How can suffering actually accelerate your maturity?

In this episode, Bill and Scott explore the profound relationship between spiritual maturity, suffering, and the willingness to take risks for the benefit of others. They challenge the assumption that obedience guarantees safety and comfort, emphasizing instead that it often leads to risk-filled purposes. Ultimately, they encourage listeners to move toward a Christ-centered life where they trust God with their unknown futures and embrace the influence they have on those around them.

Topics Bill Thrall and Scott Boyd discuss in this episode:

(01:10) Suffering as an intentional part of God’s process of maturing people.

(02:14) The difference between knowing information and obeying truth.

(03:54) The difference between suffering common to humanity and suffering unique to believers.

(05:10) Challenging the belief that obedience always leads to comfort or blessing.

(06:16) Are you willing to take risks for the benefit of others?

(08:26) Taking risks to care for your family.

(10:46) Trusting God with the future.

(13:01) Mature leadership and owning the influence one has on 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:

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

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/