Followed By Mercy

Send us Fan Mail Some wounds heal physically but continue living in our minds for years. In this episode, Austin Gardner shares personal lessons God has been teaching him through years of stage 4 cancer, loss, suffering, and disappointment. He opens Scripture to answer a question many hurting believers quietly ask: How do you move forward when suffering has become part of your identity? Drawing fr...

Send us Fan Mail What do you actually see when you picture God the Father? Not the Sunday school answer. The honest one. The one that surfaces when life gets hard, and the silence stretches on. If you're like most believers, you picture someone disappointed. Arms crossed. Keeping score. Waiting to see if you'll finally get it right this time. That picture is wrong. Not a little wrong, co...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, we dive into Joshua chapter 1 and the command that God gave Joshua at one of the most intimidating moments in biblical history. Moses was dead, the Jordan was at flood stage, and two million people were looking to him for answers he didn't have yet. But God didn't hand Joshua a strategy first. He handed him a promise. I explore the question every believe...

Send us Fan Mail Have you ever started reading the Book of Deuteronomy to find life, only to find a list? You read the commandments, the blessings, and the curses, and you think: "I can’t do this." In this episode, Austin Gardner reveals the stunning secret of Deuteronomy: God already knew you couldn't do it. The Law wasn't written to crush you or act as a scorecard for your pe...

Send us Fan Mail Most people remember the Book of Numbers for the complaining, the judgment, and the 40 years of wandering. But if you look closer, you’ll see a different thread: God never let them go. Not once. In this episode, Austin Gardner walks through the wilderness with Israel to show us a God who: Counts His people because He owns them. Puts His house in the dead center of a camp He knows...

Send us Fan Mail Some of the most exhausted people in the world are sitting in church pews, trying to follow a list of requirements they can never satisfy. Join Austin Gardner as he uncovers the gospel hidden in the Old Testament. This isn’t about behavior modification or trying harder; it’s about a Father who prepared a way home before his children ever left. Whether you're in a dark place o...

Send us Fan Mail We often divide the Bible into two Gods: the "angry" God of the Old Testament and the "loving" God of the New. Austin Gardner is here to bridge that gap. In this episode of the Grace series, we look at the Book of Exodus not as a list of demands, but as a monument to God’s patience and provision. Whether it’s bitter water turning sweet or a covenant renewed aft...

Send us Fan Mail The loudest voice in your life is usually the one inside your own head—but is it telling the truth? In this powerful message, Austin Gardner explores a fundamental reality: The story you believe determines the life you live. Drawing on the account of the twelve spies in Numbers and the famous story of the Prodigal Son, Austin illustrates how pain, betrayal, and shame can lead us t...

Send us Fan Mail "When did grace begin?" If you said Calvary or Pentecost, you might be missing the most beautiful part of the story. Join Austin Gardner as he journeys through the Book of Genesis to uncover the "God of Grace" who has been pursuing humanity since the foundation of the world. Through the stories of Adam, Noah, Abraham, and Joseph, Austin reveals that God wasn’t...

Send us Fan Mail Most of us see Christianity as a journey to become something—to learn the rules, master the doctrine, and fix our behavior. But in Ephesians 4:20, Paul says something shocking: "You have not so learned Christ." In this episode, Austin Gardner explores the difference between learning about Jesus and actually learning Him . Using the beautiful analogy of a 50-year marriage...

Send us Fan Mail Do you feel like God is an angry judge who only tolerates you because He’s looking through a "Jesus filter"? In the final installment of this series, W. Austin Gardner and Steve McVey (author of Grace Walk ) dismantle one of the most damaging lies in modern Christianity: the idea that the Father is a vengeful punisher while the Son is a merciful savior. What you’ll disco...

Send us Fan Mail Are you exhausted from trying to "achieve" a spiritual status you already possess? In part two of this deep-dive series, W. Austin Gardner and Grace Walk author Steve McVey dismantle the "Original Lie" that keeps most Christians stuck in a cycle of religious performance. Austin shares a candid confession about his early years in ministry: he used to read the Bi...

Send us Fan Mail What happens when you’ve known someone longer than your own wife? You get the kind of raw, honest conversation that only 54 years of friendship can produce. In this episode of Followed by Mercy , Austin Gardner sits down with his lifelong friend and mentor, Steve McVey—the best-selling author of Grace Walk . They take us back to the beginning in 1972, sharing hilarious stories of...

Send us Fan Mail "Evicting Shame and Embracing the Identity of the Beloved." Podcast Show Notes / Description: "Most of us are busy trying to 'fix' ourselves, but Mike Pennington suggests a different path: Spiritual Direction. Unlike coaching, which focuses on your next action step, Spiritual Direction asks: 'What is God’s invitation to you right now?' Austin and...

Send us Fan Mail Are you living as God’s employee or His beloved child? In this episode of Followed by Mercy , Austin Gardner sits down with his longtime friend and cousin, Mike Pennington, to discuss the radical shift from performance-based religion to the rest of "belovedness." Mike shares his journey from the hills of Tennessee to the mission fields of Venezuela, revealing how even de...

Send us Fan Mail Why do we feel like we have to "perform" to be loved by God? In this third part of our series, I’m joined by my cousin Mike Pennington to tackle the heavy weights of trauma and shame. Mike opens up about his own childhood trauma and how it created a cycle of shame that took years to break. We discuss why shame is a "slap in the face to God's grace" and how...

Send us Fan Mail Why is it so much easier to believe God loves us in our heads than it is to feel it in our hearts? In today’s episode of Followed by Mercy , Austin Gardner continues his conversation with missionary and SoulCare coach Mike Pennington. Together, they dive deep into the "blockages" that keep us from resting in our identity as God’s beloved. If you’ve ever felt like your sp...

Send us Fan Mail Are you tired of trying to prove you deserve God’s love? In this episode, Austin Gardner sits down with his cousin, Mike Pennington—a former missionary and pastor—for a deeply personal conversation about the "bedrock of a healthy soul": Belovedness. For decades, both Austin and Mike lived under the heavy weight of legalism, relating to God through performance rather than...

Send us Fan Mail "As one whom his mother comforteth, so will I comfort you." — Isaiah 66:13 We often focus on the "Fatherhood" of God, but on this Mother’s Day episode, Austin Gardner explores the deep, nurturing, and protective "Motherly" love of our Creator. Using his own childhood memories of his grandmother’s house and the profound imagery of Scripture, Austin ref...

Send us Fan Mail "Have you ever felt like you were auditioning for God instead of serving Him? After 50 years in ministry—preaching thousands of sermons and traveling to 50 countries—I found myself exhausted. Not from the work, but from a deeper, invisible pressure: the Performance Trap. In this video, I want to talk to the 'tired' people. The ones who know the verses about grace bu...

Send us Fan Mail Is your view of God missing the "Sweetest Comfort"? In this special Mother's Day message, W. Austin Gardner dives into the profound mystery of God’s nature, revealing that while we often focus on God as Father, He explicitly describes His affection for us through the lens of a mother’s tenderness. Drawing from Isaiah 66:13 ("As one whom his mother comforteth, s...

Send us Fan Mail If you’ve spent any time in church, you’ve probably heard the word "lost" used as a label for people who are "wicked" or "wrong." But in this powerful mission's message, Austin Gardner reframes the word "lost" through the eyes of Jesus. [The Core Message] "You don't lose a pen that has no value to you. You lose things that bel...

Send us Fan Mail Are our children truly safe? Join Austin Gardner as he sits down with Navy veteran Hayley Thomas and former missionary Stephen Underwood from Black Flag International to discuss the heavy reality of child trafficking and the mission to stop it. In this episode, we cover: The Mission of Black Flag: How elite veterans are using military skill sets to "kick in doors" and re...

Send us Fan Mail In this vital conversation, Austin Gardner joins security experts Stephen Underwood and Haley Thomas to discuss the reality of child safety in today's world. This isn't just about "stranger danger"; it's about a pastoral commitment to the integrity of the home and the protection of the next generation. The Reality of Vigilance: Haley and Stephen pull back...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Austin Gardner sits down with Stephen Underwood and Haley Thomas to discuss the vital work of Black Flag International and the Black Flag Innocence Foundation. Haley shares her journey from 7.5 years in the Navy as a K9 handler in Bahrain and San Diego to her transition into the civilian sector through the SkillBridge program. The Mission: The conversation dives d...