The Do Gooders Podcast

What if slowing down isn’t lazy, but holy?

Hear Jodi Grubbs—author of “Live Slowly: A Gentle Invitation to Exhale”—share why our bodies and souls weren’t designed for hustle culture, and how embracing slower rhythms can help us live with presence, peace and purpose.

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What if the good life isn’t about having it all, but about embracing our limits?

Dr. Ashley Hales, author of “A Spacious Life: Trading Hustle and Hurry for the Goodness of Limits,” invites us to rethink freedom, not as endless choice, but as life within God’s loving boundaries.

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What if slowing down wasn’t selfish—but essential?

In this episode, holistic nurse educator and author Tracie Braylock talks about her new book “Radical Relaxation: Releasing the Stress You Were Never Meant to Carry.”

Drawing from her background as a surgical nurse and over 15 years in holistic wellness, Tracie shares how stress isn’t just unpleasant—it makes us sick. She offers both scientifi...

Do you ever feel like busyness is running your life? What if slowing down could actually make you more effective in doing good?

Author and spiritual director Alan Fadling talks about living unhurried—not as laziness, but as faithful discipleship. Learn why presence matters more than productivity, how Jesus’ rhythms of rest and work offer a better way and what it looks like to serve from overflow instead of...

What’s the real state of the Church today—and how is The Salvation Army positioned within it?

Jim Sparks, Western Territorial Mission Strategist, joins Christin Thieme to unpack surprising new data about spiritual commitment in America, why Gen Z and Millennials are leading a revival, and how corps can connect with people who are open to Jesus but hesitant about organized religion.

EPISODE SHO...

For more than 30 years, Maria Rodriguez has been the heart of The Salvation Army Los Angeles Day Care Center—supporting children and families in LA’s fashion, produce and flower districts.

In this episode, Christin Thieme talks with Maria about how she went from high school volunteer to director, why safe, affordable childcare matters more than ever, and how a parent committee has transformed the center in...

Discover how the Big Five personality traits shape the way you see the world—and your relationships. 

Dr. Jack Anderson joins Christin Thieme to share practical ways to bridge differences, build trust and bring out the best in others.

EPISODE SHOWNOTES: Read more.

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Today, we're covering one of America's most pressing challenges: homelessness. But this isn't an episode drowning you in statistics. Instead, we're going to explore real solutions happening right now across the western United States—ways The Salvation Army is helping to truly change lives, one person at a time.

Of course, the numbers are sobering. According to the Department of Housing and Urban Developmen...

Lately, here on this show, we're exploring what happens when hope moves from feeling to doing, from possibility to practice. And today, we're continuing our journey inside one of The Salvation Army's recent transformations: Hope Markets.

As we covered in our recent “Hope in Action” issue of the magazine, these aren't your typical food pantries. In Hope Markets across the Northwest, people don't receive pre...

Today, we're heading to Long Beach, California, to talk to someone with a unique perspective on youth programming. Captain Jared Arnold runs The Salvation Army Red Shield Community Center, and he recently caught my attention when he said, "Summer is our Christmas."

Now, when most of us think about summer, we might think about vacations, beach days or maybe just trying to keep the kids entertained. But for ...

Want to hear some encouraging news that's emerging from communities across America? After years of declining volunteer participation—a trend that accelerated during the pandemic—researchers are documenting what they're calling a "volunteer rebound."

The numbers are striking. Nearly 30 percent of Americans formally volunteered from 2022 to 2023, contributing almost 5 billion hours of service. That's a retur...

It won’t come as a surprise to you that hundreds of thousands of veterans across America are affected by trauma—some from their time in military service, though not all—and yet, their needs remain deeply misunderstood by many of us who haven't served.

Not all veterans experience post-traumatic stress disorder, and yet many do—in fact, some 29 percent of veterans who served in Iraq experience it at some poi...

We're exploring not just what hope is, but how it's built, sustained and passed from person to person, community to community.

Today, I'm welcoming two leaders whose lives embody this multi-generational understanding of hope: Commissioners Doug and Colleen Riley, territorial leaders of The Salvation Army in the western U.S.

The pair met while working at a summer camp, married and in 1995 were ...

We're exploring what it means to put Hope in Action. And today, I'm excited to welcome a guest who has dedicated his career to understanding hope not just as a feeling, but as a measurable, teachable strength that transforms lives and communities.

Dr. Chan Hellman is recognized as one of the world's leading hope scholars, with more than 25 years of research, training and teaching experience. His groundbrea...

Hope isn't something that happens to you. It's something you create. It’s what happens when possibility meets action.

Today we're beginning a journey—one that will explore not just what hope is, but how we build it, nurture it and put it into action.

Here’s the key: Hope isn't just something lucky people have. It's something all of us can build. And the best part is “hope in action” isn't abou...

In part four of our series, Walking With Jesus: A Journey to the Cross with Major Dr. Terry Masango, we stand before the empty tomb—the defining moment that separates Christianity from every other faith tradition in the world.

The resurrection isn't just an epilogue to the crucifixion—it's the validation of everything Jesus taught and claimed. It's the proof that death has been defeated, that sin has been ...

In part three of our series, Walking With Jesus: A Journey to the Cross with Major Dr. Terry Masango, we explore three simple words: "Jesus, remember me." 

Spoken by a dying criminal, these words contain within them the essence of our faith journey. As we near Holy Week, Major Masango invites us to consider which of the two thieves we identify with—the one who demanded physical salvation or the one who rec...

In part two of our series, Walking With Jesus: A Journey to the Cross with Major Dr. Terry Masango, we turn to one of Jesus' most profound and challenging parables: The Good Samaritan. This story isn't just about helping others—it completely redefines what it means to be a neighbor and challenges our assumptions about who deserves our love and compassion.

In our world, we're often divided by differences—po...

Welcome to a new series—Walking With Jesus: A Journey to the Cross.

Over the next four weeks, we’ll be guided by Major Dr. Terry Masango through a thoughtful exploration of Scripture and its meaning in our everyday lives.

In this series, he invites us to walk alongside those who encountered Jesus on his journey to the cross—from the lost sheep being carried home on the shepherd's shoulders, to...