Welcome to Living My Faith, a weekly show that celebrates the everyday believers who are walking with Jesus not just on Sundays, but in every area of their lives. From relationships and parenting to health, habits, and home, our guests share how they keep their faith at the center of it all. Hosted in Jacksonville, Florida and supported by Christ-centered partners, Living My Faith is a space where real life meets real faith. Today our host, Morgan Allen, spoke with Jake Doberenz and Daeon Smith-Jones.
Jake Doberenz
CEO of Theophany Media
Website Address: TheophanyMedia.com
Daeon Smith-Jones
CEO of Transformation Advisors LLC
Website Address: TransformationAdvi.com
Transcript:
Morgan:
Welcome back to another episode of Living My Faith, where we highlight those who are making Kingdom Impact. I’m Morgan Allen, joined today by two wonderful guests. We have Daeon Smith-Jones with Transformation Advisors, and we have Jake Doberenz with Theophany Media. Hi, you guys. Thank you for being here.
Daeon:
Good morning. Thank you so much. Good afternoon, depending on where you are in the world, maybe you guys.
Morgan:
Yeah. So. Yeah. Calling in from what? Phoenix and Oklahoma, right?
Jake:
That’s right.
Morgan:
So cool. Okay, so, Daeon, tell me a little bit about what you have going on right now and how are you living your faith?
Daeon:
Oh, I love that. Thank you for the question. So I’m a licensed minister, and I have been since 2007. And for many years I lived out my calling alongside a corporate career as a director in Fortune 50 organizations. I led global organizations and transformations at a high level. So that’s transformation for me.
But after the loss of my best friend and my husband, everything shifted. And it was during this time that I truly learned what surrender meant. God called me out of self-sufficiency and into surrender because I knew this was something I couldn’t handle and be self-sufficient with. So what started as grief became a turning point, where I moved from corporate leadership into entrepreneurship, building businesses and a ministry fully aligned with my calling.
And now, I don’t separate faith from what I do. I live it. I lead with it, and I build from it.
Morgan:
That’s. And that’s the strongest foundation to build on. I love that concept of from self-sufficiency to surrender. That is so profound. So important that we can, like, think about every single day as we try to, I’m going to make it happen. I’m going to do this. No. Like, no. Set it down.
Daeon:
So I love me all day long. Every day.
Morgan:
Yes. It’s so good. So, so grateful that you are on the show here. So now let’s kick it over to Jake. Jake, tell me a little bit about you and how are you living your faith?
Jake:
Yeah, I have a similar background in kind of ministry. You know, my training credentials are in theology and biblical studies and all that fun stuff. And I love kind of the nerdy side of faith and theology and things like that. But I also happened to stumble upon podcasting as a listener of podcasts and then as a creator of podcasts.
And so I got roped into this movement towards podcasting and putting out these cool shows and cool content. And so now with my company, Theophany Media, I am finding myself helping other people create their shows, specifically working with religious organizations and nonprofits.
And that fun word Theophany in Theophany Media is a fancy theological term for when God shows up. And that can often look in surprising, weird ways like burning bushes or clouds in the sky. Those are theophanies. Those are ways God shows up in the world and communicates with us.
And so it’s been my mission and my ministry to show that God can show up in a whole bunch of surprising ways, like in your earbuds or from the car radio, in things like podcasts and of course much beyond that. So that’s how I’m living my faith. That’s how I’m doing things, even though not everything I produce is quote unquote Christian. All of it is bringing some goodness to the world.
Morgan:
Wow. Well, I love that concept of theophany. Now, Daeon, have you had any, would you say, theophany lately? Any ways that God has spoken to you or shown up in your life recently?
Daeon:
Oh, absolutely. Every day, all day when you live in surrender. He does that, right? He has a tendency and we kind of really learn to build that muscle of seeing and hearing Him in just the smallest details of our lives. And that’s what I love about God.
But in big ways, I’d say just starting my companies. As I mentioned, I transitioned out of corporate leadership into entrepreneurship because I just know that that was where God is calling me to make an impact.
And I really took the thing I was doing for global companies for many, many years and really transitioned into doing it and building the Kingdom. So Transformation Advisors, which is the first company I started, really is part of a broader ecosystem of transformation that includes advisory, capital, real estate investing, and then also ministry.
Under that umbrella, I have Transformation Capital, where we structure access to capital within compliant and ethical frameworks. Through Transformation Properties, where we execute real estate investments and build income stability and long-term legacy for people, especially today where it’s very difficult for people to build that in today’s real estate market and economic climate.
And then last but most dear to my heart, in the center of our ecosystem is the Transformation Experience Bible study. And this was formed out of a podcast called Transformation Experience Podcast, which I started back in 2017. We did about four seasons, and then it turned into a Bible study because it was where God called me to really minister to people and help them, particularly women, become equipped to know, grow, and sow the Word of God through Scripture, prayer, and community.
What we do is support those navigating unexpected challenges with faith, dignity, and care. And I say that because I was one of those women. We were in charge, living self-sufficient, doing our thing, and things happen in life. And I just know that that’s difficult for people, especially women like us and others, to really shift and turn to faith for their strength versus other things.
So we really like to pay attention to dignity and care, knowing that some people are really going through difficult times and transition. And we do all of this, this entire transformation ecosystem, with Romans 12:2 leading the way. Be transformed by the renewing of your mind is our guiding light.
So together, this integrated model really aligns with everything that I’ve experienced in life and who I am as a businesswoman, as a minister, as someone who cares deeply for transformation. And it makes transformation clear, actionable, and sustainable, which is important because life happens. And when we fall back on our faith, God is there to guide us through whatever we’re going through.
Morgan:
And it’s beautiful to work with someone like you who is Kingdom-focused and you can trust that person. So I love what you are doing and the transformational platform and network that you’ve created. It’s fantastic.
And now, Jake, same thing to you. How is God working in your life, your business, your podcasting realm, and what are some of your goals?
Jake:
Yeah, I mean, my dream for a long time has been to create my own things, like hey, I have opinions, I’ve got stuff I want to throw out to the world. And it’s not that none of that’s off the table, but it’s been really nice getting to help platform other people that are smart in their own way and have unique insights and things.
I get to learn a lot more through that. Part of my job is to listen to podcasts, to listen to other people’s things. And so I learn and I’m transformed by a variety of perspectives from people who know more than me in certain areas and have different expertise and stories that can impact my own life.
So that’s definitely a way that God shows up all the time, just in the variety of ways through the different shows that I get to foster and bring to the world. That’s been exciting. I’m always picking up new things, learning different stuff, and having my imagination stretched just by being in a media business where you engage with all these different perspectives.
Morgan:
It’s a beautiful thing when you can cultivate that community of different perspectives and thought patterns and see what grows and blooms from that. It’s a beautiful thing.
So I love what you’re both doing, creating this network of Kingdom-focused individuals. It’s beautiful. I love it so much. Thank you both for coming on the show today.
And viewers, thank you for tuning in to another episode. If you want more information on these two amazing people and many others, you can head on over to LivingMyFaith.com. We have it right there. We’ll see you in the next episode of Living My Faith.
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