The Scattered Seeds Podcast

Send us Fan Mail It would be a drastic change going from working as a vice president of a college to a janitor sweeping floors. But sometimes the Lord has to remove our ambitions so we can instead follow His path for us.  And when he does, it’s only the beginning of the story.  Today’s guest is David Silk, currently a chaplain serving in a hospice role, formerly a college vice president and chief...

Send us Fan Mail How do we determine the value of a life? We talk about how all lives are valuable, but by which scale do we measure once a child comes into the world? Do we view them by what they can do, what they can become, or produce, or do we view them through God’s eyes. These are questions that come forward in today’s episode as Tom Kneier talks about his son, who was born with Down Syndrom...

Send us Fan Mail In a world that seems to be falling apart, where friendships are a brittle as glass and can shatter if one side of the relationship makes the mistake of sharing an opposing political view, it’s important to understand the value of Christian relationships. Which is the main theme of today’s interview. Dr. Kyle Bennett is a philosopher, and an educator who has taught at the universi...

Send us Fan Mail From A shipwreck in shark infested waters, to a trip to heaven, today’s guest knows good stories. After all, Lynn Vincent as co-written 4 books on the New York times best sellers list. But today the story we are interested in sharing is Lynn’s. And with a tale that includes a rocky childhood with periods of homelessness, a stint in the Navy, and a unique conversion Lynn has quite...

Send us Fan Mail Rarely on our show have we had a guest as well connected to Pittsburgh’s pastoral and ministerial structure as John Guest. John has had a hand in founding ministries across Pennsylvania and at 86 still has as much passion for the Lord and for evangelism as he did the day he was saved at a Billy Graham crusade. So join Tom, Nate and John for this week’s episode. Welcome back to the...

Send us Fan Mail There is a particular kind of pain involved in watching your child suffer. But it’s a remarkable story when that pain is transformed into a ministry to help others in the same situation. That’s the kind of story our guests Richie and Regan Reeder told us today. So join Tom, Nate, Richie and Regan as they discuss their faith journey to find the purpose of their pain as they walked...

Send us Fan Mail How does one handle the loss of a loved one? The loss of two? Or three? How do you keep going after tragedy knocks you down? Today’s guest will tell you that you do so by trusting the Lord. Justine Campanga is a talented young woman with a loving husband and a beautiful little girl. But Justine’s story is one that brings the book of Job to mind. She has faced loss after loss, but...

Send us Fan Mail The path to Hollywood isn’t one we usually cover on our show. But rarely is the path to Hollywood so full of evidence of God’s hand on someone’s life as it is in the story of Byrne Offutt. Burn is a native Arkansan who’s journey took him to the stage and screen before recently bringing him here to Pittsburgh. His is a story of trusting in the Lord for the path, and recognizing the...

Send us Fan Mail It took years for the first of the Prai people to come to the Lord, and the growth was slow. But if you ask today’s guests if they would change anything they had done, they would tell you no. The Jordan’s have no regrets in the life the Lord has called them to. Decades in Thailand among the Prai people has seen hundreds of people added to that first believer. So join, Tom, Nate, D...

Send us Fan Mail What does it take to walk into a war zone? Courage. That’s what Father Jason Charron needed when he and one of his parishioners entered the Ukraine on day 4 of the invasion in their efforts to rescue 22 orphans, their 4 caretakers, and the additional women and children they met in their two days there. Join Tom, Nate and Father Jason as they discuss his faith journey, Christian hi...

Send us Fan Mail The American Justice System isn’t a place where you want to find yourself. It’s a harsh place that doesn’t care about intention as much as outcome, and sometimes what is fair and right is swallowed up by logic and the opinion of the jury. But can good still come from a prison cell? That’s the story that today’s guests, father and son duo Matt and Hollis Haff will tell you. It’s a...

Send us Fan Mail You could say that when we started this show three years ago, that statistically speaking, the odds were not in our favor. Only half of all shows produced ever make it past their seventh episode, and its estimated that only one in four podcasts in existence are still making content. And that 75% that fail , usually stop before the first year is up. So making it to three years spea...

Send us Fan Mail Why is it important to tell stories? Particularly histories? Our guest today has spent over 4 decades writing, teaching, and learning about history and he had a bit to say about the topic. Gary Scott Smith is a professor emeritus of History from Grove City college and has written multiple biographies covering some of the most interesting figures from the last 250 years. So join To...

Send us Fan Mail Its an interesting path that leads from Grove City College to working in Washington DC, but it’s the path that today’s guest took gladly. Rachel Bovard graduated from Grove City College in 2006, where she met and worked for Professor Paul Kengor before getting an internship at the Heritage foundation in DC. Today Rachel is known for her quick-witted op ed pieces and her work at th...

Send us Fan Mail Brothers aren’t always born from the same parents. Sometimes the closest brotherhoods are those born in faith and tempered by time. That was the case for Craig Wolfley and his best friend and brother, the late Tunch Ilken. Craig and Tunch were drafted onto the Pittsburgh Steelers the same year, they roomed together, they played together, they worked together as sportscasters and P...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome back to the scattered seeds podcast, today’s guest has lead an interesting life, from Starting his faith journey in a commune in the seventies to living as a missionary with his wife and four children in Japan. And at the climax of today’s story lies the question of whether or not a life threatening illness reset your faith? David Fuller was a longtime missionary with his...

Send us Fan Mail “The primary light we need to participate in democracy, to serve the common good, and to dwell as faithful citizens of the City of God is shed not by the Washington Post but by “the light of the world” (Jn 8:12).” That line is from the book Reading the Times, A Literary and Theological Inquiry into the News by today’s guest Jeff Bilbro. Jeff teaches in the English department at Gr...

Send us Fan Mail What would you do if you were given a cancer diagnosis? How would you feel? How would you react? Now imagine if you were a new mom with a 10 month old son and you were given that news? That was where today’s guest was a few short years ago. But Jocelyn Blystone’s story isn’t a tragedy, it’s a triumph of faith. So join Tom, Nate and Jocelyn as they take a journey through her story....

Send us Fan Mail Ephesians 2:10 says “for we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” But how do we determine what we’re supposed to be doing with our life? Today’s guest, Rick Newton, of the Newton family of companies has dedicated his life’s work to answering that question. Join Tom, Nate and Rick as they explore Ricks faith jour...

Send us Fan Mail There are things in this world that no one likes to speak of. Darkness and cruelty that, unless it touches our day to day lives, we don’t even like to think of it. Things like the realities of human trafficking. But while most would draw away, today’s guest Joe Sweeny ran towards the problem. After years in law enforcement and even longer working as a private contractor for the US...

Send us Fan Mail For many of us the last two years have been the most difficult we’ve ever lived through. A global pandemic, racial tension, political unrest, it seems like there’s a new disaster ever looming on the horizon. And while we hear about the front lines of the medical fields and science, the spiritual frontlines aren’t as often spoken about. It’s not an easy thing when those you’ve mini...

Send us Fan Mail What kind of person would give up all he has to serve the Lord in a place as far away from Pittsburgh as Uganda? Today’s guest is the perfect position to answer that since he has done just that. Jim west is one of the most down to earth, humble people you could ever meet. I’ve heard him introduced as the most interesting man in the room, and yet that isn’t something he would ever...

Send us Fan Mail Hello and Welcome to today’s episode of the scattered seeds podcast. This show is unique in two distinct ways. One is that today marks the first time we’ve had a guest return for a second interview with Tom and Nate. Dr. Trueman was interviewed in the summer of 2019 as one of our first guests. Since then Dr. Trueman has taken the world by storm with a best-selling book called The...

Send us Fan Mail As the old saying goes, you can’t judge a man until you’ve walked a mile in his shoes. Today’s guests walked the paths of alcoholism and addiction for a long time before their lives turned around. Since then they’ve been serving others as part of the core kitchen staff at the Light of Life ministry. With over three decades of service between them, Rob Petit and George Hutchison (a...

Send us Fan Mail It was one of those moments that those who were watching would never forget. On December 4th, 2017 during a game against the Bengals, Ryan Shazier’s life changed forever. Recently we were privileged to have Ryan join us as he discussed his life before the accident and his life after. He shared his love for the game of football, and he shared his struggle with having to give it up....