Ellen Rosenberger is a mom, missionary, and author who has a passion for helping churches serve their missionaries well. Her experience as a missionary kid was positive and she headed back to the mission field after college where she met her husband. But the expectations of others and some “relationship drama” led to depression. Ellen shares how experiencing depression for the first time gave her a deeper understanding of Christ’s love for her as she is. Ellen’s books draw on her extensive missi...
Mar 19, 2018•46 min
Jeremy Myers is a blogger, author, and podcaster at RedeemingGod.com . Jeremy shares how he moved from megachurch pastor wannabe through abandonment and depression to find life in Jesus anew. That period of spiritual darkness stripped away many beliefs, friends, and practices that Jeremy was putting trust in until he was free. Finally, Jeremy found that while Jesus seemed to be far away, he wasn’t really (listen to the heart rock story for that). Jeremy’s story is one that proves God is there in...
Mar 12, 2018•51 min
Mark Waltz is a coach, speaker, and pastor who helps “broken people be connected to God’s unconditional love, his hope, and his healing.” Today, he shares the story of how he got there. Mark shares the stories of dealing with shame through trying to be perfect, the moment he vented his anger at God, and the love he found in others. Mark’s vulnerability is a calling only one who grasps his own belovedness by the Father can have. And I hope it spurs you to share more deeply in your relationships, ...
Mar 05, 2018•55 min
J. Parker is a Christian sex author and blogger at Hot, Holy, & Humorous and today she shares the story that led her there. J. grew up a pastor’s kid who went her own way as a young adult, including with sexuality. The baggage she took into marriage caused some difficult years and J. talks openly about their struggle. A practice of clinging to Scripture refined her until one day she realized her marriage was a lot better. When God began nudging J. to start sharing her story, Hot, Holy & ...
Feb 26, 2018•49 min
Hi Friends, This week, if you were looking for a great story this week, let me recommend to you episode #37 with Mark Casson . Mark shared that today is the anniversary of his release from prison. He shares the story of how he came to Christ and pleaded guilty, grew while in prison, and stepped into ministry. It’s a great story! I also invite you to join Halfway There’s brand new Facebook group. It’s called the Halfway There Conversation Group and we will see three things happen: Share your stor...
Feb 19, 2018•6 min
Tim Morris is a professional coach called to empower visionary leaders to turn their ideas into a movement. He has developed a program called Design Discovery that is “a framework to know the superpowers, tools they uniquely use, environment they come alive, the specific people they are called to serve, and the fruit they are designed to produce.” Tim shares his experience learning listening prayer, why your heart can be trusted, and how to discover your design. Tim is also my coach and has been...
Feb 12, 2018•54 min
Rob Decker is a personal trainer who has been radically changed by God. Today, Rob shares the moment when he jumped out a window and the tender words the Lord spoke to him in the hospital that built his faith again. His story is one of radical transformation from a hard drinking, drug abusing young man to a clear-eyed man with a full heart who speaks personally of the love of God. Listen to Rob’s story and be sure to share with a friend! Stories Rob shared: Learning that his step-father was not ...
Feb 05, 2018•41 min
Teresa Blaes is the host of the Unresolved Life podcast and explores life’s most difficult questions. Today, Teresa shares the serious events that shaped her to be a deeper questioner of God and everything she encounters. She details her journey through skepticism, painful moments, and the gentle leading of the Lord. When you hear some of the events of her life you will be amazed that she emerged with faith at all and her willingness to ask deep questions will make sense. Please go to Apple Podc...
Jan 29, 2018•59 min
Tonya Jewell Blessing shared her story with Halfway There on episode #36 last year. Not long ago she reached out to me to say that she wanted to share an amazing encounter she had with a snake just before coming back to the United States for a visit. Today, she shares that story and her new new book, Soothing Rain: Living Water to Refresh Your Soul (Amazon affiliate link). Please listen to this incredible story of God’s faithfulness and share with a friend! The post Tonya Jewel Blessing Shares t...
Jan 25, 2018•11 min
Phil Gauthier is the host of the God Watch Podcast and has become a good friend. Today he shares his story of coming to Christ after doing drugs all night on a lakeshore, learning the character of God, and starting his own podcast. Phil is a true entrepreneur who has his own plumbing business in Des Moines, Iowa. You will hear his heart for sharing the Good News of God’s love for people. Phil’s show encourages you to embrace where God has you and to come out on the other side of struggle stronge...
Jan 22, 2018•45 min
Ken L. Roberts is a former pastor and church planter turned author and life coach. Today he shares the story of how God led him to the sweet spot of his life. The story winds through the most challenging moments in his life including hitting a spiritual wall while serving as a pastor and the unexpected death of his wife. Ken shares that being on a deeper journey with God helped him through those difficult moments and led to his current period of ministry helping believers break through the wall ...
Jan 15, 2018•47 min
Nephtali Matta is the ministry coordinator of Koinania house, a ministry that helps men after they get out of prison. I first met him in a seminary class at Denver Seminary. Nephtali was the guy who seemed to have it all together with a bright future in ministry. Today he shares the story of discovering the dangers of people pleasing and trying to look like you have it all together. He let people in but never “gave them all the cards,” as he says, which meant no one knew his situation. When he w...
Jan 08, 2018•54 min
Ronda Nelson is an advocate for the power of the grace of God. Her story is the perfect example of the reason for Christmas. While most of us will never experience the dramatic fall that Ronda shares today, we all need to know that God sent his son for us because he loves us. In Ronda’s life love and acceptance came through community. She wants everyone to know “that we don’t have to waste time away from God in shame” because his grace is enough for us no matter what you’ve done. Please listen a...
Dec 25, 2017•53 min
Mike Elder is an old friend from back in the day and a gifted conversationalist. Today, he shares the story of the legacy of faith he inherited, the unexpected way he learned about grace firsthand, and what he hopes to pass on to his family. You will hear his struggle with a calling and how events led him is a direction he never wanted to go. His passion for sharing truth through words extends from a gracious social media presence to the dream of writing a book one day and when you hear him shar...
Dec 18, 2017•53 min
Henry describes himself as a business guy and a recent author of One: Unfolding God’s Eternal Purpose from House to House (Amazon affiliate link). He even invented a folding bicycle . His passion today is the oneness of the body of Christ and he raises good questions about why many churches operate as they do. We spend time unpacking what Henry sees in Jesus’ prayer in John 17 and the unity found in Romans 16, one of the more neglected chapters in Scripture. Please listen and enjoy! Stories Henr...
Dec 11, 2017•1 hr 1 min
Dr. Douglas Groothuis is a professor of philosophy at Denver Seminary and author of 13 books including his latest Walking Through Twilight: A Wife’s Illness–A Philosopher’s Lament (Amazon affiliate link). Today, he shares why he wrote the book and why Christians need to recover an understanding of lament. Dr. Groothuis shares about how to deal with anger toward God, the passages of Scripture that have given him comfort, and things people do and say that are helpful. He has an active Facebook pre...
Dec 04, 2017•48 min
J.D. Payne is the pastor of church multiplication with the Church at Brook Hills in Birmingham, Alabama. He is a missiologist and today we talk about his unique perspective on missions. JD also has his own podcast, Strike the Match , and blog . He has written or edited twelve books on missions including the one we talk about today, Roland Allen’s The Ministry Of Expansion: The Priesthood of the Laity (Amazon affiliate link). Today, J.D. shares the incredible story of an unpublished manuscript by...
Nov 27, 2017•57 min
Gunnar is the co-host of the Unchurching Podcast with former guest Richard Jacobson . Today, he shares the story of grace in his life through the church. In fact, every story Gunnar shares with us is about the people who have made an impact on his life by listening to God, praying for him, and living with him. That might be why his ideas about living in community are a bit different than most of us have but it only serves to make his life more interesting to learn from. I hope you enjoy hearing ...
Nov 13, 2017•1 hr 2 min•Season 1Ep. 1
John Swanger is a wonderful storyteller whose experience with God has to be heard to be believed. He describes his life before Christ as bank robber, prisoner, lead singer in a band, and eventually drug dealer and bouncer at a strip club. His life was wild but one couple who shared the Gospel with him changed everything. God not only turned John’s life around but gave him a mission to let his light shine. John says that his goal is to be spent in service to others sharing Christ with those most ...
Nov 06, 2017•49 min•Season 1Ep. 1
This episode of Halfway There is being published on the 500th anniversary of the start of the Protestant Reformation, an event that profoundly shaped history and the experience many of us with God today. Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses to the door of the church in Wittenburg and changed the course of history. This anniversary got me thinking that we all have influences subtle and more obvious. In today’s episode, I share who has has the most profound influence on my journey (hint, it’s an aut...
Oct 30, 2017•15 min
When Phil asked me if I wanted to record a podcast with him I jumped at the chance because we have so much in common. We are both fascinated by the experience of God’s people as they interact with him and set out in our own ways to share it. Phil has become a friend through podcasting and Facebook but after a trip to my hometown of Des Moines, Iowa where we had lunch and shared a late night conversation about God, I can honestly say we are brothers in service of the same mission. Get our complet...
Oct 24, 2017•7 min•Season 1Ep. 1
Matt Rhodes holds a master of divinity from Fuller Seminary and is a certified spiritual director. He loves to find ways to integrate his two biggest passions: creativity and spiritual formation. Matt recently partnered with author Jan Johnson to create an online course called Meeting God in Scripture: A Hands-On Guide to Scripture Meditation. Reading, traveling, creating, collaborating, teaching, and having deep conversations are the things that fill Matt’s soul. He also enjoys hiking and skiin...
Oct 16, 2017•59 min
Rob Burns is a pastor in Detroit at Detroit Chinese Alliance Church and has also served as a missionary in the Balkans. Today, Rob shares his story of his calling into cross-cultural ministry both overseas and in the United States. Rob and I go way back to his seminary days. At the time, I was in college and we worked together. He remembers my wife bringing us brownies. I remember him as an astute critic and observer of events and one of the best conversationalists in the world. To have a conver...
Oct 09, 2017•49 min
Sarah Koontz is a passionate storyteller who enjoys using illustrations to communicate deep spiritual truths. Sarah writes to inspire women of all ages to explore the beauty of God's design at SarahKoontz.com. Sarah lives on 13-acres in South Dakota with her husband, two daughters and a rowdy flock of 30 chickens. She revels in their simple, uncluttered life. Sarah impressed me with her go-getter attitude about everything she does. As she describes that passion and how it relates to her ministry...
Oct 02, 2017•47 min
Rodney Pennington is Vice President for Mobilization with OMF International . He has served as a pastor in Kansas, church planter in Toronto and Thailand, and mobilizer in U.S. for the unreached peoples of East Asia. He is a husband and father of four kids. Today we talk about his journey from a kid who gave up on God to missionary who could not help but go overseas to share the Gospel. Stories Rodney shared: The difficulty of his family life and why he gave up on God His literal mountain top ex...
Sep 24, 2017•58 min
Jimmy Jones is a youth worker to underserved children in Denver and Sheridan, CO. Today, Jimmy shares his heart and calling to serve those children. He traces his story from being one of those kids in the Five Points neighborhood of Denver, being drawn to the Gospel, giving his life to Christ at camp, and embracing his call to minister to his neighborhood. Jimmy’s life proves the value of giving a little time to share the Gospel or to disciple a new believer is time well spent. Hope you are enco...
Sep 18, 2017•56 min
Shane Blackshear is the host of two podcasts, Seminary Dropout and On Ramp . He is a former church planter and pastor who moved into secular work when he realized the job was done, and eventually started a blog and a podcast. He explains how he came up with the name Seminary Dropout, the amazing people he has been able to interview, and why he started a second show last year. Plus, we cover his journey as we go. Hope you enjoy! Stories Shane shared: Why he started a podcast about race with his f...
Sep 11, 2017•45 min
Richard Jacobson of Unchurching shared the story about how unchurching became a theme in his life way back in episode 15 . Now he’s creating an Unchurching comic book “to let Christians know they don’t have to go to church to be the church.” You can be part of it by joining the Kickstarter campaign to fund the book . Hurry because the campaign ends Monday, September 11, 2017 at noon CT. The post Support Richard Jacobson’s Unchurching Comic Book on Kickstarter appeared first on Eric Nevins ....
Sep 09, 2017•6 min
Today, we revisit an episode with Doug Hazen who powerfully shared his experiences with God back in episodes #26 and 27. Doug shares how God revealed his goodness to him once again, the emotional work it took to understand evil from God's perspective, and how God led him to his current position in ministry. Please enjoy and share with a friend! Notice: JavaScript is required for this content. The post Replay: Doug Hazen on God’s Extravagant Love appeared first on Eric Nevins ....
Aug 21, 2017•1 hr
Halfway There is on summer hiatus but not without great content! This week is a replay of episode #34 with Quentin Banks who shared his story of serving jail time, finding and experiencing the love of Jesus in a miraculous way, a suicide attempt, and how he began to trust God even while he had more questions than answer. Please listen, share, and review us on iTunes! Thanks! Keep the faith! Notice: JavaScript is required for this content. The post Replay: Quentin Banks on Trusting God without Al...
Aug 14, 2017•1 hr 16 min
