Hold This Thought

with Christian Boatright
  • 5.0 (1)
  • Society & Culture
  • Updated Daily

Welcome to Hold This Thought, an open-ended conversation podcast where every week, a new guest joins me for unscripted conversations. We discover their passions, explore curious topics, and gain insights about life along the way. In a world built for constant distraction, this is where things slow down, for thoughts worth holding onto. No scripts. No agenda. Real people. Real stories. Real life. The first three episodes release on 3/16/26. Streaming on YouTube and Spotify. @HoldThisThoughtPodcast

  1. 5d ago

    045 | Blind Draw | What's A Weird Thing You Do, But You Think Is Normal? | Haley Ozier

    Unscripted | Unpredictable | You Will Laugh | Roasts | RidiculousBlind DrawWhat happens when two friends put completely unexpected questions into a coffee mug and have to answer whatever they pull? In this episode of Hold This Thought, Blind Draw takes the conversation everywhere from childhood memories and dream careers to pizza, board games, travel, faith, weird habits, acting, piano, browser history, and surviving a deserted island. Along the way, the questions get increasingly ridiculous, but some answers turn unexpectedly personal and reveal how differently two people see life, creativity, friendship, and the future. No scripts, no preparation, and only one pass.In this Episode: Name something you're surprisingly good at...What's a weird thing you do but think is normal?What's your most recent search or browse history?You're on a deserted island. What three items will you bring?and more....Chapters:00:00 | The Escape Drive01:30 | Blind Draw Begins06:05 | Life in 30 Years11:05 | Reliving Childhood16:49 | Pizza or Ice Cream?19:33 | Favorite Games27:01 | Surprisingly Good At31:37 | Dreams Put on the Shelf41:22 | Stop Watching, Start Doing43:36 | Where Do You Want to Go?49:25 | Books vs. Movies58:04 | How Much to Shave Your Head?1:14:50 | One App for Life1:31:08 | The AI Search History1:43:36 | Surviving a Deserted Island

  2. Sep 21

    044 | Why Trying Harder Doesn't Produce The Fruit You Want | Aaron Snow

    Food Discipline | Drug Addiction | Good vs. Bad Fruit | Reconciliation | Stewardship | Pastor Aaron Snow joins the conversation to unpack the connection between identity, discipline, faith, and the fruit our lives produce. His story moves through personal transformation, addiction, leadership, fatherhood, and the difficult process of becoming the person you know you are called to be. The conversation also explores what it means to stop chasing approval, embrace discipline, and live from a deeper sense of identity. Aaron shares lessons from his own journey and challenges the idea that we can simply force change, pointing instead toward the deeper roots that ultimately shape our lives. Aaron Snow is the Senior Pastor of Purpose Church in Alpharetta, Georgia, husband to Caity, and dad to London and Lincoln. With over 30 years in local church leadership and more than a decade leading teams in the corporate marketplace, Aaron carries a deep conviction that the greatest work a man can do is reconcile his heart back to the love of the Father, because when that happens, the Church becomes the unstoppable force it was intended to be. His passion is helping sons and daughters, whether from the pulpit or in the boardroom, move from a life of performance and pressure into the freedom of leading from identity. Aaron's mission is simple: help people live and lead on purpose. www.wearepurposechurch.com FB & IG: @AaronSnow12 Chapters: 0:00 | The Discipline Problem 8:35 | Embracing the Suck 16:06 | What’s the Fruit? 24:58 | Seven Years of Addiction 33:07 | From Addiction to Freedom 40:03 | When Darkness Meets Light 48:11 | The Excavation of Your Life 56:07 | Kindness as a Witness 1:04:00 | Who Is Your First Neighbor? 1:13:37 | The Moment He Heard, “You’re My Son” 1:22:34 | The Church Was Meant to Be Unstoppable 1:30:04 | Peace the World Can’t Explain 1:38:49 | What Your Children Really Need From You 1:45:04 | The Courage to Be Who You’re Called to Be

  3. Sep 14

    043 | He Played 500 Hours of Catan… Here’s What He Learned | Ben Austin

    Catan | Boardgames | NICU Journey | Theme Parks | Immersion What starts as a conversation about Catan quickly turns into something much bigger. Ben Austin joins us for an unusually nerdy and surprisingly deep conversation about why The Settlers of Catan became such a phenomenon, the negotiation and diplomacy hidden inside the game, and how the game's balance of strategy and luck mirrors real life. From there, we go down the rabbit hole of board games, movies, Marvel, Star Wars, and theme parks and the psychology of why certain fictional worlds capture our attention while others do not. Then the conversation takes a much more personal turn. Ben opens up about his son being born three months early at 27 weeks, the uncertainty and intensity of their NICU experience, and the terrifying moments that came with watching their baby's vital signs suddenly crash. We talk about how modern medical technology changed the outcome, including the procedure that eventually closed his son's PDA, before returning to another shared obsession: theme parks. Ben explains why Universal's theming and architecture create such powerful immersion, why Hagrid's is unlike virtually any other roller coaster, and how a $300 million ride can make you feel like you've actually entered another world. Ben Austin is an entrepreneur and family business leader who operates Austin Property Solutions while helping grow Austin Sound Design. A devoted husband and father, Ben is passionate about his faith, family, gaming, golf, with a particular love for Star Wars, Marvel, and Universal. https://austinhomeinnovations.com/ IG: @austinhomeinnovationsllc Chapters: 00:01 | The Board Game That Was Supposed to Be Boring 06:08 | What Catan Actually Teaches Us About Life 09:06 | Why Negotiation Is Built Into Catan 12:16 | Ambition, Diplomacy & The Cost of Being a Tyrant 18:15 | The Resource You're Sacrificing in Real Life 21:21 | Why Luck Can Beat 500 Hours of Experience 29:05 | Are Board Games Actually a Waste of Time? 40:13 | How Marvel & Star Wars Created Massive Fandoms 48:19 | Should They Remake the Original Star Wars? 57:19 | Why Harry Potter Is the Perfect Gateway to Fantasy 1:17:45 | Their Baby Was Born 3 Months Early 1:28:10 | Why Theme Parks Feel Like Another World

  4. Sep 7

    042 | He Reinvented The Table | Chandler Mitchell

    Drip Table | Creativity | Craftsmanship | Woodworking | Artificial Intelligence Chandler Mitchell joins Hold This Thought for a conversation about craftsmanship, creativity, faith, simplicity, fatherhood, AI, and the things that make a life meaningful. Chandler is the creator of Drip Table Co., a custom furniture company built around an unusual idea: taking a single slab of wood and allowing the table surface to flow continuously into its base. What begins as a conversation about furniture quickly becomes something much bigger as we explore why craftsmanship matters in an increasingly mass-produced world, why quality requires more than appearance, and why the rarest things may become even more valuable as society becomes increasingly digital. The conversation then moves into faith, Scripture, spiritual understanding, simplicity, obedience, and the tension between knowing about God and actually allowing what we believe to change how we live. We dive into artificial intelligence and creativity, asking whether AI can actually create something new, what happens to human critical thinking when we outsource more of our thinking to machines, and what humanity might lose as technology becomes increasingly capable. We close with fatherhood, mortality, legacy, and the limited amount of time we actually have with the people we love. A conversation about making things, believing things, questioning things, and ultimately deciding what is worth leaving behind. https://driptable.com/ @driptableco Chapters: 0:00 | Waffle House Order & Southern Food 6:57 | Extroverts, Introverts & Where We Thrive 10:32 | From Furniture Shop to Drip Table Co. 19:59 | Why Some Things Cannot Be Described 27:30 | Breaking Boundaries: Furniture Meets SpaceX 35:39 | Why Handmade Things Become More Valuable 42:32 | When Furniture Becomes Part of Life 49:20 | Choosing Simplicity Over Status 56:40 | When Studying Scripture Misses The Point 1:03:40 | Knowing God as Father and King 1:09:09 | Spiritual Insight vs. Biblical Knowledge 1:15:45 | Balancing Contemplation With Obedience 1:22:44 | AI, Craftsmanship & The Loss of Creativity 1:31:35 | What Technology Costs Humanity 1:39:23 | Fatherhood, Mortality & What We Leave Behind

  5. Aug 31

    041 | The Evangelist Who Preached to 100,000 People in Pakistan | David Ursin

    Terrorism | Evangelism | Persecution | Miracles | Pakistan | What does it actually look like to preach the Gospel in some of the most dangerous places on Earth? In this episode, David Ursin shares the remarkable journey that took him from working at a gas station to preaching before crowds of more than 100,000 people across Pakistan, India, Africa, and beyond. Along the way, he was personally trained by legendary evangelists Reinhard Bonnke and Daniel Kolenda, witnessed extraordinary stories of salvation, healing, and persecution, and experienced firsthand the cost of taking the Gospel into regions where Christians face intense opposition. David’s desire is to be unashamed of the Gospel of Christ, whether speaking to thousands on a stage or sharing with an individual in everyday life. David has a heart to go to the hardest and darkest places in the world, including nations such as Pakistan, Egypt, Nigeria, and India. He also has a heart to conduct large Gospel crusades in these regions, proclaiming the hope of the Gospel to those who have never heard and giving people the opportunity to fully surrender their lives to Jesus Christ. He currently lives in Orlando, Florida, with his wife and three children. www.MakingJesusKnown.org Chapters: 00:00 | Snow, Heat & Life in Florida 04:17 | The Childhood Calling to Preach 07:47 | From Gas Station Worker to Ministry 11:05 | Bible College, IHOP & Spiritual Formation 17:03 | Training With Reinhard Bonnke 22:57 | Reinhard Bonnke's 1.6 Million-Person Crusade 28:20 | Inside a Global Evangelism Ministry 36:38 | Launching His Own Evangelistic Ministry 46:40 | The World's Most Dangerous Mission Fields 52:18 | Churches Burned & Families Kidnapped 1:05:02 | How He Met His Wife & Became a Father 1:18:02 | Miracles, Healing & the Power of Faith 1:36:13 | Why Every Christian Should Preach the Gospel 1:37:09 | The Gospel: Who Is Jesus?

  6. Aug 24

    040 | Blind Draw | Would You Kill Someone? | Nick Marcarelli

    Blind Draw is a NEW recurring Hold This Thought series where the host and guest secretly write questions for one another before the show. Those questions are mixed together and drawn at random on camera. Neither person knows what's coming next. No scripts or preparation. Just genuine conversation. In this Episode: Is there a situation in which you would kill someone? A place you want to go... but shouldn't? A moment you were afraid...? And much more... Chapters: 00:00 | Intro 00:24 | A Bourbon Worth Sharing 06:09 | Introducing Blind Draw 08:51 | Question #1: A Place You Want to Go... But Shouldn't 22:33 | Question #2: Would You Kill Someone? 31:16 | Question #3: World Cup Thoughts? 39:43 | Question #4: A Moment You Were Afraid 54:44 | The Conversation Takes a Turn 01:05:32 | Different Perspectives 01:16:48 | Unexpected Answers 01:28:54 | More Blind Draw 01:40:41 | A Tough Decision 01:52:33 | The Conversation Deepens 02:04:51 | One Final Round 02:18:33 | Final Reflections

  7. Aug 17

    039 | Losing Everything Changed The Way I Lead | Andrew Bullard

    Small Business Ownership | Grief | Is Prophecy Real? | Church Leadership Accountability In this episode, I sit down with Andrew Bullard for one of our most personal conversations yet. We discuss the unexpected journey from employee to business owner after the sudden loss of his mentor, the realities of entrepreneurship, leadership, succession planning, and why legacy matters far more than most people realize. Andrew also shares the story behind Starlights Landscape Lighting, what it's like running a growing company, and the lessons he's learned through hardship and loss. The conversation then turns deeply personal as we discuss grief, the loss of loved ones, faith in the middle of suffering, heaven, purpose, and what it means to trust God when life doesn't make sense. We also explore the role of biblical 'prophecy' in modern context while discussing healthy vs unhealthy ministry practices. If you've ever wrestled with faith, tragedy, leadership, or finding hope in difficult seasons, this conversation offers an honest and thoughtful perspective. Andrew Bullard is the owner of Starlights, a Georgia-based landscape lighting company, and a former pastor with over a decade of ministry experience. Following a profound season of personal loss and a difficult departure from a high-control religious environment, Andrew has become a thoughtful voice on faith, leadership, and resilience. Today, he is passionate about helping others navigate spiritual abuse, healthy church leadership, entrepreneurship, and the pursuit of a faith rooted in truth, accountability, and hope. Through candid conversations and real-life experience, Andrew encourages people to lead with integrity, embrace healing, and build lives marked by lasting purpose. Follow on X and IG: @andrewbullard15 Chapters: 00:00 | The Thumbnail Tells You What Happens Here (Thanks For The Gift Andrew) 08:46 | Why America Still Struggles To Compete In Soccer 14:36 | Inside The Landscape Lighting Business 18:40 | How Professional Outdoor Lighting Actually Works 26:23 | My Boss Died... Then I Took Over The Company 33:32 | Becoming An Entrepreneur Overnight 38:38 | Legacy, Wills & Why Every Business Needs A Succession Plan 42:02 | Three Devastating Losses In One Season 53:05 | Finding Hope, Heaven & Comfort Through Grief 1:02:07 | Wrestling With God's Goodness During Tragedy 1:12:44 | Prophetic Dreams, Ministry & Spiritual Abuse 1:28:15 | Church Leadership, Accountability & Healthy Authority 1:44:50 | Hearing God's Voice Without Manipulation 1:56:40 | Politics, Healthcare & Difficult Conversations 2:03:05 | Final Advice On Living A Meaningful Life

  8. Aug 10

    038 | We Finally Talked About the Books We're Writing | Travis Sanders

    Sports Trivia | Math Minds | Beach Vs. Mountains | Creative Writing | Tolkien A simple conversation about sports unexpectedly unfolds into a discussion about creativity, storytelling, and the ideas that shape how we see the world. Christian and Travis discuss writing fiction, building memorable characters, high fantasy, fatherhood, worldbuilding, travel, geography, mathematics, and why some stories continue to resonate long after they're told. Whether you're a reader, writer, traveler, sports fan, or simply someone who enjoys thoughtful conversations, this episode offers a unique look at curiosity through many different lenses. From NFL debates to Tolkien, European travel to novel writing, this is one of the most diverse conversations we've had. Travis has dedicated most of his adult career to youth development and ministry, helping shape the lives of the next generation. He holds a degree in mathematics and enjoys exploring the intersection of faith, reason, and storytelling. Married for nearly ten years and the father of three, Travis is passionate about reading, writing, sports, and thoughtful conversations about Scripture. He is currently writing a fiction novel that uses allegory to explore the journey of fatherhood and the timeless truths found within it. Chapters: 00:00 | Trivia Night & Sports Obsession 01:50 | NFL Legends, Favorite Players & Football Memories 09:45 | The Super Bowl Experience & Sports Culture 17:55 | Geography, History & The Joy of Learning Random Facts 25:20 | Mountains vs. Beaches: What Makes a Perfect Vacation? 35:45 | Travel Expectations vs. Authentic Experiences 46:20 | Wildlife Encounters, Snakes & Outdoor Adventures 58:45 | Fantasy Worlds: Game of Thrones, Books & Storytelling 1:19:55 | George R.R. Martin's Writing Genius 1:30:05 | Tolkien, Middle-earth & Building Entire Universes 1:41:45 | Fantasy, Worldbuilding & Why Great Stories Endure 1:50:26 | Final Thoughts & Outro

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About

Welcome to Hold This Thought, an open-ended conversation podcast where every week, a new guest joins me for unscripted conversations. We discover their passions, explore curious topics, and gain insights about life along the way. In a world built for constant distraction, this is where things slow down, for thoughts worth holding onto. No scripts. No agenda. Real people. Real stories. Real life. The first three episodes release on 3/16/26. Streaming on YouTube and Spotify. @HoldThisThoughtPodcast

Information

  • Creator
    with Christian Boatright
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    46
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © with Christian Boatright
  • Show Website
    Hold This Thought