183: Healthy Calling: From Toxic Burnout to Sustainable Work (with Arianna Molloy)
Transformed & Transformational
Release Date: 05/02/2025
Genesis 1 in a Genesis 3 Classroom | Teacher’s Desk with Missy Takano and Kristi Schliep (Ep. 208)
Transformed & Transformational
What would it look like to reimagine our teaching as good work and see our students as made in God’s image? Dive into Scripture and practical discussion with Kristi Schliep and Missy Takano, staff members at Black Forest Academy in Germany. “What God did at creation, He invited His people to then partner in that same kind of work.” -Kristi “Human good work is like God’s good work; it’s intended to carry this same bringing order from the raw materials, creating space where life can flourish, carrying out God’s rule and reign and intentions in the world for the blessing of...
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Lent and Missions | Zoom In with Nathan Sloan of Upstream Collective (Ep. 207)
Transformed & Transformational
In anticipation of the upcoming season of Lent, we consider how the practices of fasting and lament can remind us of our humanity and orient our hearts toward the lost. “This physical need reminds me how much I need the Lord. So, it’s not just the removal of something; it’s a taking in of something.” “Forty years in the wilderness for God’s people and 40 days in the wilderness for Jesus were preparation for the fulfilling of God’s promise, so when we’re fasting, we’re experiencing that wilderness so that when Easter comes, when Good Friday comes, it’s a celebration.”...
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The Myth of an Easy Life | Spiritual Formation with Brian Delamont (Ep. 206)
Transformed & Transformational
Should I expect to have an easy life following Jesus? Being a Christian does not mean comfort or ease, as culture would define it. Brian Delamont, Executive Vice President of TeachBeyond, unpacks Scriptural truths about blessing, contentment, and abundance from a Kingdom perspective. Deuteronomy 28 Psalm 136 Matthew 20:18-19 John 16:32-33 “When we face difficulties, when life is not easy, the Father is with us.” “Life is not easy. There will be trouble. [...] However, take heart! I have overcome the world.” “You don’t give to get.” Malachi 3:10 2 Corinthians 9:7-9 2 Corinthians...
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The Birth of Open Schools Worldwide | Calling Story Part 2 with Alan McIlhenny (Ep. 205)
Transformed & Transformational
This week, hear the rest of the story from Alan McIlhenny, one of the co-founders of Open Schools Worldwide, with the mission to design and deliver life-changing learning to bring hope to marginalized children in developing countries worldwide. Listen to Part 1 of the story here: Four legs of the table of education are vision, people, materials, methods, with Christ at the center “[One of the biggest challenges] was finding the right people who understood the children that we were going to be working with.” “We need to take care of our volunteer tutors and help them because...
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When God Uses Every Chapter | Calling Story with Alan McIlhenny (Ep. 204)
Transformed & Transformational
Alan McIlhenny shares the story of following the Lord to the Seychelles, Nepal, and all over the world to bring quality education and the hope of the gospel. Through twists and turns, God was faithful to direct their steps and provide for their needs in miraculous ways. “I grew up reading stories of missionaries. I never thought I could be a missionary [...] I didn’t think I was good enough or holy enough.” “I’ve accepted a job in the Seychelles. Can you find out where we are going?” “I really need to take what I know about education and change it to work for a different...
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Faith and Disability: 10 Dimensions of Belonging | Teacher’s Desk with Erik Carter (Ep. 203)
Transformed & Transformational
Dr. Erik Carter shares from his research and personal experience about how Christian faith informs perspectives on disability. He unpacks 10 dimensions of belonging in community spaces, including schools and churches, along with actionable next steps. “Disability is among us, and when we think about our schools and our congregations, we want to make sure that kids with disabilities are also with us as well.” “Every single person is created in the image of God with dignity and worth and gifts to share.” “Disability doesn’t diminish faith; it can often deepen faith.” “As a...
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What’s Your Story? | From the Archives with Tosca Nathan
Transformed & Transformational
Kicking off 2026, we’re bringing back a favorite from the archives! Enjoy this 2024 conversation exploring how to connect with your own personal story. What’s your story, and why does that matter? Long-time educator Tosca Nathan shares about the significance of knowing your story and connecting to God’s bigger story, especially as teachers. “Like any story, our life stories have a path, they have a trajectory, and it’s full of meaningful events, defining moments, key relationships, trials and disappointments, dreams and aspirations, passions and discoveries.” “How coherent your...
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The Myth of Fleece Guidance | Spiritual Formation with Brian Delamont (Episode 202)
Transformed & Transformational
Have you ever found yourself laying out a fleece like Gideon, hoping God will make the way clear? Brian Delamont returns to the podcast for a thoughtful conversation about how God speaks to us and how we can posture ourselves to listen. Judges 6 “The problem isn’t with God, it’s that we’re not listening to what He has already told us, and we’re asking Him the wrong questions because of that.” Psalm 89:46-51 Isaiah 30:21 “I think everyone longs for this – for God to just tell us.” “My heart has to want to listen to God. There is a waiting posture. And then, my heart also...
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Moving the Family to Togo | A Calling Story with Chrischona and Koudjo Sodji (Ep. 201)
Transformed & Transformational
Hear the story of how a missionary kid from Austria met someone from a village in Togo, what it has been like to move their family from Chicago to Togo, and how God has given them a vision for transformational education in West Africa. “Once we got married, we sensed that we had been called to serve but at the same time, we didn’t really know what role we would be playing.” - Koudjo “I could have never dreamed up this job myself and the perfect fit, but God knows this.” - Chrischona “It was during those years of working with TeachBeyond that the vision for starting TeachBeyond...
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Christmas Around the World and in the Classroom | Our 200th Episode!
Transformed & Transformational
Tune in to hear about Christmas celebrations in different cultures and classrooms around the globe! What’s changing our lives: Keane: Playing board games Heather: Volunteering with Foster Love Project Weekly Spotlight: We’d love to hear from you! Podcast Website: Learn about TeachBeyond:
info_outlineDr. Arianna Molloy shares hopeful and practical guidance as we seek to understand and live out our calling. Arianna defines key terms, unpacks professional research, and shares personal anecdotes to cast a vision for a healthy, reflective practice for flourishing in work and in relationship with the Caller.
- Healthy Calling by Dr. Arianna Molloy | Learn more from Arianna Molloy
- “As believers, our primary calling is to love God and love others, and to do that well in everything that we do.”
- “[God] is a personal, intimate designer, and He has equipped each of us with skill sets and passions.”
- Work as a calling: meaningful, identified Caller, skill set and passion, and pro-social
- “Passion alone is fine, but it makes you a great fan; passion and skill set make you a great employee.”
- “It becomes unhealthy when we confuse our relationship with the Caller with the calling, when we become so consumed with the calling that we forget about the people that we’re impacting on the other side.”
- “An unhealthy kind of calling in the workplace is not work as an expression of who I am, but work as the definition of who I am.”
- “The virtue of humility enacted [...] keeps us on the healthy calling path.”
- Micah 6:8
- “Deep shame comes from the idea that work is a calling, and when you don’t want to do it anymore, it’s not the task that you don’t want to do anymore, it’s that relational connection that feels severed [...] It’s not ‘I don’t like what I’m doing anymore, it’s I don’t know who I am anymore.’”
- Communication when stressed: withdrawal, reduced awareness, physical tension
- “Burnout doesn’t go away on its own, so we have to stop romanticizing pushing through.”
- Saundra Dalton-Smith’s Seven Types of Rest
- “Sabbath is not meant to just be for a day; we’re meant to live a Sabbath lifestyle. Sabbathing is turning our hearts and minds to the Lord, and remembering that all of the time all of the resources that we have are His, and we are not God and He is enough.”
- “Because calling is a process, even jobs that don’t feel exciting at all can teach you something about yourself.”
- Make Your Job a Calling by Bryan Dik and Ryan Duffy: task crafting, relational crafting, cognitive crafting
- “Calling is about relationship. Focus on and pursue the relationship, and the Lord will clarify your calling.”
What’s changing our lives:
- Keane: The Power Broker by Robert Caro
- Heather: Yuka app
- Arianna: Voice messaging with her husband
Weekly Spotlight: Residence Life Positions
We’d love to hear from you! podcast@teachbeyond.org
Podcast Website: https://teachbeyond.org/podcast
Learn about TeachBeyond: https://teachbeyond.org/