Lifework Podcast

Williams Baptist University
  • 5.0 (5)
  • CHRISTIANITY
  • UPDATED WEEKLY

The Lifework Podcast is where faith, purpose, and calling come together. Hosted by Williams Baptist University President Dr. Stan Norman, this podcast explores the theology of work and why it matters for every believer. At Williams, we believe education is more than a degree — it’s preparation for a Christ-centered life of influence and service. Through thoughtful conversations with faculty, leaders, and friends of WBU, the Lifework Podcast unpacks how God designed us to find meaning in our work and live out our calling in every sphere of life. Our goal is to inspire and equip listeners to see their lifework not just as a career, but as a way to glorify God and impact the world.

  1. When Winning Really Matters: Calling, Coaching, and Walking Through the Fire with Coach Josh Austin (Pt. 2)

    5D AGO

    When Winning Really Matters: Calling, Coaching, and Walking Through the Fire with Coach Josh Austin (Pt. 2)

    In this second conversation with Williams Baptist University head men’s basketball coach Josh Austin, host Dr. Stan Norman picks up the story right where Part 1 left off—at the moment when faith moved from the margins of Josh’s life to the center of his calling. Josh shares how a hard sophomore season, a stairwell conversation with a stranger, and a renewed hunger for God’s Word reshaped his priorities, redirected his dreams of the NBA, and clarified his desire to use coaching as a platform for ministry rather than just a pathway to wins and summers off. From there, the conversation turns to calling, mentors, and the long obedience of showing up: Josh talks about the coaches who formed him, the step of faith that took him from unpaid volunteer to 24-year-old interim head coach, and the surprising way God “kicked him through” an open door into college coaching leadership. He also reflects on how God eventually led him and his family to Williams, giving them a deep sense of peace that this small campus in Northeast Arkansas was the place they were meant to plant their lives and ministry. Josh and Dr. Norman then walk through one of the hardest vocational seasons of his career—a year of losses, culture challenges, and discouragement on the court—and how passages like Galatians 6 taught him not to “grow weary in doing good” even when the scoreboard said otherwise. Josh explains his coaching philosophy, why he believes every player is wired to want to win, and how he is working with team chaplain Pastor Jamar to help young men find their true identity in Christ rather than in minutes, stats, or results. The episode concludes with a deeply personal story of loss and community: Josh recounts the night his family received a 1:30 a.m. phone call that their campus home in the Cove was on fire, what it was like to FaceTime while watching their house burn, and how returning to a smoke-damaged home and a daughter’s ruined bedroom became a classroom of grace. Through the hands and feet of the Williams community—housing, practical care, and presence—Josh and his family experienced what it means for the body of Christ to carry one another’s burdens, and how God often uses trials not only to sustain us, but to prepare us to comfort others with the comfort we have received. If you are a coach, parent, student-athlete, or anyone wrestling with calling in a season that feels more like loss than victory, this episode will help you see how God can redeem disappointing seasons, redirect ambitions, and use even house fires and hard years to deepen trust, shape character, and reframe what it really means to “win” in Christ.

    26 min
  2. From Magnet Cove to March Madness: How Hard Work Shaped Coach Josh Austin’s Calling (Part 1)

    MAR 16

    From Magnet Cove to March Madness: How Hard Work Shaped Coach Josh Austin’s Calling (Part 1)

    In this Lifework Podcast episode, Dr. Stan Norman sits down with Williams Baptist University head men’s basketball coach Josh Austin to trace how a small-town Arkansas upbringing, an IT-dad and jeans-factory-mom, and Saturdays filled with yard work—not screens—forged his relentless work ethic.  Coach Austin shares stories from Magnet Cove, from spotlighting deer and folding Arizona jeans to getting pancaked by a future D‑end standout, and reflects on how his parents’ expectation-driven home and ag-style grit taught him that “winning” is a daily process, not just a final score. He also opens up about coming to faith as a boy on a back road in Wicks, Arkansas, how his mom quietly explained the gospel in a 1976 Ford pickup, and how that moment planted a relationship with Christ that would later deepen in college and ultimately shape his vocation as a Christian coach.

    21 min
  3. More Than Wins: Coach Jessica Nutt on Calling, Culture, and Caring for Her Players (Part 2)

    MAR 9

    More Than Wins: Coach Jessica Nutt on Calling, Culture, and Caring for Her Players (Part 2)

    In Part 2 of their conversation, WBU President Dr. Stan Norman sits back down with Head Softball Coach Jessica Nutt to explore how God used closed doors, unanswered job applications, and long seasons of waiting to clarify her calling to coach.  Drawing from her time at Kids Across America, in the classroom, and on the field, Jessica shares how relationships, not résumés, helped her see that investing in students through sport was exactly where the Lord wanted her.  Today, she leads a 32-player program at Williams Baptist University shaped by the team hashtag “#FIGHT”—with “fight for Christ” at the center—and a culture where who you are matters more than your stats. Jessica talks candidly about learning it’s okay not to be okay, why how you treat people really does matter, and how mentors and former players have reminded her that coaching is a ministry of impact and gratitude, not just wins and losses.

    22 min
  4. From Bolivar to the Ballpark: How Faith, Family, and Failure Shaped Coach Jessica Nutt

    MAR 2

    From Bolivar to the Ballpark: How Faith, Family, and Failure Shaped Coach Jessica Nutt

    In this episode of the Lifework Podcast, Williams Baptist University President Dr. Stan Norman sits down with Head Softball Coach Jessica Nutt to trace her journey from a sports‑saturated childhood in Bolivar, Missouri, to leading the Lady Eagles on the field at WBU. Coach Nutt shares how growing up in a tight-knit, church‑centered family at First Baptist Bolivar and coming to faith in Christ in fifth or sixth grade laid the foundation for her view of work, calling, and competition. She reflects on sibling rivalry with her identical twin, learning that relationships and how you treat people truly matter, and how distance in college helped transform conflict into deep, supportive family bonds. Listeners will hear how a major “failure” in a high school CNA program closed the door on her dream of becoming a trauma surgeon and unexpectedly redirected her toward college softball, coaching, and eventually a career investing in young women. Coach Nutt explains why she tells recruits not to let a test score define them, how God’s plan is often better than the one we script for ourselves, and why she’s convinced she is right where she’s supposed to be—using softball as a platform to shape lives for Christ on and off the field.

    19 min
  5. From Whistles to Worship: How Coaching Became Calling for AD Mitch Mathis

    FEB 23

    From Whistles to Worship: How Coaching Became Calling for AD Mitch Mathis

    In this second part of their conversation, WBU President Dr. Stan Norman sits back down with Director of Athletics Mitch Mathis to trace how a winding coaching career became a clear sense of calling and ministry. Coach Mathis shares how God used closed doors, hard seasons, and unexpected moves—from small-town Arkansas to inner-city Houston and back—to shape his heart for students, coaches, and families. He reflects on the mentors and “God-appointments” that marked his journey, the role of prayer in navigating divorce, transition, and leadership, and how he now understands athletic administration as coaching the coaches and pastoring the people God has placed in his path. Whether you serve on the field, in the classroom, or in the marketplace, this episode invites you to see your own work as ministry and your career as a canvas for God’s faithful, guiding hand.

    22 min
  6. From Pine Bluff to the Ballpark: How Family, Faith, and Hard Work Shaped WBU AD Mitch Mathis (Pt. 1)

    FEB 16

    From Pine Bluff to the Ballpark: How Family, Faith, and Hard Work Shaped WBU AD Mitch Mathis (Pt. 1)

    WBU President Dr. Stan Norman talks with Athletic Director Mitch Mathis about how a blue-collar childhood in Pine Bluff, a catcher’s grind on the baseball field, and a winding spiritual journey shaped his work ethic, leadership, and calling in athletics. In this first part of a two-episode conversation, WBU President Dr. Stan Norman sits down with Williams Baptist University Director of Athletics, Mitch Mathis, to trace the early story behind his calling, character, and career. Growing up in Pine Bluff in a hardworking, blue-collar home, Mitch shares how watching his father log timber, serve as a command sergeant major in the National Guard, and “fix” struggling units—and seeing his mother care for people as a hospital social worker—formed his understanding of work, responsibility, and leadership. He reflects on early jobs from candy striper to construction laborer, the blisters that tested his grit, and the expectation that if you took a job, you owed your boss a full day’s work. Mitch also unpacks his spiritual journey: coming to faith as a 10-year-old during Vacation Bible School, drifting in the demanding rhythm of college baseball at Arkansas State, and later returning to church as a young husband and father who wanted his kids rooted in the local body. Along the way, he tells the story of how a Little League coach helped him fall in love with catching, why he walked on at ASU without even knowing where Jonesboro was, and how one unforgettable Senior Day game against Memphis became the perfect ending to his playing career. Candid and down-to-earth, this episode lays the groundwork for Part 2, where Mitch and Dr. Norman will explore calling, coaching, and how God orchestrates a life of service through athletics.

    23 min
  7. When Ministry Hurts and God Redirects Your Life with Bill Jeffery (pt. 2)

    FEB 8

    When Ministry Hurts and God Redirects Your Life with Bill Jeffery (pt. 2)

    What do you do when the calling you thought would define your life runs straight into the brick wall of real ministry hurt? In this episode of the LifeWork Podcast, we listen in as WBU president Dr. Stan Norman sits down with former worship guitarist and once–full-time pastor, now digital recruiting coordinator, Bill Jeffery. Bill opens up about chasing the dream of professional music, stepping into local church ministry with big expectations, and then hitting rough waters—disappointment, confusion, and the grief of watching a long–imagined future fall apart. Through honest stories and hard-won insight, Bill and Dr. Norman wrestle with what calling really means when your plans die, doors close, and “ministry” no longer looks like a church office or a title. They explore how God meets us in vocational wreckage, how He retools our gifts for new settings, and why serving in Christian higher education can be just as spiritually weighty as standing behind a pulpit. If you’ve ever wondered, “Did I miss my calling?” or felt burned by ministry but still hungry to be used by God, this conversation will help you see your detours as part of His design, not the end of your story.

    26 min
  8. Bill Jeffery (Part 1): Formation, Faith, and the Early Years

    FEB 2

    Bill Jeffery (Part 1): Formation, Faith, and the Early Years

    In this first part of a two-episode conversation, we turn the spotlight behind the scenes to hear the story of Bill Jeffery—the voice you usually don’t hear, but the one shaping many of the stories told through the LifeWork Podcast. Bill reflects on growing up in a divided home, encountering faith for the first time as a teenager, and finding refuge in church, music, and meaningful relationships during seasons of uncertainty and hardship. From small-town Arkansas to late-night conversations that clarified his calling, this episode explores how God uses disruption, disappointment, and unexpected mentors to form a life of purpose. This conversation isn’t about a polished testimony—it’s about formation. About how calling often takes shape long before clarity arrives. Part two continues the story, tracing how these early years eventually led Bill to Williams Baptist University and the work he now does behind the camera.

    21 min
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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
5 Ratings

About

The Lifework Podcast is where faith, purpose, and calling come together. Hosted by Williams Baptist University President Dr. Stan Norman, this podcast explores the theology of work and why it matters for every believer. At Williams, we believe education is more than a degree — it’s preparation for a Christ-centered life of influence and service. Through thoughtful conversations with faculty, leaders, and friends of WBU, the Lifework Podcast unpacks how God designed us to find meaning in our work and live out our calling in every sphere of life. Our goal is to inspire and equip listeners to see their lifework not just as a career, but as a way to glorify God and impact the world.

Information

  • Creator
    Williams Baptist University
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2026
  • Episodes
    54
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Lifework Podcast
  • Show Website
    Lifework Podcast

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