Courageous Crossroads

Send us Fan Mail In this powerful episode of Courageous Crossroads, Jeff Johnson sits down with Madeline Dean for a deeply honest conversation about trauma, addiction, incarceration, recovery, faith, and the ongoing courage it takes to choose change. Madeline shares how early childhood wounds, mental health struggles, and addiction led her through painful seasons, including time in Mitchellville,...

Send us Fan Mail In this thoughtful and deeply personal episode of Courageous Crossroads, Jeff Johnson sits down with Dr. Donald S. Whitney to explore biblical courage, spiritual formation, prayer, Scripture meditation, and faithful obedience in the hardest seasons of life. Dr. Whitney defines courage as the willingness to do what God calls us to do despite fear, consequences, or personal cost, an...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Courageous Crossroads, Jeff visits with Russ Hedge about what courage looks like when faith, fear, hardship, and hope all meet at the same crossroads. Russ shares that the most courageous thing he has ever done was walking down the aisle at church to give his life to Jesus, a public and deeply personal step that changed the direction of his life. From there, he...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Craig Applefield reflects on a life shaped by service, discipline, failure, faith, and redemption. A former Navy F-4 Phantom pilot and Vietnam veteran who flew roughly 300 missions, Craig shares lessons from combat, leadership, business, and family before offering a surprising answer to the question of the most courageous thing he has ever done: living 69 years wi...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Amber Sommerfeld shares her story of faith, family, spiritual growth, and courage, reflecting on her life as a wife, mother, ministry leader, and follower of Jesus who has learned to step out in obedience even when it feels uncomfortable. Amber, who lives in Ankeny with her husband, Todd, has spent many years raising their three children while also growing in her...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, the host talks with David Iles about courage, calling, and the quiet discipline of doing the right thing even when it is difficult or unpopular. Drawing on his work in funeral service, David reflects on how meaningful service can help families through grief and explains why he sees courage less as one dramatic act and more as a daily commitment to integrity, compa...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of the Courageous Crossroads Podcast, Steve Freeman offers a thoughtful and deeply personal picture of courage, describing how the most courageous thing he has done was surrender his life to Christ and then follow God’s call even when it meant leaving comfort, certainty, and financial security behind. He shares the story of walking away from a successful career pat...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Calum Souter shares a thoughtful and deeply personal conversation about faith, purpose, and what courage really looks like in everyday life. Raised in Perth, Scotland, in a committed Christian home, Calum describes his early resistance to faith, his years of drifting through university life, travel, and the hospitality world, and the turning points that led him ba...

Send us Fan Mail KG is a South African pastor, husband, and father whose life reflects a deep and hard-won confidence in God. Raised without a Christian upbringing, he came to faith through the witness of his cousin, was drawn into church community, and ultimately pursued theological training at Baptist Theological College in Johannesburg. Now serving in ministry in Limpopo, KG brings together pas...

Send us Fan Mail Alex Adams is an Iowa-based entrepreneur, husband to Allison (“Allie”), and dad to two boys, Owen and Mac, whose early years were marked by a fast, reckless lifestyle that started with drinking at 14 and eventually put his marriage, business, and safety at risk; after a pivotal night nearly four years ago when he pulled over on his motorcycle, convinced he wasn’t going to make it...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Courageous Crossroads, Jeff sits down with CEO, entrepreneur, and faith-driven leader Lisa Nichols to explore what courage looks like in real life, from building Technology Partners with her husband Greg to raising a family, leading with conviction, an learning leadership lessons from her daughter Allie, who was born with Down syndrome and lives with what Lisa c...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Courageous Crossroads, host Jeff sits down with entrepreneur Josh Roberts to trace the unlikely path from a farm in rural Louisiana and a childhood of constant moving to building (and rebuilding) multiple businesses in Pennsylvania, including a land services company that scaled rapidly during the Marcellus boom and later ventures in pipeline inspection and talen...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, host Jeff sits down with Jason Wilson, a Des Moines-area native and longtime fitness enthusiast, to talk about what courage really looks like in everyday life, tracing Jason’s path from a turbulent school transition and relentless work ethic to the deeper, harder kind of bravery required to confront addiction, trauma, and self-deception. Jason shares how his defin...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of the Courageous Crossroads, host Jeff sits down with Chuck Larson for a wide-ranging and deeply personal conversation about faith, courage, service, and purpose. Chuck shares stories from a life marked by global experience, including military service in Iraq, time spent in the Middle East, work in government and business, and a faith journey refined through hards...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of the Courageous Crossroads Podcast, Andrew Allen shares how a farm kid from Iowa with an early path marked by delinquency, addiction, and repeated arrests eventually found sobriety at 17 and rebuilt his life through faith, recovery, and service, leading him from a 15-year career at Principal Financial Group to becoming President and CEO of YSS (Youth & Shelte...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Jeff sits down with Chris Barr, a Des Moines-based technology professional an long-time mentor, FCA chaplain/character coach, and devoted husband, dad of four sons, and Pops” to two granddaughters, for a grounded, faith-forward conversation about what courage really looks like. Chris shares stories from the front lines of ministry and coaching, including a powerfu...

Send us Fan Mail Mason Sherwood is a 22-year-old entrepreneur from Urbandale, Iowa, a former multi-sport athlete (wrestling, football, and soccer) who now runs a door-to-door sales business focused on fiber internet while building a life with his wife, Hannah, whom he married in August. In this episode, Mason sits down with his father-in-law, Jeffrey, for an honest conversation about courage, wher...

Send us Fan Mail In this follow-up conversation, Eric Voelker returns to the podcast for a candid, faith-forward check-in on what’s changed since his last appearance, reflecting on a season of waiting, family upheaval, and learning to release control so he can more clearly follow God’s lead; together, he and the host talk about hearing God through worship, the real-life courage it takes to pursue...

Send us Fan Mail Brian Albright is a 42-year-old Iowa native from Ankeny who has spent more than two decades in public safety, including years as a 9-1-1 dispatcher and continued service as a reserve police officer, and who now serves as office administrator and communications manager for the Iowa State Fair Police Department, leading a seasonal team of dispatchers from across the state. In this e...

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...