Halfway There

009: Jordan Vargo and Justice on a Mission

Greg Boyd – Racism: Why Whites Have Trouble “Getting It”
Today’s guest is a classic suburban Christian kid with a passion for others. Jordan Vargo grew up with parents who loved the Lord. She was involved in a church youth group and wrestled with the disparity between her life there and at school.
Jordan knew early in life that she wanted to be involved in mission so as soon as she could Jordan began to explore opportunities in college. When her mission trip to India was derailed by a typhoon she visited Vietnam with family friends instead. There fell in love with the people and the tangible faith of those who have little else.
Her pastor saw that her ministry would benefit from more training so Jordan applied to Denver Seminary seeking a foundation in Scripture. The experience put words to her feelings for the marginalized and prepared her for a lifetime of service.
I asked Jordan about specific passages of Scripture that influenced her as she pursued her studies. She cited the Jubilee of Leviticus 25:8-13 and Paul’s heart for the Lord as examples of how she grew in understanding of the call to justice.
How can churches and sincere believers make a difference for justice in the world? Jordan explained her ideas how believers can work toward the Kingdom of God relationally, economically, professionally, and politically.
I need to listen to the Gospel first.
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My heartbeat for it might be super strong but I think every Christian should have a heartbeat for some sort of justice.
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Seek to live your life extraordinary. Don’t settle for an ordinary life. You have God on your side.
Books Jordan recommended (Amazon affiliate links):
Generous Justice by Timothy Keller
The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander
Biblical Ethics and Social Change by Stephen Mott
Justice in Love by Nicholas Wolterstorf
Did you enjoy hearing Jordan's story of learning to serve the Lord?
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008: Jonathan Monsour and How Faith Became His Own

Jonathan Monsour grew up in a Roman Catholic family and rejected the church when his parents divorced. He came to Christ in middle school when his older sister signed him up for summer camp without asking him. It turned out to be a huge moment in his life because there he first heard about a relationship with Jesus leading him to give his life to Christ. You’ll hear us talk at some length about how long this process took and why.
Jon describes his early relationship with the Lord as “one-sided” and derivative of his sister’s faith so that he had to learn to grasp the Lord on his own when she went to college.
But then, Jon’s life changed again when one of his best friends died suddenly causing him to question God’s goodness and shaped his soul in ways he never expected. The result was a new calling to full-time ministry.
Great quotes from our talk:
God is always going to work in our lives. It took me awhile to release that to Him.
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If I were in his position [and passed away] would my funeral be a couple of friends and family or would there people who I served?
You can reach Jon on Instagram or Facebook.
Did you enjoy hearing Jon's story of growing with the Lord?
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007: Sue Muckley and Embracing Her One Role

Turn your eyes upon Jesus. Look full in his wonderful face and the things of Earth will grow strangely dim in the light of his glory and grace.
Following Jesus is never a one time event. Today’s guest describes her journey as one of learning to surrender not just once but as a practice of her discipleship.
Sue Muckley is a mother, grandmother, and mentor to young people. She shared how the Lord showed her that He wants her heart through a move, a vision of how she approaches life with her husband, and the one role she plays.
Great quotes from the interview:
Run fast back to Jesus as soon as you know you’ve taken your eyes off of him.
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God is greater than anything we can face but it’s when we believe the lie that we don’t need God that our focus is not on the Lord.
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The holy of holies is in my heart.
Books mentioned by Sue (Amazon affiliate links):
The Last Addiction by Sharon Hersh
The Calvary Road by Roy Hession
Isaiah 43:1-5
I totally biffed a quote from Tim Keller when Sue and I were talking. Here’s the actual more eloquent quote:
The gospel is this: We are more sinful and flawed in ourselves than we ever dare d believe, yet at the very same time we are more loved and accepted in Jesus Christ than we ever dared hope. Tim Keller in The Meaning of Marriage
Did you enjoy hearing Sue’s story of learning to live with the Lord? If so, be sure to stop by iTunes and subscribe. While you’re there leave a review which helps our visibility in the rankings.
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006: Todd Johnson Says Just Say Yes

Is it possible to hear directly from God? A few weeks ago I shared with you a conversation with Iain Bradbeer about how he learned to interact with God to powerful results. I met today’s guest at the same time and he was generous enough to share the story of how he learned to hear and trust God.
Todd Johnson is a pastor today but even getting to that role was a series of events of saying yes to leadership opportunities one at a time. He was the church kid who grew up loving the youth group at church and never remembers a time without the Lord.
As you listen to Todd describe diving into leadership roles you’ll hear the joy in his voice and the peace of allowing events to develop while he trusts God.
How does God direct him? That, Todd says, is the most dramatic part of his journey. And the stories he shares about the way God taught him to listen will inspire you, too.
Great quotes:
God is directing us all the time.
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The problem with not having a category for actual leading is I can come up with this great idea and I’ll think it’s the Lord when it’s really coming from this pain that I’m not being a good enough Christian.
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He must be leading me. Let’s find out what…
Book mentioned by Todd (Amazon affiliate link):
Walking with God by John Eldredge
Did you enjoy Todd's story? If so, be sure to stop by iTunes and subscribe. While you're there leave a review which helps our visibility in the rankings.
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005: Shari Malott is Fighting for Hope

Shari Malott is a mother, teacher, and artist who is married to last week’s guest Chuck Malott. This marks the first time I’ve interviewed a husband and wife about their journey. This beautiful couple have been through the journey together but responded in very different ways.
Shari grew up with no connection to the church but she knew something was missing. As a girl she would go sit in a nearby Catholic church and enjoy the peace she found there. She did have a Bible at home and started reading it at the beginning like you would any other book.
During her junior year of high school she noticed that one of the popular girls was nicer than usual. On December 17, 1971 she asked that girl why she was being so nice and in study hall that day she met Jesus.
She joined a church in Denver where she met her husband Chuck.
The 80’s, Shari says, were a blur and her spirituality was lived out as a mother raising her children.
I Fight Everyday for Hope
When asked about darker times in her journey, Shari freely admits that she sometimes feels like she’s drowning. Her son, Ryan, struggles with alcohol and drug addictions. Shari’s expectation was that God would bring him out of this struggle but she’s still waiting.
“When I’m drowning, God is my air,” she says and she returns to Lamentations 3 often.
We think we trust God for our children when they go out the door but we really don’t know what we’re saying. We think, oh, because they are going to come back well. We really trust God when they don’t come back well. That’s trusting God.
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If the circumstances don’t change, God is still the same and you still hang on to him.
Books recommended by Shari (Amazon affiliate links):
Faith Unraveled by Rachel Held Evans
Traveling Mercies by Anne Lamott
Lamentations 3:1-24
Did you enjoy Shari’s story? If so, be sure to stop by iTunes and subscribe. While you’re there leave a review which helps our visibility in the rankings.
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004: Chuck Malott is a Hippie Turned Saint

Chuck grew up in a home so troubled that at his first opportunity he bought a one-way ticket to Hawaii where he lived under a makeshift shelter he fashioned from a washed up boat.
When he finally returned home he met Christ through a pastor who just wouldn’t give up. As he returned to his seat after giving his life to Christ a woman met him with tears streaming down her face. She saw him weeks ago at a 7-11 and though he was “the most distraught human being” she had ever seen. So she prayed for him. God had answered her prayers.
His life began to change as he realized going to church on Friday night and partying on Saturday night did not mix well. “It was through the Word and the Holy Spirit,” Chuck says that he came out of his wild lifestyle. His passion about the early years of walking with Christ can be heard in his voice as he describes praying with people, ministering on Colfax, and encouraging his friends.
As Chuck shares in this interview, he learned to trust the Lord through the hard times including financial and relational loss. He learned that God can handle even when our hearts rage against Him, “kicking and screaming,” as Chuck says.
Chuck finds comfort in the Psalms as he relates to David, a man who was after God’s own heart but was still flawed and sinful. Psalm 13:1-6 resonates with Chuck as he wrestles with God through life.
Great quote:
Are you trusting me because I’ll do something or because of who I am?
Chuck’s parting advice:
Test God to the utmost and be authentic. Be real. At the end of the day, find out who God is.
Books Chuck loves (Amazon affiliate links):
Brennan Manning – Ragamuffin Gospel
Brennan Manning – Ruthless Trust (seriously, you should see his copy…it’s well loved!)
Did you enjoy Chuck’s story? If so, be sure to stop by iTunes and subscribe. While you’re there leave a review which helps our visibility in the rankings.
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003: Bill Brown and Waiting on the Lord

How do you know when it’s God speaking to you? And what if you misinterpret what you heard? These are critical questions of discernment as you experience life with God.
My friend Bill Brown spoke to me about learning to discern the Lord’s leading in his life. It’s one of those elusive concepts ingrained in church language but is not often taught as a matter of course in discipleship.
That’s why it’s so valuable to hear Bill’s story of praying, waiting, and responding to what God seems to be doing in his life. He generously shared about the time he probably waited too long and what he learned from the experience.
Bill is a godly man and I know his story will encourage you.
Quotes from our conversation:
“It’s in the training not the trying.” Dallas Willard
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“I think we’ll develop throughout eternity.”
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“The most valuable thing that came out of this was a greater sensitivity to that genuine peace.”
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“Who can hold you better than God?”
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“Inputs make a difference.”
That last quote is great because Bill and I have a running conversation about the influence of the media and how Christians can be savvy media consumers. He’s so serious about the topic that he created and taught a class for the middle school where he teaches.
Books Bill recommended (Amazon affiliate links):
Richard Foster
Brother Lawrence
Oswald Chambers – My Utmost for His Highest
Francis Schaeffer
Francis Chan – Erasing Hell
Dallas Williard – Divine Conspiracy
Marva Dawn
Last Words of Wisdom from Bill:
He is intimate and personal. And grand and majestic. He hates sin more than we like to believe. But absolutely loves and forgives us more than we find it easy to believe. What more can you say? He is the meaning of life.
Did you enjoy Bill’s story? If so, be sure to stop by iTunes and subscribe. While you’re there leave a review which helps our visibility in the rankings.
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002: Iain Bradbeer and God as the Architect

Why is it that the experience of following Jesus looks so completely different in the New Testament than it does today? It’s a question many of us wrestle with. I did and it led me to study spiritual formation in seminary.
If you’ve ever wanted more of God, or whispered a late night prayer hoping God would intervene somehow in your life then this episode is for you.
Hobbled with a theology that said he was still a sinner though redeemed, my guest today faced the dual weights of success he did not feel he deserved and chronic illness. His theology couldn’t make sense of it so he began to reach out to the Lord.
Iain Bradbeer was born in Australia, raised the son of a Scottish Presbyterian pastor, and today is an author and traveling teacher. He asked God for more and shared the surprising ways God answered that prayer. Surprising, that is, only if you’ve never experienced it.
Here are a few quotes from our conversation:
What amazed me was that there would be a direct response to my prayers…The gap between my prayer and the experience of him as a reality was narrowing, you know, which was really exciting.
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I’d been living behind a theology of suffering and poverty. Then behind a theology of cessationism which says you don’t heal anymore and I’m getting ripped off.
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I don’t want to spend every 10 years living towards my next theological breakthrough. Please take me to a journey where you are the limitation.
The best place to reach Iain is on Facebook or his website.
Get the book: The Operating System of Jesus by Iain and Clare Bradbeer (Amazon affiliate link).

Did you enjoy Iain’s story? If so, be sure to stop by iTunes and subscribe. While you’re there leave a review which helps our visibility in the rankings.
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