Halfway There

085: Jim Barnard Finds Hope in Suffering through Community

Jim Barnard is the campus pastor at LifeGate Church in Denver, Colorado. Jim shares the story of learning to deal with grief and loss, gathering community, and finding hope in the middle of suffering. Throughout his journey, the communities around Jim have shaped his heart by encouraging him to be hopeful and deal honestly with his emotions while struggling with his wife’s illness. In the midst of that illness, Jim explains the ways God has been faithful to provide even things that were deemed impossible like having a child.
Please listen and share!
Stories Jim shared:
The joys of being a campus pastor at a mobile church
Giving his life to Christ as a 10 year old and his family falling apart a week later
The youth pastor who valued him enough to invest in him
Why you need to be a mentor
Meeting his wife at a new church
The health problems his wife Alisha developed three months into their marriage
Moving into ministry as a career
Crying in an elevator while giving up the dream of having a child
Having a baby with 75 people in the waiting room
Sensing God’s call to move while holding his newborn son
Writing about his wife’s condition
Great quotes from Jim:
It was really challenging to find those people to mentor me.
I don’t know what to do with what God’s given me but I need to find people who know what to do.
Our story is our greatest evangelical tool.
Resources Jim mentioned:
Quest Church of St. Louis
Romans 5:1-4
Jim’s blog I Write to Save My Wife
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Replay Episode: Dan Rudman and Ripples of the Gospel

Friends, new episodes of Halfway There are on the way. This week we dip into the archives and find a gem.
Dan Rudman is an evangelist who works on campuses, prisons, and around the world to spread the Gospel. He shares how God called him to this life through circumstances that looked like failure.
Please listen and share!
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Happy Resurrection Day!

I hope you had a wonderful Resurrection Day!
No new episode this week but go back through the archives to find some great conversations:
J. Parker of  Hot, Holy, & Humorous
Jeremy Myers of OneVerse Podcast
Tim Morris of Design Discovery
See you next week!
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084: Alexander Lowry’s Journey in Faith and Finance

Alexander is the executive director of the master of science in Financial Analysis program at Gordon College. Today, he shares the story of how he ended up at Gordon College and the unique way the program is changing financial culture. Before the Lord led him to directing the program, Alexander worked in the financial industry and aspired to a powerful career. Friends introduced him to the New Canaan Society where he learned in vulnerability and made some great friends. Alexander’s passion for ethics in the financial world is evident as he talks about the need to see more ethically grounded, biblically literate people embedded in the workforce.
Please listen and share with a friend!
Stories Alexander shared:
Finding Jesus on a church mission trip
How Tim Keller ruined him for other preachers
Why community is so important in his life
The moment his parents told him they were getting divorced and how that shaped his view of God
Joining the New Canaan Society and God’s shaping of his life
How to hold a soft heart in the middle of a hard environment
The opportunity to join Gordon College to make a difference
His goal to add more Gordon graduates to the financial workforce
How Gordon is working to add faith and ethics to the financial world
Great quotes from Alexander:
You’re the 1% for the world.
Jesus is the most feminine man I’ve ever seen and yet he was the strongest man as well. He knew emotions and he knew how to use them. That’s powerful.
We think about places where God can be and we can have more God. Financial Services is a place we can have more God.
Resources Alexander mentioned:
Master of Finance at Gordon College
New Canaan Society
Finance and Faith Forum of Gordon College
Andy McDowell – Off Camera interview
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083: Ellen Rosenberger and What Being a Missionary is Really Like

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 mission experience to help missionaries be authentic and transition well.
Please listen and share with a friend!
Stories Ellen shared:
The adventure of growing up as a missionary kid in Bolivia
Learning TESOL in college and the people who invested in her
Wrestling with depression under the weight of expectations when she went to Nicaragua on her own
Meeting and marrying her husband, Luke
What churches should know about the experience of being a missionary
What it is really like being a missionary
How to care for the missionaries at your church
Ellen’s heart for missionaries and her books (see links below)
Great quotes from Ellen:
I need to know God loves me.
What is our self worth based on? Is it what other people think?
To the degree that we left well, on good terms with people, said our goodbyes well, we felt our reentry here went well.
Resources Ellen mentioned (Amazon affiliate links which pays a small commission to me if you use it):
Missionaries Are Real People: Surviving transitions, navigating relationships, overcoming burnout and depression, and finding joy in God. by Ellen
Ending Well: Advice for successful re-entry after living abroad by Ellen
Ending Well Facebook Page
Missionaries Are Real People Facebook Page
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082: Jeremy Myers and How God’s Faithfulness Shattered His Religion

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 our darkest hours and that even when we think we are abandoning him, we might be moving away from religion and closer to personal relationship.
Please listen and share with a friend!
Stories Jeremy shared:
Growing up in a Christian home as a pastor’s kid
When his friend died in a hiking accident and how that changed his life’s direction
His education at Moody, Denver Seminary, and Dallas Theological Seminary
Getting fired from a job because of changing theological beliefs
The depression that came after “the rug was pulled out from under” him
Why he and his wife left church and stopped doing devotions
How they began to find Jesus everywhere (including heart rocks)
His books and online discipleship program (see links below)
Great quotes from Jeremy:
Why are these non-Christian neighbors who I’ve only known for two years more like Christ to me?
The safest thing for us is to stop praying and then maybe good things will come our way.
When we stopped depending on that Sunday morning experience…Jesus became more real to us than ever before.
Resources Jeremy mentioned:
The Heretic in Me blog post by Jeremy
Jeremy’s online discipleship program
Jeremy’s books including Nothing But the Blood of Jesus and The Atonement of God 
The Day the Revolution Began: Reconsidering the Meaning of Jesus’s Crucifixion by N.T. Wright (Amazon affiliate link which sends a small commission my way if you use it)
Fathered by God: Learning What Your Dad Could Never Teach You by John Eldredge (Amazon affiliate link which sends a small commission my way if you use it)
Douglas Groothuis and Walking Through Twilight
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081: Mark Waltz and Radical Acceptance in Relationship

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, too.
Please listen and share with a friend!
Stories Mark shared:
Growing up in a fundamentalist environment headed to church three times a week (or when the doors were open)
Noticing joy in Christians from other churches
Dealing with sexual abuse at the hands of his father by trying to be perfect
The moment when shame almost overwhelmed him and he spent 11 days in a psychological ward
The phone call from student’s parent that showed him what it’s like to love without agenda
How he thought about God before, during, and after his depression
The moment he vented his anger at God and how he felt God’s love after
The love his wife showed him
Why we have to start looking at ourselves differently
His passion for helping churches become more accepting and caring
Great quotes from Mark:
It was years into adulthood before I realized I was a recovering Pharisee.
We can’t experience radical acceptance or grace outside of relationship.
Sometimes we discount the power, beauty, and relationship through which we encounter God’s grace.
My life is all about helping broken people be connected to God’s unconditional love, his hope, and his healing.
Resources Mark mentioned:
Because People Matter – Mark’s life plan coaching and speaking business
How to Wow Your Church Guests by Mark Waltz
First Impressions: Creating Wow Experiences in Your Church by Mark Waltz
Lasting Impressions: From Visiting to Belonging by Mark Waltz
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080: J. Parker and How the Gospel Applies to Sex

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 & Humorous was born. J. is a example and teacher of the biblical worldview of the body and sexuality.
Please listen and share with a friend!
Stories J. shared with us:
Growing up as a drag racing preacher’s kid
Finding Christ after college and returning to her childhood faith
Meeting her husband after deciding she was no longer interested men
Dealing with the baggage of her previous life after she was married
How God led her to Christlikeness toward her spouse
Making a spiritual discipline of 1 Corinthians 13 and why you have to stick with it for awhile
The verse that helped her work through shame about sex
Reluctantly starting a blog as a respone to God’s nudging
What is a biblical worldview of sexuality for single people?
Why you can let go of your insecurities and give yourself to your spouse
Humorous: don’t take sex so seriously
How to handle expectations in marriage
Great quotes from J.:
We use our bodies in marriage to express even the love of Christ to our spouse.
I found myself captivated by the real Jesus who was not exactly the guy that I had grown up with on the flannel board in Sunday School.
I’m a big believer in finding verses that speak to you in your particular situation and making those a part of your self talk.
If something is true about how God wants us to be and how he wants us to treat others, then all those things are true in the marriage bed as well.
The biggest thing we can do [to address expectations] is to check in with our spouse and believe what they say.
Resources J. mentioned (Amazon affiliate links which means I receive a small commission if you buy):
Hot, Holy, and Humorous: Sex in Marriage by God’s Design by J. Parker
Intimacy Revealed: 52 Devotions to Enhance Sex in Marriage by J. Parker
Behind Closed Doors: Five Marriage Stories by J. Parker
Sex Chat for Christian Wives a podcast with J. Parker
Love Thy Body: Answering Hard Questions about Life and Sexuality by Nancy Pearcy
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