VB Fellows Podcast

We are grateful to fellows' class of 2024 alumni David Clark, Grace Keel, and Kim Pugh for their willingness to share the tangible ways they experienced the Lord's work in their lives during the program. We hope you enjoy this one as much as we did! 

Unexpected joys? Favorite lecture? Questions about faith?  Enjoy our chat with an all-JMU crew – Emma Wiltz, Zion Nurse, and Sean Hilger– that produced many laughs and thoughtful reflections on their 2023-2024 year. 

Many in our Virginia Beach community are starting a 21-day season of prayer and fasting from this Sunday Jan 7th, through January 27th. Please join us if you can! Here’s a bit of an introduction from Ross about why Christians fast. 

We end our alumni interviews this year with a couple from our very first class ('19-'20), Tathan + Lindsay Bennett.  Along with discussing surfing (well, at least for Tathan), work growth, and big *announcements (!!), Tathan and Lindsay invited us into their world post fellows: the ebbs and flows of the Christian walk, being a part of a church body, friendship after fellows, and more. Th...

In continuation of our alumni interview series, 2022 fellows' alum Parker York shared how VB Fellows built a unique and deeply impactful experience that served as a springboard for integration into the greater Virginia Beach community—particularly amongst the men. 

In a refreshingly honest interview, we chatted with Meredith Welsh and Katrina Brittingham—class of 2022 alumni— about life after fellows, with particular focus on the unexpected challenges that they've faced post-fellows, and how they've found the hope to overcome.

This summer, we're delighted to catch up  with members from our previous classes as they reflect on life after fellows, and how the community and disciplines still prove valuable tools in their day-to-day lives.  This episode featured Erin and Nathan Horner from the classes of 2021 & 2022. We hope you enjoy!

The fourth year of VB Fellows has come to a close, and we're excited to share the second part of our Reflections series from our 2022-2023 alumni.  In this episode, Alyssa Farrell, Gracie Ziegelmann, and Abbie Trollinger reflect on how they've seen their views of God and life challenged and deepened over the course of the year through the Friday Trainings, and they share the spiritual di...

As the fourth year of VB Fellows draws to a close, we caught up with some of the fellows to reflect on two key aspects of our program: Community & Teaching. In this episode, Clay Bauer, Isaiah Sound, Carter George, and Tyler Cooper share their thoughts on being integrated into an established community, and what the support has meant to them moving forward. Hosted by Christina Webb.

In our final interview with the 2021-2022 class, we heard from Janae Powell, Lucas Honebrink, and Meredith Welsh as they shared their reflections about their post-college expectations and how their perspectives have changed.  Hosted by Christina Webb. 

Directors Jay McCabe and Sarah Schultz sat down to share their thoughts about Summer activities, the program's four-week session on Spiritual Gifts, and insight into preparing for the incoming class of fellows.  Thanks for listening!

Fellows Taylor, Kyra, Claire, and Emma share a bit about their college experience and what it's been like transitioning into an entirely new season of life. Another excellent discussion hosted by our own Communications Manager, Christina Webb.

“What do you want to be when you grow up?” Fellows Parker, Nathan, and Katrina share their thoughts on the future, dream jobs, and the overlapping of calling and occupation.  Thanks to Christina Webb, our Communications Manager, for hosting this discussion!

Almost a year ago, I wrote and recorded a piece in response to the now-infamous January 6 Capitol Riot. This is that piece. I still think it rings true.  It's not a political take.  Instead it has to do with a looming cultural problem that the January 6 riot (as well as the other riots in 2020) brought to the foreground--one that transcends Republican, Democrat, conservative, liberal. That pr...

What does the North Pole have to do with Bethlehem? Why do I have a reindeer and an angel in my front yard right now? Why does the radio play “Santa Claus Is Coming To Town” and “Away In A Manger” back to back? What is the meaning of the magic of our secular Christmas? Why do children everywhere find it hard to sleep on Christmas Eve? What are they anticipating? The coming of Santa or the coming o...

What is salvation? How can we know God? In this episode, we discuss the weakness of explanations without participation--the difference between truth and reality--and the power of story to bridge the gap. As C. S. Lewis puts it in his essay " Myth Became Fact ": “Human intellect is incurably abstract. Yet the only realities we experience are concrete- this pain, this pleasure, this dog, t...

Nothing like a good story. In fairy tales, what is the nature of a curse and how is it broken? Is a curse placed upon someone against their will or is it willingly embraced from within? In order to be free, does the change have to come from within or must deliverance come from outside? In Christian terms, did our redemption happen "on the cross" or does it happen "in our hearts&quot...

What do we mean by "identity?" What does it mean when Christians say we should "find our identity in Christ?" In the Bible, identity is multi-faceted. Though, in the modern world, we tend to define our identity according to what we think, feel, and believe, in the Bible we find that our identities are also shaped by what we consistently do. Oftentimes it’s our habitual patterns...

God does not (usually) zap.  Why do prayers go unanswered and lives untransformed? If God is all-powerful and all-loving, why is there still so much suffering in the world? Why doesn't he just zap all the wrong things right? How does salvation work? If we are saved, set free, and made new in Christ, why do we often feel so unsaved, enslaved, and confused? The Bible is the story of the patient...

Today’s episode is a talk that was originally released on the Mere Sanity Podcast . You can find the transcript at MereSanity.com . Please let us know what you think! Why doesn't God just show himself? Why is he so un-straightforward? Why would Jesus say, "Ask and you shall receive?" if he didn't mean it in a straightforward way? Why did God tell Adam and Eve not to eat of the...

Why isn't God more obvious? Why isn't he more straightforward? Wouldn't it be easier if we could see him and walk alongside him? Except...Jesus's earliest followers dealt with the same problem when they were with him! Jesus was an un-straightforward Messiah. He did not usually operate in straight lines. Why? Because the problem he came to solve could not be solved that way. He...

How do we make sense of the 'deconstruction' phenomenon we're seeing right now?  In short, people's worlds are getting bigger and the Christian faith of their teenage years is staying the same size. So...something's gotta give. What happens when the Christian story we received when we were younger turns out to be too small--too small for the complexities of everyday life,...

VB Fellows is a faith-based leadership development and apprenticeship program for recent college grads in Virginia Beach, Virginia. If you’d like to learn more, visit our website at VBFellows.com .  The goal of this podcast is to showcase the kinds of conversations we’re having with our fellows on a regular basis, exploring what the Christian life and community should look like in an increasingly...