Halfway There

228: Laura Barringer & Scot McKnight and Becoming an Agent of Tov

Laura Barringer and Scot McKnight are the authors of the new book A Church Called Tov and it is an important one. Today, Laura and Scot share their sorrow at the news that Bill Hybels had been sexually inappropriate with women over his career. The response from Willow Creek bothered both of them deeply because Laura attended Willow and Scot had listened to Hybels over the years. As someone who trains pastors, Scot was concerned with the damage the Willow scandal would do to his students. We talk about what tov means and how to create a culture of goodness in our churches. Laura and Scot’s stories remind us that pursuing goodness is essential to the Christian life.
Listen to Laura and Scot’s story today!
Stories Laura and Scot shared:
The motivation for writing
Whether or not spiritual abuse is unique to large, Chicago area churches
Scot growing up in a world of “decisionism”
Scot praying to be filled with the Holy Spirit and having a spiritual experience
Scot going to major Christian publisher’s book stores in Grand Rapids
Laura coming to terms with not having a “moment” of coming to faith
How the news about Bill Hybels affected Laura
How good preachers mediate Christ
Scot reading outside his tradition and how reading the Gospels helped him
Why Laura felt a responsibility to speak out
How they found out about the scandal
Developing skills of discernment
The concept of tov in Scripture
Becoming an agent of tov yourself
Great quotes from Laura and Scot:
I grew into the faith as I grew.
We need to develop skills of discernment to see people who will lead toward toxicity and people who will work toward tov. (Scot)
Tov is a master category for understanding the way we are to live before God.
Any notion that we remain worthless or useless type people is an exaggeration of the emphasis of the Bible…the emphasis in the Bible is you were a sinner… and now you have been called to walk in the new ways of righteousness, and justice, and peace, and love, and grace.
Resources we mentioned:
Scot McKnight’s blog
A Church Called Tov: Forming a Goodness Culture That Resists Abuses of Power and Promotes Healing by S
The Jesus Creed: Loving God, Loving Others – 15th Anniversary Edition by Scot McKnight
Related episodes:
Mary DeMuth and The Safest Place for Sexual Abuse Survivors
Skye Jethani and Living Life with God
Steve Simms and the Joy of Early Christianity
The post Laura Barringer & Scot McKnight and Becoming an Agent of Tov appeared first on Eric Nevins.

227: Chris Taylor and Sex and Spiritual Growth

Chris Taylor is a writer and speaker about sexual intimacy in Christian marriage. She blogs and hosts multiple podcasts about the subject. Today, Chris shares the story of how she became a Christian sex blogger. She tells us about the moment she first experienced Christian community, how sex changed from fun to burdensome, and how God gave her a message from her mess. Her story reminds us that God redeems everything for his glory.
Listen to Chris’s story today!
Stories Chris shared:
Here ministry to women struggling with sex in marriage
Growing up going to a “hippie church”
The moment she first experienced community
Learning that Jesus taught us how to live and love others
Having sex with her boyfriend in high school and the feeling of regret
The negative message she took from a Sunday School teacher about sex
A season of promiscuity
Meeting her husband and feeling that the relationship was different
Resenting her husband for wanting to have sex
Looking up Christian marriage to prove her husband wrong
The women’s Bible study that planted seeds
How God put the puzzle pieces of her desires together to create a ministry
Praying in images
Two spiritual experiences that helped her experience healing
Why you should take baby steps in your sexual journey
Great quotes from Chris:
Social justice is about caring for other people and making sure they have what they need to live.
I am the poster child for the idea that God uses your mess to become a message.
My sexual journey parallelled my spiritual journey in ways that still surprise me.
Resources we mentioned:
Chris’s website Forgiven Wife
Honeycomb and Spice
Knowing Her Sexually
Sex Chat for Christian Wives
The Marriage Bed
Related episodes:
J. Parker and How the Gospel Applies to Sex
Thomas Umstattd Jr. and Untwisting the Gospel
Rachel Joy Welcher and the Spirituality of Unmet Longings
The post Chris Taylor and Sex and Spiritual Growth appeared first on Eric Nevins.

226: James Early and the Value of Christian Unity

James Early is a podcaster and prison minister. Today, James shares about asking questions about faith as a high school student, learning how to apply Scripture practically, and what he learned from being a stay-at-home dad before that was a thing. James loves the Lord and wanted to be a minister early in life. Now his podcast reaches around the world as he shares the message of the Kingdom of God available today. James’ story reminds us that even when we think our impact is small, the Lord use us in unexpected ways.
Listen to James’ story now!
Stories James shared:
Starting his podcast The Bible Speaks to You
Growing up in Texas with a dad who was presbyterian and a mom was a Christian Scientist
Asking question in high school and feeling unsatisfied
Understanding John 3:16 in third grade
Deciding to go to the Christian Scientist church
Applying Scripture to his relationship with his brother
How the healing emphasis of Christian Scientist denomination appealed to him
His plans to share the Gospel with the world and God’s more gradual plan
How God spoke to him when he felt discouraged
Wanting to be a prayer healer
Getting passed over for promotions and how that shaped him
How he became a stay at home dad
Learning about God’s love by taking care of his kids
Joining a prison ministry
How podcasting came out of his prison ministry
Finding his place in the body of Christ through podcasting
Great quotes from James:
I am really grateful now that I didn’t get those promotions. You’ve got to keep that ego in check.
I can say all the things I’m supposed to say; but when are you putting this into practice?
It’s not your theology that gets you into heaven.
Resources we mentioned:
James’ website: The Bible Speaks to You
Praying with the Mind of Jesus
Related episodes:
Bobby Jackson and Community that Heals
Gari Meacham and Hitting Life’s Curveballs
Randall Sean Garcia and the Father’s Love for Us
The post James Early and the Value of Christian Unity appeared first on Eric Nevins.

225: Kent Dickerson and Yearning for God’s Beauty

Kent Dickerson is a preacher, writer, and seminar presenter, currently from South Korea. Today, Kent shares the story of how he gave his life to Christ, the moment when lust got ahold of him, and how he overcame the struggle of pornography in his life. Kent had a radical encounter with God’s love in the Alps and it changed his life. His story reminds us to focus on God his character and beauty instead of all the other things that impress us.
Listen to Kent’s story now!
Stories Kent shared:
How he ended up in South Korea
Growing up in Abilene, TX and later Colorado Springs, CO
Going to church every time the doors were open
Giving his life to Christ at a revival and being baptized
Discovering pictures of a nude woman
Developing a “duality of heart” wanting to serve the Lord and his secret
Joining and then leaving the ministry
The janitor turned pastor who began to teach him about prayer
Having an affair that led to divorce
A season of depression he felt after the divorce and discovering Psalms
Finding himself back into pornography
Getting desperate with God
Sharing his struggle with a group and finding he was not alone for the first time
Getting into accountability
Beginning to find victory over his lust
Asking the Father to give him victory
Praying at the gym and experiencing worship
Worshiping God at the Alps
What the Scriptures reveal about the Lord
Great quotes from Kent:
I had a relationship with the Bible not the God of the Bible.
I was finally at a place to receive what he had for me all along.
Can I experience you through the temptation?
All my life I’ve been chasing beauty…and it’s because my yearning for God’s beauty was so strong.
Resources we mentioned:
Kent’s website
Remade: A Preacher Finds Victory Over Porn and Complaint by Kent Dickerson
A Walk to Emmaus
Experiencing God: Knowing and Doing the Will of God (Bible Study) by Henry Blackaby
Related episodes:
J. Parker and How the Gospel Applies to Sex
Neil Matthews and Accepting God’s Acceptance
Ronda Nelson and the Gift of Grace
The post Kent Dickerson and Yearning for God’s Beauty appeared first on Eric Nevins.

224: Karen Swallow Prior and the Spiritual Practice of Reading Fiction

Karen Swallow Prior is Research Professor of English and Christianity and Culture at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. Today, Karen shares how she resisted the Lord early in life, becoming a pro-life protester and getting arrested five times, and how getting hit by a bus was a mystical experience. Karen also shares how reading classic literature is an important and formative experience that just happens to be fun as well. Karen’s story reminds us that engaging culture means thoughtful reading.
Listen to Karen’s story today!
Stories Karen shared:
Growing up in a Christian family in the American Northeast
The “old fashioned” thread of her family’s faith
Attending a baptist church as a child
Resisting the Lord in late adolescence and early adulthood
Becoming instantly pro-life after a presentation at her church
Being arrested five times and spending four days in jail
Discovering her gifts for teaching and prophecy
Experiencing God’s love personally when her dog ran away
Getting hit by a bus as a mystical experience
What she learned about what trauma does to people
Why people should read the classics for themselves
How language shapes the experience of literature
Why Evangelicals need to ask better questions
Great quotes from Karen:
My whole life centered around books when I was a little girl.
I love teaching because I love learning.
[Reading fiction] is an embodied, incarnational experience.
This is where the culture is being shaped, on social media.
We are living in a new dark age in the sense that there is so much information that it’s very difficult to tell truth from fact. But the real battle is that we care about the difference.
Evangelicals don’t like the questions; we just like the answers. Art is about the questions.
Resources we mentioned:
Karen’s website
Booked: Literature in the Soul of Me by Karen Swallow Prior
On Reading Well: Finding the Good Life through Great Books by Karen Swallow Prior
Related episodes:
Skye Jethani and Living Life with God
Michelle Rayburn and Growing in Christ
Amy Patton Say God is in Your Story
The post Karen Swallow Prior and the Spiritual Practice of Reading Fiction appeared first on Eric Nevins.

223: Jamie Rowe and Finding His True Home

Jamie Rowe is a recording artist best known as the lead singer of Guardian. His latest recording is This is Home available wherever you get great music. Today, Jamie shares how the Lord spoke to him as a teenager, discovering he could sing, and how he joined Guardian. The men in the group became mentors and helped him through difficult times. And Jamie shares a dark season a few years ago that cost him his marriage but gave him a new perspective on God’s grace as well. Jamie’s story reminds us that we always depend on the goodness of God.
Listen to Jamie’s story now!
Stories Jamie shared:
Growing up in Indiana feeling like he didn’t fit in
His anger when his mom found Jesus
What God said to him at 17 that changed his life
The group of people who discipled him
Expectations of Christian musicians
Singing Wanted Dead or Alive and passing it around
Connecting with Guardian
Losing his dad suddenly and how Tony Palacios became his friend through it
Working with great producers like the Elefante brothers and Steve Taylor
Wearing the mask for Christian music
Going through a divorce and the spiritually dark season he experienced time
Finding a church that walked with him through it
Enjoying the life he has now
Great quotes from Jamie:
God is a lot more powerful than we allow him to be.
I love the mystery of Christianity.
In a lot of ways Christian music became my Christianity.
Resources we mentioned:
Jamie’s website
This Is Home on Amazon Music (affiliate link)
Journey Biker Church
Jamie’s photography Instagram
Related episodes:
John Schlitt is a Rock Star Redeemed
Ronda Nelson and the Gift of Grace
Jay Kim and Why We Need Real People
The post Jamie Rowe and Finding His True Home appeared first on Eric Nevins.

Amber Cullum and the Journey to Grace

Amber Cullum is a mom and the host of the Grace Enough podcast. Today, Amber shares how she approached singleness, the trip to India that almost broke her faith, and how she learned to listen more. Amber is a woman who loves the Lord deeply and encourages many to follow faithfully. Her podcast is one of my favorites and if you like Halfway There, I know you’ll like Grace Enough. Subscribe today.
Listen to Amber’s story now!
Stories Amber shared:
Being a mom to three kids
Growing up in Eastern Kentucky
Going to church with her cousins in middle school
Giving her life to Christ as a 12 year old
The Caedmon’s Call CD that became her comfort during hard times
The breakup that led her to Fellowship of Christian Athletes
The Joshua stone moments that remind her of God’s presence
Her prayer for a spouse that guided her as a single person
Going to India on a medical missions trip that broke her faith
How apologetics helped shape her
Learning how to be grateful
Learning to listen in a racial reconciliation group
Starting Grace Enough as a way to listen more
Great quotes from Amber:
I want single people to know that there is such value to your singleness.
God is not just working in my little life.
If you actually sit across from people who are not like you and listen, you may have a different perspective.
Resources we mentioned:
Amber’s website
The Case for Faith: A Journalist Investigates the Toughest Objections to Christianity (Case for … Series) by Lee Strobel
40 Acres by Caedmon’s Call
Breaking Free (Bible Study Book): The Journey, The Stories by Beth Moore
Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis
Related episodes:
Terry Wardle and the Healing Journey
Harriett Miller and a Fierce Faith
Kyle Strobel and Integrating Spirituality and Theology
The post Amber Cullum and the Journey to Grace appeared first on Eric Nevins.

221: Matt Tommey and Partnership in the Gospel

Matt Tommey is an artist, author and mentor to thousands of Christian artists around the world. His passion is to help artists overcome the roadblocks that have held them back for years and start thriving spiritually, artistically and in business. Matt is the author of 6 books, founder of the Created to Thrive Artist Mentoring Program and host of The Thriving Christian Artist podcast. Today, Matt shares how he learned to “tap dance for Jesus” as a kid, how he almost lost his faith, and choosing to follow the Lord’s design in everything. Matt’s story reminds us that we are partners is sharing the Gospel through the work God created us to do.
Listen to Matt’s story today!
Stories Matt shared:
Growing up in Georgia
Learning to “tap dance for Jesus” trying to keep up appearances
Struggling with baggage related to creating
The prophetic friend who gave him a choice
Leaving his faith for a season and starting a new business
Hearing God’s voice sitting on his porch
Deciding to move to Asheville and hearing God
Helping people get over religiosity
How our minds are renewed
Understanding the power of words without moving away from God
Discovering his design
Why art is intended for the marketplace
Starting his membership for artists
Great quotes from Matt:
The older you get and the more experience you have with the Lord, you just learn to trust.
God births vision out of our desire and our design.
At this point in my journey, I’m not afraid to welcome him into every part of my being.
Resources we mentioned:
Matt’s website
Get Matt’s free download, Sell Your Art and Make Money Quick
Created to Thrive: An Artist’s Guide to Living in Divine Abundance by Matt Tommey
Unlocking the Heart of the Artist: A Practical Guide to Fulfilling Your Creative Call as an Artist in the Kingdom by Matt Tommey
Related episodes:
Tim Winders and Redefining Success
Tim Morris and Unlocking Your Heart
Skye Jethani and Living with God
The post Matt Tommey and Partnership in the Gospel appeared first on Eric Nevins.