Meet Dave Adamson

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Dave Adamson a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Dave, so great to have you with us and we want to jump right into a really important question. In recent years, it’s become so clear that we’re living through a time where so many folks are lacking self-confidence and self-esteem. So, we’d love to hear about your journey and how you developed your self-confidence and self-esteem.
By all accounts and data, I should have a very low self-esteem.

I grew up in a lower class, broken home in the western suburbs of Melbourne, Australia, and between the ages of 6-12 I was sexually abused by an uncle.

Facing this trauma on a regular basis for six formative years of my life caused a range of psychological issues. I was shy, easily intimidated, afraid, lacked any social confidence, and was a target for school bullies, which only further instilled my lack of self-esteem.

When I was entering into my final year of high school, a friend started inviting me to his church, and I discovered a world that welcomed and loved me, didn’t judge me on my past, and showed me unconditional acceptance.

What I learned in that environment was that forgiveness can’t change your past, but it can change your future. As I started dealing with my past through counseling and therapy, forgave the people who had hurt me, and I was able to start to see myself as a new creation.

I learned that the abuse of my childhood didn’t have to define me as an adult.

That step of faith to get help through counseling and to become part of a church community gave me a spark of confidence that had always been there … but had been smothered by the events of my childhood.

And that’s when I learned that following Jesus makes my life better, and makes me better at life.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
After spending 15 years as a journalist, magazine editor and network TV sports reporter in Australia, I decided to go into full-time ministry as an online pastor in 2008.

I moved with my family to the U.S. in 2008 and led online communities at two of Outreach Magazine’s largest churches in North America. In 2013, I became the social media and online pastor at Andy Stanley’s North Point Ministries in Atlanta, leading live-streamed services that reached more than 80,000 people every week, and more than 1.5 million people a month people via podcast, YouTube and social media.

I also started writing books about my faith journey, leading tours to the Holy Land, and partnering with ministries and non-profits around the world to help them create strategies to reach and connect with more people.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
1. Following Jesus makes your life better and makes you better at life. 2. The longer you live in the past, the less future you have to enjoy.
3. Don’t let your problems become bigger than your purpose.

We all go through hard times. We all face tough situations in life. I’ve learned that when we are walking through a difficult season, instead of just asking WHEN can I get out of this situation, we need to ask WHAT can I get out of this situation.

Who has been most helpful in helping you overcome challenges or build and develop the essential skills, qualities or knowledge you needed to be successful?
I’ve always tried to find mentors in my life—both people who are a few steps ahead of me to lead the way, and people more my age or in my stage of life to walk alongside me. These are the people who have consistently helped me overcome challenges in life

I’ve also been consistent in getting counseling or therapy.

I believe strongly that we don’t get counseling because we’re broken, we get counseling because we’re breathing.

Everyone should have regular counseling to ensure we stay on top of mental health issues.

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