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Praxis Podcast with Rhett Smith

A podcast tailored to help you bridge the gap between theory and practice in order to live a more transformational life -- with therapist, author and coach, Rhett Smith. I have a special interest in helping people face their anxiety with courage, so that they can have a more meaningful connection to self and others. As well as the interface of psychology and theology and the many and varied ways that can bring deep insight and healing to our lives.
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Praxis Podcast with Rhett Smith
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Now displaying: 2019
Apr 18, 2019

In this episode I had the privilege of sitting down with my good friends Jeff and Robin Reinke. Besides being colleagues of mine in a workshop we lead in equipping ministry leaders in a variety of issues impacting the church, we are also co-authors in Vital Tools for Relevant Church Leaders: Restoring Relationships and Building Community During Difficult Conversations.

Jeff is the Marriage and Family Pastor at North Coast Calvary Church in Carlsbad, CA, and Robin is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in Carlsbad, CA. They are an amazing couple with a beautiful story of redemption and hope, and they are passionate about helping others navigate their own life struggles.

In This Episode

Vital Tools for Relevant Church Leaders: Restoring Relationships and Building Community During Difficult Conversations

 

Apr 11, 2019

In this episode I discuss the topic of singleness with my colleague Kelly Haer. Kelly is on staff at Pepperdine University in the Boone Center for the Family where she is the Relationship IQ Director.

Kelly is a part of the teaching group that I am a part of that meets with and trains ministry leaders 3-4 times a year on issues that are impacting the church. In our time together we works towards equipping these leaders to more successfully address the issues that they come across in the local church. Singleness happens to be one of those topics that many churches are struggling to address, especially during a period of time where more and more people are not getting married, yet ministry often targets marriage and family.

Kelly addresses this issue at length in our free e-book, Vital Tools for Relevant Church Leaders: Restoring Relationships and Building Community During Difficult Conversations. In this e-book, and in this conversation, she discusses the current state of singleness in the United States, its impact in the church, and how Restoration Therapy provides a tool to best address this issue.

Mentioned in the Episode

Kelly Haer

Vital Tools for Relevant Church Leaders: Restoring Relationships and Building Community During Difficult Conversations

Mar 27, 2019

In this episode I get to sit down with a colleague of mine who I have been getting to know more over the last couple of years in our collaborative work together around Restoration Therapy and ministry leaders.

 

Robert Scholz is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, consultant and writer, who specializes in helping individuals and families who are struggling with addictions.

 

I am so glad to have Robert on the podcast, as addictions is something that I come into contact almost everyday in my work, but it's not something that I specialize in. So thankfully I have skilled people like Robert that I can refer to. In this episode we dive into what an addiction is, it's characteristics, and how it is defined. And we explore the impact of addiction on relationships, and more specifically drugs and alcohol, while also touching on the rampant and addictive nature of vaping.

 

 

Mentioned in the Episode

Robert Scholz Website

Vital Tools for Relevant Church Leaders: Restoring Relationships and Building Community During Difficult Conversations

Mar 22, 2019

In this episode I spend some time in conversation with Terry and Sharon Hargrave. Terry is the founder of Restoration Therapy and is the Evelyn and Frank Freed Professor of Marriage and Family Therapy at Fuller Theological Seminary and Sharon is the Executive Director of the Boone Center for the Family at Pepperdine University, as well as the founder and director of Relate Strong.

 

I have known this couple for about 8 years, and not only do I consider them close friends, but I am a huge fan of them. Restoration Therapy has changed my life and practice, and my wife and I have also trained together in Relate Strong.

 

I can not say enough nice things about Terry and Sharon, and the impact they are making upon the world. In this episode we explore some of the early roots of Restoration Therapy and Relate Strong, and why we are bringing this work to ministry leaders in our workshops that we do several times a year.

 

Mentioned in the Episode

Download your free copy of Vital Tools for Relevant Church Leaders

Restoration Therapy by Terry Hargrave and Franz Pfitzer

Relate Strong

Mar 1, 2019

 

"for dust you are and to dust you will return.” (Genesis 3:19)

In this episode I reflect on the passage found in Genesis 3:19 that is repeated every Ash Wednesday.

 

It's a beautiful, but harrowing passage that reminds us of just how fragile and short our lives are.

 

But this reminder, rather than being tragic, is to help us focus on our life on what is important.

 

We were created from the very dust of the earth (Genesis 2:7). Our first work (vocation) was to work the land (the dust) we were created from, displaying a connection between our identity and the work, service and hobbies we put our lives towards (Genesis 2:15). And yet, often, many things cut us off from this very soil (the dust), and disconnect us not only from our identity, but our Creator as well (Genesis 4:14).  

 

Mentioned in Episode

"The Summer Day" by Mary Oliver

Water from Rock (Check out their Lenten Devotionals)

Henri Nouwen

Ray Anderson

Semana Santa in Antigua, Guatemala

Feb 28, 2019

 

And he said, "Hagar, slave-girl, of Sarai, where have you come from and where are you going?" Genesis 16:8

Where have you come from?

Where are you going?

Perhaps these are two of the most important and fundamental questions we can ask ourselves. I appreciate that Jay Stringer brings to these questions in his phenomenal book, Unwanted: How Sexual Brokenness Reveals Our Way to Healing.

It wasn't until I read his book that I realized, these are two of the most fundamental questions I have been asking my whole life...and they are the questions that I am continually asking my clients in my therapy practice.

They often don't take the form of those exact sentences, but they are asked in some form or fashion throughout my work.

And it is these two questions, and this text, that I dive into in this episode.

I hope you enjoy the episode.

And more importantly, I hope you are asking yourself these two questions.

Mentioned in the Episode

Unwanted: How Sexual Brokenness Reveals Our Way to Healing by Jay Stringer

The Message of the Psalms by Walter Brueggemann

The 3 Big Questions for a Frantic Family by Patrick Lencioni

Feb 21, 2019

This episode is somewhat of a continuation of Episode 115 where I reflected both theologically and psychologically on the biblical text found in Genesis 1-3 (and a little of 4). Those opening chapters have lots of insight and implications for us relationally.

In this episode I want to pick up on some of those themes, especially the idea of self-differentiation, and focus on how Restoration Therapy lends itself nicely to this concept. I think you will find this a helpful episode in understand you and your relationships better.

 

Feb 13, 2019

I had the opportunity this last Monday to record a video on anxiety with another therapist, and one of the pastors at Preston Trail Community Church in Frisco. And then a few hours later, I talked to a group of parents at Legacy Christian Academy in Frisco about anxiety and depression.

It's obvious that anxiety and depression are prevalent issues affecting our culture today. One only has to read the latest headlines, look into the most up to date statistics, or have a conversation with someone you know....everyone seems to struggle with anxiety and depression at some point in their life.

This is an issue I have talked about a lot, and I continue to talk about it, as it's something I am very passionate about. There are lots of angles to approach this topic, but the most important in my mind is that we reframe the conversation around anxiety and depression as one being about shame and something being wrong with someone...to it's something that affects all of us, and we need to be able to bring it out into the open, and talk about how anxiety and depression can be used as an opportunity for growth.

In this episode I dive into what anxiety and depression are, how to reframe it, what tools you can use, and much more.

I hope you find this helpful.

Some of the Things Mentioned in This Episode

Kevin Love on his battle with anxiety

The Anxious Christian: Can God Use Your Anxiety for Good?

The Concept of Anxiety

Let Your Life Speak: Listening for the Voice of Vocation

Things Might Go Terribly, Horribly Wrong: The Guide to Life Liberated from Anxiety

Headspace

Don't Panic with Andrew Johnson

Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain

 

Feb 2, 2019

As I mentioned in a previous podcast, I thought I would take some time this year (on occasion) to stop and reflect on my reading of the bible, and how it connects at the intersection of theology and psychology.

So in this episode I want to take some time and just reflect on Genesis 1-4 and some insights that may be helpful for you and your relationships.

Enjoy the episode.

Books Mentioned in this Episode

Creation and Fall: A Theological Exposition of Genesis 1-3 by Dietrich Bonhoeffer

On Being Human: Essays in Theological Anthropology by Ray Anderson

Exclusion and Embrace: A Theological Exploration of Identity, Otherness and Reconciliation by Miroslav Volf

Feb 1, 2019

It's been about 5 months since my last podcast episode, as I was needing to take a break for a while why I focused on some other goals.

 

But it's time for a new podcast season, and in this episode I talk about some new topics I am going to explore this season, as well as some new goals that I have been working on, and how I am using a paper journal to help me stay focused and on track. I hope that this episode motivates you in the new year, and gives you some new ideas to accomplish all that you set out to do.

 

 

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