Navigating Drug and Alcohol Addiction Pathway
Drug and alcohol addiction can quietly take hold and slowly impact every area of life. What may begin as a way to cope, numb pain, or survive difficult circumstances can grow into a cycle that feels impossible to escape. Addiction affects not only physical health, but also relationships, identity, mental and emotional well-being, and faith. Many find themselves carrying deep shame, broken trust, and unanswered questions: Why can’t I stop? How did I get here? Is change really possible?
In this Navigating the Pain and Recovery Journey of Drug and Alcohol Addiction Pathway, you’ll hear from individuals who have walked through addiction, who have been affected by addiction and those who have supported them along the way. They share honestly about their journey, recovery, underlying wounds, and the long process of healing and restoration. Freedom from addiction is rarely simple or immediate, but hope is real and transformation is possible. This pathway is designed to remind you that no matter how far you feel from who you want to be, you are not alone—and your story is not beyond redemption.
Podcast Episodes:
How do we find people who can help us carry the weight of our stories? How do we learn to experience safety in community when relationships themselves have often been the source of deep pain?
Author, speaker, and podcaster Toni Collier has endured profound hardship throughout her life, including caring for a parent at a young age, surviving an abusive marriage, experiencing sexual betrayal, enduring sexual manipulation as a child, walking through two divorces, and more. Learning to trust others with the deepest parts of her story did not come easily. Yet through the healing power of what she calls a Confessional Community, Toni began experiencing layers of healing and freedom she never thought possible. In her latest book, Don't Try This Alone: How to Build Deep Community When You Want to Hide from Your Pain, Toni shares how authentic, vulnerable community can become one of the primary ways God brings healing through suffering.
In this episode, Davey and Toni talk about why confession and vulnerability are such essential parts of healing, how we can become safe people that others trust with their pain, and the emotional and spiritual dangers of isolation and hidden suffering.
If opening up to others has felt difficult—especially in seasons of pain, disappointment, or heartbreak—this conversation will remind you that healing was never meant to happen alone and that God often uses deep, authentic community as part of the restoration process He wants to invite you into.
What happens when the escape you turn to begins to take over your life? How do you begin to heal the deeper wounds that often lie beneath addiction?
For author and podcaster Jonathon Seidl, the descent into alcoholism was rooted in unresolved childhood pain. After experiencing his father leaving at a young age, navigating an often difficult relationship with his stepfather, and enduring childhood sexual abuse, alcohol became a way to numb what he hadn’t yet faced—or invited Jesus to heal.
In his book, Confessions of a Christian Alcoholic: A Candid Conversation on Drinking, Addiction, and How to Break Free, Jonathon shares his raw and honest journey through disordered drinking and his path toward freedom.
In this episode, Davey sits down with Jonathon to explore the connection between escapism and addiction, the impact of trauma, and what recovery can look like through a Gospel-centered lens.
If you or someone you love has struggled with alcohol—even as a believer—this conversation offers a powerful reminder: there is hope. When we stop avoiding our pain and bring it honestly before Jesus, true healing can begin.
WARNING: This episode contains conversations about suicide ideation and may not be suitable for all listeners/viewers.
How do you get back up when life seems determined to knock you down? What does it look like to move toward the fire of adversity and pain in our lives instead of running from it?
For author and pastor Shawn Johnson, the challenges of growing up in a home marked by addiction, battling his own addiction and suicide attempts, and later facing crippling anxiety and panic attacks felt like more than enough fires to walk through. But recently, he found himself facing an entirely new one: an incurable brain disease that has forced him to lean fully into pain, surrender control, and trust God more deeply than ever before. In his new book, Kiss the Fire: 7 Ways to Get Back Up When You Want to Give Up, Shawn shares his journey and offers hope-filled wisdom for continuing forward when everything in you wants to quit.
In this honest and vulnerable conversation, Davey and Shawn discuss how God uses the pain of our past to prepare us for the purpose ahead, why stepping out of hiding and sharing our struggles can be so powerful—especially as leaders—and how community sustains us when new challenges arise in our lives.
If you feel surrounded by the flames of pain, trauma, and uncertainty, this episode will help you keep moving toward hope—and show you how to kiss the fire.
How do you find hope when life unexpectedly thrusts you into the valley of loss? How do you navigate the rugged terrain of pain?
For Nothing is Wasted’s Podcast Producer and Content Director, Catherine Fitzgerald, the heartbreak and trauma of losing her brother, Zac, plunged her into a valley unlike anything she had ever experienced. In the aftermath came secondary losses of community and identity and a spiritual desolation that felt like a dark night of the soul. She found herself wondering how she would ever find her way back to faith.
And yet, God met her there—through the book of Psalms and through the stories of others, like Davey Blackburn—offering a glimmer of light to guide her toward hope.
Now, in Nothing is Wasted’s latest project, Catherine has gathered and edited a collection of stories from past podcast guests, Nothing is Wasted Coaches, and team members. Each story weaves together personal journeys through pain, loss, and trauma with reflections on the Psalms, forming a powerful new devotional—Hope in the Valley: 42 Days of Healing Through the Psalms After Loss, Grief, and Tragedy.
In this episode, Davey and Catherine look back on their own stories and their shared journey through Nothing is Wasted. Together, they explore how loss reshapes every part of our lives, the often messy wrestle for hope, and why stories are such a vital part of nurturing faith in the valley of pain.
If you’ve ever believed that hope simply means “looking on the bright side,” this conversation will remind you that true hope is far more complex—gritty, raw, and worth fighting for. And often, it’s the stories of others that become our most powerful weapon in that fight.
How do you bring order to the chaos of dysfunctional family patterns? What does it look like to experience lasting peace in the midst of relational disorder?
Pastor and Bible teacher Dr. Manny Arango knows firsthand what it’s like to grow up surrounded by chaos. Raised in a home where his father battled addiction, Dr. Manny became a stabilizing force for his mother, but what seemed like support at the time eventually revealed itself as a deeply dysfunctional dynamic. It wasn’t until he became a husband and father that he began to recognize how these patterns were impacting his own family.
Through the help of therapy and a deeper understanding of God’s design in Scripture, Dr. Manny discovered a powerful truth: true peace comes not from people-pleasing or control, but from aligning with God’s order. In his new book, Crushing Chaos: Calm Your Storms. Order Your Life. Find Your Peace, he unpacks how God is never intimidated by disorder and how He consistently brings order to chaos in the lives of His people.
In this rich conversation, Davey sits down with Dr. Manny to explore the importance of identifying not just immoral behaviors in our families of origin, but also the subtle and often overlooked patterns of dysfunction, how setting healthy boundaries can become a gateway to peace, and why understanding the biblical pattern of God’s redemptive order is key when navigating personal storms.
If you've ever felt overwhelmed by anxiety or like your life is spiraling into chaos, this episode will equip you with the insight and spiritual authority to confront disorder and embrace the peace that comes through God's divine order.
How do you heal as a parent when your worst fears come true? How do you move through the pain of losing a child unexpectedly to a drug addiction?
Pastor Lance Ward and his wife, Jeni, tried to fight the tight grip addiction had on their son Kyle but lost him suddenly to a fentanyl overdose. The secret life he was living was well-hidden until it was too late and Kyle succumbed to the pull of pills. While completely shocked and upended by their loss, Lance and Jeni saw God's faithfulness after losing Kyle and the healing that came in the midst of their unexpected pain.
In this raw conversation, Aubrey sits with Lance and Jeni to discuss how addiction can impact a family, how to walk alongside those who lose a loved one to addiction, and where to find God in the paths life can take us on unexpectedly.
If you've lost a loved one to addiction or know someone who has, this episode will remind you that God will continue to show up in the pain of addiction and the destruction that can follow.
What do you do when you find yourself in a crisis of faith? How can you help someone walking through the questions and doubts they are experiencing?
Ian Harber came to a critical junction in his own faith after experiencing loss after loss. Doubts began to rise and yet, he didn't have a safe space to process the questions that can so often come in our journey in knowing and understanding God. But eventually, Ian found himself on the other side of that process and began to see the need for helping others find the space to process their own questions and doubts. In his latest book, “Walking Through Deconstruction: How to Be a Companion in a Crisis of Faith”, he shares his own story of deconstruction and reconstruction and encourages others to be a companion to those who are experiencing a crisis in faith.
In this episode, Davey and Ian discuss what deconstruction is, what can happen to a person who is experiencing a crisis in their faith, and how to walk alongside those who are questioning and doubting faith as they once knew it.
Whether you are struggling with questions and doubts in your own journey with Jesus or you know someone who is, this conversation will encourage patience and compassion through the ups and downs of walking with God.
How do we get out of the negative patterns in our marriage? What impact does learning to regulate our own emotions have on our relationships?
For authors Ron and Nan Deal, it wasn't until they learned to self-regulate their own emotions after the built up pain from their stories and the loss of their child that they began to find healing in the destructive cycles in their marriage. When their relationship had reached a critical point, they found hope and help in the work of Dr. Terry and Sharon Hargrave, whose transformational Restoration Therapy gave Ron and Nan a path forward together in healing. In their new book, The Mindful Marriage: Create Your Best Relationship Through Understanding and Managing Yourself, Ron and Nan, along with the Hargraves, share both Biblical principles and neuroscience that will help create a more loving, faithful marriage for readers.
In this honest and raw conversation, Davey sits down with Ron and Nan to talk about the impact family of origin has in our relationships, why emotional regulation is so important, and how learning to renew your mind can help your brain heal from unhealthy patterns of thinking and relating with your spouse.
No matter what state your marriage is in currently, this episode will show you how learning about your own unhelpful ways of coping can bring healing, hope, and flourishing to your most important relationship-your marriage.
How can we deal with our addictions in a way that brings true healing? What does the Twelve Steps Program offer all of us when it comes to getting to the root of what keeps us bound by poor coping strategies?
Ian Morgan Cron is a well-known author and podcastor around the Enneagram, a personality typing system, but his story didn't start there. After a difficult and traumatic childhood, Ian found himself entangled in addiction. It was through the Twelve Steps Program and his own recovery that Ian realized that we all look to things outside of God when it comes to fixing our pain, trauma, and past. But a tool like the Twelve Steps can help lead us back into surrender, forgiveness, and union with God and help us learn to cope with the difficulties and challenges of life.
In his latest book, The Fix: How the Twelve Steps Offer a Surprising Path of Transformation for the Well-Adjusted, the Down and Out, and Everyone in Between!, Ian shares practical ways that the Twelve Steps can help anyone deal with what leads them towards the unhealthy patterns of addiction and coping and into a new perspective of looking at life, relationships, and our experiences.
In this deep conversation, Davey and Ian talk about how the Twelve Steps can be helpful no matter what you're facing, the way in which prayer can get rid of our mental garbage, and why surrender and forgiveness are so pivotal in our healing.
If you have found yourself constantly looking for a "fix" when it comes to your pain, this episode will encourage you that God is inviting you to experience healing and wholeness through Him alone that pain, addiction, and trauma try to keep you from.
How can hospitality and kindness be a conduit for life-transforming change? What can happen when we open our hearts and homes to those in need of hope?
Craig Cooper was a church planting pastor when his path crossed with a struggling Nashville musician named Walker Hayes. Walker was a self-proclaimed atheist and an alcoholic who lost a record deal and was struggling to make ends meet. Craig and his whole family welcomed Walker and his family into their lives. Loving them well, showing up when they needed a friend, and helping them as needs came up in life. It was through their friendship that God began to soften Walker's heart towards the gospel. He would eventually quit drinking and said yes to Jesus, forever changing his life. After his life changed internally, he also experienced an outward shift as he got a record deal and a hit country song called "Fancy Like." Craig and Walker chronicled their unique and pivotal friendship in their book called Glad You're Here: Two Unlikely Friends Breaking Bread and Fences.
In this episode, Davey and Craig discuss the importance of walking with people through the highs and lows, how Scripture can help us in the valley, and why grace through friendship is so significant in a generation facing an epidemic of loneliness.
If you've ever wondered how you can be a conduit of God's grace to those right next door, this conversation will encourage you to step outside your comfort zone and open your home and heart to those in your life who need it most.
How do you step into what God is calling you towards when others seem to discourage you? What does it look like to use your gifts for the kingdom in the face of challenges?
For author and Bible Teacher Kat Armstrong, it was her study of scripture that led her to rethink her own beliefs on her role in the kingdom as a woman. Having experienced pushback from others who seemed to not value her voice and giftings as a scholar and woman in ministry, Kat began to see how her own misinterpretations led to her not stepping fully into the call God had on her life. As she examined some of the strange ways in which people had taught about women in the Bible and their role in the kingdom of God, she began to grow in God-given confidence that she was made to teach and lead.
In this episode, Aubrey sits with Kat to discuss how women are used by God throughout scripture, what it looks like to step into your calling, and how our storylines intersect with God's greater one.
If you've ever found yourself shrinking back from what you've been called to do, this conversation will encourage you that if God has called you towards something, nothing can stop you.
What if the perpetrator of your pain isn't something on the outside, but your own sinful choices that have led to your suffering? How do we navigate the self-inflicted hurt caused by our own destructive decisions?
Author and Pastor Max Lucado knows the feelings that can come from sinful decisions. In his own life as a young man, he began to see the dangerous trajectory of his choices if he didn't surrender to God's leading. Later as a well-known pastor and author, he would experience a similar reckoning when the weight of leadership became overwhelming and he turned to alcohol to ease the pain. It was through those experiences that Max's heart grew for those who have felt like Jacob in the Bible, wrestling with God and wondering if God had given up on them. In his latest book, God Never Gives Up on You: What Jacob's Story Teaches Us About Grace, Mercy, and God's Relentless Love, Max explores Jacob's story and how it relates to each of ours.
In this honest conversation, Davey talks with Max about how we can truly believe that God doesn't give up on us, how to approach our self-induced pain, and the importance of authenticity in leadership.
If you've ever wondered if God has given up on you after the mess you've made in your life, this episode will serve to remind you that no matter how far you've gone or how long you've wrestled, God's grace, mercy, and love never runs out.
What do you do when your past keeps showing up in your present? How do you address the pain from childhood as it presents itself in your adult life?
For Dr. Mark McNear, a childhood of every kind of abuse and trauma left him completely broken. From sexual abuse as a small boy and the harsh emotional abuse of his father to several traumatic events of violence and being hit by a drunk driver, Mark's entire life was marked by extreme pain. The wounds o f his past begin to manifest in his adult life through addiction, anxiety and depression. As a therapist, Mark had helped walk others through their pain and yet he needed to receive the same care he so often gave away. It was through the gentle compassion of his wife and others and the grace of God that Mark began the difficult journey towards healing. Mark would go on to share his personal journey to help others in theirs in his book, Finding My Words, A Ruthless Commitment To Healing Gently After Trauma.
In this vulnerable conversation, Eric and Mark discuss how to love people well in the midst of their addiction, finding hope in the process of healing, and seeing God's grace move when you are struggling with the grips of shame.
If healing has been a difficult journey and one that feels incomplete, this episode will show you that while you may not be instantaneously "fixed" this side of heaven, you can experience the richness of God's love and mercy in every new day through His gentle process of tending to your wounds.
Warning: This episode does briefly discuss loss by suicide and may not be suitable for all listeners.
How do we care for a loved one with a disease that steals their memories? How do we tend to ourselves when we are helping aging parents?
For Guideposts Editor-in-Chief Edward Grinnan, these were the very questions he had to answer after his mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer's. Edward had to learn not only how to walk through such a difficult disease, but also how to face the reality that he too might one day suffer from it. Edward went on to chronicle his own journey through his mother's illness in his latest book, A Journey of Faith: A Mother’s Alzheimer’s, A Son’s Love, and His Search for Answers. It was through his journey that he was able to see with clarity God's presence and love.
In this episode, Davey talks with Edward about how telling our stories reveals who we are, the impact Alzheimer's Disease has on families and caregivers, and specific ways that caregivers can care for themselves while tending to their loved one with the disease.
If you are being impacted by Alzheimer's, caring for aging parents or know someone who is, this conversation will encourage you to see how God can show up in the ways we show up for those we love.
How do we move towards the cross when our journey is full of detours, distractions and divergence from the abundance and freedom Christ offers us?
For author, musician and pastor Josh White, learning to navigate the terrain of his past wounds while pastoring wasn't a linear course. When the hurt from growing up with an alcoholic father began to bleed into his life and ultimately his ministry, Josh went down the difficult road of examining himself and his story. Through his own personal reflection upon his life and upon the crucifixion of Christ, Josh wrote Stumbling Toward Eternity: Losing & Finding Ourselves in the Cross of Jesus, as a way to better understand the freedom that the cross offers to each of us.
In this episode, Davey talks to Josh about why we are seeing leaders fall to scandal, how to notice pinpoints of God's grace, and where to even begin in the mess of learning to forgive those who have deeply wounded us.
This conversation is an encouragement to anyone who has ever felt like their spiritual walk was more of a stumble than a climb upward as they heal and grow in greater understanding of the work Jesus did upon the cross for each of us.
What do you do if much of your pain is caused by your own choices? How do you begin to break free from shame and find God's grace in your past?
For author, pastor and Bible teacher, Ines Franklin the journey towards healing has taken some time, but God has been with her every step of the way. Having grown up without a father, Ines found the wounds of her past and her own decisions led her to living with immense shame. She divorced twice, had two abortions, and had been engaged in an affair. When she came to know Jesus, she still carried around the scars that her pain and shame had left on her.
As she began to more fully embrace the gift of God's grace in her life and as she told her story more openly, she started to see the shame lift and God used her brokenness to help others. In her latest book, Uncharted: Navigating Your Unique Journey of Faith, Ines looks at how each of us have our own road to walk when it comes to our faith and how even our greatest struggles can be used as a part of God's greater plan for our lives.
In this episode, guest host Vaneetha Risner sits down with Ines to discuss how to disentangle shame from our stories, learning to understand God's grace in our lives and the importance of absorbing the pain we've caused others.
If part of your pain is because of your own decisions, this conversation will encourage you that God can use even your worst choices to bring about healing and hope for yourself and others.
What do we do with the messages that imprint themselves on our souls from our earliest memories? How do we overcome the most difficult parts of our story when our circumstances seemingly want to make us a statistic?
For author, speaker and advocate Tori Hope Petersen, growing up in an abusive home and entering the foster care system at a young age made her start to believe that her life didn't matter. But somehow in the midst of the darkest moments, God met her and showed her His unfailing love in the face of people's failures to love and care for her and that her life had a greater purpose. Since that season, Tori has written about her experience through the system in her book, Fostered: One Woman’s Powerful Story of Finding Faith and Family through Foster Care and has become an advocate for others. She is also now a mom, undoing the brokenness from her family of origin and creating a beautiful tapestry called family through biological, adoption and foster parenting.
In this important conversation, Aubrey sits with Tori to discuss the questions that can come when you're wrestling through a life riddled with pain, the value of community in healing from our trauma, and how the Church can become the foundation for care and love for those in the foster care system.
Whether or not your life has been touched by foster care, this episode will remind you that no matter the messages you received as a child, God's message for you is clear: you are dearly loved and none of your pain is ever wasted.
Have you ever watched someone you love struggle through addiction? Or perhaps you were the one with an addiction and saw the devestating impact it had on those who loved you most? How do you heal, on either side of an addiction?
For Geoffrey Banks, a youthful curiousity turned into years long struggle with drug addiction while his father, James, endured the pain of watching his son walk through so much self-inflicted pain. Now, years later, Geoffrey is sober and has followed his father's footsteps into ministry. Both serve as pastors and they've taken their heartbreaking journey through the pain of addiction and shared their story with others who are on a similar path, either as the adult child or the parent. Together, they shared what they've walked through in their book, Hope Lies Ahead: Encouragement for Parents of Prodigals from a Family that’s Been There. Addiction can feel relentless with one step forward and three steps back, but Geoffrey and James prove that through Christ true healing can come.
In this episode, Davey talks with Geoffrey and James about the spiritual warfare that can take place amidst addictive struggles, how to love well those who wrestle with addiction, how our journey with Jesus doesn't always look neat and tidy, and the role identity can play in our pain and our healing.
Whether you've walked through an addiction or know someone who has, this conversation will remind you that even when things seem bleak, hope can restore even the most broken stories.
How do you lead when your own story is full of pain? What is the cost of control when it comes to ministry, leadership and marriage?
For Ike and Sharon Hodde Miller, learning to navigate the difficulties in ministry these past few years since church planting and a pandemic has led to some insight into their own hearts. As an adult child of an alcoholic, Ike began to see the way his past was impacting his leadership. Sharon started to notice how her desire for control came at a cost to her soul and her relationships. Together, they have done the important work of healing their own wounds and stories while recognizing what they needed to let go of in order to be healthy leaders of Bright City Church in Durham, NC.
In this honest conversation, Ike and Sharon talk with Aubrey about how to lead in a divisive climate, what happens when we reach for control as leaders, and the importance of boundaries in marriage when we lead together.
Whether you're a leader in ministry, business or your home, this episode will encourage you to do the vital inner work to bring healing to your interior world so that you can lead out of health and wholeness.
Imagine waking up in a hospital room and finding out that you no longer remembered the last thirteen years of your life. Think about the fear, the confusion and the uncertainty that would set in when you realized you had just been in a coma and parts of your life were no longer in your memory.
Most of us have never experienced something as traumatic as that and can hardly imagine such a scene playing out in real life. But for artist Marcy Gregg, this was her story. After complications from giving birth led to her being in a coma, she awoke to a life she didn't know. Thirteen years of her memories were gone and she didn't recognize her husband or her kids. In order to be released from the hospital, she pretended that her memory was coming back. But once home, the weight of such a big secret began to overwhelm her and she turned to alcohol to cope with her anxiety and pain. Pretty soon, she found herself struggling with alcohol addiction, but through a divine intervention, the Lord spoke to her and she walked away from numbing her pain with alcohol. Her life has been met with more challenges, but through it all, she has chosen to trust God with her life and her story. Like a painting in progress, she has seen God as the ultimate artist who is not done yet with the canvas of her life.
In this episode, Davey talks with Marcy about how to surrender in the face of uncertainty, choosing to live differently when life takes us on an unexpected path, and why trust requires us to lean in.
Marcy's story is unique, but through it, you'll find a reminder in your own to trust God with the plan He has for your life, even when you can't see the whole picture quite yet.
According to current statistics, we are facing a crisis when it comes to mental health and our kids. With an increase in suicide rates, depression and anxiety, many kids and teens are facing so much more than they can begin to know how to handle. What can we do as adults to be a safe place for a young person? How can we help a child heal from trauma and crisis?
Kim Tschirret knew from her own personal story as a child with an abusive and alcoholic father that healing was possible through Christ and the help of a seemingly unlikely source: horses. Kim found solace in spending time with a horse as a young girl and knew that others could find healing too by engaging with these magnificent animals. It is what led her to start Hope Reins, a non-profit organization in Raleigh, NC, that "pairs kids in crisis with rescued horses to find hope and healing." What has transpired is a beautiful story of redemption as horses and children, both facing painful emotional wounds, have found healing through the power of their connection with one another. Since its' inception in 2010, Hope Reins has helped over 2,600 kids in crisis at no-cost to the families it serves.
Davey sits down with Kim to talk about how our past pain can lead us into an incredible redemption story for others, what kids need to feel safe, and how any adult can be a trusted source of hope in a hurting child's life.
Resiliency after trauma is possible and Kim's story shows us what a powerful salve love can be for both discarded animals and wounded hearts in the quest for restoration.
What happens when the life you've built turns to dust? For Steph Teague, it began with just a few short sentences: "I don't think I believe in God anymore and I want a divorce".
Hearing those words from her high school sweetheart, Chris, was devastating and yet, she slowly began to rebuild her life after such a deep hurt. Chris was on a seemingly separate journey through addiction, doubts, and deconstruction.
In time, the Lord got a hold of Chris' heart and he experienced true life transformation, only to realize the mistake he had made in leaving his wife. Through God's kindness, the two would later reconcile, remarry and go on to start a band called Out of the Dust, where they would write songs of the loss and redemption in their story.
Join Davey, Chris, and Steph as they talk about how to trust God when those we love wrestle with doubts and deconstruction, healing a marriage after brokenness, and the importance of community in whatever pain we face.
This episode is an encouragement for anyone who feels like life's circumstances are beyond repair and who longs for redemption out of the dust.
As kids, many of us tend to idolize our parents. And while we all eventually come to see them as imperfect humans like ourselves, for some that revelation is truer than others.
Taylor Carlier thought she had a great family and a close, healthy relationship with her parents, until one shocking realization about her father set that relationship on a course that would change it forever.
As Taylor endured years of new betrayals, revelations, and deeper hurts from someone that should have been so much more for her, she gained hard-earned wisdom and firsthand knowledge about healing, forgiveness, and restoration.
Taylor, now the producer of this very podcast, sits down with Davey and Aubrey to share her story and some of what she’s learned along the way.
In 2015, the small rural town of Austin, Indiana became the epicenter of the worst drug-fueled HIV outbreak in US history. As the only doctor in Austin, Dr. William Cooke saw firsthand the extreme poverty and toxic conditions that exist in small pockets of America, out of sight and out of mind for the more fortunate.
But in the middle of these horrific conditions, William was able to become the hands and feet of Jesus in a tangible way to those who needed it most. William sits down with Davey to share some of how he found purpose in walking with people through life’s toughest trials and working to repair the broken systems at the root of this pain.
If you had told the Christopher Yuan of years ago what his life would look like today, he probably wouldn’t believe you. As a promiscuous gay man who made his living selling drugs, Christopher’s life didn’t look anything like it does now. But an arrest, a prison sentence, and an HIV diagnosis turned out to be the things that would change Christopher’s life forever. Now, Christopher spends his days sharing the message of the gospel. To kick off our series on singleness, Christopher sits down with Davey to share some of his powerful story and how he’s learned to find his identity solely in Christ.
Sometimes counseling can take on a bad rap. We often associate it with a crisis or a last resort. But in his work as a mental health counselor, Andrew has realized that we all need help. To see our lives and situations change, we need to first become whole, and that wholeness only comes through God and deep inner work.
Andrew sits down with Davey to talk about his new book, Stumbling Toward Wholeness, Andrew’s own journey towards wholeness and transformation, and what it looks like to face our brokenness honestly and begin to heal.
If you've ever wondered if God really changes people, this story will convince you. Like Saul to Paul, the Chris Dew of several years ago looks nothing like him today. Chris sits down with Davey to tell his story of how God met a hopeless heroin addict with a speech impediment so severe he could barely talk and turned him into a traveling evangelist who regularly stands on a stage and preaches the gospel to thousands.
Masterclasses:
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When trust is broken in a marriage, it can seem like all hope is lost. What if there was a way forward in a relationship that has experienced betrayal?
Cameron and Karissa Sprinkle have walked that journey. After an affair and addiction threatened to end their marriage, both Cameron and Karissa decided to do the hard work of healing themselves so that they could heal together.
In this masterclass, Restoring Trust in Marriage: Finding a Way Forward After Hurt, Cameron and Karissa Sprinkle will show you how to:
Own your recovery
Begin your own healing work
Make repairs and stumble well
If your marriage has experienced a loss of trust, this masterclass will help you find a way forward.
Resources
Karissa Sprinkle Website: https://karissasprinkle.com/
www.pastorinthewild.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/karissasprinkle/
Cameron and Karissa Nothing is Wasted Podcast Episodes:
https://www.nothingiswasted.com/podcast1/episode-79
https://www.nothingiswasted.com/podcast1/episode-80
Nothing is Wasted Coaching: https://www.nothingiswasted.com/coaching
Karissa contact: hello@karissasprinkle.com
Cameron contact: cameron@pastorinthewild.com
Leslie Vernick’s website I referenced: https://leslievernick.com/
Recovery Groups we were a part of: https://living-truth.org/
Intensive we went to: https://www.hishighplaces.org/
Another intensive we’d recommend: https://www.daringventures.com/
Bonus Episodes:
For too many people, sex has been a place of wounding. This beautiful gift from God has been distorted into a thing that hurts people deeply, that ruins lives, relationships and family. Kristin and Michael Cary know this full well. Since walking through their own journey of sexual addiction and betrayal, Kristin and Michael now work with men and women to help them reclaim whole, healthy sexual behaviors as well as to pick up the pieces of their lives after sexual betrayal.
Kristin and Michael were originally featured on episode 83 of the podcast as part of our Sexual Betrayal Series, and came back for this bonus conversation with Davey about how the work they do with people experiencing unwanted sexual behaviors and with those who have experienced sexual betrayal.
Once an addict himself with seemingly no hope, Chris Dew underwent a radical transformation that turned him into the speaker and evangelist he is today. In addition to sharing the gospel with people, Chris uses his platform to try to reach people in the same trial he was in. Whether it’s battling our own addictions or watching a loved one struggle, Chris shares some wisdom on how to deal with the evils of addiction.
Live Events:
Pain to Purpose Coaching
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How can we begin to untangle the thoughts and emotions that are keeping us stuck or pushing us toward unhealthy forms of coping? What does it look like to embrace the God-given agency we have over our minds?
Dr. Lee Warren is a practicing neurosurgeon who has experienced the depths of grief and loss after losing his son, Mitch, years ago. Through his own journey of pain and healing—as well as his deep understanding of the brain as a neurosurgeon—he began to connect the truth of what Scripture says about our minds and thoughts with the science of the brain. Dr. Warren believes each of us has the ability to do “brain surgery” on ourselves in order to experience deeper healing from loss, trauma, and the wounds we encounter throughout life.
In his book, The Life-Changing Art of Self-Brain Surgery: Connecting Neuroscience and Faith to Radically Transform Your Life, Dr. Warren helps readers understand the power they have in their healing journey while offering practical wisdom for growing through difficulty into resilience.
In this conversation, Davey and Dr. Warren discuss the difference between the brain and the mind, the incredible power our thoughts have in the healing process, and why God gave us emotions in the first place.
If you are feeling stuck and find yourself turning to unhealthy habits or patterns in the midst of pain, this episode will encourage you with the hope that God can radically transform your life as you learn the life-changing art of self-brain surgery.