72: Josh Thompson: Leading with Humility, Enduring Trials, Growing Faithfulness; A Man Refined by Hardship and Calamity

Josh Thompson is the Lead Pastor for Preaching and Vision at Legacy City Church, located in Studio City, CA where he lives with his wife Katie and their daughter Eden. He was born and raised in Riverside, CA with his two younger brothers Jake and Jesse. After attending Harvest Christian Fellowship in High School, he was brought on staff in 2002 working with the high school ministry.   A few years later, Josh got to attend a pastors-in-training school in Mexico with Pastor Jon Courson. He also got to spend some time studying in Israel after that. Upon returning, he continued to help with the Harvest Crusades and eventually came on staff under Greg Laurie in 2010, where he served until 2014 when he was called to plant a church in L.A. Aside from spending most of his free time with his wife, he loves to surf, play music, and preach the Word of God!   In this interview Josh shares more about how he developed into the man he is today. He talks about how humility is cultivated, what fuels faith, how to pursue intimacy with God, and secret skills he possesses. He also shares about some of the darkest times in his life and how God brought him through those seasons, as well as discussing suicide and it's ramifications.   For the full show notes, visit: theupandcomersshow.com/episodes/josht     Time-Markers:   6:00 - Josh's Little Known Superpower 8:30 - What Josh Does 10:00 - All Things Surfing 16:00 - Leading with Humility 26:00 - Josh's Development / Growth 30:00 - Building Blocks for Constructive Criticism 32:30 - Josh's Childhood / Background 41:00 - Challenges Josh Faced 47:00 - Impact of Losing His Mother 54:00 - How Josh Was Called to Ministry 1:01:30 - What Faith Means / Looks Like 1:09:00 - When Faith is Hardest 1:11:30 - Faith-Fuel 1:15:00 - Intimacy with God 1:22:00 - Early Church-Planting Years / Josh's Darkest Moments 1:30:30 - Message for People Contemplating Suicide 1:34:00 - What Josh Reminds Himself of Most 1:35:00 - What Book(s) Have Left Biggest Impact 1:37:30 - New Habit/Belief with Most Positive Impact 1:39:00 - TED Talk Josh Would Give 1:40:00 - Morning Text Reminder