Rooftop Perspectives

What does God say when everything falls apart? In this episode, John Whaley sits down with pastor and author Michael Brewer to talk about the one truth that changed his life: grace is the exception, not the rule. Michael watched his wife Susan fight a brain tumor, then cancer, through 13 rounds of chemotherapy — and walked through her death holding a faith that had been tested at its core. Out of...

Kyle Reno is the Senior Pastor of Crossgates Church in Brandon, Mississippi and co-host of The OneCry Podcast. He grew up outside the faith in rural Alabama and came to Christ at 19 as a broken college kid — kneeling at an altar he'd never heard of, and walking out free for the first time in his life. In this conversation with John Whaley, Kyle unpacks what God has been doing at Crossgates ove...

Bill Elliff has spent decades studying revival. He's read everything. He was in the room when God moved spontaneously at his own church in 2011. And he stood in the balcony at Asbury as a broadcast that normally reaches 100,000 people a year went to 10 million — and felt God speak to his soul about what was coming. In this conversation with John Whaley, Bill connects every sign he's been w...

What happens when a TV show brings 30 people back to church — in a single congregation? That's just one of the stories Demetrius Troy shares in this episode. Demetrius plays Lazarus in The Chosen, the most-watched Christian drama in history. But long before the cameras rolled, Demetrius was a cradle Orthodox Christian — baptized 40 days after birth, raised on icons, prayer at the table morning...

Austin Bradford is the producer of Rooftop Perspectives. In this conversation, John Whaley turns the mic around. Austin shares his full story: growing up in church, walking away at 22, hitting rock bottom while bartending, and being relentlessly pursued by a campus minister who wouldn't stop showing up at his coffee shops and parks. He talks about driving solo to Utah to learn how to hear God,...

Cyril Rayan came to America in 1991 from Mumbai, India — chasing a master's degree in electrical engineering at Mississippi State University. He wasn't looking for Jesus. But a campus minister named Stephen Foster made it his mission to share the gospel with every foreign student he could find. Over several months of coffee and onion rings Bible studies, Cyril came to faith. His wife Jemim...

Frank Shelton spent 18 years as a staffer on Capitol Hill. He was ordained in 1998, preaching 110 times in 52 weeks while still holding a full-time government job. Then came the moment of decision — a US Capitol Police training course, a prayer, a ripped thigh muscle, 13 days in the hospital, and a $40,000 bill. He calls it the moment God literally answered his prayer and shut the door. In this co...

Jonathan Friz is the founder of the 10 Days prayer movement — an annual global call to fasting, mourning, and repentance based on the biblical Days of Awe. What started as a vision of entire cities shutting down to seek God has grown into a movement spanning hundreds of cities worldwide. In this conversation with John Whaley, Jonathan shares the encounter that launched it all, the Jonah and Nineve...

Chuck Hooten has been leading worship since he was 16. Now at 48, with decades of experience across every corner of American Christianity, he's written a book about what he believes is the church's biggest blind spot: we've made worship about the song instead of the posture. In this conversation with John Whaley, Chuck unpacks the theology of surrender and sacrifice at the heart of tru...

Jonathan Blair played George Whitefield in the film  A Great Awakening  — and in this conversation with John Whaley, he shares what making that movie revealed about one of the most consequential and overlooked relationships in American history. The friendship between Whitefield and Benjamin Franklin wasn't just personal — it may have seeded the ideals of liberty, equality, and God-given rights...

Tom Phillips spent 40 years at the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association — and he's convinced the next Great Awakening isn't on its way, it's already begun. In this episode of Rooftop Perspectives, John Whaley sits down with Tom for a wide-ranging conversation that covers his unexpected journey from pre-med student to Billy Graham's inner circle, Billy Graham's lifelong prayer...

What does God do with a broken family, a rebellious teenager, and a mother who prays? In this episode of Rooftop Perspectives, John Whaley sits down with John Steigerwald — Executive Director of the North Carolina Boys Academy, a Teen Challenge ministry dedicated to helping adolescent boys overcome addiction and life-controlling problems through the power of Jesus Christ. John shares his own journ...

In this episode of Rooftop Perspectives, John Whaley sits down with Abby Walner — a 26-year-old Gen Z evangelist living and ministering in New York City. Abby is the founder of the Worldwide Fast, a leader of New York Will Be Saved, and host of the  Forever on Fire  podcast. She shares her journey from drifting away from faith in high school to encountering Jesus in a radically transforming way, a...

In this episode of Rooftop Perspectives, John Whaley sits down with Emily Wilburn Andrews — CEO of Wilburn Medical Supply and a woman who discovered that the boardroom can be just as much a mission field as any overseas assignment. At 26, Emily stepped into leadership of her family's healthcare distribution company, a calling she never saw coming. Having fallen in love with Jesus in college an...

In this episode of Rooftop Perspectives, John Whaley shares a replay of his powerful conversation with Lonnie Riley — a man who, in 1999, left a fruitful ministry in Mississippi with no plan, no strategy, and no resources, simply because God called him to Lynch, Kentucky. What followed over the next 25 years is a remarkable testimony of what it looks like to trust God one step at a time. Lonnie&#3...

n this episode of Rooftop Perspectives, hosts Michael Brewer and John Whaley sit down with Barbara Ann Jeter, Executive Director of the Nehemiah Alliance — a national 52-day prayer initiative running from September 10th through All Saints Day (November 1st). Barbara Ann shares the heart behind the movement: a call for the church to return to repentance, intercession, and revival — not just persona...

On Easter weekend, A Great Awakening debuted in theatres across the country, telling the story of George Whitfield and the First Great Awakening. In this episode, Jonathan Blair, who plays George Whitfield, joins us to discuss the movie and the impact of the First Great Awakening on the birth of this nation.

In today's episode, John Whaley and Michael Brewer reflect on The Rooftop National Encounter and the National Day of Prayer in Washington, DC, sharing personal and spiritual insights.

In today's culture, many of us find ourselves mesmerized by celebrities. But when was the last time you prayed for your favorite celebrity to be saved? This week, Dylan Novak, known as the Celebrity Evangelist, joins us to talk about the burden God has given him for the souls of celebrities and how we need to see Hollywood as a mission field to pray for and engage with the Gospel.

This week, we are restreaming one of our favorite episodes - our conversation with Jim and Karen Covell. Jim is an award-winning composer who writes music for film, television, theatre, and the concert hall. Karen is the Founding Director of the Hollywood Prayer Network and producer of television specials and documentaries. They recently released the 25th Anniversary edition of their book, "H...

Have you ever thought about evangelism as blessing? In this week's episode, John Whaley and Michael Brewer discuss evangelism as blessing through an overview of the BLESS strategy used by Bless Every Home and the BLESS app.

In this week's episode, we have a conversation with Craig Alsup, the Associate Director for Asia with Manna Worldwide. Manna Worldwide is a global ministry focused on rescuing children from the grip of physical and spiritual poverty. In this conversation, Craig shares the story of becoming an "accidental" missionary and the joy of joining Jesus across Asia as he watches Him transform...

In light of last week's episode, The Evangelism Roundtable, which featured David Wheeler, we are replaying our 2025 conversation with him, in which we discussed sharing our faith in a way that is both simple and powerful. David is the Senior Professor of Evangelism at Liberty University and has trained tens of thousands of students to live for Jesus and share their faith. He, along with Dr. Da...

On February 27, 2026, John Whaley and Michael Brewer led an Evangelism Roundtable at Liberty University with Dr. David Wheeler, Jared McKinney, and Ryan Shea. During this roundtable conversation, they discussed what evangelism is, what it isn't, the power of the Gospel, and the challenges we are facing in today's church regarding evangelism.

This week's episode is a replay of our 2024 conversation with Claude King. Claude King is the author or coauthor of over 20 books, including Experiencing God, Fresh Encounter, The Mind of Christ, and others. In this conversation, he gives us a biblical overview of God's pattern for revival and spiritual awakening, drawing on his book, Fresh Encounter.