Founders
Steve’s book Managing Leadership Anxiety: Yours and Theirs broke fresh ground in the world of integrated psychology and theology and has become required reading in many graduate schools. The concepts and tools in the book are at the heart of Capable Life. Steve’s passion is to integrate psychology and theology to help humans encounter the peace, freedom and love that we deeply crave. Steve is married to Lisa and they have two sons and a daughter. When not laughing with his family, you can find Steve knee deep in a trout stream or trying a guitar he cannot afford in a guitar store.
Steve speaks nationally and internationally to organizations, leadership groups and graduate schools on the integration of leadership, systems theory and theology. His particular emphasis is helping leaders pay attention to emotional health in themselves and their teams.
He can offer anything from a 45 minute keynote to a multi day retreat. The majority of Steve’s speaking is highly interactive, allowing people time to integrate what they are learning in real time. He also brings the fun, knowing that anxiety is best talked about in the context of safety and laughter.
Bring Steve to your organization for an overview of Capable Life concepts or for a specific tool. and
- Lisa is an Licensed Professional Counselor who specializes in trauma, attachment, parts of self and play therapy. She runs a private practice in Colorado focusing on women, children and parents to overcome anxiety and trauma based challenges.
Moderator
Adasia was introduced to the Capable Life tools three years ago now. while working at Discovery Christian Church. Adasia used the tools to start mending relationships with people who are close to her and she also learned new tools to be calm and present in those situations where your “hands are tied.” She believes there is always room to grow and learn, and thrives on having a community to share experiences with. In her spare time she enjoys spending time with her husband and three kiddos, a good dance party, and watching a show with a Dairy Queen Blizzard in hand!
Coaches
Our coaches can assist you with questions and cases in the forum. You can also hire a coach for individual or group coaching. Group coaching generally covers one specific CL tool such as a verbatim, childhood vow, genogram etc.
Renae connected with this material working at Discovery Christian Church. Steve’s material illuminated a pathway from over functioning to freedom. Managing personal anxiety and responsibility rather than others continues to bring her increased health and reduced reactivity to both family and work relationships. Additionally, she is an avid reader and enjoys spending time with family and friends, especially when it’s on a stand up paddle board. is
Renae’s focus:
- Empowering your team to better contribute to your organization.
- Contextualizing the tools in cross-cultural settings.
- Developing women in leadership.
- Helping both men and women apply this material to their families.
- Genograms, verbatims, childhood vows, second-order change.
- Certified Spiritual Director.
Jimmy first encountered this material in 2012 as the Director of Worship Arts at Discovery Church. Now, as the Director of Operations, he has spent the better part of a decade implementing these tools to more effectively build teams, train up leaders, and create sustainable systems. Jimmy’s wife and two kids all share a love of the outdoors and are always on the hunt for the next adventure.
Jimmy’s focus:
- Integration of enneagram into the application of CL tools. Stances, wings, repression areas, etc.
- Helping you uncover the story you tell youself that keep you trapped in anxiety’s grip.
- Freedom through naming and managing systemic, deeply rooted patterns.
- Time management, personal habit systems.
- Genograms, verbatims, childhood vows, second-order change.
Brendan first engaged this material when he was an intern at Discovery Christian Church. Confronted with the hard truth about his personality (he identifies as an 8 on the Enneagram) and how it impacted others, he began a life-long journey towards health. Once he started managing his internal conflict, he noticed interactions with his family and coworkers shifting into life-giving relationships. When he is not working, he enjoys spending time with his wife Kelsey and their dog Kira. You may also find Brendan watching a good film, getting lost on a mountain trail, or trying to outwit a trout in a stream.
Brendan’s focus:
- Systems to thrive in your first five years of ministry.
- Implementing organizational system change.
- Leading from a second-chair.
- Group Management and Vision Casting.
- Second-Order Change, Genogram Facilitation, Verbatims, Problem-Solving, Life-Giving List.
- Chris Willis became familiar with this material when she began working as Steve’s executive assistant. Since then, she went through the coach certification process and continues to study and understand more how to utilize the tools professionally and in personal relationships.
Chris coaches in:
- Dating.
- Pre-marital counseling.
- Systems of organization, communication and project management.
- Genograms.
- Verbatims.
- Diagnosing 31 Sources of Anxiety.
- Differentiation.
High priorities on her life-giving list are traveling, being outdoors, and spending quality time with friends and family ~especially with husband, Paul and their four kids
Paul Willis was introduced to the MLA tools in 2020 while looking to add to his business & life coaching and mentoring toolkit. He meshes together the anxiety tools into individual and group coaching sessions to diffuse anxiety in businesses and families, but loves to work with the behavior temperaments as well. He loves helping people get “unstuck” either in their personal development or in their leadership. His experience of 23 years as a Naval Officer have provided ample challenging leadership opportunities, and he loves sharing lessons learned with those he coaches. Paul is an Executive Pastor at a church in Houston, where he and his wife Chris of 27 years and three of their kids live. Together, they have an expansive Life-Giving list which they love digging into, especially traveling together. They’re known for taking a half-day trip to find that perfect coffee shop, and they dabble as amateur chocolatiers.
What Paul Offers:
- As a certified DiSC Behavioral Analyst, he can help individuals and teams understand how to leverage the behavioral dynamics of a team, and put the things they bring to the table to great use. Coupled with identifying anxiety areas, this powerful duo aids in clients discovering their own necessary changes.
- He excels in finding areas in teams that need improvement and developing a clear road ahead for them to live in lowered states of anxiety.
- Creating and assessing corporate Vision/Mission/Core Values, and implementing Staff Development Plans for all levels in the organization.
- Life-Giving List discovery, Verbatim, Genogram Facilitation, DiSC Team facilitation.
Tom came to Discovery Christian Church as Executive Pastor, and experienced the unique blend of practical tools, psychological systems, and spiritual principles that make Steve’s approach to leadership and anxiety so helpful. It has provided Tom leadership perspective and challenged him to grow in ways that other systems and theories did not. Tom enjoys increasing his baseball knowledge, expanding his vinyl record collection, and trying out new recipes in his smoker. He and his wife of 30 years, Rachel, have two grown, married children – and love to travel.
What Tom Offers:
- As a Project Management Professional, Tom can assist with integration of CAPable leadership practices in project planning and execution – particularly focusing on scope, risk, and stakeholder management practices.
- Pre and Post Launch Church Planting challenges and opportunities.
- Navigating large corporate culture and middle management challenges.
- Identify influences that inform organizational culture and develop plans to resolve stuck patterns through creative and collaborative approaches.
- Second-Order Change, Genogram Facilitation, Verbatims, Problem-Solving, Life-Giving List.
Linnea encountered Capable Life tools as a longtime friend and sojourner with Steve through Discovery Christian Church. The tools have been helpful navigating her worlds of high school teaching, student leadership development, missions, spiritual formation, church board experience and personal development. Linnea is a professional educator and has trained in Harmony Enneagram and Spiritual Direction.
What Linnea Offers:
- Harmony Enneagram coaching through Crossroad Ministries with Clare & Scott Loughrige.
- Spiritual direction through the Transforming Center with Ruth Haley Barton.
- Pilgrimage on the Camino de Santiago, Spain
- Women’s leadership
- Befriending your adult children
- Church leadership/Elder
- Navigating middle and high school years.
