Show Notes
Want to submit questions? Email us at [email protected] This episode explores the tension between "be the light of the world" and "live a quiet life" - and why both can coexist in the same calling. Carl sits down with Ruslan Alkhouri, the Armenian refugee turned seven-figure media entrepreneur, about faithfulness before platform, godly ambition versus worldly fame, and why implementation always beats information. The conversation covers twenty years of faithful local service that nobody saw, how God breathed on Ruslan's YouTube platform during the pandemic, and the controversial topic of wealth in ministry. You'll hear why your assignment is seasonal but your purpose is constant, and why you can't change people no matter how hard you try. If you're wrestling with how to build something meaningful without losing your soul, or wondering whether your current season of faithfulness will ever lead to breakthrough, this conversation was made for you. Follow Carl at: instagram.com/carllentz Follow Laura at: instagram.com/lauralentz Follow Ruslan at: instagram.com/ruslankd Supported by Wonder Project https://www.thewonderproject.com/ Supported by God Behind Bars https://www.godbehindbars.com/ Supported by Policy Genius https://www.policygenius.com/ Supported by Better Help https://www.betterhelp.com/
Chapters: 0:00 – Intro Highlights 0:56 – Meet the Guest: Ruslan 1:41 – From Armenian Refugee to Gangster Culture 4:35 – Finding Faith & Surrendering His Life 5:18 – 20 Years of Serving Quietly Before the Platform 7:30 – Shifting Away from Call-Out Culture 9:30 – Wonder Project (Sponsor) 10:35 – Getting Under Healthy Leadership at Rhythm Church 13:05 – Did He Feel Behind? The Engine of Godly Ambition 21:03 – God Behind Bars (Sponsor) 21:35 – Who Is This Book For? 29:39 – Policy Genius (Sponsor) 30:49 – Ambition Is Evil… Or Is It? 32:08 – The Comparison Trap & Social Media Lies 34:18 – "Live a Quiet Life" – The Most Misused Scripture 36:32 – The State of Culture: Distrust in Institutions 43:00 – Purpose Is Constant, Assignment Is Seasonal 45:31 – Small Habits Build Great Men 46:41 – BetterHelp (Sponsor) 47:41 – What You Do ≠ Who You Are 51:05 – Talent Stacking: Nothing Is Wasted 53:03 – Biblical Financial Literacy & The Missing Conversation 58:30 – Generosity Is a State of Mind 1:03:34 – Closing: The Book & Final Words See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
More from Lights On with Carl Lentz
Want to submit questions? Email us at [email protected] Our book, Overcoming Infidelity, is OUT NOW: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Overcoming-Infidelity/Carl-Lentz/9781668230497
Want to submit questions? Email us at [email protected] Pre-order our book, Overcoming Infidelity, TODAY: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Overcoming-Infidelity/Carl-Lentz/9781668230497
Want to submit questions? Email us at [email protected] Pre-order our book, Overcoming Infidelity, TODAY: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Overcoming-Infidelity/Carl-Lentz/9781668230497
Want to submit questions? Email us at [email protected] Every couple in recovery hits the same three walls at some point. The rage that won't quit. The suspicion that there's more to the story. And the impossible question of how to protect your kids from the fallout of a parent who isn't showing up. In this episode of Lights On, Carl and Laura take on all three, pulled straight from the mailbag. The first: how do you deal with the raw, uncontainable anger you feel toward the person your spouse cheated with? Carl gets honest about why misdirecting rage at the affair partner is one of the most common and most damaging traps a betrayed spouse can fall into, and why the person who actually broke the vow is always the right target for accountability. Laura walks through what to do with the intrusive thoughts that show up unannounced, and the difference between validating a feeling and getting stuck in it. The second: is full disclosure actually necessary, or does bringing everything into the light just cause more pain? Carl and Laura make the case that nothing hidden can be healed, walk through what a real proper disclosure looks like, and get into why offering something like a polygraph isn't dramatic. It's the fastest way to remove the doubt that would otherwise haunt a marriage for years. Full disclosure isn't just for the person who broke it. It's for the person who needs to know they can finally exhale. The third: what do you do when you're the parent trying to lead your kids through healing and the other parent isn't participating? Laura gets direct about building a healthy village around your kids without recruiting them into your anger, the three truths every mom of daughters should be teaching in a season like this, and why the greatest gift you can give your children isn't your commentary on their other parent. It's your own health. Stay for the surgery analogy that will reframe how you think about partial versus full healing, the reminder that stacking new evidence doesn't require erasing the past, and the closer worth writing down: let their actions speak. Not your words. Follow Carl at: https://www.instagram.com/carllentz/ Follow Laura at: https://www.instagram.com/lauralentz/
Want to submit questions? Email us at [email protected] Some of the hardest questions in recovery aren't the big ones. They're the small, daily ones that couples get stuck on for years without ever asking out loud. In this episode of Lights On, Carl and Laura take on two of them, both pulled straight from the mailbag, and get into the honest answers most couples never get. The first: when does accountability start turning into policing, and how do you rebuild the muscle of trust without micromanaging every conversation? Carl walks through the "most gracious story" technique that changed how they approached daily check-ins, why proactive honesty is worth more than any answer given under interrogation, and how to handle the lose-lose questions every betrayed spouse eventually asks (like "do you find her attractive?"). Laura gets honest about the difference between her husband creating safety for her and her needing him to be her safety system, and where that line has to live for a marriage to actually heal. The second: where do you actually get help? Carl walks through the road he took: on-site, rehab, group therapy, the relapse five months in, and the specialized help that finally started to move the needle. Laura shares her own road through betrayal trauma therapy, the red flags of a bad therapist, and why they skipped traditional couples counseling entirely for the first stretch of recovery. Both of them agree on one thing: it's the betrayer's job to find help. Not the betrayed spouse's. Stay for the "am I doing anything currently?" question that reframes accountability entirely, the Vegas story that will make you laugh out loud, the reframe worth writing down (you can create safety, but you can't become her safety system), and the closer that anchors the whole episode: specialized help isn't optional. It's the difference between surviving this and healing from it. Follow Carl at: https://www.instagram.com/carllentz/ Follow Laura at: https://www.instagram.com/lauralentz/ See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.