernment as well as the profound impact of change in our lives. Emily shares insights from her book and discusses the importance of trusting oneself and God in the journey of life.
Emily P. Freeman is the New York Times bestselling author of six books, including How to Walk into a Room: The Art of Knowing When to Stay and When to Walk Away.
Emily received her masters in Christian Spiritual Formation and Leadership from Friends University where she also serves as a residency lecturer. As a spiritual director, her most important work is to help create soul space and offer spiritual companionship and discernment for anyone struggling with decision fatigue. Her nationally ranked podcast, The Next Right Thing, has more than 28 million downloads and she regularly offers perspective and clarity through her weekly newsletter, The Soul Minimalist.
#SpiritualFormation #DecisionMaking #EmilyPFreeman #Podcast
The Being Formed Podcast is a soul care ministry of LifePoint Resources.

"It's my goal that people really experience their union with Christ, the depth of security they have with Him, and the freedom to minister out of God's love." - Sean Nemecek
On today's episode, Adam Ormord (President and Founder of LifePoint Resources) remixes a former episode (Episode 16) to remind us of the very serious issue of burnout and the invitation to follow Jesus into freedom.
Sean Nemecek is the author of The Weary Leader’s Guide to Burnout and the Executive Director of PIR Ministries. Sean served as a pastor for 18 years prior to joining PIR. Now he works as both a spiritual director and ministry coach — specializing in coaching people through burnout and helping organizations develop an anti-burnout culture. He is all about helping people feel seen, heard, and known in the welcoming presence of our loving God.
It's critical to continue this conversation of soul health as we recognize an even more elevated state of anxiety and exhaustion affecting so many people in our communities and churches today.
“Burnout is an experience of intense anxiety, shame, and often, grief that shows up as anger, but it’s the shame piece that causes us to isolate from people. The only way to overcome shame is for it to be witnessed in community of compassionate, empathetic, and understanding people.”
“Recovery is what happens when our ministry flows out of our life with God...to be so filled up with the love of God that it begins to naturally spill out of us into the lives of others around us.”
"The Weary Leader’s Guide to Burnout: A Journey from Exhaustion to Wholeness" is Outreach Magazine's 2024 Leadership Resource of the Year. It also won a Silver Medalion Award (2024 Christian Book Awards Finalist in Ministry Resources). Learn more at www.wearyleadersguide.com.
You can engage with Sean Nemecek at several online locations: Seannemecek.com; The Pastor's Soul (Blog); Facebook, Twitter, Threads, and Instagram: @pastorsoul.
#SoulHealth #UnionWithChrist #SpiritualDirection #Weary #Leader #Burnout #Freedom #InteriorFreedom #SeanNemecek #AdamOrmord #LifePointResources
The Being Formed Podcast is a soul care ministry of LifePoint Resources.

Join us as we explore the posture of a pilgrim with Marilyn Vancil, delving into how the Enneagram can guide us in living a surrendered life with God day by day.
Marilyn Vancil is a renowned author, teacher, and spiritual director known for her deep insights into the Enneagram and its application in personal and spiritual growth. Marilyn has dedicated her life to helping individuals discover their authentic selves and live with intention and purpose.
Her books, including "Self to Lose, Self to Find" and "Beyond the Enneagram," explore the transformative power of understanding one's Enneagram type and embracing a journey of spiritual exploration. Marilyn's work is characterized by her compassionate approach and her commitment to guiding others toward wholeness and freedom.
Resources Mentioned:
Self to Lose, Self to Find (Marilyn Vancil)
Beyond the Enneagram (Marilyn Vancil)
Suscipe Prayer (St. Ignatius of Loyola)
Key Topics: Understanding the "Posture of a Pilgrim" in daily life; How the Enneagram aids in spiritual transformation and self-discovery; The journey from adapted self to authentic self
#PilgrimPosture #SpiritualJourney #Enneagram #MarilynVancil
The Being Formed Podcast is a soul care ministry of LifePoint Resources.