Our special guest is Sam Van Eman, the author of Disruptive Discipleship: The Power of Breaking Routine to Kickstart Your Faith. Sam is a resource specialist for the CCO’s Experiential Designs team, where he co-creates transformational experiences for college students, professionals, and organizations. He is the author of On Earth as It Is in Advertising? Moving from Commercial Hype to Gospel Hope. As a public speaker and facilitator, Sam has taught (and played) in barns and boardrooms, canyons, classrooms, and auditoriums. His years on campus resulted in numerous Christian Service awards for his student leaders and a Greek Life brotherhood award named in his honor. He has contributed to PRISM Magazine, the Center for Parent/Youth Understanding, Christianity Today’s Faith in the Workplace, and was highlighted in the decade’s best at Catapult Magazine. He lives with his wife and daughters in central Pennsylvania.
Sometimes in the Christian life we get stuck. Something seems off, and we don’t know why. We may not even notice it at first. But we feel like God is far from our daily lives, or we lose hope for the future, or we don’t treat others in loving ways. What can we do? Sam Van Eman has found that our spiritual lives need disruptive experiences, which can jolt and reorient us for greater spiritual maturity. Out-of-the-ordinary activities such as a wilderness adventure or an international service trip can challenge our assumptions and give us space to consider new perspectives. And when we intentionally choose to pursue designed experiences, we stretch our faith in new and unexpected ways. Filled with concrete examples of how ordinary people are shaped by disruptive experiences, this book provides a path to deeper faith on purpose. Jesus disrupted his disciples with invitations to get out of their boats, leave their nets, and follow him. Have courage, and discover what those kinds of disruptions might look like for you.
