Purpose Maker

Dr. MJ Wegmann
  • 5.0 (5)
  • Society & Culture
  • Updated Semimonthly

Conversations with thought leaders, entrepreneurs, and authors on wisdom, leadership, faith and living on purpose. Through L.I.F.E. Golden Ticket — and the TIP Methodology (Transitions, Identity, and Purpose) — each episode unpacks how remarkable people navigate change, lead with integrity, and create meaning by serving others. Honest dialogue for anyone building a business, a team, or a life that matters. Welcome to the Purpose Maker conversation.

  1. 5d ago

    The True Cost of Leadership: Why Serving Others Is the Ultimate Test | Jim Hunter x Purpose Maker #32

    What is the true cost of leadership? In Episode 32 of Purpose Maker, host Dr. Michael Wegmann is joined by renowned leadership author and speaker James "Jim" Hunter (The Servant) for a powerful discussion on servant leadership, excellence, and the distinction between power and authority. Leadership isn’t about force or position—it’s about influence, character, and an unwavering commitment to serve others. Jim breaks down why servanthood is the ultimate test of true leadership and shares practical insights on how to build culture, inspire high performance, and leave a lasting legacy. Key Topics Covered: The core difference between Power and Authority Why true excellence requires intentional servanthood How to lead people effectively without relying on titles Preserving wisdom and values for the next generation 🔗 Learn more: Website: [https://www.jameshunter.com] | [https://www.purposemaker.com] If you enjoyed this episode, please rate the show 5 stars on Spotify and share it with a leader in your network!

    The True Cost of Leadership: Why Serving Others Is the Ultimate Test | Jim Hunter x Purpose Maker #32

  2. Oct 9

    Nick Twomey: Biglife’s Blueprint for True Kingdom Impact #31

    Welcome back to Purpose Maker. Today, we’re diving into what it actually takes to move from maintaining a ministry to sparking an unstoppable movement. My guest today spent nearly four decades in traditional pastoral ministry right here in Michigan, planting roots, building community, and leading the largest congregation north of Grand Rapids. But in 2019, he stepped out of the pulpit and into a global mission with Biglife—an organization empowering everyday believers around the world to make disciples who make disciples. He calls himself a 'connector'—someone whose entire life is built around creating vertical connection with God and horizontal connection with people. Whether he’s mobilizing disciple-making movements across Northern Michigan or connecting kingdom-minded leaders across the globe, his strategy is simple, radical, and wildly effective. Please welcome veteran pastor, movement catalyst, and Biglife leader, Nick Twomey. Find Biglife/ here: https://big.life/

    Nick Twomey: Biglife’s Blueprint for True Kingdom Impact #31

  3. Sep 18

    Dare To Serve, Author & CEO Cheryl Bachelder | Purpose Maker Podcast #30

    Can putting others first actually deliver world-class financial results? In this episode of the Purpose Maker Podcast, host Dr. Michael Wegmann sits down with legendary restaurant executive, author, and board director Cheryl Bachelder. When Cheryl took the helm as CEO of Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen in 2007, the company was struggling with declining market share, lowDare morale, and strained relationships with franchisees. Instead of relying on traditional top-down authority, Cheryl implemented a bold strategy: a culture rooted in servant leadership. Over the next decade, that shift transformed the entire enterprise, growing market cap from under $300 million to over $1.3 billion, driving decade-long market share gains, and restoring trust across thousands of restaurant owners and teams. Cheryl unpacks the hard-earned wisdom behind her book, Dare to Serve: How to Drive Superior Results by Serving Others. She shares what it truly takes to lead with humility and high standards, how to navigate failure, and why serving others is not a soft strategy, but the ultimate engine for sustainable performance and purpose-driven impact. Find her book here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1626562350?ref_=cm_sw_r_ffobk_cp_ud_dp_R89RRPA3E211ZVNM8K5F&bestFormat=true Key Takeaways: The Power of Purpose: How aligning an organization around a core serving mandate unleashes human potential. The Servant Leader's Dilemma: Why putting others before yourself is aspirational, demanding, and requires daily intentionality. The Turnaround Mindset: How Cheryl rebuilt franchisee trust and expanded enterprise value by asking how her team could best serve them. Courage and Humility: Why true strength as a leader requires both bold ambition for the vision and humility in how you lead people. Learning from Failure: How setbacks and tough seasons forge the character required for long-term wisdom. About Our Guest: Cheryl Bachelder is an accomplished corporate leader, public company board member, and author. She served as CEO of Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen, Inc. from 2007 to 2017 and currently serves as Lead Director at Chick-fil-A, Inc. and Board Director at US Foods Holding, Inc. She is the author of Dare to Serve: How to Drive Superior Results by Serving Others and a passionate advocate for developing leaders who lead with purpose and conviction.

    Dare To Serve, Author & CEO Cheryl Bachelder | Purpose Maker Podcast #30

  4. Aug 21

    AI, Identity, and the Search for What's True - Abdu Murray | Purpose Maker Podcast #29

    What Happens When AI Starts Answering "Who Am I?" — with Abdu Murray In a culture where technology and ideology are both racing to redefine what it means to be human, how do we hold onto a stable sense of identity and a purpose that actually means something? In this episode of Purpose Maker Podcast, I sit down with Abdu Murray; attorney, speaker, and President of Embrace the Truth; to talk about his new book, Fake ID, and what he's learned from decades of helping people wrestle honestly with questions of truth and identity. We dig into the TIP Method: Transitions, Identity, and Purpose and how Abdu's own story (a nine-year investigation that took him from a devout Muslim upbringing to the Christian faith) shaped his understanding of how identity gets built, tested, and rebuilt. We talk about what AI is doing to our collective sense of self, why so many people feel unmoored right now, and how real purpose is found not in self-definition but in service to something — and someone — bigger than ourselves. If you've ever felt like the ground under your identity is shifting, this conversation is for you. Show links here: Website: https://embracethetruth.org/ Book: https://a.co/d/03Ay1qRe SUBSCRIBE on Youtube: @purposemaker Join the FREE newsletter: www.purposemaker.com/newsletter Check out our Lifestyle and Wellness store here: https://www.purposemaker.store/ Join an online Mid-Life Wisdom class: https://www.purposemaker.com/wisdomhub Listen on Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast... Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4F0XqPt... Follow on Instagram: www.instagram.com/dr.wegmann Follow on Facebook: www.facebook.com/purposemaker  #PurposeMaker #LeadershipDevelopment #PersonalGrowth #LifePurpose #MidLifeWisdom #FaithAndBusiness #LegacyBuilding #LeadershipCoaching #IntentionalLiving #BusinessConsulting #SpiritualGrowth #MindsetMatters #HighPerformance #ProfessionalDevelopment #ImpactDriven #WisdomShared #ServantLeadership #TransformationalCoaching #GoalSetting #SuccessMindset

    AI, Identity, and the Search for What's True - Abdu Murray | Purpose Maker Podcast #29

  5. Aug 9

    John Burke: The Truth of Eternal Identity | Purpose Maker Podcast #28

    What happens to our identity when this life ends — and how should that truth shape the way we live right now? In this episode, I sit down with John Burke, founder of Gateway Church in Austin and New York Times bestselling author of Imagine Heaven, for a conversation that goes straight to the heart of the T.I.P. Method — Transitions, Identity, and Purpose. John has spent decades researching near-death experiences and studying what Scripture reveals about who we really are, and where our sense of self ultimately comes from. We talk about what it means to build an identity that can withstand any transition life throws at it — job loss, grief, aging, reinvention — because it's rooted in something eternal rather than something temporary. John shares stories from his research and his own faith journey, and we explore how understanding our eternal identity changes the way we engage with purpose here and now. This isn't a conversation about escaping this life — it's about living this one with clearer eyes, deeper meaning, and a purpose that serves something bigger than ourselves. Find John's book here: https://a.co/d/0icVugp5  Connect with him here: https://www.facebook.com/johnburkeofficial/  🎧 Subscribe to the Purpose Maker Podcast for more incredible conversations. 🌐 Join the conversation at www.purposemaker.com

    John Burke: The Truth of Eternal Identity | Purpose Maker Podcast #28

  6. Jul 31

    Jake Manthei: Concrete Ways | Purpose Maker Podcast #27

    Concrete Ways is a conversation about building things that matter — businesses, families, and lives with purpose at the foundation. Host Dr. Wegmann sits down with entrepreneurs, leaders, and builders who've learned that real growth isn't about maximizing the bottom line, it's about creating something that serves others. In this episode, Jacob Manthei — a third-generation leader, and one of five presidents in his family's business group is president of Aster Brands — shares how he's helped grow a company built on the idea that profit is oxygen, not the point. Concrete lessons, honest stories, and practical wisdom for anyone trying to build a life and business worth having.

    Jake Manthei: Concrete Ways | Purpose Maker Podcast #27

  7. Jul 9

    Eeva Redmond: Elder Piper [USA Today #3 Best New Brewery] Purpose Maker Podcast #26

    What happens when all the ingredients are right? What happens when wisdom, knowledge, and a love story come together? You get Elder Piper Brewery, ranked the #3 Best New Brewery by USA Today. Elder Piper has captured massive critical attention. [They are celebrating their 2 year anniversary this June!] Trace and Eeva Redmond didn't stumble into brewing. They earned it. Over a decade working for some of the biggest names in craft beer — Founders Brewing, Sierra Nevada, Highland Brewing — they were quietly learning, refining, and dreaming. Trace developed over 400 recipes. Eeva became a Certified Cicerone (equivalent to a Sommelier with wine), an international beer judge, and the creative mind behind one of the best new breweries.  Come here their amazing story. https://elderpiperbeer.com/

    Eeva Redmond: Elder Piper [USA Today #3 Best New Brewery] Purpose Maker Podcast #26

  8. Jun 12

    Faith and Evidence #25

    What happens when an investigative journalist sets out to disprove Christianity — and the evidence won't let him? In this episode of the Purpose Maker Wisdom & Leadership Podcast, Dr. Wegmann sits down with two of the most respected and influential voices in Christian apologetics: Lee Strobel, the former atheist and journalist behind The Case for Christ, and Mark Mittelberg, evangelist, author, and Lee's longtime collaborator.   Together we go past the talking points. We explore where evidence ends and faith begins, the hardest objections they still wrestle with, and how defending the faith has changed in a culture that's grown skeptical of truth itself. Lee and Mark also open up about what they've learned from each other across decades of friendship and ministry — the kind of deep reverence for each other you don’t hear on every podcast.   Whether you're a skeptic, a seeker, or a seasoned believer, this conversation will challenge the way you think about faith, evidence, and the kind of leader you're becoming. Because at Purpose Maker, we believe identity always precedes impact — and nothing shapes identity more profoundly than what you believe to be true about God, the world, and yourself. This isn't just an apologetics episode. It's a masterclass in intellectual courage, deep friendship, and the lifelong pursuit of wisdom that leads not just to better answers, but to a better you.  Listen, share and step into a faith with deeper roots. Show links: Apologetics Inc. www.apologetics.org Lee’s latest book: https://a.co/d/04l68y1F Mark’s latest book: https://a.co/d/05DSALU1 SUBSCRIBE to Purpose Maker on Youtube: @purposemaker  Join the FREE newsletter: www.purposemaker.com/newsletter  Join an online wisdom class: https://www.purposemaker.com/wisdomhub Listen on Apple:  https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast... Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4F0XqPt... Follow on Instagram: www.instagram.com/dr.wegmann Follow on Facebook: www.facebook.com/purposemaker #purposemaker #drwegmann #faith #christianity #thecaseforchrist #leestrobel #markmittelberg #apologetics

    Faith and Evidence #25
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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
5 Ratings

About

Conversations with thought leaders, entrepreneurs, and authors on wisdom, leadership, faith and living on purpose. Through L.I.F.E. Golden Ticket — and the TIP Methodology (Transitions, Identity, and Purpose) — each episode unpacks how remarkable people navigate change, lead with integrity, and create meaning by serving others. Honest dialogue for anyone building a business, a team, or a life that matters. Welcome to the Purpose Maker conversation.

Information

  • Creator
    Dr. MJ Wegmann
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2026
  • Episodes
    32
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 PML
  • Show Website
    Purpose Maker

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