by Stephen W. Smith

Gwen and I are at a place in our life where we are reflecting on what progress and success looks like for the ministry we formed twenty years ago, Potter’s Inn.  As we all know, most of us look at progress and success by graphs that show growth moving “up” and always “to the right”—like the graph I show here.  We have always felt that success for Potter’s Inn would mean that our fruit would grow on other people’s trees. It’s not always “up and to the right”—it’s a counter cultural and sometimes counter intuitive way to look at results—at success!

Any fruit that has resulted in our work is really seen in the lives and the work of the people we have worked with.  It is their lives that are producing the fruit—the life change—the clarion call to live in a different rhythm—the prophetic urging to live with the soul in mind—the beckoning to not live our lives on empty and to not burn out. This message seemed to take root in the very soil of the hearts who came to us or who heard us or read the books.

Through the years, we saw people come to us and find their way; recover their lives; and regain confidence on how to live in sustainable ways.  These people would then return to their homes—all over the world—and live out what they had learned.  Some were pastors and spouses that first came to us like an injured patient would come to the Emergency Room.  Once healed, they would return home eager to share the message of soul care with anyone that would listen. The fruit of their lives began to have a ripple effect on their businesses and churches.  We called this: Soul Care for the Sake of Others. Once a person is healed and taught the life-giving ways of Jesus, they are then sent out to heal and minster to others. That’s the mission. It’s always been the mission of Potter’s Inn.  It’s not been about building a program that was always expanding and always moving “up and to the right.”  It’s been a slow, steady, seed planting mission that sprouted with life change in individual lives who then did the same thing we did—except in their own spheres of influence.

We always began with “triage”—assessing where a person was in their spiritual journey.  Where did the brokenness happen?  How did the wheels come off the bus of your work?  What happened to you?  Where did you hit the “wall”?  What is the state of your soul—your marriage--- your parenting?  Are you more dead than alive?  Questions like these began the beautiful journey of deeply listening to our guests and seeing them, loving them, and knowing them. Nothing was more important to us, than listening to someone’s WHOLE story—the good, the bad, the beautiful and the amazing!

Like a hospital, we trained an amazing staff to work with us.  And together, we all joined hands and hearts to care for the souls of leaders all over the world.  Our little team was privileged to see great fruit being developed.  The fruit of helping people experience love; find joy again and live with a greater sense of inner peace was our goal.  This kind of fruit took hold and we were front row witnesses to life change. 

As Potter’s Inn Developed—We Got Older!

As we built the ministry, Gwen and I aged one year at a time and we began to realize, slowly, that another model would be needed so that the ministry could continue.  Would Potter’s Inn die when we died?  Could the fruit, somehow, go on—even with out us?

We prayed. We sought counsel and we dreamed a great new vision.  It was like an epiphany when the vision to form a training arm of all we had been doing was born. The “Soul Care Institute”—a 2 year training initiative where people could come to learn the ways of the soul; the work of soul care and how to impact their own spheres of influence, took root. 

We asked Joe and June Walters to come and build the Institute.  Now, five years later, over 100 graduates—100 fruit bearing men and women are doing their own work and having their own ministry in churches, organizations and businesses. The ripple effect grew and grew. 

In July 2020, the Soul Care Institute will continue on its own without us.  We are very excited that Potter’s Inn will seed fund this exciting ministry with a gift of over $100,000 to grow the Soul Care Institute into its own entity and expand the message further than we could ever do.  Kaylene and Jimm Derksen, as President and Vice President, are already on board planning the way forward for the expansion.  This fruitful and fruit bearing entity is now set to expand, grow and deepen in a world that really needs the message of soul care—perhaps more than ever before.

Just this past May we had a historic Zoom event where dozens of graduates, staff, teachers and the Board of Potter’s Inn gathered to formally launch the Soul Care Institute into its pathway forward—a sort of birth—a sort of seed planting. Bob Lanting, a Board member described it this way:  

“We all witnessed the cutting of the cord that connected the Soul Care Institute to it’s birth mother, The Potter’s Inn, throughout these past five years of conception and gestation.  With the delivery of this healthy new entity, the Soul Care Institute, a new life has been born and set free to grow and be nourished under the care of its loving and caring parents, Kaylene and Jimm Derksen.” 

Again, our fruit is growing on the trees of others!

The Birth of the Podcast

In 2019, we embraced a global online learning platform and launched the Potter’s Inn Soul Care Conversation podcast.  Currently, the podcast has been listened to over 75,000 times in over 90 countries around the world and it’s growing and expanding.  In the current pandemic, we have seen our listening audience double and the responses are life giving and encouraging.  In these fragile and unprecedented times, the message of soul care is needed more than ever!

The image of the sculpture, “Soul Tending” by Scott Stearman clearly shows the work of Potter’s Inn as we have come to see it.  Our hands help shape other people’s hands—who touch the ‘clay like’ lives of people everywhere!

Now, Gwen and I serve as mentors to leaders who have asked us for coaching and mentoring. We watch them lead retreats, give talks and work with people and we are amazed at how well they know the message and exceed our own ability to deliver the message. Our fruit grows on other people’s trees.

The Fruit of a Team—the Board of Potter’s Inn

I believe that one of the greatest marks of our ministry at Potter’s Inn has been working with the men and women who have volunteered to serve on the Board. These spiritual giants have allowed us to stand on their shoulders; glean from collective wisdom; believe in the power of shared decision making and the multiplicity of voices—both male and female. I would simply say, of all the parts of Potter’s Inn that have been developed, the work with the Board is at the top of the list in terms of being satisfying, gratifying and life-giving!  Not many leaders can say this about their own Boards but we, in all honesty, are glad to share this with you. I have learned more through them than I can ever write. They have graciously coached us; strongly supported us; tenderly waited upon us and fervently prayed with us. We are profoundly indebted in every way. Thank you to Ray and Lynn Walkowski; Michael and Hallie Doyle; Howard and Janis Baker; Joan Hall; Bob and Sue Lanting; Tammy Magaldi and Katy Kloosterman. Together, you have done what we, alone, could never do. 

Over all the years there continues to be no better metaphor for us to understand our lives than that of the potter and the clay—and how each of us are in His hands! There have been many hard lessons learned and as we know in the potter metaphor, the pot needs to be brought back down to its malleable form to start over, time and time again.  We are the witnesses to this process.  Though we are the visionaries and founders, we continue to be invited to sit on the potter’s wheel and to be shaped by his hands.

The work of Potter’s Inn—the fruit of Potter’s Inn has always been dependent on prayer and the support of people who believe in this mission. We are grateful and we pray you will continue to support the on-going work of Potter’s Inn and the Soul Care Institute in this new seas