The episode you're about to listen to was released back when the mere Christians podcast was called the call to mastery

Now if you love mere Christians, you're still going to love these older episodes because the majority of each

conversation focuses on how the gospel influences the work of our guests. With that disclaimer out of the way, please enjoy the episode. Hey everybody welcome to the call to mastery. I'm Jordan Rayner. This is a

podcast for Christians who want to do their most exceptional work for the glory of

God and the good of others.

Every week, I'm bringing you a conversation with a Christian who's pursuing world-class mastery of their vocation.

We're talking about their path to mastery, their daily habits. of their Today's guest is Diane Lataker.

She's the founder of Kids Off the Block,

an organization that's provided a safe place

and shelter and food for more than 3,000 teenagers. In Chicago's most violent neighborhood,

she's been named one of CNN's top 10 heroes of the year, she's received the

BET Shine a Light Award, she's an accidental entrepreneur who, by

the grace of God, has developed into an incredible leader at a later age of life, leading this organization to tremendous impact

Diane and I sat down and discussed what standing in between an AK-47 and 50 kids will teach you about leadership. We talked about how the

recent pandemic has forced leaders to reframe their missions at a higher level

and how seemingly unsolvable problems can bring us to greater levels of both

hustle and trust in the Lord.

I think you guys are going to love this conversation

with my new friend, Diane Lattica.

Diane, it's a privilege to have you here today. How you doing this morning?

I'm doing great. How are you doing?

I'm wonderful. Hey, so for our listeners who don't know, tell us what does kids off the block do? So kids off the

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