The Next Step Podcast

Justin Rossow

Next Step Press helps you delight in taking a next step following Jesus. This podcast is dedicated to exploring resources, tools, and experiments that help us help each other follow Jesus better. Find out more at www.FindMyNextStep.org read less
Religion & SpiritualityReligion & Spirituality

Episodes

Expanding Your Discipleship Culture
Feb 1 2024
Expanding Your Discipleship Culture
Episode 07 was first recorded on Tuesday, January 30, 2024. It features a conversation with two lay leaders from Heart of the Shepherd Lutheran Church in Howell, Michigan. The conversation is a kind of guided brainstorming session designed to help Katie and Bob expand the discipleship culture at their church. They have both been through the Disciple Like You Mean It online training, and now their pastor has asked them to help spread the impact of the tools and attitudes in that course. After a brief introduction and opening prayer by Next Step Press founder Justin Rossow, you will get a little background on both of these lay leaders, including their impression of the course. Three words seem to rise to the top in this conversation: Prayerful, Invitational, and Intentional. Those three keys to expanding your discipleship culture help these leaders imagine some ways to create new relationships as well as engage existing groups with insights from the Next Step discipleship process. Along the way, you will hear Katie say that she is using Visual Faith® Ministry tools and taking a group to a Visual Faith® Ministry event in Ann Arbor, Michigan. She'll be using that common experience to springboard more engagement with ongoing discipleship and grow toward a DLYMI Triad. If you are in the area on March 16, 2024 from 9am-1pm, you can sign up for that VFM event here: www.tinyurl.com/visualprayer101. Then keep your eyes open for Katie and Justin, and make sure you say hi! CHOOSE YOUR FAITH ADVENTURE If you choose to explore Visual Faith® Ministry, download one of their many free resource from their webpage: https://www.visualfaithmin.org/. Justin, Bob, and Katie all make reference at different times to important concepts from the Disciple Like You Mean It training. Justin mentions Resonance from the acronym SMART. If you decide to take a SMART next step, turn to this blog. Katie talks about Non-Judgmental Noticing at one point. If that sparks your interest and you choose to find out more, choose from find several resources related to that concept on the Next Step Community blog: Non-Judgmental Noticing, a podcast with Jamie Wiechman from Breathe Life Ministries.How Are You Today? a blog about noticing emotions with a teenager.Noticing Yourself With God, a blog from Steve Wiechman.Noticing Your Emotions, With Jesus, a tool from the DLYMI course.Noticing Your Non-Judgmental Noticing, a podcast with Pastor Sam Fink (Katie and Bob's pastor at Heart of the Shepherd). Finally, all three talk about the importance of a GPS attitude instead of GPA approach to discipleship. If your next step relates to your GPS, you have options: Orientation vs Performance: GPS or GPA?Mary and Martha, GPA or GPS?My Next Step, Volume 1 (the one with the compass on the cover) The intro and outro music comes from Peter Prochnow's rendition of the hymn, "Awake My Soul and With the Sun" and is available from the Michigan District of the LCMS at www.thehymnalproject.com. Used by permission. If you choose to explore taking a Triad through the Disciple Like You Mean It course, visit this page. This episode of the Next Step Podcast was supported in part by the generosity of Next Step Patrons. Please consider becoming a Next Step Patron to help keep these resources coming! To see different options for support, including monthly and annual options, visit https://www.patreon.com/findmynextstep, or email justin@findmynextstep.org to make a one-time gift. Thank you to all of our Patrons! Patrons make it possible. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/mynextstep/message
Advent Enemies
Dec 21 2023
Advent Enemies
The Wednesdays are for Walking With series explores the Disciple Like You Mean It online training from Next Step Press. In this special production of the Next Step Podcast, we will practice non-judgmental noticing with Jesus and help one another take a small next step, together. Episode 07 was first recorded on Wednesday, December 19, 2023. It features an advent devotion by Justin Rossow and a conversation with Professor Ted Hopkins from Concordia University, Ann Arbor. 0:00-14:30After some background on Professor Ted Hopkins and an opening prayer, you'll hear the text for today's episode: Psalm 35:1-6, 22-28. Then we'll get an initial response to that reading before listening to an advent devotion (8:00-14:30). 14:31-22:29 Then you'll hear Drs Hopkins and Rossow discussion the theology behind the devotion and what it means to experience other people as enemies, but to hold that experience within a broader Scriptural narrative. 22:30-35:15The talk then turns to Advent Eschatology (that is, the study of the last things, or end times: the Second Coming) and prolepsis (that is, God's future participating in your present). A brief discussion of those theological categories leads into a longer wrestling with a very practical question (25:17): what do I do when I experience someone as an enemy, even at Christmas? 35:16-endBefore we are done, we'll think through what we might have said to King David if he had joined us for this podcast, and Ted and Justin both consider what kind of response the Spirit may be shaping in them (42:38) before Pastor Hopkins closes us with prayer. CHOOSE YOUR FAITH ADVENTURE If you would like to hear (or read) more from Prof. Hopkins, you have options: Ted's academic volume: Christ, Church, and World: Bonhoeffer and Lutheran Ecclesiology after Christendom.Ted's last appearance on the Next Step Podcast: Season 2 (Ponder Anew), Episode 12: It is Well With My Soul.A series of articles on the Next Step Community Blog: Change? Who Said Anything About Change?; Faithful Change; and Great (and Not-So-Great) Expectations. If you decide to explore the Scripture verses cited in this episode, you can start with this list: Psalm 35:1-6, 22-28 (Let them be clothed with shame and dishonor who magnify themselves against me!) Romans 5:6-11 (While we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son.)Romans 12:14-21 (Vengeance is mine, declares the Lord.)2 Corinthians 5:14-21 (God made him who had no sin to be sin for us.)Galatians 3:7-14 (Christ became a curse for us.)Psalm 31:5 (in context) and Luke 23:44-46 (Into your hands I commit my spirit.) If you want to watch, or share, the Advent devotion on Psalm 35:26, check out the YouTube video, below. https://youtu.be/Qh_q96cZx7k?si=AgfRABnZ2ArBX6JJ The intro and outro music comes from Peter Prochnow's rendition of the hymn, "Awake My Soul and With the Sun" and is available from the Michigan District of the LCMS at www.thehymnalproject.com. Used by permission. If you choose to explore taking a Triad through the Disciple Like You Mean It course, visit this page. This episode of the Next Step Podcast was supported in part by the generosity of Next Step Patrons. Please consider becoming a Next Step Patron before the end 2023. To see different options for support, including monthly and annual options, visit https://www.patreon.com/findmynextstep, or email justin@findmynextstep.org to make a one-time gift. Thank you to all of our Patrons! Patrons make it possible. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/mynextstep/message
Noticing Your Non-Judgmental Noticing
Dec 14 2023
Noticing Your Non-Judgmental Noticing
Episode 06 was first recorded on Wednesday, December 13, 2023. It features a conversation with Pastor Sam Fink, who took two Triads through the very first cohort of the Disciple Like You Mean It online training. 0:00-13:22After a brief introduction and opening prayer, you'll hear a little of Pastor Sam Fink's story and what brought him to launch a couple of Disciple Like You Mean It Triads in his first year at a new congregation. 13:23-30:58 Then we'll look at one of concepts from the course called Non-Judgmental Noticing. We'll talk about the Stop, Drop, and Roll method for noticing your emotions with Jesus. Then Sam will share a personal example (17:38), a parenting story (22:10), and a story of interacting with a church visitor (27:21). In each case, Non-Judgmental Noticing play a key roll in the encounter. 30:58-38:44With the season of Christmas upon us, we'll take some time to wonder about how Non-Judgmental Noticing could be a tool you might use this holiday season as you spend time with people you don't typically get to see during the year. 38:35-endBefore we are done, we'll get final thoughts from a member of our Disciple Like You Mean It Community and Pastor Sam closes us with prayer. CHOOSE YOUR FAITH ADVENTURE If you choose to explore taking a Triad through the Disciple Like You Mean It course, visit this page. If another podcast episode is in your near future, here are three related episodes: Non-Judgmental Noticing with Jamie Wiechman (Breathe Life Ministries)Joy to the World with Conrad Gempf (London School of Theology)Expanding Your Sermon into the Week with Pastor Sam Fink If you decide to read the sermon Justin Rossow preached at Sam Fink's installation as pastor at Heart of the Shepherd, Howell, MI, head over to Needing Jesus, Every Day. If you opt to explore some blogs related to joy, choose one or more of the following: Far as the Curse is Found by Justin RossowPriorities of Joy by Allie BauckWhen Joy to the Word Comes True by Justin Rossow The intro and outro music comes from Peter Prochnow's rendition of the hymn, "Awake My Soul and With the Sun" and is available from the Michigan District of the LCMS at www.thehymnalproject.com. Used by permission. This episode of the Next Step Podcast was supported in part by the generosity of Next Step Patrons. Please consider becoming a Next Step Patron before the end 2023. To see different options for support, including monthly and annual options, visit https://www.patreon.com/findmynextstep, or email justin@findmynextstep.org to make a one-time gift. Thank you to all of our Patrons! Patrons make it possible. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/mynextstep/message
Information, Imitation, and Innovation
Dec 6 2023
Information, Imitation, and Innovation
The Wednesdays are for Walking With series explores the Disciple Like You Mean It online training from Next Step Press. In this special production of the Next Step Podcast, we will practice non-judgmental noticing with Jesus and help one another take a small next step, together. Episode 05 was first recorded on November 13, 2023. It features a conversation with three men who formed a Triad for the very first cohort of the Disciple Like You Mean It online training, and their pastor (who got them all into it in the first place). 0:00-10:08After a brief introduction and opening prayer, you'll hear from Daniel, David, Ryan and Pastor Nathan about how they got connected to the Disciple Like You Mean It course and their experience in a small group of three, or Triad. 10:09-17:04 Then we'll look at the role of Information, Imitation, and Innovation in the life of a disciple, with examples from their experience with the DLYMI training. 17:05-29:28One specific faith experiment in the course is sometimes called the Catcher's Mitt Calendar. Our guests will share how Innovation played a role in their engagement with that faith experiment. 29:29-endBefore we are done, we'll get final thoughts from the group before Pastor Nathan closes us with prayer. CHOOSE YOUR FAITH ADVENTURE If you choose to explore taking a Triad through the Disciple Like You Mean It course, visit this page.If you opt to experiment with the Prayer of Examen as it is found in Delight! Discipleship as the Adventure of Loving and Being Loved, click here. If you decide to go back to explore the Catcher's Mitt Calendar, turn to the bottom of this blog: My CEF Faith Calendar. The intro and outro music comes from Peter Prochnow's rendition of the hymn, "Awake My Soul and With the Sun" and is available from the Michigan District of the LCMS at www.thehymnalproject.com. Used by permission. This episode of the Next Step Podcast was supported in part by the generosity of Next Step Patrons. Please consider becoming a Next Step Patron before the end 2023. To see different options for support, including monthly and annual options, visit https://www.patreon.com/findmynextstep, or email justin@findmynextstep.org to make a one-time gift. Thank you to all of our Patrons! Patrons make it possible. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/mynextstep/message
Lowering the Bar for Your Next Step
Nov 29 2023
Lowering the Bar for Your Next Step
The Wednesdays are for Walking With series explores the Disciple Like You Mean It online training from Next Step Press. In this special production of the Next Step Podcast, we will practice non-judgmental noticing with Jesus and help one another take a small next step, together. Episode 04 was first recorded on November 6, 2023. It features a conversation with Kim Longden, Katie Helmreich, and Jamie Wiechman, three people who are walking through the Disciple Like You Mean It experience in a group of three (or Triad). 0:00-8:30After a brief opening prayer, you'll hear from Jamie, Kim, and Katie about their experience so far with the Disciple Like You Mean It online training. 8:30-15:04 Then we'll discuss a question Jamie submitted in the course: How exactly do you lower the bar on your next step? 15:05-23:52As part of that discussion, you'll hear the Triad talk about what happens when the people around you don't seem to be ready for the same next step as you are, and what it means to notice your acquaintances and even need help a little more intentionally. 23:53-33:31Kim also noticed something significant as part of her interaction with the course material. She said she's sometimes uncomfortable when people begin to share more deeply, because she often feels like she has to fix it. That insight gives us a chance to talk about the ministry of listening to others as an intentional act of service and discipleship. 33:32-endBefore we are done, we'll talk about showing you care even in the silence and looking for ways for lowing the bar and taking small next steps as you grow in your practice of listening. CHOOSE YOUR FAITH ADVENTURE If you choose to read more from today's guest, check out the following: I Can't Fix Everything by Kim LongdenDon't Wear the Gorilla Sweater by Katie HelmreichToday is Where the Gift Is by Jamie Wiechman If you want to read more, but you like the feel of a real book in your hands, turn to the volumes in our Tales from the Next Step Community series from Next Step Press: Jesus at the Center of My Messy Life (2020) Be Still and Notice (2021)Take My Moments and My Days (2022) If you decide to go back to the podcast Kim was listening to when she noticed she is sometime uncomfortable with silence, head over here: Listening on Behalf of Jesus. If you would like to check out the Disciple Like You Mean It course, visit this page. The intro and outro music comes from Peter Prochnow's rendition of the hymn, "Awake My Soul and With the Sun" and is available from the Michigan District of the LCMS at www.thehymnalproject.com. Used by permission. This episode of the Next Step Podcast was supported in part by the generosity of Next Step Patrons. Please consider becoming a Next Step Patron before the end 2023. To see different options for support, including monthly and annual options, visit https://www.patreon.com/findmynextstep, or email justin@findmynextstep.org to make a one-time gift. Thank you to all of our Patrons! Patrons make it possible. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/mynextstep/message
Listening on Behalf of Jesus
Nov 15 2023
Listening on Behalf of Jesus
Wednesdays are for Walking With, Episode 03 was first recorded on Wednesday, September 20, 2023. It features a conversation with life coach Rev. Dr. Jonathan Brandenburg from LINC SoCal and the coaching firm Bridge and Rhino. You'll also hear from Deanna Rossow, one of the participants in the first cohort of the Disciple Like You Mean It training and my mom (Hi, Mom!). 0:00-4:51 After a brief introduction, we'll hear a little bit more about Dr. Brandenburg and his background, including his time as a parish pastor and working with LINC SoCal. 4:42-11:27 Then Justin will ask Jonathan about "coaching" in a Christian context and we'll hear a little about coaching with Bridge and Rhino. 11:28-25:21 A pop quiz is next, as Justin walks Jonathan through a multiple choice poll from Lesson 1.5 The Parable of the Pottery Class from the online course Disciple Like You Mean It. The two Drs will talk through Jon's answers as well as answers from people in the course. 25:22-41:22Then the two friends apply insights from professional coaching to listening to others as a member of a Triad (micro-small group of 3 in the DLYMI course). The talk about listening with the ears of Jesus, non-judgmental noticing, and asking questions that help the other person process before allowing the Gospel to grow out of the conversation. 41:23-endBefore we are done, we'll open the conversation up to people currently taking the Disciple Like You Mean It course and talk about what was helpful in what they heard from Jon. Choose Your Faith Adventure If you decide to experience the kind of conversation involved in "life coaching" with a Gospel foundation, you can sign up for a complementary 30 min session with Jonathan by selecting a day and time here. If you choose to check out the Parable of the Pottery Class mentioned in this podcast, you can find it in Volume 1 of the My Next Step series (the one with the compass on the cover), or in this blog. If the repeated shout outs to Breathe Life Ministries caught your attention, head over to their homepage to discover more. If you would like to check out the Disciple Like You Mean It course, visit this page. Patrons Make it Possible The intro and outro music comes from Peter Prochnow's rendition of the hymn, "Come Holy Ghost, Creator Blest" and is available at www.thehymnalproject.com. Used by permission. This episode of the Next Step Podcast was supported in part by the generosity of Next Step Patrons. Please consider becoming a Next Step Patron before the end 2023. To see different options for support, including monthly and annual options, visit https://www.patreon.com/findmynextstep, or email justin@findmynextstep.org to make a one-time gift. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/mynextstep/message
Marinating in Scripture with Conrad Gempf
Nov 7 2023
Marinating in Scripture with Conrad Gempf
The Wednesdays are for Walking With series explores the Disciple Like You Mean It online training from Next Step Press. In this special production of the Next Step Podcast, we will practice non-judgmental noticing with Jesus and help one another take a small next step, together. Episode 02 was first recorded on Wednesday, August 16, 2023. It features a conversation with Conrad Gempf, recently retired from the London School of Theology. You'll also hear a comment from Pastor Nathan Wendorf, one of the participants in the first cohort of the Disciple Like You Mean It training. 0:00-6:59 After a brief introduction and opening prayer, you'll get a little more history on Professor Conrad Gempf, his background, training, and interest in Luke and Paul, as well as a little about his friendship with Justin Rossow and Next Step Press. 7:00-16:30 Then Conrad and Justin will discuss the mindset or attitudes you might take when you approach Scripture. Conrad shares his Batman vs Spiderman analogy (10:48) to describe different ways of setting the agenda for reading the Bible. And then suggests that steeping or marinating in Scripture (14:32) is a good way to think about what we are doing as we ask, "Jesus, where are you speaking into my life?" 16:31-23:31 Conrad also shares "The Gospel according to Superman" (this must be our comic book episode) and the two friends discuss a 911 approach to Scripture reading and prayer as opposed to a relational approach, where you might even ask questions of the text. 23:32-28:23Conrad shares his personal habit of Bible reading, following the M'Cheyne plan for reading four chapters a day and discussing weekly with a friend. And then, instead of suggesting everyone start by reading the whole Bible in a year, Conrad highlights three elements from his personal practice that he thinks can apply to anyone when it comes to engaging Scripture: immerse yourself in Scripture (marinate)allow Scripture to change you (be bit)engage Scripture with someone else 28:24-endBefore we are done, you'll hear Justin ask Conrad specifically about applying the Old Testament to your life without allegorizing it, and you'll hear from one of our DLYMI trailblazers, Nathan Wendorf (Senior Pastor at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Harlingen, Texas). You can get more help on meditating as marinating (or savoring) in section 5.2 "Lip-Smacking Good" in Volume 2 of the My Next Step series (the one with the carabiner on the cover) or read a version of the Batman/Spiderman analogy in section 6.2 "Up Close and Personal" in that same volume. If you would like to experiment with the M'Cheyne Reading Plan with Conrad, check out this web page. You can hear more from Conrad in the following episodes of the Next Step Podcast. Or listen to him read his book Jesus Asked by visiting http://gempf.com/wp/Jesus-Asked-the-podcast/. Next Step Podcast episodes with Conrad Gempf: https://community.findmynextstep.org/2022/12/11/jesus-son-of-solomon/https://community.findmynextstep.org/2021/05/15/pentecost-intimacy-with-god/https://community.findmynextstep.org/2020/12/26/joy-to-the-world/https://community.findmynextstep.org/2020/07/28/i-am-trusting-thee-lord-jesus/https://community.findmynextstep.org/2020/04/04/ride-on-in-majesty/ The intro and outro music comes from Peter Prochnow's rendition of the hymn, "Come Holy Ghost, Creator Blest" and is available at www.thehymnalproject.com. Used by permission. This episode of the Next Step Podcast was supported in part by the generosity of Next Step Patrons. Please consider becoming a Next Step Patron before the end 2023. To see different options for support, including monthly and annual options, visit https://www.patreon.com/findmynextstep, or email justin@findmynextstep.org to make a one-time gift. Thank you to all of our Patrons! Patrons make it possible. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/mynextstep/message
Welcome to Wednesdays are for Walking With!
Nov 1 2023
Welcome to Wednesdays are for Walking With!
Welcome to Wednesdays are for Walking With, the latest feature of the Next Step Podcast! The goal of this series is to explore the Disciple Like You Mean It online training from Next Step Press. We'll practice non-judgmental noticing with Jesus and help one another take a small next step. Episode 01 was first recorded on Wednesday, July 19, 2023. It features a conversation with Deanna Rossow, one of the participants in the first cohort of the Disciple Like You Mean It training. You'll hear about a recent milestone in Deanna's life, and then host Justin Rossow will help her wonder what next step the Spirit might be inviting her to take in response to that milestone. Along the way, you'll hear from another one of our DLYMI trailblazers, Lexie Brown (Director of Family Life Ministry at St. Paul, Ann Arbor) as we realize again the importance of holding a GPS attitude (Where am I right now? Where is Jesus leading?) instead of a GPA attitude (How well am I doing? How could I be doing better?) when it comes to faith and following. Read more about it in the blog Orientation vs Performance: GPS or GPA? As part of the conversation, Deanna mentions the My Next Step series of books from Next Step Press as well as Delight! Discipleship as the Adventure of Loving and Being Loved. The intro and outro music comes from Peter Prochnow's rendition of the hymn, "Come Holy Ghost, Creator Blest" and is available at www.thehymnalproject.com. Used by permission. This episode of the Next Step Podcast was supported in part by the generosity of Next Step Patrons. Please consider becoming a Next Step Patron before the end 2023. To see different options for support, including monthly and annual options, visit https://www.patreon.com/findmynextstep, or email justin@findmynextstep.org to make a one-time gift. Thank you to all of our Patrons! Patrons make it possible. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/mynextstep/message
My Song is Love Unknown
Apr 4 2022
My Song is Love Unknown
This extra, bonus chapter of the When from Death I'm Free hymn journal for Holy Week comes from author and illustrator Alli Bauck. After two Lenten seasons of following the hymn journal, Alli decided to create her own chapter from a favorite hymn and collaborated with Next Step Press founder Justin Rossow to produce a whole new chapter for the top new release in Christian Devotionals from 2020. You can download your complimentary copy of the My Song is Love Unknown bonus chapter, then follow along as Alli and Justin walk you through the theology and the thinking behind the Scripture readings, devotion, coloring page, and faith experiment. It's a great way to lean into your Holy Week experience! Download Here Alli shared how much she enjoys listening to different version of the song. Here are a couple of her favorites: Fernando Ortega version: https://youtu.be/fIbYENJVSic Dynamic choral version: https://youtu.be/iFmvFi0ocp8 We follow Jesus better when we follow Him together, so we invite you to join the Next Step Community by signing up at http://bit.ly/joinnsp. Sign Up Today You can find more from Alli Bauck on the Next Step Community blog or in the anthology Be Still and Notice: Tales from the Next Step Community, Year 2. Other hymn journal from Next Step Press include: Ponder Anew: A Hymn Journal of Trust and Confidence and Light in the Darkness: A Hymn Journal for Advent & Christmas. You can help Next Step Press possible by providing regular, monthly support for content like this podcast: become a patron today. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/mynextstep/message
Light in the Darkness
Jan 6 2022
Light in the Darkness
The resource Light in the Darkness: A Hymn Journal for Advent & Christmas explores twelve different Christmas carols and original songs composed, arranged, and recorded by singer/songwriter Brooke Orozco and musician Brendan Knorp. Brooke and Brendan join author Justin Rossow for the final episode of this season of the Next Step Podcast that has been focused on their music and the hymn journal. After a brief introduction and an opening prayer, you'll hear Brendan read Matthew 4 and Brooke read select verses of Psalm 119 (both on page 117 of the hymn journal). As part of the following discussion, Justin will read the devotion on the next page, titled, "He Comes to Light the Way." After we listen to Light in the Darkness, the title track for both the Christmas album and the hymn journal, we'll hear more about the composition of that song and gain some insight on the rest of that album from the recording artists themselves. As part of the discussion of the recording process, Brooke mentions one of her favorite songs on the album is an arrangement of German carol that wasn't included in this hymn journal: Waerst Du Kindchen. Brendan especially appreciates their setting of O Come, O Come Emmanuel, a song titled Emmanuel on their CD. Brendan talked about that song and its arrangement in the podcast recorded to go with Chapter 3 of the hymn journal: The Next Step Podcast, Season 3, Episode 3. The entire A Light in the Darkness Christmas album from Brooke and Brendan is available on your favorite streaming services as well as on YouTube. As part of the discussion, Brooke mentions the book Delight!: Discipleship as the Adventure of Loving and Being Loved, and Justin talks about how J.S. Bach would begin his compositions with the the Latin abbreviation J.J. (to find out more, read the article "Jesus, Judge Me!") At the close of this season of the Next Step Podcast, we want to thank all of our Next Step Patrons. Their regular support helps make this next step discipleship content possible. Thank you, Patrons! Whether you choose monthly support, an annual contribution, or a one-time gift, please consider becoming a Next Step Patron in 2022. To see different options for support visit https://www.patreon.com/findmynextstep, or email justin@findmynextstep.org to make a one-time gift. Patrons make it possible. The intro and outro music for Season 3: Light in the Darkness was arranged and performed by Brendan Knorp. The music included in the podcast was written and performed by Brooke and Brendan. All rights reserved. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/mynextstep/message
Infant Holy, Infant Lowly
Dec 23 2021
Infant Holy, Infant Lowly
Pat Maier, cofounder of Visual Faith™ Ministry, and Amy Meyer, cofounder of Neighboring Life, join Justin Rossow, founder of Next Step Press, to talk about Chapter 10: Infant Holy, Infant Lowly in the resource Light in the Darkness: A Hymn Journal for Advent & Christmas. John 1 is the traditional reading for Christmas Day, and after a brief intro and opening prayer, we'll hear about the Word becoming flesh as Pat reads from the English Standard Version. Then Amy will read the same verses from The Message paraphrase. You can find that reading on page 97 of the hymn journal. After discussing those verses, we'll hear from Pat Maier about her artwork on page 95 that keeps Jesus at the center of our Christmas celebrations, and about the mission of Visual Faith™ Ministry to provide resources that help you slow down and experience time in prayer and in Bible study more intentionally. Once we've looked briefly at the corner art on page 98, you'll hear Justin read the devotion on that same page. You can share that reflection with your friends by posting or emailing a link to the blog version of this chapter's devotion, "For His Bed a Cattle Stall." After we hear Brooke and Brendan sing their version of "Infant Holy, Infant Lowly," we'll turn to the Prayer Experiment on pages 100-101 and hear from Amy Meyer about the soon-to-be-launched online community called Neighboring Life. Founded by Amy and her husband, Jeff, Neighboring Life invites you and your household to imagine neighborhoods where every person belongs, where every person knows they matter and have a contribution to make, a story to share. We'll make sure to let the Next Step Community know when Neighboring Life goes live sometime in 2022. Before we are done, we'll get an update on the Pat's neighborhood sketch on page 101 and Amy's experiments to build community in her new apartment living. You can follow Pat's lead with this recipe for her Fresh Orange Muffins (links to other Visual Faith resources are included in the article). As you can probably tell just by reading their names, Amy Meyer and Pat Maier are not related, although we did discover that Pat lives on Meyer Avenue, a happy coincidence. The two will team up again next year, September 23-25, 2022, for one of Camp Arcadia's women's retreats. Make sure to check it out! This episode of the Next Step Podcast was supported in part by the generosity of Next Step Patrons. Please consider becoming a Next Step Patron before the end 2021. To see different options for support, including monthly and annual options, visit https://www.patreon.com/findmynextstep, or email justin@findmynextstep.org to make a one-time gift. The A Light in the Darkness CD from Brooke and Brendan is now available on your favorite streaming services as well as on YouTube. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/mynextstep/message
O Holy Night
Dec 18 2021
O Holy Night
Jamie Wiechman, cofounder of Breathe Life Ministries, joins host Justin Rossow on the Next Step Podcast to talk about Chapter 8: O Holy Night, in the resource Light in the Darkness: A Hymn Journal for Advent & Christmas. After a brief introduction and an opening prayer, you'll hear Jamie read Romans 5:1-11 on page 77 of the hymn journal. Then Jamie and Justin will discuss the text and what it means for living out our lives as followers of Jesus. That part of the discussion concludes with Justin reading the devotion, "A Thrill of Hope," from page 78. After we hear the Brooke and Brendan rendition of O Holy Night, Jamie tells us a little more about Breathe Life Ministries. Leading up to Easter last year, Breathe Life ran an experiment called "Making Room," a series of weekly emails that helped acknowledge and honor our losses. The goal was to prepare our hearts and lives for what Jesus has for us next. You can see one of the weekly installments of Making Room in a blog by Jamie Wiechman, called "Loss of the Familiar." At one point in the podcast, Justin failed to come up with a reference to something Luther once said. (To be fair, Luther said a whole bunch of stuff...) If this had been Jeopardy, the right answer would have been, "What is Luther's Heidelberg Disputation, Thesis 21?" Here, in part, is what Luther said: "A theology of glory calls evil good and good evil. A theology of the cross calls the thing what it actually is. This is clear: the person who does not know Christ does not know God hidden in suffering." Justin also retold the story from this chapter's devotion (with a little more context) as part of a brief Advent devotion for St. Paul, Ann Arbor. Check out that conversation here. The Bible Project also unpacks the biblical concept of hope, the major theme of this podcast, in this five-minute video. This podcast is designed especially to go with the Light in the Darkness Facebook learning community sponsored by Next Step Press. Join us at https://www.facebook.com/groups/AdventHymnJournal. This episode of the Next Step Podcast was supported in part by the generosity of Next Step Patrons.  Please consider becoming a Next Step Patron before the end 2021. To see different options for support, including monthly and annual options, visit https://www.patreon.com/findmynextstep, or email justin@findmynextstep.org to make a one-time gift. The A Light in the Darkness CD from Brooke and Brendan is now available on your favorite streaming services as well as on YouTube. The music included in the podcast was written and performed by Brooke and Brendan. All rights reserved. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/mynextstep/message
In the Bleak Midwinter
Dec 11 2021
In the Bleak Midwinter
In this episode of the Next Step Podcast, pastor, author, and podcast host Keith Haney joins Justin Rossow to talk about Chapter 6: In the Bleak Midwinter from the resource Light in the Darkness: A Hymn Journal for Advent & Christmas. After a brief introduction and an opening prayer, you'll hear Keith read from Micah 6 and Jeremiah 9 (on page 57 of the book). As part of the discussion of those verses, Justin will read the devotion "What Shall I Give Him?" on page 58, followed by the Brooke and Brenan rendition of this chapter's featured hymn. You can see Micah 6:8 (Act Justly, Love Mercy, Walk Humbly) on protest sign or social media pages, and the Faith Experiment on pages 60-61 gives Justin the chance to ask Keith about his work addressing race and racism. The two talk about Keith's Bible study, One Nation Under God, originally written after the racial unrest in Ferguson, MO in the wake of the shooting death of Michael Brown in 2014. Keith started the Becoming Bridge Builders podcast in August of 2020, which focuses on exploring effective solutions to complex issues. Keith said his favorite episode includes an interview with Kevin Hofmann; you can listen to that podcast here, or visit the Becoming Bridge Builders podcast home for their latest conversation around race and following Jesus. You might also appreciate my experience during a visit to St. Louis, MO: Hope for the Future and a Bright Red Nose. I wrote that blog less than a year after the rioting in Ferguson, MO; one month after the police chief's resignation sparked further protests (in which two police officers were shot); and three days before protestors again took to the streets of Ferguson following the April death of Freddie Gray due to spinal chord injuries sustained while in police custody, being transported in the back of a van in Baltimore, MD. More background on the Hebrew words in Micah 6:8 can be found with a printable version of the Prayer Experiment in this chapter in this post: Praying Micah 6:8. This podcast is designed especially to go with the Light in the Darkness Facebook learning community sponsored by Next Step Press. Join us at https://www.facebook.com/groups/AdventHymnJournal. This episode of the Next Step Podcast was supported in part by the generosity of Next Step Patrons.  Special thanks to Eden, a Next Step Patron who just converted her monthly pledge to an annual gift. Whether you choose monthly support, an annual contribution, or a one-time gift, please consider becoming a Next Step Patron before the end 2021. To see different options for support visit https://www.patreon.com/findmynextstep, or email justin@findmynextstep.org to make a one-time gift. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/mynextstep/message
Comfort, Comfort Ye My People
Dec 4 2021
Comfort, Comfort Ye My People
Dr. Reed Lessing, Professor of Theology & Ministry and Director of The Center for Biblical Studies on the campus of Concordia University in St. Paul, Minnesota joins the Next Step Podcast to talk about Chapter 4: Comfort, Comfort Ye My People of the book Light in the Darkness: A Hymn Journal for Advent & Christmas. Pastor, professor, and author, Reed has written scholarly commentaries on Jonah, Amos, Zechariah, and two-volume work on Isaiah, as well as various devotions and other resources. His latest book from Concordia Publishing House is a cross between a commentary and a personal devotion called Overcoming Life’s Sorrows: Studies in the Book of Jeremiah. After a brief introduction and an opening prayer, you'll hear Dr. Lessing read from Isaiah 40 (on page 37 of the hymn journal). The discussion that ensues will take us from Isaiah to Exodus, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and several Pauline epistles. (That's how conversations with Reed Lessing usually go ...) Before we are done, Justin will read the devotion "Make the Rougher Places Plain" on page 38 and we'll hear the Brooke and Brendan arrangement of this chapter's featured hymn. In closing, Reed and Justin will talk about possible Advent next steps in their own lives. Perhaps the Faith Experiment on pages 40-41 would be one way for you to take a next step as you prepare for Christmas. Reed mentions the hymn "Joy to the World" as part of the conversation. If you would like to hear more about that hymn, check out this episode of the Next Step Podcast: Joy to the World. Dr. Lessing also joined the Next Step Podcast for a discussion of hymn 3 in Ponder Anew: A Hymn Journal of Trust and Confidence. You can check out that episode here: Great Is Thy Faithfulness. This podcast is designed especially to go with the Light in the Darkness Facebook learning community sponsored by Next Step Press. Join us at https://www.facebook.com/groups/AdventHymnJournal. This episode of the Next Step Podcast was supported in part by the generosity of Next Step Patrons.  Please consider becoming a Next Step Patron before the end 2021. To see different options for support, including monthly and annual options, visit https://www.patreon.com/findmynextstep, or email justin@findmynextstep.org to make a one-time gift. Thank you to all of our Patrons! Patrons make it possible. The music included in the podcast was written and performed by Brooke and Brendan. All rights reserved. The A Light in the Darkness CD from Brooke and Brendan is now available on your favorite streaming services as well as on YouTube. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/mynextstep/message
Lift Up Your Heads, You Mighty Gates
Nov 27 2021
Lift Up Your Heads, You Mighty Gates
In this episode of the Next Step Podcast, professional coach, author, and CEO Jonathan Reitz joins Justin Rossow to talk about Chapter 2: Lift Up Your Heads, You Mighty Gates from the resource Light in the Darkness: A Hymn Journal for Advent & Christmas. After a brief introduction and an opening prayer, you'll hear Jonathan read from Psalm 24 (on page 15 of the book) and, as part of the ensuing discussion, Justin will read the devotion "Open Wide My Heart, Your Home" on page 16. After we listen to this chapter's featured hymn, Jonathan and Justin will discuss both the hymn and the Prayer Experiment on pages 18-19 with a focus on opening up places in your life to Jesus even when that seems challenging. Jonathan opens up with us about some of his own personal baggage around family, depression, and the holidays and also gives us some coaching questions to consider as we imagine inviting Jesus into the places we like to keep hidden from other people. For more on celebrating Christmas no matter what you are feeling this year, see the blog Have A Very … Christmas. The image that shapes the devotion in this chapter--of a back room hiding all of our clutter from a Christmas visitor--is a much-shortened version of the story that begins and ends this Advent sermon on the Key of David. (Audio only.) Jonathan mentioned the song "King of the Glory" by the band Third Day. Do you have any favorite songs from that time period? If you would like to find out more about coaching or about Jonathan, you can check out his book or visit the Fluxify web page. (When this podcast went live, Fluxify was still migrating from https://coachnet.org/. It's the same company undergoing rebranding.) Jonathan and Justin also talk about the first Advent of King Jesus in light of the Second Advent of the King. For more on that topic, check out the scholarly article "If Jesus 'Came Down from Heaven,' Where Does that Leave Me?" by Justin Rossow, beginning on page 388 of the Concordia Journal, Volume 32, No. 4. Or check out this fun, five-minute video. This podcast is designed especially to go with the Light in the Darkness Facebook learning community sponsored by Next Step Press. Join us at https://www.facebook.com/groups/AdventHymnJournal. This episode of the Next Step Podcast was supported in part by the generosity of Next Step Patrons. To see different options for support, including monthly and annual options, visit https://www.patreon.com/findmynextstep. Thank you to all of our Patrons! Patrons make it possible. The A Light in the Darkness CD from Brooke and Brendan is now available on your favorite streaming services as well as on YouTube. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/mynextstep/message
Intro to Light in the Darkness, Year Two
Nov 13 2021
Intro to Light in the Darkness, Year Two
This episode of the Next Step Podcast kicks off year two of the Light in the Darkness social learning group on Facebook. Join us at https://www.facebook.com/groups/AdventHymnJournal.  Host Justin Rossow talks to Valerie Matyas and Alli Bauck, both of whom are familiar with the practice of calendaring your faith. While they take a closer look at the 12 Days of Christmas calendar on page 123 of the resource Light in the Darkness: A Hymn Journal for Advent & Christmas, the conversation could also apply to the Advent calendar on page vii, or to any calendar you use to capture what Jesus has been speaking into your life. You can read more from Alli in Be Still and Notice: Tales from the Next Step Community, Year 2 or hear more from Valerie about the Advent calendar in last year's intro podcast, "Introducing Light in the Darkness." As part of the conversations, you will hear these friends mention The Movable Adventure, an online formation experience from Visual Faith™ Ministry; Justin, Alli, and Valerie all contributed to that online resource. You might hear Justin make a passing reference to everyday faith conversations with his daughter on the way to school or in a PT session; you can read more about those everyday discipleship experiences in these two blog posts: The Christ in the Mouth of My Brother or Sister and Small Conversations. You'll also hear Justin try to quote from Delight! Discipleship as the Adventure of Loving and Being Loved. The real quote comes from page 236 and goes like this: "I bet you already knew God’s Word takes work to understand. But I hope that you are beginning to imagine another truth: God’s Word also takes play to understand." This episode of the Next Step Podcast was supported in part by the generosity of Next Step Patrons. Special thanks to Janice, our newest Next Step Patron. To see different options for support, visit https://www.patreon.com/findmynextstep, or email justin@findmynextstep.org to make a one-time gift. Patrons make it possible. The intro and outro music for Season 3: Light in the Darkness was arranged and performed by Brendan Knorp. The music included in the podcast was written and performed by Brooke and Brendan. All rights reserved. The A Light in the Darkness CD from Brooke and Brendan is now available on your favorite streaming services as well as on YouTube. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/mynextstep/message
Social Media and a Sense of Play
Jul 16 2021
Social Media and a Sense of Play
In this special episode of the Next Step Podcast, Rev. Bryan Wolfmueller, Senior Pastor at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Austin, Texas talks to Rev. Justin Rossow, founder of Next Step Press, about COVID, social media, and running ministry experiments with a sense of play. I recently saw Pastor Wolfmueller at the Texas District Convention and asked him what he had learned during COVID. His response prompted a further conversation about thinking both creatively and theologically when we face with unique challenges or questions in ministry. A sense of experimentation and play allows you to try something new with curiosity and delight and avoid the burden of having to be successful. We'll look specifically at the way St. Paul, Austin answered social media questions about resourcing home worship and putting Bible class online for the whole world to see. You can see one example of a home worship resource video or check out their Worldwide Bible Class if you'd like to see those decisions in action. Your congregation may have come to different conclusions to similar questions, but the attitude and insight Pastor Wolfmueller brings to the table will help you think creatively and theologically about your next ministry challenge. This interview builds on the thinking behind the eBook Preaching Post-COVID: What We’ve Learned about Sermons, Sermon Series, and Your Preaching Ministry. Find out more or, to get your own Thank You copy of the eBook, sign up for the Next Step Discipling Leaders group. This recording (and the Thank You gifts) are made possible in part by the generous support of Next Step Patrons. If now is the right time for you to make a commitment to the mission of resourcing next step discipleship, please consider becoming a Next Step Patron today. To see different options for support, visit https://www.patreon.com/findmynextstep. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/mynextstep/message
Pentecost and Intimacy With God
May 15 2021
Pentecost and Intimacy With God
Conrad Gempf, author and Lecturer in New Testament at the London School of Theology, joins Justin Rossow for the final episode of this season dedicated to the resource Come, Holy Spirit daily discipleship travel log for Easter to Pentecost from Next Step Press. Following a brief introduction, Conrad and Justin talk about the book of Acts as they set up the reading for the Day of Pentecost. Then the two friends explore the coming of the Spirit in Acts 2, other mini-Pentecost events in the book of Acts, and what it all means for our daily faith and life. Conrad has been a friend of Next Step Press from the beginning. You can hear his interviews from other seasons of the Next Step Podcast below: Season 1, Episode 3: Ride On, Ride On in MajestySeason 2, Episode 8: I Am Trusting Thee, Lord JesusSeason 3, Episode 9: Joy to the World For more from Conrad, check out these books: Jesus Asked: What He Wanted to KnowHow to Like Paul Again: The Apostle Your Never KnewMealtime Habits of the Messiah: 40 Encounters with Jesus (Using the paid links above supports the mission of Next Step Press.) For more on the Day of Pentecost, see the article Pentecost, Like Jesus by Justin Rossow. This season of the Next Step Podcast is designed especially to go with the Come, Holy Spirit Facebook Social Learning Group sponsored by Next Step Press. Join us at https://www.facebook.com/groups/comeholyspirit.nsp. Sign up for the Next Step Community for the latest blogs, podcasts, and resources to help you delight in taking a next step following Jesus. This episode was supported in part by the generosity of Next Step Patrons, a fun and easy way to support the mission and ministry of Next Step Press. To see different options for support, visit https://www.patreon.com/findmynextstep, or email justin@findmynextstep.org to make a one-time gift. Like Theophilus, Patrons make it possible. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/mynextstep/message
Visual Faith™ and The Secret Code Prayer
May 11 2021
Visual Faith™ and The Secret Code Prayer
Connie Denninger, one of the cofounders of Visual Faith™ Ministry, joins author Justin Rossow for Episode 7, Season 5 of the Next Step Podcast to talk about the purpose and origin of Visual Faith™ and of The Secret Code Prayer, one of the prayer experiments featured in the Come, Holy Spirit daily discipleship travel log for Easter to Pentecost. After a brief introduction, you'll hear Connie's story of how her own personal prayer life was transformed through visual and kinesthetic engagement with God's Word, and how her study of education and spiritual formation led to where she is today. Connie shares with us some of the thinking behind experimenting with a variety of prayer practices to discover your own spiritual I.E.P., an Individual Education Plan that works for you as you seek to grow and engage God's Word. Along the way, Connie emphasizes the importance of community as we continue to pray, "Come, Holy Spirit" and discover what the Spirit is shaping in our lives. Connie mentions Sybil MacBeth's Praying in Color as one of the early tools that helped shape her prayer life (use this link to Sybil's book to support the Next Step Community), and Justin references the Hymn Journal Project, a joint effort between  Visual Faith™ Ministry artists and Next Step Press. You can find all three of the current hymn journals on the Next Step Press Resource Page. Connie also talks about the importance of running faith formation experiments in community; or, as Justin would say, "We follow Jesus better when we follow Him together." To that end, you can find support in your faith walk by joining with the Next Step Community or the Visual Faith™ community at one or more of the following: Visual Faith™ Ministry Facebook GroupVisual Faith™ on InstagramVisual Faith™ on Pinterest You can read more about the Secret Code Prayer or watch a video walk through of the Secret Code Prayer, or find other Next Step podcast episodes, video tutorials, and articles related to Visual Faith™ to help you run your own experiments in personal faith formation. This podcast is designed especially to go with the Come, Holy Spirit Facebook Social Learning Group sponsored by Next Step Press. Join us at https://www.facebook.com/groups/comeholyspirit.nsp. This episode of the Next Step Podcast was supported in part by the generosity of Next Step Patrons, a fun and easy way to support the mission and ministry of Next Step Press. To see different options for support, visit https://www.patreon.com/findmynextstep, or email justin@findmynextstep.org to make a one-time gift. Patrons make it possible. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/mynextstep/message