Jamie Wiechman, cofounder of Breathe Life Ministries, joins host Justin Rossow on the Next Step Podcast to talk about section 2.3: "Jesus, I'm Tired" in  the resource My Next Step: A How-To Companion for People Who Want to Follow Jesus (But Sometimes Get Stuck) Volume 1: Getting Started. Book link: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09XZ8HYN2 After a brief introduction and Justin and Jamie begin their conversation on noticing yourself with Jesus by looking at Jamie's blog "The Lord is Not Slow. Say What?" Blog link: https://community.findmynextstep.org/2022/10/03/the-lord-is-not-slow-say-what/ Jamie then shares a little more about how Breathe Life Ministries comes along side people to help them slow down and notice what they are experiencing without self-condemnation. Creating that space is one way to invite Jesus into whatever you are going through right now. You can view the Zoom meeting of this episode here: https://youtu.be/88-_bWTV1uE 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 2022. 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

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

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

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

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 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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Steve and Jamie Wiechman, cofounders of Breathe Life Ministries, join author Justin Rossow for Episode 6, Season 5 of the Next Step Podcast to talk about the rhythm of rest, healing, and play in the lives of those who follow Jesus. After a brief introduction, you will hear Steve and Jamie read the Scripture verses for Day 30 and Justin read the devotion in the Come, Holy Spirit daily discipleship travel log for Easter to Pentecost. Then the three friends will discuss what rhythm looks like and how we can receive rest, healing, and play not as another set of aspirational goals or burdens, but as an invitation to notice what Jesus is doing in your life. Along the way, Steve and Jamie talk about noticing yourself with God, and how their adventure with Breathe Life has led them to rethink their own habits and rhythms of grace. Justin also shares the Meditation Quotation from Day 31, a quote from Andrew Peterson's book, Adorning the Dark: “All you really have is your willingness to fail, coupled with the mountain of evidence that the Maker has never left nor forsaken you.... I’m pleasantly expendable, delightfully unnecessary. We’re not invited into this because God needs us, but because he wants us.” (Use this link to the book to support Next Step Press.) Steve and Jamie have both written articles for The Next Step Community blog and were two of the authors featured in Jesus at the Center of My Messy Life: Tales from The Next Step Community, Year One. Other content from the blog related to this week's travel log include: Day 32: It's OK to Be OverwhelmedDay 33: God Delights in PlayDay 34: The Secret Code PrayerDay 35: I Got Rhythm! 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. 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 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

Carl Medearis, author and international expert in the field of Arab-American and Muslim-Christian relations, joins Justin Rossow to talk about the risks and adventure of extending and receiving hospitality in this episode of the Next Step Podcast. This whole season is dedicated to the resource Come, Holy Spirit daily discipleship travel log for Easter to Pentecost from Next Step Press. Following a brief introduction, Carl and Justin will talk about experiencing hospitality in the Middle East and in America, and about how Jesus both expressed and went beyond first-century, Middle Eastern hospitality. In the course of the conversation, Carl brings up Conrad Gempf's book Mealtime Habits of the Messiah. Carl's encouragement is that you take a small risk and extend or accept an invitation for getting together for food and conversation; Jesus doesn't need us to be in charge of extending his Kingdom, but we also are invited to experience that Kingdom at work through us. Carl has published several influential books you might find helpful in training your thinking for taking a small next step in the area of hospitality, including Adventures in Saying Yes: A Journey from Fear to Faith; 42 Seconds: The Jesus Model for Everyday Interactions; and my personal favorite,Speaking of Jesus: The Art of Not-Evangelism. (Using the paid links above supports the mission of Next Step Press). Next Step Press author and founder Justin Rossow prepared sermon and Bible study notes for Carl's 42 Seconds book. These resources are available for free download through the Next Step Press Patreon page. For an in-depth study of the conceptual metaphors in Speaking of Jesus, see the three-blog series that begins with "Outreach and Warfare," or for a perspective from the pulpit, see "How Speaking of Jesus Changed My Preaching." If you enjoyed Car's story about accepting hospitality from a Hezbollah leader, you will probably want to check out this video from a Michigan District pastors conference. Hospitality hinges on the boundary of IN vs OUT, so this video from Justin Rossow on "Jesus at the Leading Edge" from the same Michigan District pastors conference also fits our theme well.  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. Patrons make it possible. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/mynextstep/message

Professor Lois Malcolm joins Justin Rossow for Episode 4, Season 5 of the Next Step Podcast to talk about paradox and life in the Spirit. The Meditation Quotation on page 76 of the Come, Holy Spirit daily discipleship travel log for Easter to Pentecost comes from Dr. Malcolm's book, Holy Spirit: Creative Power in Our Lives. (Use this link to help support the mission of Next Step Press.) After a brief introduction, you will hear Justin and Lois discuss both of the paradoxes in that quote and explore ways in which the presence of the Spirit frees us and empowers us to make a unique contribution for the common good while learning to appreciate the unique story of others more and more. That one quote from Dr. Malcolm's book leads to several other quotes that deepen and broaden the conversation. Before the episode ends, you will hear Lois read the Philippians verse for Day 21 and Justin read the Spilled Wine devotion and pray the prayer for that day. 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. 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 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

Pastor Walt Waiser joins Justin Rossow for Episode 3, Season 5 of the Next Step Podcast to talk about his experience seeking meaningful time with Jesus that eventually led him to spend time in the desert wilderness of Big Bend National Park in southern Texas. That adventure fits well with Day 9 of the Come, Holy Spirit daily discipleship travel log for Easter to Pentecost from Next Step Press. After a brief introduction, you will hear Justin read the devotion for Day 9 and then ask Walt about his time in Big Bend, why he went and what he was hoping to accomplish. In the course of that conversation, Walt mentions several resources he regularly uses in his own faith journey. Use the paid links below to help support the Next Step Community. Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Meditating on the Word. https://amzn.to/3uOC8STJohn Baille, A Diary of Private Prayer.  https://amzn.to/3smdl6MRobert Mulholland, Invitation to a Journey.  https://amzn.to/32jvXK9 To see pictures of Big Bend National Park, visit this episode on the Next Step Community blog at https://community.findmynextstep.org/desert-wilderness/.  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. 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 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

Deaconess, licensed counselor, and author Heidi Goehmann joins Justin Rossow for Episode 2, Season 5 of the Next Step Podcast. Today we focus on Day 3 of the Come, Holy Spirit daily discipleship travel log for Easter to Pentecost from Next Step Press. By way of introduction, Justin asks for an update on Heidi's recent Next Step blog post, Our Family COVID-versary Meal. Then you'll hear Justin pray the prayer for Day 3 and Heidi read the Romans verses on page 20 before the two authors discuss the pendulum of perfectionism and fatalism on the basis of the Personal Reflection on page 21. Before reading her Meditation Quotation, Heidi tells us more about her new book, Finding Hope: From Brokenness to Restoration. Justin then reads the Imagination Experiment on page 22 as they close with a conversation of the individual and community aspects of baptism. As the podcast comes to a close, The Emotional Devotion: Following Jesus in Every Emotion comes up. You can read Heidi's endorsement of that resource, written and illustrated by teenage girls, for teenage girls, on The Emotional Devotional home page. You can read the devotion from Day 3 here: DOWN to Death and UP to Life. 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. 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 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

Dr. Leo Sánchez, who has written extensively on the person and work of the Holy Spirit, joins Justin Rossow in this opening episode of Season 5 of the Next Step Podcast. The entire season will focus on the resource Come, Holy Spirit: A daily discipleship travel log for Easter to Pentecost from Next Step Press. After a brief introduction and an opening prayer, you'll hear Leo read from his foreword to the Come, Holy Spirit volume and the two authors will discuss why we don't pray to the Holy Spirit as often as we might. After a discussion of the book Sculptor Spirit: Models of Sanctification from Spirit Christology, you will also hear Justin read part of his introduction, which is set on that first Easter evening. 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.  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 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

Matthew Scholar Dr. Jeffrey Gibbs joins Justin Rossow in this episode of the Next Step Podcast to talk all things Epiphany while walking through Chapter 11: What Child Is This? from the resource Light in the Darkness: A Hymn Journal for Advent & Christmas. After a brief introduction and an opening prayer, you'll hear Jeff translate the Matthew passage on page 107 from his Greek New Testament, and then proceed to talk through some of the meaning of that text. As part of the discussion, Justin will read the devotion on page 108, titled "So Bring Him Incense, Gold, and Myrrh." After we listen to the Brooke and Brenan arrangement of this chapter's featured hymn, Jeff and Justin will discuss more in depth the three gifts, the magi, their guiding star, and what it means for us that God would lead people like that to Jesus. You might hear a passing reference to a blog from last Epiphany: A Change of Epiphany Bumper Stickers. 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. We welcome three new patrons to our Next Step family: Kay, Sam, and Brooke. Please consider becoming a Next Step Patron for 2021. 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

In this episode of the Next Step Podcast, Conrad Gempf joins Justin Rossow to talk about Chapter 9: Joy to the World from the resource Light in the Darkness: A Hymn Journal for Advent & Christmas. After a brief introduction and an opening prayer, you'll hear Conrad and Justin read the selected Scripture 87. As part of the ensuing discussion, Justin will read the devotion "Nor Thorns Infest the Ground" on page 88. After we listen to the Brooke and Brenan arrangement of this chapter's featured hymn, Conrad and Justin will discuss the hymn text and the theology of Jesus' first Advent in light of His second Advent. Two recent blogs from The Next Step Community continue the theme of today's discussion: When Joy to the World Comes True, and Far as the Curse is Found. If you enjoyed hearing Conrad today, you might want to check out the free audio recording of his book Jesus Asked: What He Wanted to Know at http://gempf.com/wp/jesus-asked-the-podcast/. Conrad has also appeared in podcast episodes for the last two hymn journals from Next Step Press:  Ride On, Ride On in Majesty and I Am Trusting Thee, Lord Jesus. 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 for 2021. To see different options for support, 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 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