The Being Formed Podcast

What if the wilderness isn’t something to escape… but the place where faith is actually formed?

In this episode of The Being Formed Podcast, Adam Ormord is joined by author, coach, and teacher Dustin Kleinschmidt to explore the deeper realities of the spiritual life, especially for those who feel disillusioned, tired, or unsure where God is in the middle of it all.

Dustin brings a rare kind of honesty shaped by decades of pastoral ministry and his own lived experience with burnout, anxiety, disappointment, and the eventual unraveling of expectations. Together, they talk about what happens when doing “everything right” doesn’t lead where we thought it would, and how the wilderness may not be a detour, but the very place where God meets us.

This conversation doesn’t offer sound-bite answers or quick resolutions. Instead, it offers something more needed: companionship, language for what many feel but struggle to name, and permission to walk with God in the tension.

If your faith has ever felt more like wandering than arriving, you’re not alone.

In This Episode, We Explore:

Why the wilderness is not just a season, but the terrain of the spiritual life

What happens when faithfulness doesn’t lead to clarity or relief

The hidden cost of expectations in ministry, leadership, and everyday life

Burnout, anxiety, and disillusionment in Christian spaces

The difference between honest faith and performative spirituality

How to resist spiritual bypassing and make room for emotional honesty

What it means to experience God’s presence without immediate answers

Finding language for the tensions we carry but often can’t articulate

The important role of a safe community as we navigate the wilderness

About Dustin Kleinschmidt
Dustin Kleinschmidt is a longtime pastor and the author of The Wilderness Way. Over the past twenty-five years, he has served in nearly every pastoral role - from student ministry to lead pastor to church planter - giving him a unique perspective on the realities of ministry and faith.

Shaped by both personal struggle and firsthand experience of the challenges within church leadership, Dustin writes and speaks for those who feel spiritually homeless, disillusioned, or exhausted by the pressure to have it all together. His work offers an honest, grounded invitation to follow Jesus in the tension of real life.

 A Simple Reflection
Take a few moments in quiet and consider:

Where does your life feel unresolved right now?

What expectations - spoken or unspoken - are shaping how you interpret this season?

What would it look like to notice God’s presence here, without needing to change anything?

You might pray:

“God, meet me here.
Not when this is over…
but here, in the middle of it.”

Resources & Links

The Wilderness Way by Dustin Kleinschmidt: 

Dustin’s website: https://www.dustinkleinschmidt.com/

Follow Dustin on Substack: https://www.dustinkleinschmidt.com/

The Being Formed Podcast is a soul care ministry of LifePoint Resources.

In this episode of The Being Formed Podcast, Adam Ormord sits down with Dr. Dave Janvier, a licensed professional counselor, certified clinical trauma professional, sex therapist, and spiritual director. Dave is the founder of SIIMDA Soul Care, a ministry that integrates trauma therapy, neuroscience, and spiritual formation to help people experience deeper healing and wholeness.

Together, they explore what it means to be trauma-informed in the ministry of soul care. Rather than offering quick solutions or spiritualizing pain, trauma-informed approaches invite patience, safety, and deep listening, recognizing the ways trauma lives in our bodies, our relationships, and even in our experience of faith.

In this conversation, Dave helps us understand how spiritual direction can become a safe place for the soul, where wounds are gently acknowledged, and healing can begin to unfold at a compassionate pace.

Whether you are a spiritual director, pastor, caregiver, or someone seeking healing in your own life, this conversation offers wisdom, hope, and practical insight into the sacred work of healing from the inside out.

Adam and Dave discuss:

What it means to be trauma-informed in spiritual care

How trauma affects our bodies, relationships, and experience of God

The importance of safety, consent, and compassionate presence in soul care

Why spiritual direction can be a powerful space for healing

How neuroscience and spiritual formation can work together in the healing journey

The role of patience and gentle listening in accompanying wounded

Dr. Dave Janvier is a Licensed Professional Counselor, Certified Clinical Trauma Professional, Certified Sex Therapist, and Spiritual Director. He is the founder of SIIMDA Soul Care, where he provides trauma-informed counseling, spiritual direction, and training for those seeking integrated healing of body, mind, and spirit.

His work brings together clinical insight, neuroscience, and spiritual formation to help individuals and leaders experience deeper levels of healing and wholeness.

Resources:

Visit SIIMDA Soul Care to learn more: https://www.siimdasoulcare.com/

Dr. Dave's Substack: https://drdavejanvier.substack.com/

The Being Formed Podcast is a soul care ministry of LifePoint Resources.

In this solo episode of The Being Formed Podcast, Adam offers a reflective teaching for the Lenten journey. Drawing from his own experience in ministry, his pilgrimage on the Camino de Santiago, and the deep wisdom of Psalm 139, Adam explores what it means to walk faithfully, not perfectly, one step at a time.

This is not an episode about spiritual achievement or getting Lent “right.”
It’s an invitation to live under the loving gaze of God, where formation happens not through pressure, but through consent.

Along the way, Adam reflects on:

Letting go of control and learning to consent to reality

Why God’s knowing comes before our clarity

How Psalm 139 reshapes the way we understand spiritual growth

Why small, faithful steps are often the most transformative

Inspired by insights from Jacques Philippe's Interior Freedom, this episode challenges the notion that peace comes from control and instead invites listeners to a deeper trust in God’s nearness and patience.

This episode is especially suited for listening during a walk, a quiet morning, or a moment of stillness.

Highlights

8:25 Download "A Simple Pause" App for free from www.sfsaz.org/asimplepause/

10:00 Listen to a section of Rachel Joyce's The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry (pp.37-38).

28:00 A Lenten Prayer and Blessing

The Being Formed Podcast is a soul care ministry of LifePoint Resources.

In this episode, Adam Ormord sits down with Kyle Strobel for a spacious and deeply pastoral conversation about seasons of spiritual dryness and the steady work of God when it feels like we've been abandoned.

Kyle is the coauthor, along with John Coe, of the newly released book When God Seems Distant. Together, they explore a reality many Christians experience but rarely feel permission to name: what happens when prayer feels empty, spiritual disciplines stop “working,” and God seems strangely distant.

Rather than offering techniques to fix or push through these seasons, this conversation invites listeners to consider a surprising possibility, that spiritual dryness is not a failure of faith, but often a deeper work of formation.

In this episode, we explore:

Why many Christians are unprepared for seasons of dryness and desolation

How “trying harder” can actually get in the way of genuine transformation

What God may be doing when effort, willpower, and habit modification fall short

The concept of spiritual development and why later seasons of faith often feel confusing and disorienting

How Scripture and the Christian tradition speak honestly about God’s intentions for our faith formation

Kyle closes the episode with a prayer for those currently walking through a season when God feels distant. If you find yourself in a desert season in your spiritual life, this episode is an invitation not to fix yourself or rush to the other side, but to trust that God is present and at work even in the desolate places.

If this conversation is hitting close to home for you, please consider purchasing Kyle Strobel's and John Coe's brand new book, "When God Feels Distant," on Amazon. Also, reach out to one of the Spiritual Directors at LifePoint Resources. We are here to help you navigate all the seasons of your life, including desert seasons, with God.

About Kyle Strobel
Kyle Strobel is a theologian, author, and professor (Talbot School of Theology, Biola University) who has spent decades teaching and writing about Christian spiritual formation and life with God. His work bridges deep theological reflection with the lived experience of following Christ over the long haul.

About Adam Ormord
Adam Ormord is a spiritual director, retreat leader, and the president of LifePoint Resources. He hosts The Being Formed Podcast, a space for deep conversations about Christian spiritual formation, soul care, spiritual direction, and life with God.

The Being Formed Podcast is a soul care ministry of LifePoint Resources.

In this episode of The Being Formed Podcast, Adam Ormord is joined by Todd Spencer, a spiritual director, coach, and retreat guide whose ministry centers on caring for leaders in need of fresh sources of life.

Todd shares his journey into spiritual direction, the heart behind Headwaters of Hope, and his conviction that deep rest—sometimes as simple as long, unhurried sleep—is often the first step toward healing and renewal.

This conversation is an invitation to slow down, return to the Source, and rediscover hope at the headwaters of our lives.

In this episode, Todd and Adam explore:

Todd’s journey into spiritual direction and coaching

The story and meaning behind the name Headwaters of Hope

Why rest—real rest—is essential for leaders and caregivers

What happens when leaders finally slow down enough to listen

The role of retreats in returning people to God, to themselves, and to what truly matters

Learn more: https://www.headwatersofhope.org

Read Todd's Article: Headwaters of Hope (published in Presence Journal, September 2023)

The Being Formed Podcast is a soul care ministry of LifePoint Resources.