In this episode, Jessie Cruickshank talks with pastor and author Mandy Smith about the quiet, surprising ways God brings renewal through ordinary people and ordinary acts of faith. Mandy shares the unfolding story of her congregation in Brisbane, the deep personal healing she’s experienced in the process, and the unexpected movement sparked by one woman whose life has been transformed by Jesus.

Together, Jessie and Mandy explore:

• Why the “small things” of faith carry real transformative power
• What it means for the Church to reclaim her identity as the beloved Bride of Christ
• How cultural expectations of strength, efficiency, and control distort our understanding of discipleship
• What happens when we embrace our humanness the way Jesus embraced His
• A stunning modern story of healing, baptisms, and Spirit-led multiplication

This conversation invites you to see yourself—and the Church—with new eyes: beloved, whole, and capable of bearing surprising fruit through simple daily faithfulness.

Listen in and be encouraged to step into the ordinary, Spirit-filled work God is already doing in and through you.

ORDER Jessie’s newest book, Ordinary Discipleship: How God Wires Us for the Adventure of Transformation → https://a.co/d/51j86DG

For more great stuff, check out: Ordinary Discipleship by Whoology: https://whoology.co

Follow us on social media:
https://instagram.com/ordinarydiscipleship
https://facebook.com/ordinarydiscipleship

Follow Jessie on social media:
Instagram: https://instagram.com/yourbrainbyjess
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jessica.s.cruickshank/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/yourbrainbyjess

Jessie Cruickshank is a disciple-maker, wilderness guide, and ordained minister. She has trained thousands of people how to survive when their life depended on it and earned a Master’s degree in experiential education at Harvard to learn how the brain works to help people train more effectively.

The key to discipleship is not more information, but learning how to create intentional environments where people can learn and grow. By working with the brain and treating individuals as whole persons, you too can discover how God wired our brains for transformation. You already have all the tools you need, it is time to activate them in you and your church.

In this deeply moving conversation, Jessie sits down with longtime friends Jessica and Andrew Arnold to talk about their journey raising and discipling their daughter Sarah, who is autistic, vibrant, socially curious, and wonderfully unique. The Arnolds open up about Sarah’s early diagnosis, the beauty and complexity of her faith, and the ways they’ve learned to release expectations, trust God, and embrace who she is rather than who they once imagined she might become.

With honesty and tenderness, they share what it looks like to navigate neurodivergence, emotional highs and lows, identity questions, and spiritual formation in real time. They talk about Sarah’s love for cosplay, her evangelist’s heart, her deep honesty, her struggles with jealousy and belonging, and the remarkable way she makes space for others on the margins. The conversation also highlights how faith communities can support neurodivergent individuals—not by fixing them, but by attuning, welcoming, and creating belonging.

This episode is an invitation to reimagine discipleship with gentleness, patience, and grace. It reminds us that God’s image is reflected beautifully in every person, and that those who experience the world differently often teach us the most about vulnerability, love, and the heart of Jesus.

ORDER Jessie’s newest book, Ordinary Discipleship: How God Wires Us for the Adventure of Transformation → https://a.co/d/51j86DG

For more great stuff, check out: Ordinary Discipleship by Whoology: https://whoology.co

Follow us on social media:
https://instagram.com/ordinarydiscipleship
https://facebook.com/ordinarydiscipleship

Follow Jessie on social media:
Instagram: https://instagram.com/yourbrainbyjess
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jessica.s.cruickshank/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/yourbrainbyjess

ORDER Jessie’s newest book, Ordinary Discipleship: How God Wires Us for the Adventure of Transformation → https://a.co/d/51j86DG

For more great stuff, check out: Ordinary Discipleship by Whoology: https://whoology.co

Follow us on social media:
https://instagram.com/ordinarydiscipleship
https://facebook.com/ordinarydiscipleship

Follow Jessie on social media:
Instagram: https://instagram.com/yourbrainbyjess
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jessica.s.cruickshank/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/yourbrainbyjess

Jessie Cruickshank is a disciple-maker, wilderness guide, and ordained minister. She has trained thousands of people how to survive when their life depended on it and earned a Master’s degree in experiential education at Harvard to learn how the brain works to help people train more effectively.

The key to discipleship is not more information, but learning how to create intentional environments where people can learn and grow. By working with the brain and treating individuals as whole persons, you too can discover how God wired our brains for transformation. You already have all the tools you need, it is time to activate them in you and your church.

In this episode, Jessie Cruickshank sits down with her friend and fellow leader Tracy Matthews for a rich, grounding conversation on what it means to cultivate spiritual attunement in life and leadership. Tracy shares vivid imagery God gave her during prayer—living water seeping into dry, cracked places—and invites us into a way of leading that begins not with planning and striving, but with presence, receptivity, and alignment with God’s heart. Together, Jessie and Tracy explore the difference between self-driven leadership and Spirit-led wayfinding, how teams can discern God’s guidance together, why shared power and co-regulation matter for emotional and spiritual health, and how slowing down can open us to wisdom we’ve been missing. They talk courage, disappointment, group culture, and the surprising freedom that comes when we release our grip on the plan and follow the Spirit’s gentle nudge instead. This is a practical and deeply encouraging conversation for anyone longing to hear God more clearly and lead with greater peace, courage, and connection.

ORDER Jessie’s newest book, Ordinary Discipleship: How God Wires Us for the Adventure of Transformation → https://a.co/d/51j86DG

For more great stuff, check out: Ordinary Discipleship by Whoology: https://whoology.co

Follow us on social media:
https://instagram.com/ordinarydiscipleship
https://facebook.com/ordinarydiscipleship

Follow Jessie on social media:
Instagram: https://instagram.com/yourbrainbyjess
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jessica.s.cruickshank/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/yourbrainbyjess

ORDER Jessie’s newest book, Ordinary Discipleship: How God Wires Us for the Adventure of Transformation → https://a.co/d/51j86DG

For more great stuff, check out: Ordinary Discipleship by Whoology: https://whoology.co

Follow us on social media:
https://instagram.com/ordinarydiscipleship
https://facebook.com/ordinarydiscipleship

Follow Jessie on social media:
Instagram: https://instagram.com/yourbrainbyjess
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jessica.s.cruickshank/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/yourbrainbyjess

Jessie Cruickshank is a disciple-maker, wilderness guide, and ordained minister. She has trained thousands of people how to survive when their life depended on it and earned a Master’s degree in experiential education at Harvard to learn how the brain works to help people train more effectively.

The key to discipleship is not more information, but learning how to create intentional environments where people can learn and grow. By working with the brain and treating individuals as whole persons, you too can discover how God wired our brains for transformation. You already have all the tools you need, it is time to activate them in you and your church.