My Church Experience

Special guest, Rob Acker joins Jeff on the the podcast to talk about a life in ministry. From finding rhythms to leading well, and loving the Lord while loving people even when they're hard to love, Rob shares his experiences over a number of decades in the church.There's something to be said for faithfulness and for the depth of experience that one can bring to bear after serving faithfully in the church for as long as Rob has. But, how does vocational ministry shape personal faith and how do you keep negative experiences and hurt from shaping your view of God?

Julia Eigenbrood jumps in as the guest on this episode of the podcast to talk through finding a new faith community after a move. Coming from somewhere where she and her family were deeply rooted to trying to put down roots was a challenge. Even more challenging when the new community didn't and doesn't align fully with everything they'd hoped.At the end of the day, trying to do faith and life on your own is hard, maybe impossible, and there are no perfect churches. But how do you find somewhere that's a good fit, and how do make sure that any disappointments or hurts don't impact the way you view God?

One of Jeff's longest and best friends, Aaron Mora steps onto the podcast to talk through his faith growing up and his path into pastoral ministry. Pastoral ministry can be a great joy, but also a great challenge as we seek to love God well personally and publicly while also loving the Church and the church.Navigating through the challenges of faith can be hard enough, but doing so in leadership adds its own challenges. It's important that you maintain hope and joy in the midst of frustration and disappointment.

Lizzie VanDorin joins the podcast to talk about what growing up in the church and private, Christian school was like for her. Talking through the ups and downs of navigating personal faith while being so closely connected to organized religion with all of its pros and cons. More than that, how do you navigate belonging to a place where you feel like the people you love might not be welcome? And, as a parent, how do your children and their needs factor into the ways you engage with faith?

Special guest, Reese Wickes, joins the podcast and walks through his faith and experience. Growing up in the church and being very involved then feeling like he was in a place of closet agnosticism before finally coming back. Community has been a huge part of it for him, and still is. But, how do you reconcile when that community frustrates you and lets you down? We all know people are messy and there are challenges in the church and in the Church. But when community is a big draw that helps us grow and stay in engaged in our faith, it can be hard when that mess comes to the surface.

Special guest Rachel Judge joins the podcast and talks through her experience growing up in the church and then finally navigating through making faith her own. From feeling faith was obligatory to now feeling like it's one of the most important parts of her life, Rachel's thoughts and feelings on faith have changed over her life.Sometimes faith can be hard, especially if we grow feeling pressured to perform or look a certain way. As we explore faith first through that lens and then outside of it there can be a number of challenges. Our experiences with churches can reinforce our own misunderstandings about faith or challenge us to define it well.

Juliana Nelson joins the podcast to talk about her experience coming to faith and then considering a career in ministry. From an amazing encounter with Christ, to some frustration, and even some hurt, Juls talks through her faith story and where she's at now.Church can be hard, especially the path to vocational ministry. From experiencing deep joy and excitement on one side to unmet expectations and hurt on the other, the intersection of faith and life can be a challenge.

Special guest Joshua Vicenti joins the podcast to talk through his experience coming to Christ and the Church later in life. From experiencing the life change of the Gospel to growing in a church and experiencing some frustration he walks through his experiences and the ways he seeks to follow after the Lord.The path to Christ, the Church, and finding a church isn't a cookie cutter, one size fits all journey. Joshua's insight and experience stresses that there's no wrong time to turn to the Lord and that sometimes exploring and living in the tension between our expectations and experiences can be challenging but ultimately health.

This week Eddie and Sara Gurrola step in as the special guests on the podcast to talk through their individual experiences and stories as well as what it looked like to find a church and a care system together as a married couple.Let's be honest, processing through your individual church experience and story can be challenging. But when you're married bringing together two different experiences and preferences can be a challenge. But, when it's done well, both people benefit and you can find some real, true community and a support system together.

Jeff's brother, Dan Huisjen joins the podcast to talk through his experience and how it impacted his life. Sharing an experience that was very similar to Jeff's and yet landing in a very different place stresses the reality that everyone experiences and processes things differently. Growing up life and faith were very closely knit for Dan, but now what does life after removing faith look like and how did he get here?

Dave Fleis joins the podcast as a guest to talk about his experiences with faith and the church.From growing up and processing the loss of a parent, it's clear the church's response to him and his mother was lacking. Now, as a parent himself, how has Dave tackled being engaged in faith and the church for his growing family?

Special guest Taylor Idema joins the podcast one more time, this time stepping in as the pseudo host as regular host Jeff Huisjen shares some of his own experiences.Growing up in the church, walking away from faith, and now working in vocational ministry, Jeff unpacks some of the joys of ministry as well as some of the frustrations and hardships that come with trying to love the church from within.

Special guest Taylor Idema comes back onto the podcast to talk through her life, faith, and experiences with the church. From growing up in the church, to volunteering, to coming on staff as an intern, Taylor has seen the church from many different angles and brings an interesting perspective as she asks the question "What does it look like to love the church even when it lets us down?"

What does it look like to create a safe space to have conversations about life, faith, and church? Join host Jeff Huisjen and guest, Taylor Idema (host of The Glory to Glory Podcast), as they discuss why a podcast is a great vehicle for these conversations and what My Church Experience hopes to accomplish and to cover.