Courageous Crossroads

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of the Courageous Crossroads podcast, host Jeff Johnson sits down with Iowa native and devoted Cyclone fan Curt Gear to unpack what real courage looks like when life takes a hard turn. Curt shares his journey from growing up in small-town Iowa Falls to building a career in business development for precast concrete in central Iowa, and then into the unexpected world...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of the Courageous Crossroads Podcast, host Jeff Johnson sits down with Jay Knudson, a lifelong Iowan, devoted follower of Christ, and husband of nearly four decades, to talk about what real courage looks like when family, faith, and survival collide. Jay shares how growing up amid chaos, abuse, and serious childhood illness shaped him, and what it cost him to walk...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of the Courageous Crossroads Podcast, Jeff Johnson sits down with JC Risewick for a raw and thoughtful conversation about courage, obedience, identity, and the hard choices that shape a life. JC, a lifelong Iowan and former president of his family’s 50-year-old company, Seneca Companies, shares how the most courageous decision he ever made was choosing to sell the...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Jeff sits down with Troy Thompson, a father, entrepreneur, endurance athlete, and man in long-term recovery, for a real and honest look at courage and change. Troy shares how nearly twenty-two years of sobriety, a renewed faith, and a life built around intentional choices have shaped the man he is today. He talks through the moment that pushed him to confront his...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of the Courageous Crossroads Podcast, host Jeff Johnson sits down with Adam Steen—former college athlete, investment banker, pastor, state government executive, and now gubernatorial candidate—for a powerful conversation about faith, leadership, and what it means to live with courage. Steen shares deeply personal moments from his life, including his surrender to Ch...

Send us Fan Mail In this powerful episode of Courageous Crossroads, Tommy Thompson shares the mos courageous journey of his life—walking alongside his daughter through a six-and-a-half-year battle with stage four kidney cancer. With raw honesty and deep wisdom, Tommy reflects on how love, not bravado, fueled his strength during their family’s darkest season. He redefines courage as the daily decis...

Send us Fan Mail In this powerful episode of Courageous Crossroads , host Jeff Johnson sits down with entrepreneur, consultant, and small-town mayor Bryan Arzani , whose journey from a paperboy in Iowa to founder of the Results Group is anything but ordinary. A former athlete, missionary, and corporate strategist, Bryan shares how he built a successful consulting firm by combining multiple psychol...

Send us Fan Mail In this powerful and timely episode of Courageous Crossroads , host Jeff Johnson sits down with Dr. Everett Piper to unpack the tragic assassination of Charlie Kirk and what it reveals about courage, faith, and free speech in today’s culture. Dr. Piper challenges the idea that disagreement equals hate, defines what true courage looks like, and calls listeners to “pick up the banne...

Send us Fan Mail David Leto, CEO and seasoned recruiting professional, joins the Courageous Crossroads podcast to share powerful stories of resilience, leadership, and values-driven decision-making. Raised in a tight-knit, faith-centered family on the south side of Des Moines, David reflects on how his upbringing shaped his definition of courage: embracing fear and taking action simply because it&...

Send us Fan Mail In this powerful episode of Courageous Crossroads, Dean O’Connor—entrepreneur, mayor, and former lifelong member of a fundamentalist church—shares the most courageous decision of his life: walking away from the rigid faith he was born into. With raw honesty, Dean unpacks what it meant to grow up under strict religious rules, how leaving affected his family and identity, and why ch...

Send us Fan Mail On this episode of Courageous Crossroads, Jeff Johnson sits down with Tyler Tompkins— former police lieutenant, real estate entrepreneur, and board member of Exodus 51, a nonprofit that rescues Christian slaves in Pakistan. Born and raised in small-town Iowa, Tyler shares how his path from farming and law enforcement to international human rights work was shaped not by a single mo...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Courageous Crossroads, host Jeff Johnson sits down with Dr. Douglas Groothuis, Distinguished University Research Professor of Apologetics and Christian Worldview at Cornerstone University, author of over 20 books, including Christian Apologetics and Masking the New Age, and host of The Truth Tribe Podcast. With nearly 50 years of defending the Christian faith th...

Send us Fan Mail In this powerful episode of Courageous Crossroads, we meet Justin "Boyd" Baker — a former NASCAR body fabricator turned power grid engineer, comic book collector, motorcycle enthusiast, and devoted family man. Raised in a Midwest farming town, Boyd shares his journey from chasing perfection in high-octane race shops to finding purpose in fatherhood, faith, and craftsmans...

Send us Fan Mail In this powerful episode of the Courageous Crossroads Podcast, Keith Mercer shares his remarkable journey from growing up in the violent streets of Southeast Washington, D.C.—once known as the murder capital—to becoming a first-generation college graduate, athlete, leadership coach, and motivational speaker. Faced with extreme adversity from a young age, including witnessing a mur...

Send us Fan Mail In this deeply moving episode, Eric Voelker—educator, former pastor, coach, and two-time NCAA wrestling champion—opens up about what true courage looks like at this stage in his life. Far from the spotlight of athletic victory or public ministry, Eric shares how the most courageous thing he’s ever done is simply showing up, day after day, to care for his daughter in the midst of h...

Send us Fan Mail Jeff Johannesen is a retired CPA and former Chief Strategy Officer at RSM, where he spent over four decades transitioning from client service into high-level leadership, helping shape the firm's national and global direction. In this episode, Jeff shares his journey from a small-town Iowa farm to the boardrooms of a major professional services firm, reflecting on the decision...

Send us Fan Mail Chris Norton is a motivational speaker, author, founder of the Chris Norton Foundation ( www.chrisnortonfoundation.org ), and former collegiate football player who defied a 3% chance of ever walking again after a life-altering spinal cord injury. Known for his viral walk across his college graduation stage and down the aisle at his wedding, Chris now travels the country inspiring...

Send us Fan Mail Jimmy May is a retired Navy SEAL with over two decades of service, including six wartime deployments across Iraq, Afghanistan, Yemen, and the broader Middle East. A Texas native now based in California, Jimmy is the founder of Mayday Executive Services, which curates high adrenaline, high-security experiences for executives, and Beyond the Brotherhood (www.beyondthebrotherhood.org...

Send us Fan Mail Dr. Nicholas Honkamp is an orthopedic surgeon based in Des Moines, Iowa, and the president of DMOS Orthopaedic Centers. Born and raised in Dubuque, Iowa, Dr. Honkamp studied at the University of Notre Dame and later earned his medical degree from the University of Iowa. His journey into orthopedics began through hands-on experience in athletic training, and he has since built a ca...

Send us Fan Mail Ray Wright – Courageous Crossroads Podcast Guest In this episode of Courageous Crossroads, Jeff Johnson sits down with Ray Wright, former LSU baseball champion and now the Pit Department Manager at Richard Childress Racing in NASCAR. Ray’s journey from SEC athletics to NASCAR leadership is marked by personal loss, a radical faith transformation, and an unwavering commitment to cou...

Send us Fan Mail Doug Ecklund is the longtime CEO of Cellular Advantage, a company that he and his wife Mitzi have grown from a single mall kiosk into one of the top US Cellular Authorized Agents in the country with over $28 million in revenue and more than 100 team members. Doug invests his time supporting the culture that has been built to enrich the quality of life of those in and around the bu...

Send us Fan Mail On this special episode of Courageous Crossroads, Jeff Johnson welcomes Ariel Forsberg, a resilient and deeply grounded woman whose story of faith, family, and fearless commitment is both inspiring and refreshingly authentic. Ariel lives with her husband and four children on the North Shore of Oahu, in a sugarcane plantation home just a stone’s throw from the beach, where feral ro...

Send us Fan Mail Dan Douglas, a proud Iowan and former Green Beret, embodies resilience and adaptability in every facet of his life. Initially pursuing a career in architecture at Iowa State University, Dan soon realized that the structured world of design was not his calling. After leaving college, he transitioned into construction before ultimately finding his path in the U.S. Army, where he ser...

Send us Fan Mail Orvin Kimbrough is a seasoned leader, author, and entrepreneur who currently serves as the steward of one of Missouri’s largest privately held banks. A lifelong resident of St. Louis, Orvin’s journey from childhood adversity to professional success has shaped his mission to inspire others through faith, resilience, and service. In this episode of Courageous Crossroads, Orvin share...

Send us Fan Mail Dr. Steve Murphy, a practicing radiologist in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, is also an associate pastor at a Filipino church, a passionate evangelist, and a devoted husband and father. Originally from Osceola, Iowa, Steve's journey of faith took him from skepticism to a deep commitment to Christ, ultimately leading him and his wife, Leslie, to leave behind a successful medical career...