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Mitchell Dean is the Fellowship of Christian Athletes director for East Alabama and pastor of Resurrect Church in Opelika. He is also the author of Broken Cisterns: From the Crack House to the Church House, the Same Thirst, the Same Savior. Mitchell tells the story of a pastor in Columbus who saw a liquor bottle on a front porch and knocked on the door anyway. That one act of faithfulness started a ripple that reached his great-grandparents, his grandparents, his parents, and eventually Mitchell himself. He describes growing up in church while missing the person of Christ, how a shoulder injury in college broke him, and why he turned down a coaching job to join FCA with no salary. We also talk about personal evangelism in everyday places, a neighbor his children led to Christ, planting a house church, his father-in-law's redemption from addiction, praying for your children, refusing to give up on lost family members, and what a failed Ironman taught him about being loved apart from performance. Greg joins Ben and Blayne as guest co-host for this episode. Broken Cisterns (paperback): https://www.amazon.com/Broken-Cisterns-Church-Thirst-Savior/dp/B0FVG9FRL5 Broken Cisterns (Kindle): https://www.amazon.com/BROKEN-CISTERNS-CHURCH-THIRST-SAVIOR-ebook/dp/B0FW3Y211J East Alabama FCA: https://www.eastalabamafca.org Follow Entrusted on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/entrustedpodcast Timestamps 00:00:00 Intro and Guest Co-Host Greg 00:05:58 First Birth/Second Birth 00:08:02 A Liquor Bottle, a Knock on the Door, and Four Generations 00:11:04 The Shoulder Injury That Broke Him 00:16:37 Morality vs. the Person of Christ 00:22:24 Called to Ministry: Choosing FCA Over Coaching 00:31:09 Faithful in the Little 00:36:36 Everyday Evangelism and Walking at the Pace of Grace 00:48:04 Mr. Phillip: The Neighbor His Kids Led to Christ 00:53:28 Planting Resurrect Church and His Father-in-Law's Redemption 01:05:44 Ministry as a Family and Praying for Your Children 01:15:25 Don't Give Up on Lost Family Members 01:19:55 The Ironman and Being Loved Apart From Performance 01:25:44 Broken Cisterns and Godly Ambition 01:38:20 Entrusted With the Gospel

Kevin Webb has served as college pastor at Lakeview Baptist Church in Auburn since 2017. In this episode, Ben and Blayne sit down with Kevin to trace God's providence through his life. He grew up in the mill town of Piedmont, Alabama, came to faith at Vacation Bible School at age 7, and was discipled one-on-one at the Auburn BCM before his freshman year even started. Kevin shares how expositional preaching at Lakeview and hearing Louie Giglio and John Piper at Passion 99 gave him a big view of a sovereign God. He also tells how he met his wife Laura at a Christian bookstore and what it cost his family to work three jobs while pursuing a PhD in systematic theology at Southern Seminary. He talks honestly about walking away from that PhD, seven humbling years pastoring East Tallassee Baptist Church, and the unexpected phone call that brought him back to Lakeview. In the second half, Kevin walks through covenant theology from Adam to Christ. He explains the covenants of Scripture, federal headship, typology, and why his understanding of how the covenants fit together leads him to baptize believers only. He lays out where Baptist and Presbyterian covenant theology agree and where they differ, and why it matters: God is a covenant-making and covenant-keeping God, and every promise He makes is yes and amen in Christ. Kevin's encouragement to college students: plant your life in a local church, among people who are not just your age. Timestamps 00:00:00 Welcome Kevin Webb 00:04:53 Growing Up in Piedmont, Alabama and Coming to Faith 00:15:20 Discipled at the BCM Before Freshman Year 00:19:37 The Bookstore Girl and a Move to Lakeview 00:23:07 Expositional Preaching, Passion 99, and a Big View of God 00:29:18 The Call to Ministry and Seminary 00:34:27 Three Jobs, a PhD, and Walking Away 00:43:55Pastoring East Tallassee Baptist Church 00:49:50 The Call Back to Lakeview College Ministry 00:56:46 Plant Your Life in a Local Church 01:01:50 Covenant Theology: Why I'm a Baptist 01:22:35 Baptist vs. Presbyterian Views of the Covenants 01:33:18 Why Covenant Theology Matters 01:47:59 What God Has Entrusted to Kevin

Josh Chance didn't set out to be a missionary. He started in chemical engineering, switched to exercise science, audited financial statements for Alabama loggers, sold investments for American Express in Nashville, got a master's in education, taught seventh-grade science for six years, and built houses through the 2008 crash. Then a stranger called from Seattle asking if he'd build a Bible translation facility in South Sudan. Blayne sits down with Josh — a decade of service in Tanzania and Rwanda behind him, now back in Auburn with SIL — for a conversation that starts with a Vacation Bible School conversion and ends with the question of what's actually worth investing a life in. Along the way: why assurance of salvation can't be found by looking inward, whether a kid raised in church really "chose" anything, what it means to be a missionary in a law office or a financial advisory firm, and what happens when you're the only white family in central Tanzania the week COVID shuts down the world. There are roughly 7,400 languages spoken on earth. About 800 have a complete Bible. Around 500 still have nothing at all — no alphabet, no written word, nothing. Josh explains what it actually takes to change that, one village and one verse at a time, and why the smallest people group on the list is worth the work. https://global.sil.org/ https://tyndalebibletranslators.org/missionaries/josh-sue-chance/ 00:00:00 Cold open — Blayne and Josh Chance 00:02:21 Auburn, 1974 — saved at a Vacation Bible School 00:09:15 Did I only believe it because my parents did? 00:13:04 The assurance of my faith isn't in my faith 00:15:06 Chemistry, auditing, advising, teaching — and what "enough" means 00:21:10 Is your career a mission field? 00:33:55 The call: Bible translation in South Sudan 00:43:47 Ten years in Tanzania — what SIL actually does 00:50:17 COVID closes the country 01:00:01 How a Bible gets written from scratch 01:12:07 Two eternal things — the best investment he knows 01:18:30 How to pray, give, and get involved

Pastor Al Jackson led Lake View Baptist Church in Auburn for 42 years, but his path there ran through a political science degree, a season chasing a US Senate seat, and a redirect from Washington DC to a dining hall in New Mexico. In this conversation he traces his first birth in Florala, Alabama, his second birth at age ten, and the night years later when he was filled with the Spirit and God began rewriting his ambitions. He talks candidly about the brutal first 28 months of his pastorate, the temptation to build a bigger platform instead of staying put, and why he has no fear of what comes after this life. Timestamps 00:00:00 Cold open and introducing Pastor Al Jackson 00:04:29 First birth: a "tithing baby" raised in Florala, Alabama 00:10:11 Second birth: saved at age ten during a revival 00:13:06 Two teenage passions: football and Republican politics 00:19:19 Arriving at Auburn with a plan to become a senator 00:22:57 Filled with the Spirit and learning to witness 00:29:47 Turning down a Congressional job for Glorieta, New Mexico 00:34:09 The call to preach takes root 00:42:41 Meeting and marrying Kim 01:08:01 Hearing God say "You're going to Auburn" 01:15:20 The brutal first 28 months as Lake View's pastor 01:32:54 Faithfulness over platform: what he was entrusted with

Anthony Lerew spent parts of a decade pitching professionally for the Atlanta Braves, the Kansas City Royals, and clubs in Japan, South Korea, and Venezuela, including a no-hitter that to this day remains the last one thrown in Venezuelan winter ball. He had the cars, the money, and the career most kids dream about. He was also empty. In this episode Anthony walks through growing up in a strict Pennsylvania home, a decade of heavy drinking that nearly cost him his leg after a motorcycle accident, and the moment lying in a hospital bed that changed the direction of his life for good. From the mound to the Mission. Timestamps 00:00:00 Cold open 00:01:11 Meet Anthony Lerew: from the mound to the mission 00:06:39 Growing up in Pennsylvania and tough love 00:11:13 Drafted by the Braves on graduation day 00:15:54 Life in pro ball and the slide into drinking 00:30:42 The no-hitter in Venezuela 00:41:50 Everything the world offers, still empty 00:46:03 The accident that nearly cost him his leg 00:57:10 The sermon that changed everything 01:02:12 Fourteen surgeries and a miraculous healing 01:19:02 A new calling: Standing on the Rock 01:39:36 What Anthony is entrusted with today

Alex McPherson was the number one kicker in the country. Seven SEC offers, his dream school, a perfect 13-for-13 season, and a brother already kicking in the NFL. He thought he knew what God meant when he heard "I need you in Auburn." Then he got sick. Ulcerative colitis took him from 165 pounds to 117. He couldn't sit through a church service. He couldn't keep water down. Two medications failed, and at 21 he made the decision to have his colon removed. This is the whole story — the play where he got saved, the night at camp when he chose Auburn, the years he lost, the surgery, the Missouri game, and what he learned about where his identity actually lives. Timestamps: 00:00:00 Cold open and welcome 00:01:53 Fort Payne: three brothers, church, and football 00:05:36 Saved at a church play 00:15:51 Seven SEC offers and "I need you in Auburn" 00:32:41 Auburn: the Iron Bowl and a perfect season 00:41:00 The first flare-up and a diagnosis 00:53:05 "I'd rather live without my colon" 01:04:20 Giving it to the Lord — and the comeback 01:09:07 Missouri, Portnoy, and six for six at Arkansas 01:21:19 Identity, suffering, and what he's been entrusted with

Derek has built his life around a simple pattern: pray specifically, then be willing to go where the answer points. It took him from a turf management degree at Georgia to a Chick-fil-A counter across the street from his high school, to a brand new restaurant in Newport Beach, to a fifth wheel travel trailer with three kids, and eventually to Auburn. Along the way there was a coworker named Don who asked the only question that mattered, a private jet ride with Dan Cathy the weekend he proposed, and a growing conviction that the businesses he owns are not his. This is a conversation about answered prayer, the difference between wanting control and wanting to be faithful, and what it looks like to run a company that is not explicitly Christian on principles that unmistakably are. 00:00:00 Intro 00:04:15 First Birth 00:07:00 Second Birth 00:20:06 "Is It Real?" 00:24:14 Ashley: Same Birthday, Different Timelines 00:28:42 Is Wanting Control Sinful? 00:33:18 Three Prayer Requests and a Chick-fil-A Interview 00:52:47 A Private Jet with Dan Cathy 01:01:29 Launching 101 Mobility with His Brother 01:08:03 A Fifth Wheel, Four Kids, and the Move to Auburn 01:20:27 Christian Principles in a Business That Isn't Christian 01:33:32 What He's Been Entrusted With

Josh Yates prayed before every at-bat for God to make him famous. It worked, in a way — he became a D1 All-American catcher and got drafted by the Cleveland Indians in 2006. But by then his life had already come apart at the seams: three schools in three semesters, a scholarship pulled, and a baby on the way at 19 with a girlfriend he barely knew. In this episode, Josh — now the founding pastor of Vineyard Church in Auburn, AL — tells the whole story: the chaplain who wouldn't stop showing up, the chapel talk that changed his mind about signing with the Indians, the appendicitis that hit on his 22nd birthday mid-slump, and the eight months between "I don't think I was a Christian" and "I'm almost certain I was." We also get into why guilt wasn't what made the gospel attractive to him, why so many of us only know a truncated version of it, and what three years of planting a church has actually looked like — the glory and the chaos of it both. Josh and his wife Jennifer have six kids and have been married since 2005. Vineyard Auburn launched in 2023. — Follow Entrusted: Apple • Spotify • YouTube • Instagram • X Timestamps 00:00:00 Intro 00:00:50 First Birth 00:29:02 Why Jesus became attractive: identity before guilt 00:42:41 The gospel has tenses: saved, being saved, will be saved 00:53:28 A freak dugout injury and becoming a DH 00:55:33 The chapel talk where the scales came off 01:05:16 Joseph, hindsight, and why we can't plan the picture forward 01:07:23 Not drafted his senior year: "one of God's biggest kindnesses" 01:11:22 Matthew 9, the plentiful harvest, and campus outreach 01:20:22 The call to plant Vineyard Auburn 01:25:40 A plentiful harvest in one of the most churched towns in America 01:26:20 Footprint: where you live, learn, work, and play 01:45:46 What has the Lord entrusted to you? 1:50:02 Outro

Lutheran, Presbyterian, Anglican, Episcopalian, Baptist, Methodist, Pentecostal, non-denominational. A pastor walks through what actually separates every major Christian denomination, and what unites them. Why are there so many different churches? Most people pick one based on the music, the preaching style, or where their family already goes. This conversation offers a different framework. Aaron, a seminary-trained pastor, maps the entire landscape from the top down: the historic creeds that define Christian faith, the Great Schism of 1054 that split East from West, the Protestant Reformation of the 16th century, and then every major Protestant branch one at a time. For each denomination he covers three things. How the church is structured and who holds authority. What they believe about baptism and the Lord's Supper. And what you would actually experience walking into a service on Sunday. Along the way, the harder questions get asked directly. Can someone be saved inside a tradition that gets the gospel wrong? Why do Lutherans believe Christ is physically present in the bread and wine when Presbyterians do not? What did the thief on the cross actually understand about the Trinity? And where exactly is the risen Christ right now? The episode closes with news from Auburn. Lakeview Baptist Church has voted to plant a new church in the northwest part of town, and Aaron has been sent as the lead planter. North Plains Baptist Church is coming. Whether you are trying to figure out where you land, explaining your faith to someone who thinks denominations prove Christianity is broken, or just want to understand what you have been part of your whole life, this is the map. 00:00:00 Intro 00:01:00 What this episode is 00:03:50 Big Picture Overview of Beliefs 00:07:18 Catholic vs. Protestant 00:19:31 Denominational Differences 00:21:43 Lutherans 00:30:09 Presbyterians/Reformers 00:38:33 Anglican/Episcopalian 00:44:45 Baptists 00:49:55 Methodists 00:54:00 Pentecostal/Assembly of God 00:54:30 Non-denominational 00:58:00 Why Aaron is a Baptist 01:13:00 Encouragement to listeners to think through their beliefs 01:17:00 Aaron’s call to plant a new Church in Auburn

Greg Key spent over two decades in vocational ministry before circling back to the craft he first loved as a teenager: graphic design. In this episode, Greg walks through his first birth in Birmingham, a swimming career that nearly pulled him away from Auburn, and the second birth that came through a Proverbs 19 conviction at a campus Freedom Rally. He shares what it took to build Lakeview's media ministry from nothing, the toll a pandemic took on a local church staff, and the words his dying father spoke that pointed him toward the work he does today. Books mentioned: Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life by Donald Whitney What Every Christian Should Know by Adrian Rogers The Masculine Mandate by Richard Phillips Follow us: Instagram: @entrustedpodcast 00:00:00 Intro 00:04:48 First Birth 00:35:00 Second Birth 00:39:14 Proverbs 19 and Surrender 00:44:44 Getting Planted at Lakeview 01:16:02 Leaving Graphic Design for Ministry 01:33:16 COVID and the Media Ministry Years 01:47:56 A Father's Last Words and a New Season 01:56:14 Closing

Dr. Larry Wit has taught physiology at Auburn University for over 50 years — and along the way, discipled generations of college students in his home, walked through the death of his wife Nancy after 47 years of marriage, and kept showing up to serve. In this episode, he shares his testimony, how a chance encounter on an airplane and a series of "coincidences" led him to Auburn in 1976, what it means to grieve well without making an idol of what you've lost, and why he's still teaching at 82. We talk about: Growing up in A.W. Tozer's church and the meaning of "second birth" Meeting his wife Nancy and courting via cassette tape during Vietnam God's providence in landing the job at Auburn Sharing the gospel as a professor within the bounds of academic discipline Discipling college students by simply opening his home Losing Nancy to cancer and learning that "grief and peace can coexist" Facing his own health scare and what it means to set your mind on eternity Why retirement isn't the biblical model — and what stewardship looks like in your 80s Books mentioned: The Knowledge of the Holy, The Pursuit of God, and God's Pursuit of Man by A.W. Tozer (3-in-1 volume) Entrusted is a podcast about what you've been given — career, family, calling — and how to steward it well. Hosted by Ben Presley, Brock Murphy, and Blayne Barber. Follow us: Apple | Spotify | YouTube | Instagram | Twitter 00:00:00 Intro 00:02:00 First Birth / Second Birth 00:18:20 Meeting Nancy 00:25:00 Fascinating story of communication with Nancy 00:40:00 Coming to Auburn 01:06:00 God’s faithfulness to Larry as a widower 01:22:00 Stewarding Retirement to His Glory 01:25:00 New perspective after serious illness/Eternal Mindset 01:29:00 Closing

We talk through Zac's move and what it means for the show's editing and production, Brock's move to Birmingham, Ben's first eight weeks as a new dad (and Blayne's very different experience with newborn number one), a shoutout to a fundraiser for a friend's family battling childhood cancer, and where the podcast stands heading into its next season — momentum, growing pains,etc. Then we dig into a meatier one: The Village Church going remote for three weeks during a building renovation sparks a real-time, in-the-text debate on corporate worship, church size, screens vs. gathering in person, and where this issue actually falls on the primary/secondary/tertiary spectrum of Christian conviction. We land on a broader point — the value of holding tension in faith rather than forcing false certainty — anchored by Romans 1 and the "in essentials unity, in non-essentials liberty, in all things charity" framework. Enjoyed the episode? Like, comment, and subscribe — and let us know what you think about the corporate worship discussion. Got a guest suggestion or a topic you want us to tackle? Reach out at [email protected] or through our socials. https://www.caringbridge.org/site/6f9746ef-77a9-11f0-b2e2-6f1188bcdf38?from=%252Fsearch&fname=Sally&utm_source=ig&utm_medium=social&utm_content=link_in_bio&fbclid=PAdGRleATLHDRwZG9mAmV4dG4DYWVtAjExAHNydGMGYXBwX2lkDzEyNDAyNDU3NDI4NzQxNAABp9Dh7sf1hSF4-9sLWEiNrZ2NaJBOuVncA4TlEfowe8BepSekZEL7AkOofInX_aem_xWSzIx83mcOGuzhvsFTWcA   Follow Entrusted: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube | Instagram | Twitter/X Timestamps: 00:00:00 Intro 00:01:18 THANK YOU ZAC 00:02:33 How is Birmingham Brock? 00:05:19 How is dad life Ben? 00:11:41 State of the Pod 00:22:49 BLAYNE HATES CHURCH AT HOME 00:38:00 email us at : [email protected] 00:46:00 Tension/wrestling as Christians 00:55:30 Essentials vs. non-essentials in our Faith 01:02:33 Closing

This week on Entrusted, Blayne is joined solo by his good friend Alex Shotts, founder and roaster of Thankfully Coffee, for a conversation that spans a childhood in the middle of the Pacific Ocean to building one of Auburn's most-loved coffee roasters from a single 50-lb bag of green coffee. Alex grew up on a tiny island in the Republic of the Marshall Islands — population 1,500, graduating class of 18, nearest landmass roughly 2,500 miles away in every direction — before moving to Auburn for college in 2012. He shares how a Camp War Eagle counselor's invitation to church led to a slow, honest wrestling with faith, culminating in a moment reading John 14:6 alone in his apartment that changed the direction of his life. From there, the conversation traces a winding early career (coffee shops, Home Depot's Pro Desk, and a hard season working at a youth correctional facility), meeting his wife Robin through a missional community called Launch, and the Thanksgiving Day decision in 2019 to start roasting coffee on his own terms. Alex and Blayne dig into what makes Thankfully's coffee distinct — from green coffee sourcing to the difference between drum and air roasting — and how word of mouth carried the business from one Auburn coffee shop to accounts across the country, a guest-roaster takeover in New York City, and a Final Four finish in a nationwide coffee roaster poll. Underneath it all is a story about discerning calling without rushing it, working hard without losing sight of who it's for, and letting gratitude — not just growth — define success. In this episode: growing up in the Marshall Islands; coming to faith through Camp War Eagle and FBO; wrestling with a calling to international missions vs. faithfulness where you are; meeting and marrying Robin; hard jobs before the roastery, including an assault at a youth detention facility; starting Thankfully Coffee on Thanksgiving Day 2019 debt-free; the meaning behind the name and logo; meeting Blayne over a coffee cup; drum vs. air roasting; scaling to national accounts, Rex Cafe in Pensacola, and a guest bar in NYC; a Final Four finish in a nationwide roaster poll; and where to find Thankfully Coffee. Timestamps 00:00:00 Intro 00:01:08 First Birth/Second Birth 00:22:36 Discerning calling with patience instead of "run hard, run fast" 00:32:23 Early jobs in coffee shops around Auburn 00:42:46 The Thanksgiving Day 2019 realization that sparks Thankfully Coffee 00:50:26 Where the name "Thankfully" came from 01:19:11 Reflections on hard work, faithfulness, and gratitude 01:23:39 Where to find Thankfully Coffee online and locally

In this episode, Blayne and Ben sit down with Aaron Wine — youth pastor at Lake View Baptist Church in Auburn, AL — for a wide-ranging conversation on calling, seminary, and what it means to steward an ordinary faith in an extraordinary-obsessed world. Aaron shares his testimony, the two providential phone calls that led him to Lake View, and nine years of shepherding students. From there, the conversation moves into what seminary training actually looks like, whether local churches can raise up their own pastors, and why faithful preaching resists the pull toward spectacle and novelty. The back half digs into discipleship at home: the sobering stats on teenage faith retention, why parents — not youth pastors — carry primary responsibility for their kids' spiritual formation, and how to guide the next generation through AI and social media without outsourcing contemplation itself. Aaron closes with a picture worth remembering: the Christian life as a cup you spend a lifetime making bigger, so that when you finally see Christ face to face, there's more room for joy. 00:00:00 Intro & welcome 00:01:55 Aaron's background, family, and salvation testimony 00:06:20 Sensing the call to ministry 00:09:53 Providence and the road to Lake View 00:13:15 Internship to youth pastor — nine years in 00:18:43 What seminary is really like 00:23:55 Can churches raise up pastors without seminary? 00:28:52 Finding your preaching voice & the "five stones" lesson 00:35:50 Spectacle vs. the ordinary means of grace 00:44:04 The gospel: the track, not the gunshot 00:51:49 Why students walk away from faith 00:58:05 Church as family — and not choosing one for your kids 01:04:07 Whose job is it to disciple your kids? 01:12:05 Raising Gen Alpha with AI and technology 01:26:00 Closing: what Aaron's been entrusted with

Howard Porter has spent years building things. Real estate, businesses, partnerships. He founded one of the Southeast's premier commercial real estate firms, became the youngest MAI-designated appraiser in the country at 29, co-founded Global K9 Protection Group and grew it into the largest provider of third-party K9 cargo screening in the US. By most measures, he's the definition of a self-made man. He'd also be the first to tell you that's exactly the wrong way to look at it. This conversation covers the full arc — the early success, the hotel room floor at 40, the Walk to Emmaus, and a seven-year business slog through fraud, layoffs, a government shutdown, and COVID that somehow ended in a comeback. But underneath all of it is a man learning — slowly, over a lifetime — what it actually means to not be your own. Howard talks about entrepreneurial giving, going into business with friends, the difference between pleasing God and trusting God, and why the last five years of his relationship with the Lord have been the richest of his life. **TIMESTAMPS** 00:00:00 – Intro & meet Howard Porter 00:01:35 – First Birth to Second Birth 00:02:03 – Growing up in Birmingham & life in the church 00:05:43 – The hotel room at 40: "God, I can't do this" 00:16:22 – College, the draft lottery, and joining the Army 00:24:55 – The parachute analogy: trusting a cord, but not God 00:30:11 – The Walk to Emmaus & meeting the risen Lord 00:36:26 – "I Am Not My Own" — what stewardship really means 00:43:04 – Going into business with friends & being unequally yoked 00:46:26 – How Global K9 started (a real estate deal gone wrong) 01:02:12 – Fraud, layoffs, COVID, and the unlikely comeback 01:16:45 – Pleasing God vs. Trusting God 01:20:28 – What has God entrusted to you? The meaning of "Porter"