Halfway There

244: Jonathan Puddle and the Nearness of God

Jonathan Puddle is the author of You Are Enough: Learning to Love Yourself the Way God Loves You, and is a pastor and podcast host himself. Today, Jonathan shares the first time he was moved by the Holy Spirit, deconstructing his faith for a season, and falling in love with Jesus all over again. Jonathan’s love for the Lord comes through as he shares his story and it’s a really beautiful way to reflect on the goodness and nearness of Him. Jonathan’s story reminds us that God loves us deeply.
Listen to Jonathan’s story now!
Stories Jonathan shared:
Quitting his day job to become a writer
Growing up as a YWAM kid around the world
Moving to Toronto to join the Toronto blessing
His mom leading him through the “sinner’s prayer” at four
Being moved at a Delirious concert by the Holy Spirit
How to think about supernatural experiences
Getting into the house church movement
Experiencing God while making pizza with a friend
Deconstructing shortly after he got married
Moving to Finland and not going to church for a season
Discovering Jesus through the Eastern tradition
How church history helped him
Going to a Roman Catholic church and drawing from multiple Christian streams
How the Holy Spirit spoke to him about his faith community
Deciding to start his podcast
Great quotes from Jonathan:
I never renounced the faith that’s never occurred to me I just couldn’t make it all work in the package I’d been given.
When you’re in the wilderness, God feeds you from his own hand.
We were taught that pride is the unworthy thing and the antidote is self-hatred.
[That experience] has given me a faith in God’s willingness and God’s ability to come and disrupt our lives.
The issue with pride is self-righteousness not thinking too highly of yourself.
Resources we mentioned:
Jonathan’s website
You Are Enough: Learning to Love Yourself the Way God Loves You
The Lean Startup: How Today’s Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create Radically Successful Businesses by Eric Ries
Pagan Christianity?: Exploring the Roots of Our Church Practices by Frank Viola
Related episodes:
Paul Edwards and Serving God’s Other Children
Tricia Lott Williford and How God Works in the Waiting
Iain Bradbeer and God as the Architect
The post Jonathan Puddle and the Nearness of God appeared first on Eric Nevins.

243: Charmaine Cooper and the Everywhere God

Charmaine Cooper is an author, speaker, and host of the the Char Candid Podcast. Today, Charmaine shares her experience at the Toronto Blessing, her struggle to forgive her father, and why she chose to go to seminary. Charmaine is a dynamic storyteller who saved one of the best stories for last involving hearing God on the dance floor. Charmaine’s story reminds us that God is with us everywhere even if we try to avoid him.
Listen to Charmaine’s story now!
Stories Charmaine shared:
Born and raised in Toronto, Canada
Growing up in a pentecostal family
Her parents’ divorce and how that affected her
Giving her life to Christ at 19 as part of the Toronto blessing
Depression after her father refused to see her dying mother
The struggle to forgive her father
How the Lord used a Ronald Reagan movie to keep her from suicide
Writing the adventures of our lives and noting God
Getting her masters degree in theology
Serving the Persian Christian community
How getting a masters of divinity shaped her
Great quotes from Charmaine:
It’s amazing how, in time, the feeling follows the acts of faith.
I love seeing how the church is so human and yet God uses them.
Just because you’re alone, does not mean you need to embrace loneliness.
Resources we mentioned:
Charmaine’s website and podcast
Related episodes:
Quentin Banks is Free in Christ Forever
Kevin White and Audacious Generosity
Engel Jones and the Power of Connection
The post Charmaine Cooper and the Everywhere God appeared first on Eric Nevins.

242: Manny Randhawa the Conduit of Grace

Manny Randhawa is MLB.com reporter, Statcast researcher, and author of The Blake Street Bombers. Today, Manny shares how his dad’s political desire led him to faith, the surprising sermon that let him to pray for salvation, and how he ended up being a sports writer. He also shares how he led his mom to Christ. Plus, we geek out a little bit about baseball, of course. Manny’s story reminds us that God is always working even when our circumstances are painful.
Listen to Manny’s story now!
Stories Manny shared:
Growing up in the San Francisco area to immigrants from India
How his parents arranged marriage affected him
When his dad asked him to go to church
Going to a Christian school as a way of becoming American
The conversation with a leader at a retreat that stayed with him
Getting emotional during worship songs
The experiences in worship that kept happening and his intellectual pursuit
Praying while listening to Joel Osteen wrap up a sermon
The kind of abuse he lived through from his father
Leading his mom to Christ
Deciding not to become a lawyer
Praying to become a baseball writer
Starting to write for Bleacher Report
Getting an internship at MLB.com and his first story on the cover of the webpage
Learning he was clinically depressed
How God answering his prayer changed his view of God’s fatherhood
Talking to Juan Pierre and other Christians in MLB
Experiencing God as father
The story of how he wrote his book The Blake Street Bombers 
Great quotes from Manny:
If you’re not an emotional guy, everything has to make sense…but it didn’t.
If you’re young and depressed, you don’t know it.
The very cause of distress in my life, God used as a conduit to put me in the right place.
We say “right place, right time,” but actually God places you there.
Resources we mentioned:
Manny’s website
Manny’s Twitter
The Blake Street Bombers by Manny Randhawa
Related episodes:
Skye Jethani and Living Life with God
Gari Meacham and Hitting Life’s Curveballs
Jerry Schemmel and Christ in the Wreckage
The post Manny Randhawa the Conduit of Grace appeared first on Eric Nevins.

241: Sheila Wray Gregoire and the Great Sex Rescue

Sheila Wray Gregoire is a popular speaker, marriage blogger, and the author of nine books, including The Good Girl's Guide to Great Sex and her latest book, The Great Sex Rescue, which she coauthored with her daughter Rebecca Lindenbach and Joanna Sawatsky. Today, Sheila shares how she became a Christian sex blogger, when she first realized that she must stand for justice, and how studying the messages Christians were sending about sex affected her faith. Plus, we talk all about the research behind The Great Sex Rescue, and the more faithful way to look at a hot issue like sex. This conversation reminds us that love and mutuality is the way.
Listen to Sheila’s story today
Stories Sheila shared:
Picking up a copy of Love and Respect and how that bothered her
Growing up as an evangelical in multiple denominations
Struggling with gender roles and her own calling
Being ready to ditch the faith at 16
Losing a son after five years of marriage
Discovering her spiritual prophetic gift
Getting into blogging about sex by accident
Why it’s sad we’ve turned sex into a transaction
How sex and power are related
The mutuality of sex in the Bible
Why men are the victims of shame
The message that is sent when sex is taught as an obligation
Great quotes from Sheila:
Life does not have to be happy for it to be real. Your faith can still be genuine even when you’re grieving. It doesn’t you’re spiritually weak to grieve.
My heart is with the oppressed. When I see an injustice I can’t handle it and I need to speak out.
God is an intimate God.
When we follow Jesus we are not harmed.
Resources we mentioned:
Sheila’s blog
The Great Sex Rescue: The Lies You’ve Been Taught and How to Recover What God Intended
Books we mentioned:
Making of Biblical Womanhood by Beth Allison Barr
A Church Called Tov: Forming a Goodness Culture That Resists Abuses of Power and Promotes Healing by Scot McKnight and Laura Barringer
Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation by Kristin Kobes Du Mez
We Too: How the Church Can Respond Redemptively to the Sexual Abuse Crisis by Mary DeMuth
When Narcissism Comes to Church: Healing Your Community From Emotional and Spiritual Abuse by Chuck DeGroat
Related episodes:
J. Parker and How the Gospel Applies to Sex
Thomas Umstattd Jr. and Untwisting the Gospel 
Chris Taylor and Sex and Spiritual Growth
The post Sheila Wray Gregoire and the Great Sex Rescue appeared first on Eric Nevins.

240: Shea Watson and Conquering Shame

Shea Watson is the cohosts The Pantry Podcast with his wife Michelle. Today, Shea shares his journey of sexual abuse at 8 years old, joining the army to avoid jail for drug dealing, and realizing he was losing it in the special forces. He constantly strived to keep up appearances by succeeding in high school sports and excelling in the army but it wasn’t enough to base his identity. Finally, after the failure of his second marriage, he turned to the Lord. Shea’s story reminds us that God’s love overcomes shame.
Listen to Shea’s story now!
Stories Shea shared:
The Pantry Podcast with his wife
Being abused as an 8 year old
Going to live with his dad and the requirements to go to church
Trying to prove himself
Getting into drug dealing to make some money
Joining the military to escape
Wanting to achieve in the Army
Having PTSD while he was still in the Army
Telling his superiors that he needed help
Feeling like he was running from God
Staying at Walter Reed in a psychiatric unit for two years
Struggling with drug addiction
When his sister took him in and loved him
Getting married to a woman who became his fix
Having 8 miscarriages and the sorrow that comes from that experience
His dream about Jesus being crucified
Starting The Pantry Podcast with his wife Michelle
Great quotes from Shea:
I needed someone to tell me I was good because I didn’t feel good inside.
My life in the Army started through reckless decisions.
I was tired of turning to things to cover the pain. I didn’t want to put a band-aid on it anymore.
Resources we mentioned:
Shea’s website
Related episodes:
John Swanger Shares Light in Dark Places
Cherrilyn Bisbano and the Struggle for Identity in Christ
Blake Brewer and A Father’s Legacy
The post Shea Watson and Conquering Shame appeared first on Eric Nevins.

239: Merritt Onsa the Patient Love of God

Merritt Onsa is a trail guide for the passionate and creative Christian woman who wants to get over her fear of failure, comparison, and imposter syndrome so she can get moving on her God-shaped dream without wasting more time second-guessing herself, procrastinating, or trying to be perfect. Today, Merritt shares how her ex-boyfriend led her to Christ, learning to be honest with her story, and how her husband taught her about God’s patient love. Merritt’s story reminds us how sweet the Lord’s patience is with us.
Listen to Merritt’s story now!
Stories Merritt shared:
Growing up in Central California whose parents were educators
Knowing of God until her parents stopped going to church
Feeling like she had to be a perfect kid and seeing God as the bully in the sky
Moving to Dallas for a job
The infidelity that broke up her relationship
The change she saw in her ex-boyfriend that piqued her interest in God
Clicking on the “Free Gift” button on her friend’s church and hearing the Gospel
Celebrating her conversion with her friend
Going to Celebrate Recovery
Healing through serving and learning to be honest with her story
How she met and married her husband and the provision from God
Caring about women finding freedom
Why Zephaniah 3:17 matters to her
Great quotes from Merritt:
This man that I had betrayed ministered to me.
When I stopped hiding, the healing exponentially grew.
The infatuation and passion that you see in movies is unsustainable for a marriage.
Resources we mentioned:
Merritt’s website
Merritt’s podcast 
Related episodes:
Brandy Goebel and Running Back to You
Tracy Winchell and the Value of Starting Over
Tammy Helfrich is Trust Falling with God
The post Merritt Onsa the Patient Love of God appeared first on Eric Nevins.

238: Phil Mershon and the Creative’s Journey

Phil Mershon is the founder and host of the Man in the Pew Show. By day, he is director of events for Social Media Examiner. He’s a jazz saxophonist, songwriter, former pastor, and author of two forthcoming books. Today, Phil shares the journey of discovering he is a creative. He shares how he studied economics, the mentor who encouraged him to speak and write, and how he discovered his need to express his creativity every day. Phil’s story reminds us that it’s so valuable to know yourself and express yourself creatively.
Listen to Phil’s story now!!
Stories Phil shared:
Clinging to God in the middle of chaos in his life
Growing up in a church-going family
High school pranks at church
Going to Wheaton College and studying economics
Discovering that he was more artistic than analytical
The mentor who challenged him to try speaking
Going to seminary to study worship
Serving churches and moving around the country
Struggling with depressive cycles as a creative
Getting to Social Media Examiner
Learning that he has to express parts of himself
Great quotes from Phil:
I wasn’t around people who could see that side [the creative side] of me.
Abundance is the way the Kingdom works.
There are certain parts of who I am that I can’t allow to go unexpressed.
I am more than enough because God is more than enough.
Resources we mentioned:
Phil’s website
Related episodes:
Matt Tommey and Partnership in the Gospel
Patrick Meyers and the Kind Initiator
Matt Rhodes Blends Spiritual Formation and Creativity
The post Phil Mershon and the Creative’s Journey appeared first on Eric Nevins.

237: Kristin Du Mez and Knowing Christian History

Kristin Du Mez is Professor of History at Calvin University and author of Jesus and John Wayne. If you haven’t heard about this book yet, you will soon because it is lighting Evangelicalism on fire. Kristin shares about growing up a bit sheltered in Northwest Iowa Dutch country, how moving and travel began to expand her understanding of the world, and why she decided to address militarism in the Christian faith. Kristen’s story reminds us that we need to know Christian history to understand our faith.
Listen to Kristin’s story now!
Stories Kristin shared:
Growing up in Dutch Reformed circles in Northwest, Iowa
Feeling supported and nurtured in that area
Moving to Tallahassee, FL and learning that she was a little sheltered
Spending a year in Germany
Growing up always believing and making a profession of faith in college
Cultivating spiritual experiences through reading in Christian history
Observing how faith can be used to grasp for power
A summer of discontent
How understanding Christianity changed her faith
The history of biblical literalism and how that shaped her
Taking off the pressure to be right
Landing on intellectual engagement as a way to inform her faith
Deciding to address militarism in Christian faith
Wrestling with whether she should be bringing issues to the fore
How the cold war influenced our faith today
How the Bible gets distorted and treated as truth
The fruit of the Spirit as the definition of biblical masculinity
Great quotes from Kristin:
My working assumption was that Christianity is constant within history. If anything, my historical studies disrupted this notion of communion with my fellow believers.
If you’re holding on so tightly to your narrow conception of truth, that’s a faith that can easily be shaken.
A lot of Evangelicals have bought into a very us versus them mentality, that God is on our side and therefore anything that I do is righteous.
Resources we mentioned:
Kristin’s website
Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation
Related episodes:
Karen Swallow Prior and the Spiritual Practice of Reading Fiction
Kyle Strobel and Integrating Spirituality and Theology
Jeff Munroe and Stewarding Your Pain
Aimee Byrd and Recovering From Biblical Manhood and Womanhood
The post Kristin Du Mez and Knowing Christian History appeared first on Eric Nevins.