Brian Russell is a gentle force. He is an author, blogger, coach, mentor to many, and among the most accessible academics we know. He is a professor at Asbury Theological Seminary in Orlando, Florida, but he is so much more. He has written deeply on the devotional study of scripture and also on the practice of centering prayer. On his website, brianrussellphd.com, he makes the bold statement, “I can help you thrive and flourish as the person God created you to be.” And that’s his mission. It is to help the rest of us flourish as followers of Jesus. Today we talk to him about his passions — centering prayer and reading scripture transformationally, and about his new book, “Astonished by the Word: Reading Scripture for Deep Transformation.”