Practical Faith Academy - Episode 19 - Jan White, Combining Faith and Vocation

The Practical Faith Academy Podcast from Cecil Taylor Ministries presents guests who have important things to say about putting your faith into practice. Cecil interviews each guest to understand their life stories and their ideas for living a seven-day practical faith.

Jan White is a small-town newspaper columnist who struck it big when she compiled a selection of her religion columns into a book during Covid. The book was a smashing success at a time when people were looking for hope. White still writes for the Andalusia, Alabama Star-News. She has also won an award for her column on forgiveness as opposed to hatred. In this podcast, White shares her views on following Jesus and how her work as a columnist intertwines with her faith.

Highlights of the podcast: 

2:45 What inspired Jan to publish a compilation of her newspaper columns

5:22 Jesus made the complex simple. Do we do the same in our faith, or are we too complex?

6:40 To her, seven-day practical faith means a faith that addresses all circumstances.

8:06 Examples of columns she has written, such as about the cross at Ground Zero.

10:55 Favorite stories from the book

11:45 Jan wrote an award-winning column on how forgiveness unlocks hatred. She explains her reasoning.

14:28 How she sees her job as being an essential part of putting faith into practice.

16:43 The hardest part about putting faith into practice

21:01 Her best tip to develop and maintain a seven-day practical faith

21:54 How to find Jan’s books and her future authoring plans

Jan White is the author of “Everyday Faith for Daily Life,” a collection of her newspaper religion columns over 25 years. She has won a newspaper writing award for “Forgiveness: The Key to Unlocking Hatred.” White writes for the Andalusia, Alabama Star-News and the Enterprise, Alabama Southeast Sun. Her website is janwhitewriter.com.

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- In “Unison Parenting: The Comprehensive Guide to Navigating Christian Parenthood with One Voice” (book and eWorkbook available now; book study Leader Guide and first video study available later in 2025), Cecil provides proven parenting strategies with an underlying layer of parenting in unison through all the ages and stages of a child’s life. “Unison Parenting” has been honored with the 2025 Independent Press Award for Parenting/Family.

- In “From Comfort Zone to Trust Zone” (book, six-week video study, Leader Guide, and Participant’s Guide), Cecil explores a dozen Bible studies of Jesus inviting people out of their comfort zones into their trust zones and how to apply these stories to our lives today. You’ll uncover your own comfort zones and learn how to deepen your faith by getting uncomfortable for Jesus.

- “The Next Thing” (book, five-week video study, Leader Guide, and Participant’s Guide) supplies a four-part Christian model for dealing with crisis. You’ll find the model to be flexible and applicable to many crises.

- “Live Like You’re Loved” (book, five-week video study, Leader Guide, and Participant’s Guide) affirms that God loves you, forgives you, sends you, and walks with you in eternal relationship. You’ll learn how to embed each of these scriptural truths into your daily life.