Are you living out what the Bible says for you or are you living out what others expect of you?

In this episode, Bill and Scott challenge the assumption that spiritual or personal growth comes from knowledge alone. They explore how trust, not compliance, leads to lasting transformation and authentic maturity.

Topics Bill Thrall and Scott Boyd discuss in this episode:

(03:11) How knowing the right answers does not equate to making right choices in life.

(04:19) The difference between teaching knowledge and teaching trust in truth.

(06:33) How acting on trusted truth leads to transformation and changed choices.

(10:06) How compliance often produces judgment and a lack of love.

(12:33) The idea that people adapt themselves to the expectations placed upon them.

(14:48) How children raised to meet expectations often grow up compliant but unprepared.

(22:44) Warnings against turning trust into rigid patterns instead of teaching principles of truth.

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/

How do you know which stage of maturity you’re experiencing right now? Also, is it possible to have different levels of maturity in different aspects of your life?

This episode reframes maturity as a trust-based process rather than a time-based achievement. Bill and Scott unpack why truth transforms only when it is trusted and why growth often happens repeatedly in different areas of life. They also highlight how safe, relational environments are essential for people to stop hiding and experience real transformation.

Topics Bill Thrall and Scott Boyd discuss in this episode:

(01:39) Why maturity follows a “trust line,” not a timeline.

(02:14) Contrasting truth-based transformation with performance-driven practices.

(04:33) Why growth can’t happen without another person involved.

(06:20) The need for safe places, especially for young believers.

(07:38) The difference between defining safety and learning how to create it.

(09:23) How modeling vulnerability creates safety in performance-driven cultures.

(12:10) Why hiding prevents maturity and reinforces false identity.

(20:35) How isolation leads to failure and why safe community interrupts that spiral.

The Living Influence team is proud to announce the creation of Living Influence Leadership: https://www.livinginfluenceleadership.com/

Attend the Living Influence Leadership conferences and cohorts (also known as peer groups), and you’ll:

* Lead from identity.

* Cultivate trust that strengthens culture.

* Gain clarity that fuels lasting influence.

* Integrate who you are, and your God-given purpose, with how you lead.

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/

Are you willing to trust God with your future, even when it feels like the scariest step of all?

In this episode, Bill and Scott explore what it truly means to trust Christ with your future and why this step of maturity can feel so unsettling. They reveal how freedom grows out of believing who God says you are and learning to trust both God and the new heart He has given you. This conversation will challenge you to move from control, fear, and obligation into trust, freedom, and shared growth.

Topics Bill Thrall and Scott Boyd discuss in this episode:

(00:06) The three phases of spiritual maturity.

(01:52) Bill shares a personal story from his marriage that illustrates love meeting needs.

(03:17) How trust allows influence in relationships without manipulation or control.

(04:45) Why trust is required before truth can be heard without feeling like criticism.

(06:25) Connecting workplace leadership to relational trust.

(07:30) Understanding Christ-centered living as loving others the way Christ loved.

(09:01) Why growth in relationships must be processed together rather than fixing one person independently.

(12:31) Living in freedom is being rooted in who God says you are, not what you ought to do.

(14:52) The importance of trusting the new heart given through Christ instead of viewing oneself as deceitful.

(18:11) Why trusting God is foundational before pursuing His purposes for your life.

The Living Influence team is proud to announce the creation of Living Influence Leadership: https://www.livinginfluenceleadership.com/

Attend the Living Influence Leadership conferences and cohorts (also known as peer groups), and you’ll:

* Lead from identity.

* Cultivate trust that strengthens culture.

* Gain clarity that fuels lasting influence.

* Integrate who you are, and your God-given purpose, with how you lead.

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/

How might a renewed understanding of trust and authenticity elevate your leadership and transform those you lead?

The Living Influence team is proud to announce the creation of Living Influence Leadership: https://www.livinginfluenceleadership.com/

Attend the Living Influence Leadership conferences and cohorts (also known as peer groups), and you’ll:

* Lead from identity.

* Cultivate trust that strengthens culture.

* Gain clarity that fuels lasting influence.

* Integrate who you are, and your God-given purpose, with how you lead.

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.

Bill Thrall: For more than 40 years, Bill has helped senior executives around the world lead from identity, authenticity, and grace.

Scott Boyd: Over the past 29 years, Scott has built a thriving business by shaping a culture of trust, grace, and empowered leadership.

Waldemar Kohl: For nearly 20 years, Waldemar has worked with executives to create healthy, and high-performing organizations.

Learn about Living Influence Leadership: https://www.livinginfluenceleadership.com/

How does trusting God with yourself reveal spiritual maturity?

This episode explores what it truly means to become a Christ-centered believer through the process of spiritual maturity. Bill and Scott unpack how trust in God leads to humility, healing, and a willingness to take risks for the sake of others. As believers grow, their lives increasingly reflect joy, purpose, and a deep concern for the flourishing of those around them.

Topics Bill Thrall and Scott Boyd discuss in this episode:

(00:05) The progression from being self-focused to becoming Christ-centered.

(01:24) The shift from receiving love to extending love toward others.

(01:59) Why maturity cannot be forced but must begin with personal trust in God.

(03:42) Trust is the central operating principle in all relationships.

(05:11) Fear of trusting God with the future.

(08:33) Purpose-centered living as a hallmark of Christ-centered maturity.

(10:12) Taking risks for the benefit of others as evidence of deep spiritual growth.

(15:12) Healing and joy as signs that trust and maturity are taking root.

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/

What happens when personal growth shifts attention away from yourself and toward others?

In this episode, Bill and Scott explore the movement from a self-focused faith into an others-centered life marked by healing, trust, and love. They unpack how maturity is not achieved by striving, but by learning to receive love and allowing that love to overflow toward others. As believers experience healing, they become freer to care, lead, and influence without being consumed by themselves.

Topics Bill Thrall and Scott Boyd discuss in this episode:

(02:00) How personal crisis opened Scott’s life to grace, vulnerability, and deeper growth.

(04:03) The difference between trusting with sin and trusting with one’s whole person.

(06:05) How experiencing grace leads to feeling loved and then loving others.

(07:15) Scott recounts how confession and affirmation became a turning point toward healing.

(08:59) How letting oneself be loved is essential to experiencing real healing.

(10:28) Immature love compared to mature love.

(14:44) Healing as the evidence of maturity and freedom to love others.

(18:28) Bill describes maturity as awareness of influence and care for how one affects 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

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

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

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

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

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

How can we create a place where ourselves and our loved ones hide nothing?

In this episode, Bill and Scott examine why shame teaches people to hide and how even Christian environments can unintentionally reinforce that fear. They also explore what it takes to create truly safe spaces where people can be known, trusted, and loved without pressure to perform or fix themselves. At the heart of the conversation is the hope that emerges when trust replaces hiding and maturity begins through relationship rather than self-effort.

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

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/