Our Resolute Hope Podcast

John and Frank discuss the conflict's culmination and resolution.  How did it resolve?  By implementing church discipline for legalism, just as Apostle described in Galatians 4:30.  They discuss how the church responded afterward, along with their renewed efforts to train up the next generations to fight the good fight of faith.

Frank and John recall the initial resistance to the message, which developed into organized opposition.  They discuss tactics that church members used to attack and discredit both the message and the messengers.  Also they consider the role of law, the root of disbelief, that fueled the opposition, and they give examples of how it manifested.

John and Frank describe some avenues they followed to introduce Christ as life into their church's different ministries.  They consider what worked, what didn't, why, and their reliance both on scripture and on recognized voices from outside the church to reinforce the message.

Frank and John describe briefly how they began their journeys to know Christ as life.  They discuss their first steps, as pastor and elder, to introduce their small body of believers, steeped in law and performance, to the full gospel of life and freedom in Jesus Christ.

Mark Maulding continues his story, focusing on his tender heart for pastors and his decades-long desire to help them understand the grace of God, the cross of Christ, and their identity as loved and accepted kids of the King.  Learn more about him and the counseling ministry he founded at GraceLifeInternational.com.

Counselor, coach, and author Mark Maulding of Grace Life International shares honest insight about growing up 'trying hard to get it right', his confusion about a 'quid pro quo' God, his belly aches from reading the bible, his sinking and unraveling as a pastor, and his journey to finally understanding Christ as his life.    Check him out at GraceLifeInternational.com.

Roger and Jeff Fields continue their story, focusing on the importance of viewing all things from the correct side of the cross of Christ.  Hear the hearts of these brothers as they discuss the simplicity of the gospel and the love of our Father God.  Check out their website, podcast, and book, Breaking the Hex, at TheFieldsBrothers.com.

Join Roger (the older) and Jeff (the more athletic) Fields as they share their journeys through conservative religion to knowing Christ as their life.  You'll enjoy their engaging style as they talk about Jesus and themselves … and having a good time doing it.  Check out their website, podcast, and book, Breaking the Hex, at TheFieldsBrothers.com.

Host, friend, and lead rebel at 'Confessions of a Crappy Christian' podcast, Blake Guichot begins her two-episode podcast by discussing her experiences being wounded by Christians, coming to understand the subtle differences between grace and law, and the immediate impacts this had on her, her husband, and their two young children.  Learn more about her at CrappyChristianCo.com.

Author, speaker, and counselor Yolanda Cohen Stith continues her story, focusing on her struggles with infertility, the birth of her son with neurological disorders, his drug use and eventual incarceration, and his release.  Listen closely as Yolanda describes 'crawling on her knees through the valley of the shadow of death', clinging desperately to her Messiah's hand.  Discover more about Yolanda...

Author, speaker, and counselor Yolanda Cohen Stith describes her Jewish upbringing as ‘Conservadox’.  Dissatisfied with the religious hypocrisy at home, her growing desire to know about God eventually led her to Rapid City, South Dakota, where she met Messiah Yeshua for the first time.  Through her struggles with a wayward child, loss of a husband, and thoughts of suicide, her book, Valley Life Yo...

Author, speaker, and pastor Andrew Farley shares his story of growing up in a shaming environment, becoming an obsessive evangelist, and wrestling with his perpetual efforts to become the ‘perfect version of Andrew’, the one God expected.  Hear about his first authentic encounter with his savior at an Atlanta gas station, and his decade of recovery from the need to perform perfectly for God.  Lear...

With engaging effervescence, Traci tells her story of growing up atheist, her 100-mph encounter with God, and her journey to the Lord as her Savior and her life.  With unparalleled openness and vulnerability, Traci discusses marital relations, personal heartbreaks, family crises, and a perfect storm of tragedy that she describes as a ‘7th-floor fall’ to the bottom, where she learned that Jesus is...

Steve continues his story, focusing on his journey of understanding and applying Christ as life in marriage, family, and ministry.  Hear and enjoy his clear examples and some engaging descriptions of the intimate dependency that is ours in Christ.

Steve is director of  One in Christ, a teaching and discipling ministry he has led for 30+ years.  Also, he  has been the sole pastor of CenterPoint Christian Fellowship in Gainesville, FL.  Learn more about him, and hear some of his messages, at stevepettitmessages.com.

Zach is an author and speaker, and he serves currently as Community Pastor for Church Without Religion in Lubbock, TX.  Zach discusses Christ as Life as seen through the eyes of a young millennial, how it impacts his ministry, his teaching and shepherding, and his relationship with his new bride, Grace.  Learn more about him at zachmaldonado.com.

Nico continues his story, focusing this week on the challenges he faced to deal with forgiveness, particularly concerning his brother’s murderer; to love and shepherd  family; and to live a life that he describes as ‘bat shit crazy’ about Jesus.

Nico is a leading criminal defense attorney in San Antonio, TX.  Beginning with his brother’s murder in 1996, Nico’s story describes his journey of faith, one he describes as a ‘faith born out of need’  He puts feet to that faith now through several outlets, including the podcast ‘R-Rated Christianity’.

Tim serves as Lead Pastor for Grace Life Fellowship in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.  He discusses his hybrid Greek Orthodox/Southern Baptist upbringing, his issues of fearing God, his understanding of Christ as his life, and some new opportunities that God placed before him.  Tim recently coauthored a new book with Andrew Farley, entitled ‘The Perfect You:  God’s Invita

Frank’s story continues with discussions of his early life as a pastor, the crises that led him to ‘crash and burn, and the ways in which knowing Christ as his life has changed his ministry.

Frank begins his story by discussing his early home life, the loss of his father, the ways he handled that loss, and his pursuit of athletics as a source of value and worth.

John continues his story and discusses with Frank his early emphasis on knowing about Christ rather than knowing Him, the circumstances that led him to his growing understanding of Christ as his life, and his journey since that revelation began.

John begins his story, focusing on his Roman Catholic upbringing, his fatherless home, his fear and  his shame, and his first encounters with Jesus Christ.

Frank and John conclude their conversations on reigning in life by focusing on a single key point.  Jesus is our example, not for the acts He did but for the method He used.  His was a life of total dependence on His Father.  They discuss the importance of being a dependent child with God and of leaving behind the mindset of ‘adult achieving’ and embracing the attitude of ‘childlike receiving’.

This week, the guys begin to wrap up their discussion of Romans 5:17 with the capstone truth that Christ makes it possible for us to reign in life.  How did Jesus do what He did?  Not because He was God, but because He relied dependently on His Father.  They discuss the importance of Jesus not serving as our model but as our Life.