Chats Under the Sun

Ward and Heather met each other in the drug and party scene of southern Louisiana. Despite wanting nothing to do with God, the Lord used the birth of their first daughter to change the course of their lives and bring them to Him. Ward serves as the Worship Pastor of my church here in Louisville (Immanuel Baptist Church), and I am so grateful that both he and Heather were willing to share their inc...

This podcast was incredible. Dee’s testimony of God’s grace is one of the most moving stories I have ever listened to. She also offers thoughtful and wise advice on how to share the Gospel with those in the LGBTQ+ community and foster a church culture that is both loving and truthful. I’m so thankful that Dee came on and was willing to be honest and vulnerable.  I am on the gram at @itsthevalk Lov...

Samuel James is the author of Digital Liturgies and the associate acquisitions editor at Crossway. We talked about his new book and had a fascinating conversation about the impact of social media on our lives. I thoroughly enjoyed this pod, and I hope you will too.  Find Samuel on Twitter @samueld_james  I am always on Instagram @itsthevalk Love y’all.  Jake

John Walton is an Old Testament scholar and Professor at Wheaton College. He has authored or contributed to over a dozen books and specializes in the Ancient Near Eastern backgrounds of the Old Testament, especially Genesis and its creation account. It was an incredible opportunity to interview Dr. Walton and I hope this episode helps you'all understand Genesis better. I am on instagram @itsth...

Nikki is the Executive Director of Clarity Pregnancy Options, an organization dedicated to helping women with crisis pregnancies in the Niagara area. I was absolutely floored by how sophisticated, compassionate, and precise their ministry is. I highly recommend this episode; it is an educational experience.  Visit https://www.claritypregnancy.ca/ to learn more about the organization.  Follow me on...

I sat down with Jesse to talk about the process of making his new double album Attack!! and Retreat!! We talked all things songwriting, and production and he got deep inside some of the nerdy background of the creative process. Jesse is an incredible musician, and I loved sitting down and talking with him about art. Listen to Attack!! and Retreat on Spotify Jesse is on Instagram @boutjesse I am al...

FINAL EPISODE. The boys sat down again for our twice-annual book pod. I enjoy recording these so much. We talked about nearly 200 books over the course of almost 7 hours, and talking about books gives us the opportunity to discuss life, big ideas, and have a good laugh along the way. Here is a doc of all the books we discussed in the pod: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1K0m4kSP47JrQPfeZ2IL...

TRES! The boys sat down again for our twice-annual book pod. I enjoy recording these so much. We talked about nearly 200 books over the course of almost 7 hours, and talking about books gives us the opportunity to discuss life, big ideas, and have a good laugh along the way. Here is a doc of all the books we discussed in the pod: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1K0m4kSP47JrQPfeZ2ILy-y53t6dV...

PART 2! The boys sat down again for our twice-annual book pod. I enjoy recording these so much. We talked about nearly 200 books over the course of almost 7 hours, and talking about books gives us the opportunity to discuss life, big ideas, and have a good laugh along the way. Here is a doc of all the books we discussed in the pod: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1K0m4kSP47JrQPfeZ2ILy-y53t6...

LETS GO. The boys sat down again for our twice-annual book pod. I enjoy recording these so much. We talked about nearly 200 books over the course of almost 7 hours and talking about books gives us the opportunity to discuss life, big ideas, and have a good laugh along the way. Here is a doc of all the books we discussed in the pod: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1K0m4kSP47JrQPfeZ2ILy-y53t6...

I had the incredible opportunity to sit down with a Niagara couple, both of whom are well known to many of you, and hear from them about their journey with infertility, the things they had to think through with embryo adoption, and learning to trust God through all of it. Adoption of any kind is something I want to be constantly learning about, and I am so grateful to them for their openness and v...

Mr. H has been the director of Agape Valley Bible Camp for as long as I can remember. The Camp has been a huge part of my spiritual growth in my early years as a Christian, but I had no idea that the history of the camp and the property was a wild ride of dynamite, drugs, and eight years of faith and red tape. This was a fantastic conversation, and I hope y'all enjoy. Visit https://www.agapeva...

I sat down with John-Michael about how we have been experiencing the last few months since the documentary launch. It's been a wild ride, let me tell you. We also talked about the launch of Into The Light Ministries and why we chose to go in that direction.  We also dropped a lil announcement of a video we have been secretlyish working on that is coming out this summer. I’m so stoked about it....

In the summer of 2021, Delaney married Max DeArmitt. Five months later, Max was killed by a drunk driver on his way to work. I met Delaney at a campfire nearly a year later and had the opportunity to hear her story, and it remains one of the most impactful testimonies I have ever heard. In this conversation, she told me about the accident, about dealing with grief, and what she learned about herse...

Aaron has an incredible story of wrestling through questions of SSA when he was very young, in a church context that struggled to communicate the Gospel. His testimony twists and turns over several years and several church contexts, and I found so many helpful and thoughtful takeaways from our conversation as well as several new books to read on the topic. I’m grateful Aaron was willing to be vuln...

Lacy has been a singer and songwriter with Sovereign Grace Music for several years. We had a delightful conversation about all the things in the songwriting process. I loved this conversation, and if you are interested in the behind-the-scenes of the SGM world, this is a must-listen. If you want to hear a gorgeous rendition of Psalm 90 sung by Lacy for SGM, view it here https://www.youtube.com/wat...

I sat down with Nate Radsma and his mom, Kerri, for this incredible conversation about Nate's journey with depression. There is nothing I could write in this description that can do justice to how deeply moving this conversation is. I deeply respect Nate for having the courage to be vulnerable, honest, and articulate both the incredible struggles he has been through and his trust in God.  If...

This is the final one; thank you all for listening to this monster 6-hour pod. The four of us sat down and talked about the over 150 books we collectively read over the last six months. I love these guys. Talking about books gives us the opportunity to discuss life, big ideas, fascinating people and have a good laugh along the way. Here is a doc of all the books we discussed in the pod: https://do...

I have been looking forward to this podcast for ages. The four of us sat down and talked about the over 150 books we collectively read over the last six months. I love these guys. Talking about books gives us the opportunity to discuss life, big ideas, fascinating people and have a good laugh along the way. Here is a doc of all the books we discussed in the pod: https://docs.google.com/document/d/...

PART 2: I included a document of all the books we discussed in the pod. I have been looking forward to this podcast for ages. The four of us sat down and talked about the over 150 books we collectively read over the last six months. I love these guys. Talking about books gives us the opportunity to discuss life, big ideas, fascinating people and have a good laugh along the way. Here is a doc: http...

I have been looking forward to this podcast for ages. The four of us sat down and talked about the over 150 books we collectively read over the last six months. I love these guys. Talking about books gives us the opportunity to discuss life, big ideas, fascinating people and have a good laugh along the way. Here is a doc of all the books we discussed in the pod: https://docs.google.com/document/d/...

Brad Rhoads is the founder of Grace Marriage, a ministry committed to equipping marriage ministries in the local church. When Brad guest-lectured in one of my classes at Southern, I left wishing that every church member could experience what I just heard. I’m grateful he was willing to come on the podcast. He told me about the rocky start to his marriage and a mentor who helped him prioritize his...

Jesse is a musician, graphic designer, and writer based out of Hamilton, Ontario, and one of my oldest friends. For the last few years, he has been taking the Inktober prompt list and writing a song based on it every day for the month of October. This year, he wrote a short story based on the prompt words and then scored the resulting audiobook. We talked about that process, and I loved this conve...

Nik is one of the handful of Canadian brothers I have here at Southern and he has an almost endless series of fascinating stories from his times living in South India, Saudi Arabia, Canada, Morocco, and Louisville. We talked about his story of leaving the financial world of Toronto to go to Morocco as a missionary and the lessons he learned about hospitality from ping-ponging all over the world. N...

Jordan Singer is a Senior Designer at Crossway and created the design for the book covers of R. C. Sproul: A Life by Stephen Nichols and Gentle and Lowly by Dane Ortlund among many others. We talked about how learned the craft of Graphic Design, some of his formative experiences, and the process of designing a book cover. I LOVED this conversation, Jordan is a craftsman and he is deeply passionate...