How does striving to perform for God interfere with the growth God intends for you?

In this episode, Bill and Scott explore what it truly means to mature, distinguishing growth from performance-based sanctification. They explain why maturity is not about earning life but about growing into what is already given. The conversation highlights how love, safety, and honesty create the environment where genuine growth can happen.

Please consider attending the Living Influence Leadership Seminar: https://www.livinginfluenceleadership.com/

Join Bill Thrall, Scott Boyd, and Waldemar Kohl for a transformative experience helping Christian executives lead from trust, authenticity, and the freedom of their God-given significance.

In this seminar, which will be held on March 11-13 in Scottsdale, Arizona, you’ll discover the power of authentic leadership. You’ll walk away with a renewed understanding of how trust and authenticity elevate your leadership and transform those you lead. Learn more at https://www.livinginfluenceleadership.com/services#section-1762312239710

This episode was brought to you by Bill Thrall, Scott Boyd, and the Living Influence team.

Learn about Living Influence: https://www.livinginfluence.com/

Subscribe to the Living Influence podcast:

* YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@LivingInfluencePodcast

* Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/4kP9Mm2

* Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2F2RSvXKfU08Q5LVTCyIYI

Learn about Bill Thrall’s books: https://www.livinginfluence.com/books

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This episode was produced by Story On Media: https://www.storyon.co/

How do we transition from living in our flesh to becoming alive in the Holy Spirit?

In this episode, Bill and Scott explore what it means to move from living in the flesh to becoming alive in the Holy Spirit. Through Romans 7 and 8, they reveal why sin management and self-effort leave people stuck and discouraged. The conversation points to trust in the Spirit as the foundation for real hope, freedom, and transformation.

Topics Bill Thrall and Scott Boyd discuss in this episode:

(02:19) How Romans 7 describes the ongoing reality of the Christian life.

(03:03) The power of sin in the flesh as something humans were never created to manage.

(05:00) Why self-effort and discipline can’t overcome the power of the flesh.

(07:35) How people become desperate after exhausting themselves trying to fix themselves.

(08:37) How working on sin will never resolve sin.

(10:30) Why believing Christ is alive within changes how issues are addressed.

(11:22) How grace produces hope.

(17:24) How trusting the Holy Spirit allows Him to put the deeds of the flesh to death.

(19:08) Maturity as defined by God.

Attend The Living Influence Leadership Seminar: https://www.livinginfluenceleadership.com/

Join Bill Thrall, Scott Boyd, and Waldemar Kohl for a transformative experience helping Christian executives lead from trust, authenticity, and the freedom of their God-given significance.

In this seminar, which will be held on March 11-13 in Scottsdale, Arizona, you’ll discover the power of authentic leadership. You’ll walk away with a renewed understanding of how trust and authenticity elevate your leadership and transform those you lead. Learn more at https://www.livinginfluenceleadership.com/services#section-1762312239710

This episode was brought to you by Bill Thrall, Scott Boyd, and the Living Influence team.

Learn about Living Influence: https://www.livinginfluence.com/

Subscribe to the Living Influence podcast:

* YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@LivingInfluencePodcast

* Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/4kP9Mm2

* Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2F2RSvXKfU08Q5LVTCyIYI

Learn about Bill Thrall’s books: https://www.livinginfluence.com/books

Follow and like the Living Influence podcast on social media:

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This episode was produced by Story On Media: https://www.storyon.co/

Is it possible to live in a state of being forgiven? Can you actually live in that reality?

This episode explores the difference between knowing you are forgiven and actually living forgiven in daily life. Bill and Scott discuss how shame shapes identity and how God provides two gifts—repentance and forgiveness—to cleanse the ongoing effects of sin. Together they show how this leads to freedom with God, others, and even yourself.

Topics Bill Thrall and Scott Boyd discuss in this episode:

(01:09) How being affected by sin becomes the foundation for how people see themselves, God, and others.

(02:38) Wrestling with whether forgiveness is only granted when someone explicitly asks for it.

(04:08) How the blood of Jesus cleanses all sin.

(07:07) The false teaching that Christians will have their sins read aloud in heaven.

(09:19) Bill recounts helping a woman process childhood trauma and finally feel clean and free.

(11:20) How being cleansed broke the bondage of Bill’s shame.

(13:25) How Scott’s father’s alcoholism shaped harshness toward himself.

(16:30) How trusting God’s cleansing allows you to live open, transformed lives with others.

This episode was brought to you by Bill Thrall, Scott Boyd, and the Living Influence team.

Learn about Living Influence: https://www.livinginfluence.com/

Subscribe to the Living Influence podcast:

* YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@LivingInfluencePodcast

* Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/4kP9Mm2

* Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2F2RSvXKfU08Q5LVTCyIYI

Learn about Bill Thrall’s books: https://www.livinginfluence.com/books

Follow and like the Living Influence podcast on social media:

* Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/livinginfluencepodcast

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This episode was produced by Story On Media: https://www.storyon.co/

How might your life change if you truly believed you were no longer a slave to sin?

In this episode, Bill and Scott explore how faith—given to us when we were “dead in sin”—forms the foundation for a new identity in Christ. The conversation reframes spiritual growth from striving to sin less into trusting the truth of who God has already made us to be.

Topics Bill Thrall and Scott Boyd discuss in this episode:

(00:41) How Christians often miss the obvious truth that faith is a gift.

(02:39) The cycle of striving to sin less and hiding failures, and why it traps believers in defeat.

(03:53) How Jesus not only died for sins but took believers into His death to give them new life.

(05:13) Bill shares the short prayer that helped him believe he truly had the ability to serve righteousness.

(06:20) Scott and Bill discuss the shift from “freedom from sin” to “freedom to live into God’s purposes.”

(07:08) Bill begins unpacking 1 John 3 and what it means to be called children of God with the DNA of Jesus.

(09:23) Bill explains why believers are righteous now, even though they are not yet fully mature.

(12:41) Bill warns that focusing only on avoiding sin without embracing new identity leads to immaturity and defeat.

(17:55) Bill prays for God to teach believers to trust their ability to love, and Scott shares how grief awakened his desire for shared love and community.

This episode was brought to you by Bill Thrall, Scott Boyd, and the Living Influence team.

Learn about Living Influence: https://www.livinginfluence.com/

Subscribe to the Living Influence podcast:

* YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@LivingInfluencePodcast

* Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/4kP9Mm2

* Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2F2RSvXKfU08Q5LVTCyIYI

Learn about Bill Thrall’s books: https://www.livinginfluence.com/books

Follow and like the Living Influence podcast on social media:

* Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/livinginfluencepodcast

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This episode was produced by Story On Media: https://www.storyon.co/

How much of your spiritual struggle comes from trying to manage your sin instead of trusting your identity?

In this episode, Bill and Scott unpack why so many believers live stuck in shame, hiding, and sin-management even though they’ve been given a new identity. Through stories, Scripture, and vulnerable examples, they show how experiencing love—not effort—is what transforms the heart.

Topics Bill Thrall and Scott Boyd discuss in this episode:

(01:00) Scott shares how misunderstanding grace left him feeling imprisoned during his wife’s cancer battle.

(02:40) How trying to use the law to become godly cuts Christians off from grace.

(04:20) Bill describes the years he believed God loved him but never experienced that love personally.

(06:00) How conflict with others can impact whether we view ourselves as a saint.

(08:00) How passiveness was secretly the voice of Bill’s anger.

(09:50) How transformation means the old patterns no longer own you, even if reactions still occur.

(11:20) How hiding sin made Bill a slave to it.

(15:20) Scott describes a leadership program that revealed how his self-protection was rooted in fear.

(18:40) How shame awakens hopeless striving, and why a new reality is the only solution.

This episode was brought to you by Bill Thrall, Scott Boyd, and the Living Influence team.

Learn about Living Influence: https://www.livinginfluence.com/

Subscribe to the Living Influence podcast:

* YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@LivingInfluencePodcast

* Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/4kP9Mm2

* Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2F2RSvXKfU08Q5LVTCyIYI

Learn about Bill Thrall’s books: https://www.livinginfluence.com/books

Follow and like the Living Influence podcast on social media:

* Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/livinginfluencepodcast

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This episode was produced by Story On Media: https://www.storyon.co/

How do I move from seeing myself as a sinner to living as someone dead to sin?

This episode explores what it truly means to be dead to sin and alive in Christ. Bill and Scott challenge the deeply ingrained belief that Christians are still defined by their sin, revealing how that mindset robs us of joy and love. Together, they unpack how trusting God with your new identity leads to freedom, love, and a life rooted in grace instead of fear.

Topics Bill Thrall and Scott Boyd discuss in this episode:

(00:29) How believers can move from seeing themselves as sinners to being dead to sin.

(01:04) How seeing yourself as a sinner keeps sin your focus, but seeing yourself as a saint makes love your focus.

(03:42) Faith in Christ gives believers a new identity under grace.

(05:33) Why being dead to sin means living out righteousness through love.

(07:05) How churches often reinforce a sinner mindset instead of grace.

(10:49) Bill explains that the Christian life is not behavior change—it’s death to the old self.

(14:03) What it means to trust Jesus not just with sin, but with your whole life.

(18:51) Success comes from loving people.

This episode was brought to you by Bill Thrall, Scott Boyd, and the Living Influence team.

Learn about Living Influence: https://www.livinginfluence.com/

Subscribe to the Living Influence podcast:

* YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@LivingInfluencePodcast

* Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/4kP9Mm2

* Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2F2RSvXKfU08Q5LVTCyIYI

Learn about Bill Thrall’s books: https://www.livinginfluence.com/books

Follow and like the Living Influence podcast on social media:

* Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/livinginfluencepodcast

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* Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/61576202821527

This episode was produced by Story On Media: https://www.storyon.co/

How have you been influenced by grace?

In this episode, Bill and Scott reflect on how grace has shaped their lives, leadership, and communities. Scott shares how discovering grace changed his business culture, replacing control with trust and empowerment. Bill tells stories of how grace led to the founding of Open Door Fellowship, where commitment, love, and valuing people created a movement of transformation and freedom.

Topics Bill Thrall and Scott Boyd discuss in this episode:

(01:40) How Scott’s company built a culture where people felt valued and empowered.

(03:20) How grace-based leadership helps businesses thrive.

(06:30) Seeing value in people, and how that challenges old frameworks of sin management.

(11:30) On choosing to be “for, not against,” and how that simple conviction is transformative.

(18:10) How grace expands people’s potential and inspires communities built on love, trust, and possibility.

This episode was brought to you by Bill Thrall, Scott Boyd, and the Living Influence team.

Learn about Living Influence: https://www.livinginfluence.com/

Subscribe to the Living Influence podcast:

* YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@LivingInfluencePodcast

* Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/4kP9Mm2

* Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2F2RSvXKfU08Q5LVTCyIYI

Learn about Bill Thrall’s books: https://www.livinginfluence.com/books

Follow and like the Living Influence podcast on social media:

* Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/livinginfluencepodcast

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* Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/61576202821527

This episode was produced by Story On Media: https://www.storyon.co/

Have you ever thought about how your theology is influencing you?

This episode explores how many Christians have unknowingly built their theology around sin management rather than grace. Bill and Scott reflect on the harm caused by striving to become godly instead of trusting who God already says we are. Through personal stories and heartfelt reflection, they reveal that transformation begins not with working on sin, but with receiving and living from love.

Topics Bill Thrall and Scott Boyd discuss in this episode:

(00:03) The idea that theology shapes how people see themselves and God.

(01:15) How sin management creates pride or despair, depending on whether someone feels they’re “winning” or “failing” at holiness.

(02:43) How striving to sin less never works; instead, love naturally reduces sin’s grip.

(05:49) A personal story about how sin management led to painful separation from friends in pursuit of false godliness.

(09:38) The discussion exposes how fear-based theology leads Christians to isolate from the world rather than engage it with grace.

(13:12) How legalism grows from a theology that refuses to see saints as saints.

(15:27) Sin management never touches our reality—only grace does.

(16:03) Scott shares a personal story about how grace began transforming him during his wife’s cancer journey.

This episode was brought to you by Bill Thrall, Scott Boyd, and the Living Influence team.

Learn about Living Influence: https://www.livinginfluence.com/

Subscribe to the Living Influence podcast:

* YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@LivingInfluencePodcast

* Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/4kP9Mm2

* Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2F2RSvXKfU08Q5LVTCyIYI

Learn about Bill Thrall’s books: https://www.livinginfluence.com/books

Follow and like the Living Influence podcast on social media:

* Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/livinginfluencepodcast

* TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@livinginfluencepodcast

* Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/61576202821527

This episode was produced by Story On Media: https://www.storyon.co/