In part two of our conversation with fighter pilot and attention coach Wes Woodhouse, we dive into practical ways ministers can create attention-rich environments that foster deep spiritual disciplines in a distracted world. Learn how to lead by example, establish routines that enhance creativity, and build communities that value presence over distraction. Discover why setting boundaries with technology isn't just good for you—it's essential for effective ministry in today's attention-starved world.
Resources:
Part one of Focus Like a Fighter Pilot
WesWoodhouse.com
Interview Transcript:
Joy Suzanne: [00:00:00] Welcome to the Pastors & Money Podcast. I'm Joy Suzanne Hunt, pastor and financial coach, bringing you conversations about personal finance, church finance and how we disciple our churches in the areas of finance and stewardship. You can find the episode show notes, and more at pastorsandmoney.com. And here's the show.
Joy Hunt: Today we're continuing my conversation with Wes Woodhouse about attention focus and how we can apply fighter pilot techniques to our spiritual disciplines. If you missed part one, I encourage you to go back and listen as we explored the growing attention gap in our society and how it's affecting our spiritual lives.
Let me reintroduce Wes. He's a husband, father, marathon runner, and fighter pilot. His mission is to build up the next generation of [00:01:00] leaders armed to take on the dynamic challenges of the attention age. In 2020, he founded Vector Atlas, a leadership development and attention cultivation agency where he leads a mastermind of committed men, grounded in wise counsel and accountability, striving to live a life of purpose.
As an attention performance coach, he helps leaders maximize their potential by focusing on what is most important. In our first episode was shared how his experience as a fighter pilot taught him the critical importance of focused attention and how those same principles can help us. In our spiritual walk, ~~we discussed how the distractions of modern life are creating an attention gap.~~
~~We discussed how the distractions of modern life are creating an attention gap that affects our ability. I gotta try that again.~~ We discussed how the distractions of modern life are creating an attention gap that affects our ability to connect deeply with God and others. In the second part of our conversation, we'll be exploring practical ways to help our congregations develop better focus habits, how to create environments that foster deep spiritual connection, and how to build communities that value presence.
Let's jump back into our conversation with Westwood House.
Creating Routines for Spiritual Disciplines
[00:02:00]
Joy Hunt: Right, exactly. So thinking about from a spiritual disciplines, and just our spiritual life perspective, then, you know, sometimes that might look like, do you have a routine of when you do your quiet time or how you set up so that when you start, you can start, instead of sitting down and getting ready to get ready to get ready,
Wes Woodhouse: Yeah.
Joy Hunt: do you have a, it may not always work out to be a consistent si time of day. Some people's. Life and number of kids they have is not conducive to that.
Wes Woodhouse: right.
Joy Hunt: do you have something that can anchor you back into that today? I did my Bible study sitting at jury duty,
Wes Woodhouse: Yeah.
Joy Hunt: which by the way was very distracting. Talk about attention 'cause they've got the TVs on and
Wes Woodhouse: Yeah.
Joy Hunt: How loud can I make my headphones where I'll still hear if they call my name? You know, but, so that I'm not hearing the whatever home remodeling show that's playing on the TVs.
But I was like, okay, we're just gonna pick up and take this routine that I normally do [00:03:00] sitting at my desk and I'm just gonna do it sitting in a room full of 200 people instead.