Halfway There

048: Jan Costas and Step by Step on the Camino Part 2

This episode is a continuation of our conversation with Jan Costas.
Jan Costas is one of the sweetest and courageous people I know. She and her husband Mike took the trip of a lifetime last year that really changed them and their relationship when they did the Camino de Santiago, which is an ancient pilgrimage. Jan learned a number of significant lessons on the trail and she shares them with us.
Some of the stories Jan shares:
What she told herself to keep herself going after the Camino did not start the way she expected. (3:00)
The moment she are her husband Mike got on the same page about the journey (7:29)
The guitarist that appeared from nowhere and no one else saw (18:48)
How God showed her love on the journey and what the thin spaces meant to her (20:36)
How she became the blister queen (27:09)
The time she turned down God’s overture (31:47)
What she learned about the journey with God by taking a long journey (46:09)
Great Quotes:
Poco a poco. Little by little. Step by step.
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One thing common to all pilgrims is sore feet.
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Pilgrims take care of each other.
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A pilgrim does not backtrack.
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We hadn’t even asked. We just talked. And God provided.
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The post Step by Step on the Camino with Jan Costas Part 2 appeared first on Eric Nevins.

047: Jan Costas and Step by Step on the Camino Part 1

Jan Costas is one of the sweetest and courageous people I know. She and her husband Mike took the trip of a lifetime last year that really changed them and their relationship when they did the Camino de Santiago, which is an ancient pilgrimage. Jan learned a number of significant lessons on the trail and she shares them with us.
Some significant stories in the episode:
How she came to Christ after attending church for much of her life (5:45)
The story of their theater company that went under and the problems that caused for their family (16:35)
What is the Camino is and why she wanted to do it (26:00)
The Camino angel story (50:08)
How she made friends, many friends, on the trail (whole thing!)
Great Quotes:
We don’t have any money but we have our family, we have our friends, we have our faith. And our health. We have what is important.
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The Camino called me.
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You don’t when you say something how it’s going to affect someone.
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I’m going to cry all the way to Santiago.
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Thanks!
The post Step by Step on the Camino Part 1 with Jan Costas appeared first on Eric Nevins.

Bonus episode: Happy Resurrection Day!

This week’s super short episode brings Resurrection Day greetings from me to you and a quick preview of the story that finishes out season 3 of Halfway There.
The post Happy Resurrection Day appeared first on Eric Nevins.

046: VJ Says Don’t Despise Small Beginnings

VJ and his wife run a business club whose motto is “to shape the values of business” and has 900 members. He wants to bring the principles in the Bible to bear on business in his country where 0.01% are Christians. “The church does not reach the influential in the society,” he says, so VJ to created his business club to share a video that helps business people learn skills that are biblically based even though the people may not know it.
VJ was born in Central Asia to a mother who was a communist party leader and a father who worked on communication for the train system. While they never talked about God, he was curious about the great questions of life which became central in his teenage years.
In case you wanted to know that God can use anyone – yes, even you – VJ came to faith because an American pen pal sent him a Bible in his own language. That pen pal was an 11 year old girl in rural Kentucky and the Bible she sent him had answers in the back to all the questions he was asking about life. “If God can use an 11 year old girl, he can use you if you’re willing,” says VJ. Eventually, most of his family became Christians and he planted a church.
He shares the story of how he almost died three times: (1) umbilical cord around neck in womb, (2) at three, had an infection and had to find medicine on the black market, (3) an airplane crash landing. This is not a coincidence, say VJ, but proves God wants him to share the Gospel around the world.
VJ highlighted the book Operation World: The Definitive Prayer Guide to Every Nation (Operation World Set) which seems like a great resource for praying your way around the world. And you can always find Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap and Others Don’t at Amazon, as well (affiliate links).
Great quotes from VJ:
Don’t despise small beginnings. If God can use an 11 year old girl, he can use you if you’re willing.
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You don’t want to mess with prayer people.
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We believe discipleship is best one on one.
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If you’re beaten, thank God you’re not in jail. If you’re in jail, thank God you’re not killed. If you’re killed, thank God you’re in Heaven.
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045: Steve Simms and the Joy of Letting Jesus Lead

Steve Simms serves a Salvation Army church in Nashville, TN at Berry Street where they hold a different kind of service than any you’ve probably ever experienced. In today’s episode, Steve shares with us how he came to faith by becoming agnostic, the difference between a faith that is dead and one that is alive, and how he lets the Lord lead his services.
Steve first found Christ in college but that wasn’t the first time he was exposed to religious teaching. He calls it a two-step process.
As a child, Steve talked about God often and joined a Presbyterian church at 12 years old. One day while listening to a boring sermon a though popped in his head. “If you were born a Hindu, what would you be today?” After thinking about it for awhile, he decided he would be a Hindu had he been born in that culture. Then the voice said, “What makes you a Christian?” He couldn’t answer the question so he became agnostic.
Then, some years later during his freshman year in college, he finally accepted an invitation to a Christian gathering on campus. This group of believers was different and Steve could see their passion for the Lord which drew him in as well. God spoke to him and made him an agnostic so he could become a true believer.
Listen to the episode to hear the rest of Steve’s story.
Great quotes from Steve:
When I first started talking, I started talking about God.
Truth cannot be based on an accident of birth.
I love to read dead Christians.
God used a donkey so he can certainly use a preacher.
If you’re a Christian, you’ve got the living, resurrected Christ in you. Listen to him.
Connect with Steve:
Steve’s blog is called Free Gas for Your Think Tank (clever!)
Steve’s book is called Beyond Church: The Lost Word Of The Bible- Ekklesia
Connect with Steve on Facebook or Twitter (he’s a great Twitter follow!)
We also talked about Watchman Nee’s book The Spiritual Man
If you haven't gone into iTunes to leave a rating & review for Halfway There, please do that right now! It helps more people find us. Thanks!
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044: Sarah Ehambe and Faith as an Action

Sarah is from Muscatine, Iowa, the nose of the midwest (just listen, it’ll make sense). Her family has a long tradition of faith which is a fascinating story which she shares with us including the story of how her grandfather found new life in Christ at a Billy Graham crusade. You can tell the Spirit of God runs deep in her family and the special way this has shaped Sarah which “naturally birthed in me a gift of faith,” she says.
Sarah also grew up in an environment where the Bible was taught and when she speaks you can hear the fruit of that value. Scripture she recalls just flows from her as we talk through her story. We cover many topics including the law verses grace, obedience, whether Christians should celebrate Christmas and eat pork and, most importantly, all of this in the context of how Sarah came to certain conclusions on her journey.
Resources Sarah mentioned:
The Word and Power Church
Who Can Pluck Us
Great quotes from Sarah:
“I’d rather by faith, then, follow the Ten Commandments…”
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“Being set apart isn’t easy.”
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“Faith is an action.”
Listen above or in iTunes to hear Sarah’s journey!
Also, in this episode, I ask for some feed back and announced the Halfway There Audience Survey!
I’m looking for some feedback on why you like the show and how I can serve you better. It will only take two minutes. Thank you!
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043: Moses Ehambe and Trusting God in Real Life

Moses Ehambe is a professional basketball player and a considers himself a missionary “doing God’s work with the talents” he’s received from him.
Moses grew up in Arlington, TX, whose parents emigrated from Congo and serves as a pastor in the local church. His family was always at church and Moses was the worship band’s drummer so whenever there was worship music, he was there.
When it came time for Moses to enter college, his talent was clear and he went through the visitation process to find a school where he could play basketball. His visit to Oral Roberts University was special and he found himself drawn there. While he was touring the university, Moses sensed God saying “This is what I have for you. This is where I want you to be.” The presence of God has never been far from him since.
At college his faith really became his own as he learned about a personal relationship with Christ and followed God’s leading on the court and off.
Moses generously shares his story with us including his being drafted to the NBA development league, playing basketball and ministering in Japan and Germany, and the struggles he currently feels with God.
Moses’s life verse is Jeremiah 17:7 –
But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord,    whose confidence is in him.
Books mentioned by Moses:
The Richest Man in Babylon
Tuesdays with Morrie: An Old Man, a Young Man, and Life’s Greatest Lesson
Tim Anderson
Also, Moses mentioned his proposal to Sarah which you have to see.
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042: Hugh Brandt and the Well-Being of the City

Hugh Brandt works to “engage city leaders to help them live out their calling for the well-being of their city” with a part of CRU called Cities Project. Today he shares the journey that took him from missionary to missional.
Hugh was probably always destined to be a missionary. His mother, who sacrificed her own dreams to care for others, prayed he would serve in South Africa before he was born. He didn’t know that until he went to Lesotho, the country inside South Africa. God had answered his mother’s prayers.
Eventually his journey led him to Zimbabwe where he coached basketball and began his family. After twelve years, including some difficult seasons of loss, their work visas were revoked and the ministry they had built felt like it was ripped from their hands.
While leaving Zimbabwe was an injustice, it was also God beginning to show Hugh new aspects of his ministry.
There’s a lot more to Hugh’s story that you can hear by clicking play above or downloading Halfway There in iTunes or your favorite podcast player.
Great quotes from Hugh:
I might have been the most enthusiastic teacher that country had every seen.
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I could disciple men wherever I was.
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What do you do with the 98% of Christians who are in the marketplace?
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God wants them [leaders] to be in mission with him, that they are missionaries, that He’s calling them to be in mission with Him, continuing what they are doing but now doing it for his glory and for the common good of the city they live in.
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All work matters to God.
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